Chapter 241: Chapter 209: They Could Only Accept Their Fate, Unable to Resist

He hadn’t been dispatched by the Golden Thread Pavilion to fight the Demon Fiend disaster. He had come on his own initiative to obtain the Golden Thread Sect Seal.

Therefore, he had no need to abide by any of their rules.

"..."

The Cultivator was momentarily stunned by Yang An’s words, unable to process what he meant.

But in that instant, Yang An made his move.

Next to every Demon Fiend enveloped in the black light, streaks of Golden Radiance materialized from the void and began to dance up and down.

A gruesome scene unfolded before everyone’s eyes. But what was even more terrifying was that the flesh and blood of these Demon Fiends began to transform into torrents, all of which were absorbed and devoured by a bead in Yang An’s hand.

They had witnessed this before, which was why they had mistaken Yang An for a Great Demon Fiend.

But looking at it now, weren’t his actions exactly those of a Demon Fiend?!

However, the fact that Yang An hadn’t turned on them allowed them to breathe a sigh of relief.

’It seems this person is on our side!’

There were ten Corpse Transformation Demon Fiends in total. All were suppressed by Yang An, their flesh and blood forcibly drained as the Golden Radiance danced ceaselessly over their bodies, darting in and out. This simultaneously weakened them, making it impossible to muster any new strength to resist.

Just then, however, Yang An turned to face the group of Cultivators.

"You’re the ones who deliberately led the Demon Fiends to me earlier, aren’t you?"

Under his suppression, several Cultivators who had caught their breath and regained their senses were startled by his question.

’What is he planning to do?’

"Fellow Daoist, it’s a misunderstanding! We only mistook you for a Demon Fiend before, which is why we resorted to such a tactic. Besides, you weren’t harmed in any way. Why don’t we let bygones be bygones and slay these Demon Fiends together? As for the credit, you can have the largest share, and the rest of us will split what’s left," someone immediately explained, trying to steer the conversation back to annihilating the Demon Fiends.

"A fine calculation, but... are you even worthy?"

Yang An scoffed coldly.

He could slaughter all these Demon Fiends by himself. Why would he need these guys to get involved, especially when they wanted a piece of the pie?

Besides, that wasn’t the point. The point was that they thought a single, casual apology could erase what they had done to him. ’There’s no such easy way out in this world.’

What was done, was done. If they had admitted their mistake sincerely, Yang An might have considered letting them go. After all, he truly hadn’t been harmed.

But this guy had used the fact that he was unharmed as an excuse to brush the whole incident aside.

In that case, they couldn’t blame him for what came next.

’An eye for an eye. That’s the principle!’

Without waiting for them to say another word, a swarm of Golden Radiance appeared beside them. Before the Cultivators could react, the streaks of golden light descended upon them all.

In an instant, agonizing screams filled the air, echoing without end.

Just like before, a powerful suction force emerged. The shredded flesh and blood of the Cultivators also transformed into torrents, forcibly absorbed and devoured by the silver bead.

"Damn you! What are you doing? The Golden Thread Pavilion will kill you for this!"

"Fellow Daoist, spare us! Spare us! Let us go..."

Enveloped by the black light, they were completely immobilized, able to do nothing but endure the Golden Radiance wreaking havoc on their physical bodies.

’This guy is clearly only at the Middle Stage of Corpse Transformation, so how can he have such terrifying suppressive power? It’s pinning down everyone present, Cultivators and Demon Fiends alike, leaving them unable to resist or fight back.’

One of the more experienced and sharp-eyed Cultivators seemed to recognize the Golden Radiance.

"You! You’re from the Great Virtue Temple!"

A cacophony of sounds rang in Yang An’s ears—threats, pleas for mercy, and more mistaken accusations of him belonging to other factions.

Yang An remained completely unfazed.

He could sense that the Cultivators who had fled were now far enough away that they could no longer perceive what was happening inside the city.

If he killed everyone here and cleaned up the scene afterward, the Golden Thread Pavilion would never know what happened. And so, Yang An showed no mercy.

The shadow of death loomed in everyone’s hearts. They had, after all, witnessed Yang An absorb the flesh and blood of the Demon Fiends until nothing was left. They never imagined he would do the same to them.

In their desperation, some tried to resist, but they were suppressed by the Dark Communication Secret Spell. It was the power of a Seal, fundamentally impossible to defy.

Even when someone tried to induce pain in themselves, hoping to use the surge of agony to unleash greater power and break free, Yang An would sense it in advance. He would strike them down first, giving them no chance, and devour them directly.

Less than an hour later, the figures of Demon Fiends and Cultivators vanished one by one, until finally, the area around Yang An was empty. Everyone was gone.

As the last bit of flesh and blood was devoured by the remnant of the Seal, the silver bead finally fell into Yang An’s hand, and he let out a long breath.

Simultaneously suppressing so many Corpse Transformation Demon Fiends and Cultivators had placed a considerable burden on him, consuming more than half of his Mana.

But fortunately, the reward was immense. It was all worth it!

The silver bead was now heavier than before, and faint, tiny patterns had begun to appear on its surface, glowing with a soft golden light.

At this moment, Yang An finally sensed a very familiar aura from the bead.

