Three days later.
Near the rogue cultivator market where the "Demonic Path Slaughter" competition was being held.
Inside a heavily warded underground chamber.
"Is this the thing for the competition? The Illusion Tower?"
Han Yiwen examined the small object in his hand, his face full of skepticism.
Naturally, he had heard of—and even used—Illusion Towers before.
Weren’t they just boring toys?
Had the righteous cultivators started indulging in frivolous pastimes?
"That’s right, Hall Master. It seems the competition is about to start—we should hurry and register!"
One of his underlings chimed in.
The underground chamber was packed with nearly a hundred notorious villains from the Demonic Path.
Everyone quickly took out their Illusion Towers and entered "Demonic Path Slaughter."
"Hall Master, there’s still half an hour before the competition starts… Should we group up and practice a round?"
A subordinate suggested.
"Does this thing even require practice?"
Han Yiwen shot the underling a disdainful glare and smirked.
"Isn’t it just about playing as the Demonic Path? Everyone here is an elite among elites, a fiend among fiends!"
His words were met with unanimous agreement.
All of them scoffed at the simplicity of the Illusion Tower—they were only here for the final rewards.
Half an hour later.
"Alright… time’s up!"
Han Yiwen raised his Illusion Tower, a wicked grin curling his lips.
"Fellow Daoists…"
"Let those naive righteous cultivators witness what it truly means to be Demonic Path!"
……
……
The "Demonic Path Slaughter" competition, jointly organized by Zhong Yi, Shen Yan, and others, was structured as a points-based event at Lu Ze’s suggestion.
Points were awarded for kills, gathering intel, wins and losses, MVP selections…
The competition ran for three days, from noon to dusk each day.
Each participant could play up to five matches per day during the allotted time to accumulate points.
The system randomly assigned players to matchmade rooms, prioritizing opponents who didn’t know each other.
As soon as Han Yiwen entered "Demonic Path Slaughter," he was swiftly assigned to a room.
"Hah, the strongest Demonic Path? Just by standing among the righteous, it’s obvious I’m the most—"
"First time playing, Daoist?"
A player clad in ethereal, ornate battle robes, with phantom shadows trailing behind him, greeted Han Yiwen amiably.
"...Yeah."
Glancing down at his own shabby cloth attire, Han Yiwen instinctively hunched his shoulders.
"Play well—you can exchange points for skins! Good luck!"
Another player with a pair of wings sprouting from his back patted Han Yiwen’s shoulder sympathetically.
"...Right."
Han Yiwen nodded.
The surrounding players cast strange glances his way, whispering among themselves.
Every single one of them was decked out in bizarre outfits and accessories.
‘Hmph, even in this illusion where aura is concealed, my Demonic Path presence is unmistakable.’
‘Are they whispering about me out of fear?’
Han Yiwen sneered inwardly.
He was already plotting how to torment these righteous cultivators once the match began.
A few minutes later, the game started.
[Your identity is: Innocent (Detective)]
Staring at his assigned role, Han Yiwen frowned.
How could a notorious demonic cultivator like him be labeled "Innocent"?
No.
He was born of the Demonic Path, and he would die for it.
He couldn’t betray his demonic heart!
With that thought, he immediately shouted in the plaza: "Who’s Demonic Path? Who’s Demonic Path!? I’ll join you—let’s slaughter the innocents together!!"
The entire crowd froze.
"Uh… Daoist, are you the [Dumb Owl]?"
"This setup doesn’t have a [Dumb Owl]… What are you doing?"
"Oh, I get it—he’s faking his identity to appear non-demonic?"
……
Han Yiwen ignored the comments, scoffing coldly.
None of these people were the Demonic Path he sought.
He left the crowd and headed for a secluded spot.
"Daoist, I heard… you’re looking for the Demonic Path?"
A familiar voice called out.
Han Yiwen turned to see the phantom-robed player who had greeted him earlier.
"That’s right. Are you a demonic cultivator?"
"I’m not… but I know who is. Follow me."
"Good. You’re straightforward."
Han Yiwen nodded, thinking to himself that of course the Demonic Path wouldn’t linger in the open—they’d be lurking in the shadows.
He followed the player to a corner, only for the man to suddenly turn and swallow him whole.
"The Demonic Path… is in my stomach. Go find him there."
Han Yiwen: "???"
……
……
Han Yiwen blamed his first-round loss on not being assigned a Demonic Path role.
Undeterred, he immediately queued for a second match.
[Your identity is: Demonic Path (Corpse Devourer)]
"A corpse-eating demonic cultivator? Tch, how crude."
Han Yiwen sneered.
At least he was Demonic Path this time, which satisfied him.
"Damn illusion—killing actually takes time here, and you can only kill one at a time?"
Checking his skill cooldown, Han Yiwen realized going on a rampage wasn’t feasible.
"So… I need to find allies."
Narrowing his eyes, he scanned the crowd and quickly locked onto a player with a red name above their head!
His eyes lit up.
He recognized this person!
Not long ago, when he and his underlings had raided a village, they were ambushed by righteous cultivators sent to exterminate them.
This brawny fool had led the charge.
The man was freakishly strong, nigh-invulnerable, and had reached the terrifying Nascent Soul stage!
Han Yiwen had thought he was doomed, but the oaf turned out to be surprisingly gullible.
He managed to trick him and escape.
