A Cunning Pervert in the Cultivation World

Border Fortress, Outer City District

“Hold the line! Don’t let them break through!”

Sergeant Zhang Wei, a formidable looking middle age man roared as he thrust his spear forward, piercing through the skull of a grotesque creature that had once been a civilian.

Red veins bulged across its blackened skin, and its eyes glowed with a sickly crimson light.

Even after its head was impaled, the monster continued twitching violently, trying to bite him.

“These bastards won’t die easily!” one of his squadmates shouted, swinging his sword to cut down another infected human.

The once lively outer district of the border city had now turned into a battlefield of fire and screams.

Buildings burned fiercely while the streets were littered with corpses… some torn apart by claws, others bearing the hideous red veins of infection.

Zhang Wei gritted his teeth as he pulled his spear free and kicked the corpse away.

“These things… they’re not normal demonic being. They used to be people! The plague has turned them into monsters!”

Everything had happened so suddenly.

Ever since the plague erupted from the capital, countless refugees had flocked to the border, hoping to cross into Azure Moon Sect territory to escape the horror.

However, crossing the border was no simple matter.

Because there a vast wilderness filled with powerful wild beasts lay between them.

So unless one had the money to hire trained mercenaries or afford the expensive flying ships, attempting the journey meant almost certain death.

As a result, the border fortress had become extremely crowded.

Then… this morning, disaster struck.

It started with just a few infected individuals, but the situation strangely spiraled out of control within hours.

Hundreds of them suddenly appeared, those who got infected and seem to lose their mind.

The fortress, which was built to withstand foreign enemies, had proven utterly useless against an enemy that had already slipped inside.

Suddenly,

A low growl echoed from the shadows of a collapsed alley.

Then a large infected beast… once perhaps a carriage horse charged toward them.

Its body was grotesquely bloated with black tumors, and its eyes burned with insane madness.

Seeing this, Zhang Wei roared,

“Formation!”

His remaining squad members quickly formed a spear wall.

BAM!!

The infected horse smashed into them with terrifying force, sending two soldiers flying with broken bones.

Although these soldiers were not cultivators and lacked spiritual roots, they trained in the traditional body tempering path.

Most were at the early or middle stage of the Mortal Body Realm, yet this strange infected monster easily overpowered them.

Zhang Wei stabbed upward with all his strength, piercing the beast’s throat.

But even as black blood sprayed everywhere, the creature kept thrashing wildly.

“Damn it…! These things don’t feel pain!”

Suddenly, from the rooftops, more infected humans leaped down, their movements unnaturally fast.

One of them landed on a young soldier and tore into his neck with sharp teeth.

“NO!” Zhang Wei screamed, but it was too late.

The young soldier’s eyes quickly turned red as black veins spread across his face.

But within seconds, he stood up again… and no longer appear to be human.

Zhang Wei’s heart sank at the sight.

“How… how are we supposed to fight this? They just keep increasing…”

If they had been given enough time to group up and form proper battle formations, they could have at least held the line temporarily, as a hundred-man formation led by trained soldiers could unleash power equivalent to middle stage of Qi Refinement Realm cultivators.

He looked toward the inner fortress walls in the distance.

The main defensive line was barely holding.

If the outer city fell completely, the inner fortress would be next.

Yet there was still no new command from their Great General.

…It was almost as if their chain of command had collapsed.

“Any news from the inner city?!” Zhang Wei roared while slashing down another infected civilian. “Where the hell is the General’s order?! We need reinforcements! We need instructions!”

One of his surviving squadmates, covered in blood, shouted back desperately.

“No news, Sergeant! The messenger we sent earlier hasn’t returned! All communication lines are cut!”

Hearing this, Zhang Wei’s heart sank even deeper.

“Damn it…!”

Just then, from a burning side street, a family of civilians burst out, running for their lives in terror.

A middle-aged man was carrying a young girl of about nine or ten in his arms.

And the mother ran beside them, tears streaking her face as she clutched her husband’s sleeve.

“Help us! Please help my daughter!” the mother screamed when she saw the soldiers.

Behind them, several infected humans, their bodies twisted with black and red veins were chasing them at terrifying speed.

Zhang Wei’s eyes widened.

“Protect the civilians!” he bellowed.

He charged forward with the few remaining men under his command.

His spear flashed as he impaled one of the infected, black blood spraying across his armor.

But the moment he killed that one, his blood ran cold.

Behind the fleeing family, they saw it…

…An ocean of infected people surging forward like a black tidal wave.

Countless heads… men, women, children, and elderly all twisted by the plague, their eyes glowing with crimson madness.

They poured out from the burning streets and alleys, trampling over each other in their frenzy.

Right now, the ground trembled under the sheer weight of their numbers.

The scale was so overwhelming that even these battle-hardened soldiers felt their hearts shake with despair.

One of Zhang Wei’s men dropped his sword, his face pale.

“…There’s too many. We’re finished…”

Zhang Wei gripped his spear so tightly that his knuckles turned white as cold sweat ran down his back.

They had faced bandit raids, demonic beast hordes, and even small-scale demonic cultivator attacks before.

But this… this was different.

This wasn’t a battle anymore.

…This was a calamity.

“Hold your ground!” Zhang Wei roared, forcing his voice not to tremble because he knew that… they were like a tiny dam trying to stop a raging flood.

Soon,

The wave of infected surged closer, their horrifying shrieks and growls filling the air.

Some crawled on all fours like beasts, others ran with unnatural speed, their bodies contorting in grotesque ways.

The family of three also realized the dire situation that te soldiers seemed unable to save them in time.

The little girl clutched tightly onto her father’s arm, crying silently.

Everywhere she looked, those strange monsters were rushing toward her from all directions… like darkness consuming the last remaining light.

Then she saw her mother trip and fall face first onto the blood-stained ground.

“Mom?!”

Her father turned back desperately, trying to help her up, but it was too late.

Time seemed to slow down as the little girl stared at the despairing scene.

Her mother looked back at her one final time… eyes filled with love, regret… and unbearable sorrow right as the nearest monster lunged with outstretched hand.

But in that final heartbeat of despair—

BOOM!

A blinding pillar of silvery-white light exploded from the heavens like the birth of a new star.

The entire street was bathed in divine radiance.

CRACK!

CRACK!

CRACK!

CRACK!

The infected screamed in pure agony as the silvery light touched their corrupted flesh.

Their bodies convulsed violently, melting away into black smoke and ash, dissolving as if the very concept of their existence was being erased.

Thousands of abominations were purged in seconds, their horrifying cries fading into the wind like dying echoes.

…And silence fell.

The little girl stared with wide, teary eyes as the purifying light cleansed the darkness from the world.

Slowly, she looked up at the source of the light, her heart hammering in her chest.

There… was a sight she would never forget for the rest of her life.

Descending slowly from the sky through the falling ash and glowing embers, was a tall man wearing a pristine white robe with luxurious feather-fur lining.

His black hair and cloak fluttered in the wind, and his eyes shone with a sharp, calm light.

Behind him, the massive snow-white flying ship of the Azure Moon Sect hovered majestically in the sky.

Then to her surprise, he looked straight at her and offered a gentle, reassuring smile that seemed to warm the freezing grip of fear around her heart.

“Don’t be afraid anymore,” he said, his voice deep, steady, and filled with quiet authority.

“The Azure Moon Sect is here.”