Immortal Dao is dead, I am the mastermind behind it all.

"Where should we go next?"

"We'll have to rely on you a lot from now on, Fellow Daoist Ni." He Qiao'er and Meng Chen followed behind Ni Gaoyuan, already regarding him as their pillar of support.

In any case, I can't stay in Langya Prefecture anymore.

In the mountains and forests, Ni Gaoyuan gazed at the continuous mountain range, his eyes resolute:

"Strength comes first; otherwise, everything is just a mirage."

"Let the three of us find a secluded place to cultivate in seclusion, digest what we have stored up, and shed our mortal bodies."

He Qiao'er and Meng Chen both nodded.

Unable to transcend the mortal realm, in this treacherous world, they cannot even leave the Ten Thousand Mountains in the eastern corner of Langya Prefecture.

"By the way, do you remember the child from that day?" Meng Chen seemed to have thought of something when he mentioned Tuifan, and casually brought it up.

"You mean that arrogant kid who wields the Xuanming True Iron?" He Qiao'er replied, as the three of them had been impressed by that kid who was at the ninth level of Qi Gathering.

"That's right, that Xuanming True Iron can draw upon Xuanming Qi, which is a third-grade Xuanming Qi. The spiritual energy of the third grade can help one transcend the mortal realm and lay the foundation for the Purple Mansion."

"Fellow Daoist Meng, what are you trying to say?" Having worked together for a long time, Ni Gaoyuan understood the unspoken meaning in his words.

"Perhaps he hasn't gone far. Once we absorb the city lord's ginseng, catching up with him and killing him would be a piece of cake, wouldn't it?"

Meng Chen made a throat-slitting gesture, his greasy face contorted into a grimace.

"Fellow Daoist Meng, let me give you a piece of advice: heroes and great men in this world are as numerous as carp crossing the river."

"Do you know how he obtained that mysterious artifact?" He Qiao'er retorted.

"I don't know." Meng Chen paused for a moment.

"Fellow Daoist He is right. We should not underestimate his background." Ni Gaoyuan said calmly, pointing to the ground beneath his feet.

"Moreover, Xuanming objects are born in dark and deep abysses. Not to mention Purple Mansion True Persons, even within major sects, such divine objects are in short supply."

"How could a child with a bone age of twelve or thirteen possess such a divine object? And yet he struts around the crowded city streets all by himself. It would be impossible if he didn't have some kind of backing."

Upon hearing this, Meng Chen's expression grew even more somber, and he finally spoke after a long silence:

"It seems that it was a wise move for us not to immediately turn against him that day."

"Hehe, who can really say for sure what the truth is?" Ni Gaoyuan added.

After the three of them crossed several mountains, the shrieks and the sounds of swords clashing gradually subsided, and they finally left Dongshan City behind.

"Speaking of which, Chusheng has stored quite a lot of ginseng over the decades."

The storage ring in Meng Chen's hand flickered, and several ginseng plants floated out.

The tender green ginseng leaves are vibrant and fresh, and their refreshing aura spreads out.

"Great ginseng!" He Qiao'er exclaimed.

"I wonder how much my cultivation will increase after consuming it. Perhaps after three plants, I can transcend the mortal realm in one step."

There are so many ginseng roots that the three of them don't need to turn against each other for such a small amount of profit at this stage.

He Qiao'er stroked the ginseng, inhaling its aroma with deep relish: "Are they still alive?"

Meng Chen sensed it for a moment, and suddenly felt a tremor in his heart.

"No... wrong."

Ni Gaoyuan stared blankly at the ginseng floating in front of him. It was the first time he had ever observed such a horrific thing up close.

"Hehe... Hahaha!"

His unchanging expression finally revealed a slight smile.

"What are you laughing at?" Both of them were puzzled.

"Hahaha... I'm laughing at this world." Ni Gaoyuan covered his cheeks, trying his best to suppress his emotions.

"The finest natural treasures all resemble human figures. In ancient times, when the immortal path still existed, it is said that those immortal medicinal herbs even had to undergo tribulations to transform into human forms, and the Great Rejuvenation Pills they refined all had human forms."

"Even famous mountains and strange rocks are valued for their human-like appearance, taking the shape of human eyes, mouth, ears and nose, which is called spirituality."

