I Swear I’m Not a Demonic Cultivator - Chapter 37
Chapter 37: The Warm Power of Gratitude
Withered Wood Village.
For Fang Zheng, this marked the thirty-sixth village he had “liberated” in the past two and a half days.
On the scorched earth, the last few hundred villagers huddled together like quails drenched by a storm.
Their eyes were hollow, ashes left after even despair had burned away.
Before them, a young man stood with outstretched arms, preaching with fervent zeal.
It was Lu Chuxue.
Once an accomplice of Hundred Herbs Valley, he was now Fang Zheng’s first and only disciple.
“The mortal body is a prison of suffering! Death’s end is but decaying dust!” Lu Chuxue’s voice rasped with fervor as he pointed to his chest, his eyes burning with a twisted Sacred Light.
“But Senior… he is the embodiment of compassion walking this earth! He will personally shatter your chains and grant you eternal rebirth! In his realm, your souls shall find eternal peace and glory!”
The villagers showed no reaction.
In their eyes, this youth who had swaggered alongside the Hundred Herbs Valley immortals just days ago had completely lost his mind.
He had simply transformed from one demon into another incomprehensible madman.
Fang Zheng stood at the village entrance, watching quietly.
He was deeply satisfied.
See? This is the power of enlightenment.
Lu Chuxue had already grasped the true essence of Merciful Exchange.
He was spreading the light of the Righteous Dao in his own way.
The time had come.
It was time to bring the final suffering on this land to a perfect end.
Fang Zheng stepped forward, approaching the villagers.
His mere appearance unleashed a condensed Demonic Might, forged from the souls of over thirty thousand beings, making the very air thicken around him.
The villagers finally reacted.
It was the primal fear of a natural predator, etched deep within their genes.
They began to scream, their bodies trembling uncontrollably.
Fang Zheng halted, his eyes filled with pity.
Poor souls, enslaved for so long that they’ve lost even the courage to face salvation.
It doesn’t matter.
I’ll help you.
From his Storage Bag, Fang Zheng solemnly produced the Eternal Grace Holy Grail.
The vessel was no longer its original white jade color, but had been dyed a sinister crimson by the endless essence of life.
On its surface, the faces in the Ten Thousand Peoples’ Prayer for Blessings Map each wore a strange, liberated smile.
Fang Zheng raised the Sacred Grail high.
“Your suffering ends here.”
He declared softly, his voice not loud but clear in every ear.
嗡—!
The Sacred Grail erupted in crimson light, its irresistible suction engulfing the entire village!
The villagers’ rigid bodies became visibly translucent in the red glow.
No screams.
No struggle.
The terror on their faces, in that final moment, truly transformed into the eerie “peace” Lu Chuchu had described.
Hundreds of points of light flew from their dissolving forms, coalescing into a river of light that surged into the Sacred Grail.
Simultaneously, the Human Emperor Banner behind Fang Zheng unfurled without wind.
Across its surface, tens of thousands of tormented ghostly faces emerged, their mouths gaping in silent howls as they greedily devoured every last wisp of the villagers’ souls!
Fang Zheng closed his eyes, quietly sensing everything.
In his world of perception, majestic and solemn hymns resonated in his ears.
These were the voices of tens of thousands of liberated Martial Spirits, united in praising his merits and celebrating their rebirth.
Waves of warmth—gratitude itself—washed through his limbs, elevating his Dao Heart to a higher plane.
Ding!
With boundless compassion, you have liberated all the lost souls of Withered Wood Village, guiding them back to the Origin of Life and granting them eternal peace.
You have reaped the rewards of your Merit: 541 drops of Water of Grace.
Fang Zheng opened his eyes.
The entire village was deserted.
Only wisps of blue smoke and ashes scattered in the wind remained, testament to the life that had once flourished here.
He lowered his gaze to the Sacred Grail in his hand.
Within the vessel, the crimson, blood-like Water of Grace had accumulated into a thick layer, radiating an overwhelming, heart-palpitating life force.
Without hesitation, Fang Zheng tilted his head back and drained every last drop of the Water of Grace.
Boom!!!
An unprecedented, savagely potent life essence exploded within his body!
This time, it was no mere crude repair.
It was a complete, cataclysmic reshaping!
The God-Slaying Sacred Mark within his body was completely detonated by this immense force!
“Ugh—!”
Fang Zheng let out a muffled groan of agony, dropping to one knee.
His bones shattered inch by inch, only to instantly reform!
His meridians were stretched to their breaking point, then replaced by new, tougher, and wider vessels!
His flesh, his blood, and his Divine Soul were all undergoing a fundamental, transformative metamorphosis!
Late Foundation Establishment, Foundation Establishment Perfection… the bottleneck shattered like paper!
Initial Stage Golden Core, Intermediate Stage Golden Core, Late Stage Golden Core… Golden Core Perfection!
On the surface of his golden core, countless arcane Demonic Patterns emerged, radiating pure Imperial Dao and Demonic Might.
Warning: Sacred Mark Power fully activated!
Congratulations, Host! You are shedding your mortal shell and forging a divine body!
Amidst the excruciating pain, Fang Zheng held steadfastly to his original intention.
