I, a Demonic Nascent Soul Patriarch, Begin by Snatching a Cheat

Jiuyou led Canfeng as they continued flying deeper into the area.

This flight stretched across a million li, crossing several vast and peculiar terrains along the way.

There were molten lava plains where flames churned, frozen valleys where bone-chilling winds howled, and black swamps shrouded in miasma. Every type of terrain was perilous to an extreme.

But his streak of light never paused. He flew straight past, not even lifting an eyelid.

Finally, the two arrived at a place where towering mountains intertwined with dense forests.

The terrain here was steep, ancient trees scraping the sky and blotting out the sun. Faint roars of spirit beasts could be heard from within the forest, yet not a single one dared approach. The pressure of a Nascent Soul cultivator instilled instinctive fear even in demonic beasts.

Just then, Jiuyou’s Divine Sense stirred slightly. His brow furrowed as he raised his eyes to look ahead.

About thirty li away, an exceptionally dense surge of spiritual energy was erupting outward, like a spring gushing forth in endless waves. Mixed within the spiritual energy was a faint scent of medicinal herbs, refreshing and soothing. A single whiff made the mind and spirit wander, and even the fatigue from days of travel dissipated somewhat.

Jiuyou raised an eyebrow without a word, turned his streak of light, and sped toward the source of the spiritual energy eruption.

At the same time, his Divine Sense extended stealthily, spreading like invisible tendrils toward the epicenter.

Deep in the dense forest, on a small patch of grassland.

Five rare spirit herbs grew quietly. Their leaves were a pale blue with clear veins, and a shimmering spiritual light flowed over their entire bodies. The calming, heart-soothing fragrance came from these herbs.

Three figures stood around the herbs, seemingly discussing how to divide them.

The leader was a middle-aged man at Early Nascent Soul, his aura unstable, clearly having only recently formed his Nascent Soul. The other two were at Peak Golden Core, one tall and one short, with somewhat similar features—brothers by the look of it.

Jiuyou swept his Divine Sense over them and guessed their identities in an instant—all were cultivators from the Heaven and Earth Alliance.

What surprised him slightly was how polite the Nascent Soul cultivator was to the two Golden Core cultivators. There was even a hint of wariness, not the arrogance a Nascent Soul elder should have toward mere ants.

The two Golden Core cultivators also showed no timidity. They haggled back and forth with the Nascent Soul cultivator as if standing before an equal, not a Nascent Soul ancestor.

Jiuyou’s Divine Sense didn’t linger on the three. Instead, it locked directly onto the five pale-blue spirit herbs.

“Tranquility Herb...”

He mused inwardly, a flicker of heat passing through his eyes.

When ignited with spirit fire, this herb had the effect of calming the mind and steadying the heart, helping cultivators eliminate distracting thoughts and resist inner demons during cultivation. These five herbs were at least three thousand years old. Herbs of such age had long been extinct in the outside world. He hadn’t expected to encounter them here.

“Heaven truly favors this old man.” Jiuyou calculated. “When I break through cultivation bottlenecks in the future, using this herb will surely add a few more points of success.”

He extended his Divine Sense again, confirming no other cultivators were lurking nearby, before withdrawing his focus and coldly observing every move the three made.

On the grassland, the argument continued unabated.

The Nascent Soul cultivator’s face was displeased, but he suppressed his anger and spoke persuasively.

“As I said to you two young friends surnamed Zhang, I may have only recently formed my Nascent Soul, but I am still a Nascent Soul cultivator. If the two of you are willing to step back, I can offer another one hundred thousand spirit stones. Take three herbs of Tranquility Herb, and I’ll take two. We each get what we want—isn’t that a win-win?”

The two Peak Golden Core cultivators exchanged glances, their eyes flickering as they clearly communicated through sound transmission.

After a moment, the older brother cupped his hands to the other in a neither humble nor arrogant tone.

“Senior Wu, don’t say that you’re just an early Nascent Soul. Even if an old-hand Early Nascent Soul cultivator came, my brothers and I would not back down today.”

He paused, a hint of pride in his voice.

“When we join forces and use our secret technique, along with the ‘Heavenly Light Mirror’ ancient relic gifted by our master, we can match an Early Nascent Soul cultivator for a short time. What’s more—”

His gaze swept over the five Tranquility Herbs, greed flashing in his eyes.

“Our master, True Man Divine Light, is already at Peak Mid-Nascent Soul. He’s the most likely cultivator in the entire Heaven and Earth Alliance to break through to Late Nascent Soul in the past several hundred years. If we can bring back one more of these herbs, it might add half a chance more for our master to break through.”

He looked the Wu-surnamed cultivator straight in the eye, his words gradually sharpening.

