I Swear I’m Not a Demonic Cultivator - Chapter 40
Chapter 40: Justice Partner Contract
The instant Fang Zheng’s words fell, an absolute silence descended upon the scene.
Hundreds of Righteous Dao cultivators hung suspended in mid-air, yet not a single one dared to move.
Believe it or not, that’s your choice.
If any of you disagree, step forward.
This isn’t an explanation.
This is a declaration of war!
Before the entire Righteous Dao of the Eastern Region, he had declared war on them all!
“Aaaaaaaaaaah—!”
A maddened roar tore through the silence.
Wang Po, Sect Master of the Heavenly Sword Sect, was consumed by fury.
His eyes blazed crimson, and his Perfect Nascent Soul-stage Spiritual Energy erupted violently, whipping his long hair into a frenzy.
“This is outrageous!”
He pointed a trembling finger at Fang Zheng, his voice shaking with rage.
“He slays our kin and then seeks to crush our spirits! Fellow cultivators! Why waste words on this Demon Lord any longer?!”
Sect Leader Yun Lan of the Azure Cloud Sect paled drastically and urgently cried out, “Sect Leader Wang! Don’t act rashly!”
“Rashly?!”
Wang Po whirled around, spitting with fury at Yun Lan.
“Yun Lan! Your Azure Cloud Sect breeds such vipers! Now you want to cower in your shell? The Heavenly Sword Sect would rather die standing than live on our knees!”
Before his words had even finished, he had already merged with his sword!
Clang!
A sword’s resonant chime pierced the heavens.
His Lifebound Flying Sword, Haoran, transformed into a dazzling golden streak that shot skyward.
“Heavenly Heart be my witness, may Haoran endure!”
Wang Po formed a decisive hand seal, his expression resolute, pouring his life’s cultivation base into the blade.
Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi converged madly, forming a colossal golden sword three hundred meters long in the air, its Sword Qi blazing with righteous might!
The Heavenly Sword Sect’s supreme technique—the Heavenly Heart Haoran Sword!
“Excellent!”
“Sect Leader Wang, majestic! Slay this Demon Lord!”
Seeing this sword, all the Righteous Dao cultivators instantly rekindled their hope, their morale soaring.
Yet Fang Zheng, at the heart of the sword’s momentum, shook his head slightly.
Sigh.
Another pitiful soul blinded by appearances.
A wave of pity washed over Fang Zheng.
This sword, overflowing with righteous Qi, revealed a fundamentally good heart. His temper was simply too explosive, requiring guidance.
Very well.
Adhering to the principle of “punish the past to warn the future, treat the illness to save the patient,” Fang Zheng resolved to remain purely defensive, forcing his opponent to retreat out of difficulty and grasp the true meaning of the Righteous Dao.
Fang Zheng didn’t even bother using a Magic Treasure, simply raising his right hand with serene composure.
He channeled the vast Great Righteous Qi within him, preparing to conjure the most basic defensive barrier—a swirling vortex of protective energy.
Ding!
Detecting Host facing a “Trial of Justice,” System automatically optimizing defensive technique…
Congratulations Host, comprehended the Ancient Human Emperor’s true defensive essence: “Subdue with Virtue Wall”!
The System’s notification chimed in his mind.
Fang Zheng was quite pleased with the name.
Subdue with Virtue—exactly what I intend.
In Fang Zheng’s mind’s eye, a pure golden shield engraved with the Confucian virtues—Ren, Yi, Li, Zhi, Xin (Benevolence, Righteousness, Propriety, Wisdom, Trustworthiness)—solemnly appeared before him.
But in the real world…
The instant Fang Zheng raised his hand, the space before him collapsed violently!
An endless torrent of pitch-black Demonic Energy erupted forth, coalescing into a colossal Demonic Wall composed of countless tormented ghostly faces.
From the wall, pallid ghostly hands clawed at the sky, emitting silent curses.
