Pay to Cultivate Immortality? My Sect is Completely Free - Chapter 325

Chapter 325 The era when beast-clans are revered and humans are like ants!

“Food—what delicious food!!!”

The moment Su Bai opened his eyes, he saw in front of him a black wild boar the size of a small hillock, staring greedily at his legs.

This black boar was ugly, with tusks and sharp claws, ferocious to the extreme!

Its back bristled with countless sharp barbs, each razor-sharp, able to tear through any obstacle with ease.

Within its huge head there was only brutality, bloodlust, and cruelty!!!

Red blood dripped from its mouth; mixed in it was the scent of humans, clearly from recently drinking human blood and eating human flesh!

Now it stared at Su Bai as if it had found an unparalleled delicacy—something it had never seen before, making its mouth water.

To these beast-clans, the younger and higher a human’s cultivation base, the more delicious their flesh!

That was why it salivated at the sight of Su Bai: in its senses, this human male before it was an extraordinary delicacy—

far fresher and more exquisite than the rare treats hoarded by the great clans!

“Roar!”

In the next moment it shook the void, roared, and lunged at Su Bai.

It moved with incredible speed; in a blink it was upon him.

A five-rank great demon of the Divine Transformation Realm!!

“Hmph!”

Su Bai glanced over and simply snorted; the five-rank great demon instantly turned to ash!

After exterminating that short-sighted great demon, Su Bai finally had time to take in this world before him.

He stood in the sky, looking down at the land; beneath his feet spread a vast, boundless forest as far as the eye could see!!!

Living here were one powerful demonic beast after another, from many different races, their numbers massive.

The strongest among them had even reached the venerable level!

Seeing all this, Su Bai’s expression grew unbearably dark—dark to the extreme!

He saw the human race!

But the life of humans exceeded anything he had imagined!

Between the roots of towering ancient trees lay piled, chilling heaps of bones; human skulls had been turned into wind chimes hanging from branches, clinking and ringing with the cold wind.

Not far from Su Bai, thousands of naked humans huddled in mud pits.

Bronze collars engraved with beast-patterns clasped their necks; whenever someone tried to flee, the collars would erupt with lightning and strike them down.

“It’s time.”

Dull footsteps came from the horizon as three terrifying black boar demons marched over.

They carried specially made flensing sickles; the hilts were inlaid with human-skin masks that seemed to cry out.

Heart-wrenching screams rose from the crowd. A child clung to his mother, but a black boar pierced the child’s collarbone with an iron hook and dragged him out of the pen; the mother wailed in agony.

“This little one has tender skin and meat—perfect as a snack for the young master.”

The lead black boar licked the blood from its blade and took the child away.

Scenes like this played out across the Great Forest, endlessly visible!!

Humans had become blood food, raised by the various beast-clans!!

And not just raised in the ordinary sense—they had been utterly reduced to slaves, treated like livestock and used for the beasts’ pleasure!!!

Within Su Bai’s sight, numerous demonic beasts were shamelessly tearing into human flesh and drinking human blood!

In this world, humans were as weak as ants!!!

“Die!”

Su Bai moved. With a single word he uttered, every demonic beast ravaging the humans was reduced to nothing but dust!!!

In an instant, he freed millions upon millions of humans who had been kept in pens!

These humans lived in filthy, chaotic conditions, their clothes tattered, hair matted and faces unwashed!

Many had nothing even to cover their nakedness—only leaves to shield themselves!

What they ate was foul-smelling scraps; what they drank was murky sewage!

To prevent their livestock from dying too early and thus losing freshness, these beast-clans even bestowed some low-grade immortal techniques on the humans, letting them cultivate to strengthen their bodies and immunity.

Of course, some of the foods they deemed exceptional were raised from childhood, taught higher immortal techniques, fed well and given the best drink.

These were called rare delicacies by the beast-clans!

Only a mighty beast-king could enjoy a rare delicacy; they were considered high-grade food.

Every face bore despair and pain, even numbness—no spark of life, no glimmer of hope.

