Chapter 229 - 227: True Demon

Chapter 229: Chapter 227: True Demon

After their show of force, the three brothers left together.

They left everyone to stare at each other in dismay. Finally, someone went over to help the man on the ground to his feet. "Brother, you shouldn’t say things like that anymore. If you’re going to work here, you need to be more mindful!"

Chen Qingyang didn’t follow the three brothers. Instead, he stayed behind to watch the crowd.

"Sigh, I ran my mouth. I deserved it... But if something goes wrong, the blame will still fall on us. I just don’t understand why the Master sent those three here!"

By now, the crowd was slowly dispersing. The two men supported each other as they hobbled toward their quarters.

"You should know why. It’s all because of True Demon Mountain!"

The injured man fell silent for a moment. "Senior Brother, are you saying... those three brutes..."

The other man immediately cut in, "Don’t say another word. It’s enough that you know."

’Those three brutes must be the three brothers. But what does that have to do with True Demon Mountain?’ Chen Qingyang wanted to hear more, but the two men refused to utter another word on the subject.

’This is so frustrating!’

He had wasted more than ten days here with nothing to show for it.

It felt like every time he was on the verge of success, something would go wrong. Of course, Chen Qingyang could just grab some other Immortal Seedlings and flee, but the thought of all the effort he had already invested in these three made him unwilling to concede. ’Giving up so easily isn’t my style. I’ll have to find a breakthrough elsewhere.’

...

「Night fell.」

Fuyuan Temple was brightly lit, a solitary beacon in the vast, dark wilderness.

Behind the Daoist Temple were scattered villages. In what should have been the dead of night, one area was bustling with activity.

In a deep pit, flames soared toward the heavens. Qi Refining Disciples below were tossing corpse after corpse into the inferno. Chen Qingyang gave it a brief glance and saw they were all women.

Piled up like small hills, they were shoved into the fiery pit by the Miscellaneous Task disciples. The CRACKLE and POP was deafening. The flames were so potent that they even incinerated the souls of the wrongfully dead, transforming them into wisps of green light that hovered above the fire.

Chen Qingyang then sensed these green lights being absorbed by an Array and converted into the energy needed to power it. The Demon Sect had turned this Daoist Temple into a factory for cultivating a Saint Heir.

’Damn it. This Dharma Gate of Netherworld Peak is truly despicable.’

’From the perspective of the Celestial Dao, the Netherworld certainly exists. There’s nothing inherently wrong with someone entering a spiritual path by observing the Netherworld. But to trample on the lives of others for it—that is an act worthy of death!’

The leader of the group was an Essence Condensation Second Realm cultivator, watching the scene unfold with a cold, detached gaze.

"How many have been thrown in?"

"Reporting to Senior Brother, two hundred and twenty."

"Mm, record all of them. When the three Temple Masters ask tomorrow, I’ll have a number to report. It’s strange, though. Twenty thousand people dead, and we still haven’t produced a single Saint Heir. Perhaps the land itself is barren!"

The other man immediately started sucking up. "This can’t be blamed on you, Steward Zhao. If anything, it’s the fault of the three Temple Masters. Everyone knows you’re the one who’s actually running this Daoist Temple!"

A faint smile touched the man’s cold expression. "You shouldn’t say things that might disrupt our harmony. I’m afraid people might get the wrong idea if it spreads."

The other man feigned regret. "Sigh, I was only speaking the truth, and yet I was wrong..."

The man’s smile grew wider.

...

’This man seems to hold a high position, and those three rely on him heavily. I might not be able to handle the three brothers, but you? You’re another story!’

"Keep an eye on things. I’m going to rest. Report to me again tomorrow."

"Senior Brother Zhao, take care."

In front of the Daoist Temple were rows of houses, and a small courtyard among them was this man’s residence.

He pushed the door open and had just settled down when he spotted a figure hidden behind a screen. He was instantly alarmed.

"Who—"

The word died in his throat. The Five Elements Sword had already run him through, killing his physical body instantly.

Chen Qingyang then enveloped him with the Separation Huo Dragon Pearl, sucking his Divine Soul inside. Merely being surrounded by the scorching flames was enough for the soul to feel their intense heat.

Only then could the man see clearly. He was trapped inside a Magical Artifact, wielded by a young man whose calm eyes overflowed with murderous intent.

"You... You’re not from the Demon Sect?"

Chen Qingyang said, "Smart."

"What... what do you want from me?" Given the man’s intelligence, he naturally understood that his captor had spared him for a reason.

"Help me kill three people. Once they’re dead, I’ll let you go. You’ll even have the chance to cultivate a Yin Spirit and regain a physical body. If you refuse, your death is certain."

The man asked without the slightest hesitation, "The three Temple Masters?"

"The very same. Help me, and you have a chance to live. Refuse, and you die right now. What’s it going to be?"

Again, without any hesitation, he replied, "Your Excellency must be an Immortal from a Daoist Sect. I’ve heard that your people always keep their word and are guided by compassion. Seeing your dignified bearing, Immortal, I’m sure you are such a person. I am willing to help you, Immortal. I just don’t know what you need me to do."

Agreeing so quickly didn’t mean he was sincere. Chen Qingyang didn’t lower his guard one bit.

"First, tell me about the three Temple Masters. Tell me everything, and don’t leave anything out... And one more thing. You’re not the first person I’ve interrogated. The others all died in agony."

This addendum had a powerful effect on the man; even his Divine Soul seemed to freeze for a moment. "I... You’ll really let me go, Immortal?"

