Chapter 3: Chapter 02: Offering Sacrifice to the Ancestral Founder
Refining Realm Seventh Transformation, Chattering Thunder!
Such a stage is as rare as a phoenix feather or unicorn horn in Peace Town.
No one would imagine that such an expert is hidden in the small Demon Gathering Room.
Of course, nobody would suspect it.
Because two years ago, when Zhou Dao had just entered the Demon Control Department, he was just an ordinary person who had just stepped into the first stage.
In two years, from Channel and Energy Cultivation, he progressed all the way to Chattering Thunder.
Such a speed is inconceivable, not only in Peace Town, but also in the whole world.
"Not bad at all!"
Zhou Dao tested his strength and revealed a satisfied smile.
As a time-traveller, he has been in this world for seventeen years now!
In this world, where Daoist magic and demons exist, he must be able to start a different life.
At first, that's what Zhou Dao thought.
However, reality slapped him in the face!
When he was still a baby, Zhou Dao was abandoned before he could even taste some "free milk"!
In front of a broken temple, a crazy Taoist took him in.
Just as Zhou Dao thought he was about to start cultivating a great skill to walk the path of a god-slaying rebel, the cruel reality slapped him again.
The Old Taoist's sect was called the Sunset Sect, and it was as decaying as its name.
Apart from a dilapidated Taoist temple and an ancestral tomb, there wasn't even a sect entrance.
Even the sect register of the Imperial Court didn't have the name of the Sunset Sect.
In this world, sects are like universities.
Formal and prestigious sects are either like Ivy Leagues, or top-ranking universities; the Sunset Sect couldn't even be considered a low-class university, at most it was equivalent to a vocational institute.
At the age of fifteen, the Old Taoist accumulated a mountain of debt and ran away.
The old Taoist temple was demolished by the creditors to offset the debt.
Zhou Dao was shocked; he had never encountered such a thing in his previous life, but in this life after crossing over, he was forcibly evicted!?
Not long after, on the original site of the Taoist Temple, a bathhouse sprouts up, the money-making kind.
With nowhere to go, Zhou Dao, to prevent the ancestral tomb of the Sunset Sect from also being wrecked, chose a pitch-black and windy night to... exhume it!
Zhou Dao was disappointed; he had underestimated the poverty of the Sunset Sect.
Apart from a coffin, there was nothing left by the Ancestral Founder, everything else had been scavenged by the prior disciples.
Zhou Dao cursed the eighteen generations of the ancestors of the Sunset Sect's former disciples for not leaving the ancestor's tomb intact.
These beasts who betrayed their masters and their ancestors.
The key point is they left nothing for him, a bunch of trash!
Zhou Dao cursed, but his attention was irresistibly drawn to the Ancestor's coffin.
All these years, no one has ever thought to let the Ancestor's coffin ventilate a bit.
Thinking of those unworthy descendants.
With righteous indignation, Zhou Dao pried open the ancestral coffin.
"Damn it, they didn't even leave the old man's skull alone, the Sunset Sect's legacy survives."
At the moment he opened the coffin, an ancient voice suddenly echoed through the moonlit night.
The Ancestral Master, resurrected from the dead!
Dark moonlit night, an ancient tomb in the wilderness!
This shout almost made Zhou Dao time-travel again.
Just as he was startled, a series of information poured into Zhou Dao's mind.
After crossing over for fifteen years, Zhou Dao's golden opportunity finally arrived.
The Ancestral Master led him through a divination, by sacrificing demons, he could gain various rewards!
That year, Zhou Dao joined the Demon Control Department, and he had been in the Hall of Beasts Funeral for two years.
This was like heaven for him.
Without putting himself in danger, the Demon-slaying Guards would deliver the exterminated demons to him.
After some deception and manipulation, Zhou Dao would secretly keep them for sacrifice during their final destruction.
Zhou Dao's first sacrifice was a [Chicken Demon], and he received a [Black Chicken White Phoenix Pill] as a reward.
After swallowing it, he directly opened up three hidden channels in his body.
The first stage of the Refining Realm, Channel and Energy Cultivation, is to open up the twelve hidden channels in the body.
The strength of ordinary people is limited because they purely rely on their flesh and blood to store energy.
Once the hidden Twelve Channels are opened up, one can freely absorb elixirs, store energy without limit, thereby rapidly enhancing the physical body.
The stronger the flesh body becomes, the more abundant blood energy it can accommodate, and stronger will be the spiritual power.
This is a direct method of dealing with demon beasts.
From this point onwards, Zhou Dao became convinced of his own sacrificial abilities.
Even though he didn't know why the Ancestral Master of the Sunset Sect had such great divine power!
