Chapter 178 Severing Karma With Slaughter



Duncan let out a turbid breath and exhaled softly.

It had been one month since he came out of the Grotto Heaven. Ever since his excursion into the Grotoo Heaven, his strength has increased by multiple levels within a short time.

It was not just him. Everyone who entered the Grotto Heaven had their strengths increased severalfold. And thus, for the past month, most of the disciples of the Heavenly Demon Sect were cultivating in seclusion in order to stabilize their foundation.

And Duncan wasn't an exception to this either.

While other disciples of the Heavenly Demon Sect had to do some odd missions to fulfill their responsibilities, direct disciples like Duncan didn't have much pressure regarding it. So, for the past month, Duncan's life had been very simple.

Cultivate. Consolidate your foundation. Go to scripture hall and enrich your knowledge. Practice the two new martial arts he had acquired. And repeat the process.

Simple, monotonous, and without any excitement.

Duncan was fine with that. He didn't want to go out of the sect anytime soon either. After awakening his bloodline, the [Slaughter Demon Sutra] he practiced was different from the original one he practiced. 

This meant that Duncan had to rectify the differences and deficiencies present in the original. So, for the past one month, Duncan had been concentrating on it and establishing a firm foundation.

Currently, Duncan's foundation has become incomparably firm and he could advance to the Violet Palace realm anytime. But, Duncan didn't do it because of the changes to his cultivation technique.

Unlike the original [Slaughter Demon Sutra] he practiced, the new and improved version had several other requirements for him to advance to the next major level. In the original version, Duncan needed to amass enough slaughter qi to break through to the next level. Duncan had already done this in the Grotto Heaven.

As early as when he was in the forest region, Duncan had already amassed enough slaughter qi to advance to the Violet Palace realm. However, he didn't have the corresponding technique for the breakthrough to the Violet Palace realm. Hence, he had put it off.

From the looks of it, Duncan was glad that he had done that. If not for that, he wouldn't be able to establish a firmer foundation that was required by the new version of the cultivation technique he practiced.

The new [Slaughter Demon Sutra] had further requirements for a practitioner to advance to the Violet Palace realm. That is because the Violet Palace realm was very important for cultivators in establishing a firm foundation.

In the Violet Palace realm, a cultivator will establish eight pillars and create a palace with them as the foundation in the early stages. While this was common for every cultivator, the quality of the foundational pillars they established will determine their future accomplishments.

Hence, it is not uncommon for cultivators to spend more time at the peak of the Spirit Sea realm and increase the quality of the foundational pillars they will establish.

The quality of foundational pillars is determined by the patterns that will be formed on them. The quality of these patterns is based upon martial arts, cultivation techniques, and other factors. 

In the cultivation world, the foundational pillars are separated by grades. The higher the grade of the patterns in the foundational pillars established, the more powerful a cultivator will be on the same level.

If the pillars contain three or less patterns engraved in them, then it can be called the lowest grade foundation. Three to six patterns engraved in the pillars will lead to a middle-grade foundation. Seven and eight patterns represent high-grade foundation. If the foundation pillars contain nine, then it will be a peak foundation.

With that said, there is another grade of foundation that is only mentioned in legends. Nine patterns aren't the absolute end. Sometimes, a cultivator will be able to establish pillars with more than nine patterns. This kind of foundation is incredibly rare and requires extraordinary lucky circumstances. It is called the legendary foundation.

Legendary foundations cannot be simply established due to high-grade cultivation techniques or martial arts. They require cultivators to fulfill special requirements before they establish their foundation pillars.

The quality of the cultivation techniques and martial arts may determine the number of patterns ordinarily. But, for the legendary foundation, esoteric things like luck, fate, karma, and other aspects are needed. 

Luckily, the information he gained during his bloodline awakening let Duncan know how to establish a foundational pillar that exceeds nine patterns. Duncan was confident that his martial arts level and the cultivation technique he practiced are enough to establish a peak foundation.

The Heavenly Demon Sect is one of the hegemons of the Dragon Scale continent. [Slaughter Demon Sutra] was one of the core cultivation techniques available in the Heavenly Demon Sect. That meant that any foundation established using it was determined to at least be at high grade.

