Why are all of us who transmigrated at the same time demons?

At the end of the hilt, a wisp of soul power automatically condensed, transforming into a small and exquisite black jade pendant, shaped like a drop of congealed blood, emitting a faint soul-attracting fluctuation.

"The Way of the Soul and the System of Fate Weapons begin from here." Loran held the Blood Transformation Divine Blade, which was in its initial stages of formation, and felt the power within it that was closely connected to his own soul and could be controlled as easily as his own arm. A cruel yet pleasurable smile appeared on his lips.

"Let my blade cleave the first crack in this dull world and stir up a storm."

His gaze swept over the stunned, fearful, and faintly hopeful citizens, and the phantom of a black jade pendant flashed in his deep eyes.

"Those who harbor rebellious thoughts and thirst for power will be guided... As for whether this fire will burn the enemy to death or consume themselves, well, that's what's interesting, isn't it?"

"What can a person who has nothing have to burn except his own soul as kindling?"

The next moment, his figure flickered, like a ghost merging into the shadows, and he disappeared silently into the dark and winding depths of the mine tunnel, leaving behind only a mess and a group of miners whose hearts were filled with shock.

In the deathly silent mine, the heavy breathing was exceptionally clear. Something long forgotten seemed to be stirring anew deep within their numb hearts.

An insignificant black jade pendant had somehow ended up in a muddy corner, emitting a barely perceptible glow.

Chapter 220 High-Ranking Martial Arts: The First Signs of Their Ferocity

The news of the dismissal of the overseer in the 17th district of the Black Iron Mine was like a pebble thrown into an ancient well, causing only a slight ripple among the lower-level administrators of the ancient people. It was rare for a lowly citizen to accidentally outburst and injure an overseer, but it was not without precedent.

Soon, a squad of three ancient guards at the late stage of the "Pulse Opening Realm" was dispatched to District 17. Their mission was to capture and kill the traitors, display their heads as a warning to others.

Then, they disappeared.

Along with the fifteen auxiliary soldiers they brought, they vanished as if they had disappeared into thin air, leaving no trace of the fight. Several days later, a mining patrol team discovered some fragments of weapons and clothing in a remote abandoned mine pit on the outskirts of the mining area. These fragments appeared to have been eroded and melted away by some extremely vicious force. The scene still reeked of a nauseating burnt smell and a faint trace of bloody resentment.

The officials at the Ancient Village Management Office finally sensed something was amiss. But before they could investigate further, truly devastating news followed.

A team from the "Yuan Dan Realm" tasked with escorting this month's "Yuan Tax"—ten jars of refined black iron Yuan Liquid—to Black Iron City was attacked at Black Wind Gorge, a crucial passage.

By the time they were discovered, all seven members of the team, including the Yuan Liquid Realm squad leader, had become withered and twisted corpses. Their vital essence had vanished completely, and their deaths were gruesome and terrifying, their faces frozen in extreme fear. The Yuan Liquid they were escorting had been completely looted.

Immediately afterwards, a small "Energy Gathering Tower" (secondary node) located on the edge of the mining area, which was responsible for providing auxiliary energy to the Nine Luminaries Energy Gathering Array, was destroyed in the middle of the night.

The tower was not destroyed by violence, but rather left with a smooth, mirror-like, terrifying cut that ran through the tower. The cut left behind a chilling, bloodthirsty, and terrifying blade intent that seemed capable of devouring everything, making the ancient experts who arrived later feel their hearts pound and their souls tremble just by getting close.

No news came back. The ancient people knew nothing about the murderer, and could not even be sure if the series of murders were committed by the same person.

"Absurd! Bizarre! How could something as insignificant as an ant possess such bizarre power?!" The ancient town garrison commander of Black Iron City, a middle-aged man with a stout build and a cultivation level of "Spiritual Astral Realm," furiously smashed the expensive black iron wooden table in front of him. The ancient town officials below fell silent, not daring to utter a sound.

