Chapter 174: Gathering Power

“Too terrifying...”

“The Darkstar Army of the Void Empire—once they lock a target in place with their array formations, they can even kill a Heavenly God Realm cultivator. And now they’ve been completely slaughtered!”

“What’s his current state? Has his aura weakened at all?”

“No. It seems to have... grown stronger.”

“What?!”

“We can’t give him time to recover his true essence! He must be bluffing. No one’s true essence is infinite. Keep surrounding him—kill him!”

Another wave of cultivators arrived.

Mountains and plains, sky and ground—completely overrun.

Lu Ye charged forward with his sword. At this moment, a technique he had always considered a chicken rib began to display its true power.

This technique—Origin-Devouring True Scripture!

Countless weapons were reduced to dust—their origins devoured, converted into true essence.

Then came the technique Demonic Infant Refinement Canon—crushing nascent souls in droves.

Then Blood and Flesh Return to Origin—turning the mist of blood in the air into streams that poured into Lu Ye.

And the divine art Sea of Demonic Malice!

The great Dao of Slaughter!

The great Dao of Invincibility!

Death became the main theme of Second Heaven.

Battle reports flew like snowflakes, scattering across all corners of the realm.

“Battle of Sky-Touching Plateau—three Heavenly God Realm cultivators fell, forty-seven Earth Immortals, two hundred and nineteen True Lords...”

“Swordbearer Pavilion activated their supreme Nine-Heaven Sword Array to surround the demon Lu Ye. Swords shattered, men perished—heavy losses!”

“Battle on the Blackwood River—Shenhwang Sect set up a Heaven-Suppressing Grand Array. The array was broken, blood dyed the entire river red.”

“This demon... he’s a true demon. He also wields a Ten-Thousand Soul Banner! Great Saints of the Nine Heavens, the devil cultivator scourge you purged has returned!”

“Exterminate the demon! Exterminate the demon! Exterminate the demon!”

This was how the world worked.

They were the ones who came to kill you—but because your counterattack was too fierce, you became the “demon.”

Public opinion was like molten gold—what people said became truth.

Even if you weren’t a devil, you’d be made into one.

Fortunately, in this life, he wasn’t cultivating the Dao of Protection. If he were, Lu Ye might have felt conflicted.

But in this cannibalistic cultivation world? The Dao of Protection was a trap.

This was better.

The Dao of Seeking.

These people were simply obstacles on his path to Dao. Crushing them underfoot gave Lu Ye no psychological burden whatsoever.

The further he went, the stronger the enemies.

The weak fools who didn't know fear had finally been slain into silence. They no longer dared step forward.

No matter how many riches the Jiang Clan and Eternal Teachings Sect promised—it wasn’t worth it if you died.

At first, many had hoped to exhaust Lu Ye’s energy and maybe grab the final kill.

Wasn’t cultivation all about seizing opportunities?

In the end—those hoping to “seize the head”—became the heads.

Some began tallying the number of cultivators Lu Ye had killed so far.

Unnoticed, the number had already reached six digits.

Another army approached.

This time, it was the Void Empire’s strongest force. They deployed a Spirit-Draining Grand Array, turning the region into a vacuum—no spiritual energy anywhere.

Without spiritual energy, how could he recover?

Lu Ye arrived. His robes were clean and tidy. The specks of blood merely dotted his outfit like plum blossoms—refreshing, even.

If not for the blood-red glow in his eyes, the overwhelming aura pouring from his body, and the Human Sovereign Banner at his back spewing black smoke as countless souls screamed within it—

He might have looked like a refined noble on a scenic tour.

Lu Ye sensed the absence of spiritual energy around him.

He also heard the mocking sneers of the enemy.

The exact words didn’t matter. There was no point debating with corpses...

Well—Lu Ye did argue with corpses.

He stepped forward.

Who told you I needed spiritual energy to recover?

With you all here—why would I need even a sliver of natural Qi?

Kill.

His path: 83,000 kilometers in total.

Lu Ye had already covered 20,000 kilometers. ❀ Nоvеlігht ❀ (Don’t copy, read here) His pace was fast.

But no sooner did he pause than another swarm of cultivators descended like leeches.

Most of them were aged, hunched elders.

They were at the end of their cultivation. At the end of their lives. They hoped to reverse fate through the Jiang Clan and Eternal Teachings Sect’s rewards.

Yet even these worldly, battle-hardened old men felt their scalps crawl as they looked upon the carnage below. A cold terror sank into their souls.

It had been a long time since a devil had appeared in the Nine Heavens.

Most had only ever seen wars between cultivators—bloody, yes, but fought by individuals in chaotic struggle.

But not like this.

This was one man enacting the slaughter.

One sword—heads rolled.

One fist—blood clouds billowed.

Inside the Human Sovereign Banner, countless souls hunted other souls.

Black mist mixed with blood mist—limbs and flesh fragments rained down.

At last, even with the power of the grand formation, the soldiers—each at least at the Tribulation Realm—felt fear.

The fear of death gripped their throats like a giant hand.

They broke.

After losing two-thirds of their number, they fled.

“Now it’s our turn!”

One after another, Heavenly God Realm auras erupted. The stench of decay was replaced by roaring blood Qi. These elders burned the final fuel of their lives to return to their peak state.

This battle—

Either Lu Ye died.

Or they did.

Lu Ye said nothing. He finally felt a bit of pressure.

As a first-layer Earth Immortal, facing so many top-tier Heavenly Gods—including peak-level ones—this was indeed formidable.

And Lu Ye—

respected that.

Silken Sky Nine Transformations!

In an instant, a dreadful aura pierced the heavens. His killing intent bloomed like a lotus.

Earth Immortal, Ninth Layer!

BOOM!

His speed exploded—too fast to follow.

Only beams of light streaked past, followed by falling corpses crashing into the ground—leaving behind craters.

Most couldn’t even leave behind full corpses.

Another group, annihilated.

Lu Ye kept moving forward.

His momentum built like floodwater behind a dam.

The water level kept rising.

Until—

It would explode and wash away everything.

The news spread—and the world shook again.

Another group of elite cultivators was dead.

Some of them had once dominated Second Heaven. Now, in their twilight years, they’d been beaten to death in public.

More and more people came to their senses.

They etched Lu Ye’s name into their hearts.

Do not provoke. Too terrifying.

“Breaking news—Tuoba Yu has gone to kill Lu Ye with the divine weapon Sky-Suppressing Spear!”

“Finally! A real powerhouse is making a move. It’s a pity we can’t witness it with our own eyes.”

“Rank 14 on the Heavenly God Rankings—Tuoba Yu, successor of a legendary Spear Emperor. Though he’s a rogue cultivator, he still became the fourteenth strongest in the world. Absolutely dazzling!”

“Latest from the Pavilion of Heavenly Secrets—they’re activating the Mirror of Fate to project Lu Ye’s path. Anyone can view it at the Heavenly Secrets Platform for just one hundred top-grade spirit stones!”

“One hundred top-grade spirit stones?! That’s steep!”

“If you won’t go, I will! Watching two top-tier Heavenly Gods fight—it’s a once-in-a-lifetime chance. I'd pay a thousand! Ten thousand!”

“...I think you’re a plant. But I have no proof.”