Chapter 1: Reborn As a Demon Path Giant, Chased by a Qi Refinement Newbie
Daqian, Star State.
Inside Changjun City.
Seven figures flashed through the crowd like streaks of light.
It was clear to see that the seven belonged to two camps, six chasing one fleeing.
"Rumors outside claim that the Ancient Demon had been acting strangely recently, possibly a deviation during cultivation. Now it seems true indeed—a whole body Refining God Cultivation, not performing as well as Hugging Pill. Every move he makes worsens his injuries! Today, it's time for us, the Zhengyi sixth son, to punish the evil, promote virtue, eliminate demons, and protect the righteous path!"
Among the six pursuing, one shouted a reminder, "He wants to use the crowdedness of Changjun City to escape. We cannot let him succeed. Remember, the one wearing the red robe is the Ancient Demon!"
This shout caused the figure in front to shudder, and taking advantage of a corner, he swiftly tore off his robe and discarded it.
Yet even so, one of the pursuers quickly reidentified him, "Over there, over there, the one with long hair tied with a hair band is the Ancient Demon!"
The fleeing figure trembled once more.
Taking advantage of the marketplace ahead, he dived into the crowd, quickly discarded the hair band, and used a sword to cut his long hair, looking utterly distressed.
In his flight, he fumed, "This isn't fair, they are trying to kill me, and I am only killing in self-defense! Does this stack Karma BUFF on me? They are allowed to kill me, but I cannot kill them!?"
His complaints were not aimed at a particular person.
But at a Qing Lian in his spiritual world.
...
Due to the emergence of a world akin to the Immortal World on Blue Star, games and movies related to Xianxia had become extremely popular, and countless related figurines were produced.
Gu Jinlai came across a Qing Lian figurine at an abandoned construction site.
He thought it was beautiful and took it home for a thorough cleaning.
During the cleaning, he accidentally cut his finger on the lotus leaf...
The next moment, a brilliance of dazzling Chaos filled his vision like never before.
When he woke up, he had become this Elder from the Demon Sect, sharing the same name as him.
In his spiritual world, a Qing Lian bloomed, and his consciousness sat atop it.
When he slaughtered those filled with evil, known as the ones of bright Red Karma, he would gain Qingguang, which would nourish the Qing Lian, aiding his Sudden Enlightenment and increasing his cultivation.
If he struck at righteous sect followers, he would attract Karma, bringing about various vengeance and dangers.
As mentioned before, he had crossed into an Elder of the Demon Sect.
That Elder had been utterly destroyed by deviation, and it seemed even death was not enough; he left behind a nine-layer Karma BUFF!
Bright Red name.
Shivering, he immediately renounced evil for good.
This was actually "Gu Jinlai," who was originally transferred to Changjun City to avoid a rival from the same sect. Suddenly wanting to turn over a new leaf, he immediately attracted various probes from his rival.
Within a short month, countless provocations and attacks occurred.
He endured them, allowed them.
But this endurance seemingly confirmed the enemies' speculations.
Thus, rumors started, and it culminated in Zhengyi Dao disciples ambushing him.
He wanted to explain, but the Zhengyi Dao disciples immediately attacked ruthlessly. In a dangerous escape, he was provoked into rage and killed one in return...
The Karma BUFF instantly stacked to ten layers!
The consequence was that no matter how much he hid, he would always be "accidentally" discovered by Zhengyi Dao disciples, pursued relentlessly.
...
"Ancient Demon, you cannot escape!"
Outside Lingxiao City.
Gu Jinlai was ultimately cornered by the Zhengyi sixth son.
The six disciples from the Immortal Sect, dressed in white and looking heroic and dashing, with sharp swords in hand, surrounded him completely.
What a scene of slashing demons and eliminating evil.
Gu Jinlai took a deep breath, "I was kidnapped at the age of six, sold into the Purgatory Demon Sect. It took sixty years to achieve Refining God cultivation, now old and weary, feeling the sins were immense, I disbanded my Demon Skills..."
"Devil, what do you want to say!?"
The leading man among the Zhengyi sixth son stepped forward, sternly saying.
