Chapter 1: Mako

In the ancient path of the wilderness, white clouds drifted leisurely.

At the end of the ancient path lay a range of undulating mountains. From afar, a peak could be seen piercing through the seven layers of cloud, almost touching the sky!

On the ancient path, a thin, blood-covered man was running with all his might, holding a baby in his arms.

As he ran, he occasionally glanced back, as if something fierce and dangerous was chasing him.

After a moment, a black mist appeared in the air behind him, like a rolling black dragon, pursuing him.

Seeing the black mist, the man's face changed drastically. He pulled out a triangular small flag from his waist, adorned with many inscriptions and patterns. The most striking was a blood-red skull, with hollow eye sockets that seemed to be bottomless abysses, evoking fear.

The man chanted a spell, and the blood-red skull flag suddenly grew larger in the wind, transforming from a two-foot flag to a flag over ten feet tall.

Holding the blood-red skull flag, the man waved it at the approaching black mist. Instantly, several beams of blood light burst forth from the flag, accompanied by the howling wind and ghostly cries, rushing towards the black mist.

The black mist and the blood light collided in mid-air, producing a loud boom.

The blood light disappeared, and the black mist dissipated.

After the black mist dissipated, a black-robed man appeared, looking to be around fifty years old. He was enveloped in eerie black mist, exuding a ghostly aura, clearly not a righteous person.

Seeing the black-robed man, the thin man's eyes revealed a hint of despair.

Even if he were not injured, he would have no chance against this black-robed man.

The black-robed man hovered in mid-air, looking at the thin man on the ancient path, and said with a forced smile, "Blood Slave, you're quite a runner. Considering our hundred-year friendship, hand over the baby, and I'll spare your life. Otherwise, don't blame me for not remembering our past camaraderie."

He let out a sinister laugh and stroked a crude yet entirely black and green ancient bracelet on his wrist, as if it could devour human souls.

The thin man, known as Blood Slave, gave a bitter laugh, glanced at the baby in his arms, and said, "Soul Devourer, dying at your hands today, without being harmed by those despicable people, I, Blood Slave, can die in peace. But I will not hand over this child to you!"

The black-robed man, known as Soul Devourer, said in a hoarse voice, "Blood Slave, why be so loyal? For thousands of years, the Holy Sect has always been a place of the strong preying on the weak. Your Ghost King master is dead, and the Holy Temple is now controlled by the Demon Sect. All the factions of the Ghost Sect have submitted. Why be so stubborn?"

"Spit!"

Blood Slave spat angrily, "If you want to kill, just do it. No need for pretense. Even if I die, I won't hand over the young master to you!"

With that, he shook the large flag, wrapping the baby in it, and aimed at the towering peak at the end of the ancient path. He gathered all his strength and threw it with all his might!

Whoosh!

The huge blood-red skull flag, enveloping the baby, turned into a red beam and instantly disappeared into the sky, shooting towards the towering peak in the distance.

Soul Devourer, upon seeing this, his face changed drastically, and he shouted, "You're mad! That's the Cangyun Mountain!"

Blood Slave laughed loudly, "If you dare, go to the Cangyun Sect and demand the child!"

Cangyun Mountain was the headquarters of the Cangyun Sect, one of the four major righteous sects, with countless cultivation experts, including several who even Soul Devourer feared.

Seeing the baby wrapped in the blood flag heading towards the Cangyun Sect, Soul Devourer was greatly alarmed. If the child reached the Cangyun Sect, it would be a problem.

So, he roared and transformed into a black beam, chasing after the blood flag, trying to intercept it halfway.

Unexpectedly, as Soul Devourer moved, a red beam appeared in front of him, and the entire sky was filled with a pungent blood smell.

The originally clear sky, with the appearance of the red beam, instantly turned into a dense blood cloud, and ghostly howls echoed in the eerie wind, sounding even more tragic.

Soul Devourer looked up and saw countless ghosts appearing and disappearing in the blood cloud, with fierce and terrifying faces. His face changed slightly, and his body, which was rushing forward, was immediately blocked by the dense blood cloud.

