An indiscriminate punch descended directly into the mortal realm.
The strike did not move particularly fast, but its power was boundless.
Many of the Battle God Sect's Origin Core elders turned pale with horror.
"A demon! An absolute demon!"
"He's come to annihilate our sect!"
"Sect Master, slay this fiend!"
Yet Saint Battle True Monarch was even more shocked.
"Aaaah!"
His spiritual energy poured forth recklessly as the divine ability Heavenly Lotus surged toward the blood-red canopy. For a moment, the firmament was painted in red and white.
"Trespassers in the Battle God Sect die!"
"Those who slander this god shall be shown no mercy!"
The Ten Slaughters Tyrant Fist was utterly unreasonable.
In this single punch lay traces of immortal arts and divine abilities, as well as the imprint of martial arts techniques. The murderous intent that Ning Tao had concealed burst out in this moment, condensing into a single blow.
It was as if a zerg broodmother was searching for her kin.
*Crack!*
Saint Battle True Monarch's divine ability shattered on the spot.
The terrifying killing intent of the Ten Slaughters Tyrant Fist assaulted his eyes and ears. In an instant, he felt ghostly wails and wolf howls, seeming to see countless heaped white bones and rotting corpses.
Saint Battle True Monarch had always been ruthless and decisive, yet he had never witnessed such mountains of corpses.
Blood gushed uncontrollably from his ears, mouth, and nostrils.
At this moment, where did he still look like an immortal cultivation powerhouse? He was reduced to nothing more than an ordinary, decrepit mortal old man.
His face was filled with disbelief and sheer terror. "What kind of monster are you?!"
"I am a god, a great god!"
Qi Yuan threw out the red certificate once more.
Saint Battle True Monarch felt utterly baffled and powerless. He could not comprehend why such a powerful and mysterious figure would toy with him using a mortal certificate.
Before he could think further, the terrifying Ten Slaughters Tyrant Fist punched straight through his body and plunged toward the earth.
*Boom!*
The punch landed, blood shadows appeared, and murderous intent boiled over.
The elders and deacons inside Battle God Tower felt as if the apocalypse had arrived.
"Those who have slaughtered ten mortals shall die!"
Qi Yuan's voice boomed down like that of a heavenly god.
In an instant, killing intent erupted from more than ninety-nine percent of the Battle God Sect's elders, deacons, and disciples. Behind each of them, a small curtain of blood manifested, serving as beacons to draw the Ten Slaughters Tyrant Fist.
Throughout the building, the bodies of elders and disciples burst one after another like firecrackers. Even pouring out all of their magical power could not stop it; they could only watch helplessly as the punch wiped them out.
Even among the mortal aspirants gathered outside who had not yet been accepted into the sect, eight were obliterated by the fist.
The crowd trembled in shock, erupting into pandemonium.
In just a few breaths, Battle God Tower turned into a purgatory shrouded in a thick mist of blood. Fewer than one in a hundred disciples and elders survived.
Standing beneath the blood-red canopy, Qi Yuan murmured calmly, "Sects in games are still a bit weak. They can't compare to the Palace of Light, where I had to write essays and plan cautiously. Still, this feeling of 'I don't like beef' is really quite nice."
Through his mask, Qi Yuan's gaze swept over the remaining survivors.
Every ordinary person and cultivator caught beneath that gaze felt their heart leap into their throat.
Outside the blood curtain, the rogue Divine Infant cultivator shuddered violently.
*What realm is this? Purple Mansion? No, it doesn't look like an origin divine ability. But if it isn't an origin divine ability, how could it be so terrifying? Saint Battle True Monarch was comparable to a late Divine Infant, yet he couldn't even withstand a single punch.*
His mind was a tangled mess of shock, confusion, and fear.
The Battle God Sect, with its ten-thousand-year heritage, had been wiped out in a single moment.
Just then, the blood-robed man spoke. His voice was calm, yet filled with solemn majesty.
"I am a certified god!"
"If any other immortal cultivation sect dares to challenge a god's majesty like the Battle God Sect did, they shall be shown no mercy!"
His voice rolled out like thunder, echoing in the ears of the tens of thousands of mortals present and reaching the rogue cultivators as well.
Hearing this, the rogue Divine Infant cultivator froze, then muttered bitterly, "What an overbearing god. Did he annihilate the Battle God Sect just to warn outsiders like us?"
His mind raced through endless possibilities.
This 'god' had to be a native of Arch Star who had emerged from secluded cultivation only to find countless cultivators roaming the world. To establish his authority and absolute rule, he had decisively struck and wiped out the Battle God Sect as a display of power.
As for the sect's name being improper or claims of being a 'mental patient,' those were merely excuses. When an expert of this caliber acted, there had to be a profound motive behind it. Annihilating the Battle God Sect was meant to warn all the other sects.
"It seems we cultivators had better keep a low profile."
The rogue Divine Infant cultivator took one last deep look at the scene before fading into thin air.
...
Half a day later.
Inside a grand hall, several figures flickered into view, each emanating faint, concealed auras.
