Chapter 53: Provoking Destiny
Chapter 53: Provoking Destiny
Above the nameless village, Jiang Wang watched Chu Fan’s performance with amazement.
“What a kid. What a shame he didn’t start cultivating demonic techniques earlier.”
“Even a two-year-old child wasn’t spared—is this his true nature, or has the Taotie Remnant Soul influenced him again?”
Observing Chu Fan’s handiwork, Jiang Wang grew increasingly excited.
This Chu Fan was clearly a rising star in the demonic path.
The small village had over a hundred people, yet within just an hour or two, Chu Fan had slaughtered every last one.
Throughout the process, he kept replaying Jiang Wang’s words in his mind.
He showed no hesitation in his actions.
It never occurred to him to question why a bandit stronghold would house elderly, women, and children, or why the most common weapons here were kitchen knives, hoes, and shovels rather than swords and blades.
Now, the only sound left in the village was Chu Fan’s heavy breathing.
Standing in the pool of blood, Chu Fan felt no discomfort.
Instead, a euphoric thrill surged through his heart.
It was the exhilaration of spiritual energy coursing through his body, continuously strengthening his cultivation.
Every time he killed someone, his “Soul Devouring Body Tempering Technique” automatically activated, converting the victim’s life force into nourishment for himself.
Coupled with the ‘Taotie Devouring Spirit,’ his cultivation had finally returned to the Transcendent Realm.
Realizing this, Chu Fan was overjoyed. At this rate, he estimated he could return to the Longevity Realm within seven days at most.
Jiang Wang landed beside him and asked in a concerned tone, “Young friend Chu Fan, how do you feel? Any discomfort? If there is, you must tell me immediately.”
The concern in Jiang Wang’s voice warmed Chu Fan’s heart. Having just lost his master, Ye Nantian, he craved such care more than anything.
“Thank you for your concern, Senior Qu! I feel better than ever! Look, my cultivation has already returned to the Transcendent Realm!”
“That’s good. Now that you’ve reached the Transcendent Realm, you can handle some demonic beasts on your own. I just observed that there’s a demon beast den to the west, filled with beasts at the first or second layer of the Transcendent Realm—perfect for you to practice on.”
“Really?! Thank you, Senior Qu!”
Eager to improve his cultivation, Chu Fan didn’t hesitate and immediately headed in the direction Jiang Wang had pointed.
As for Jiang Wang himself, he stayed behind to clean up the aftermath.
If anyone discovered what had happened here, it wouldn’t bode well.
Meanwhile, Su Ming sensed the continuous surge of spiritual energy within his body and knew that Chu Fan must have gained some benefits yet again.
“Chu Fan, whether you can reach the eighth layer of the Longevity Realm before arriving at the Tower of Ascension depends entirely on how hard you work. Don’t disappoint me…”
Just as Su Ming thought this, an injured demonic beast crashed down beside him.
Judging by its aura, it was unmistakably a Star Realm beast.
Su Ming was already accustomed to such occurrences. He tapped his wrist, signaling Shen Ming to wake up.
Over time, Su Ming had realized that Shen Ming was an absolute sloth.
Unless Su Ming actively took out ‘Chaos Spirit Liquid,’ this creature remained in a silent, dormant state—practically indistinguishable from a real bracelet.
Even Qu Xiangyang hadn’t initially realized that the creature coiled around Su Ming’s wrist was the Reincarnation Dragon Centipede that their ancestors had painstakingly tamed.
The sect’s prized treasure, nurtured for a thousand years, had just been whisked away by Su Ming—a fact that left Qu Xiangyang with mixed feelings.
Upon returning this time, aside from clearing up misunderstandings, Qu Xiangyang had also intended to tame the Reincarnation Dragon Centipede and claim it as his own battle companion.
Since breaking through to the Creation Realm seemed impossible for him, raising a Creation-Realm battle pet was an acceptable alternative.
But now, that plan was completely dashed.
Fortunately, he noticed that Su Ming’s methods of nurturing the Reincarnation Dragon Centipede were lacking, so he proactively shared proper cultivation techniques, hoping to earn Su Ming’s favor.
The Reincarnation Dragon Centipede clan had unique dietary needs—aside from normal spirit-rich substances, they could also consume the lifespan of other creatures.
Shen Ming lazily crawled onto the Star Realm beast’s body, then inserted its translucent siphon-like appendages into the creature, absorbing its remaining lifespan.
A Star Realm beast could live for centuries—for Shen Ming, this was comparable to ‘Chaos Spirit Liquid.’
Feeding Shen Ming to fullness early meant it wouldn’t have to share the ‘Chaos Spirit Liquid’ anymore—a win-win situation.
As he watched the Reincarnation Dragon Centipede feed, Qu Xiangyang suddenly turned his gaze elsewhere.
“Lord Su, it seems another Star Realm beast is approaching…”
“I told you, there’s no need to report such things. If you detect them, just beat them half to death and bring them back.”
Su Ming waved dismissively.
Qu Xiangyang opened his mouth slightly, wanting to say something, but ultimately held back.
After all, the frequency of these encounters was far too coincidental—so much so that it felt like there might be some hidden scheme at play.
From the time Su Ming broke through to the seventh layer of the Longevity Realm until now, the two of them had already been ambushed by five Star Realm beasts.
This wasn’t the lawless Northern Frontier—most Star Realm beasts that wreaked havoc had long been exterminated.
The ones that remained either had enough sense to hide early or were well-behaved, peaceful creatures.
Yet now, within just a few hours, they had encountered six in a row—this defied all logic.
Qu Xiangyang couldn’t comprehend it, but Su Ming understood the reason perfectly.
This was all Destiny’s doing.
Just like in the secret realm, when Su Ming had threatened Chu Fan’s life, Destiny had sent countless beasts to attack him.
Now that Chu Fan harbored immense hatred toward Su Ming, Destiny, catering to its protagonist, had begun covertly targeting him.
Perhaps because Su Ming had forced out the Heavenly Dao Realm Will last time, Destiny’s current retaliation was restrained.
There was no repeat of the overwhelming force from before.
But in this situation, rather than Destiny targeting Su Ming, it felt more like Destiny was delivering resources straight to him.
After all, Su Ming had two half-step Void Realm guardians by his side—any number of Star Realm beasts would just be free kills.
Shen Ming, who had originally been at the Transcendent Realm, had now been forcefully fed all the way to the Longevity Realm.
And since the Reincarnation Dragon Centipede only absorbed lifespan, the value of the beast carcasses remained intact.
Thus, the moment a Star Realm beast was drained of its lifespan, Su Ming would refine it into ‘Chaos Spirit Liquid’ using the ‘Chaos Transformation Bottle’ for his own absorption.
More importantly, these beasts were originally meant to be experience points for Chu Fan—now that they were dying by Su Ming’s hands, he could extract Destiny Points from them as well.
This wasn’t retaliation—it was practically helping Su Ming power-level.
“Destiny, your targeting is way too gentle. Can’t you bring something stronger?”
Su Ming raised his head toward the sky and issued his challenge.