Filthy Cultivation: I Pierced the Heavens with the Merit System

Seeing that the demonic cultivators all had different expressions and were looking at him with apprehension, Yan chuckled with amusement.

He stopped what he was doing, and like a noble master disciplining his servants, softened his voice and gently seduced the demonic cultivators:

"Alright, alright, as long as we catch that little mouse, none of this will happen, you'll all get out alive, and you'll receive a generous reward!"

"And now—"

Nightmare drew out his words like a speaker trying to engage an audience.

Li Fuyao noticed a fleeting glimpse of eerie blue light emanating from the holes around the masked man's eyes:

"Search carefully in that direction!"

He raised his arm and pointed in Xu Laosan's direction, his tone full of confident certainty:

"I've heard that the closer an animal gets to its den, the more nervous it becomes, so that trembling little mouse must be among them!"

Li Fuyao watched as the demonic cultivators followed the masked man's instructions and surged towards the opposite side of the large arena, which spanned the entire area. While feeling a sense of relief, she couldn't help but find it somewhat amusing.

"This guy named Eye, could he be an idiot?"

"He's so naive, yet so confident. Tsk tsk tsk, I really have to thank him for being my wingman!"

Although the situation has eased somewhat, Li Fuyao is still filled with sorrow.

While using tricks to lure away the demonic cultivators might solve the immediate problem, it's not a long-term solution.

Although the demonic cultivators might lower their guard slightly because they were so confident in the success of the plan, they were not fools. Moreover, there were only so many people in the circular area, and it was only a matter of time before they found their area.

Using illusions to lure enemies might work once or twice, but if you do it too often, it's like farting – it's no fun.

If I really want to solve the problem completely, I have to stop this masked man from continuing to draw the array.

Thinking this, Li Fuyao subtly glanced at the strangely named masked demon, and her delicate brows furrowed unconsciously once again:

But not only is their cultivation level two levels higher than mine, but I would go crazy just by looking at that formation. It's not really possible for me to manage on my own!

The elders of the Yanjian Sect could probably be dealt with easily, but the news couldn't get out, and even if it did, the people of the Yanjian Sect might not have time to pay attention to him. It was really a headache just thinking about it...

Li Fuyao rejected each of the thoughts in her mind, and then turned her gaze to the door-shaped altar that exuded an ominous aura.

The blood-red patterns on the door frame were almost complete, and their shape was actually a huge, intricately patterned demonic eye.

Those demonic eyes were suffocating to look at. She only glanced at them slightly, and it was as if a sense of despair and panic, as if time stood still and the air solidified, arose out of nowhere from her chest.

Li Fuyao quickly averted her gaze. After seeing the bright countdown on the system panel, she quickly estimated the time, and her brows furrowed even more tightly than before, almost as if she could turn a live mosquito into a mosquito pancake:

Nothing worked, nothing worked. His soul power was gradually being depleted, and his thinking was becoming sluggish. He was at a disadvantage in every aspect and couldn't find even the slightest hope.

The situation was getting worse, but there was still half the time left before they said it would get out of control.

How should I delay or distract myself?

She looked helplessly at the demonic cultivators diagonally opposite her, so worried that even her swaying, which was just a charade, slowed down by half a beat. She was not tall, and this slowness immediately blocked the view of the cultivators in front of her.

Hmm? Other cultivators?

Other monks!

A flash of inspiration struck Li Fuyao, and a new idea suddenly came to her:

Yes, the filthy power on these distorted souls is actually caused by those awful illusions. Since this filthy demon can control these cultivators through illusions, can't I do the same?

My cultivation level isn't as high as these guys', but as the saying goes, many ants can kill an elephant.

If we can wake up a few more people, then it shouldn't be a problem if we're not aiming to win but just to delay and cause trouble, right?

To survive in the apocalypse, having self-awareness is the most basic survival skill, and Li Fuyao has always done a good job in this regard.

She wasn't arrogant enough to think she could use her newly acquired illusion control technique, which she had only mastered a few hours ago, to fight against the masked man who was well-prepared and far stronger than her. She was just uneasy because she saw that the blood-red magic circle was about to be completed and she felt uneasy if she didn't try to break the deadlock.

A larger scope makes it easier to be discovered, so choosing the first practice target for mental manipulation is a good option.

By making noise in another direction to distract the demonic cultivators, Li Fuyao took the opportunity to secretly try to wake up Bai Suifeng, who was closest to her, using the illusion control technique. However, once she entered the little wolf cub's illusion, she found that this was easier said than done.

Bai Suifeng's mental world is highly guarded. Even with Li Fuyao's connection to his soul seed, it is not an easy task to break through his defenses and enter the depths of his consciousness.

After repeated unsuccessful attempts, and sensing that the little creatures behind her were showing signs of worsening abnormalities, Li Fuyao, fearing they might accidentally hurt each other, dared not continue trying.

She had no choice but to carefully withdraw her soul power and begin to lower her eyes to consider other options:

Is it because the method is wrong? Why can that evil demon work but I can't?

As Li Fuyao was pondering this, she suddenly felt a bright purple light shining in front of her.

She looked over in surprise and saw that the source of this strange purple light was actually a piece of murky purple crystal in the hand of the masked demon.

"We can't even find little mice, and we can't even finish distributing the little filth pearls. Look at your stupid and pig-like behavior. I must have been out of my mind to have partnered with a bunch of useless trash like you."

Nightmare scoffed and stepped onto the altar, then toyed with the amethyst in one hand and beckoned to the demonic cultivators with the other as if calling a dog:

"Alright, come back even if you haven't finished distributing them. Feeding them the filth beads is just to add an extra layer of protection to the offerings. It's not anything particularly important. What you've distributed is already enough."

As he called for his men, he casually strolled a few steps to the center of the crimson demonic eye, then glanced at the demonic cultivators rushing towards him, and chuckled leisurely:

"My Myriad Spirits Evil Sacrifice Array is complete. All that remains is for this tainted demonic core, which serves as the key, to be placed on the altar, and the Gate of the Filthy Abyss will open."

[Ding! Only 25 minutes left in the mission. The mission objective has appeared. Please destroy the objective within the time limit!]

The system notification sounded, and Li Fuyao stared in astonishment.

The ugly purple stone in his hand was the filthy demon core that the system task required him to destroy.

What's so special about this thing that it could make a system that never gives any prompts during a mission so nervous?

"The opening of the Gate of the Filth must not be disturbed, otherwise it will definitely cause a backlash, and once interrupted, it will be impossible to open again for ten years. So you bunch of useless trash must guard it well!"

Nightmare peered around through the holes in his mask, and seeing the demonic cultivators reluctantly nodding in agreement, he laughed wildly. Then, he gripped the tainted demonic core with both hands and pressed it forcefully into the center of the blood-red demonic eye's pupil, chanting in a frenzied tone:

"In the abyss of endless terror, we whisper your name."

"Great Lord of Filth, Great One who walks between fear and madness!"

"May you guide us to embrace madness, to extend our filthy tentacles into the world, and let madness devour everything!"

"Please grant us the power of darkness, let the will of madness devour everything..."

The nightmare released his hands, knelt down devoutly and fervently, and raised his arms in a shout:

"Let the true form of destruction—"

"Descend upon the world!"