One more catty, one more attribute point

Yang Ye was a man of integrity; he did not call for help, nor did he simply lie on the ground waiting for death to arrive. From his bosom, he drew a short sword inlaid with gems, lifted his head, and plunged the sharp blade into his own neck, blood spurting out, looking like blossoming red plum flowers amidst the leaping white mist. With a muffled thud, his tall and burly body fell backward, lying face up in his own dark red pool of blood. "Amitabha Buddha!" Ban Poluo immediately showed a sorrowful expression on his face. With one hand clasped together, and the other turning a skull rosary, he began to chant sutras under his breath, initiating the ritual to liberate Yang Ye's departed soul. "This monk..." Li Hongxiu, standing to one side and watching Ban Poluo's earnest demeanor, couldn't help but frown deeply. The monk's hypocritical behavior truly disgusted her. She decided to look away. Li Hongxiu turned her head, and on the other side, Su Heng had already walked up to a small mound by the riverbank. The swift river water on the side, the tumbling white mist, all of these made Su Heng's tall silhouette appear somewhat lonely. Li Hongxiu was once a dancing girl, and comparatively, her life had been full of ups and downs. In fact, the days spent as a dancer at the Red House constituted the majority of her time. As an artist, Li Hongxiu had a meticulous mind, and her comprehension abilities were stronger than those of average people. At this moment, looking at the lonely back of Su Heng, she couldn't help thinking that despite doing good deeds and relieving others' suffering, they were misunderstood. Even for a monster as powerful as the Demon Dragon, their heart must harbor unspeakable pain. With such thoughts, Li Hongxiu's gaze inadvertently grew misty, and without realizing it, she had already approached Su Heng. She wanted to say something to comfort him softly, but she didn't know how to begin. She could feel an aura emanating from Su Heng, as if everything around was enveloped in a lonely deep sea, and breaking such stillness was not an easy task. Instead, Su Heng suddenly turned around and what he saw was Li Hongxiu's tender and hesitant expression. He was momentarily stunned. Having spent so much time together, Su Heng prided himself on understanding this girl somewhat. But now, he was momentarily unable to comprehend Li Hongxiu's thoughts. Fortunately, he was a straightforward man. Without much thought, he directly asked, "What's with the tears? Did someone bully you?" "No, I was just thinking..." Li Hongxiu stretched out her hand to touch the non-existent tears at the corner of her eyes and relayed her thoughts exactly as they were. "Ha ha!" Su Heng, after listening, couldn't help but burst into laughter. "If you think I'd be upset by these trivial matters, then you're underestimating me," he said unrestrainedly, reaching out to touch Li Hongxiu's soft and pitch-black hair, "We are doing the right thing. There's no need to feel guilty about the lives of those people. As for those who dare slander us behind our backs, if we don't hear it, fine, but if we do, we'll cut out their tongues and flay them, hanging them on the city walls to dry for seven times seven, forty-nine days." Li Hongxiu's little face froze for a moment. She lowered her head and thought carefully; indeed, it sounded like something Su Heng would do. "But just now, you seemed quite despondent. What were you thinking about?" "I was contemplating whether these people could be recycled somehow." Su Heng was frank, stating, "With the Authority of the Spirit Void Dao Wood, I can sense their remaining spirits, even hearing the agonized wailing of the wronged souls. If I could collect these souls and incorporate them into the Spirit Void Dao Wood, perhaps it could help boost my Spiritual Cultivation." "Moreover, compared to the inheritance of bloodlines, the legacy of the Spirit is evidently more significant." "…" Li Hongxiu stuck out her tongue, saying, "Although the intention is good, it sounds like a cult leader creating a Banner of Ten Thousand Souls." "Ha ha!" Su Heng laughed out loud, "If not for employing tactics of the Demon Path, how would the world fear and respect me? In these turbulent times, one must possess a compassionate heart but use demonic means. Only thus can one stand high above all and suppress everything!" Even if this time they successfully contained the Divine Plague by leveraging information provided by Ban Poluo and the swarms from the Blood Realm, this was just a temporary fix, not a cure. If those Descenders wished, it wouldn't take long to create a second, third, fourth... Su Heng didn't have the leisure to be entangled with them indefinitely. Furthermore, with the invasion of Eternal Heaven Power and the further spread of the Mythical Battlefield. The genetic ascension of all mankind was an imperative. Some people are inherently wretched. If you treat them with kindness or reason, Su Heng could easily imagine the greedy expressions that would follow. Not only would his plans be delayed, but he would also face countless unexpected obstacles. However, change the approach—say you'll kill all these people but consider sparing some obedient individuals as a fireseed—then they would compete to cooperate. Of course... The prerequisite for achieving all this was that Su Heng truly possessed strength