In the early morning, the dawn broke through the evening clouds. The clouds in the east turned gray-white, gradually thinning to reveal a strip of pale blue sky.

Fallen leaves knocked down by rain scattered across the damp soil. Water droplets dripped down from the leaf tips, falling into small puddles and making soft sounds. The distant mountain ranges were still shrouded in thin mist, their outlines blurred, showing only varying shades of gray.

Water accumulated on the eaves of the rundown temple dripped down intermittently, splashing tiny droplets on the blue stone steps. The air was filled with the scent of earth and grass, and a cool breeze flowed slowly.

The temple gate opened. Xiao Mo raised his head and looked toward the sky. A faint golden light seeped through the gaps in the clouds, slanting onto the wet ground and reflecting some blurred spots of light.

Inside the temple, Wangxin raised her head, looking at the smiling Maitreya Buddha sitting in the center, looking at the fierce and menacing guardian Weituo beside it.

Ever since those bandits were killed by Xiao Mo's single blade last night, Wangxin had been standing before the Buddha statue.

The young girl's eyes remained clear, but a trace of confusion seemed to flash through them.

When they saw the sunlight outside the temple, the Han Zi family finally came back to their senses from everything that had happened last night.

Han Zi glanced at the broken stone ground in the temple. If not for the bloodstains still there, he would have thought last night was just a dream.

However, even though Xiao Mo had saved his family, besides gratitude, Han Zi felt more fear toward Xiao Mo.

The instant he drew his blade, that aura of slaughter made him suspect he might be cut down too.

Moreover, Han Zi felt that his reason for saving him was merely a casual action.

It seemed this young master's fundamental purpose in killing those bandits was not to save their group at all.

The life and death of their group seemed not even worth a single finger of this female monk to this young master.

Xiao Mo took a step forward, holding his blade as he walked out of the temple. His foot stepped into a shallow puddle, splashing up water.

Wangxin withdrew her gaze from the Buddha statue and followed beside Xiao Mo once more.

"Young Master Xiao, may we travel together with Young Master Xiao?"

"Young Master Xiao, I can pay. I won't trouble Young Master Xiao for nothing."

"Young Master Xiao..."

After Han Zi came to his senses, he hastily ran forward and called out, wanting to travel together with him but Xiao Mo walked forward without looking back, completely ignoring him.

Walking on the path down the mountain, Xiao Mo and Wangxin seemed to have returned to their initial state of relative silence.

The young girl seemed to have something on her mind, keeping her head lowered the whole time.

Xiao Mo paid her no mind.

Buddhist teachings were not merely limited to scripture.

Kongnian Temple had her descend the mountain to gain experience, which was also a form of examining one's heart and seeking the Dao.

If she could figure it out, her Buddhist teachings would ascend another level.

If she couldn't figure it out...

She could only say that perhaps she was only so-so after all.

However, after Xiao Mo killed those bandits yesterday, he did indeed feel his body was somewhat unwell.

During this period, Xiao Mo had killed far too many people.

A total of 4,563 cultivators from Forgetting River Sect had all died at Xiao Mo's hands. The blood baleful qi in Xiao Mo's body had already approached the limit of what he could control.

Logically speaking, Xiao Mo truly needed to rest well and first suppress the blood baleful qi in his body but along this journey, Xiao Mo had killed quite a few more cultivators.

The blood baleful qi in his body grew increasingly dense.

Those few bandits were like the last straw that broke the camel's back, causing the blood baleful qi to faintly show signs of losing control.

Xiao Mo felt it was only because his mental willpower was extraordinary compared to ordinary people.

Otherwise, if Xue Kui knew that while using Heaven and Earth Illusory Red, he had killed over four thousand cultivators in a single day, and had killed many more people in the days since, Xue Kui would definitely curse him as a madman.

Three days later, just as Xiao Mo and Jiang Xin continued walking in the direction of Black Dragon Sect.

Xiao Mo and Wangxin's hearts tensed.

Immediately after, three Nascent Soul realm cultivators leaped out from the forest, surrounding and attacking Xiao Mo.

Xiao Mo still only used a single blade. The three cultivators immediately had both their forms and spirits completely destroyed, without any mercy at all but these three cultivators' assassination attempt on Xiao Mo was merely a beginning.

After this, more and more cultivators came to kill Xiao Mo.

Some lurked in the forest, setting up formations in the direction Xiao Mo was advancing.

Some hid in rivers and streams, suddenly bursting out from the riverbed when Xiao Mo crossed the river.

Some disguised themselves as ordinary small stall vendors by the roadside, poisoning Xiao Mo.

Still others pretended to be young maidens lost in the forest, feigning they were lost, trying to seduce Xiao Mo, thinking that once Xiao Mo let down his guard, they would release their realm and kill Xiao Mo with one strike.

