"The Dragon Demon Holy Armor, the Divine Soul Crystal, the Ancient Soul-Snatching Art…"
Ling Xiao nodded in satisfaction. These were truly fitting for his identity as a villain. The forbidden technique in particular—just its name sounded utterly evil.
The so-called "Soul-Snatching" naturally referred to seizing others' souls to aid one's own cultivation, or controlling others' minds. Though it was still inferior to his Forbidden Demonic Body, it was undoubtedly an extremely terrifying technique.
Ling Xiao put on the holy armor, and immediately, a dragon's roar echoed in his ears. The originally ferocious and terrifying demonic armor vanished directly into his skin. Ling Xiao nodded in approval, then began to fuse the Divine Soul Crystal.
The soul pressure of the Immortal Ascension Realm was something most people could hardly bear. Just earlier, Ling Xiao had merely released a wisp of his Soul Sea Realm aura and instantly overwhelmed Chu Yang, the Chosen One. Once his soul realm matched that of an Immortal Ascension powerhouse, facing Chu Yang again would likely require no more than a single glance to crush him completely.
"Hum."
Inside the inner hall of Xuanjian Sect, violent winds suddenly kicked up. Dazzling bolts of thunder cascaded down from the sky, like a purgatory. A majestic, ocean-like aura swept out, instantly enveloping the entire Xuanjian Sect.
When the disciples of Xuanjian Sect felt the commotion from the inner hall, the entire sect was plunged into panic. Even Sect Master Ye Liuyun stared in astonishment at the thunderbolts as thick as bowls. When he confirmed that only the inner hall where Young Master Ling Xiao resided was shrouded, Ye Liuyun swallowed hard.
"Truly worthy of a young noble from the Holy State—this aura of breakthrough is terrifying!"
The thunderstorm lasted for more than a dozen breaths before gradually dissipating. Ling Xiao slowly opened his eyes. The void before him shattered directly, as if unable to withstand his gaze.
"This is the power of strength."
Ling Xiao exhaled softly and stretched his muscles. No wonder people were so obsessed with pursuing power—this feeling was truly intoxicating. He could sense that with just a single thought, the spiritual energy in this world became instantly visible to him! Even the life fluctuations of the entire Xuanjian Sect could not escape his soul perception.
Ling Xiao was quite familiar with soul power. In the past, all those great powerhouses who reincarnated had relied on their soul power. Legend had it that in ancient times, there were powerhouses who specialized in soul cultivation—with a single thought, they could manifest thousands of avatars. Although Immortal Ascension powerhouses could not manifest soul avatars, they could cultivate their primordial spirits to traverse the heavens and earth.
However, soul techniques had long been lost in the present era. Occasionally, when soul techniques appeared in ancient ruins, they would inevitably trigger a scramble among countless forces. But none of this was a problem for Ling Xiao. The System Mall had everything he needed! He just needed to accumulate enough Villain Value to obtain whatever he desired.
"Secret Canon of the Soul Emperor: 100,000 Villain Value."
"Ancient Sage Bloodline: 100,000 Villain Value."
"World Seed: 999,999 Villain Value."
…
Ling Xiao carefully browsed through the items in the System Mall. He found that it contained not only ancient techniques and medicinal pills, but also unimaginable treasures like World Seeds and Sage Bloodlines. However, the more precious the treasure, the more Villain Value it required. The 2,400 Villain Value he currently had could only be exchanged for some Earthly-grade martial arts and ordinary Spiritual Artifacts.
(Martial arts grades: Creation, Sacred, Heavenly, Earthly, Mortal.)
(Treasure grades: Heaven-Piercing Treasures, Dao Artifacts, Divine Artifacts, Spiritual Artifacts, Precious Artifacts.)
The Wandao Demonic Manual he practiced was already a top-tier Sacred-grade martial art in the Holy State, so Earthly-grade martial arts held little appeal for him.
"System, add points to the Wandao Demonic Manual."
After weighing his options for a moment, Ling Xiao finally used his 2,400 Villain Value on cultivating his technique. Although his True Demonic Body was ten thousand times stronger than a Sacred-grade technique…
As the Demonic Body's realm increased, Ling Xiao would also be eroded by demonic thoughts. If he could not control those demonic thoughts, no matter how strong his cultivation was, he would eventually become an unconscious killing machine. This was the reason he had joined the Wandao Demonic Sect. Originally, the Ling family had wanted to rely on this top demonic sect in the Holy State to find a way to control Ling Xiao's demonic thoughts—but in the end, they had failed.
The True Demonic Body underwent nine transformations to become a demon. Once the demon appeared, even immortals could do nothing to stop it. Currently, Ling Xiao's Demonic Body was only at the first transformation stage, and he could still suppress it with his cultivation. Additionally, as the young master of the demonic sect, this secret was naturally concealed. But once his Demonic Body became stronger than his current realm, the demonic thoughts in his body would inevitably spiral out of control. By then, not only the Four Wastelands, but the entire Five Domains would have no place for him.
"Hum!!"
The night sky, which had just calmed down, was once again illuminated by dazzling bolts of thunder. Countless Xuanjian Sect disciples stared at the calamity thunder falling like rain above their heads—their eyes filled with shock and fear.
Fuck! Did Young Master Ling Xiao break through again? This is so brutal!!
Moreover… with this intensity and quantity of calamity thunder, what realm was Young Master Ling Xiao breaking through to?
Ye Liuyun was already somewhat numb by this point. From the moment he first met Ling Xiao, he had been thoroughly shocked. So while he was surprised by these miracles, he was not caught off guard.
"This aura… it seems I still underestimated Young Master Ling Xiao. Qingchan, the future of our Xuanjian Sect depends on you."
…
Inside the inner hall, Ling Xiao clenched his fists and carefully felt the changes in his body. Compared to the improvement in his soul realm, the breakthrough in his spiritual energy realm was undoubtedly more direct. At this moment, his physical body, soul, bloodline, and bones had all undergone tremendous improvements. He was now at the peak of the Soul Sea Realm, and only one step away from the Xuanqing Realm.
This cultivation speed was undoubtedly terrifying—even in the Holy State, let alone the Four Wastelands.
"Breaking through the Wandao Demonic Manual to the sixth layer actually consumed 2,400 Villain Value."
However, the smile on Ling Xiao's face soon faded. This feeling of becoming stronger was indeed refreshing—like using Seven Degrees Space (a sanitary pad brand)—no leaks, no dead angles. But the cost was really high!
2,400 Villain Value—he had just gone to great lengths to "farm" this from a Chosen One during the day, and now it was all spent in one go.
If the elders of the Wandao Demonic Sect knew what Ling Xiao was thinking at this moment, they would probably beat him from the top of the mountain to the bottom. Oh, the Illusory Demon Holy Mountain, where the Wandao Demonic Sect was located, stood a staggering 78,931 zhang tall.
The Wandao Demonic Manual was a Sacred Canon after all; cultivating it to the tenth layer allowed one to shatter the void and become a true immortal. Yet Ling Xiao had broken through from the fifth layer to the sixth in just ten seconds—and he was still not satisfied?
"Oh well, this just proves how terrifying this demonic manual is."
Ling Xiao smiled indifferently. He would have plenty of Villain Value in the future. Barring any accidents, tomorrow morning, Chu Yang, the Chosen One, would send him some more. The only question was: was the treasure he was looking for really on this Chosen One?
The next day, as soon as dawn broke, the sky above Xuanjian Sect was actually covered in dark clouds again, damn it! There seemed to be thunder gathering within them—and the direction… was still the inner hall where Young Master Ling Xiao resided!!