Chapter 700: Plundering Spiritual Qi

“Then take me instead, take me in place of my child!” Sister Zhang cried out.

Others shook their heads. Sister Zhang had already broken down, unable to grasp even the simplest logic. “Sister Zhang, for the City Lord to break through from shattering his core to forming a Nascent Soul, the spiritual energy collected from every household is already enough. What the City Lord lacks now is enlightenment. This kind of enlightenment cannot be sought or forced; it can only be achieved through Demonic Path methods.”

“These children have not yet begun cultivation; they are closest to the innate body state. Refining them will make it easier for the City Lord to comprehend the Great Dao and achieve the Nascent Soul stage. How can you possibly replace your child?”

The parents of the other children seemed infected by Sister Zhang’s despair and also began wailing, begging not to sacrifice their children in the blood ritual.

Seeing this, the City Lord frowned slightly and used his Lion’s Roar technique to silence them.

The roar shook the heavens, causing everyone’s ears to ring and their heads to spin.

“The blood sacrifice is a tradition of Maple Tree City. You all fail to recognize the greater situation, disregard ancestral teachings, and think only of your own children.”

“Your children were unlucky to be chosen. This is fate. As people, you must learn to accept your fate!”

The City Lord’s words were highly effective. Everyone calmed down and stopped making a fuss.

They knew what the City Lord said was right.

The Deputy City Lord looked up at the sun, calculated with his fingers, and said, “City Lord, it is time for the child blood sacrifice.”

The City Lord grunted in agreement, his expression utterly cold. “Then let it begin…”

“Wait!”

“Who?!” The City Lord frowned, a killing intent rising within him. This blood sacrifice ceremony had been nothing but trouble, with obstacles at every turn.

“Us.” Qin Luan and Seven Kill Daozi spoke simultaneously.

Seven Kill Daozi unleashed his sword technique. Sword energy eroded the blood that formed the great array and severed the ropes binding the children.

The onlookers quickly scattered to the sides, giving the two a large enough space.

“Who are you?” The City Lord saw these two were strangers and did not immediately attack.

He could not see through their cultivation levels, which meant they were also at the Core Formation Stage.

With two Core Formation Stage cultivators obstructing them, the blood sacrifice ceremony could not proceed.

“Wandering cultivators from the Nine Provinces, Qin Luan.”

“Seven Kill Daozi.”

“Nine Provinces? Has anyone heard of this city?” The City Lord asked the other four Core Formation Stage cultivators. All four shook their heads; none had heard of a place called the Nine Provinces.

“In broad daylight, conducting a blood sacrifice so brazenly! Is this what you call your tradition?!” Qin Luan demanded sternly. The Demonic Path had long vanished in the Nine Provinces. In his impression, the Demonic Path had always operated in secret, never as blatantly arrogant as here in the Xuanming Continent.

“Utterly absurd!” Seven Kill Daozi echoed.

“Absurd? Do you think we *want* to perform blood sacrifices? If we had any other choice, who would choose this?!” The City Lord’s anger flared under their questioning.

“Nowadays, spiritual energy is scarce. Led by Crane Cry City, all cultivation cities are scrambling to seize spiritual energy just to survive! If I don’t break through to the Nascent Soul stage, if our city has no Nascent Soul cultivator to hold the fort, tomorrow we could be overrun by people from other cultivation cities, who would plunder all our spiritual energy!”

Qin Luan and Seven Kill Daozi were stunned. They hadn’t expected this to be the reason.

They looked into the eyes of the surrounding commoners and found that the others were not looking at them with gratitude, but with resentment.

Preventing the City Lord from reaching the Nascent Soul stage was tantamount to waiting for other cultivation cities to come and plunder them without any defense.

Qin Luan and Seven Kill Daozi were at a loss. They had thought stepping forward was to uphold justice, punish evil, and promote good, expecting to be revered by thousands. Instead of reverence, they had attracted resentment.

Suddenly, a hearty laugh came from the city wall.

“Haha, so you haven’t even started the blood sacrifice yet!”

A cultivator radiating Nascent Soul stage fluctuations stood atop the wall, looking at the forcibly halted blood sacrifice ceremony and laughing heartily.

“I heard Maple Leaf City was going to use a blood sacrifice to force-feed a Nascent Soul stage cultivator into existence, so I rushed over. I thought I was too late, but I never expected you to be so slow, not even started yet.”

“Crane Cry City Lord!”

Cold sweat broke out on the Maple Leaf City Lord’s forehead. The Crane Cry City Lord was a veteran Nascent Soul stage cultivator. If he, the Maple Leaf City Lord, had just broken through to Nascent Soul, the Crane Cry City Lord, unwilling to fight a peer, would have left on his own. But now, with no Nascent Soul in the city, they could only obediently have their spiritual energy plundered.

