Chapter 984: Unveiling the Truth

Han Yao's tone suddenly became stern, and Meng Zhang became exceptionally serious, appearing as though he was attentively listening.

"You are a Primordial Spirit True Monarch and also a lord of a sect. You've traversed the world of cultivators for many years. There are many things that I see no need to hide from you."

"You must be well aware that, although on the surface, Demonic Cultivation is the common enemy of cultivators, almost universally condemned. However, within the Cultivation World, Demonic Cultivation has never been completely eradicated."

"The reason Demonic Cultivation has been able to persist is not only due to their own capabilities, but also largely because of the tolerance and even covert support of many cultivation forces."

"Many so-called orthodox sects, while appearing to be at odds with Demonic Cultivation on the surface, secretly collude with Demonic Cultivation and delve into forbidden dark arts."

As Han Yao reached this point, a pained expression filled his face.

Meng Zhang, of course, was well aware of the situations Han Yao was describing.

In fact, when he personally went to the Grand Crossing Cultivation Circle in the past, he had seen through many things.

Both Meng Zhang himself and Taiyi Sect under his leadership were deeply averse to dark cultivation practices.

Aside from their distaste for the methods and conduct of Demonic Cultivation, they were also wary due to their concerns.

Back in the day, the former Cult Master of Yellow Lotus Sect, Xu Huanshan True Monarch, in his pursuit to break through the bottleneck of his cultivation, resorted to practicing forbidden dark arts, eventually falling into the abyss of dark cultivation, beyond redemption.

Only through the joint efforts of Meng Zhang and Xu Mengying, and with Xu Huanshan True Monarch's cooperation, were they able to eliminate him early on, preventing him from causing havoc.

Having personally experienced that incident, Meng Zhang developed an ingrained fear of dark cultivation.

Once you tread the path of dark cultivation, it becomes nearly impossible to turn back.

Meng Zhang himself not only stayed far away from dark cultivation but also rigorously regulated his sect, prohibiting his disciples from practicing dark cultivation methods.

Meng Zhang was a cultivator with principles and a moral compass.

He couldn't change the entire atmosphere of the Cultivation World, but within Taiyi Sect and even the entire Hanhai Dao Alliance, the atmosphere was relatively righteous.

They not only upheld the basic tenets of orthodox cultivation but also categorically refused to allow any dark cultivation cultivators to exist.

Many cultivators who didn't see eye to eye with Taiyi Sect would secretly criticize it, claiming it was merely putting on a facade, that false gentlemen were in power.

However, at times, they couldn't help but acknowledge that it was precisely because of Taiyi Sect's reputation and strong moral atmosphere that it was trustworthy.

Over the years, the popularity of remote regions like the Endless Sea of Sand and Demon Wind Gobi in attracting numerous external cultivators was also closely related to this.On the territory of Taiyi Sect, a good order was maintained, essentially prohibiting acts like pillaging and murder for treasures. Han Yao's demand that his subordinates not collaborate with Demonic Cultivation aligned with Meng Zhang's thoughts.

"Because of my responsibilities, I've thoroughly studied various major cultivation forces within the empire."

"Although your Taiyi Sect is located in a remote place like Jiuqu Province and hasn't been part of the empire for long, I've come across various information about your Taiyi Sect."

"The conduct and behavior of Taiyi Sect are not disagreeable to me."

Han Yao's tone once again softened, continuing to slowly explain.

"The reason I had you join the Five Punishments Guard, aside from the situation earlier, is mainly because I've noticed something in you."

"Sect Master Meng, have you greatly offended a major fiend from the Demonic Domain due to certain events?"

This question from Han Yao plunged Meng Zhang into deep recollection.

Those events had taken place hundreds of years ago, back when Meng Zhang was still just a Gold Core stage cultivator.

He had delved deep into the Deadly Sea of Sand, a stronghold of Demonic Cultivation, and put in great effort to eliminate the Demonic Cultivator Ye Feifan.

Because of the substantial heavenly merits he gained from that action, he knew that Ye Feifan was not an ordinary Demonic Cultivator. He was aware that his actions had offended a major fiend from the Demonic Domain.

However, the true body of that major fiend couldn't directly descend into the Grand Dust World.

Moreover, so many years had passed, and he had never suffered any retaliation from the major fiend.

With time, he had long ceased to worry about this matter.

If it weren't for Han Yao bringing it up today, he probably wouldn't even have remembered it.

Seeing Meng Zhang's expression, Han Yao knew that he had hit the mark.

"Those who have offended a major fiend and attracted its special attention carry a distinct aura."

"This aura, which includes you yourself, is imperceptible to many cultivators."

"Even ordinary Demonic Cultivators and monsters can't detect this aura."

"If it weren't for my unique cultivation technique, I'd find it just as hard to discern."

Meng Zhang knew that Han Yao wouldn't deceive him on this matter.However, so many years had passed, and he hadn't discovered anything amiss about himself. Even his Diviner-level Spiritual Awareness didn't sense anything.

Could it be that the power of the major fiend was on such a high level that even his Diviner-level Spiritual Awareness was suppressed?

"These are events from hundreds of years ago." Meng Zhang couldn't help but mutter to himself.

"Sect Master Meng, you underestimate the abilities of the major fiend too much."

"A mere few hundred years is just a small fraction of the major fiend's lifespan. He has all the patience in the world, waiting for the right opportunity."

"Moreover, the major fiend might view this as a game, playing with you slowly."

"At some point, when the major fiend deems it's time, the special aura on you will attract incredibly powerful monsters or Demonic Cultivators. They will be unstoppable, directly casting you into an abyss from which you can never return."

Han Yao's seemingly calm tone sent shivers down Meng Zhang's spine.

Although he was reluctant to believe it, Meng Zhang's intuition told him that Han Yao wasn't deceiving or exaggerating.

Having such a huge hidden danger within himself, all these years without his knowledge, was unsettling.

If it weren't for Han Yao revealing it, he would have remained in the dark.

Meng Zhang thought about how he had visited the Heavenly Palace and met with the Return to Emptiness great power, Grandma Qiansi. Could it be that Grandma Qiansi also hadn't detected the issue with him?

Seeing Han Yao's reasonable attitude, Meng Zhang voiced this question.

Han Yao fell silent for a moment before saying, "Return to Emptiness great powers aren't all-knowing. If they aren't particularly familiar with the methods of the Demonic Domain and haven't carefully examined you, they might indeed overlook it."

"In fact, from what I know, in the history of the Grand Dust World, there have been more than one or two Return to Emptiness great powers who fell victim to demonic methods."

"Of course, it's also possible that the Return to Emptiness great power you mentioned didn't want to meddle too much, so they didn't warn you."

"After all, unveiling the methods of the major fiend from the Demonic Domain would similarly provoke that major fiend's anger."

"Ordinary cultivators can hide within the Grand Dust World and need not worry about the direct descent of the major fiend's true body."

"However, Return to Emptiness great powers often traverse the extraterritorial void, far from the Grand Dust World, and thus the possibility of encountering the true body of the major fiend is much higher."

Han Yao's words turned Meng Zhang's face pale.

Aside from the possibility that Grandma Qiansi had concealed this from him, he recalled his several ventures into the extraterritorial void. He didn't know if it was due to his good luck or the major fiend's lack of attention, but he had never been intercepted by the major fiend.

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