But how could Xiao Mo possibly give them a chance?

If Xiao Mo were truly so easily fooled, he would have been tricked into rooms by those female disciples of Ten Thousand Flowers Peak countless times already.

Moreover, to prevent her senior brother from falling into the clutches of those Ten Thousand Flowers Peak female disciples, Yu Yunwei often chattered in Xiao Mo's ear about various "manipulative tactics," giving her senior brother preventive inoculation.

So these cultivators all failed to succeed and all died under Xiao Mo's Spirit Absorbing Sword.

Before killing them, Xiao Mo would also search their souls.

From their memories, he roughly understood their reasons for killing him.

Some cultivators were from assassin organizations. They had received money, so they came to kill him.

Although Xiao Mo didn't find who the employer was from these assassins' memories, Xiao Mo could guess. It was nothing more than the Holy Son candidates of Ten Thousand Dao Sect.

They didn't dare confront him directly, so they spent money hiring people to kill him.

Logically speaking, with the wealth those Holy Son candidates possessed, it wasn't enough to move Nascent Soul realm cultivators to risk their lives.

It was estimated that the elders behind these Holy Son candidates had helped intervene.

However, this was also normal.

After ten Holy Son candidates were selected, besides their original masters, many hall masters and peak masters of Ten Thousand Dao Sect would place their bets.

It wasn't that no one wanted to bet on Xiao Mo, but Xiao Mo had Xue Kui refuse them all.

If they placed bets, favors would need to be repaid in the future, and they would want a share of the spoils in the future but after he became the sect master of Ten Thousand Dao Sect, he wanted to thoroughly cleanse Ten Thousand Dao Sect.

"It's nothing."

After searching this assassin's soul, Xiao Mo cut off his head with one blade.

After returning to the sect, he would have Xue Kui investigate and settle accounts with these elders and peak masters one by one.

However, besides these assassins, there were also some cultivators who came to seek revenge on Xiao Mo.

Because Xiao Mo had previously concealed his realm along the way, attracting many cultivators to intercept and kill him.

Most of those cultivators were killed by Xiao Mo.

Sometimes Xiao Mo would leave one or two survivors, cripple their cultivation, and let them return to their sect to report.

Xiao Mo was waiting for those sects to come seek revenge on him so he could test his blade and seek to break through realms.

And when their sect disciples died, to maintain their sect's face, they would naturally seek revenge on Xiao Mo.

Otherwise, if your sect disciples could be casually killed and humiliated at will, where was the sect's dignity?

If you couldn't even protect your own disciples, who would come join you in the future?

It was just laughable that quite a few sects hadn't even figured out the true identity of the man who killed their disciples.

They hadn't even figured out Xiao Mo's true realm, only thinking Xiao Mo was a cultivator below Dragon Gate realm.

When more and more people from these sects died, and even Nascent Soul realm elders went and never returned, they knew they had kicked an iron plate and all pretended to be deaf and mute.

Besides those killing Xiao Mo, there were also many people who came to kill Wangxin.

After news spread that Wangxin had left Kongnian Temple to travel the mortal world, more and more demonic sects came to eliminate Wangxin.

They didn't know where they had gathered information from, but quite a few people knew Wangxin had the Seven-Aperture Exquisite Heart.

Setting aside how disadvantageous it would be for the demonic path if Wangxin with her Seven-Aperture Exquisite Heart grew up.

Most importantly, using the Seven-Aperture Exquisite Heart to refine pills was extremely beneficial even for Jade Simplicity realm cultivators breaking through to Immortal realm!

However, when they appeared before Xiao Mo and Xiao Mo drew the Spirit Absorbing Sword in his hand, they didn't even have time to regret.

If these demonic sects were relatively close to him, Xiao Mo would even specifically go "challenge their sects."

Xiao Mo's "sect challenges" generally meant exterminating the entire sect.

Every time Xiao Mo exterminated a demonic sect, the blood baleful qi in Xiao Mo's body would become even more dense, and his realm strength would rise another level but the erosion Xiao Mo suffered from the blood baleful qi also became increasingly severe.

Along the way, Xiao Mo no longer knew how many people he had killed.

"Ten Thousand Dao Sect's Xiao Mo kills Jade Simplicity realm with Nascent Soul realm."

"Ten Thousand Dao Sect's Xiao Mo massacres entire sects."

"A madman even crazier than Xue Kui."

Xiao Mo's reputation seemed to grow larger and larger.

Gradually, many assassin organizations that accepted contracts all gave up assassinating Xiao Mo.

Jade Simplicity realm cultivators couldn't defeat Xiao Mo. Some Jade Simplicity realm cultivators who couldn't escape in time would even be cut down by Xiao Mo with one blade.

As for having Immortal realm cultivators make a move, where were there so many Immortal realm cultivators? Most sect masters were only Jade Simplicity realm.

