The Eternal Sin-Chapter 38: The Demon Sweeps the Mortal Realm(1/2)

At the foot of Heavenly Tiger Sect, the mountains loosened their grip.

The towering peaks retreated, and the land sank into broad slopes of rock and soil. Hundreds of mortal villages clung to the lower reaches like parasites attached to a giant beast.

These mortal settlements were not homes, not in the truest sense. They were resources, a vast human farm cultivated for the sect’s needs.

Organizations ruled not just by strength but also by management. From these mortal villages, children with talent were plucked like ripened fruit and brought into the sect as outer disciples. While the rest were condemned to a lifetime of servitude.

They shoveled waste and cleaned latrines, mined raw materials, crafted mortal weapons. They scrubbed the grand halls until their knees cracked. These mortals carried the burdens of the world that cultivators would never stoop to touch. Because of this, sects tolerated their existence like one tolerated weeds that fed livestock.

Although they were at the absolute bottom of society, most of these mortal settlements remained safely within the sect’s outer perimeter, very well protected in that regard.

But there were exceptions to this rule.

Handful of villages were located in places where the sect’s authority thinned.

Black Iron Village was one example. Low level beasts roamed nearby with some regularity. Howls could be heard at all times. Occasionally, someone would go missing. When that happened, no one bothered to look. This was simply life here.

The reason the village still existed was because this place was a small resource point for mining black iron ore, a low grade material used for forging weapons and tools. The mortals here mined it day and night.

Among these mortals were also those who had once been cultivators. Men and women whose dantians had been shattered or sealed for crimes not grave enough to warrant death, but unforgivable enough to strip them of the path of cultivation. Here they labored like animals, watched by a single sect cultivator stationed as overseer.

Night had already fallen when Jiang Chen arrived.

He hid himself inside the Black Iron village using a peak grade concealment talisman clinging to his body, its effect wrapping him in shifting darkness.

He did not come with good intentions.

Beyond Black Iron Village, two figures flashed through the terrain with ghostlike speed. Their movements were light and soundless, leaving behind faint trails in the air like black ink brushed against the world.

Each clone held Copper Bone wolf cubs in their hands.

One clone abruptly accelerated, its speed erupting to the extreme. Traceless Ink Steps pushing its body forward until even the bloodcurdling howls behind it grew distant. Nearly a hundred Copper Bone wolves gave chase with red eyes filled with rage and bloodlust. Their maddened cries echoed through the forest.

The other clone adjusted its pace, maintaining a deliberate distance, neither escaping nor allowing itself to be caught.

Ahead, the first clone reached the outskirts of Black Iron Village.

Without hesitation, it crushed the wolf cubs in its grasp, then flung the mangled corpses across the ground, smashing them against house walls and paths, smearing thick red trails across village roads.

Then the clone dispersed like smoke.

Moments later, the second clone led the horde closer.

The Black Iron village erupted into chaos. Dogs barked wildly as villagers stumbled from their homes, faces pale with terror.

"Oh Heavens, what is this sound?"

"Beasts, beasts are coming!"

"Damn it, ring the bell!"

"My son, where is my son?!"

Curses and prayers mingled as panic spread.

At the center of the village, atop a stone platform, an old man opened his eyes.

He was thin, his hair white and countable, his robes probably just as old as he was. He seemed weak, but the unmistakable pressure of a fifteenth layer Qi Condensation cultivator said otherwise.

His brow furrowed deeply.

’This is not normal.’

He had guarded this place for many years. Beasts came and went. Small packs tested the village and retreated. But this time, the commotion was far too great.

"Damn it, a beast horde!" The old man’s expression turned ugly, those words tasted bitter.

Without hesitation, he raised his hand and activated the formation. Light surged from engraved stones buried beneath the village. A translucent dome rose upward, sealing the entire settlement within a spherical barrier.

The old cultivator shouted, "Formation teams to the nodes. Supply spirit stones without pause. Hurry!"

Trained mortals rushed to their positions, fear etched into their faces as they fed spirit stones into the formation pillars.

Outside, something struck the barrier.

Bang!

The impact had little effect on the formation, but flesh and blood splattered across its surface, sliding down slowly.

The old cultivator’s expression turned even more ugly as he flashed toward the point of impact.

What greeted him was a mess of mangled Copper Bone wolf cub bodies.

His old heart clenched violently.

’This is bait. Someone used these cubs to lure the pack. Who would do something like this..?’

The realization struck instantly.

’Demonic cultivators!’

The possibility sent a chill down his spine. Only such people would scheme so viciously.

Before he could think further, the ground trembled.

The Copper Bone wolves emerged from the trees like a tide of living steel. Their leader stepped forward, a massive beast whose fur gleamed like polished bronze, its eyes burning with feral intelligence.

The pack charged.

The formation trembled violently as claws and fangs struck again and again. The dome withstood the assault, but each impact drained spirit stones at a terrifying rate.

The old cultivator’s face turned grave.

’These beasts will not retreat. Copper Bone wolves are loyal to their young and will pursue their enemy to the death. But the village does not have an endless supply of spirit stones to maintain this formation until the beasts give up. This is not good.’

He stared at the wolves.

’Fighting them is out of the question.’

There were nearly a hundred beasts. Even without a beast king, the peak stage leader alone could push him to the brink. And he was old now. His qi was shallow, his bones weak.

’And there is still that hidden demonic cultivator.’

His breathing quickened.

’I must alert the sect. That is the only way to resolve this danger.’

He reached into his storage bag for the emergency signal.

Then pain exploded through his chest.

His eyes dropped.

A hand had pierced straight through his body.

It emerged from his chest, slick with blood, holding his still beating heart.

The old man’s eyes widened in disbelief. His mouth opened, but no sound came out.

The fingers tightened, and the heart burst into paste.

Jiang Chen withdrew his hand calmly.

The old man’s gaze dimmed as life drained away. His body slumped against the formation wall before sliding down and collapsing onto the ground with a dull thud.

Screams erupted around them.

"Dead! The overseer is dead!"

"Ahh, murderer!"

"Run! Everyone run!"