’If this world had no Cultivators or Demon Fiends, would the common people still be in this state?’

’They would!’

’Wherever people exist, the Rules are made by the strong.’

’Good and evil are two sides of the same coin, and they exist within every person in this world.’

’Even in a peaceful world, oppression and suffering would arise from all sorts of differences.’

But this world was too extreme, too bizarre.

The result was that the common people had no power to resist. They could only be lambs to the slaughter.

The difference between the strong and the weak was a chasm as wide as the heavens—utterly impossible to balance.

After leaving, Yang An wondered, ’If someone were willing to save them, could they truly save these ordinary people?’

But after some thought, he still had no answer.

’You can save them for a day, but not for a lifetime, unless they can strengthen themselves.’

’But once they step onto the path of cultivation, the world would just have another tainted, twisted individual, and the plight of the common people would remain unchanged.’

’The strong would still be strong, and the weak would still be weak.’

This was a product of the environment. The entire world was like this; it couldn’t be changed overnight.

’To save them, you can’t just save the people—you have to save the world itself.’

But how could he possibly have the power to save the world?

’To put it another way, who is the strongest in this world?’

He didn’t know, but since cultivation existed, a strongest being must also exist.

Even so, the world remained in its current state, unchanged and unsaved.

’If even those powerful figures couldn’t—or wouldn’t—do it, how could he, a mere Corpse Transformation, possibly succeed?’

Since he had seen it, lending a hand was the most he could do. Beyond that, there was nothing else.

He pushed these chaotic thoughts to the back of his mind. He couldn’t figure it out anyway. The most urgent task was to take advantage of the Demon Fiend calamity to absorb more flesh and blood and revive the Earth Spirit Stele as quickly as possible.

He had just entered Celestial Jing State and wasn’t far in. On the way to Ten Directions City, he would encounter other cities, as well as some scattered villages and settlements.

If he could gather all the flesh and blood needed to revive the Earth Spirit Stele along the way, that would be for the best.

Even if he couldn’t gather it all on the way there, there was still the return trip. In any case, Yang An wasn’t going to let this rare opportunity slip by.

The Earth Spirit Stele contained not only Cultivation Techniques but also Techniques, and it was even related to the Forbidden Artifact Fragment the old man had. There were definitely other secrets hidden inside.

Yang An didn’t care what secrets it held; what he wanted were the Techniques and the Forbidden Artifact Fragment inside.

For his future cultivation, Techniques and Forbidden Artifact Fragments were indispensable.

Mastering the Earth Spirit Stele was like mastering a great treasury. In the future, he might not have to worry about finding new Dao of Destiny Techniques.

In the dead of night, a dark figure flashed through the air and vanished.

An hour later, the sky was still dim and lightless, and Yang An had arrived at a new city.

As expected, this place had already been swept through by Demon Fiends. It was in an even more tragic state than the last city, completely deserted.

He couldn’t sense the auras of any mortals or Cultivators here, only Demon Fiends. The city was an apocalyptic scene, with devastation everywhere.

It seemed the closer he got to Ten Directions City, the fewer Cultivators there were, and the more Demon Fiends.

For Yang An, however, this was good news.

As long as he didn’t sense any Zombie God Great Demon Fiends, he could treat this place as his personal slaughterhouse.

Yang An’s figure slowly descended into the city. Through his senses, he could already tell that many Demon Fiends had detected his aura and were rushing toward him.

Not a trace of alarm showed on his face. Instead, a smile spread across his lips.

’Time to slaughter!’

「 ... 」

Two hours later, Yang An left the city, completely satisfied.

The city had once been teeming with Demon Fiends, but now, few remained.

He had killed all that he could, and the rest had already fled.

As long as there were no Zombie Gods, any number of Demon Fiends were nothing more than pushovers to him.

However, in order to absorb as much of the Demon Fiends’ flesh and blood as possible, Yang An had depleted his Mana reserves. He had to spend half an hour replenishing some of it before leaving.

By the time he left, the silver orb in his hand, though unchanged in its thumb-sized volume, now felt as if it weighed a thousand pounds.

If he were to throw this orb, it could undoubtedly pierce clean through a bull.

If not for the support of his Mana, he might not have been able to lift the orb so easily.

Within the orb, the aura of the Earth Spirit Stele grew increasingly dense. Not only did it emit faint gold patterns, but a hazy aura also radiated from it, even causing reality to distort to a certain degree.

