Clashing Across Stages, Trump Cards Revealed; Flame Beads Enter the Fray, First Mid-Stage Kill

High in the sky, Fate-Defying True Person hovered motionlessly, his eerie gray-white eyes fixed on the white-robed figure below.

Those eyes had no pupils, only a deathly expanse of gray-white, like two dust-covered pearls radiating a chilling aura that made the heart tremble.

At that moment, an incomparably profound killing intent seeped from them.

Because he had abruptly realized something-

The ordinary demon cultivators on this expedition had been all but wiped out, and all three warships had been destroyed. Those were minor matters he could still cover. After all, low- and mid-ranking demon cultivators and warships were merely expendables on the Demonic Path. If they died, they died; at worst, he could recruit more and build replacements.

The crucial point, however, was that one Core Formation Early Stage cultivator and one False Core cultivator had also perished!

This was a grave mistake! A tremendous loss! A crushing responsibility!

The Demonic Path's rules had always been simple and direct: merit earned rewards, faults earned punishment. Merit could offset faults; great merit brought lavish rewards, while great faults brought harsh punishment.

As the leader of this expedition, he had gathered these cultivators, only to lose two fighters with Core Formation-level strength. That responsibility was more than he could shoulder!

Even as a Core Formation Middle Stage cultivator, such a burden lay beyond what he could bear!

It would mean reduced priority in the allocation of certain vital resources and rare treasures from the Sacred Mountain's reserves and the spoils of the war between the righteous and demonic paths.

"I must keep these two here-"

He stared at Lin Changheng and True Person Liuquan, a vicious gleam flashing through his gray-white eyes.

As long as he killed them and claimed their lives as merit, his achievements would outweigh his faults!

Not only