"What a brilliant idea! Hahaha!" Ni Gaoyuan burst into laughter.

"There's no spirituality in this, it's clearly human! Human!"

"But in this world today, after the collapse of the immortal path, the veil that covered up the ugliness has been torn off, and people are directly used as medicine to refine pills."

"It's just cannibalism, yet you make it sound so noble! Haha!"

"Hahaha……"

Seeing Ni Gaoyuan descend into madness, He Qiao'er and Meng Chen were both lost in thought, their minds wavering.

Even among demons and beasts, cannibalism is extremely rare.

After pondering for a long time, Meng Chen gave a bitter smile and suddenly put down the ginseng.

"I'm sorry, you two."

Meng Chen lowered his eyes and said softly, "Once you take this step, it's hard to turn back."

"I find it truly unacceptable that such an inhuman thing has happened."

Upon hearing this, both Ni Gaoyuan and He Qiao'er narrowed their eyes:

"What does Fellow Daoist Meng mean by this?"

They had done everything they were supposed to do—raising the common people, driving demonic beasts, and enslaving mortals—but now that they had come this far, they were just giving up the opportunity that was right in front of them. Both of them were puzzled by Meng Chen's choice.

"I, Meng Chen, was once a mortal, but after being shielded by the Dao of the [Origin Preaching Stele], I embarked on the path of cultivation."

"After embarking on this path, I have been cultivating my spiritual energy for over sixty years. My wife and children all died young..." Meng Chen looked up at the clouds drifting across the sky.

The small courtyard, the autumn leaves, the osmanthus porridge my wife cooked, and the children playing in the yard—all these scenes are still vivid in my mind.

"To eat a living person, please forgive me... but I cannot do it."

These ginseng roots are still alive.

Among them, there is someone's son, the pride of their family, and the glory of their clan.

Although Meng Chen was an accomplice in the overthrow of Dongshan City and the influx of demonic beasts, he still couldn't overcome the mental barrier that prevented him from personally carrying out such a demonic act.

He piled all the ginseng in front of Ni Gaoyuan.

"Of the stored items, I will only take the spirit stones that are rightfully mine; the rest are yours."

"You two have different paths; take care."

After saying that, Meng Chen took his share and left.

Gazing at the other person's retreating figure, Ni Gaoyuan sighed and shook his head: "Fellow Daoist Meng, please wait."

"What..." Meng Chen was about to say something, but when he turned around and met Ni Gaoyuan's scarlet eyes, his thoughts suddenly stopped.

He remained unaware until the blade pierced his neck.

puff!

The head was severed from the body, and Meng Chen's enormous body knelt on both knees before collapsing helplessly to the ground, the wind stirring up a carpet of withered leaves.

He Qiao'er looked dejected as she shook the blood off the blade of her sword.

Lifting the head with its eyes wide open in death at his feet, Ni Gaoyuan slowly closed the "Heavenly Demon Transformation Technique".

"Fellow Daoist Meng, please don't blame us."

"This world is a huge nursery, a medicinal garden and beast garden that has been divided up by the Holy Court, the sects, and the demon race."

"We rogue cultivators can only eke out a living between these three groups. Before that day comes, we must try our best to get rid of our status as bait." Ni Gaoyuan stuffed his old friend's corpse into the blood gourd, and then took out the ginseng in his hand.

"Alright, let's split the rest of the ginseng in half."

He Qiao'er sheathed her sword and gave a cold reply.

However, just as she sheathed her sword, a flower of blood bloomed on her head.

A jet-black sword pierced her forehead and slashed downwards, splattering blood and splitting her beautiful face and stunning figure in two.

After killing He Qiao'er, the swordsman did not stop, but took the opportunity to strike back, the sword light as bright as a crescent moon.

Ni Gaoyuan instinctively dodged and put the human and blood gourd into his storage ring, but his other arm did not dodge and was mercilessly cut off.

"It's you!?"

Ni Gaoyuan's pupils turned scarlet again, catching sight of the smiling boy who looked about twelve or thirteen years old.

"You missed."

Shen Moyan gave the other party no chance to react, stepping over He Qiao'er's remains and taking advantage of the situation to move forward.