Destiny is ashes

Chapter 1140 Demons and Heretics, They Deserve to Die! (Please vote with your monthly tickets!)
The shadow clone was incredibly fast. It blended into the shadows of the night, like a flowing ink mark, weaving through the darkness and catching up with the carriages in an instant.

At that moment, suppressed sobs came from inside the carriage, while the riders on the outside were talking and laughing loudly, their voices clearly reaching the senses of the Shadow Clone.

"Brother, that young general is a chosen one. Is it alright for us to bring him back so openly this time? Don't cause any trouble for the clan!" A younger rider was clearly worried and asked in a low voice.

The rider leader who had spoken with Canglinzu earlier sighed, his tone tinged with helplessness: "Who could have known? He just suddenly appeared, what could we do?"

"But the very act of seeing them is a problem. If we release them and go back empty-handed, won't people be suspicious? If our masters ask, we'll still be in trouble. It's better to stick to the original plan, select a group of people to take back as 'expendable resources,' and we can always wait a few more days before using them. I'm sure those young masters and ladies can afford to wait."

"They really know how to have fun."

At this point, another rider chuckled, his voice deep, lewd, and somewhat mysterious: "Putting everything else aside, the 'Path of Ascension' developed by that Master Nature is truly a wonderful thing! After this modification, many things that were previously boring have become interesting again, and can even change forms back and forth. It's incredibly fun!"

"is not that right!"

The other riders perked up immediately at the mention of this topic, saying, "I heard the Second Young Master say last time that there are so many ways to play with the Feathered Path! Body swapping, empathy, gender switching, playing multiple roles, physical modification... tsk tsk, you can turn a person into a dog, or even fuse humans and beasts to create entirely new beings. It's truly profound and complex!"

“That’s right! Although I don’t understand it very well, I’ve heard from the clan’s elders who specialize in this field that the Ascension Path can also involve the fusion, splitting, and replication of wills…” At this point, the knight leader clicked his tongue and said with a sigh, “It’s just that the servants we keep at home are too obedient and boring. Even when we have them play the roles, they are all too submissive and not exciting at all.”

"In the end, the role-playing of the Feathered Dao should be completely realistic and a complete reproduction. Those servants whose thinking has been modified should really think that they are a young lady from a noble family, or a fallen heroine, or a fairy of a great sect. But the technique is still a bit lacking, which is limited by the person's previous personality."

"It's a pity that if you play with a soul for too long and modify it too much, it's easy for the soul to be scattered. That's not good either, it's wasted too quickly. We always need to prepare some new people, so that they can not only bring new ideas but also share the burden. The old men are still merciful."

"Yes, yes!" the others echoed. "That Master Nature has developed the Path of Ascension; it is truly a great blessing for this world!"

"I wonder when I'll get my hands on a puppet toy from the Ascension Path. I've heard the experience is even more ecstatic than with a real person!"

"Sigh, all you know is that low-class stuff! If I had that puppet, I would study its internal structure day and night to deduce martial arts!"

"Get lost, you impotent bastard! If I really used the Ascension Path to exchange you for a puppet, you'd probably be the one charging ahead of everyone else!"

The riders burst into vulgar laughter, their words unrestrained and unfiltered.

Because there's no need to hide it at all, in their world these topics aren't considered extreme at all; they're just normal everyday conversation.

In this world, even the greatest and most innovative paths, if revealed and spread, will inevitably be used by those with ulterior motives to satisfy their desires.

This is human nature, but for some, desires and evil thoughts are so deep that they overwhelm everything else. They don't even consider the essence of the Ascension Path, which completely changes the form of life, but only rejoice in its outward appearance. It has to be said that they have abandoned the Way for the sake of techniques, and even become immersed in heterodox paths!

The riders made no attempt to conceal their words. Inside the carriage, the beautiful and intelligent young people who had been taken away heard them all. They had been selected from countless refugees, possessing considerable knowledge and wisdom. Even if they had never heard of the Ascension Path, they could understand from these vulgar words that they had not been chosen to be servants, but rather to be 'playthings' even lower than servants, or even... 'materials' for those playthings!
How could they not be terrified? How could they not burst into tears? Fear and despair are contagious, and in an instant, the entire carriage procession was filled with the suppressed cries of the children.

The riders, however, paid no attention to this and instead burst into laughter: "Cry, cry! You can only cry now! Once you all become Feathered Puppet Masters, you will be happy forever, and you will never feel any other emotion besides happiness in this lifetime. That is ultimate bliss!"

The lead rider proudly proclaimed, "If you ask me, this is a tremendous blessing for you! You were all lowly people who were about to starve to death, and you owe us your lives for giving you a bite to eat."

"Besides, we're not taking your lives. We just want you to be the playthings of the young masters and ladies. That's not difficult at all. Your souls will learn on their own! Hahahaha!"

But amidst this maniacal laughter...

Suddenly, the leader of the riders sensed something was wrong.

He felt a deep, cold sensation on his back.

Immediately afterwards, a cold, powerful hand, as strong as a steel clamp, silently pressed down on his head.

"Mercy, spare my life!"

In that instant, the already intelligent captain of the riders realized what had happened. His body stiffened instantly, cold sweat soaked through his back armor, and he screamed in utter panic, "General Cang! General Cang, spare our lives! We all deeply respect Lord Tianming! We were just a little vulgar in our language, it's not a crime punishable by death, it's not a crime punishable by death!"

However, he completely misunderstood the situation; he had no idea why the hand had descended with such terrifying killing intent.

"Evil... heretics!"

Seamlessly transitioning from his shadow clone to his main body, his voice was almost squeezed out from between his teeth, one word at a time. At this moment, he gripped the head of the rider leader tightly with one hand, and an unprecedented dark light shone in Canglinzu's eyes, as deep and dark as the underworld.

He gritted his teeth, his voice filled with boundless rage: "You bunch of... beasts who insult our senior brother's path and don't even treat people like human beings..."

"Damn it, go to hell!"

As soon as he finished speaking, he clenched his fists tightly.

Instantly, to the horrified gazes of all the riders around, the leader's head exploded like a crushed blood sac, turning into a shower of blood and bone fragments!

(End of this chapter)