"Governor, please calm your anger," a middle-aged man who appeared to be an advisor said cautiously. "In my opinion, this beast must have obtained some ancient relic from the wasteland! Or perhaps it just got incredibly lucky and unearthed a forbidden artifact left behind by some fallen ancient cultivator! Otherwise, there's absolutely no way it could have..."

"I don't care what he got!" the garrison commander roared, his fat face trembling with rage. "He must be wiped out immediately! With the most ruthless methods! Otherwise, what will become of our dignity? What will become of the prestige of Black Iron City? What will become of the prestige of the ancient people!"

He stood up abruptly and ordered in a stern voice, "Order 'Flame Claw' to lead the team and gather the thirty most elite men from the city's patrol force. Search! Dig three feet into the ground and find this Loran! I'll make a wine bowl out of his skull!"

"Flame Claw" is one of the strongest experts under the command of the garrison commander. He is at the peak of the Yuan Dan realm and is very close to the Ling Gang realm. He cultivates the Fiery Claw Technique passed down in his family. He has a violent personality and his hands are stained with the blood of the people of the domain. He is notorious in Black Iron City.

A day later, Flameclaw and his elite 30-man patrol, following a faint clue, tracked down a desolate ancient path leading to an abandoned mine. There, they found their target.

Loran sat leisurely in a dilapidated, weathered factory building, with the intimidating dark red longsword beside him. The blade was long and narrow with an eerie curve, as if thick blood flowed slowly within it, emanating a faint suction that seemed to devour even the surrounding light and people's gaze.

In Loran's hand was a similar but longer, blood-red knife. Numerous steel wires, like a spiderweb, hung densely above the factory, from which hung fresh human skins.

Feeling the cold touch of the blood-red dagger slicing across her back, it seemed as if the other party was searching for the most suitable spot to strike, but Wei Shuya felt as if she were being licked by some kind of monstrous beast.

Extreme fear made her tense all over, but she heard the person speak behind her ear.

"Don't be too tense... While peeling skin requires a bit of tension, too much tension is not good. Only by being taut and taut can you ensure that this beautiful demon skin is peeled off completely."

"Your back is beautiful...like the finest jade...wouldn't you feel it a pity to damage this skin?"

Loran's warm breath sprayed onto her usually proud back, as if a venomous snake's tongue were licking it.

“When I torture my enemies, I generally prefer to attack their spirit. I don’t really know much about physical torture, but I can’t say I don’t know it either, after all, Shen Ke… But I can only be considered a theorist!” Loran muttered a few words of dissatisfaction, then said with a smile, “Anyway, can I practice it? I learned this skill of skinning people alive from your sister.”

"Aren't you guys the best at skinning people alive? Judging from the feedback from the Heavenly Demon Blood Blade, you like to get together every month for a skinning meeting and even critique each other's work?"

Wei Shuya wanted to cry out of fear, but her tear ducts were blocked by that devil, who said that crying would make the beautiful skin look bad.

In the past, she thoroughly enjoyed the agonizing screams of those being skinned alive; these soul-wrenching cries gave her a sense of control over life and death. Was it really such a big deal? Among the upper classes of the ancient people, this kind of hobby was perfectly normal.

She'd already been very restrained, unlike her brothers who would casually pick up weapons and go "hunting" in the wasteland. Why was she being punished for this? Her brothers should be punished instead; she's not having it!

Wei Shuya's thoughts were laid bare before Loran's "freedom of transformation." Loran gently stroked her head and whispered something to her.

"Don't worry, your whole family has already been hung here... You're the last one, this is a special treat I'm giving to a beauty."

When Loran's words reached Wei Shuya's ears, they shocked her to the extreme.

Just as she trembled to the extreme, Loran drew his blade. The blood-red blade flashed precisely, and a beautiful, lifelike skin was torn away.

The flesh beneath it lost its life in that instant, turning into decaying ash and smoke.

