Ten thousand I am across the heavens

Becoming an immortal is indeed like having an insurance policy. Just as in ancient times, people weren't considered adults until they were 16, and their 16th birthday often signified a momentous occasion, because at that age, they were less likely to die young, the same principle applies to the world's top experts. Once they reach the immortal realm in their pursuit of immortality, they are less likely to perish in unexpected calamities.

The Ghostly Demon Lord from 10 years ago, unaware of the historical upheavals that would occur 10 years later, is currently just a young, ambitious immortal, willing to sacrifice everything he can in pursuit of the immortal path. He can be more ruthless than anyone else; this almost ruthless attitude makes him, in some ways, even surpass Fang Yuan.

On this day, he was like any other diligent demonic cultivator, plotting how to absorb more living souls to enhance his own strength.

At this moment, he has already glimpsed the secret of the Desolate Soul achievement. Perhaps in the near future, it will create a brand new cultivation path that allows for a leapfrog improvement in the Soul Path. For this, he will need a large population and a massive amount of souls for him to experiment with.

The most basic requirement for achieving the status of a Wild Soul is to reach the level of a hundred million souls, meaning the total soul strength of a hundred million ordinary people who have never cultivated. Of course, in actual cultivation, it's not necessary to devour a hundred million people. Even if a Gu Master isn't cultivating the Soul Path, their soul will continuously strengthen during the cultivation process. Before becoming an immortal, each level of strengthening results in approximately a tenfold increase. Low-level Gu Masters are actually quite common. Taking Qingmao Mountain as an example, although the status of mortals and Gu Masters there is vastly different, their numbers aren't that different. It's not even one in a hundred; roughly one in several dozen people is a Gu Master. This is because of insufficient resources; some potential cultivators with poor aptitude and who aren't core members of the clan are abandoned.

The Ghostly Demon Lord is currently preparing to devour four mountain strongholds in one fell swoop, totaling over 200,000 people. These people could provide him with approximately four to five million souls. With this wave, he will have a chance to reach the level of one hundred million souls.

Devouring the souls of wild beasts could certainly achieve a similar effect, but even when wild beasts travel in packs, they rarely gather as densely as humans. Tens of thousands of wild beasts gathered together might seem like a large tribe, but compared to humans, their density and the strength of their individual souls make them far less cost-effective to capture.

The later Shanhe Republic also retained the Soul Path cultivation school founded by the Ghostly Demon Lord. The only difference was that their souls were mass-produced industrially; factory-raised livestock provided a massive supply of souls. This was more than enough for them. There was no need, nor was it possible, to use such inefficient and cruel methods to collect the souls of mortals.

The Ghostly Demon Lord, who was preparing to collect souls at that moment, suddenly had a flash of inspiration. He realized something, and a thought appeared deep within his memory.

Having reached his level of strength, he possessed a profound understanding of thoughts, intentions, and emotions on the spiritual level. He knew that thoughts could not possibly arise from nothing. Moreover, the thoughts of different people were extremely difficult to forge; each person's thoughts had their own unique characteristics. As a Soul Path expert, he had an exceptionally clear understanding of these characteristics. Even a seventh- or eighth-rank expert might not be able to fake his own thoughts. Yet, this thought that suddenly appeared in his mind at this moment... no matter how he perceived it, it was unmistakably his own.

"I am you from the future. I am contacting you now to teach you a special killing move from the future. This Sandstorm is more powerful than any killing move in your current era. Remember, do not pass this killing move on to anyone. You only need to use it secretly and silently, and you will naturally become invincible in the future."

The Ghostly Demon Lord was unwilling to believe that an old man would give him a cheat code. People like him always assumed the worst of others, never trusting anyone to act with goodwill. Therefore, even if it was his own thoughts giving him a cheat code, he remained cautious, hesitant to believe a single word he uttered. "I know you may not believe me, but that's alright. You can capture any mortal and teach them the killing move I'm about to teach you. Once they've mastered it, you'll see its power. But remember, it must be done within your immortal aperture. After witnessing the power, you must kill them to silence them. Eradicate their souls, and prevent any information from leaking out."

In fact, even without his future self saying so, the Ghostly Demon Lord intended to do the same. This actually made him slightly more inclined to believe what his future self had said. After all, since their thoughts shared a certain degree of common ground, it was possible that the past and future had indeed connected through some strange coincidence.

Soon, several mortals were captured. He stored a vast number of mortals within him, not to use them as slaves to work for him. He didn't have that much work to do. These people were essentially his food reserves. During the cultivation of the Soul Path, battles were inevitable. When fighting enemies, if he didn't have enough souls, he could slaughter these living people on the spot and use them as a source of replenishment for his soul.

Among these people were many Gu Masters, but all the Gu worms on their bodies had been forced to be handed over, leaving none behind. At this moment, a trembling third-level Gu Master was pulled out from the crowd. He used to be a figure of great authority in a mountain stronghold, but now he lost all his dignity in front of this great demon. After being captured, his legs went weak and he wet his pants.

The Ghostly Demon Lord watched as if he were livestock, as the Ghostly Demon Lord threw several Gu worms in front of him and released his own powerful aura to suppress them, leaving them powerless to resist.

"Refine them, and then master the killing move I'll teach you within an hour." He didn't need any threats; just one sentence was enough to make the terrified third-level Gu Master obediently follow orders.

What he taught was not some difficult killing move, but a shield counter killing move that had been simplified countless times among the basic killing moves. The most basic shield technique requires five upgrades to barely reach the level of an advanced killing move. This also means that the most basic shield counter is actually very easy to learn.

[To be continued]

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