Right now, Duncan had already grasped the concepts of Windspeed and Swordcut. Most cultivators at the Spirit Sea realm will have only glimpsed into such things. Only geniuses from major sects would have been able to grasp them before entering the Violet Palace realm.

With these two things in his corner, Duncan was confident that he could easily establish a high grade or peak grade foundation at the bare minimum. But, Duncan wasn't satisfied with this. Now that he knew how to exceed the peak grade and establish a legendary foundation, Duncan wanted to give it a try.

According to the information he gleaned, one of the ways to establish a legendary foundation while cultivating the [Slaughter Demon Sutra] was to sever karma with slaughter.  I think you should take a look at

Severing Karma With Slaughter!

Duncan had a vague idea of what it meant. While he wasn't sure, Duncan wanted to give it a try. According to his understanding, he must sever his karmic threads by means of slaughter to accomplish it.

Duncan's understanding of things like karma and fate isn't profound. He only had a superficial understanding. If it is possible, he wanted to discuss it with his master first or consult some elder in the sect regarding karmic ties.

Unfortunately, he couldn't get more information without disclosing information about the improved [Slaughter Demon Sutra]. No matter who he went to for further clarification, they would be curious as to why he would need such knowledge. This was unacceptable to Duncan.

Duncan knew clearly that a poor man having wealth was a crime. And a weak cultivator like him having secrets will definitely lead to disaster. Duncan wasn't foolish enough to go and court disaster wantonly. 

So, he could only grit his teeth and carry with whatever shallow understanding he had. He knew karmic ties were about cause and effect. Since this was related to his advancement, then the karmic ties in question will come from him.

So, Duncan thought about his karmic ties for a long time and came up with one feasible solution. 

The Wang Clan.

It is true that he and the Wang Clan had some cause and effect. No matter how he looked at it, Duncan knew that his contact with the Wang Clan was pivotal in leading him onto the path of cultivation. 

And Duncan had always wanted to go back and teach the Wang Clan a poignant lesson. Since that was the case, the Wang Clan might as well act as his stepping stone in the path of cultivation.

Severing Karma With Slaughter

Since he had karmic ties with the Wang Clan, he will sever those ties by eliminating the Wang Clan completely. This way, this particular karma of him can be severed using slaughter.

Furthermore, Duncan wasn't averse to this idea either. At that time, Duncan was someone the Wang Clan didn't even need to look at. He was weak and a bug to them. They could trod on him as they pleased and kill him if he displeased them.

While Duncan didn't know clearly if the Wang Clan was indeed responsible for him to be attacked by the bandits, Duncan didn't feel that he needed hardcore evidence. This world was ruled by the strong. There is no need for the strong to argue with the weak.

Since Duncan was now strong enough to exterminate the Wang Clan, then there was no need for him to search for evidence. It was enough if he thought that the Wang Clan was guilty. As for evidence, he wasn't a righteous cultivator to care about it.

Duncan had some dissatisfaction with his treatment in the Wang Clan. Now that the opportunity has come, he can vent his dissatisfaction and eliminate this eyesore, while using it as a stepping stone for his cultivation path.

Duncan knew that the patriarch of the Wang Clan was someone at the peak of the Spirit Sea realm. The entire clan's strength wouldn't be that much different. If they had the power of the Violet Palace realm, they wouldn't be stuck in this small city on the edge of the Grasslands.

In his eyes, the Wang Clan was the perfect target for the present him.

As early as a week ago, Duncan had already determined to kill off the Wang Clan after serious consideration. Right now, all that was left for him was to get permission from his master and set out.

Duncan rose from his seated position with a determined look and walked towards the exit of his abode. An unknown sense of exhilaration engulfed him at the thought of exterminating the Wang Clan.

A small smile hung on his face as he exited seclusion and made his way to see his master…

Little did he know that his actions will soon trigger a series of violent events across the entire Dragon Scale Continent.

*****

A/N: Check out my other stories and let me know your thoughts...

Support me at patreon.com/kkephemeral