At this moment, as the terrifying beasts guarding them perished, everyone looked up and saw Su Bai in the sky.

He was… a person just like them!

Wearing precious fabrics they had never seen, he looked like a god descended to save them.

An old white-haired man tremblingly reached out; cloudy tears streaked down the black “豕” (swine) brand seared into his face…

That mark signified the lowest-class livestock…

“Saint… the sage has manifested!” The old man’s cracked lips bled, yet he still screamed with all his strength: “Heaven has eyes! Heaven has eyes!”

“Sage!”

“A human sage has come to save us.”

“We pay obeisance to the sage…”

In an instant, everyone fell to their knees and worshiped Su Bai in the sky.

Their eyes shone with excitement; their rims reddened as murky tears fell.

Hope…

Su Bai was briefly silent, then raised his hand and formed a palm-world, bringing all those humans into it.

He then looked toward the horizon, searching for the largest current gathering place of humans on the Continent.

Soon he found a lead, tore open the void, and headed toward a certain place.

The Human Holy City.

This was the last refuge of the Human Race on the entire Continent, guarded by several human grand venerables and still relatively safe for the moment.

Yet in this world where myriad clans stood tall, the Human Race’s strength was far too weak!

Without even one Heavenly Venerable, they were doomed to become blood food!

If the Human Race wanted to survive, they needed a Heavenly Venerable to be born!

Around the Holy City, the great demon clans crowded in; countless demonic beasts eyed it like prey, ready at any moment to devour every human within the city.

On the Holy City’s walls, the human strongmen watched the outside world anxiously.

The sun gradually set; the dying light painted the inside and outside of the Holy City as if the sunset itself were blood!

A wave of desolation rose in the air!

“Ten squads went out today. Not a single one returned…”

As the sun neared the horizon, a grand venerable looked sorrowful, staring at the silent perimeter outside the city.

At dawn each day, ten teams would break through the siege with the aid of these strongmen to rescue their kin who had been corralled.

If they hadn’t returned by sunset, then it was basically…

“Wait, look—aren’t those people of our race?”

Suddenly a voice rang out and everyone looked up.

Under the afterglow of the setting sun, a white-robed youth was walking slowly toward them.

The sunset light shone behind him, casting a hazy, dreamlike illusion—as if a sage had descended and was treading a red carpet!

He moved toward the city like a drifting cloud, steps light and unhurried. The white robe fluttered; his face was calm, his expression gentle yet resolute. Wherever he passed, people involuntarily bowed their heads, as if an unseen weight pressed upon them.

On the wall, grand venerables and veteran warriors narrowed their eyes. They exchanged looks, trying to determine whether this was a trick—an illusion sent by the surrounding demon clans—or a genuine person approaching alone through the siege lines.

“Stop him,” one low voice ordered, trembling with suspicion. “Don’t let him reach the gate.”

But before any arrow could be notched, before any discursive spell could be formed, the youth raised his hand. A faint ripple spread from his palm, like water trembling at a gentle wind. The arrows hanging in midair trembled, then fell uselessly to the ground. The men on the wall staggered back as if a current had pushed them.

“Who—” someone cried, but the word died in their throats.

The youth’s aura passed over the walls and into the city, and an invisible warmth unfurled through the alleys like spring rain. The guards who had been tense and on edge felt their muscles relax; the grim lines around their mouths softened. Even those who had lost hope and hardened their hearts found tears welling up.

At the main gate, a stout captain with a scar across his cheek cursed, then suddenly felt his anger drain away. He looked up at the youth with a perplexed humility. “Who are you?” he asked, voice hoarse.

“I am Su Bai,” the youth said simply.

The name traveled like lightning. Faces turned; conversations fell silent. In the market, in the temple courtyards, in the hovels where the weak huddled, people pressed closer to windows and doorways to witness the scene.

“Su Bai?” a grand venerable on the wall murmured, voice quavering. His eyes widened. “Could it be…”

The youth smiled faintly at the crowd. “I have come to save as many as I can,” he said. His tone contained no boast, only an unshakable calm.