This is a new use of the Heavenly Demon Blood-Transforming Divine Blade developed by Loran. It uses the demon blade's ability to devour and transform blood to perform the skinning torture. All the victim's essence, blood, and even soul are absorbed by the demon blade and sealed inside this skin.

With a single breath, Loran caused the skin to swell up and transform into the beautiful Wei Shuya.

She is now a sword demon controlled by the Heavenly Demon Blood-Transforming Divine Blade, her thoughts, mind, and all actions are controlled by this life-bound weapon.

Suddenly, a shouting voice came from outside the abandoned factory building.

"Traitor! Kneel down and die, I'll give you a quick death!"

The sound of the Fiery Claw was like a booming bell, containing Yuan Power, causing the surrounding rocks to fall in a rustling sound. His body was surrounded by surging fiery Yuan Power, and the air was distorted by the high temperature, forming a scorching air wave, with astonishing power.

His sharp gaze swept over Loran, and he sensed that the other party's aura was not particularly strong. He felt reassured, concluding that this scoundrel had only managed to succeed by chance thanks to the power of the evil blade.

As Flame Claw swept across the abandoned factory, it saw Wei Shuya standing behind Loran like a servant, and the chilling human skins hanging all over the factory.

Yan Zhao was taken aback: "You're Miss Wei from the Wei family of Tianfeng City? How could that be?"

"Boss, those faces look familiar. They seem to be the ones from the escort team that went missing a while ago." The team members led by Flame Claw vaguely spotted some familiar faces among the series of human skins.

fierce! Too fierce!

In this society with its distinct caste system and rigid class structure, it is extremely rare for the lower class to attack the upper class. How could there ever be such a vicious person who skins the people alive?

Loran slowly raised his eyes, his gaze eerily calm, even carrying a hint of... boredom?

"Noisy insects."

He didn't even get up; he simply swung his knife backhand as if swatting away flies.

There was no earth-shattering burst of Yuan power, no dazzling light and shadow effects, only a strange, beautiful, and swiftly moving dark red blade of light that flashed by, like the open eyes of hell.

The crimson blade of light circled the factory, transforming into a pool of blood that submerged the skin bags. Within the pool, numerous skin bags, hung out to dry like clothes, rapidly swelled and became bloated.

One by one, the sword demons, looking as if they were alive, stood up and stared at the Flame Claw Squad with resentful eyes.

"Boss... this... is a bit eerie!" The Flame Claw team members swallowed hard, feeling a sense of dread.

The next moment, the blood pool surged, and a group of sword demons rode the blood waves towards the thirty elite members of the Flame Claw Squad.

A series of piercing screams echoed through the factory. A gentle breeze swept through, and the pool of blood receded. The bodies of Yanzhao and the others, like mummified corpses weathered for a thousand years, or as if all support had been removed, collapsed and dissipated silently, turning into fine ashes that were scattered by the wind, leaving not a trace of blood or a scrap of cloth behind.

All their vital energy, spiritual power, and even fragments of their souls were devoured by the greedy demonic blade the moment they came into contact with its light.

Only the pair of meticulously crafted black iron claws of Flame Claw fell to the ground with a "clang," becoming the sole proof that they had ever existed.

On the hilt of the demonic sword, a huge eye, resembling that of a ferocious tiger, opened and scrutinized the world.

Loran sheathed his sword, extended his pale fingers, and lightly flicked away non-existent dust from the corner of his clothes, as if he had merely swatted a few noisy mosquitoes.

He felt the pure energy fed back by the Blood Transformation Divine Blade and nodded slightly: "The life force of the creatures in this world is indeed vigorous, but unfortunately they have been raised into pigs by this damned spiritual root lock and sequence system, and are merely food."

His figure blurred again, as if merging into the shadows and disappearing. Only in place remained a faint, ethereal black jade pendant, radiating a weak spiritual energy, and a barely audible yet chilling whisper echoing in the wind:

"Hopefully, the next 'toy' will be a little more durable and fun to play with."