He was Ding Buqi, a True Disciple among the top ten of Zhengyi Dao, having reached Qi Refining Perfection with meridians fully opened, just one step away from Refining Qi into Gang, exhaling Qi as swords, killing within ten steps.
"Give me a chance."
Gu Jinlai said gravely.
"How to give you a chance?"
"Before, I had no choice. Now, I want to be a good person."
"Fine, go and tell our Sect Leader of Zhengyi Dao, see if he allows you to be good."
"That's asking me to die."
"Sorry, I am righte..."
"Ssst!"
Before Ding Buqi could finish, a Sword Qi burst forth like a blossoming Red Lotus, transforming into numerous Sword Qi, shooting in all directions.
Ding Buqi, though promptly shielding himself with True Qi, was still sliced by the Sword Qi, leaving several sword marks.
Those weaker around him, unable to dodge as quickly, were even pierced through by the Sword Qi.
And amidst the exploding Sword Qi, Gu Jinlai's figure soared, sweeping across the land like an arrow leaving the bow, shooting towards the distant mountains and forests.
"Despicable and shameless! To actually launch a sneak attack!"
"Junior Sister Li!"
"Quick, send a signal, notify other disciples to come and surround and kill this old devil, everyone shoulder to shoulder, dealing with such a huge demon from the Demon Path, there's no need for righteousness!"
...
In the mountains and forests, Gu Jinlai was still desperately fleeing.
His burst earlier had injured the Zhengyi sixth son, but as none of those six were of Bright Red Karma, he dared not kill a single one, leading the Zhengyi Dao disciples to believe he was at the end of his strength.
Those Zhengyi Dao Elders and cultivators, thinking themselves not much inferior to the Zhengyi sixth son, grouped together, joining in the pursuit, and to date, the number of Zhengyi Dao people in this mountain area had reached dozens or even hundreds.
If not for the fear of traps, that Sect Leader would have been tempted to come out and claim the reward himself.
It was pouring out of the nest without an exaggeration.
"Fortunately, no one died just now; otherwise, another layer of Karma, and I wouldn't have a moment to breathe!"
Gu Jinlai wiped the sweat from his forehead, seizing the moment to recover.
"The Zhengyi sixth son is fearless; these Qi Refining beginners dare to chase a Refining God giant!"
He had not received the memories of the Ancient Demon, but after crossing for more than a month, he had figured out the cultivation system.
First was tempering the body, going through the steps of Body Refining, refining the organs, blood exchange, and then stepping into the Qi Refining Realm.
After completing the three stages of Qi Refinement, Gang Condensation, and Hugging Pill, one can achieve the status of a Refining God Immortal.
Such figures, in top-tier sects, belong to the elder class and stand at the upper levels of the Cultivation World, known as giants.
"These so-called righteous people, what they do is no different from those on the Demon Path. But they don't carry as much Karma as I do, at most they are Yellow or Light Red in status!"
Gu Jinlai gasped, "Why aren't there any weak Great Demon coming after me, sending me a few Qingguang?"
But he also knew, how could someone weak become a Great Demon?
They were long eliminated by those righteous practitioners under the guise of carrying out heavenly justice.
"I can't rest yet, the Karma BUFF hasn't disappeared yet. Next, those enemies named 'Gu Jinlai' as well as those coming for the bounty will catch up. If I were powerful enough, I could turn them into ash, but now... one slip and I might die before achieving anything."
Gu Jinlai forcefully urged his exhausted body to continue running deeper into the forest.
He hadn't inherited the memory of the Ancient Demon, and all his techniques were learned through overtime work in that one month of crossing. When he released the Hugging Pill level renowned Red Lotus Sword Qi, he didn't manage to kill any of the Zhengyi Sixth Sons.
Although he didn't dare to kill, partially, his half-baked skills were also to blame.
With such skills, once caught by a Hugging Pill Elder of Zhengyi Dao, there would be no chance of escape.
…
One day, three days, six days...
Gu Jinlai had been fleeing in the woods for ten days.
He was hardly eating enough, hardly clothed.
And he had to bear an immense mental strain, unsure if he could see the sun the next day.
Mental stress aside, when he encountered his pursuers, he couldn't retaliate.
Otherwise, his Karma BUFF would stack higher, and those pursuing him would become more numerous and stronger.
Frustrating.