Yang An wasn’t sure if it was his imagination, but he felt as though the Earth Spirit Stele could emerge from the orb at any moment.

This meant that the revival of the Earth Spirit Stele was likely not far off!

’This is a good sign!’

’Onward, then! To the next city!’

「 ... 」

「Ten Directions City.」

As the capital of Celestial Jing State, Ten Directions City lived up to its name. It was the state’s largest city, covering an immense area.

In normal times, the city would be a picture of prosperity, bustling with endless traffic.

But now, Ten Directions City was a scene of grim desolation. Every household had its doors tightly shut with everyone hiding inside, while on the roads outside the city, large numbers of Cultivators could be seen constantly coming and going.

An atmosphere thick with the feeling of an impending storm hung over the entire city.

There was no smoke of battle, but it was coming.

At the center of Ten Directions City was an extremely luxurious estate filled with countless pavilions. The tallest of them was named the Ten Directions Palace.

Majestic and magnificent, it was the centerpiece of the entire estate.

Within a thousand-meter radius of the estate, Cultivators patrolled and stood guard. All of them were at least at the Visceral Stone Cultivation Level. Unauthorized personnel, even other Cultivators, could not approach without permission.

At this moment, in the main hall on the first floor of the Ten Directions Palace, quite a few people were gathered, discussing something.

To defend against the current Demon Fiend calamity outbreak in Celestial Jing State, the Golden Thread Pavilion had transferred several State Lords and factions from the surrounding State Territories here.

Among those present, aside from the six State Lords, were powerful experts from major factions in the neighboring states. Only they were qualified to attend this council with the people from the Golden Thread Pavilion, though they still held a lower status.

On the Golden Thread Pavilion’s side, in addition to the State Lord, two Elders were also present.

This meeting regarding the Demon Fiend calamity was being presided over by the two Golden Thread Pavilion Elders. They sat together in the seats of honor, listening to the discussions among the State Lords and various factions below.

The hierarchy in the hall was clear: the factions were at the bottom, the State Lords were next, and the Elders were at the top.

"The Demon Fiend calamities are breaking out more and more frequently. The calamity in Denglong State a year ago was smaller than this one, but it is still fresh in our minds. Countless people died, not just mortals, but we Cultivators as well."

"We cannot allow these Demon Fiends to continue growing stronger! Otherwise, sooner or later, there will be no place left for us in the Treasure Temple Domain!"

"Of course. But to this day, we still don’t know why the Demon Fiend calamities are happening. Can’t the State Lords and Elders share some information with us?"

The representatives from the various factions below were in constant discussion, but their point of contention was the same.

They had been dispatched by the Golden Thread Pavilion to fight the Demon Fiend calamity. Not just factions from Celestial Jing State were present, but also major powers from the neighboring State Territories.

But aside from fighting the Demon Fiends, they didn’t even know why the calamities were breaking out. It was as if the Golden Thread Pavilion was deliberately keeping them in the dark. Confused and frustrated, they took the opportunity at today’s meeting to boldly ask.

As soon as the question was asked, it immediately received nods of agreement from others present.

The Six State Lords seated above them all turned their gazes to the two Elders in the seats of honor. Indeed, even they couldn’t answer this question.

Perhaps only the upper echelons of the Golden Thread Pavilion knew the reason.

"Silence!"

The discussions in the hall had grown too noisy. One of the Elders frowned and barked out the command.

The moment he spoke, everyone present fell deathly silent. You could have heard a pin drop.

To be an Elder of the Golden Thread Pavilion, one’s Cultivation Level had to be at the absolute peak of the Zombie God realm. Although he hadn’t intentionally suppressed them with his power, the sheer force of his voice was enough to silence everyone in the room.

The Elder who had spoken swept his gaze over the crowd, a cold sneer forming on his face.

"Even if you hadn’t asked, my Golden Thread Pavilion was going to make this public eventually."

"The Demon Fiend calamity outbreak concerns the grand strategy of my Golden Thread Pavilion, so naturally, it is also deeply relevant to all of you."

"But since you’ve asked, what’s the harm in this old man revealing it a little early?"

"The Demon Fiend calamities are breaking out, in truth, to search for the soon-to-open Immortal Origin Land!"

"The Immortal Origin Land?"

Everyone present immediately looked at each other in confusion.