Having lived two lives, since Zheng Yi had already made up his mind, there was not the slightest hesitation.
He sold off his residency rights in the Immortal City, cutting off his own retreat.
Walking out of the trade office, Zheng Yi walked towards the city gate, silent all the way.
There was no expression on his face as he stood under the towering city gate of Profound Void City, looking around.
Seeing all the cultivators with eyes full of hope and eager footsteps rushing into the city, he felt an indescribable feeling.
Back then, when he traversed this Great Yi City Immortal Realm, he was also alone, his parents long since passed away.
Relying on the ancestral estate left by his parents, he had gone through numerous hardships and difficulties to barely obtain the residency rights in this Profound Void City.
When he first stood under the city gates of Profound Void City, he was just like these fellow cultivators filled with excitement, as if seeing the opening of a splendid new Chapter in life.
But everything was not as he imagined; after spending two or three years, he was still just a little wanderer at the Qi Cultivation Third Layer, struggling to get by.
Now, a brand new world unfolding before Zheng Yi undoubtedly presented him with an unprecedented chance to turn his life around.
With this one opportunity, Zheng Yi didn’t hesitate to invest all his assets, even selling off his residency rights in the Immortal City, truly burning his boats and pressing forward without turning back.
One must know that the Great Yi City Immortal Realm is not a place of peace and safety.
Here, the Immortal Sect and Demon Sect both follow the cruelest law of natural selection.
Fight with the heavens, fight with the earth, fight with people!
Strive! Seize! Take all the resources one needs!
This phrase was something Zheng Yi heard from the mouth of a remarkable cultivator, at that time, he held it firmly in his heart, unable to forget.
Infighting among fellow cultivators, mutual deception, and the like, many such stories circulate in teahouses, tea pavilions, and taverns.
For a magical artifact or certain materials for Foundation Establishment, they genuinely fight to the death.
If it’s like this among acquaintances, just how fierce the competition among strangers is, it’s hard to imagine.
If you find yourself in the wild, it’s not just the ferocious demon beasts you need to be wary of; your kind can often be the most terrifying enemy.
Therefore, it’s evident that the residency rights in an Immortal City is something irreplaceable for a cultivator.
Especially for those independent cultivators who are alone and weak, it is a means of survival.
Zheng Yi decisively and resolutely dealing with the residency rights at a low price shows the significant determination he made.
If not successful, then he would face death willingly!
Taking one last look at the towering city gates of Profound Void City, Zheng Yi took a deep breath, stepped forward firmly, and headed out of the city.
Like a vow, this was his final words upon leaving the Immortal City.
"I will return again!!"
Perhaps it was his hope for the future, perhaps it also embodied his determination.
...
"Selling off my residency rights and including my savings, I have about 1300 low-grade spirit stones, this is the largest asset I can muster."
Looking at the city in the distance exuding a menacing aura lying on the ground, Zheng Yi calculated secretly in his heart.
After leaving the Immortal City, Zheng Yi was cautious and took a good half a month to quietly slip through the chaotic area between the Immortal and Demon realms.
He traveled a journey of three thousand miles to finally reach a city in the Demon Realm.
Blood Mist Abyss City!
"It’s said that this city is overseen by Venerable Blood Mist, which makes it safer compared to other Demon Cities, so let’s choose here."
During this half a month, Zheng Yi wasn’t just traveling.
After reaching the Demon Realm, he put in considerable effort and spirit stones to gather ample information about this more perilous Demon Realm compared to the Immortal Realm.
One must know that demon cultivators are more ruthless and terrifying compared to regular cultivators, with blood sacrifices of body and soul, and even entire villages of their kind sacrificed for cultivating dreadful demon techniques.
After long periods of practicing demon techniques, the murdering and bloodshed had already twisted many demon cultivators into erratic killers who delight in slaughter.
And this Venerable Blood Mist, though neither inherently good nor evil, is powerful and has set rules prohibiting fighting within the city, or face the consequences of being skinned, tendons extracted, and soul and spirit refined.