“Once our master breaks through, the Heaven and Earth Alliance will have two Late Nascent Soul Grand Cultivators. By then, who else but us will have the final say in the entire Tianyuan Sea? Doesn’t Senior want to see that outcome? Or are you saying—”

He didn’t finish, but the meaning was clear—if you block us, you’re an enemy of True Man Divine Light and the entire Heaven and Earth Alliance.

Upon hearing this, the Wu-surnamed cultivator’s face flickered with uncertainty, his brow furrowed tightly. He opened his mouth but couldn’t speak for a long time, one hand behind his back clenched into a tight fist.

Just then.

He suddenly sensed something wrong and looked up sharply into the distance.

At the horizon, thick fog was rolling in, covering the sky and blotting out the heavens, dyeing half the sky a dark blue-green. Waves of bone-chilling cold slowly emanated from that direction, as if about to freeze the entire space.

“Who’s there?!”

The Wu-surnamed cultivator bellowed, his body instantly tensing as his spiritual power surged wildly.

The two Zhang brothers reacted belatedly, turning their heads toward the blue-green fog, their faces immediately turning grim.

Within the fog, a hoarse laugh slowly echoed out, carrying undisguised contempt and disdain.

“Heh heh... A dignified Nascent Soul cultivator threatened to such an extent by two Golden Core juniors. Truly a disgrace to our path of cultivation. Ridiculous, utterly ridiculous.”

As his voice trailed off, the blue-green fog churned violently, and Jiuyou’s figure slowly emerged from the mist.

He stood with his hands behind his back, looking down from above at the three below. His murky old eyes were full of contempt, lingering especially on the Wu-surnamed cultivator for a moment.

That look was like an elder looking at a disappointing junior.

Canfeng followed closely, obediently standing behind his grand-ancestor, but his eyes roamed over the two Golden Core cultivators. He silently calculated—could he handle a Peak Golden Core cultivator now?

The moment Jiuyou appeared, an overwhelmingly domineering pressure swept outward in all directions.

The two Peak Golden Core cultivators were hit by this pressure, stumbling back two steps, their faces turning pale as they were forced to erect spiritual power barriers to resist with all their might.

The Wu-surnamed cultivator also felt the pressure, but as a Nascent Soul cultivator, he fared much better.

He studied Jiuyou’s face for a moment before his expression suddenly changed—he clearly recognized who had arrived.

The Wu-surnamed cultivator’s eyes flickered. He glanced at the Zhang brothers beside him, a hint of venom flashing in his eyes. Suddenly, he spoke.

“Two young friends, from the looks of this man, he should be a cultivator from the Demonic Path Alliance, also at Early Nascent Soul. If we join forces, we’ll have the combat power of two Nascent Soul cultivators in a short time. Forcing him back shouldn’t be difficult.”

As he spoke, he subtly took half a step back.

The Zhang brothers were staring intently at Jiuyou, fully on guard, completely unaware of the Wu-surnamed cultivator’s small move.

“Good! Senior Wu is truly a righteous man!” the older Zhang brother replied solemnly. “My brothers have never truly crossed hands with a Nascent Soul cultivator. Today is the perfect chance to test ourselves!”

Jiuyou watched this scene quietly, a cold smile slowly curling at the corner of his mouth.

He didn’t wait for them to strike first.

In his palm, a blue flame suddenly gathered, emitting a scorching, dazzling light. A cyan-blue beam shot out from his hand, carrying bone-chilling cold, heading straight for the two Peak Golden Core cultivators.

Fast as lightning, with overwhelming momentum!

The Zhang brothers’ eyes flew wide as a wave of deathly cold shot from the soles of their feet to the tops of their heads. They wanted to activate their secret techniques to defend, but the beam was simply too fast—they had no time to react.

“Senior Wu, strike now!”

The older Zhang brother roared, already pulling out the bronze mirror ancient relic in his hand.

Just then—

A sound of something breaking through the air came from behind.

The Zhang brothers instinctively turned back, only to see the Wu-surnamed cultivator had already transformed into a streak of light, fleeing into the distance without a backward glance. Not a trace of intent to help!

“Wu, you—!”

The older Zhang brother’s eyes nearly split with fury as he roared, but he could no longer care.

The cyan-blue beam arrived in an instant.

One of the Zhang brothers couldn’t dodge in time and was swallowed by the beam. Before he could even let out a scream, his entire body turned to ashes, scattering on the wind.

The other, the older brother, managed to activate the bronze mirror ancient relic at the last critical moment.

The mirror was entirely blue, its surface shimmering with light, exuding an aura of ancient solemnity. The moment the ancient relic was activated, his figure suddenly became blurry, and his speed shot up dramatically, narrowly dodging the fatal blow.

“Oh, an ancient relic that boosts speed. Interesting.” Jiuyou raised an eyebrow slightly, his gaze locking onto the bronze mirror in the opponent’s hand, looking at it as if it were already his.