Moreover, what if Xue Kui was nearby protecting Xiao Mo's path?

Immortal realm cultivators had no confidence they could withstand Xue Kui's Raging Blood Blade.

But on Xiao Mo's journey toward Black Dragon Sect, he was also using various intelligence organizations in the Western Region to search for the whereabouts of other Ten Thousand Dao Sect Holy Sons.

Xiao Mo killed two more Holy Son candidates along the way.

Three months passed, one morning, when Xiao Mo was circulating his energy and regulating his breath, he suddenly opened his eyes. Violent blood qi shook and scattered around Xiao Mo's body.

The blood baleful qi seemed to condense into a solid substance, as if dressing Xiao Mo in a blood-red windbreaker.

Xiao Mo's scarlet eyes constantly shifted between rationality and madness.

"Xiao Mo..."

Wangxin, who had just returned from picking fruit, saw Xiao Mo's appearance. Frightened, she dropped the fruit and hastily ran over.

"Don't come over!"

Xiao Mo roared at Wangxin.

He panted heavily in large gasps, his hands clenched tightly into fists.

The sweat on his forehead had already soaked his temples. The Spirit Absorbing Sword beside him, affected by the killing qi around Xiao Mo's body, was actually gradually unsheathing itself, revealing half of its bright blade!

Under Xiao Mo's skin, one could even see red blood flowing through black-green veins but seeing his pained appearance, how could Wangxin just stand there staring blankly?

Ignoring Xiao Mo's reprimand, Wangxin's long legs under her monk's robe took another step. She sat before Xiao Mo and tightly gripped his calloused hands.

The instant Wangxin touched Xiao Mo, the blood baleful qi rushed like a tide toward her body, eroding her consciousness, spiritual meridians, and bones.

"It hurts so much..."

Wangxin pressed her lips together tightly, feeling her body being cut piece by piece by small knives from inside to out but she forcibly endured the pain and chanted Buddhist scriptures from her mouth.

One sutra after another was recited from Wangxin's mouth.

The blood baleful qi around Xiao Mo's body was gradually dispelled, or rather transferred into Wangxin's body, using her own Buddhist nature to suppress and digest the baleful qi in Xiao Mo's body.

After the time it takes to burn a stick of incense, the blood baleful qi in Xiao Mo gradually calmed. Wangxin's palms were already covered in fine sweat.

Xiao Mo opened his eyes again.

"How are you..." Wangxin asked with concern. "Are you alright?"

"I told you not to come over," Xiao Mo said coldly.

"But you were in so much pain." Wangxin lowered her head, her expression very self-reproaching.

"I can handle it myself." Xiao Mo's voice nearly carried a reprimand.

"I, I'm sorry... Please don't be angry, alright?"

Wangxin gently tugged at the corner of Xiao Mo's robe.

Looking at Wangxin's self-reproaching eyes, Xiao Mo sighed and shook his head, "Wangxin, you cultivate Buddhist teachings and need to clarify your original heart but this blood baleful qi of mine is no different from deadly poison for you Buddhist disciples.

Your realm, the clarity of your heart, might very well be ruined because of my blood baleful qi.

When you used your own body to eliminate the blood baleful qi in my body, didn't you think about these things?"

"Xiao Mo... actually, I did think about it," Wangxin said earnestly. "But Xiao Mo, I'm more afraid that something will happen to you..."

"..."

"Xiao Mo, during this period, you truly cannot continue killing." Wangxin's tone nearly carried pleading. "Your body has truly reached its limit. If this continues, you'll lose control."

"Limit?"

Xiao Mo was stunned for a moment, then smiled.

"Over these years of cultivation, I've always been like this. If I can't pass this hurdle, then that's all there is to it. Besides, do you think if I don't kill, others won't kill me?"

Xiao Mo put down Wangxin's tender white palm and said coldly, "In this place called the Western Region, there is only life and death.

I've killed far too many cultivators. More and more people have their eyes on me. They all want me dead but I don't regret it.

What I need to do is keep killing!

Kill until no one dares come looking for trouble with me anymore.

Kill until everyone's courage fails upon hearing my name.

Kill until every word I say is like divine decree to them.

When that time comes, they will finally know, oh, so there are rules in the Western Region after all..."

Xiao Mo looked calmly at the young girl before him, "You want me not to kill? Then Wangxin, I ask you, unless they're dead, they'll come after me again and again. Will you help me kill them?"

Wangxin: "..."

Xiao Mo gripped his long blade, stood up, and walked step by step toward the mouth of the cave. What he crushed under his feet were the fruits she had just picked, "Wangxin, stop following me. My demonic nature is already heavy. I can't turn back, and I don't want to turn back."

I will become the demon that all the Western Region fears.

At that time, you will become the Buddha that all the Western Region reveres.