The Annihilator: Killer Of Gods

Chapter 191 Oakwood City

"Morris, what are you doing here?" Xian asked immediately when Morr, now known as Morris, appeared. Although Morr had been secretly protecting Xian, he had never let him know. In fact, the day Karsha met Xian, one of Morr's shadows had been in Xian's shadow.

At the dire moment, he would have intervened. After all, wherever his shadows were, regardless of the distance, he could easily teleport there. That was how he moved away so quickly when the great sages appeared during his breakthrough and level-up.

"Xian," Karsha called out, "Morris will be joining us on this journey." Karsha didn't know how best to explain any of this, so he just lied. Although he treated Xian like a brother, some things needed to remain hidden for now. When Xian's destiny awakened, he would learn everything.

Xian simply nodded and went to chat with Morris. Karsha, on the other hand, turned to the system.

'System, list the Aura Concealing Pills you have,' Karsha thought. He didn't want to draw too much attention. They were heading into a new city, and appearing too flashy would send the wrong message. Appearing weak would be more beneficial, after all—nobody really gives much attention to the weak.

Only the arrogant and greedy do, and that was exactly what Karsha wanted. Of course, if the strong came, he would greet them with the most respectful gesture. He doesn't discriminate; if he offered them a way out and they didn't take it, he would be sure to drill some lessons into their souls before sending them away—or maybe they wouldn't even get to enter the cycle of reincarnation.

His Mystical-grade Avatar and his Mask of Malevolence required souls to evolve. He had already accomplished 80% of the requirement to advance the Mask when he fought Khinux. He only needed 8 more souls to complete the advancement.

(A/N: Khinux is the same as Uno. Sometimes I might refer to him using either name, like Khinux. Also, don't be surprised if new names are added.)

< Aura Concealing Pill >

Grade: Earth Grade

Tier: 4

Purity: 100%

-- Conceals the aura of a cultivator making them appear two stages below their real cultivation base. Its effect will last for 7 days.

[Note: A great Sage can see through this disguise ]

Price: 100,000

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< Aura Concealing Pill >

Grade: Earth Grade

Tier: 5

Purity: 100%

-- Conceals the aura of a cultivator making them appear Three stages below their real cultivation base. Its effect will last for 7 days.

[Note: A great Sage can see through this disguise ]

Price: 150,000

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< Aura Concealing Pill >

Grade: Earth Grade

Tier: 6

Purity: 100%

-- Conceals the aura of a cultivator making them appear three stages below their real cultivation base. Its effect will last for 7 days.

[Note: Anyone below Tier 10 cannot see through this disguise ]

Price: 200,000

Good. Buy one Tier 6 Aura Concealing Pill and two sets of clothes. If we're going to appear weak, then our appearance should still be high-grade. How else are we going to catch the attention of the beauties?' Karsha smiled, taking two packaged sets of clothes from his inventory along with a pill.

"You two should go change into something decent. I won't have you following me around in those rags," Karsha said, tossing the packaged clothes to them. He had access to a system store where he could buy any type of clothing.

While his style wasn't exactly the traditional wear of this world, that didn't mean he had to stand out too much. If he was going to wear cloaks, he might as well go for a fancy, blend of traditional and designer ones—the type that would make him appear mysterious, handsome, and rich.

"Morris, you should also take this pill," Karsha said, handing him the Aura Concealing Pill. A few minutes later, two Peak Grandmasters, handsome but not quite at Karsha's level of handsomeness, appeared, looking like princes from a distant kingdom.

Morris was handsome like most Beastkin, and thanks to his slender, serpentine nature, his body was more relaxed and flexible, adding to his perfect cheekbones and bright, ocean-blue, almost human eyes. Nobody would be able to tell he wasn't human unless they were familiar with beasts.

Xian, on the other hand, seemed to have grown even more handsome after absorbing the Spirit Fruit. His short black hair had become even darker, complementing his striking brown eyes. He had a square face and a nose reminiscent of a Middle Eastern man. His body, however, hadn't developed much yet. Karsha couldn't help but think back to the body he had awakened in.

'These guys will be a problem in the future,' Karsha thought, sneering inwardly as he looked at the two handsome faces staring at him. 'Tsk, I'll just kill them if they snatch away any of my potential beauties.'

"You two should take it easy on the ladies," Karsha said before jumping down from the boat.

"Xian, why don't we just go around the city? Wouldn't that have been a safer option?" Morris, who was used to being lowkey, asked.

