Chapter 44: Wipe Them All Out

“A Divine Merit Ability?!”

The weakened soul of the eerie young man cried out in disbelief.

“You’re just a mid-stage Qi Refining rogue cultivator—how could you possibly have mastered such a rare divine ability?!”

Divine abilities were methods only Golden Core True Persons could typically grasp. While some sects had simplified versions of divine abilities accessible to lower-ranked cultivators, they often required precious materials and near-impossible conditions to cultivate.

Yet Lu Yan had not only manifested a proto-divine ability, it was even one of the extremely rare Merit-type Divine Abilities.

Though such abilities lacked killing power, they were top-tier when it came to survivability. Not even the most profound spells could break through a divine merit shield.

In particular, when it came to countering demonic soul arts, curse techniques, and karmic magic, merit-type divine abilities were their natural nemesis.

Forget him, a mere Foundation Establishment cultivator—even a Golden Core expert might fail to break the Xuanhuang Merit Fire once it was activated.

And precisely because he knew how mystical and powerful divine merit was, the eerie youth found it unbelievable that Lu Yan—at the Qi Refining stage—had mastered such a powerful version of it.

“You’re no rogue cultivator. What sect are you really from?”

“Zhengxuan Sect? The Hanging Temple? Or are you a remnant of the Morality Sect?”

At the mention of the “remnants of the Morality Sect,” a glint flashed through Lu Yan’s eyes.

But on the surface, he showed no reaction. He merely waved his hand, summoning a beam of merit light to shine down on the many fierce ghosts that had been scorched by the Red Lotus Karma Fire.

These ghosts had fused with Bloodbeard earlier to form the giant, and were burned by the Karma Fire. As long as the karmic energy remained, the fire wouldn’t extinguish.

Yet before the light of merit, the karmic flames—born of a top-grade spell—acted as though they had met their natural predator. Under the merit light, they vanished rapidly. The fierce ghosts were finally freed from their torment.

Once this was done, Lu Yan gripped the Hundred Soul Banner and slowly stepped toward the eerie youth.

At the front, Lu Yan shone like a divine being descending to the mortal world. Behind him, a ghostly domain churned as a hundred ghosts followed.

This scene should have been inherently contradictory—yet on Lu Yan, it merged into a perfect whole.

The eerie young man stared in a daze, unable to comprehend what he saw. What confused him most was that mastering a merit-type divine ability required massive amounts of merit, yet Lu Yan—who wielded a Hundred Soul Banner—looked more like a demonic cultivator than he did as a disciple of the Red Lotus Demon Sect.

How could someone like this have earned such immense merit?

“Could it be… slaughtering those bloodline spirit beasts earns you merit?”

He fell into deep suspicion. But there was no time left to contemplate—Lu Yan had already arrived in front of him.

Looking down at the shattered remnant of the young man’s soul, Lu Yan spoke coldly:

“Tell me your identity, why the Red Lotus Demon Sect sent you here, and the trouble behind that storage pouch.”

As he spoke, the ghost mist transformed into a black chain, coiling around the eerie youth’s soul. The icy chill of the spectral chain pierced directly into his being, as if it could freeze a soul to shatter.

Having sacrificed most of his soul to cast a curse earlier, the eerie youth’s soul was already fragile. Now under the oppressive cold of the ghost chain, his face turned pale.

But to Lu Yan’s mild surprise, he hadn’t even issued any threats yet—yet under the pressure of the ghostly chain, the youth began spilling everything like a broken dam.

“My name is Cheng Yu, an inner disciple of the Red Lotus Demon Sect.

Over ten years ago, one of the sect’s branch bloodlines secretly bypassed the Qingwu Sect’s surveillance and entered the Southern Border region. Their aim was to secretly unseal an ancient relic site hidden deep within the Mistsoul Mountains.

The site lies deep within Wushan. A few months ago, a large number of spirit beasts with bloodline power began dying in the mountains, drawing attention from several factions.

Elder Mo, who oversees the unsealing of the ruins, feared that news would spread, prompting thorough searches of Wushan, which would expose our secret operation. So he issued an order for an internal investigation.

I volunteered for the task and came to this border region of Wushan to gather intel.”

“As for that storage pouch, it belonged to a direct descendant of the Mo Clan. Within the Red Lotus Demon Sect, the Mo Clan holds some weight—one of their family is a Golden Core elder, and they have seven Foundation Establishment cultivators. They are the ones spearheading the unsealing of the ruins.

Since they committed their entire family to the task, the Mo Clan gradually relocated all its members into the Wushan region. That direct descendant was one of them.

Over half a year ago, the Mo Clan received news that one of their own had gone missing. If that disciple were exposed as part of the Red Lotus Sect, the righteous factions might take notice, potentially disrupting the entire plan. The sect elders were furious.

The sect conducted a secret investigation and discovered that the missing Mo Clan member disappeared near Qingwu Sect territory. To avoid alerting them, the sect could only probe in secret.”

“I found a clue while wandering the Qinggu Market and discovered some spirit talismans. After some questioning, I traced the source to He Luyuan, who helped me track you down.

Having him lure you out of the market was a precaution to prevent any ties being exposed—but who would’ve thought that fool would bring a tiger to my doorstep.”

As he spoke, Cheng Yu cast a venomous glare toward the ruins of the courtyard, where a stiff corpse lay frozen.

When Lu Yan had summoned the Hundred Soul Banner, He Luyuan’s soul was instantly shredded by the ghosts, and his body frozen by ghostly chill.

If not for that, Cheng Yu would’ve gladly dragged him into death with a curse.

Only now did Lu Yan begin to grasp the full truth behind everything.

“Red Lotus Demon Sect… Mo Clan…”

His gaze deepened.

Seeing this, Cheng Yu sneered, “Don’t worry. The Red Lotus Demon Sect is one of the top demonic sects. As long as you don’t reveal your divine merit ability, they wouldn’t waste their time with a mere insect like you.

As for the Mo Clan, they’re busy with the ruins. As long as you don’t go waving your arms in front of them, they won’t bother acting either.”

Lu Yan glanced at him, then slowly shook his head.

In a cold voice, he said, “You misunderstand something. I was just thinking—how I can kill all of them.”

Cheng Yu blinked, then stared intently at Lu Yan’s serious expression.

“…Your talent for comedy surpasses even your cultivation,” he muttered.

Lu Yan didn’t bother explaining what he meant by “version updates.” He simply asked, “Where exactly is this relic the Red Lotus Sect is unsealing?”

“It’s surrounded by their formations. Even a Golden Core cultivator wouldn’t be able to locate it. I couldn’t tell you exactly where.”

After a pause, Cheng Yu used his soul energy to condense an image.

It was a portrait of a fierce-looking bald man.

“He’s the one in charge of the operation—a late-Stage Golden Core cultivator. If you can find him, you’ll find the relic.”

Lu Yan memorized the man’s appearance, then asked:

“One last question—do you know anything about the incident that happened in Bamboo Grove Market a few months ago?”

(End of Chapter)