Chapter 221 High-Ranking Martial Arts: Fishing for Celestials

When the news reached Black Iron City, the garrison commander was terrified. The jade cup in his hand slipped from his hand and shattered on the ground. He slumped into a chair, his fat body trembling, and cold sweat instantly soaked through his fine clothes.

Flame Claw, a cultivator at the peak of the Yuan Dan realm, along with thirty elite soldiers, was reduced to nothing.

This is absolutely a true demon! A scourge!

Panic, like a plague, began to spread rapidly among the ancient people of Black Iron City. Meanwhile, terrifying stories about a rebel from the Domain Clan, wielding a blood-drinking demonic blade, who hunted down the lords of the ancient people and could even leave them without a trace, spread like wildfire among the lower-ranking Domain Clan and the lowest of the low.

"That's how Lie Chi was back then... He obtained a divine artifact from the wasteland... which made his physical body and bones surpass those of ordinary people... Wielding a long sword, he killed nearly a hundred ancient people..."

The elders of Black Iron City recalled an event from the past. Although they dared not speak of it openly, something was rekindling in the depths of their numb eyes, beginning to ignite a faint yet persistent light.

In a remote and filthy corner, a boy, mortally ill from prolonged hunger and exhaustion, seemed to see a black, warm jade pendant shimmering in his endless, dark dream, radiating an alluring light while he was in a coma and high fever…

In a luxurious hall within a city gate of Tianyuan City, Loran sat at the head of the table, carefully examining a dazzling pill. All the ancient inhabitants of this city gate had become his henchmen, and everything seemed normal, keeping outsiders completely unaware of the internal turmoil.

"The Celestial-Human system is really interesting. After the Mortal Transformation, one can independently refine Yuan Power. The Meridian Opening Realm opens up the three meridians, creating more efficient energy production and transmission channels."

"In the end, the essence of the entire body was gathered and condensed into a 'fruit' that could be harvested using a specific method?"

"This means that practitioners at the upper levels of this martial arts sequence can freely enjoy the fruits of the lower levels without having to refine them or worry about wasting them, because the practitioners themselves have already completed these steps. The upper-level practitioners only need to bend down and pick them."

"The person who designed this system is a genius in the art of exploitation!"

A hint of doubt flashed in Loran's eyes, "The Celestials themselves also follow this cultivation system. Does this mean that within the Celestials, there is also a situation where the upper levels reap huge profits from the lower levels? Or is the Celestials' cultivation system different from that of the lower levels?"

"Perhaps this specific harvesting system wasn't specially designed by the Celestials for colonizing foreign lands, but rather a tool that already existed within them for harvesting their own kind?"

Here, Loran was deeply analyzing the mysteries of the Celestial Martial Arts System when a magnificent flying ship emerged from the Heavenly Capital high in the sky and landed in the southern district of Tianyuan City. This was home to the He Clan, the largest ancient family in Tianyuan City. Loran's city, Wucheng, was located on the edge of the eastern district, adjacent to the He Clan's compound in the southern district. He seemed to sense something and looked up at the sky.

A young man dressed in white robes embroidered with golden dragon patterns stepped down from the magnificent flying boat. Outside the boat, a large number of members of the He family and their servants knelt in unison, their heads bowed, their eyes filled with obsequiousness and awe.

"Welcome to the glorious and great Prince Gandhara!" the patriarch of the He family said in a trembling voice, his face full of fawning smiles. Gandhara nodded slightly, his gaze sweeping over the crowd as if scrutinizing his subjects.

The members of the Hol family kowtowed, chanting prayers for Gandhara's protection. Their voices echoed in the air, carrying a tone of piety and obsequiousness.

Gandhara was used to this. He glanced indifferently at the fawning Ho clan chief and asked, "Where are the things? I didn't come to the mortal realm just to listen to your praises."

