The Dao of Reincarnation (163-164) (Patreon)

Chapter 163: The Life-Slaughter Demon Lord (Part 3)

At the critical moment, Cheng Wu's aura suddenly surged dramatically.

Su Chen showed a slight trace of surprise.

"Killing God Induction? That's a secret technique of the Killing God Hall. Where did you obtain it?"

Cheng Wu let out a sigh of relief. "You cannot kill me. I am also a member of the Killing God Hall. I serve Young Master Wusheng and was planted in Sword Pavilion. If you kill me, Young Master Wusheng will never let you go."

Su Chen grew interested. "Who is this Young Master Wusheng you speak of?"

Cheng Wu looked stunned. "You're from the Killing God Hall and you don't even know Young Master Wusheng? He is the successor of the Killing Emperor and the number one genius of the Killing God Hall. Even the three hall masters dare not show him any disrespect."

Su Chen had indeed never heard of Young Master Wusheng, but he knew of the Killing Emperor—the founder of the Killing God Hall and a notoriously fierce Great Emperor who had once slaughtered geniuses from across the myriad races and proved his Dao through killing.

The Killing Emperor's inheritance… Su Chen's interest was now fully piqued. He would not remain indifferent to a Great Emperor's legacy.

Su Chen continued, "What is your purpose in infiltrating Sword Pavilion? And where is Young Master Wusheng now?"

Cheng Wu snorted coldly. "These are not things you are qualified to ask about. I advise you to leave immediately. If you kill me, Young Master Wusheng will not spare you. The sect master of Sword Pavilion is already on his way. If you don't leave now, you won't be able to escape later."

Su Chen sighed.

His figure vanished like a ghost. Just as Cheng Wu thought he had left, a hand suddenly covered his face. Cheng Wu tried to resist, but in an instant, his limbs were severed and his voice was silenced.

"Why bother?"

Staring into Cheng Wu's eyes filled with despair, Su Chen's own gaze remained cold and dead.

Since Cheng Wu refused to speak, Su Chen knew a few soul-searching secret techniques. Although they would cost him some time, compared to these secrets, the delay was insignificant. Even if it meant exposing some of his cards, it was worth it.

Cheng Wu's struggles started fierce but gradually weakened until they stopped entirely. His eyes became hollow, no different from a corpse.

"Interesting."

The corner of Su Chen's mouth curled up.

Ten years ago, Cheng Wu had already submitted to Young Master Wusheng and infiltrated Sword Pavilion. There were many such chess pieces placed by Wusheng across various regions, and even among other races outside the Eternal World. These people did not know one another and only knew of each other's existence. Young Master Wusheng seemed to be using these pieces while waiting for something.

As for Young Master Wusheng himself, he was a true legend. Fifty years ago, he obtained the Killing Emperor's inheritance from the Killing God Hall and rose to become the current Killing Lord of the hall. Even the three hall masters had to obey him. In a short time, he had risen rapidly and obtained countless opportunities. Yet eight years ago, he had suddenly disappeared without a trace.

Su Chen felt that this Young Master Wusheng was not simple. He might be another person with a great destiny and extraordinary abilities. Perhaps he could foresee the future, or perhaps he was a powerhouse who had been reborn.

"Young Master Wusheng knows of my existence. In the future, I may cause trouble for him, so he sent the Life-Slaughter Saint King to nip me in the bud.

"Today's events were no coincidence. They must have been arranged by some powerful figure within the Killing God Hall. The most likely culprit is my so-called cheap master, the Life-Slaughter Saint King. He is not completely obedient to Wusheng and wants to use my hand to eliminate him. That is why he had me replace Sha Shengzi and become the successor of the Life-Slaughter lineage, while forbidding me from revealing anything about my identity as Lu Chen."

Everything made sense now.

Having lived for tens of thousands of years, Su Chen's mind was naturally meticulous and profound. He quickly pieced together the cause and effect. Even if there were some slight discrepancies, he believed they would not be far off.

