“We were careless, not as meticulous as Sky King, who even remembered that today is the day when the Penglai Immortal Realm appears,” the Demon-Subduing Pestle also said.

“What should we do now?”

“The demons have already invaded the mortal world. Presumably, it won’t be long before they find vessels to be reborn. By then, the human world will be plunged into misery and suffering. Fellow Daoists, at this point, our only option is to descend to the mortal realm and seek successors. Only with enough strength in the human world can we ensure safety.”

“The master speaks the truth,” the various immortal artifacts nodded in agreement.

“There’s no time to lose. Penglai will only appear for half an hour. After that, we’ll have to wait for the next opportunity. Please, everyone, follow me.”

※※※

Ten thousand meters above the ground, a pitch-black greatsword was flying at breakneck speed, covering a hundred miles in the blink of an eye. The sword was about four feet long and three fingers wide, its design wild and unrestrained, faintly exuding a murderous aura. Its light was subdued, the hilt and blade seamlessly connected, and the hilt was engraved with scale-like patterns. As the saying goes, a heavy sword has no edge, true mastery lies in simplicity.

“Damn those immortals, I must have had the worst luck for eight lifetimes.” William Bolton was now filled with anger, an anger that had lasted nearly a thousand years.

Back then, he had only heard that the immortals and demons had agreed to duel in the Penglai Immortal Realm. Out of curiosity, he went to watch, hoping to pick up some bargains. But he never expected that those bald monks and stinky Daoists would secretly set up the Myriad Swords Returning to the Sect Grand Formation. By the time he realized it, it was too late to escape.

Although he was a rogue cultivator, neither good nor evil, and usually didn’t make enemies, in that grand formation, during the battle between immortals and demons, his physical body was still destroyed.

If not for his own strength, he would have ended up with his soul completely annihilated.

Whenever he thought of this, William Bolton’s eyes filled with tears.

How could he be so unlucky? None of those immortals, Buddhas, demons, or monsters were any good! If they wanted to fight, fine, but why drag him into it?

With his body destroyed, all his cultivation was lost as well. Although his soul was entrusted to the Pure Jun Immortal Sword, it was not a long-term solution. He had to find a body to possess in order to stabilize his soul. Otherwise, after a long time, he would inevitably face total annihilation.

The mortal world was nothing like the Penglai Immortal Realm, where spiritual energy was abundant. The human world, for all its prosperity, was filthy and impure, the spiritual energy turbid. After just three days back from Penglai, William Bolton already felt his soul’s power had diminished.

But how could finding a body be so easy?

If he just picked any body, he could indeed continue living, but if the body’s aptitude and foundation were poor, how could he cultivate in the future?

And even mortals with excellent aptitude and foundation might not be compatible with his cultivation method. Along the way, William Bolton had observed many people, but still hadn’t found a suitable one.

Moreover, although he was neither good nor evil, he wasn’t a demonic cultivator either. He couldn’t bring himself to forcibly devour someone’s soul and seize a mortal’s body.

That would go against the will of heaven, and when it came time to ascend, the heavenly tribulation would surely be even harsher.

Better keep looking. If it really doesn’t work out, he’d just have to forcibly seize some mortal’s body and be reborn. William Bolton knew that’s what those demons would do. As for the souls of the righteous cultivators from the seven great sects, they would probably seek out successors, pass on their teachings, guide them in cultivation, and then quietly fade away when their time was up.

So pedantic! What is justice? What is evil? William Bolton never cared about such things—he just did as he pleased, with a clear conscience.

Just as he was thinking this, William Bolton’s soul stirred slightly, and the rapidly flying Pure Jun Immortal Sword came to a halt.

“Oh? What a promising young talent!” If he still had a body, William Bolton’s eyes would surely be shining. Sensing carefully, a young man in plain clothes appeared in William Bolton’s perception.

With such aptitude, a thousand years ago, the seven great sects would have fought tooth and nail to take him as a disciple. Unfortunately, now… there probably weren’t many cultivators left in the world. As far as William Bolton knew, a thousand years ago, to be safe, the seven great sects had taken almost all the cultivators from the human world to the Penglai Immortal Realm to fight the demons to the death.

But… William Bolton could only sigh.

This young man was full of vitality—not someone about to die. If he wanted to find a body, he couldn’t do anything demonic, nor did he want to be like those righteous cultivators. He could only look for a corpse that had just died to possess, so as not to go against the will of heaven and avoid retribution.

“Why won’t you just die?” William Bolton cursed bitterly.

“Gaa—” An extremely harsh sound rang out, and in his spiritual perception, the young man’s vitality suddenly flickered like a candle in the wind.

“What’s going on?” William Bolton was extremely puzzled. Had the young man encountered some disaster?

Looking closer, he saw the young man had been struck and sent flying by a huge iron monster with four wheels.

William Bolton had seen quite a few of these iron monsters in the past few days, all roaring down the roads at incredible speed, much faster than horses.

William Bolton immediately grew tense, his heart stirring restlessly, and in his mind he couldn’t help but chant over and over: “Go out, go out.”