He suddenly saw a flash of light on his left wrist—the bracelet he wore instantly transformed into a stream of light and, with a metallic clang, became a flying sword!

　　Whoosh—

　　With just one strike, the massive body of the spider demon had nowhere to escape and was pierced through by the sword’s light on the spot.

　　“Ah!” The giant spider let out a miserable scream and fell, crashing down to the first floor with a loud bang, smashing through the ground and revealing a pile of white bones beneath the floorboards.

　　It was clear how many lives had been lost here before.

　　Faintly, a golden light invisible to ordinary people drifted out from the spider demon’s corpse and merged into Liam Carter’s body.

　　He contentedly sheathed his sword, and the flying sword transformed back into a bracelet on his wrist.

　　The dust settled.

　　Only then did he let out a long breath.

　　It was indeed Liam Carter’s first time... taking on the task of descending the mountain alone to exorcise demons. Though he appeared calm before, he was actually a bit nervous inside.

　　Although this spider demon’s cultivation wasn’t high, it was skilled at illusions and could transform into human form, making it hard to distinguish. If not for accurate intelligence and the unique treasure in his hand, Liam Carter might not have dealt with it so easily.

　　...

　　After the battle, Liam Carter didn’t rush to leave. Instead, he sat down cross-legged on the spot and closed his eyes to meditate.

　　As his consciousness sank, he entered a dark space. It was empty except for a tall white tower standing before him.

　　Nine stories, hexagonal, towering and majestic, the tower’s surface covered with intricate, obscure inscriptions and drawings, ancient and solemn.

　　Liam Carter walked into the white tower and saw that inside were iron cells lined with black railings, resembling a prison! There were countless cells, but all were empty except for one.

　　Inside that cell was a cluster of golden shadow, which appeared to be a large spider...

　　The cell had no door, only a wall, and on the wall was a red character “炼” (refine). Liam Carter stepped forward and gently pressed it.

　　Boom—

　　A flash of red light, and the golden shadow vanished instantly.

　　A cluster of white radiance floated out from the cell.

　　That’s right—every time Liam Carter slays a demon, a shadow appears in this tower. By refining this shadow, he can obtain a treasure... as if it’s a reward for exorcising demons.

　　Liam Carter reached out and caught the cluster of white light. As the glow faded, what remained in his hand was a bundle of red rope, and he felt a sense of connection in his heart.

　　Demon-Binding Rope:

　　When activated with true qi in battle, the Demon-Binding Rope will automatically bind the enemy tightly in a tortoise-shell pattern. While rendering the enemy powerless, it can also break their psychological defenses, even unlocking hidden personalities—its power is immense.

Chapter 002 Silver Sword Peak

　　Shushan, Silver Sword Peak.

　　Liam Carter opened his eyes, his gaze bright.

　　He glanced outside—it was still early. The fiery red sun had just risen over the mountains, and the morning glow painted half the sky crimson.

　　After more than half a year in this world, he was already completely used to getting up early.

　　That’s right, he wasn’t originally from this world, but a recent high school graduate who had just finished the college entrance exam. The day before, he’d learned he’d scored third in the entire province, but the next morning, as soon as he stepped outside, he was hit by a drunk driver.

　　When he woke up again, he found himself in this bizarre and fantastical world.

　　It was called fantastical because here, demons and monsters ran rampant, dragons and serpents roamed, ghosts and gods wielded unimaginable power, and mortal lives were as insignificant as grass. Only thanks to the many immortal sects led by the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths was peace maintained in the human world.

　　Human cultivators were equally powerful: martial artists could split mountains and rocks with their bodies, scholars’ spirit could rival armies, Daoist masters could summon wind and rain, and eminent monks from the Buddhist sect could subdue dragons with a single finger...

　　Liam Carter’s predecessor was an orphan whose entire family had been killed by demons. Only he was saved by his master, who, seeing his talent for cultivation, brought him back to the mountain.

　　That’s why his predecessor hated evil so much and was desperate to master divine powers as soon as possible to descend the mountain and slay demons. But because he was too impatient, his mind became unstable, and during a breakthrough, he suffered a qi deviation and his soul dissipated.

　　One can only sigh—such is the unpredictability of life.

　　When Liam Carter’s soul descended into this world, his first feeling was actually panic. As a young man who grew up in peaceful times, this demon-infested world made him extremely uneasy.

　　Especially since the memories he inherited included the tragic scenes of his predecessor’s family being slaughtered by demons—the impact on his psyche was immense.

　　But he quickly figured it out. Fear comes from lack of power.

　　The weak inevitably live in fear every day. To truly rid himself of this anxiety, the only way was to become stronger. And since he had the talent for cultivation and had landed in the top-tier Shushan Sect, it was already a pretty good start.

　　Even better, after transmigrating, he discovered a change in his soul.

　　The appearance of that tower.

　　Whenever he meditated, a giant white tower would appear in his mind, and after slaying demons, it would grant him treasures as rewards. This didn’t exist in his predecessor’s memories, so it seemed to have come with him—perhaps it was the legendary cheat?

　　At first, Liam Carter didn’t dare go after powerful demons. He just sought out places like mass graves and cemeteries in the villages and towns around Shushan, slaying some lantern monsters.