A bone-chilling, despair-laden aura, capable of devouring all existence, erupted forth!
“Slash!” Wang Po roared, unleashing a hundred-zhang golden sword beam imbued with the purifying power of thunder. It crashed violently against the Demonic Wall!
Boom—!
There was no explosion.
The moment the golden sword beam touched the Demonic Wall, it was like pouring a spoonful of hot water into a ten-thousand-year-old ice cave.
The glowing tip of the sword beam was instantly devoured by countless ghostly faces, their gaping mouths tearing at it, visibly consuming and assimilating the light!
The golden radiance shattered inch by inch!
“What?!”
The resolute determination on Wang Po’s face was instantly replaced by disbelief and horror.
“Everyone, attack together! He’s absorbing Sect Leader Wang’s power!”
The white-haired elder of the Myriad Methods Sect was the first to react, his voice cracking with urgency.
He summoned an Eight Trigrams Treasure Mirror, unleashing a divine beam of Five Elements energy!
“Slay demons and vanquish evil—a duty for all!”
“Demon Lord, meet your doom!”
“Let me test my blade!”
As if awakened from a dream, hundreds of cultivators unleashed their most powerful Magic Treasures!
Flying swords, throwing knives, precious seals, divine talismans, thunder spells…
A barrage of hundreds of attacks rained down like a suffocating blanket, slamming into Fang Zheng from all directions simultaneously!
Seeing this overwhelming assault, Fang Zheng finally frowned.
What’s going on?
I clearly held back, so why are they escalating?
Do they mistake my goodwill, my “subdue with virtue” approach, for weakness?
No, this chaos is spiraling out of control. Someone’s bound to get hurt if this keeps up.
I need to regain control immediately! They can’t keep making the same mistake over and over!
A thought flashed through Fang Zheng’s mind, and he activated his newly acquired Divine Ability.
Demonic Minister’s Covenant… Activate!
Ding!
You are exercising the authority of the Human Emperor to appoint your Guardian of the Dao!
Divine Ability automatically optimized to: Justice Partner Contract!
Lu Chuxue, Zhao Xun, Fang Zheng murmured inwardly.
Lu Chuxue, who had been cowering behind him, paralyzed with fear, suddenly jerked violently!
Simultaneously, a stiff figure slowly emerged from the shadows of the Human Emperor Banner.
It was Zhao Xun, the Corpse Puppet—the first cultivator Fang Zheng had “redeemed.”
In the next instant, two immeasurable torrents of pitch-black Demonic Energy erupted from Lu Chuxue and Zhao Xun’s bodies, surging skyward like volcanic eruptions!
“Ugh… AAAAAH!”
Lu Chuxue howled in agony and exhilaration as the Demonic Energy coursed through him, triggering a grotesque transformation!
His skin turned deathly pale, his fingernails sharpened into claws, and twin orbs of eerie green demonic flames ignited in his eyes!
His cultivation base instantly shattered through the Qi Refining Stage, Foundation Establishment, and Golden Core realms, skyrocketing all the way to Half-Step Nascent Soul!
Meanwhile, Corpse Servant Zhao Xun’s empty eye sockets erupted with twin beams of crimson light. His body radiated a chaotic blend of corpse qi and demonic energy, his aura matching the same realm as his master!
“I grant you power! Join me in upholding justice!”
Fang Zheng’s majestic voice echoed in their minds.
“As… as you command, my great… Master!” Lu Chuxue rasped, dropping to one knee, his voice hoarse with fanatical fervor.
Zhao Xun, on the other hand, unleashed an inhuman roar, transforming into a dark blur as he charged headfirst into the barrage of attacks!
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The Corpse Servant Zhao Xun used his demonic body, as durable as a Magic Treasure, to smash through numerous spells.
Lu Chuxue grinned savagely, sweeping his hands forward. Two colossal demonic claws tore through the sky, ripping two Late-Stage Golden Core cultivators—magic treasures and all—into shreds!
