"Sect Master Yun, this… why must this be done?" someone asked cautiously.
Yun Jin raised her brows. "No reason. If you must insist on a reason, it is simply because this Sect Master wills it!"
The crowd instantly looked dejected. Some wanted to resist, but when they saw Yun Jin's blood-stained figure, not one dared utter a word. They all felt the same thing. If they did not obey, they might end up like those beasts—slaughtered without mercy.
This woman…
She had slaughtered for seven days and nights, a true harbinger of death. And worse still, her strength was defiant of the heavens, and behind her stood the immensely powerful Wushuang Sect. So long as Yun Jin desired it, she truly seemed capable of butchering all living beings.
"If there are no objections," Yun Jin said with calm indifference, "then begin execution at once."
The square fell utterly silent.
"Xuan Kong, summon all disciples of Qingxiao Pavilion to Sky City."
Yun Jin's gaze first fell upon Xuan Kong.
Xuan Kong's expression shifted. The remnant soul of Lin Xiao, still suppressed within him, roared incessantly, urging him not to heed Yun Jin. But with the Sacred Spirit Pill binding him, that wisp of soul could no longer affect Xuan Kong.
After only a brief pause, he answered decisively, "It is merely a matter of cultivating a technique. With Sect Master Yun's character, she would not harm her own kin. Qingxiao Pavilion is willing to serve as the forerunner."
Yun Jin nodded.
She then turned her gaze to Liu Hua and the other sect masters. "All super sects shall also summon their disciples to Sky City."
Hua Ran and Feng Yuan hesitated only a moment before agreeing. The rest, after a long silence, had no choice but to nod as well. Before absolute strength, Yun Jin now held absolute authority. Back when Yun Jin was only at Unity, she had already slain the Mahayana-stage Xue Daoren.
Afterward…
She comprehended a new Law, her power reaching the late Mahayana stage. The mere thought of her slaughtering beasts as though slaughtering dogs made many hearts tremble. The current Yun Jin was likely even stronger than Ji Wusi. And more terrifying still—
Yun Jin's Lw was that of Wood. Her recovery was near limitless. Ji Wusi might collapse from exhaustion, but Yun Jin would not. If she truly willed it, she could indeed massacre them all. Being forced to cultivate a technique was nothing compared to provoking this demoness.
"The disciples of other sects shall temporarily leave Sky City. Wushuang Sect disciples will remain to maintain order." Yun Jin gave her next order.
The disciples of the other sects hurriedly withdrew.
Soon after…
Under Yun Jin's decree, disciples of Qingxiao Pavilion and the former ten super sects were all forcibly gathered in Sky City. Some had been in closed-door cultivation. But Yun Jin demanded none be missing, and so even they were dragged out. Others had been wandering across the continent, but their sects forcibly recalled them using the sect's command tokens. Except for those who had long left the Qingxiao region, every disciple was summoned.
For Yun Jin had said: If anyone was missing, she would personally go and invite them.
At that moment…
Many of those abruptly summoned back looked upon Yun Jin with fury. They were just about to speak when their companions frantically tugged their sleeves.
"Do not provoke her!!! That is the demoness!!" whispered their companions.
The newly arrived ones: "???"
Demoness?
Yun Jin?
What was going on!
Why did everyone suddenly look so fearful of Yun Jin?
"Good." Yun Jin compared the sect roster with those present, then said flatly, "Aside from a few who have been missing for years, everyone is here."
With a wave of her hand,
Upon the statue, a great cultivation diagram unfurled, hanging high overhead.
"This diagram conceals a cultivation method," Yun Jin said evenly. "Comprehend it yourselves, and begin cultivating immediately."
"This method is but a high-grade Yellow rank technique. For you, it should be no challenge. It has three layers. Within one day, all of you must at least complete the first layer. Within seven days, everyone must complete the third layer."
She paused, then said, "Now, begin!"
As her words fell, murmurs rippled through the square.
"Sect Master Yun, must we also cultivate this?" Xuan Kong asked.
"Of course." Yun Jin replied without hesitation.