far surpassing all human Cultivators. And he did not care about the number of people who would die in the process. Several million, tens of millions, or even a hundred million? In Su Heng's eyes, these were merely a string of cold numbers. Being a transcender who has cultivated to the point where it's impossible to put one's life form in the same category as ordinary people. In reality, the way Su Heng and those Descenders thought about issues wasn't much different. His anger stemmed from one side due to the Descenders' loftily disdainful attitudes, which were nauseating. On the other side, it was because those idiots dared to stretch their claws into his territory, which, in Su Heng's eyes, was utterly intolerable. "Sooner or later, I'll find a metal chain to strip those pretentious folks naked and tie them to a post like dogs. I really want to see if they can continue being proud then," Su Heng smirked, his smile sinister. Li Hongxiu, like a little demoness, bobbed her head in agreement beside Su Heng. Meanwhile, Ban Poluo couldn't help shuddering next to them, his ordinarily steady chanting suddenly choked. ... ... ... Meanwhile, in Central State. Dressed in a bright red palace gown with a tasseled ribbon around her slender waist, Ji Huaxi walked across the Carrara marble plaza outside Taihe Palace, a look of irritation on her face. She couldn't help but kick a stone she saw on the ground. Her fiery red palace gown flared like butterfly wings, briefly revealing a segment of her fair legs, as smooth as jade. With a "whoosh!" the stone flew across half the plaza, slamming heavily into a large, straight ornamental tree like a cannonball. There was a huge bird's nest within the thick, lush crown of the tree, which now suffered a blow and fell straight from the branches. Subsequently, a silky-feathered, half-human-tall, seven-colored pheasant emerged from the green foliage. First and foremost! I haven't provoked any of you. A sizable lump visible to the naked eye swelled on the seven-colored pheasant's head, its face brimming with anger. But upon seeing Ji Huaxi, its anger turned to obsequious flattery in just a few seconds, and it quickly burrowed back into the foliage. After confirming the seven-colored pheasant's disappearance, Ji Huaxi patted her chest, letting out a sigh of relief. She glanced left and right—no eunuchs or palace maids were nearby, good, Ji Huaxi still very much cared about her image in front of others. Following her was a bulkily built Imperial Army soldier clad in black armor, who from a distance resembled a dark iron tower. His gaze was on his nose and his nose on his heart. Upon catching Ji Huaxi's suspicious glance, the soldier quickly coughed softly, reminding her expressionlessly, "Your Highness, remember we have matters to attend to." "Right!" Ji Huaxi exhaled a breath of foul air, her delicate eyebrows slightly furrowed, a trace of distress on her face. Since parting with Su Heng at the Bronze Fortress, Ji Huaxi learned that a Demon Descendant master had infiltrated the Imperial undercurrents undetected. In the days that followed, Ji Huaxi both dedicated herself to cultivation and launched an investigation into the matter. She discreetly scoured the surrounding States thoroughly, yet not a single clue of the Demon Descendant could be found. However, the absence of anomalies was the biggest anomaly itself, compounded by recent reports of slayers in Central State sensing remnants of a Demon Descendant's presence. Ji Huaxi was no fool. After eliminating all the wrong options, a most unlikely possibility stood starkly before her eyes. There is a high-ranking official within the court in contact with the Demon Descendants, and this individual might even be connected to Ji Xuance. But what to do about it… Ji Huaxi's mind was cluttered, at that moment somewhat indecisive. She looked up at the magnificent Taihe Palace enshrouded in darkness above, suddenly overcome with emotion. Time flows like water; in the blink of an eye, a millennium has passed. She remembered her first visit here; Ji Xuance was just a tiny boy wearing an oversized python robe, walking carefully to avoid stumbling. Surrounded by imposing giant martial officers and indifferent court officials, Ji Xuance was pale, even subconsciously hiding behind her. These events seemed like they happened yesterday, but in the blink of an eye, that little boy had grown to be someone she herself found unfamiliar. "What are you really thinking..." Ji Huaxi wondered, approaching the bronze casted main gate of Taihe Palace. With a creaking sound! The majestic and ancient doors slowly opened. Though the sky was already brightening, the sun's rays could not penetrate the never-dispersing gloom that hung over the thousand-year-old Imperial City. The floor of Taihe Palace was as smooth as a mirror from countless cleanings and polishings, with candles thick as a man's arm grasped by the Coiled Dragon Pillars on both sides. With the arrival of Ji Huaxi, these candles were lit one by one, from the outside in. The flames pushed back the dark, and a scent of rust began to permeate. Ji Huaxi cast her gaze forward, where at the end of the great hall rose a dark gold platform. Ji Xuance, donned in inky Dragon Scale Armor, was expressionless, his profound pupils reflecting the fiery light as if melting metal, his burly physique exuding the profound authority of a mountain.