He found it quite interesting. A person suspected of being able to foresee the future—or perhaps a reborn powerhouse with great destiny—along with the undercurrents surging within the Killing God Hall. This life was destined to be extraordinary.

Su Chen narrowed his eyes and murmured, "I wasted some time, and now the pavilion master of Sword Pavilion has arrived. It seems I will need to spend some effort cleaning up the scene."

With his current strength, facing a Profound Connection realm titled king expert was more than enough.

A great battle erupted, only to end quickly, leaving behind a scene of utter devastation.

…

Xiao Family.

The Xiao Family was one of the four great clans of the Northern Dawn Empire. All five children born to the family head were exceptional talents, dragons and phoenixes among men.

The eldest, Xiao Xuance, was a great general of the Northern Dawn Empire with an undefeated record—a living legend in the military.

The second child, Xiao Lingxue, had joined the Misty Sacred Palace and become a true disciple there.

The third, Xiao Jin, was the richest man in the Northern Dawn Empire and controlled its largest trading guild.

Even the youngest, Xiao Yueli, ranked among the top ten geniuses of the empire.

Yet in this nest of dragons and phoenixes, a loach had appeared.

The fourth child, Xiao Sha, was a notorious playboy and a good-for-nothing who had achieved nothing. Relying on his status as a son of the Xiao Family, he frequented brothels and pleasure houses. Every famous courtesan in the imperial city had suffered at his hands.

In a quiet courtyard, a woman in plain white robes sat gracefully like a pure white lotus. Her slender fingers danced across the ancient zither strings, producing exquisite melodies.

Leaning against the railing stood a young man in a green scholar's robe. He looked refined and scholarly, his gaze calm and deep.

This man was none other than the fourth young master of the Xiao Family—Xiao Sha—the infamous wastrel in the eyes of outsiders.

Xiao Sha carried a secret. He… was actually a reborn cultivator who had returned to this era three thousand years in the past!

In his previous life, he had achieved nothing. He watched helplessly as the Xiao Family was destroyed and could do nothing to stop it. After leaving the Northern Dawn Empire, he drifted through life and only reached the Nirvana realm, leaving behind countless regrets. In this life, he was determined to make up for every single one of them.

The first thing he did after rebirth was to seize the legendary Killing Emperor's inheritance. Under the alias Young Master Wusheng, he gained the favor of the Killing Ancestor and became the leader of the Killing God Hall. He gathered the commoner geniuses who had risen to fame in his previous life and, following his memories, waited for opportunities to appear so he could plunder them.

All the major figures who had stirred up storms in his past life had been quietly eliminated by him in advance whenever possible.

For example, the Origin Spirit Saint Lu Chen—who had shaken the world in his previous life—had been targeted early. Xiao Sha had sent the Life-Slaughter Saint King to deal with him. By now, that man had probably already reincarnated.

"Damn Divine Fire Venerable!"

If not for that old bastard injuring him, he would not have been forced into hiding for so long.

He had originally planned to seize the Heavenly Fire of the Fire Realm, but he never expected the Divine Fire Venerable of that realm to still be alive. Even with the Killing Emperor's inheritance and countless other opportunities, Xiao Sha had still been gravely wounded by a powerhouse an entire major realm above him. Over the years, he had offended far too many people. To avoid being assassinated by his enemies while he was weak, he had no choice but to return to the Xiao Family and recover from his injuries in secret.

The woman playing the zither glanced at Xiao Sha with her beautiful eyes, thinking to herself: "The world sees the fourth young master of the Xiao Family as nothing but a wastrel… but who knows that the most terrifying person in the entire Xiao Family is precisely this fourth son!"

Suddenly, Xiao Sha's expression changed drastically!

