"Okay, I'm ready!" Yunyu said. He looked up and saw a light pillar from the dark sky.

"Close your eyes, and bear with the pain until you're free. It won't take long," Pupa instructed, and Yunyu followed.

Pupa started counting the remaining spells it could use after so long…

[Pupa: Only 4 more usage left… I don't want to waste it. Not until Yunyu finished his mission.]

Bai Yunyu closed his eyes, and the light from the sky started showering him with thousands of light swords that pierced through his talisman and stabbed his body. 

Of course, the wound wasn't visible because the light sword would vanish after stabbing Yunyu, but the pain was real. 

Bai Yunyu gritted his teeth. He kept closing his eyes because Pupa said his eyes would burn if he opened them.

"Argghh!" Yunyu screamed in agony when one of the swords stabbed his heart. 

"P—Pupa, how long will this last? It's so painful! ARGH!" 

"For about an hour, I've used the pain absorption skill, and you've covered yourself with talismans. This is the most bearable pain for you."

"1 hour?! Are you kidding me?!" Bai Yunyu felt like he was put into never-ending torture by… whatever this tribulation was. He didn't know if he could maintain his consciousness to handle such pain.

Bai Yunyu fainted because he was unable to bear the pain. 

Pupa sighed after seeing Yunyu faint, "Well, at least it will make the punishment less painful."

**

Han Shun was sitting under the red marked tree when he saw a light pillar in the dark sky. After a moment, the light pillar started sending a continuous light sword to the target.

"ARRGHHH!" 

"BAI GEGE!!" Han Shun heard the scream full of agony from Bai Gege. He wanted to go and check, he stepped out of the marked tree area, and the ground suddenly shifted. Thus Han Shun got farther from the light pillar. 

"NO, BAI GEGE!!"

"I advice you not to go, Han Shun."

Hundreds of purple butterflies suddenly surrounded Han Shun and gathered together to form a human form.

The mysterious man in a black-golden robe appeared in front of Han Shun. He smirked as he looked down at Han Shun, "You'll get lost even farther if you dare to move. I can teleport you to the nearest marked tree instead if you want."

"Teleport me to Bai Gege instead!" Han Shun said.

"I don't want to," the mysterious man said. "Bai Shijue is now experiencing his tribulation for using a forbidden technique on Han Min. It's entirely your fault, you know? At least have a little tact and stay away from it, just like what Bai Shijue said before, don't move."

"Shut up! I know it's my fault, but I can't help to get angry at that little shit!" Han Shun snarled back at the mysterious man. 

"Heheh, I don't care about that. Anyway, I'm here because I want to introduce you to something that will interest you."

"I'm dead worried about Bai Gege right now, and you want me to see other things instead?!"

"Hey, don't get too worked up, champ. You can't do anything about Bai Shijue right now. I'll just show you something interesting~."

The mysterious man in a black-golden robe snapped his fingers, and the ground shook again. Han Shun was teleported with the mysterious man on top of a tree branch. 

"WHA—" Han Shun hugged the trunk immediately while the man floated in front of him. 

"Kid, look down and see what I'm talking about," the mysterious man said.

Han Shun looked down. He saw many people dressed in black robes, carrying a corpse of a woman around the same age as Han Shun. The woman had a ritual knife planted on her chest, and blood was still leaking. So she must've been killed less than an hour ago.

"What do you think about that?" The mysterious man asked. "They are all despicable people, you know."

"…I feel nothing," Han Shun said ruthlessly. "They're probably a bunch of demonic sect cultivators. I don't care about them and what they're doing, but if Bai Gege told me to exterminate all of them, then I will do it."

"Exterminate? That's so boring," the mysterious man chuckled. "You should use them as your pawns. The demonic sects will never lack cultivators. People always want to join the demonic sect because it's a lot easier to access the power."

"Of course, it's all instant, unlike the cultivation that Bai Shijue gave you. The disciples from the demonic sect won't live long because they'd be eaten by the dark energy inside their body," the mysterious man explained. "And once they have been fully consumed by it, they're nothing but mindless puppets to their grandmaster."

"What do you think? Isn't it fun to have control over them? They're nothing but puppets you can use to do anything in your bidding, you know~."

Han Shun stared at the man coldly, "Are you telling me that I should join those bastards down there? Killing an innocent woman for the sake of their ritual to strengthen their bodies? Do you lump me with those scum?!"

"Hey, relax. I'm not telling you to join them…" the mysterious man said. "I'm just asking if the idea of controlling mass meaningless puppets interest you."

"… but they're humans… at least for now, " Han Shun said. "Isn't it wrong to control other humans like a puppet?"

The mysterious man's gaze darkened after Han Shun said, "We're not humans. We're far above them all."

"Far above them all?"

The mysterious man smiled meaningfully, "You will understand what I meant later. Keep in mind that you can always control all of them. Nothing is holding you back as long as Bai Shijue doesn't know about it."

"After all, we're talking with a sociopath here, right? A man who cannot feel any remorse, haha~." 

"You!" 

The mysterious man cackled and snapped his fingers. Han Shun was sent under a tree that had been marked red.