Chapter 274 - 195: Dreaming Back to the Ancient Era, The Wrath of an Ant

Next, they excitedly took the tests.

Li Ping’an was found to possess a Middle Grade Spirit Root and a Top Grade Heart Nature. He passed the test and was allowed to enter the Immortal Sect.

However, most of the others didn’t even have a Spiritual Root.

Even Lin Fan, the "big brother" who had led them on their quest for immortality, only possessed a Low Grade Spirit Root. While his heart nature was decent, he was too old to enter the Immortal Sect and ultimately had to leave.

Before leaving, he instructed, "Ping’an, cultivate well in the Sect. Don’t slack off."

"Big Brother, what will you do?"

"Don’t worry. A mere Spiritual Root can’t hold me, Lin Fan, back!"

Unlike the others who were dejected, Lin Fan was still full of fighting spirit.

And just like that, the gates of the Immortal Sect separated their fates.

Li Ping’an followed an Elder from the Sect into the Ten Thousand Arrays Sect.

And Li Chang’an, through his perspective, saw what one of the Nine Great Immortal Sects of the Ancient Times looked like.

The entire Ten Thousand Arrays Sect was built atop a mountain of unimaginable height.

Ethereal clouds and mists drifted through the mountain, where overlapping vines clung to everything. Pavilions and halls appeared and disappeared within the haze, and one could faintly see countless Spirit Beasts frolicking in the woods.

"Junior Brothers, there are some Sect rules you need to know in advance."

A young disciple was in charge of guiding them, speaking as he walked.

"The handymen live at the foot of the mountain. Further up is where we official disciples reside. If you become an Inner Sect or True Disciple, you can live even higher up..."

They hadn’t been walking for long when a pavilion appeared up ahead. Inside sat an elder with an extraordinary air about him.

The disciple secretly introduced him. "That’s our Sect’s Elder Luo Kun. He’s a Divinity Transformation Celestial Monarch! Elder Luo is the most approachable Celestial Monarch. Just offer a few words of flattery, and he’ll give you some pointers. You must all remember this, Junior Brothers!"

"A Divinity Transformation Celestial Monarch?"

The eyes of the many new Entry-Level disciples went wide.

To them, such a realm was simply too far out of reach!

Li Chang’an was also shaken, because that Elder Luo Kun’s appearance was somewhat similar to his old friend, Luo Kun. Moreover, they both loved to be flattered.

But the difference in their strength was simply too vast.

"Oh, right. Elder Luo’s cultivation philosophy clashes with the other Elders in the Sect’s Elder Hall, and he’s had a falling out with them. Junior Brothers, you must never mention the other Elders in front of him."

The Sect Disciple leading them spoke up again.

Before long, the group arrived at a large hall, completed the sect initiation ceremony, and each received an Identity Token.

「In the years that followed.」

Li Ping’an began his life cultivating in the Sect.

His talent was average, no different from the many other ordinary disciples.

「One day.」

The Eldest Martial Brother of his lineage led them out of the Sect on a mission for the first time.

They boarded a Spiritual Boat, left the Sect, and arrived in the Mortal Realm.

The Eldest Martial Brother sat cross-legged on the Spiritual Boat and said in a deep voice, "Junior Brothers and Sisters, you must understand that we are Immortals. To us, the billions of lives in this Mortal Realm are nothing but ants, ours to harvest as we please."

At first, the group didn’t understand what their Eldest Martial Brother meant.

But they soon would.

The Flying Ship suddenly stopped above a Mortal City.

Immediately after, the Eldest Martial Brother flew out and stood in mid-air, letting out a great shout.

"Array Activation!"

A terrifying Array abruptly materialized, blanketing the entire city.

In the next instant, countless screams echoed from within the Array.

Men and women, old and young—all of them wailed tragically under the Array’s power, dying in agony.

"Soul Comes!"

The Eldest Martial Brother held a small, strangely shaped cauldron.

Instantly, tens of thousands of wailing, distorted souls flew into the small cauldron, turning into a wisp of black smoke.

A moment later, the entire city was deathly silent, littered with corpses frozen in expressions of pain and despair.

"Not bad. This city yielded one hundred thousand souls. We just need to kill another nine hundred thousand to satisfy the Elder’s request."

The Eldest Martial Brother nodded slightly, a satisfied look on his face.

Aboard the Flying Ship, everyone’s faces turned pale, unable to believe what they were seeing.

The Eldest Martial Brother had anticipated their reactions. He smiled and said, "Junior Brothers and Sisters, you have only just transitioned from mortals to Immortals. You can’t adapt right away, but you’ll get used to it over time."

With that, he steered the Flying Ship toward the next location in the Mortal Realm.

Along the way, he mentioned a few things they needed to be aware of.

"Although our Nine Great Righteous Sects have united the Cultivation Immortality Realm, there is still some Demonic Influence lurking in the shadows. When you leave the Sect for missions in the future, you must be careful."

"Those demonic cultivators, in their attempts to stop us from harvesting mortals, have already harmed many of our fellow disciples."

Next, the Eldest Martial Brother led the group to harvest a total of one million souls.

But it wasn’t over yet.

He descended upon another city. This time, he didn’t harvest ordinary mortals. Instead, he gathered a large number of pregnant women, cut open their bodies, and tossed the still-developing children into the Array.

"Junior Brothers and Sisters, these mortal fetuses produce a trace of Innate Qi while developing. It’s an excellent tonic that many of our seniors are fond of."

As he spoke, he activated the Array to extract the Innate Qi.

This bloody scene caused several disciples with weaker constitutions to faint on the spot.

The Eldest Martial Brother just chuckled and had them carried to their rooms on the Flying Ship to rest.

For a while after that, the Eldest Martial Brother demonstrated more than ten other uses for mortals.

For example, Human Soul Lamps, Human Skin Drums, Human Bone Magical Artifacts, and so on...

Scene after scene left Li Chang’an deeply unsettled.

’How is the Ten Thousand Arrays Sect’s way of doing things so similar to the Demonic Sects?’

On the way back, they passed by the city where they had previously harvested the pregnant women.

The Eldest Martial Brother took action once more, harvesting another batch. Satisfied, he was about to leave.

Just then, down below, a mortal Martial Artist cradled his dead wife and child, his eyes bloodshot and wide with fury as he roared in agony.

"All Immortals deserve to die! They all deserve to die!"

Hearing this, the Eldest Martial Brother sneered.

"Heh, the fury of an ant."

He couldn’t be bothered to pay it any mind. He steered the Flying Ship and returned to the Sect.