Chapter 164: The Life-Slaughter Demon Lord (Part 4)

"Cheng Wu is dead… He was one of my chess pieces planted in the Sword Pavilion. Ten years from now, an ancient saint's ruins will appear near Sword Pavilion. Cheng Wu was supposed to obtain the inheritance inside and become one of my capable subordinates. How could he die just like that?"

Xiao Sha felt deeply puzzled. In his previous life, Cheng Wu had indeed died, but only after obtaining the inheritance from the ancient saint's ruins.

Why had he died at this particular point in time?

"Could it be a change caused by my rebirth?"

Xiao Sha knew that his actions after rebirth had altered far too many events. Perhaps a mistake in some link had led to Cheng Wu's death. Still, he needed to confirm exactly who had killed Cheng Wu.

Unfortunately, the spies Xiao Sha sent to investigate spent several months at the scene and could only conclude that the killer was most likely a powerhouse above the Profound Connection realm. The purpose seemed to be using Cheng Wu as bait to draw out the pavilion master of Sword Pavilion. Cheng Wu had simply been an unlucky victim who died by accident.

No matter how hard Xiao Sha racked his brains, he would never guess that the person who killed both Cheng Wu and the pavilion master was a thirteen-year-old boy. Because of the butterfly effect, one of his chess pieces had died. Although Xiao Sha cared, he did not take it to heart. His secret as a reborn person was destined to carry him to the peak. All obstacles would be crushed by him in their cradle. He was the invincible one!

…

After completing the mission, Su Chen returned to the Killing God Hall. His first assignment had been executed perfectly.

Seven days after submitting the mission, he came to accept his second task.

Su Chen noticed that the elder in charge of the mission hall had been replaced. He casually asked about it.

The reply he received was: "He died. He went out on a mission, had bad luck, and ran into a starry sky ferocious beast. Not even his bones remained."

Su Chen understood immediately. This was most likely the handiwork of his so-called cheap master. This only strengthened his belief that the Life-Slaughter Saint King had not spared him and allowed him to replace Sha Shengzi on a mere whim.

Su Chen narrowed his eyes. The Life-Slaughter Saint King wanted to use him, but he also needed the Saint King to help conceal his identity. If Young Master Wusheng learned that he was still alive, he would definitely try to kill him personally.

Fortunately, Su Chen had always acted cautiously. By hiding his true techniques and talent, he now had the qualifications to maneuver between a reborn person and a Saint King expert. He accepted his second mission.

Soon, five years passed.

Su Chen remained undefeated and rose rapidly to become a new star of the Killing God Hall.

During these five years, he had not given up investigating news about Young Master Wusheng. Although he had not yet learned the man's true identity, he had roughly figured out his cultivation level. According to Su Chen's estimate, before Wusheng disappeared, he should have been between the Void Refining realm and the Nirvana realm. Now, following the usual pattern of people with great destiny, he was probably about to break through to the Nirvana realm.

Su Chen knew that Young Master Wusheng had taken away many opportunities both big and small. He deduced that Wusheng's talent and cultivation before rebirth could not have been very high. At the very least, he was not born with a divine body. His strongest advantages were likely only the Killing Emperor's inheritance and his foresight.

This gave Su Chen hope of hunting him down.

Young Master Wusheng was not Fang Bubai, who had an old grandpa protecting his Dao, nor was he Lin Zhan, who possessed a powerful innate physique, ancient inheritance, and a flawless sacred weapon. Compared to those two cheaters, Young Master Wusheng only had the ability to foresee the future and make arrangements. Although he possessed a Great Emperor's inheritance, Su Chen— a former Quasi-Emperor with a fully cultivated divine body who had killed Quasi-Emperors and fought Supremes in his previous life—had no reason to fear a "normal person" with some opportunities.

"Cultivating in the Dharma-Ending Age is truly difficult."

Su Chen could not help but complain inwardly. Over the years, he had completed many missions, destroyed countless sects, and secretly killed several powerful geniuses. The cultivation resources he had obtained were countless.