"A bunch of lowly people!" A hint of contempt flashed in Gandhara's eyes. If this lowly person hadn't said that their family had dug up precious holy blood crystals from the wasteland, and if it weren't to prevent the things from being snatched by other brothers in the family during transportation, he wouldn't have come to this filthy lower realm in person.

"The items have been prepared long ago and are in the highest treasure trove of my He family, just waiting for His Highness Gandhara to inspect them."

“Very good…” Gandhara finally smiled. “You have performed quite well. The position of the next city lord of Tianyuan City will be awarded to your He family.”

"Your Highness's grace is like sweet rain falling upon the world. This servant is grateful for Your Highness's mercy and wishes to repay it with my life." The He clan leader was overjoyed and quickly kowtowed in gratitude.

Gandhara waved his hand dismissively, "Alright, take me to your treasury."

The road had been paved with an extremely smooth and wide path by the He clan. Gandhara sat on a magnificent palanquin carried by countless slaves, surrounded by a host of guards and ancient He clan people like stars around the moon as they headed toward the treasure vault.

Secretly, someone spat.

"They already have powered airships, yet they still insist on riding in palanquins carried by human labor. Are they Celestial Dragons?!"

Upon arriving at the He family's treasury, the He family patriarch took out a huge key and opened the corresponding treasury door. Gandhara's eyes showed a rare hint of eagerness as he peeked into the treasury. However, what appeared inside was not the Holy Blood Crystal he had expected, but a man sitting in a recliner holding a blood-red longsword.

Gandhara was taken aback. His bodyguard noticed his master's astonishment, and as a dutiful lackey, he questioned the man.

"Where did this stray dog ​​come from! How dare you be so disrespectful before the glorious and great Prince Gandhara? Kneel down!"

The man opened his eyes, glanced at Gandhara's group, and muttered something.

"Finally here! You've been dawdling for so long on such a short distance... If it weren't for the All-Seeing Eye of Tiandu's surveillance... you would have been killed the moment you landed!"

Gandhara was furious. He turned around and shouted, "Clan Chief He, where are you...?"

The clan chief had already disappeared without a trace.

"You arrogant wretch! You have angered me!" Gandhara's handsome face was now grim. "Kill him!"

The guards at the Spirit Realm level acted collectively, preparing to kill and exterminate this lowly commoner who was despised by the celestial beings.

"To blaspheme the majesty of the celestial beings is a crime deserving of death! Sky-Splitting Sword - Purifying Light!"

The guard leader swung his greatsword, which resembled a condensation of light. Instantly, a pure white beam of light, blazing with immense destructive power, condensed, descending from the sky like a sword of divine punishment, and instantly enveloping Loran and the surrounding area of ​​several dozen feet.

"Alright, let's just go through the motions. Stop wasting your breath." Loran yawned and casually swung his sword.

There were no dazzling light effects, no grand spectacle, only extreme coldness, murderous intent, and blood-red color that devoured everything.

"Qiang——!"

The dark, blood-red blade of the Demon Blade clashed with the Guardian's radiant Sky-Splitting Sword in a completely unadorned manner.

The anticipated earth-shattering energy explosion did not occur. The guard's sinister grin instantly turned into utter terror! His invincible Sky-Splitting Sword, capable of slicing through spiritual energy, its blade composed entirely of energy, upon contact with the dark red blade, seemed to have encountered its nemesis, twisting, dimming, and dissolving wildly! It was as if it had not been energy, but rather something devoured by a higher-level being!

Even the sword itself emitted a mournful cry of unbearable strain, its spiritual light rapidly dimming! And the eerie power emanating from that demonic blade, capable of devouring all things and corrupting everything...

The guard leader was killed instantly, but the blood-red blade continued to strike at the crowd.

In that instant, an indescribable, terrifying pressure, as if the entire world were maliciously pressing down on him, suddenly descended! Gandhara's thoughts froze almost instantly, and his body stiffened!