A thousand magical treasures are not as good as having a single talisman in hand.

A thousand talismans are not as good as possessing a Destiny Divine Talisman.

To find a Destiny Divine Talisman that matches one’s own aptitude and character—then to reach the pinnacle of the world is no longer a mere fantasy.

A great overlord of the demonic path is forced to reincarnate and cultivate anew, arriving at a place he would never have set foot in during his previous life—Ruolu Prison.

This is where the righteous path imprisons demonic cultivators. In his past life, countless righteous cultivators gnashed their teeth wishing to throw him in here, so he would never rise again.

A yellow paper talisman, a chain as thin as a hair; an old man of unknown origin suppressed deep within Ruolu Prison; Eric Bennett’s path of reincarnated cultivation begins as a humble prison guard...

Chapter 001: Golden Clouds Lock the City, Boiling the Sea and Burning the Heavens

The drizzling rain had been falling for several days. The Southern Wasteland was in its rainy season; every year at this time, the entire region was shrouded in bleak, gloomy clouds, and the sun would not be seen for half a month. Yet beneath this overcast sky, amidst towering mountains, there was a place bathed in golden light.

At a height of three thousand zhang atop the mountain, five enormous golden auspicious clouds floated, each one larger than a mountain peak.

The clouds resembled, respectively, an old tortoise, a python, a fierce tiger, a qilin, and a roc. With fierce, menacing expressions, each guarded a direction. The golden radiance that filled the sky emanated from these five auspicious beast-shaped clouds.

The fine rain, upon touching this golden light, instantly transformed into the purest water-element spiritual energy, which was absorbed into the golden glow, nourishing the formation.

Five massive iron chains, as thick as ancient towers, hung down from the clouds like heavenly ladders. On each link, unique talismanic runes were inscribed with Daoist divine arts, circulating along the chains like living things, their light flowing, brimming with spiritual vitality.

The chains were fastened below, clamped onto the foreheads of five gigantic stone-carved wild elephants. These wild elephants were legendary ancient divine beasts, born with six tusks and double wings on their backs, possessing supreme strength, able to bear mountains.

These five stone-carved wild elephants were like five mountain peaks themselves, not at all dwarfed by the surrounding mountains. The carvings were extraordinarily lifelike; after countless years of wind and rain, their bodies were mottled, yet each bore an ancient rune on its forehead, emitting a faint but unending golden glow, firmly imprinted there. The five chains were connected precisely to these runes.

If a great cultivator from the cultivation world were to arrive, they would instantly see that these five wild elephants were not mere stone statues, but actual ancient divine beasts, forcibly sealed here by supreme magical power!

And the purpose of sealing these five wild elephants was clear: on their backs, they steadily bore an ancient city.

The ancient city was built from black stone, seamlessly integrated, its walls covered in crisscrossing scars from massive blades and axes, exuding a tragic aura, as if this city had fought its way out from the battlefields of ancient gods!

Five clouds seal and suppress, wild elephants bear the city.

Who could possess such power?

The ancient city was seamless, but outside the city stood an additional object—a towering white jade stele, three zhang high and incomparably massive. The material of this stele was the cultivation world’s most precious immortal jade, “Jade Essence Core.” Normally, a piece the size of a pigeon’s egg would cause countless sect leaders to fight for it personally. If someone saw such a huge piece, what kind of frenzy would it incite?

Yet even more shocking were the four large characters carved on the heavy jade stele: “Eternal Suppression of the Southern Wasteland!”

The characters were as red as blood, written with the force of a dragon or snake, exuding an aura of dominance over the world.

On the back of the jade stele, densely packed small characters were carved, line after line. At the very top were: Blood Jade Dynasty, Tomb Family, Nine Night Sect, Demon Phoenix Sword Sect, Luo Evil Path...

These were the most powerful sects in the Southern Wasteland. Further down were some slightly weaker sects. The entire back of the stele was inscribed with the names of hundreds of sects, almost encompassing all the cultivation sects of the Southern Wasteland. Could it be that the master of this ancient city was so powerful that all the sects of the Southern Wasteland unanimously chose them as the ruler?

Golden clouds, ancient city, wild elephants, jade stele—standing lonely among the mountains, seemingly lifeless. Yet, if one looked deeper, in the center of the city’s formation, within a grand stone hall, several strange rays of light stood out amidst the golden glow.

These lights came from six peculiar talismanic charms floating in the center of the stone hall. Each charm had nine faces, with both the head and tail of the charm displaying extraordinary features. On each of the nine faces, countless runes were inscribed with supreme spiritual power, each one radiant and lively as if alive. If anyone saw this, they would be shocked: nine-faced talismanic charms were the highest grade, incomparably powerful first-grade talismans in the cultivation world! Even the top nine Heavenly Gates of the cultivation world would enshrine a single first-grade talisman as their sect’s greatest treasure—yet here, in this dim stone hall, there were actually six!

Each of the six first-grade talismans emitted a terrifying aura, soaring to the heavens, resonating with the five golden auspicious clouds above. Their energies were linked; with the slightest movement, they could change the color of the sky and stir the winds and clouds.