Their souls were drawn by an invisible force and absorbed into the Human Emperor Banner behind Fang Zheng.
“What?!”
“Those two are his servants? How can they be so strong?!”
The Righteous Dao Allied Army descended into utter chaos.
Fang Zheng watched it all, his brow furrowing even deeper.
He had only wanted his followers to help maintain order. How had they resorted to lethal force so quickly?
Sigh, it seems the ‘Power of Justice’ I bestowed upon them is too potent; they haven’t yet mastered its control.
This chaos… I must end it myself!
A flicker of determination flashed in Fang Zheng’s eyes.
He retracted the Demonic Wall and slowly raised the Human Emperor Banner behind him—the banner that had devoured tens of thousands of souls.
He decided to take the initiative, using thunderous means to suppress the entire battlefield and put an end to this farce!
Seeing Fang Zheng raise that sinister banner, Wang Po’s heart nearly stopped. He sensed his Lifebound Flying Sword being rapidly corroded by the Demonic Wall; if he didn’t recall it immediately, its spiritual essence would be irreparably damaged!
“Return!”
He desperately channeled his magical incantation.
But it was too late.
Fang Zheng simply waved the Human Emperor Banner forward with a gentle flick of his wrist.
There was no earth-shattering roar.
Not even a wisp of wind.
But the moment he waved the flag, tens of thousands of ghostly faces on its surface simultaneously opened their mouths.
An invisible, soul-shattering shockwave erupted!
嗡—!
The golden flying sword entangled in Demonic Energy let out a mournful cry as its radiant golden light was instantly devoured.
Crack!
A crisp snap echoed.
Under the horrified gazes of all present, the Lifebound Flying Sword—the embodiment of the Heavenly Sword Sect’s glory—snapped in two, spiderweb-like black fissures spreading across its surface. The shattered halves plummeted from the sky, reduced to worthless scrap metal.
Pfft—!
With his Lifebound Magic Treasure destroyed, Wang Po suffered a catastrophic backlash. He violently spat out a mouthful of vital essence, falling from the sky like a kite with a severed string.
Crashing to the ground, he felt his Cultivation Base regressing and the fortress of his Dao Heart crumbling within him. He let out a helpless, anguished roar:
“Holy Sword!”
“My Holy Sword!”
“My Holy Sword!”
His Dao Heart had shattered.
The entire battlefield fell into deathly silence once more.
Countless Righteous Dao Cultivators halted their attacks, staring in terror at the Demon God wielding the sinister banner.
With a single wave, the Sword Sect’s Sect Master—a Nascent Soul Perfection cultivator—had his Dao Heart shattered and his Cultivation Base crippled.
How… how can we possibly fight this?
Just as everyone was gripped by overwhelming fear and their will to fight began to crumble, a sudden transformation erupted!
Buzz! Buzz! Buzz!
Centered on Fang Zheng, countless crimson runes blazed to life across the scorched earth within a several-mile radius.
The runes connected, forming a massive Formation pattern. Blood-red pillars of light shot skyward, creating an impenetrable cage that trapped Fang Zheng at its heart!
A chilling, suffocating aura of slaughter and absolute suppression descended!
“Hahahaha, Demon Lord! Why don’t you look behind you?”
It turned out that Azure Cloud Sect Leader Yun Lan had secretly deployed this Absolute Kill Formation.
Seeing the Formation activate, the fear on Sect Leader Yun Lan’s face finally gave way to a ruthless determination.
He stepped forward from the crowd, pointed at Fang Zheng trapped within the Formation, and roared in an icy voice, “Demon Lord! Did you truly believe we were unprepared?”
“This is the Ancient Absolute Kill Formation—the ‘Nine Heavens Ten Earths Divine Extermination Formation’! Even if a Divine Transformation expert personally descended, today, you will never leave here alive!”