No one stepped forward to bar him now. The gates opened slowly, as though moved by an unseen hand. Inside, the people crowded the streets, many falling to their knees and sobbing in worship. The scarred captain lowered his head and pressed his palm to his forehead.

Su Bai walked through the city as if returning home. He paused by a shabby stall where a child stared with snot-streaked cheeks. Kneeling, he placed a small palm on the child’s head; the child’s eyes brightened immediately, the fever eased, and the color returned to his face.

News spread faster than any runner. By dusk, a tide of people had gathered in the central square. They pressed close, forming a human sea that hummed with one trembling hope. Su Bai stood before them, the glow of the sunset haloing his silhouette.

“You must leave the walls,” he said to the grand venerables who had approached him with trembling robes. “The siege will not be broken by walls or soldiers alone. The demons circle, waiting for you to tire. You need to be ready to flee and scatter when the time comes.”

A venerable with white eyebrows protested weakly, “We cannot abandon the city—this is the last refuge of our race!”

Su Bai’s gaze was patient. “This city is a shelter, yes, but it is also a trap if everyone clings to it. If the Human Race is to survive, you must learn to move, to live beyond these walls. I will help you, but you must be willing to act.”

Murmurs ran through the crowd—some fearful, some incredulous, some clinging to hope like a life raft. Finally, the white-haired venerable bowed his head. “We will listen,” he said.

Su Bai nodded once. “I will teach you what I can. But first, tell me where the sick and the weak are. Tell me where the children and the elders hide.”

Hands pointed, voices answered. Su Bai closed his eyes for a moment and then opened them with a clarity that cut through the dusk. He raised both hands, palms outward, and a faint, translucent map of the city appeared between them—streets, hovels, the infirmary, the granary—each place pulsing softly.

“Gather them,” he instructed. “Make a list. I will go to those in greatest need first.”

As his words spread, a woman shoved through the crowd, clutching a limp infant. Her face was white as paper. She knelt before him, sobbing, “Sage, please—my child—”

Su Bai took the infant gently. Though the baby seemed faint, the warmth from Su Bai’s hands steadied its breath. He hummed a low, even tone, and the infant’s color returned as if painted back into life.

Around them, people wept openly, the sound of sorrow turning into the sound of relief. The white-haired venerable watched, tears in his eyes, and whispered hoarsely, “He is truly a sage…”

Beyond the city walls, in the encircling darkness where the demon clans waited, a great beast king lifted its head. Its eyes, like molten coals, narrowed as it sensed a change. It snarled, a sound like stone grinding on stone, and the demonic hosts stirred. A ripple of restlessness passed through the siege like a warning.

On the wall, a grim-faced general swore and began to prepare horn signals, but Su Bai’s voice stopped him. “Do not provoke them,” he said. “Not yet. Let them watch. Let them think us weak. When they least expect it, we will move.”

The general hesitated, then lowered his hands.

Night fell. Lanterns were lit, but their light seemed softer now. Under that soft glow, people packed belongings, old and young together, following lists compiled at Su Bai’s direction. He taught them how to muffle their footsteps, how to mask their scents, how to use decoys to draw small hunting parties away.

By dawn, the first waves were ready to leave. Su Bai stood on the outermost tower and looked into the distance where dark shapes crouched against the horizon. He breathed in deeply, as if tasting the air of a world that might yet be reclaimed.

Then, with a calm no panic could disturb, he raised his voice and spoke to the Human Race with the same plain sincerity he had used with the infant’s mother.

“Listen to me,” he said. “You will not rely on walls or others to save you anymore. Survive, scatter, regroup. Learn to fight, to hide, to be clever. I will be with you on this path. From now on, you must be your own salvation.”

A thousand voices answered with a trembling chorus of “Yes,” “We will,” “Sage!”

Above them, beyond sight, Su Bai’s Second True Form stirred, ready to guard the Heavenly Dao Sect as he faced trials that would shape the fate of the Continent.