"I can barely hold on anymore. Three days ago, the pursuers who 'accidentally' ran into me were a few Qi Refinement mixed with one or two Gang Condensation. Yesterday, I actually encountered the Star State Four Fierce; that's four Gang Condensations. Next step, it's Hugging Pill!?"
Hugging Pill!
Gu Jinlai's body shivered.
After ten days of fleeing, barely surviving several times, the Red Lotus Sword Qi, the Hugging Pill level swordsmanship he barely started learning was just at the entry-level, and the rest...
Movement technique? No!
Secret techniques? No!
Magic? No!
Killing moves? None!
Combat experience? Virtually zero!
Under these circumstances, forget about the Hugging Pill, he might not even be able to defeat the previous four Gang Condensations of Star State Four Fierce who had more Karma than him.
Those he could kill, he couldn't defeat. Those he could defeat, he couldn't kill.
The epitome of tragedy!
"Even the Blood Exchange Martial Artists are coming after me! Has an imposing Refining God Giant like me lost all his dignity? Aren't you afraid that I'd cunningly play weak?"
Gu Jinlai held his breath.
But looking at his tragic self, clothes torn, body exposed to the winds...
He really lost all his dignity.
This crossing might as well have let him return to Blue Star.
It's better not to stay in this black-society cultivation world.
At this moment, he keenly heard something.
Someone!?
He startled and scrambled up to flee.
But then he listened clearly.
It was two groups of people fighting, not coming for him.
It was a case of seeing a bow and thinking it a snake.
"Seems like one group belongs to the Demon Path?"
Gu Jinlai took a deep breath, "I must kill those with Red to get Qingguang, to wash off this Karma BUFF on me!"
Musing this, he approached them.
…
At this time, on a small path below the woods, a group of about fifteen people was guarding three carriages.
Outside them, were four figures.
Despite being only four, they seemed to surround the fifteen people team, preventing them from breaking out.
The highest in cultivation among those in the carriage was an old man, who was now fighting desperately, his True Qi bursting forth.
His opponent was a middle-aged man in a blood robe, his face sinister. His cultivation had reached Qi Refining Perfection; had he not been wary of the old man fighting to death, he would have slain the elder by now.
"Blood Demon Ancestor! In one mere month, you slaughtered three villages for your Blood Demon Technique! And you dare appear outside Lingxiao City!?"
The elder attacked relentlessly, not defending.
"Haha, so what if I did? Today, it's not just you who will die; your Li Family with two hundred and sixty-three members has been promised to me by the patriarch, to refine your blood, my Divine Power will reach great Completion, Gang Condensation, with this world at my feet!"
The man fighting the elder laughed wildly, his voice having a chaotic influence, making the several guards panic-stricken.
"You... you are indeed someone hired by the Three Great Families!"
On the carriage, a young man in simple clothes, around twenty years old, scolded, "Wang Family, Zhao Family, Fang Family in collusion with Red Blood Demon Sect, using Lingxiao City as a hub, taking advantage of the chaos caused by devils to kidnap civilians for those devils to cultivate their Demon Skill, causing countless families to be torn apart, my father realized this and was framed... You will receive your karma!"
"Karma? The whimpering of a defeated dog; those three villages said the same back then. And the result? This patriarch is still alive and well, my cultivation is rising, and those three villages, over two thousand people, have been cleansed by me!"
The Blood Demon Ancestor laughed wildly, his powerful sonic wave causing the elder's Qi to falter.
"You Demon!"
The young man's eyes burned with rage.
"Hahaha! Scream, curse, I love seeing how you hate me to the bone yet can do nothing about it!"
"Hahaha!"
Just then, a laugh that seemed suppressed for a long time suddenly burst forth from the nearby woods.
The laughter was thunderous, filled with excitement, joy, madness, and...
The joy of a narrow escape!
"Hahaha, what have I found?! A big Red Name! The sin on him is even greater than mine! Good! Good! This is just perfect!"
"Who is this!?"
Blood Demon Ancestor's face changed.
In the next instant, a figure, like a streak of light, shot forth swiftly, and before anyone could react, a blood-red sword light, carrying a menacing edge, enveloped the Blood Demon Ancestor in its sweep.
"Die!"