"Going around would take two days. If we take the western route, we'd have to cross a river, which, according to most of the fishermen, has dangerous and hungry monsters lurking within. And if we take the east, we'd have to pass through three forests and a mountain. The forests hid some of the most vicious monsters and even human bandits.

You might be a Sage, Morris, but I'm not sure you can handle more than two Tier 9 monsters at once. So the best and safest route is to pay 20 gold coins each at the city gate and pass through. It will only take seven hours by carriage, or 12 hours if we travel on foot.

Also, Big Brother Karsha wants to see the city since this is his first time here," Xian explained.

Xian was from a village just a few hours from Oakwood City called Nimbe. It's a farming village with over 500,000 inhabitants. Xian's family lived in the eastern part of the village.

His parents are still alive, and he also has two siblings: an older sister and a younger sister. They are all cultivators with cultivation bases at the Master stage, thanks to Xian's ten years of effort after moving to Sunlight City. Although the path of cultivation seemed advantageous, it was also expensive.

Xian wanted his parents to live longer, so he did everything he could to elevate them to the Saint stage. Only then would they gain an additional 1,000-year lifespan. Their Master-level cultivation simply made them look younger and stronger than the average mortal.

"Also, this will give us a chance to buy some gifts for Xian's family. Morris, don't you want to buy something for your family when you go visit them?" Karsha stopped and gazed at Morris.

Morris smiled slightly and nodded in approval.

"Alright, let's go. We're a little behind schedule," Karsha said.

After moving for 20 minutes, they began to see a magnificent city 10 miles away. From where they stood, they could see thousands of square kilometers of city spreading far and wide.

The towering buildings, made of gold, reflected the shimmering rays of the sun. The perfectly arranged layout of the buildings and the meticulously divided roads separated the city into four sections.

"This is Oakwood City," Xian began. "It's managed by four Great Families. Just like Sunlight City, where the Sunlight Great Family oversees the other two great families, the Oakwood Great Family is in charge of most affairs here. Besides them, the other three families are the Nakamura, Gupta, and O'Hara families.

Each of these families is formidable. No one really knows the true depth of their strength, but every great family tends to keep their power hidden, only revealing their full might when they're truly threatened."

'Tsk, they'll learn what true power feels like if they provoke me,' Karsha smirked, fully aware that Xian's explanation was indirectly a warning to exercise caution, particularly with the Oakwood Great Family.

"Also, there are two prominent sects: the Celestial Flame Sect and the Verdant Grove Sect. Both are on par with the Sunlight Sword Sect.

So since we're not in Sunlight City, we should avoid causing trouble with any disciples from these sects or with members of the clans here, as there are several clans present in the area," Xian continued, more detailed than Karsha had expected.

This thoroughness made Xian invaluable for future intelligence gathering. From what he described, Oakwood City seems to be even stronger and larger than Sunlight City. The strength of a city was determined by its Great Families, sects, and clans, and with four Great Families, Oakwood City's power far surpassed that of Sunlight City.

"That's a lot of people coming and going," Karsha remarked as they neared the enormous gate, about 300 meters away. There was a multitude of people moving in and out of the city.

Some were traveling in carriages, others on foot, while cultivators who had reached the Saint stage flew through the sky. Once a cultivator becomes a Saint, they gain the ability to fly.

"This city is huge for trading, so merchants come and go all the time," Xian explained.

Karsha nodded, noticing the luxurious carriages entering and leaving the city. He also observed a group of people wearing matching uniforms walking out of the city.

"Xian, who are those seven with the matching uniforms?" he asked.

"They're probably from a clan, most likely a mercenary clan. We should avoid getting noticed by them. They tend to target the weak." Xian shuddered, hinting that he had been tormented by such people before, leaving a deep scar on him.

Seeing the seven casually swaggering out of the city filled Xian with both disgust and fear. He had forgotten that he now had powerful avatars that could easily crush these seven into a paste.

Karsha was tempted to stir up trouble, but seeing his brother carefully avoid all clan members they encountered, he decided to hold back—for now. He could always come back later for some fun. However, as always, the heavens had other plans.

"You three, stop right there!" one of the seven clan members shouted at them.

Karsha smiled, hearing them call out. Trouble had found him even when he was trying to avoid it. He would feel like a coward if he simply walked away. Turning around, Karsha looked at the seven with an evil smirk playing on his lips.