The leader was completely wrapped in a black robe, hiding his features.
"How do you all view the destruction of the Battle God Sect?"
The black-robed man spoke in a raspy voice as he surveyed the men and women concealing their identities around him. These were Divine Infant cultivators from the Three Realms. The fall of the Battle God Sect had sent shockwaves across the region, rousing them all from secluded cultivation.
"This person is not from the Three Realms; he must be a native. His actions were likely meant to establish his authority," a female Divine Infant cultivator remarked, her voice tranquil and flat.
"Wiping out an entire sect just to establish authority—what an overbearing man!"
"His strength should be comparable to the Purple Mansion realm!"
At those words, the expressions of all the cultivators shifted slightly.
The Purple Mansion realm was virtually the pinnacle of the lower realms. Generally, once someone reached the Purple Mansion realm in a cultivation world, they could suppress an entire realm on their own. Above that lay the Yin God realm, capable of ascending to the Upper Realm.
The Three Realms bordered one another and shared trade and resources. Over the past several thousand years, spiritual energy had withered, turning Purple Mansion cultivators into legends. Divine Infants were already considered the peak.
Facing a Purple Mansion expert now, how could they not be alarmed?
"Saint Battle True Monarch died in vain. If he had brought his sect's supreme treasure to this realm, how could he have been slain by a mere Purple Mansion?" a green-robed man said coldly.
The founding ancestors of their sects were all Yin Gods who had ascended to the Upper Realm. These ancestors had left behind supreme treasures to protect their lineages, granting them the strength to contend even against a Purple Mansion cultivator.
Faced with the ruthless figure who had wiped out the Battle God Sect, they felt wary, but not truly terrified.
Of course, what he did not know was that Saint Battle True Monarch had indeed brought his treasure along—he simply had not had the chance to use it. And even if he had, the outcome would not have changed.
"He is a living Purple Mansion cultivator, after all. We must remain cautious," a female cultivator cautioned.
The others nodded in agreement.
"With him around, our plans... will likely become somewhat more difficult," the leading black-robed man rasped.
The rest fell silent, lost in thought.
Cultivators from the Three Realms had not come to Arch Star out of charity to teach immortal arts. For instance, the dozen or so Divine Infant cultivators present represented ten major sects whose ancestors had long since colluded with one another.
"The Sky-Overturning Plan must not fail, and the new world must be born!" the woman said coldly, a streak of murderous intent in her voice.
The spiritual energy of the Three Realms was dwindling more and more. If this continued, before long, not even Divine Infant cultivators would be able to emerge. Thus, these dozen-odd Divine Infant cultivators had put their heads together and devised the Sky-Overturning Plan to alter their destiny.
Within the Three Realms lay a vast, empty pocket realm known as the Sky-Overturning Realm.
The core of the Sky-Overturning Plan was to siphon all the spiritual energy from the Three Realms and Arch Star into the Sky-Overturning Realm, creating a new cultivation world rich in spiritual qi. This world would be led by their ten-odd sects, while the Three Realms and Arch Star would serve as sacrifices.
They had already laid their groundwork in the Three Realms; all that remained was to finalize their arrangements on Arch Star before executing the plan. Now that Arch Star's spiritual qi was reviving, its energy could not be allowed to go to waste.
"For now, we must proceed with the Sky-Overturning Plan quietly and avoid provoking him."
"Indeed. The mission comes first. Let him run rampant for a little while. Hundreds of years from now, he will understand just how weak and powerless he truly is."
"Anyone who obstructs the Sky-Overturning Plan shall be shown no mercy!"
The Divine Infant cultivators reached a consensus.
They decided to leave Qi Yuan alone for the time being. Once everything was fully prepared, they would deal with him. The corpse of a Purple Mansion cultivator would make excellent fertilizer, enriching the spiritual qi of the Sky-Overturning Realm considerably.
At that moment, an attractively curved female cultivator spoke up: "The Tianyuan Stone of the Tianyuan Sect seems to have caught wind of our Sky-Overturning Plan. Lately, they have been begging the Arch Star royal family to establish the Star-Shifting Tianyuan Array, all to uncover more information."
In truth, this was a misunderstanding.
The crisis on Arch Star detected by the Tianyuan Sect was not the Sky-Overturning Plan at all, but she believed it was targeted at them.
"The Tianyuan Sect... is indeed troublesome. This monarch has a pawn placed within the Tianyuan Sect, and that person sent back a crucial piece of news. The Tianyuan Sect has already established contact with their founding ancestor in the Upper Realm. That ancestor is quite interested in Arch Star, and in about a century, he will descend in person."
"What? A Yin God descending?!"
A heavy pressure settled over everyone present, their hearts trembling. While their ancestors' treasures were enough to handle a Purple Mansion cultivator, all schemes and tricks appeared fragile and laughable before a Yin God.
"According to my intelligence, that ancestor will descend to the lower realm within one to two centuries at most!"
"Is the information reliable?"
"Beyond doubt. My pawn..."
"It seems we must complete the Sky-Overturning Plan within a hundred years!"
...
The destruction of the Battle God Sect caused a massive uproar.
