“Senior, you and I have had no grievances in the past, nor enmity in recent days, but since you harbored evil intentions first, I shall respond with the Remnant Immortal Demon-Slaying Hand. I accept this karmic debt!” Since he hadn’t killed anyone, James Carter didn’t use his usual lines. After saying this, James Carter made his move. The fine needles flickered several times on the scholar’s body, and the middle-aged scholar could no longer hold back and began to moan.

The itching and numbness were unbearable. Normally, the scholar might have scratched the itch with his hand, but now he was on the Immortal Execution Platform, his cultivation completely abolished, his body tightly bound, with no way to scratch at all. The poor scholar could only twist his body continuously, but had no means to alleviate his suffering. At this moment, even if it meant losing all dignity, he would have wished for someone to help him scratch, but unfortunately, James Carter had no such kindness.

A faint golden light flashed from the Immortal Execution Platform, and the middle-aged scholar was hung outside the platform. James Carter’s voice came from above: “Senior will be the last to be executed. During the time it takes to behead these thousands, you’ll have to endure it all.”

None of the immortals who entered the Immortal Execution Platform had expected James Carter to have this trick up his sleeve. They all knew about the desperate situation the scholar mentioned and were waiting to see James Carter make a fool of himself, but unexpectedly, James Carter saw through it immediately. Thinking back to the medicine garden incident that James Carter also knew about, these immortals realized that it seemed almost impossible to hide anything from the executioner on the Immortal Execution Platform.

Even immortals would not wish to be humiliated before death, but James Carter’s actions did not arouse any resentment in them. James Carter was just a mortal, incapable of controlling the changes in the Heavenly Court. Their tragedy, as James Carter said, had its own cause and effect, and could not be blamed on James Carter.

As for that middle-aged scholar, James Carter had made it clear: he had tried to harm James Carter first, so James Carter didn’t mind accepting this karmic tie. On the path of cultivation, who hadn’t killed countless people? For such actions, perhaps except for that middle-aged scholar, no one else found anything wrong.

Moreover, James Carter never forced anyone. Those willing could leave a final wish; those unwilling, James Carter would send on their way without hesitation, never making things difficult. No one had anything more to say.

Those about to die—especially immortals who had lived for who knows how long and witnessed countless cycles of life and death—had already come to terms with everything. If they wanted to live, they could have surrendered before entering the Immortal Execution Platform. Since they had already been sent in, it meant they had made their choice and seen through life and death. Who would care about James Carter’s little tricks at this point?

James Carter had guessed this, which was why he acted so boldly. No matter how open-minded one was about life and death, there would always be a few small regrets. That was the power of James Carter’s words—“If you have any unfulfilled wishes, perhaps I can help you accomplish them.”

The direct result of this was that at least half of the condemned prisoners told James Carter their requests and promised him benefits.

“My sect has declined. If you have the chance, please look after it! I also have a lost scripture, ‘The True Art of Gui Water.’ If you use it with Gui Water vital energy, it’s extremely powerful. Please help me pass it on!”

...

“I know of a spirit stone vein in a secluded valley, rarely visited by people and full of monsters. I don’t think anyone has discovered it yet. I’ll give it to you!”

...

“Before I ascended, I forged dozens of flying swords for my juniors, but after they ascended, they never found them. Go and retrieve them! Those flying swords were my painstaking work before ascension—don’t let them gather dust.”

...

James Carter’s mind was like a boiling cauldron, frantically engraving these immortals’ last wishes and promised benefits into his memory. Some things, like looking after juniors, James Carter agreed to directly. For those that required killing, James Carter would consider carefully; if it involved his own enemies, he would accept, but if there was no connection, he wouldn’t agree lightly.

The more he acted this way, the more it showed that James Carter kept his promises. Those who originally wanted him to kill for them, seeing him shake his head and refuse, realized that since they were about to die and their treasures would go to waste, they might as well grit their teeth and reveal all the benefits they had intended to offer, asking for nothing in return, and faced death with resolve.

Before each execution, James Carter would always recite the professional phrase, “Every injustice has its perpetrator, every debt its debtor.” After beheading, he would silently use his demonic arts to absorb the last trace of gifts from these immortals—gifts they themselves were unaware of—into his own body.

This process was very fast. James Carter had no sense of time here, but he never paused. By the time he had executed everyone, including the scholar he had tormented with the Remnant Immortal Demon-Slaying Hand, half of the Immortal Execution Platform was already stained bright red.

Chapter 12: Only When All the False Gods Are Slain Can the Demons Be Seen (Part 2)

Within his body, although there was still not a trace of spiritual power, James Carter could feel that his body was undergoing earth-shattering changes. It was as if something was taking root and sprouting inside him, growing strong and vigorous.

Glancing at his merit points, James Carter found they had already surpassed one billion. For James Carter, this was an extra benefit. Although these merit points were of no use in the mortal world for now, once he ascended to the Spirit Realm, they would be treasures beyond compare.