Chapter: The Price of the Evil Root
The world exists in balance between two opposing forces: Holy and Evil. But as the Master gazed at Sai, he understood that for certain people, the path of holiness was forever lost.
"There are two kinds of energy in this world, Sai," the Master said, his voice echoing through the cold chamber. "Holy and Evil. But your foundation—your very soul—has already been shattered. Your Holy Root was destroyed long ago. If you wish to stand at the peak of this world, you cannot repair what is gone. You must embrace corruption."
Sai slowly raised his hollow eyes.
The Master leaned closer, whispering like a venomous serpent.
"To nourish an Evil Root, one must commit evil deeds. There is no shortcut. The more suffering you spread, the purer your darkness becomes. If you truly wish to reach the highest realm, then you must become a calamity feared by the world itself."
The Master's order was simple, yet horrifying:
"Go. Destroy fifteen villages. Let their despair feed your broken root. Only then will you transcend."
Without speaking, Sai bowed and turned away.
As he walked, the Master noticed something terrifying. Sai's once youthful face had already begun to decay. His skin looked dry and lifeless, stretched tightly over his bones—the visible price of the Evil Root devouring his vitality in exchange for power.
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The Massacre and the Ascension
When Sai descended upon the countryside, he no longer resembled a human being. He was a walking disaster.
He swept through the first five villages like a shadow of death.
Before this mission, Sai had been trapped at Level 4 Mid-Stage (Low City Level). Within the vast hierarchy of the Heaven and Earth Domain, he was powerful—but far from legendary.
However, with every life taken, his aura transformed.
By the tenth village, the atmosphere around him had become twisted and suffocating.
By the fifteenth village, even the sky seemed stained with blood.
The change was absolute.
Sai advanced across two entire tiers, reaching Level 6 Mid-Stage (Country Level).
In this world, such growth was considered impossible. Level 7 was known as the God Tier, a realm cultivators pursued through a thousand years of painful meditation just to glimpse its threshold.
Yet Sai, empowered by slaughter and his perfected Evil Root, possessed strength that defied common sense.
Although he remained at Level 6, his combat power had become so monstrous that he could hunt and kill a Level 7 Low-Stage (Moon Level) expert.
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The Arsenal of the Damned
After his ascension, Sai's techniques evolved into terrifying weapons of destruction:
Shadow Manipulation: Sai no longer merely traveled through shadows—he became one with them, dragging enemies into endless darkness from which none could escape.
Palm Attack: A single strike powerful enough to crush the lungs of a giant beast.
Blood Manipulation: Control over the blood within his victims, twisting their veins into deadly weapons against themselves.
Summoning: Thousand Swords: Sai can summon a graveyard of 1,000 blades. Each sword possesses the strength of a Level 1 Low-Stage warrior. Alone they are weak; together they become a storm of death.
Soul Manipulation: The ability to seize and tear consciousness directly from the body.
Fire Manipulation: Black hellfire fueled by the sins accumulated within his Evil Root.
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The Hierarchy of Power
Level Stage Destruction Scale
Level 1 Low to Peak Room • House • Building • Block
Level 2 Low to Peak Ground • Jungle • Small Village • Large Village
Level 3 Low to Peak Mid-Village • Full Village • Small Town • Mid-Town
Level 4 Low to Peak Large Town • Low City • Mid-City • Full City
Level 5 Low to Peak Small Mountain • Mid-Mountain • Mountain Range • Small State
Level 6 Low to Peak State • Country (Sai's Current Level) • Asteroid • Continent
Level 7 Low to Peak Moon • Planet • Sun • Solar System
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The Master's Observation
Back at the temple, the Master silently stared toward the horizon.
Even from afar, he could feel the tremors caused by Sai's massacre.
A Level 6 Mid-Stage cultivator capable of killing a Level 7 Moon-Tier expert was no longer merely talented.
He was a monster the heavens themselves would fear.
Yet as the Master sensed Sai's rapidly growing power, he also felt something unfamiliar rising within him:
Fear.
He had created a demon with a shriveled face, a corrupted soul, and power vast enough to threaten even the stars themselves.
Sai was returning.
And the world would never be the same again. The Crimson HarvestThe afternoon sun hung low over the village, casting long, peaceful shadows across the marketplace. Among the locals were six outsiders—friends of Xioneya who had come to visit the countryside. Among them were three young men and three young women, led by a bright-eyed girl named Shi.
As they admired the local crafts, a small village boy approached them, tugging on Shi's sleeve. "Big sister," the boy whispered, his eyes wide with wonder, "Are you... are you cultivators?"