‘Heh, I’ll use him as my blade…’
Han Yiwen smirked.
This fool was the easiest to manipulate.
Plus, he must have some reputation among the righteous, making him less likely to be suspected.
With that in mind, Han Yiwen sidled up to Mu Yawen and whispered:
"Daoist, Daoist… come, let’s go kill together."
Mu Yawen blinked, staring at him in disbelief, then whispered back:
"Sure… but just the two of us might not be enough. How about we gather the other Demonic Path players too?"
"No problem!"
Han Yiwen was surprised by Mu Yawen’s immediate agreement.
In his memory, Mu Yawen should’ve been vehemently opposed to killing righteous cultivators—yet now he was suggesting rounding up more allies?
Who knew how much this illusion had warped people…
Still, Han Yiwen was confident he outclassed them all.
"I’ll go find Player 11, you go for Player 4… The four of us will strike together and wipe them out!"
He pointed at two players in opposite directions.
Mu Yawen nodded and immediately headed toward Player 4.
‘Hah, so easy to fool… Player 11’s area is less crowded—killing there won’t raise alarms. But if he teams up with Player 4? Hah! He’ll get voted out the moment the bodies drop!’
Han Yiwen chuckled darkly, pleased with his scheme.
Just then—
[Player 14 "Exercise Brings Progress" has offered incense at the ancestral shrine!]
Everyone was dragged into a voting meeting.
Mu Yawen grinned and quickly pointed at three people.
"I'm the [Undercover], and I've already identified the three demonic cultivators... Number 4, Number 7, and Number 11. Hah, why are demonic cultivators these days so stupid?"
[P.S. Overslept, writing Chapter 2 now.]
lities. One day, Qi Yuan was buying groceries when he unfortunately came face-to-face with a monster. Just when he thought he was going to die on the spot, he suddenly heard the monster's thoughts... "This aura, he's definitely not an ordinary master!" "So terrifying, so terrifying." "A fight with my back against the wall, I can't take it anymore." Qi Yuan: Ah, no one told me that my awakened ability isn't telepathy, but rather the stronger my enemies imagine me to be, the stronger I truly become. PS: Zhou Hai in the first chapter is not the protagonist.
for mindless slaughter, this isn't for you.] My name is Ye Shu, and I'm a transmigrator. It seems I'm supposed to be the protagonist, but that feels pretty unlikely. This world has been invaded by a system. The antagonists on the other side have suddenly become pure, flawless saints. The female leads have been force-fed the so-called "original plot," making them think they've been reborn. Now, everyone thinks I'm scum. Including the old lady in my ring. And here I am, in the Monster Beast Mountain Range, braising pork. To put my situation in perspective— It's as if, the moment Xiao Yan stepped into the Monster Beast Mountain Range, the Soul Emperor already knew he would become the Flame Emperor, and Yao Lao had been turned to the enemy's side. I have nothing right now. Oh wait, that's not true. I do have a white-haired loli child-bride who's the Heavenly Dao, and her only skill is acting cute. So, tell me guys... what are my chances of making it to the end?
s the Eldest Princess, renowned for her cold and aloof detachment, became the most docile of lambs, obeying his every command without question. But when the final move was played on the chessboard, as Gu Chenghan seized everything and ascended on the verge of apotheosis, that very Princess suddenly embraced him from behind, her tone carrying a dependence never heard before: "Wait... you haven't yet... commanded me to love you forever." Gu Chenghan froze abruptly. She... hadn't been hypnotized?! ... [The Eldest Princess's Diary] [When my soul was extracted, becoming the sole spectator outside my own shell] [At first, there was overwhelming fury, until I saw] [How he used my sword to effortlessly shatter my inescapable doom] [How he wielded my authority to eradicate fatal conspiracies I had never even detected] [Like a deity, he rescued me from the deep mire I was trapped in] [If not for those annoying vixens, he and I would be a match made in heaven] [I think I am ill, gravely ill] [My deity should belong to me alone] ... "Hypnosis? Oh, it succeeded, my dear Master." "Only this time, it's my turn to hypnotize you."
nd fell into a coma while saving his younger sister from an out-of-control car. He became a vegetable. No one knew that his consciousness had crossed into a world of cultivation. Over the course of sixty years, he began as the lowest kind of mine slave, struggling to survive amid mountains of corpses and seas of blood. By sheer chance, he eventually obtained the complete memories of a fallen Immortal King. Alchemy, medicine, formations, feng shui, physiognomy, artifact forging… Every great inheritance of the cultivation world was now his. But when he opened his eyes again, he discovered that ten full years had passed in the modern world. To pay for his treatment, his father had sold the family’s shop and house, leaving himself covered in lasting injuries and illness. His mother had cared for him day and night, and more than half of her hair had already turned white. His younger sister, who had been only fifteen back then, was now twenty-five. To help repay the family’s debts, she had been forced to lower her head and put on a smiling face in places of glittering lights and endless revelry. Only then did Chen Xuan understand that what he had lost was not merely ten years. He had lost the life his entire family was meant to have. The good news was that he had brought back the memories of an Immortal King’s entire lifetime. The bad news was that his soul had returned alone—his cultivation had not come with him. Spiritual energy was scarce, resources were depleted, and the modern world still had firearms, surveillance, capital, and laws. If he wanted to protect his family, break free from everyone’s control, and become truly invincible beneath the heavens, he would have to start all over again.
