Cultivation Rule #7:

[Ding!]

[Choice Task Completed. Reward has been transferred to system storage.]

Hearing the mechanical voice, Su Chen let out a long breath of relief, half his tension evaporating instantly. His back was soaked with sweat, but a faint smile curled on his lips.

At last… a sliver of hope.

With a calm and relaxed face—one that practically screamed "I accept death"—he turned to Old Jack and said,

"Alright, the life lesson is complete. You can kill me now."

Old Jack, who had been holding back his rage for the last five minutes, cracked a smile—an evil, twitchy one.

In his mind, a detailed torture menu had already formed.

Appetizer: Break his legs.

Main course: Flay some skin.

Dessert: Su Chen's screams and regret.

Just as he raised his blade to begin—

Meanwhile, behind a charred banyan tree...

"Master, should we run while that demonic cultivator is busy killing that little trash?" Lin Yu whispered nervously.

"No," came the soft, annoyingly cute voice of the Weapon Spirit. "Those who run first usually die first. It's Cultivation Rule #7."

"...So we just wait for death?" Lin Yu's expression turned tragic. He wanted revenge. He had dreams. But it seemed the only thing waiting for him was an early grave.

"Calm down. Every time a demonic cultivator activates a demonic formation, its Qi signal is sensed by nearby sects. It's their duty to respond," the spirit said, like it was reading straight from a manual.

"...Oh."

A tiny spark of hope returned to Lin Yu's eyes.

Back in the clearing, Old Jack raised his hand, demonic Qi swirling ominously, ready to blast Su Chen's head clean off.

Suddenly, Su Chen's expression changed.

His eyes widened.

He pointed at the sky and shouted,

"WHAT THE HELL?! A FLYING HORSE?!"

Old Jack froze mid-action.

A flying horse? That was at least a Core Formation-level spiritual beast! Even Nascent Soul experts would be tempted!

His head instinctively turned upward.

Even Lin Yu peeked out from behind the tree, curiosity briefly overpowering fear.

And in that instant—

A glowing talisman appeared in Su Chen's hand.

Without a second thought, he slapped it onto his chest.

"BYE!"

BOOOOM!

A blinding flash of light exploded around him. Spiritual energy surged.

Su Chen vanished.

Old Jack blinked.

Then his eyes narrowed.

He slashed forward—

SWOOSH!

A clean cut, dead center.

Right through a very confused squirrel.

Silence.

Even the wind seemed to pause.

Then, from far, far away, a voice echoed back with crystal clarity:

"SUUUUUUCK THE D*CK OF THAT HORSE, OLD JACK! MAYBE IT'S THE SIZE YOUR WIFE ALWAYS WANTED!"

The banyan leaves rustled gently.

Old Jack's face turned purple.

And then—

He exploded.

A terrifying blast of black demonic Qi erupted from his body.

BOOM!

The jungle shook violently.

Half the trees were instantly uprooted and launched into the sky like helpless weeds. Branches shattered, birds screeched, and the earth cracked open beneath him. It looked like a small apocalypse had been crammed into a single tantrum.

Even the massive log Lin Yu was hiding behind was obliterated. The poor kid was flung through the air like a sack of rice, tumbling across the ground. If it weren't for his Weapon Spirit's emergency protection formation, he'd be nothing but meat paste.

Old Jack stood amidst the wreckage, chest heaving, eyes bloodshot, fists clenched until his knuckles cracked.

He was livid.

"Seven years!" he roared internally. "I lived in that cursed village for seven years! And that brat was my next-door neighbor?! That little punk who used to steal chickens, climb trees naked, and pretend to be a wandering immortal?!"

He had always assumed Su Chen was just a mischievous mortal. Annoying, yes. Shameless, definitely. But ultimately harmless.

And now?

That same brat had just insulted him and escaped using a Void Travel Talisman—a legendary treasure so rare even Core Formation cultivators like him had only read about it in ancient records.

"It's like that old phrase—what was it again?" Old Jack muttered, staggering from spiritual fury.

"First I'll screw you for free... and then I'll charge you rent for it!"

He almost coughed up blood from rage. His demonic Qi surged again, shaking the mountain range.

But what infuriated him most was this:

If Su Chen had a Void Talisman… why didn't he use it earlier?!

Why stick around just to mess with him?!

"Was he… was he just here to insult me?!" Old Jack's lip twitched violently.

Then he made the mistake of remembering Su Chen's last words:

"Hey, Old Jack! Someone's hiding behind that big tree!"

His furious gaze slowly turned toward the pile of broken wood and scorched dirt… where Lin Yu, son of the village chief, lay coughing and twitching like a half-boiled frog.

That arrogant brat, always acting like some young master of heaven, was now covered in mud, leaves stuck in his hair, and half his face mashed into a dead squirrel.

Old Jack narrowed his eyes.

"...Looks like it's your turn, Young Master Lin."

Meanwhile, Su Chen—

He was drifting through an unfamiliar void, completely enveloped in a layer of purple energy. It wrapped around him like protective armor, shielding him from the immense pressure of space. Even a Nascent Soul cultivator would've been torn apart, yet Su Chen remained intact.

The energy didn't just protect—it guided. It carried him forward, navigating through the chaotic spatial currents, avoiding turbulence that could easily scatter his soul.

He could see the world around him blurring by at terrifying speeds, but his body refused to move. He was paralyzed—unable to shift even a finger. The sensation was dizzying. His senses were overwhelmed, his stomach churned violently, and he had the urge to vomit.

But he couldn't even do that.

Time lost meaning. Seconds stretched like hours. The longer it went on, the more unbearable it became.

Just as his consciousness began to fade—

Boom!

A brilliant flash erupted ahead. A spatial crack tore open in the void—formed by the talisman.

Without warning, Su Chen was hurled through it like a projectile.

He crashed to the ground with a heavy thud.

He was finally out.

Then suddenly,A sudden wave of dizziness hit him out of nowhere. His legs gave way, and a cold sweat broke out across his back. The ground seemed to tilt beneath his feet, and his vision blurred at the edges. Everything felt heavy—his arms, his breath, even his thoughts. He tried to steady himself, but his body wasn't listening anymore. Within seconds, the spinning worsened, and his surroundings faded into a hazy mess. Then, everything went black as he lost consciousness and collapsed to the ground and completely passout.