Spending two low-grade spirit stones, Zheng Yi entered Blood Demon Abyss City.
Compared to Profound Void City, though the cultivators here were equally powerful, what differed was the demon cultivators’ emanating a vicious and menacing aura, far from the relatively tranquil aura of regular cultivators.
Zheng Yi didn’t observe much, instead directly seeking out the residence of the Soul Catching Sect in the city, requesting to join.
"You’re not young, though with a foundation, still seeking to practice demon cultivation, are you not afraid of death?!"
The person in charge of this place was a shriveled old man, whose dim eyes occasionally flickered with brilliant light, making Zheng Yi dare not meet them directly; the old man stroked his beard and spoke indifferently.
In his view, Zheng Yi, over twenty years old and carrying a cultivation technique, is only seeking refuge now in the Demon Sect because he discovered he wasn’t very talented and sought a shortcut, a situation he had seen plenty of.
What he didn’t know was that Zheng Yi indeed sought a shortcut but not through brutal and horrific means as he imagined, for he had not extinguished his humanity.
"The Elder’s words are indeed true!"
Zheng Yi humbly bowed down and said, "This disciple is naturally dull, bearing a deep-seated grudge, willing to join the Soul Catching Sect to avenge myself at any cost!"
As he spoke, his right hand placed a packet on the table, standing respectfully aside with his head down, waiting.
The Outer Elder saw the package, his eyes gleaming, his shriveled face breaking into a slight smile.
With a grasp into the void, the packet flew into his hand, and feeling its weight, his smile widened further.
"In life, one must be as good as their word! A deep-seated grudge surely needs avenging."
"Very well! Seeing your sincerity, this Elder is willing to give you this chance."
He didn’t care whether Zheng Yi had a deep-seated grudge or not, as long as there were enough spirit stones, he made his decision.
With that, he took out a token and tossed it over.
Zheng Yi hurriedly caught it, the front was a sinister blood skull, the back was a mountain of corpses piled high with skulls.
"After the blood recognition, you become an Outer Disciple of the Soul Catching Sect." The Outer Elder instructed and then took out a cultivation technique and a Soul-Catching Banner.
Following the elder’s instructions, Zheng Yi recognized the token with a drop of blood and immediately felt a connection with it.
The information inside was not much and was quickly digested. Then he looked up at the cultivation technique and Soul-Catching Banner on the table.
"These two items are the cultivation technique and the weapon. The inherited technique is also the most important thing of this sect, considered a benefit for you disciples."
"As for this Soul-Catching Banner, consider it a self-defense Magical Artifact you bought. I’ll deduct it from your tribute, and won’t charge you extra."
"Thank you, Elder, for the gift."
Zheng Yi respectfully accepted the cultivation technique and weapon, then saw the Outer Elder wave his hand, and promptly bowed to take his leave.
Upon leaving the Soul Catching Sect’s stronghold, Zheng Yi felt a sense of relaxation, looking at the cultivation technique and Soul-Catching Banner in hand, feeling a faint sense of joy from achieving his long-awaited reward after enduring hardships.
In fact, Zheng Yi chose the Soul Catching Sect after careful consideration.
Firstly, the Soul Catching Sect is not too strong, being a lower-class sect in the Demon Realm, and its rules are not very strict, especially not restricting the disciples’ whereabouts.
Secondly, the Soul Catching Sect is one of the few that does not require you to directly go to the sect’s residence to grant you cultivation techniques. Just a stronghold is enough to make you a disciple and impart the cultivation techniques.
Thirdly, in that newly opened Doomsday World, the most important things are ghostly evil spirits.
The Soul Catching Sect’s cultivation of the "Black Evil Technique" requires refining resentful ghosts and fierce ghosts into Black Evil. The more you refine, the stronger the Black Evil becomes, making it a perfect specialized choice and an ideal place to cultivate this technique.