Xuan Kong nodded. After examining the diagram, he sat cross-legged at once and began cultivation. Seeing even Xuan Kong obey without resistance, the others naturally dared not voice objection. One after another, the cultivators in the square sat and began cultivating.
Yun Jin's expression remained calm as she observed. This was something she had wanted to do long ago. But at the time, her strength was insufficient to suppress all. Now that she had the power, the sooner it was done, the better.
This Yellow rank high-grade technique had been created by the system, at the cost of massive points, as a special functional cultivation method. It was system-exclusive, costly in points, very simple to cultivate, but utterly useless for improving strength.
It had only one purpose.
If the cultivator had fallen into demonic influence, practicing this technique would manifest a shadow of demonic qi. The denser the shadow, the deeper the corruption.
This time, Yun Jin intended to carry out a massive purge.
The modified techniques she had distributed before also carried functions to detect demonic qi, but only after long cultivation did they show results. If cultivated shallowly, the traces were too subtle. And these people were far too slow; who knew how long before results would show.
This specialized qi-detecting technique was far faster. With the first layer, one could already discern faint traces. At the second layer, the exposure grew more evident. And those who concealed their corruption most deeply—by the third layer, they would be utterly revealed.
In the past…
The Qingxiao region was the most infiltrated by demonic forces. But after this cleansing, Yun Jin would make it a forbidden ground for demons. She had also given this technique to the other three Holy Lands. Her masters were likely conducting their own investigations.
But…
None of them could do what she could. They lacked absolute deterrence. Not even Ji Wusi Shizun could enforce this. Forcing every cultivator to practice a single technique—only she had the power to carry this out.
Yun Jin waited quietly.
Soon, the first person reached the first layer. It was none other than Xuan Kong. What surprised her was that no demonic qi manifested behind him. Her mind turned swiftly. The technique Xuan Kong cultivated, like Lin Xiao's, was the Void Spirit Codex. Though Lin Xiao was of the outer-realm demon race, this codex was pure and orthodox, without a trace of demonic taint.
That was why Lin Xiao could dwell among the human race for so many years without being discovered. But was the Void Spirit Codex brought from the outer-realm Demon Domain, or had he fortuitously obtained it in this world?
The system-created qi-detecting technique had been based on absorbing countless demonic methods. But the system had never encountered outer-realm demon methods. So, if the Void Spirit Codex was indeed such a method, then it was possible this technique could not expose it.
Or perhaps, only when Xuan Kong cultivated to the third layer would some sign appear.
===
So, I hit a bit of a wall and I think I need a new story to freshen things up. Basically, I got a little bored translating one of my projects on Webnovel, True Heir of Chaos: From Villainess to Empress, so I decided to pick up another novel.
I was looking for something with 'historical' mixed with 'transmigration' and 'Fourth Calamity' vibes. I found this shorter one, I think it's around 100-150 chapters, called Summoning Players: From Magistrate to Monarch.
You can check it out on my AO3 profile if this blurb hooks you!
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Lin Xi died, and then she got a promotion. Waking up in a new world, she's now the magistrate of a backwater county, a post awarded to her predecessor by a grateful emperor. The good news? She's skipped the peasant class entirely and landed a government job. The bad news? Her new county is poor, the roads are terrible, and the locals have a deep-seated distrust of anyone in power.
But Lin Xi has a theory: there are no bad citizens, only too many terrible officials. So, she rolls up her sleeves. She's planting crops, building bridges, and turning this forgotten place into a functioning society. She's doing such a great job that the one thing she never saw coming happens: the Imperial Court vanishes. The central government just... ceases to exist.
With no emperor, no chain of command, and no laws from the capital, what's a capable and ambitious local leader to do? For Lin Xi, the path is clear: if the old heaven has died, it's time for a new one to rise.
Meanwhile, in a modern world called Longguo, a hyper-realistic game titled From Magistrate to Monarch has become an overnight sensation. Gamers are desperate to play, but the chances of getting a spot are almost zero. The masses are left watching live streams, endlessly debating the game's ruthless AI. What they don't know is that the world is all too real, and the few lucky "players" who log in are about to have their own lives turned upside down, forever changing the fate of Lin Xi's rising domain.