He had succeeded.
He had exchanged his compassion for power, and in doing so, gained the means to save even more people!
At that moment, the System’s icy yet majestic notification, more resounding than ever before, boomed in his mind!
Epic Chain Mission: The Human Emperor’s Expedition
Mission First Stage: Liberate the Lambs. Completed!
Mission Evaluation: Perfect! You have wielded the purest compassion to enact the most complete redemption! Your actions are the most perfect embodiment of the Human Emperor’s Guardian Dao!
Distributing mission rewards…
Congratulations, Host! You have obtained the Epic Reward: Human Emperor’s Seal (Pseudo-Demon God-Tier)!
As the notification faded, the void before Fang Zheng twisted.
Endless Sacred Light converged, and a massive golden seal brimming with Imperial Dao majesty slowly materialized.
In the real world, however, endless pitch-black Demonic Energy coalesced into a square seal of pure darkness, radiating an ominous aura!
Carved upon the seal’s surface were mountains of corpses and seas of blood, and a throne of white bones. Its knob was a statue of a dark emperor, his face obscured, yet radiating boundless tyranny and despotism.
Fang Zheng reached out and grasped this “Human Emperor’s Seal.”
The moment he gripped it, he felt the power of this Holy Artifact surge through him.
Behind him, within the “Human Emperor Banner,” tens of thousands of Resentful Souls, previously wailing in bitter defiance, fell instantly silent! As if confronted by the most terrifying monarch, they prostrated themselves, trembling violently.
Imperial Authority Edict! The power to issue irreversible commands to all ghosts!
Simultaneously, Fang Zheng felt the very earth beneath his feet—and the spatial laws within a thousand-mile radius—”bow” to him, emitting an intimate hum of submission.
National Fortune Suppression! The ability to suppress all laws using the weight of a nation’s destiny!
What a treasure!
Fang Zheng’s heart surged with excitement. With this seal, he could better uphold justice and safeguard the people!
Yet the very instant the Human Emperor’s Seal fully materialized—
A sudden, cataclysmic transformation erupted!
BOOM—!!!
Centered on Fang Zheng, the sky within a thousand-mile radius was instantly shrouded in boundless black clouds!
A pillar of indescribably thick, pitch-black Demonic Energy shot upward from beneath his feet, tearing through the cloud sea and piercing the heavens and earth!
A terrifying vision materialized in the sky.
Mountains of corpses and seas of blood, a throne of white bones, and billions of Resentful Souls wailing in anguish—a river of blood encircling a dark, faceless emperor!
An oppressive, tyrannical, and supreme Demonic Might, treating all creation as mere livestock, crashed down upon the entire Eastern Region like the heavens collapsing!
Righteous Dao Alliance, Council Hall.
Yun Lan, Sect Master of the Azure Cloud Sect, was discussing the details of their campaign against the Demon Lord Fang Zheng with the Sect Masters of other Sects, all gathered before the massive Heaven-Gazing Treasure Mirror.
Suddenly, the mirror began to tremble violently!
In the area representing Withered Wood Village, a red dot representing Fang Zheng instantly expanded!
A moment later, the dot transformed into a pitch-black vortex, devouring everything in its path!
A pillar of pure Demonic Energy projected from the mirror, its image searing into the hall!
Pfft—!
A Golden Core Elder standing closest to the mirror spat out a mouthful of blood, his Dao Heart shattered by the Demonic Might radiating from the projection!
Yun Lan stared in horror at the apocalyptic scene unfolding in the mirror—mountains of corpses, seas of blood, and a dark emperor enthroned upon a throne of bones…
The spiritual tea cup in his hand silently crumbled into dust.
A Supreme Elder, who had lived for over a thousand years, watched as his cane snapped with a loud crack. His lips trembled, tears streaming down his withered cheeks.
“Too late… it’s all too late now…”
“A Blood Sacrifice of thirty-six thousand souls… he… his Demonic Cultivation Technique has reached Great Accomplishment…”
Above the ruins of Withered Wood Village, Fang Zheng bathed in the soaring “Sacred Light,” clutching the “Human Emperor’s Seal”—a divine artifact in his eyes.
He listened to the grand “Immortal Music” that heralded “heaven and earth celebrating,” and gazed at the “Auspicious Omen” that painted the sky with visions of “ten thousand spirits prostrating.”
The System’s cold, solemn notification chimed in at the opportune moment:
【This is the Auspicious Omen of the Human Emperor’s Ascension! Your Righteous Dao has received the initial recognition of this realm’s laws!】
Fang Zheng nodded in satisfaction, his gaze deep and profound.
My Dao is indeed the correct path.
He turned to face Lu Chuxue, who had already prostrated himself in fervent worship behind him.
Lu Chuxue trembled uncontrollably, not from fear, but from overwhelming ecstasy. He had personally witnessed a divine miracle descend upon the world!
Fang Zheng’s voice, though calm, carried an indisputable authority.
“Rise.”
Lu Chuxue jolted upright, his eyes burning with fanatical devotion.
Fang Zheng’s gaze swept past him, settling on the distant Hundred Herbs Valley.
“The next destination.”
“Hundred Herbs Valley.”