Shi knelt down with a warm smile. "Yes, we are," she replied softly.
The boy's face lit up. "Then, if things get scary or difficult, you'll protect us, right? That's what cultivators do?"
"Of course," Shi said, patting his head. "Our duty is to save the innocent. But don't worry, little one. Why would you even ask that?"
"No reason," the boy chirped, running off to play.
As the group continued shopping, the conversation turned to their absent friend. "Xioneya should have come with us," one of the boys remarked, sighing.
"She couldn't," another replied with a bitter smirk. "Her husband would never let her. That man... he spends every night indulging in his own pleasures with her. Xioneya's life has become a gilded cage. It's a tragedy, really."
The Arrival of the Hollow ManTheir gossip was cut short by a sudden chill in the air. A figure emerged from the village entrance. It was Sai.
"Look! It's Sai!" one of the friends shouted, waving. Shi froze. She remembered Sai as a kind, perhaps misguided, soul. "Sai? What are you doing here?" she called out, stepping forward.
But as the group drew closer, the smiles died on their faces. Sai's face was unrecognizable. The youthfulness was gone, replaced by a sunken, shriveled visage that looked like a corpse's mask. His eyes were devoid of light, reflecting only a bottomless hunger.
The little boy from earlier ran up to him, recognizing the robes of a cultivator. "Brother! Are you a cultivator too? Will you—"
The boy didn't finish his sentence. With a movement so fast the eye couldn't track it, Sai's hand went to his hilt. A flash of cold steel hissed through the air. The boy's head rolled onto the dirt, his expression frozen in mid-question.
The silence that followed was deafening, broken only by the sound of blood hitting the ground.
The Massacre of Innocence"Sai! What have you done?!" Shi screamed, her voice cracking.
Sai didn't answer. He raised his hand, and the sky darkened. Summoning: Thousand Swords. A thousand blades materialized in the air, humming with a Level 1 Low-Stage lethality. With a flick of his finger, the blades rained down. It wasn't a fight; it was a harvest. In a single second, the laughter of the village was replaced by the wet thud of steel meeting flesh. The bustling market became a lake of crimson.
Shi, blinded by rage and grief, lunged at Sai. "You monster!"
Sai didn't even look at her. His sword danced, a blurred arc of silver. With two sickening clangs, he severed Shi's hand and leg in one fluid motion. She collapsed into the mud, shrieking in agony.
Her friends rushed to her side, desperately trying to use healing techniques to stem the bleeding. One of the boys stood up, trembling. "Sai! How dare you! Do you have any idea what you've done? We were your friends! We knew you!"
Sai appeared in front of the boy instantly. Before the youth could blink, Sai's blade passed through his throat. The boy fell, clutching his neck as life faded from his eyes.
"I'm giving you a chance to enjoy the show," Sai said, his voice grating like sandpaper. "He annoyed me, so he died. If the rest of you keep making noise, you'll join him."
Shi looked at the carnage, the bodies of the villagers, and her fallen friend. "You... you've become a demon, Sai. They were innocent! Why?"
"Why?" Sai tilted his head, a grotesque, withered smile forming on his lips. "For the pleasure of it. And for the power. Every scream feeds the root."
The Living GraveNews of the massacre reached Xioneya like a thunderclap. She refused to believe it—the Sai she knew couldn't be this butcher. But her husband stepped forward, his face grim. "Don't worry, my love. We will capture him and make him pay for his sins."
He dispatched a squad of his strongest elites to intercept Sai. When they found him, they surrounded him with righteous fury. "Sai! Today you die for your crimes!"
Sai didn't even draw his sword at first. With a single burst of Evil Qi, he shattered their formations, leaving them broken and gasping on the ground. He didn't kill them immediately. Instead, he dug a massive pit in the center of the road.
He dragged the elites, still screaming, into the pit. As they begged for mercy, he set them ablaze with his Fire Manipulation. He watched with detached fascination as their bodies charred and hardened. He wasn't just killing them; he was turning them into a "pill" of concentrated agony.
As he consumed the essence of their suffering, he felt his power surge. The Level 6 Mid-Stage energy stabilized, becoming even more potent.
Standing amidst the smoke and the smell of burnt flesh, Sai closed his eyes. He reached out through the void, connecting to the Master via telepathy.
"Master," Sai's voice echoed in the MC's mind. "Should I return now? Should I come and finish everything?"
The MC's voice responded, cold and indifferent: "Yes. It is time. Come back."