The Demon Ancestor Zhou Xian stood atop the ridge, his black robes whispering with each wind that passed. The crown fused from the altar bones pulsed with sin-light, fusing deeper into his skull. He could now feel every thread of corruption that ran through the land.
[System Prompt – Expansion Path: Soul Refinement Pavilion Available]
Unlocks advanced servant cultivation, blood soul harvesting, and forbidden scripture crafting.
Construction Cost: 3 Blood Architects | 10,000 Sin Qi | 50 Soul Remnants | 1 Elder-Class Soul Core
You possess all resources. Begin construction?
"Begin," Zhou Xian whispered.
His descendants obeyed.
Zhou Ji, the Sin Collector, led the ritual masons. Cloaked in silence, he etched blood runes into the skulls of criminals still screaming. Each corner of the building was sealed with damned bones—gathered from a ruined monastery Zhou Heiyan had turned into a breeding swamp.
Zhou Fen personally carved the entrance gate: a sculpture of a screaming cultivator whose spirit was still trapped within. As children passed beneath it, their fear added to the building's energy.
Zhou Ying harvested live souls from her venom garden, placing them in jars as both power source and grim décor.
Three days later, the Soul Refinement Pavilion opened its blackened doors.
It breathed. It hungered.
[Soul Refinement Pavilion Constructed Successfully]
– Passive Income: 4 Soul Points/hour
– Can convert low-level servants into Sin-Bound Disciples
– Allows creation of Forbidden Scriptures (1/week)
– Expansion Slots: 2 remaining
Ji Yuan knelt before the altar, still in the clothes he had died in—a ragged black uniform from his failed sect, limbs bruised, spirit flickering.
"Ancestor," he said, his voice steady despite the horror around him. "I offer my soul, willingly. Not for redemption—but for revenge."
Zhou Xian's fingers pressed against Ji Yuan's forehead.
[Summon: First Blood Servant Ritual Initiated]
Rewriting soul structure… Binding to core bloodline…
Upgrading servant class…
[Success — Ji Yuan has become a Blood Servant: First Claw]
– Title: Sinbrand Commander
– Loyalty: 100% (Core-bound)
– Traits: Soul Stealer, Shadow Movement, Cruel Loyalty
– Growth Path: Demonic General (Locked)
When Ji Yuan rose again, his eyes were pitch black. Bone thorns coiled from his back. His blade was forged from his own rebirth pain.
He bowed deeply.
"I await your enemies, my lord."
Zhou Xian smiled faintly. "Good. Because I'm about to give you plenty."
Ru returned that night, her robes soaked in blood and perfume.
"The sect heir sleeps like a pig," she purred. "I've fed him just enough lust qi to rot his spiritual meridians. One more night and he'll hand me the sect's treasury seal."
"Too slow," Zhou Fen muttered.
"We strike now," Zhou Xian declared. "Let him wake up in flames."
Ji Yuan would lead the first raid under the Zhou banner. He gathered six outer servants, armed with shadow blades, bone-spike talismans, and venom-laced arrays drawn by Ying's youngest disciples.
Zhou Ru handed him a map of the Cloudshine Sect's outer vault and cultivation nursery.
"Take their legacy roots," Zhou Xian commanded. "And if you can… bring me the sect heir's heart. Still beating.
Cloudshine Sect had long been considered a place of peace, known for its spirit blossoms and healing art.
That ended in one hour.
Ji Yuan's team moved like phantoms. A fog of red mist rolled over the walls. Silencing talismans locked the elders in their chambers. Poisoned rain began to fall from the sky.
The outer disciples awoke screaming, only to find bone worms crawling into their ears.
When Ji Yuan reached the treasury gate, he carved a curse upon the door that made the very lock open from fear.
He did not take all the treasures.
He took what mattered most: the sect's Foundation Lotus, a sacred relic meant to empower future generations.
And he left behind something worse:
A blood array bound with a dead child's eyes, programmed to whisper the Zhou name every night for 100 years.
[System Update: Cultivation World Acknowledgment Triggered]
The Cloudshine Sect has reported their vault massacre to the Southern Elders Alliance.
Rumors spread: A forgotten demonic clan has returned.
Infamy Increased: 8% → 19%
You are now known in: Southern Reaches, Black Pine Territories, and Eastern Wastes.
Zhou Xian stood outside the Soul Pavilion, holding the Foundation Lotus in his hands.
The ashes of the Cloudshine Sect hadn't even cooled before the world began to stir.
The Southern Elders Alliance met in secret. Five ancient cultivators, long withdrawn from mortal strife, burned incense to the heavens and swore vengeance against the "Shadow Cult born from bone and blood."
A name began to echo through the dark halls of righteous sects—Zhou.