’It’s the Earth Spirit Stele! There’s no mistake!’

He had entered the Earth Spirit Stele several times before; he could never forget its profound, ethereal, and somewhat bizarre aura.

’It seems my previous guess was correct. The "revival" of the Seal remnant refers to the Earth Spirit Stele.’

’The old man and the old monster may be dead, but the Earth Spirit Stele couldn’t be sealed, which is why this thing was left behind.’

The flesh and blood of several hundred Demon Fiends and Cultivators had finally brought the Earth Spirit Stele to the brink of revival. He just didn’t know how much more it would need to fully awaken.

It was a good thing he had run into the Demon Fiend disaster in Celestial Jing State. Otherwise, Yang An really wouldn’t have known where to find so much flesh and blood to revive the Earth Spirit Stele.

He put the bead away again. The scene was completely clean, without a single trace left behind—not even dregs. Satisfied, he finally departed.

At the city gate, the same mortals were still huddled together, trembling. In this situation, they were nothing but lambs to the slaughter, and Yang An couldn’t offer them much help.

Before leaving, however, he still advised them to repair the city gate as quickly as possible and then find a hidden place to hide.

Aside from the ones he had slaughtered, the other Demon Fiends in the city had already fled, but there was no guarantee when more would come.

If the Demon Fiends did return, these mortals would inevitably face a tragic fate.

Although it was just a trivial reminder, it could be considered Yang An’s final act of kindness.

But as he finished speaking, he saw the mortals all kneel in unison, kowtowing deeply to him in dead silence.

Yang An’s expression was blank, his eyes indifferent. He took flight, soaring toward the outside of the city, preparing to leave.

’In a world like this, who would even think of saving these mortals? Others wouldn’t, and neither would I. Everyone who becomes a Cultivator does it for self-preservation, to ensure their own safety in this world. Everyone is selfish.’

’Think of yourself first in all things. Don’t think about others, and don’t show kindness carelessly. That’s how you avoid a lot of trouble.’

’It’s impossible for me to protect this group of mortals who can’t even truss a chicken. If I save one, I can’t save a hundred or a thousand. If I save hundreds or thousands, I still can’t save all of humanity.’

’These people don’t even have the Power of Self-Preservation. They can’t rely on others to protect them forever, and I don’t have that ability either.’

’I’m too weak, too weak...’

’But... but...’

The image of everyone kneeling, kowtowing to him in utter silence, just wouldn’t leave his mind. 𝗳𝗿𝐞𝕖𝘄𝗲𝕓𝗻𝚘𝚟𝕖𝐥.𝚌𝕠𝕞

They were like a group of people who had accepted their fate. They heeded Yang An’s advice and expressed their gratitude, but still, they waited with despair for the inevitable doom that awaited them.

’Dammit!’

Yang An’s figure froze in mid-air. He gritted his teeth.

He had tried so hard to suppress the kindness in his heart, to make himself seem cold, heartless, cruel, and bloodthirsty.

This was the way of survival he had discovered, the way to fit into this world.

’But... how can I just stand by and watch a group of mortals kneeling before me like this!’

The scene reminded him of himself, back when he had first arrived in this world.

If he didn’t have his special abilities, he would probably be no different from them.

But he had them, and these people did not.

They could only accept their fate, unable to fight back.

Letting out a soft sigh, Yang An chose to turn back. He hadn’t flown far, and he soon returned to the city wall, looking down at the mortals below.

There were few of them left, less than a hundred, with a number of young people among them.

But they moved like zombies. After Yang An had left, they all seemed listless, woodenly following his advice to repair the broken city gate.

Though they knew it would be useless against the Demon Fiends, they did it anyway.

That’s just how people are. Even when they know what’s coming, they will subconsciously cling to any hope of survival.

No one noticed Yang An’s return. They were not Cultivators, just ants. How could they possibly sense that he had come back?

"Everyone... follow me!"

Yang An finally leaped down, landing inside the city and appearing before them.

A flash of reflexive panic appeared in their eyes, but upon seeing it was Yang An, they obediently followed him, though still afraid.

Using his senses, Yang An quickly found the cellar of a wealthy family’s home in the city.

The cellar was large and still contained a good amount of food that had clearly been left behind in a hurry.

For a hundred or so people, it would be enough to last for a while.

He rummaged through his Meat Burial Talisman for a moment before pulling out a small object—a piece of some unknown creature’s hide.

It was a Magical Artifact. He had long since forgotten where he got it—perhaps from Wuwei Peak, or maybe looted from some Cultivator he had killed.

Though it wasn’t very useful, it could emit a foul odor that would help mask the mortals’ scent.

He tossed the hide into the cellar, followed by a few Spiritual Objects.

"Hide in this cellar from now on. Remember to block the entrance properly.

Also, you must drip blood on this hide every day, and don’t take those Spiritual Objects. They might keep you safe for a short while and prevent you from being discovered by Demon Fiends."

Yang An told the mortals this after he had finished.

The people all looked at each other in confusion, but they quickly understood and immediately knelt to kowtow deeply to Yang An once more.

"Alright, alright, I’m leaving."

Yang An couldn’t bear to watch. Tossing out those last words, he immediately took flight and departed. This time, he was really gone.