Chapter 137: Blood Feast Technique

However, the villagers emanating a golden aura held little attraction for them. Even so, they slaughtered the golden-aura villagers, sparing only a few women and children.

As for the corpses, the Taoist priests of the One-Character Temple offered a high-sounding excuse that they needed to thoroughly seal away the fiends, leaving behind only the bodies of the villagers with the golden aura.

Upon returning to the One-Character Temple, the priests could not wait to devour the flesh and blood of the villagers. Sure enough, consuming the flesh and blood of the villagers dramatically enhanced their cultivation realms.

"The Blood-Feast Technique?"

Yuan Wuji looked with utter disdain upon the cultivation technique practiced by the old Taoist priest. It primarily relied on devouring the flesh and blood of young boys and girls to boost one's cultivation. Not to mention that practicing such an art was bound to incur divine retribution, the side effects alone were enough to make one's blood run cold. Consuming excessive amounts of flesh and blood to advance one's cultivation would shorten the practitioner's lifespan, only for it to suddenly erupt one day. Moreover, the speed of such cultivation was less than one percent of the rate at which karmic retribution accumulated. When the karmic retribution finally erupted, a single heavenly condemnation would be enough to scatter their very soul into nothingness.

Having boosted their cultivation by devouring the villagers, the priests of the One-Character Temple inevitably turned their gaze toward the captured women and children. Yet, the flesh and blood of the golden aura did not enhance their cultivation; instead, due to the conflict between the golden and red auras, their cultivation realms actually regressed somewhat.

Clueless as to why, the priests dared not devour the remaining women and children. To them, leaving them untouched was a waste, and so the priests of the One-Character Temple cast the gazes of jackals upon the survivors.

However, one day, while the priests of the One-Character Temple were away, the women and children of White Village chose to commit suicide to grant themselves release.

Yet, one of the women had already left behind an offspring. When the priests of the One-Character Temple returned, the only living soul remaining was that sole surviving descendant.

He was none other than the grandfather of the Taoist priest currently collapsed upon the ground. Lacking the assistance of the monkey hair, however, this lineage had grown weaker and weaker, sustained solely by their bloodline, until reaching their present state.

In the old Taoist priest's memories, Yuan Wuji also uncovered another matter. Although the old priest had gained a significant boost in cultivation by devouring the villagers' flesh and blood, he remained unsatisfied. Yet, he could find no further trace of the White Village villagers, a fact that undoubtedly drove his obsessions even madder.

Until finally, he cast his gaze upon his fellow Taoist priests. Since you have all partaken of the flesh and blood of those villagers, your flesh and blood must surely satisfy my needs as well. Rather than letting it go to waste on you, it is better that I put it to good use.

That very night, the old Taoist priest poisoned the meals of the other priests. In the quiet of the night, the old Taoist priest's cultivation soared frantically. Yet, only two living beings remained within the One-Character Temple: a child and the old Taoist priest.

With his enhanced cultivation, the old Taoist priest wiped out all nearby rival forces and even took in some itinerant Taoist priests to bring a semblance of life back to the desolate One-Character Temple.

The old Taoist priest originally thought he could rely on his newfound cultivation to properly enjoy the worldly pleasures of a celestial being. What he did not expect, however, was that the side effects of the Blood-Feast Technique finally erupted. Perhaps aided by the villagers' flesh and blood, the side effects manifested only on the right half of the old Taoist priest's body; his left half remained youthful, though his hair had turned red.

Feeling the weakness in the right half of his body, the old Taoist priest began to panic. Thus, he traveled far and wide seeking medical advice and answers, until he finally learned of the method to break the curse: perfecting the Blood-Feast Technique.

Returning to the One-Character Temple, the old Taoist priest stepped up his search for White Village and began wantonly capturing young boys and girls to practice his arts. He also threatened the townspeople. Cowed by the old Taoist priest's tyrannical might, no one dared to resist, for someone had once invited an external Taoist priest to capture him, and the outcome had been brutal—a bloody lesson that taught them the price of defiance.

Furthermore, there were quite a few people within the village eager to curry favor with the old Taoist priest, which made the rest of the populace even more afraid to resist.

Another thirty years passed with still no news, and the town's population had dwindled considerably. This was mainly because the old Taoist priest required young boys and girls for his cultivation, causing the townspeople to practically give up on having children. Cut off from the supply of young boys and girls, the old Taoist priest's condition began to deteriorate rapidly. Consequently, he issued a decree: ten young boys and girls must be provided every year, or ten households would be slaughtered in their stead.

Driven to despair, the townspeople resumed childbearing. As for escaping, that was virtually impossible; the old Taoist priest had numerous spies and thugs stationed throughout the town, and the consequences of attempting to flee could well be imagined.

Yet, the efficacy of young boys and girls on the old Taoist priest was growing increasingly negligible, and the right half of his body continued to weaken relentlessly. The old Taoist priest had already begun to despair, right up until the arrival of Mingyu and Xika today. Unfortunately, having crossed paths with Yuan Wuji, his budding hope was instantly shattered.

A mortal who had not even condensed a single heavenly flower, yet thought he could escape a calamity by perfecting the Blood-Feast Technique? What a joke. The moment your Blood-Feast Technique reaches perfection, your heavenly tribulation will arrive. The karmic retribution you have accumulated over the years from slaughtering young boys and girls is something even practitioners at the realm of Taiyi Loose Immortals might not be able to withstand; a single flash of divine lightning would be enough to scatter your soul into ashes.

"Your end is destined to be sorrowful."

Without needing the heavenly tribulation to act, Yuan Wuji had already prepared to erase him completely from the mortal world.

Golden Lightning.

A streak of golden lightning flashed across the old Taoist priest's body, obliterating him entirely from the mortal realm. The karmic retribution hovering above the old Taoist priest's head seemed to find release, beginning to dissipate into the heavens and earth.

To Yuan Wuji's surprise, however, the karmic retribution upon his own body seemed to have diminished slightly. Could it be that slaying these karmic-laden beings could alleviate one's own karma?

"Great General, what should we do with him?"

The village chief pointed at the Taoist priest lying on the ground and asked. Yuan Wuji had found no record of malicious deeds in the old Taoist priest's memories regarding this youth; logically speaking, he was also a victim.

"Leave it to Mingyu and Xika to decide!"

Mingyu and Xika never expected Yuan Wuji to leave this decision to them. Yet, how should they choose?

"Great General—"

"Hmm? Have you made up your mind?"

"I want him to obey my commands."

It was Mingyu who spoke, while Xika remained silent.

"That's simple."

Yuan Wuji split the primordial spirit within the Taoist priest's mind into two halves, returning one half to the priest's body while handing the other half to Mingyu.

"Now, whenever you wish, you can take his life at any moment."

Yuan Wuji placed half of the Taoist priest's primordial spirit into Mingyu's palm. As long as Mingyu pleased, he could crush the primordial spirit at any time and end the Taoist priest's life.

"Really?" Mingyu asked excitedly.

"Naturally."

"That's wonderful!" A glint of deep meaning flickered in Mingyu's eyes, causing the Taoist priest collapsed on the ground to shudder involuntarily.

"Then what about his injuries? We don't know how to heal him," the village chief said, scratching his head.

They had no idea what kind of severity Yuan Wuji had used in his strike. In the village chief's view, if they brought back a cripple, it would be better to have just killed him outright.