And with that whisper… came the bounty.
[World Alert – Bounty Placed]
Target: Zhou Xian, self-proclaimed Demon Ancestor
Reward: 1 Heaven-grade Artifact | Entry into the Immortal Tournament | 10,000 Spirit Crystals
Status: Active
Conditions: Bring his head and prove his death through spiritual brand collapse
Warning: Engage at your own peril
Meanwhile, in Bloodroot Hollow ♦
Zhou Xian sat in meditation atop the Skull Throne—a chair forged from his victims' spine bones and bound by soul chains. The moment the bounty triggered, he smiled.
"Let them come," he said, eyes still closed.
Zhou Ji stepped forward. "Shall I deploy the Outer Traps?"
"No," Xian replied. "I want them inside. I want them to see what righteousness looks like… when it's fed to crows.
Zhou Ying, with her tiny demon-butterfly disciples, laced the forest paths with her new creation: Sighing Mist, a toxin that melted the spirit from the flesh, leaving cultivators alive, but brainless.
Ru prepared the Maiden's Path — a winding trail of illusions that led enemies into a field of beautiful women… all corpses puppeted with soul-threads. Anyone who tried to embrace them would never leave.
Chen Bai, the young grandson raised on screams, dug grave pits laced with anti-flight talismans and mirror arrays. One reflected a person's worst fear. The other amplified it until it became reality.
And at the center of it all, Zhou Xian placed his favorite welcome gift:
A statue of himself, arms outstretched.
When touched, it triggered a Blood Rain that soaked attackers in their own future deaths.
They arrived at night—six bounty seekers.
Not sect elders, but rising stars. Prideful. Ambitious. Naive.
The leader, a golden-robed sword cultivator named Lu Tian, was known for decapitating demonic beasts with a single blow. His four sworn brothers and one sister believed this would be their breakthrough.
"We kill the Demon Ancestor," he had said. "And we write our names into the Heaven Scroll."
They entered Bloodroot Hollow laughing.
Only one scream was ever heard.
It belonged to the sister. Her voice rose, rose, rose—until the fog swallowed it.
When Ji Yuan returned their heads, all six, he dropped them before the Soul Pavilion steps and said coldly:
"They tried to enter through the Maiden's Path. She fed on them well."
[System Update – Defense Success: Intrusion Repelled]
Intruder Power Level: Foundation Stage – Mid-Tier
Casualties: 0 (Zhou Clan)
Soul Harvested: 6
Fear Resonance Spread: +6%
The cultivation world hesitates.
Reputation: Infamy 19% → 27%
New Title Unlocked: "The Clan That Answers with Silence"
By the flickering lanterns of the Soul Pavilion, the Zhou family gathered. Xian sat on the throne while the others stood in shadows. Not because of fear—because they preferred it.
Zhou Fen spoke first, expression sharp. "They'll send stronger ones next."
"They always do," Ji Yuan said flatly, sharpening his blood-coated blade.
Ru leaned lazily against the doorframe, twirling a lock of her violet hair. "I say we let them come. Each death brings us more offerings."
Zhou Xian raised a finger. The room stilled.
"No," he said. "Now we hunt."
The word fell like a guillotine.
From a scroll carved in human skin, Xian summoned the Bone Raven—an ancient scouting beast of the demonic era. It flapped into the night sky, its eyes seeking a target.
[Target Acquired: Azure Valley Sect – Alliance Supporters of Cloudshine Survivors]
Small-to-medium sect. Mid-level Foundation leader. Known for their spiritual orchard and sun crystal mines.
Reward if plundered:
– 800 Spirit Fruits
– 3 Advanced Cultivation Techniques
– 20 outer disciples for soul binding
Threat Level: Low to Medium.
Zhou Xian handed the scroll to Ji Yuan.
"Burn them," he said. "And leave behind a child… to tell them who did it."
Ji Yuan bowed. "As you command.
Zhou Ying laced the water wells with her mind rot venom.
Zhou Ru sang a seductive dirge that caused half the disciples to walk into fire, begging for her name.
Ji Yuan executed the sect leader with one clean slice through his spirit core, binding the soul to his blade for later use.
By morning, the valley had no name.
Only the child was left, covered in ash, whispering, "Zhou… Zhou… Zhou…"
[Azure Valley Sect Destroyed – Complete]
Reputation: Infamy 27% → 39%
You are now considered a Tier 2 Threat.
New Passive Unlocked: Territory Fear Aura
– Enemies below your average power level suffer 10% spiritual resistance penalty in your domain
New World Trigger: Immortal Clans Have Taken Notice
Zhou Xian returned to the altar, gazing toward the heavens.
"Let the Immortals come," he said.
"But when they descend, let them find only graves."