My Nascent Soul Ran Away Again

Chapter 225: The Local Gangs Are Quite Violent

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

“As for the second reason… This world lacks a [Heavenly Dao].”

Lu Xuan looked up at the sky.

He wasn’t just referring to the planet Naga Star beneath their feet, but the entire universe in which this planet resided.

“Devil cultivators who harvest souls and cultivate through blood consumption have to bear heavy karmic retribution, with each bit of karma returning as heavenly tribulation upon them.”

In the Archean Eon World, heavenly tribulation was not a reward system, but purely punitive.

There were cultivation methods for using heavenly thunder to temper the body, but heavenly tribulation is purely about beating cultivators to the brink of death, with no benefits offered, and no help in repairing the body after the ordeal.

Thus, crossing tribulations often requires help, as cultivators are at their weakest right after, making them vulnerable to enemies.

Killing devil cultivators, however, brings merit, which can lessen the intensity of heavenly tribulation. If one accumulates enough merit to form a Merit Golden Body, the benefits were endless.

The calculation of karma and merit was complex, but the ratio of sin to merit was uneven, with a single sin often needing ten times the merit to offset.

This was why devil leaders in the Archean Eon World go down a path of no return.

Because they have no chance of turning back, even destroying their own sects won’t earn enough merit to offset their karma.

After all, the sins committed by their disciples and grand-disciples are also tallied against the sect’s founder.

So why do many still rush towards devil cultivation?

There were advantages, of course.

Devil cultivation had three main characteristics: low survival rate, rapid growth, and low environmental demands.

Low environmental demand meant that devil cultivators require fewer resources, able to cultivate through refining souls and consuming human blood and flesh.

Rapid growth refers to the quick pace of cultivating devil arts, with more relaxed requirements on personal aptitude.

The low survival rate is the key limiting factor for devil cultivation development. Devil cultivation directly opposes the heavenly way, and from the moment one steps on this path, they must endure various disasters and tribulations.

Even the most top-notch devil arts require a heavy price during cultivation, often leading to practitioners refining themselves to death.

It was not a matter of the original creator’s lack of skill but rather that from the day of its inception, the path has been in conflict with the heavenly heart and will, and the necessary price cannot be avoided.

However, in the universe where Naga Star resides, there was no “Heavenly

Dao.”

Every cultivator Lu Xuan has seen on his journey had been a ferocious demon, consuming human flesh and blood.

The beautiful floating islands were supported by piles of white bones.

As they strolled through the city, they silently observed this world.

Cheng Lingzhu several times gripped her Phoenix Blood Sword, then released it.

As a disciple of the Dushi Sword Sect, her cultivation involved observing the mortal world to comprehend the true meaning.

The more she saw and gained experience, the more complete her cultivation becomes.

Lu Xuan found a shop and bought a pair of smart glasses, handing them to Cheng Lingzhu.

Her soul power was insufficient to directly connect to the information network, and thus, she required external assistance. They wandered around the city for a long time. Just as they were about to find a hotel to rest.

“Bang! Bang! Bang!”

A series of explosions sounded nearby, followed by short, sharp gunfire.

These shots weren’t meant for combat.

Above Lu Xuan’s head, a surveillance camera exploded, glass and metal fragments falling from the sky, then deflected by an invisible force to the side.

In this era, hacking into surveillance systems first and then physically destroying the cameras was a common way to conceal one’s identity.

Footsteps tapping on the ground and walls, in just a few moments, hundreds of figures appeared in the streets.

Dressed as warriors with long swords and short guns and wearing masks, these cultivators emerged from the shadows.

Their attire was similar, but the masks bore fierce and malevolent faces in starkly different colors.

One group wore black, the other white, clearly distinct.

Lu Xuan, processing information gathered from the network, realized that he and Cheng Lingzhu had been caught in a cyber-era gang conflict.

In the High Heavenly Plain, it would be more appropriate to call it a [Gang Conflict].

The group with white masks was called [Bone Women], and the black-masked group was known as [Hair Ghosts], named after ancient myths of the High Heavenly Plain.

This battle would determine the ownership of this street block, whether it was protection fees or underworld business, it would be decided tonight.

“Bang! Bang! Bang!”

The black-masked Hair Ghosts opened fire first, like sounding the war horn. A barrage of bullets rained down, targeting their enemies.

Lu Xuan saw clearly that the “short guns” hanging at their waists were less than a foot long, resembling hand cannons, yet equipped with large magazines.

The muzzles spat out flames, bringing immense recoil, but in the hands of cyber-enhanced people, there was no tremor.

The High Heavenly Plain was a major city, and the gangs living in these blocks were far from comparable to the green forest outlaws like the Black Dragon Stronghold.

Participants in such gang conflicts were at least Qi Refining cultivators, and many had undergone artificial muscle enhancements to certain limbs.

The white-masked Bone Women immediately retaliated, and both sides engaged in street warfare, utilizing cover and terrain.

The intense gunfire tore apart the quiet of the City of Night. Suddenly, a black iron ball was thrown out by the Bone Women.

“Boom!”

A Hair Ghost warrior fired his gun.

The cultivator’s precise muscle control and analytical ability allowed him to easily lock onto the iron ball, but as it exploded, the hand holding the gun that peeked out from cover was also blown to pieces..