"Blood Soul Summon? I didn't expect you to be so injured but still have the strength to activate this ghostly technique that consumes a lot of true essence! Considering we are fellow disciples of the Holy Sect and have known each other for hundreds of years, I originally wanted to let you go. Since you are so stubborn, don't blame me for being ruthless!"

Soul Devourer, unable to catch up with the baby, directed all his anger at Blood Slave.

He hovered in mid-air, his right hand fingers forming a sword, and stabbed towards Blood Slave, who was activating the Blood Soul Summon. Almost instantly, a jet of black light shot from his fingertips.

The black light, as fine as dust, was solid and unscattered, moving extremely fast, and in a blink, it reached Blood Slave.

Seeing this, Blood Slave dodged, and the black light shot directly into the grass beside the ancient path.

"Bang!"

A dull sound, and a deep hole, about the thickness of a wrist, appeared on the ground, about seven to eight feet deep!

The power of this strike was truly earth-shattering. Fortunately, Blood Slave dodged in time; otherwise, being hit by the black light would have caused him to bleed to death on the spot.

Blood Slave began to chant a long and obscure ghostly spell. Instantly, the blood clouds in the sky began to roll violently, and countless fierce ghosts roared out of the blood clouds, rushing towards Soul Devourer in mid-air.

Soul Devourer laughed coldly, and without any movement, the ancient bracelet on his right wrist suddenly emitted black light, enveloping his entire body, forming a mysterious black light barrier around him.

The ghosts that rushed towards him, upon hitting the black light barrier, immediately let out piercing, tragic screams and were all melted by the black light barrier, turning into wisps of green smoke, which were sucked into the ancient bracelet.

Blood Slave's face changed drastically, and he exclaimed, "Xuanling... Xuanling Qiankun Bracelet?"

Soul Devourer laughed maniacally, his laughter filled with madness, ruthlessness, and a hint of arrogance and satisfaction.

He said, "You have some discernment. If you were at your peak and activated the Blood Soul Summon, I would have been cautious, but now, with your injuries, your powers are less than half of what they used to be. Today, I will use your soul, Blood Slave, to consecrate this Xuanling Qiankun Bracelet!"

The Xuanling Qiankun Bracelet is a famous treasure of the righteous sects, unseen for a thousand years, and a natural nemesis to ghostly techniques! For some reason, this thousand-year-old righteous treasure appeared on the body of the Demon Sect's great demon, Soul Devourer.

In a blink, the blood clouds and the countless ghosts were all absorbed by the Xuanling Qiankun Bracelet.

The ghostly technique Blood Soul Summon, which Blood Slave had exhausted his true essence to activate, was instantly broken, and he was also counterattacked by the ghosts, spitting out a mouthful of essence blood, his body swaying, and he took several steps back, unable to stand steadily.

Seeing this, Soul Devourer let out a few sinister, cackling laughs, and then activated his true magic, causing a torrent of demonic energy to burst from under his loose black robe, transforming into dozens of black giant pythons, rushing towards the heavily injured and dying Blood Slave.

Blood Slave knew that with his current condition, he had no chance of surviving under Soul Devourer's hands, so he gave up struggling and watched helplessly as the dozens of black pythons, like demons, quickly enveloped his body.

After a few breaths, the black pythons dissipated, and Blood Slave was gone, leaving only a pile of white bones.

Soul Devourer, still unsatisfied after devouring Blood Slave's flesh, shook his wrist, and the Xuanling Qiankun Bracelet emitted black light again, absorbing Blood Slave's three souls and seven spirits, forever preventing them from achieving rebirth.

After killing Blood Slave, Soul Devourer looked at the towering peak at the end of the ancient path, the headquarters of the Cangyun Sect, one of the four major righteous sects, the Wheel of Rebirth Peak.

He muttered, "If the Sect Master finds out that the Ghost King's child was sent to the Cangyun Sect by Blood Slave, my fate will be worse than Blood Slave's! Fortunately, Blood Slave is dead, and there is no evidence! I will report to the Sect Master that both Blood Slave and the child are dead. With my status, the Sect Master should not doubt me..."

Thinking this, a cold smile appeared on his lips, and he transformed into a black beam, disappearing into the sky.