Chen Qingyang said, "That depends on them dying first."

This gave the man a glimmer of hope. Whether he was merely feigning compliance or genuinely cooperating, he was bound to reveal something.

As for its veracity, Chen Qingyang would have to judge that for himself.

Here, the man’s shrewdness showed. Instead of trying to bargain, he began speaking directly. "An Immortal from a Daoist Sect such as yourself must have heard of True Demon Mountain, correct?"

Chen Qingyang didn’t answer, merely watching him in silence.

"Very well, I’ll explain. True Demon Mountain is known as the progenitor of all demons. The Path of the True Demon they cultivate is exceedingly tyrannical. They have opposed my Demon Sect many times in the past, and while they’ve submitted for now, they are restless and eager to stir up trouble."

"Because a Golden Core True Monarch presides over True Demon Mountain, and because they possess an incredibly powerful Magical Artifact, the Yu Xiao Demon Sect is unable to deal with them for the time being."

"This Golden Core True Monarch’s surname is Tong. Thus, the lineage that controls True Demon Mountain is the Tong Clan. The vast majority of the Masters there are from this clan, and those three brutes... their surname is also Tong."

At this point, Chen Qingyang understood. "So you’re saying the Yu Xiao Demon Sect is doing this purely out of retaliation?"

"The Immortal is exactly right. Those three once offended someone from Netherworld Peak over some incident, so they were stationed here at Fuyuan Temple—the location closest to True Demon Mountain—as a humiliation."

"Immortal, you must understand, once someone cultivates their kind of technique, their Divine Soul is prone to losing its sense of self. In other words, their every move is controlled by another, just like a marionette."

’The three brothers I saw earlier mentioned their ’Master.’ That was the only person they seemed to respect.’

This confirmed what the man had said.

Chen Qingyang looked at him. "You seem to know a lot."

The man said at once, "You may not be aware, Immortal, but I’ve been at this temple for thirty years. I’ve single-handedly managed all affairs, large and small. Though I’m not a disciple of Netherworld Peak, I’ve been entrusted with significant responsibilities and know a great deal... Sigh!"

He sighed again. "If I hadn’t been coerced, with nowhere else to turn, why would I ever have joined the Demon Sect to do such utterly depraved work..."

Chen Qingyang raised a hand, cutting him off. He was familiar with this Demon Sect routine; he’d encountered it before with a woman. The gist was always the same: ’I’m an innocent victim.’

"Just tell me what you know and what value you can offer. Spare me the melodrama."

Realizing Chen Qingyang wasn’t one to be fooled, the man immediately dropped the act and changed his tune. "I cultivate on Yellow Cloud Peak, an unremarkable branch of the Demon Sect. My techniques aren’t orthodox Demonic Sect techniques, but I know the Demon Sect inside and out. I know practically everything there is to know. It doesn’t matter whether I cultivate a Yin Spirit or not. I am willing to follow you always, Immortal, to forsake the darkness for the light and act as your strategist!"

Saying something like that showed he was already anticipating Chen Qingyang’s next moves and planning to use the situation to his own advantage.

He knew very well that what someone like Chen Qingyang, operating alone within the Demon Sect, needed most was information.

However, when he thought of all those dead women, Chen Qingyang felt that no one from the Demon Sect was innocent. Even if this man proved to be exceptionally useful, there was no way he would be allowed to live and remain by his side.

"Then prove your value. Do that, and I will indeed allow you to follow me. I might even take you back to the Tai Xu Sect and help you successfully cultivate a Yin Spirit."

The man looked ecstatic and immediately began to kowtow. "Yes, yes, of course..."

Then Chen Qingyang said, "Now, tell me more about this True Demon Mountain. What does it mean for it to be the ’progenitor of all demons’?"

Seeing that Chen Qingyang had more questions, the man quickly answered, "It’s only natural that you wouldn’t know, Immortal, not being a Demon Sect Disciple. But most of us know that the Yu Xiao Demon Sect are outsiders, visitors from beyond the heavens. They are not an Immortal Sect native to the Cyan Nether State."

"Before the Yu Xiao Demon Sect appeared, True Demon Mountain was the leading Demon Sect in the entire Cyan Nether State. Their power was immense. It’s said that an ancestor of the Tong Clan was a True Demon Daoist Monarch, whose cultivation was second only to the Cyan Nether Daoist Monarch."

’So the Yu Xiao Demon Sect isn’t native to this place after all. I’ve heard tales of the Nine Heavens and Ten Lands; these ’visitors from beyond the heavens’ must have come from one of those other realms.’

"Then... what about the Cyan Nether Daoist Monarch?"

Unclear if he was starting to invent details or if he truly knew, the man continued, "The Cyan Nether Daoist Monarch was a great power born from the destiny of our Cyan Nether State itself. As for why he fell... it was most likely related to these visitors from beyond the heavens. I dare not speak on matters I do not know for certain."

’What a massive implication!’

’It really is true that once you obtain one of the world’s supreme treasures, you can never escape the ties that come with it.’

’If the Cyan Nether Daoist Monarch was so deeply entangled with the Demon Sect, then if word of me receiving his inheritance ever gets out, that same entanglement will fall onto my shoulders.’

’That was the way of the world. Everything was intertwined and interconnected. Nothing began without a cause, and nothing ended without one.’

"Alright, I understand. Now, tell me how I can separate those three brothers. Your survival depends on me eliminating them!"