The crumbling walls of the Great Qian Imperial City trembled beneath the weight of leaden clouds. Instead of dew, the sky dripped thick, foul-smelling blood — a phenomenon that had persisted for three days. The entire city was shrouded in a nauseating metallic stench.
Once bustling Vermilion Bird Avenue was now nothing but charred craters and scattered bones, each bearing marks from tiny chisels. These were the imprints left by the celestial 'inspectors' who had descended to forcibly extract the 'carriers of destiny' from mortal souls, using their spiritual power to peel them away forcibly.
In this silent, dead zone, a heavy, rhythmic, metallic scraping sound suddenly rang out:
'Click, click...'
It was the sound of chains dragging on the bluestone slabs. A figure slowly emerged from the blood mist. With each heavy step, a low-frequency feeling of oppression spread through the space, creating a sense of unease.
The newcomer was Xiao Wuchen.
He was no longer the spirited general from the first film. Now, his body was deathly pale and almost transparent, with intricate cybernetic runes faintly visible beneath his skin. These runes pulsated like a heartbeat and flickered with a dark red light. These runes were not innate; they formed the basis of his 'body as an array', forcibly imprinted on his flesh to bear the weight of his destructive demonic power.
Most horrifying of all was his right hand.
It had completely lost its human form. The skin and flesh had withered and dried, replaced by a demonic sword called 'Rootless', which was deeply fused with his hand. The hilt was embedded in his veins, its beating heart directly powering the strange runes on the sword. Dark red chains coiled between his arm and the sword, seemingly restraining the ferocious beast that could devour its master at any moment — or perhaps they were steel veins extending from his body.
[System log: host detected returning to the Land of Cause and Effect.]
[Status: Demonic Sword Immortal – awakened state.]
[Synchronisation rate: 95% (note: mortal emotions are rapidly diminishing).]
The system interface appeared on Xiao Wuchen's retina. It was no longer purple-gold, the colour that once represented imperial power, but crimson, filled with glitches and gibberish.
'Is this what it looks like after they've taken everything?' Xiao Wuchen's voice was low and hoarse, devoid of emotion.
He looked up at the sky. Deep within the blood-red clouds, several holy pillars of light could be faintly seen, radiating 'immortal energy', and connecting the mortal realm with the cultivation world (the Upper Realm). The cultivation world was greedily absorbing the essence of mortal souls through these 'Heaven-Reaching Spiritual Roots'.
Xiao Wuchen sneered, bordering on the divine.
In the eyes of cultivators, all living beings were worthless — only those with spiritual roots could ascend to immortality. Xiao Wuchen was "rootless" and, in their eyes, destined to be harvested waste. However, it was precisely this 'rootless' flaw that made him the only 'insulator' that could not be absorbed by immortal magic, the sole 'error code' in this perfectly logical world.
At that moment, faint footsteps echoed from the ruins.
Several young cultivators, dressed in white and looking arrogant, appeared to be hovering in mid-air. They were henchmen of the 'inspectors' responsible for clearing the remaining souls from the ruins.
'Huh, there's still a living "carrier of destiny"?' The leading cultivator frowned, his eyes filled with disgust. 'His right hand is fused with an iron block. This flawed, substandard product isn't even fit for alchemy.'
"Kill him. Don't let him disrupt the Immaculate Immortal Venerable's grand formation.' Another person casually unleashed a golden light — a divine technique powerful enough to kill a mortal instantly.
Xiao Wuchen stood still, allowing the divine technique to hit his chest.
[System notification: Void resistance max.] [Judgement: divine technique control based on 'heavenly laws' invalidated.]
Under the horrified gaze of the cultivators, the golden light distorted violently upon contacting the cybernetic runes on Xiao Wuchen's body, like the image on a low-quality CRT monitor, before completely dissipating.
"My turn."
Xiao Wuchen slowly raised his right hand, which was fused with the demonic sword.
As he moved, the 'Heartless Lock' at his spine emitted a low hum. Although the bond of the 'Unwilling Soul' automatically satisfied his willpower, the system's warning still flashed frantically: 'Emotional fluctuations detected. Emotional resection recommended.' Ignoring the system, he was reminded of the screams of his old comrades when their souls were forcibly extracted in the first part.
Arc Moon: First Form: Crescent Moon Soul Hook.
'First Form...'
Xiao Wuchen's figure vanished instantly, creating a strange 'frame skipping' effect.
Arc Moon Slash – Crescent Moon Soul Hook.
A thin, black-red sword aura, like a strand of hair, flashed through the air. In that instant, the air seemed to be erased by this 'empty' power, forming a vacuum.
Before the cultivators could show any sign of fear, a thin red line appeared at their throats, followed by a purplish-black Nether Flame that burned fiercely along the wound. While this flame did not burn the flesh, it directly devoured the cultivators' consciousness and karma.
"Ah!" A series of piercing screams echoed through the ruins. These cultivators, considered elites by the immortal sects, were as fragile as withered grass before the demonic sword.
Xiao Wuchen stood in a pool of blood, holding the 'Rootless' demonic sword, which emitted a greedy clang and had veins throbbing rhythmically at the hilt.
[System notification: Fragments of Zhang Hu's belongings have been detected. Retrieve?
Xiao Wuchen bent down and picked up a blood-stained, tiger-headed waist token from a cultivator's storage bag — a relic belonging to his once most trusted lieutenant, Zhang Hu.
His eyes flickered violently at that moment.
'Zhang Hu... the first one.'
He turned his head towards the centre of the imperial city, once the pinnacle of power and now an altar for immortal venerables.
'I've come to collect a debt.' "
Xiao Wuchen dragged the heavy demonic sword and stepped into the darkness once more. Hiding behind the ruins not far away, the three-armed demon Chi Kui watched this scene with trembling eyes; his six eyes were filled with fear and greed.