“Take a good look at your city now. After today, this Maple Leaf City will become a city of mortals.” The Crane Cry City Lord sneered. Maple Leaf City was a big, fat piece of meat. Not seizing their spiritual energy would be an affront to heaven’s principles.

Spiritual energy belongs to the capable.

The Crane Cry City Lord released his Nascent Soul pressure, suppressing everyone, and began to set up a Spirit Gathering Array to collect the spiritual energy.

“A mere Nascent Soul cultivator, not very powerful, but quite the big talker.” Qin Luan and Seven Kill Daozi also sneered. They had made a mistake earlier and now needed to find a way to make up for it.

Qin Luan and Seven Kill Daozi released their cultivation bases. Their Divine Transformation stage cultivation was unmistakably revealed.

“Get down!” Qin Luan unleashed a thunder technique. The sky flashed with lightning and rumbled with thunder, striking the Crane Cry City Lord and sending him crashing from the wall to the ground.

“Divine Transformation stage?!” the Maple Leaf City Lord exclaimed in shock. It was actually the legendary Divine Transformation stage.

Seven Kill Daozi drew his sword and placed it against the Crane Cry City Lord’s neck. “I heard it’s your Crane Cry City that’s been plundering the spiritual energy of other cities everywhere?”

The Crane Cry City Lord was even more shocked than the Maple Leaf City Lord. When had two Divine Transformation stage cultivators appeared in the Xuanming Continent?

“Seniors, spare my life! Our Crane Cry City was also forced into this.” Knowing he was no match, the Crane Cry City Lord knelt and begged for mercy, telling the truth for fear that Seven Kill Daozi’s hand might slip and cut off his head.

“The two seniors live in seclusion, their fame unknown. This junior admires you. This junior thought there was only one Divine Transformation stage cultivator on the entire Xuanming Continent now: True Monarch Candle Bamboo.”

“Crane Cry City’s plundering of spiritual energy also originated from True Monarch Candle Bamboo.”

“True Monarch Candle Bamboo’s great limit is approaching. To break through to the Unity Stage, he needs a massive amount of spiritual energy to impact his body.”

“His spiritual energy is insufficient. He ordered all cultivation cities with Nascent Soul cultivators to hand over a certain quota of spiritual energy. If the handed-over spiritual energy is insufficient, he will annihilate us.”

“Our Crane Cry City’s spiritual energy is also insufficient. To survive, we can only plunder cultivation cities that only have Core Formation Stage cultivators.”

Qin Luan and Seven Kill Daozi exchanged a glance and asked tentatively, “There’s no one behind True Monarch Candle Bamboo, right? There won’t be a Unity Stage cultivator popping out next, commanding True Monarch Candle Bamboo or something like that?”

The Crane Cry City Lord hurriedly said, “No, no, definitely not. Where would the Xuanming Continent get enough spiritual energy to nurture two Unity Stage great powers?”

“Where is True Monarch Candle Bamboo?”

The Crane Cry City Lord pointed in a direction. Qin Luan and Seven Kill Daozi flew over.

Before leaving, Seven Kill Daozi left several Sword Pellets for Maple Leaf City for their protection.

The Sword Pellets contained sword energy; a single strand of sword energy could kill a Nascent Soul stage cultivator.

The Maple Leaf City Lord received them as if they were priceless treasures, thanking them profusely. Seeing their children wouldn’t have to die, the commoners also kowtowed and knelt in gratitude.

The two found True Monarch Candle Bamboo, whose great limit was approaching.

True Monarch Candle Bamboo was in a cultivation city demanding spiritual energy. The other party didn’t provide enough, and True Monarch Candle Bamboo flew into a rage, threatening to destroy the city and kill its people.

The two arrived just in time and engaged True Monarch Candle Bamboo in battle.

True Monarch Candle Bamboo’s lifespan was withered. How could he possibly be a match for two Human Sovereign candidates in their prime and endowed with unparalleled talent?

Without any unexpected twists, Qin Luan wreathed in lightning and Seven Kill Daozi bursting with sword energy, the two joined forces and killed True Monarch Candle Bamboo.

However, their mood did not improve.

Although True Monarch Candle Bamboo was dead, there were still many Nascent Soul stage cultivators on the Xuanming Continent whose great limits were approaching. To break through, these people would also commit acts contrary to the Human Reincarnation Path.

“The disaster of the Xuanming Continent stems from insufficient spiritual energy. This is not something the two of us can solve. We should record this matter and report it to the Human Sovereign Hall, asking Mr. Jiang to decide.”