Neither did he understand why despite such divine intuition from the Ancestral Master, the Sunset Sect still fell to such decline.
But did these matters concern him at all?
All he wanted was to nestle in the Demon Control Department, do nothing all day but offer sacrifices to the Ancestral Master, and boost his strength.
[Sacrifice the Whitefish Spirit, Reward: Water Repellant Charm]
[Sacrifice the Wolf Demon, Reward: Moonlight Pill]
[Sacrifice the Centipede Spirit, Reward: Thousand Hand Vajra Hammer]
...
With the many rewards gained from sacrifices, Zhou Dao spent only half a month to complete the first stage [Channel and Energy Cultivation] to perfection, running through the twelve channels in his body.
Two months later, he attained the second stage of the Refining Realm, possessing the strength of nine oxen and two tigers.
After another month, Zhou Dao cultivated the third transformation of the Refining Realm [Copper Skin Iron Bones], in which his body could not be hurt by ordinary swords.
By now, Zhou Dao, aided by various rewards, transformed his body and changed his bone structure, nurtured his organ internally, and refined his skin externally.
He refined his flesh body, bolstered his divine soul, and stored blood energy!
Finally, seven months into his tenure at the Demon Control Department, Zhou Dao successfully stepped into the fourth transformation of the Refining Realm [Wandering Divine Control].
The Zhou Dao who cultivated the fourth stage was able to perceive evil spirits with his strong divine soul, distinguish demon beasts, and fight enemies with his blood energy.
This level is also a basic requirement to become a Demon-slaying Guard.
People like Xu Qian and Gu Xiangling were also cultivators at this level.
After cultivating the fourth transformation, Zhou Dao chose to continue hiding his strength.
By simply staying in The Hall of Beasts Funeral, without making any effort, individuals brought demon beasts right in front of him for sacrifice…
Is there a job in this world more wonderful than this?
Nine months into the Demon Control Department, Zhou Dao successfully cultivated the fifth transformation [Expelling Charm of Annihilation].
Once again, his blood energy underwent a transformation, becoming powerful enough to manipulate various kinds of talismans, dealing with powerful demon beasts.
It was rumored that only those strongmen who had attained the ninth transformation of the Refining Realm had the ability to create talismans.
Within the Demon Control Department, only Demon-slaying Guards with White Feather Fifth Rank or above were qualified to manipulate talismans.
Until now, Zhou Dao had only obtained two talismans through sacrifice. He had always cherished them and never used them.
...
In his second year at the Demon Control Department, Zhou Dao cultivated the sixth transformation of the Refining Realm [Thought-shaped Soldiers].
In this stage, his blood energy transformed again, enabling him to cultivate [Inner Divine Weapon Skill], turning his own blood energy into various forms of weapons, offering immense killing intent even without manipulating talismans.
Zhou Dao, through sacrificing demon beasts, mastered three [Inner Divine Weapon Skills] in total, namely "Ice Fire Poison Dragon Spear", "Elysium Great Treasure Sword", and ''Sage's Great Handprint''.
At this point in his cultivation, these three [Inner Divine Weapon Skills] had reached a highly accomplished level in Zhou Dao's hands.
Ordinary demon beasts would be struck dead instantly!
Two months ago, Zhou Dao finally cultivated the Seventh Transformation [Chattering Thunder].
This stage was a watershed, as few at this level could be found even in the whole of Peace Town.
Once this Seventh Transformation was cultivated, the blood energy in the body evolved once again, giving birth to Pure Yang Power. When this power operated, it was like a roaring spring thunder, bursting forth with vitality.
All demon beasts feared thunder.
The wrath of Heaven makes the demons retreat.
A demon beast that encounters a master of this level may be killed by a single blow from a hundred feet away.
At this point, Zhou Dao officially entered the rank of grandmaster, and even in the Demon Control Department, only a few could presumably surpass him.
"Sacrifice!"
Zhou Dao held a Sword Skill seal with his hand, a drop of blood oozing out and landing on the corpse of the Rabbit Demon.
In an instant, the robust body decomposed at a visible speed.
Just above his head, Zhou Dao faintly saw an ancient sacrificial altar floating in the Void, with a tablet placed on it. The inscriptions on it were like a dragon or snake hiding secrets, they were hard to make out.
[Sacrifice the Rabbit Demon, Gain Taiyin Sword Charm]
A mechanical voice echoed in Zhou Dao's mind.
"This Rabbit Demon is only an Evil-grade medium Yao, yet I obtained a talisman from it?" Zhou Dao was delighted.
Golden light descended, with a silver-white talisman appearing in front.