Yet his progress remained painfully slow. Not only was spiritual energy far less abundant than in a great era, but even the laws were extremely scarce. Cultivation for martial artists was extremely arduous, and the higher one went, the harder it became.

In five years, Su Chen had advanced from the first level of Spirit Soul to the ninth level of Profound Connection. Such speed was shocking. If it had been in the environment of his previous life, he would have broken through to the Void Refining realm long ago.

However, the cultivation he displayed to the outside world was only at the first level of Profound Connection. An eighteen-year-old young king was already enough to make the Killing God Hall pay serious attention and view him as a terrifying talent.

Su Chen became the fifth true disciple of the Killing God Hall.

…

Northern Dawn Empire, Xiao Family.

Xiao Sha opened his eyes, delight flashing within them. He had finally recovered from his injuries.

Moreover, he had turned misfortune into fortune. His cultivation advanced once more, successfully breaking through to the Nirvana realm. In this era, a Nirvana realm expert was undoubtedly a powerhouse. Wherever he walked in the world, all living beings would address him as Venerable.

"Northern Dawn Empire…"

Xiao Sha's gaze turned icy cold.

One month later.

The entire Northern Dawn Empire was shaken.

The fourth young master of the Xiao Family was not a useless wastrel after all. He had hidden his strength so deeply. With his Nirvana realm cultivation, when the Northern Dawn Empire's ancestor broke through to Nirvana and attempted to move against the Xiao Family, putting the clan on the brink of destruction, the fourth young master stepped forward. He single-handedly slew the imperial ancestor, took control of the court officials, quelled the rebellion, and elevated the Xiao Family to the position of the empire's new imperial clan in one decisive move.

The name of the Xiao Family's fourth young master spread like wildfire. Some even claimed that the fourth young master of the Xiao Family possessed the potential to become a Great Emperor. Breaking through to Nirvana before the age of a hundred was simply too shocking. In the end, his reputation grew to rival that of the top geniuses of the Eternal World.

However, no one knew that the fourth young master of the Xiao Family, Xiao Sha, was secretly none other than Young Master Wusheng of the Killing God Hall.

Well, almost no one—except for one person whom Xiao Sha believed was already dead.

…

Inside the Killing God Hall.

Su Chen had been a true disciple of the Killing God Hall for half a year.

A piece of news exploded across the entire Eternal World.

"The fourth young master of the Xiao Family, Xiao Sha, turned the tide single-handedly. He slaughtered the entire imperial family of the Northern Dawn Empire and led the Xiao Family to the peak… A wastrel who had remained obscure and silent for sixty years suddenly revealed Nirvana realm cultivation overnight…"

Beneath his mask, Su Chen's eyes flickered.

This script felt far too familiar.

Su Chen could say with certainty that this fourth young master of the Xiao Family was precisely the Young Master Wusheng he had been looking for. It could not be wrong. Even if it was not him, the man was clearly someone with a great destiny.

However, Su Chen thought that the possibility was low. Young Master Wusheng was cautious, could foresee events before they happened, and was suspected to be a reborn person. This Xiao Sha was also sufficiently patient and possessed the perfect identity. He had obtained the information without any effort at all.

"It's about time to find an opportunity to raise my cultivation to the Void Refining realm."

Su Chen pondered. His current cultivation had already reached the peak of the ninth level of Profound Connection, only one step away from Void Refining. However, he did not want to break through in the Eternal World. He needed to leave the Eternal World and escape the watchful eyes of the Life-Slaughter Saint King. In the Eternal World, he could not conceal the aura of his divine body from the Saint King.

Using a mission as cover, Su Chen left the Eternal World. He headed to a medium-sized domain.

Half a year later, Su Chen successfully broke through to the Void Refining realm.

However, he did not return to the Killing God Hall immediately. He received news that a ruin had appeared, suspected to be the legacy site of a Saint. He naturally would not miss out on such a ruin.