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

The intention and the sword must be in harmony; this can only be achieved when the intention and the sword being wielded are in perfect harmony.

Shen Moyan's sword strike not only annihilated the arrogant half-demon, but also severed his mortal heart from three lifetimes.

The leaves fell, the wind stopped, and Shen Moyan, with his back to Ni Gaoyuan, let the mood in his eyes dissipate, and his vision and senses returned to normal.

Ni Gaoyuan's enormous demonic body was split in two, and the bird's head, with its eyes wide open in death, rolled off, blood and foam flying from its mouth.

The trees behind him had also collapsed in patches, the stumps were smooth and neat, and if you looked down from the sky, you could see a crescent moon rising in the empty woodland.

But a shadow remains in the center of the crescent moon, as if a wild goose has perched on it.

Shen Moyan slowly used his spiritual power to cleanse the bloodstains from the longsword. He then collected all the corpses into his storage ring, leaving only Ni Gaoyuan's bird head.

Skillfully using the Soul Searching Technique, he collected as many secrets as possible from Ni Gaoyuan before his brain completely died.

"I see." Shen Moyan now understood the whole story.

It was pretty much as I expected.

These were just a bunch of nobodyes trying to turn their lives around, escape the city lord's clutches, and rebel against their fate of being treated like slaves. After killing their boss and running away with the money, a bright future seemed within reach, but Shen Moyan intercepted them halfway.

"Their experiences are relatable, but what do they have to do with me?"

Shen Moyan had no regrets. For the sake of his purpose, he had no choice but to kill.

What's more, these people had previously coveted his Heavenly Demon Sword.

"We've gained quite a bit. Besides spirit stones and magical artifacts, we can also make some delicious dishes by taking that demon body back to stew it in soup."

Shen Moyan was playing with a blood gourd, which contained a vast amount of blood energy. He believed that using this blood to nourish his body would accelerate the transformation of spiritual power into magical power.

"However, Ni Gaoyuan is quite an interesting person."

Ni Gaoyuan was originally a half-demon who wandered through the Hundred Thousand Mountains, exploring cultivation in the wilderness. However, one day he accidentally entered Dongshan City and was discovered to have potential by the city lord Chu Sheng, who then valued him highly.

On the surface, for decades, Chu Sheng regarded him as a confidant and entrusted him with everything.

In reality, Chu Sheng had his eye on Ni Gaoyuan's half-demon body.

Ni Gaoyuan was naturally aware of this matter, so he joined forces with Meng Chen and He Qiao'er, two rogue cultivators, to launch a killing plot against Chu Sheng. In order to confuse the True Lord behind Chu Sheng, he also deliberately brought in the Biyang Sword Sect, the Holy Court, and the Demon Clan.

Unfortunately, just as they were about to escape after their success, they encountered Shen Moyan.

"And Ni Gaoyuan's greatest reliance in scheming everything is an opportunity he obtained from the wilderness."

"Fragments of the remains of a cultivator at the Gui Cang Realm, and a Gui Cang Realm cultivation technique called 'Heavenly Demon Transformation Technique'."

In Ni Gaoyuan's memory, the path of immortality consists of: Qi Refining, Foundation Establishment, Golden Core, and Nascent Soul. The corresponding path of immortality consists of: Qi Gathering, Mortal Transformation, Purple Mansion, and Return to the Source.

However, there should be further levels to reach.

After all, the power of the Holy Court's [Nine Songs Immortal Lord of Literature] is beyond what these few realms can describe.

"It is said that this 'Heavenly Demon Transformation Technique' is a fragment of an unparalleled demonic technique."

"This technique only contains cultivation methods for 'Heavenly Demons,' but there are cultivation schemes for other types of demons as well."

Transformation is the sudden appearance of something without any basis, relying on karma.

Karma is very abstract and beyond Shen Moyan's current comprehension. However, in his rudimentary understanding, karma is the energy accumulated by individual and collective life in the world, mainly including good karma, bad karma, and neutral karma.

The demons descend upon the world using these karmic burdens as bait and the human heart as a breeding ground.

Once the "Heavenly Demon Transformation Technique" is mastered, one can use the demon seed as a medium to draw upon the heavenly demon in the dark, attack the enemy's mind, and cause the heavenly demon to be born in the enemy's mind, while also giving rise to inner demons and evil spirits.

If one masters the Eye of the Heavenly Demon, one can also invoke the will of the Heavenly Demon. Without needing a demonic seed, one can use the karma of others within sight, falsely imbuing enemies with the will of the Heavenly Demon.

"Heavenly demons and inner demons are not on the same level."

"Inner demons are merely the inner demons of the cultivator himself; within the category of demons, they belong to the category of inner demons."

"The Heavenly Demon is a manifestation of the Great Dao, born through the karma of this world, and is the outer demon among all demons."

Shen Moyan couldn't help but gasp.

"The demonic seed is the remains of cultivators who have been devoured by the demons, or their drifting souls and remnants."

When a cultivator is devoured by a demon, his remaining body and soul will dissolve into the mountains and seas, and the demonic seed will naturally spread.

Ni Gaoyuan found the skin flakes of a Gui Cang Realm cultivator in the Hundred Thousand Mountains. That Gui Cang Realm cultivator died from demonic means.

"The demonic path in this world is quite different from the demonic path I know." Shen Moyan shivered.

The world is already in complete chaos. The sects' cruelty towards the common people and their practice of cultivating talent are already quite demonic, but compared to the true "demon," they are simply no match.

Because the "demon" in this world is the Great Dao, the rule.

Shen Moyan looked up at the sky, and a cold wind blew by, making him feel as if he had fallen into an ice cave.

Rules are everywhere.

"Besides the Heavenly Demons, there are many types of Demons, categorized by their internal and external aspects."

"And to resist the [demons], one must start with [karma],"

"Good deeds can resist the invasion of demons to a certain extent, but because the effect is too small, cultivators in this world do not pay attention to good deeds."

Unless you do good deeds every day, save millions of people, accumulate good karma into virtue, and forge the legendary golden wheel of human merit, when the demon invades your body, your good karma is nothing but a thin layer of paper, which the demon can easily tear apart.

"No wonder people in this world know that cannibalism is an evil deed, yet they still insist on doing it. It seems the benefits outweigh the risks." Shen Moyan nodded.

It's just a matter of sacrificing morality and bearing some negligible karma, and you can gain the cultivation of ten or even a hundred years of arduous practice, and live for a hundred or even a thousand years.

Whether it's morality or the path, whether to keep it or abandon it, people's hearts will make their own judgment.

"There's also a question: how are these vague and ethereal concepts like good karma, bad karma, and indeterminate karma categorized?"

"The rules of Heaven? Or are they man-made?" Shen Moyan fell into deep thought.

Compared to the vastness of the universe, a firefly is as insignificant as the bright moon.

Why do the rules of heaven and earth operate according to human moral will? What happened in this world in the past?

"Enough. In the world of cultivation, anything is possible. I cannot make subjective assumptions." Shen Moyan calmed the agitation in his heart.

You can't use your own subjective thinking to try to understand this ghostly world, or you'll suffer a great loss.

The tragic lesson of being picked up and planted as ginseng in his previous life was the helplessness he felt when trapped in a dim jade basin. That helplessness was deeply etched into Shen Moyan's heart.

"Alright, go into seclusion and break through to a higher level."