Chapter 77 - 77: Massacre of the City_1
Leizhou, Dingji Manor.
Yun City, with a population of more than two million, is the heart of Yun County. The stronger families and sects within Yun County mostly congregate here.
When I say stronger, I mean the highest cultivation is only at the Innate Realm, which is not much different from Lingjun City before Han Li’s breakthrough into the Pihai Realm.
Yun City is quite prosperous, its specialty, Cloud Brocade, is famous, and it is one of the few cities in Leizhou capable of producing it, attracting many businessmen.
About a thousand feet above Yun City, a figure stood tall. Dressed in black, he stood there boldly, yet no one noticed him.
Looking down at the bustling Yun City, the man licked his lips and a sinister smile appeared on his face.
“The seventh one.”
As the voice fell, the man in black had already disappeared.
Half an hour later, Yun City was completely transformed, reduced to ruins, and the entire city’s population had vanished, as if it had become a city of specters.
At the same location, the figure in black reappeared, now holding an umbrella in his hand. The surface of the umbrella was as black as ink, emanating an intense aura of hatred.
This black umbrella seemed to have just experienced some great horror, with countless faces appearing on its surface – faces filled with fear, hatred, venom, terror, and anger; they were the true expressions of these myriad faces. “Mere ants, what use is their struggle and hatred?”
The man in black sneered and blew a breath onto the umbrella, instantly suppressing the countless faces that had emerged, and the surface of the umbrella once again became pitch black as ink.
After a final glance at the ruins of Yun City below, the figure in black vanished, aware that he couldn’t stay long, or else he would be met with a terrifying pursuit.
In order to forge this black umbrella, he had gone to great lengths and been pursued several times.
Just two more massacres of county cities, and the Soul Extinguishing Umbrella could be elevated to an Earth-Level Supreme Magical Artifact. Even among the Myriad Phenomena Realm, it would be a top-notch weapon, enough to significantly increase his strength.
Then, he could use the Soul Extinguishing Umbrella to compete for the treasures in those ancient relics, as those treasures could increase the chance of breakthrough into the Hollow Void Stage.
Many in the Yinyang Sect knew this news. When the ancient relics appeared, there was bound to be a bloody struggle, and he dared not compete for it until he was fully prepared, as he could easily be sneak-attacked and killed.
Less than two minutes after the man in black left, a powerful aura suddenly descended upon the ruins of Yun City.
“Damn it!”
Looking at the desolate and empty Yun City, Commander Ji’s face turned livid.
He was a Grandmaster in the Void Realm, a famous leader of the Jingye Office in Leizhou, but at this moment, he found himself in a disheveled state.
The more he thought about that devil escaping again, the more furious Commander Ji became, and he also felt a sense of urgency. If he couldn’t catch that devil soon. he wouldn’t he able to answer to his superiors-
Including the over two million inhabitants of Yun City, this devil had now slaughtered his way through seven cities, massacring over sixteen million people—his crimes were heinous beyond measure.
Ever since the devil began his massacres, Commander Ji had been assigned the task of hunting him down, trapping him twice and leaving him gravely injured.
The devil had the cultivation of an eightfold God Refining Realm. With the black umbrella, he was no match for Ji, but he could fend off an attack or two and then escape using other means.
Every once in a while, after recovering from his injuries or waiting for things to quiet down, the devil would emerge to create chaos and look for opportunities to massacre cities.
When traces of the devil were found in Qingyun Manor, Commander Ji immediately gave chase, only to be fooled. The devil had quietly moved on to Dingji Manor to carry out a massacre.
By the time he arrived, it was too late. The devil had slaughtered Yun City, harvested millions of resentful souls, and fled.
After casting one last glance at the ruins of Yun City, Ji Rufeng’s figure disappeared. He decided to report the matter and request additional personnel from above. This devil cultivator was too slippery; it was very difficult for him to capture alone.
The Da Qian Empire wanted to temporarily conceal the news of the city-slaughter, but it was impossible to keep it hidden.