It can be said that after multiple deductions, this was the most fundamental reason for Zheng Yi to successfully acquire the cultivation technique in one go.
Plan before you act!
...
After obtaining the "Black Evil Technique" and the Soul-Catching Banner, Zheng Yi dared not leave Blood Mist Abyss City just like that. Instead, he paid to find an inn and stayed there.
He opened the "Black Evil Technique" and learned about the operation of the technique, then recognized the Soul-Catching Banner with a drop of blood. After preparing everything, Zheng Yi re-entered the Doomsday World.
The first thing upon entering the Doomsday World was to disperse the cultivation technique, directly dispersing the Qi Cultivation Third Layer technique he had practiced before.
Poof!
He directly spurted a mouthful of fresh blood, then promptly pulled out and swallowed a prepared healing elixir, and the chaotic aura in his body gradually calmed down.
Zheng Yi eagerly operated the flow of the "Black Evil Technique" and slowly circulated the aura transformed into Demonic Qi.
Relying on the previous accumulation, he quickly entered the realm of the first level of the technique, stable at Qi Cultivation First Layer.
This was the result of the previously remaining True Qi being converted into Demonic Qi.
"Caw, caw!!"
A jarring cry accompanied by the sound of flapping wings made Zheng Yi look up and see a mass of black like clouds surging over here.
"A flock of carrion crows? Just one mouthful of fresh blood attracted these things."
Zheng Yi was amazed at the crows’ sense of smell, able to detect the scent of blood from such a distance; truly terrifying creatures.
For the natives, it might be a disaster, but for Zheng Yi, it was quite a surprise.
"Just in time to test the blade on you today."
Facing the overwhelming flock of crows, Zheng Yi raised the Soul-Catching Banner with one hand, letting the wind dance it, surging Demonic Qi rolled up and transformed into a black cloud, swiftly covering them.
The previously majestic, surging crow flock, when covered by the surging Demonic Qi, instantly fell from the sky like stones, quickly covering the ground.
The flock of crows, numbered in the hundreds and thousands that would terrify others, turned into nourishing material under the cover of the Soul-Catching Banner.
The scene of crow corpses falling all over was somewhat horrifying, but Zheng Yi, standing in the middle, revealed a smile on his face.
He swiftly examined the Soul-Catching Banner in his hand, clearly feeling a large number of crow souls struggling inside.
"All top-notch souls..."
"Unexpectedly, even though these carrion crows were infected by the virus, their souls remained so pure, completely comparable to human souls in the cultivation world."
"Just the right opportunity to absorb these souls and restore the level."
Zheng Yi used the Soul-Catching Banner to refine the crows’ souls, letting the refined soul power flow into his body along his arm while greedily devouring the energy by operating the Black Evil Technique.
It took him a whole day to completely absorb all the refined soul power.
And more unbelievably, the level that dropped due to the switch of cultivation techniques returned to Qi Cultivation Third Layer.
No doubt, this Apocalyptic World is a paradise for Demon Cultivators.
No killing needed, no brutality, no bloodshed, and without being hunted by cultivators.
It’s full of top-grade materials here, even an unremarkable flock of crows can produce a substantial amount of soul power, showing noticeable effects.
"If I had a Soul-Attracting Array, wouldn’t it be even better?!"
Suddenly, an idea popped into Zheng Yi’s mind.
Soul-Attracting Array.
A type of formation used to attract souls, not uncommon among demon cultivators, indispensable for those demon cultivators who slaughter villages and plunder souls.
But in this world, Zheng Yi could entirely utilize this formation to wait for those fierce ghosts and wandering souls to come.
With this thought, Zheng Yi eagerly returned to the Cultivation Realm.
In just half an hour, Zheng Yi appeared again.
In order to cultivate, he did not waste a moment of time, using a significant amount of Spirit Stones to obtain a Soul-Attracting Array from the Outer Sect Steward Elder.
Everything was ready, next up was to go all out.
...
```