Above all, the Battle God Sect's ancestor had once single-handedly hoisted Battle God Tower, shocking the world. Yet he had been killed with a single punch by a bizarre, mysterious powerhouse brandishing a mental patient certificate.
Not only that, but the Battle God Sect had been wiped out entirely.
The world was stunned.
Mental patients, who had already enjoyed an elevated status, became untouchable elites; whenever anyone saw one, they dared not cause trouble.
The world was abuzz, reeling from the fall of the Battle God Sect. For the first time, the people of Arch Star truly experienced the cruelty of the immortal cultivation world, where entire lineages could be wiped out on a whim.
Meanwhile, the Send-a-Grandpa Network's campaign to "spread love to the world and bring warmth to mankind" proceeded in full swing.
Countless blood samples were delivered to Tianyue. Qi Yuan selected fated individuals, gifting them a grandpa or grandma. As for those without affinity, Qi Yuan was not stingy either, sending them recorded voice messages:
"Granddaughter, Grandpa is with you."
"Grandson, Grandpa is still here."
Anyone who visited the Send-a-Grandpa Network and mailed in their blood received both audio clips on their phones.
As for why he did not separate them by gender, it was simply because Qi Yuan did not assume anyone's gender. What if a man smelled sweet and had soft hands—a little femboy?
Over the course of a year, the Send-a-Grandpa Network flourished, then swiftly went quiet.
After all, everyone who wanted to mail in their blood had already done so, and Qi Yuan did not force those who refused. There were plenty of people anyway, and his Divine Infants could always find grandsons and granddaughters. Furthermore, in the world where the Primogenitors resided, there were still many dead Primogenitors waiting for him to "resurrect" them. He was actually running a bit short on Divine Infants.
Within just a few years, the Send-a-Grandpa Network vanished from public view and was gradually forgotten.
Most people had only received Qi Yuan's custom voice recordings and five hundred yuan, having no idea what the website was actually for. Those who had obtained a "grandpa" or "grandma" were ecstatic, keeping their heads down and lying low.
Seasons of crabapple rains passed uncounted, and pear blossoms turned snowy white year after year as time flowed on in the mortal world.
On Arch Star, ordinary people grew increasingly accustomed to the existence of cultivators. The Immortal Cultivation Alliance was founded, and immortal academies sprang up one after another.
Martial arts dwindled into a niche pursuit.
Martial arts halls shut down one by one, replaced by rogue cultivation academies. Yet even as martial arts declined, the Martial Arts Tournament continued to be held.
However, the participants were mostly old men—people cast aside by the era, stubbornly clinging to the passions of their youth.
The Martial Arts Tournament shrank from a niche pursuit to a fringe within a fringe. Barely any spectators bought tickets for the finals. Some even jokingly referred to the tournament matches as "punching the nursing home."
This was because, for all these years, the tournament champion had always been the same person.
A man named Qi Yuan.
As champion of the Martial Arts Tournament, Qi Yuan had earned another moniker: the "Elderly Slayer."
As the years sped by, Qi Yuan's opponents in the tournament grew increasingly aged. Young people had all gone off to study immortal cultivation; no one stayed behind for martial arts. The path of martial arts had become the private domain of the elderly.
In every Martial Arts Tournament, Qi Yuan was either beating up an old man or an old lady. There was no suspense over the championship; it always belonged to Qi Yuan. How could those old men and women ever be a match for him?
The Martial Arts Tournament fell into obscurity, and spiritual qi on Arch Star grew increasingly dense. Beneath the surface, however, undercurrents surged with greater intensity.
Yet none of this concerned Qi Yuan.
At that moment, he was off completing tasks in the Yellow Springs World.
There, Qi Yuan had also made a name for himself, known as the "Blood-Robed Mad Demon." It was quite similar to his previous title, the Blood-Robed Sword God.
As for why he was called the Blood-Robed Mad Demon, it was because every time he entered a task world, he was first swept away by the task target, after which he would begin slaughtering demons. He ran across the entire realm, killing demons across the globe.
This left his task companions feeling both thrilled and worried.
They were thrilled because they did not have to do the work themselves and could treat the trip like a vacation. But they worried because they never knew when the Blood-Robed Mad Demon would finish exterminating every demon in the task world, often forcing them to linger for a very long time before leaving.
In one task world, the demons had been so overwhelmingly numerous that the Blood-Robed Mad Demon had spent five full years slaughtering them all. The others had been forced to wait for five years as well; one participant had even ended up having a baby in that task world.
Right now, inside a task world.
Amidst a towering mountain, lush cedar trees stood straight, their needles drooping gently.
Ahead lay a graveyard that looked as though no one ever came to pay respects. Yet the cemetery was remarkably clean, clearly maintained by a dedicated caretaker.
At this moment, a young man in a green robe yawned leisurely as he ate a slice of watermelon, muttering under his breath:
"I've been guarding this grave for three whole years. Why hasn't anyone come to pay respects yet? If no one comes to pay respects, how am I supposed to slaughter their entire clan?"
Chapter 352