This was not just one city that had been slaughtered, but seven, with over 16 million people dead. The impact was too significant; it directly caused an uproar in Leizhou and even spread throughout the entire empire.
Han Li, who was living a heavenly life in Lingjun City, also received the news, and was instantly dumbfounded.
He had just settled down for a few years to develop and hadn’t stirred up any trouble; how did he still encounter this kind of problem?
In his opinion, as long as he didn’t roam and cause trouble everywhere, staying in the small place of Lingjun City posed no risk.
The chances of getting caught up in a fight between powerful beings, being targeted by a devil cultivator to slaughter a city for some goal, or suddenly encountering a supreme treasure in Fengyang Manor… were all extremely low.
With the rule of the Da Qian Empire still in place, normally devil cultivators wouldn’t dare to run to Leizhou and slaughter cities. The probabilities of great battles and the emergence of fateful opportunities were even lower.
But there was always someone brazen enough to cause trouble. Had this one cultivated until his mind was addled?
Han Li was somewhat speechless, but he could only prepare in advance for a response. He liked strategic planning rather than reacting on the fly.
According to the intelligence, this devil cultivator had previously been active in Qingyun Manor, pursued by Commander Ji of the Jingye Office, and had been quiet for a long time. But now, he had infiltrated Dingji Manor to slaughter the city, moving deeper into Leizhou.
To Han Li, it seemed as though this devil cultivator might have truly lost his mind, otherwise he wouldn’t make such clueless moves. Wouldn’t it have been better to spend more time in the Yinyang Sect and massacre villages?
The Yinyang Sect also had a large population, although not as populous as the Da Qian Empire, still amounting to about fifty to sixty percent of it. However, the distribution differed from that of the empire.
The territory of the Yinyang Sect mainly consisted of large cities and countless villages scattered throughout the sect.
The population of the large cities was extremely high, comparable to the province cities of Da Qian, and there were even slightly more in number. They were either backed by powerful forces or had Gurus in the Hollow Void Stage or experts from the Myriad Phenomena Realm stationed in them.
The Yinyang Sect, being a sect, was fundamentally different from empires like Da Qian. The rule of the Da Qian Empire could extend down to the county level, resulting in a relatively harmonious internal environment with high governance power.
In contrast, the Yinyang Sect’s territory was ten to a hundred times more brutal. Many devil cultivators, in order to cultivate powerful devil techniques or create powerful weapons, would slaughter cities from time to time, leaving a thousand miles of blood-soaked wilderness.
Only the citizens living in the large cities could avoid the risk of being slaughtered, but the cities had a limit to how many people they could accommodate. More citizens had to live in wilderness villages.
The Yinyang Sect contained countless villages, and the population of each village would never exceed ten thousand. Once surpassed, the excess would be driven out to establish new villages.
This practice was only to reduce the risk of village massacres. The more populous a village, the more likely it was to attract the attention of devil cultivators who could reap lives swiftly to achieve their goals.
To secure a source of disciples, the Yinyang Sect also enacted a ban, dividing territories according to the large cities and setting a limit on the number of villages. Once the number fell below a certain threshold, further slaughter was prohibited to allow for recovery and growth. Violators would be executed on the spot.
If they allowed unrestrained slaughter, the Yinyang Sect worried that all the people in their domain would be exterminated. What then would be the point of ruling over the territory?
With a devil cultivator capable of slaughtering seven cities still at large, Han Li considered him foolish and foolhardy but could not afford to be unprepared. After all, Dingji Manor bordered Fengyang Manor.
Han Li also couldn’t determine whether this devil cultivator would come to Fengyang Manor to carry out a massacre. Given the devil cultivator’s foolhardiness, it was very possible.
If that were to happen, Lingjun City, where he resided, might face a major crisis. Although Han Li was not afraid, he would have to take action if it came to that, which would undoubtedly expose his strength.
Once his strength was revealed, his identity would be impossible to conceal, and it would involve the Body-Cultivating Furnace, attracting the covetous gaze of major forces. Even Tianxuan Mountain wouldn’t be able to protect him..