Chapter 246 - 242: Husband

If Zhang Jiu could appear here, then naturally, other members of the Demon Sect could too.

Perched high above, Chen Qingyang released his Conscious Fish to search the city for any suspicious traces.

In just a few moments, the atmosphere grew heavier. The strange Qi Mechanism intensified, and sniffing the air, he could almost smell a whiff of blood.

Thick smoke billowed as fires spread.

Everything in the city had descended into chaos. Chen Qingyang personally witnessed people who were reading books suddenly collapse, lying motionless on the ground.

Their souls had all been drawn into the Venerable's Dream Palace.

Neither the Imperial Palace, the city walls, nor the various Government Offices were spared.

Then, in a small courtyard in the southeast corner of the city, he noticed something unusual.

The courtyard was nestled against the base of the city wall. It was perfectly square, and its main gate was shut tight, blocking out all the noise from outside. Inside one of the rooms stood four or five figures.

There were men and a woman. Three of them were at the Essence Condensation Fifth Realm. As for the other two, Chen Qingyang couldn't see through their Cultivation, which meant they had to be at the Sixth Realm or higher.

He remembered Lin Qingxuan once saying that the entire Nine Nether Mechanic Divine Palace only had a few hundred disciples at the Sixth Realm or above, and only seven Foundation Establishment Masters remained. In contrast, the Daoist and Demon Sects combined had tens of thousands of Foundation Establishment Masters, a testament to the immense scale of the two sects.

They had monopolized nearly all the Spiritual Qi in this region for their sects, which meant very few Foundation Establishment Masters roamed the outside world. This led people to mistakenly believe that reaching the Sixth Realm of Essence Condensation was the pinnacle of combat strength, unaware that within the Daoist and Demon Sects, this was merely the beginning.

This made Chen Qingyang realize that if the two sects were to enter a full-blown war, the resulting destruction would be almost apocalyptic.

Unlike the four he saw earlier who were solely focused on meditating and cultivating, these few individuals clearly held a slightly higher status within the Demon Sect. They were gathered together, discussing their strategy.

"Senior Brother Bai, how much longer do we have to wait? Aren't you worried that a long delay will bring unexpected trouble?"

The one addressed as Senior Brother Bai was a young man dressed in an aquamarine long coat, giving him a handsome yet somewhat bewitching air.

His gaze was sharp as he stared out the window. His aura alone gave Chen Qingyang reason to suspect he was at the Half-Step Foundation Establishment level.

"What's the rush? If we move now, the Circulation of Stars Demon Suppression Array will bear down on us from all sides. None of you would be able to escape. We need to wait until Venerable Meng's Array has evolved to a certain point. It will be able to hold back the Demon Suppression Array for a while. And then... heheh!"

As he laughed, he radiated an air of someone holding a winning hand.

"Understood. It's just that the wait is making me anxious. I heard many disciples from the Daoist Sect have also come. I'd like to add a few more Main Souls to this Soul-Summoning Banner of mine!" The speaker was the old man, an Essence Condensation Fifth Realm cultivator.

Senior Brother Bai snorted at his words. "I'd advise you against such thoughts. The Daoist Sect only has a few people in the open, but who knows how many are hidden in the shadows? Have you forgotten what happened last time because of our actions? Our Foundation Establishment Masters are holding back, waiting for theirs to reveal themselves."

The old man seemed quite intimidated by the man in green. He immediately bowed with his hands clasped. "Senior Brother Bai, I understand. When the time comes, I will follow your orders."

Senior Brother Bai seemed satisfied with his attitude and nodded. "You... you don't understand!"

At these words, not only the old man but the others as well showed looks of confusion.

"Senior Brother Bai, is there some Profound Secret to this?" The one asking now was a woman. She wore a pale yellow palace gown and a light gold hairpin, her round face revealing a half-bared, fair, and plump bosom.

Chen Qingyang couldn't see through this woman's Cultivation either. However, judging from her demeanor, if Senior Brother Bai was Half-Step Foundation Establishment, then she was likely below him.

"Right now, our Holy Sect doesn't know how many Foundation Establishment Masters the Daoist Sect has hidden, and the Daoist Sect doesn't know how many our Holy Sect has hidden. The Masters all cherish their lives, so no one is willing to make the first move until they have a clear grasp of the situation."

"But things have to move forward, right? So what's the solution? It's to let people like us go be the cannon fodder. We'll be the ones to escalate the fight with the Daoist Sect to a fever pitch. That way, their hidden forces will gradually be exposed, giving our side the chance to gauge their true strength."

At this point, Senior Brother Bai's tone became rather haughty. He glanced sideways at the others. "You are all Master's disciples. I don't want anything to happen to any of you. So, let's leave the chance to take the lead to others for now. Keep a close watch on your subordinates. Let them go first in everything. After all... it's much easier for the Sect to train an Essence Condensation Third Realm cultivator than a Fifth Realm one."

After hearing his words, everyone nodded in agreement. The woman, in particular, added, "Senior Brother Bai is truly insightful. There's no need for us to needlessly throw our lives away here. The proper path is to return and show our respect to you and Master."

"Haha..." Senior Brother Bai was clearly pleased by this and burst out laughing.

While they were talking, Chen Qingyang noticed a person quietly landing in a corner of the courtyard.

'That bastard really gets everywhere.' Chen Qingyang wasn't surprised by his appearance.

Perhaps sensing someone outside, the woman gently pushed the door open and stepped out. The moment the two saw each other, their gazes met and lingered. They exchanged flirtatious glances with raised eyebrows. 'Considering that bastard Zhang Jiu's behavior, there's definitely something illicit going on between them,' Chen Qingyang thought.

Sure enough, the woman said nothing and simply walked toward a nearby empty room. Zhang Jiu followed her.

After they entered one after the other, Zhang Jiu dropped to his knees before the woman, pressing his face tightly against her lower abdomen. He took a deep breath. "My dear sister, I've missed you to death!"

The woman seemed utterly captivated. She ran her fingers through his hair, gripping it tightly, and pulled him against her. "You little rogue, what have you been up to these past two days?"

From the looks of it, she wanted nothing more than to press the little rogue under her and devour him whole.

The woman appeared to be around forty years old, still possessing a mature charm. Compared to the white-haired, wrinkled old crone from last time, his taste had certainly improved a great deal.

'When it comes to men who can bend and stretch to get what they want, Zhang Jiu must be the prime example.'

"I've found something out. Right now, there are only six people guarding the Imperial Palace. The one with the highest Cultivation is Li Zheng of the Tai Xu Sect. With your strength, my dear sister, you would surely be the one to claim the top honor."

The woman listened, a thoughtful expression on her face.

"No, Senior Brother Bai said that under the current circumstances, preserving our Cultivation is the most important thing. We shouldn't act rashly."

As soon as the woman voiced her refusal, Zhang Jiu immediately stopped arguing. "Mm, then I'll listen to Senior Sister."

He rubbed his face against her body as he slowly stood up, nuzzling from her lower body past her chest to her neck. This seductive move was extremely pleasing to the woman. Her face flushed red, and she grabbed Zhang Jiu's shoulders, pressing him down fiercely. Her dress flew open, revealing two smooth, bare legs...

Chen Qingyang didn't want to watch the rest of the scene, so he directed his Conscious Fish to check on Senior Brother Bai's movements.

The others seemed to be well aware of the relationship between the woman and Zhang Jiu. When moans drifted over from the next room, Senior Brother Bai cursed angrily, "Hmph. That slut has no control over her lust. Sooner or later, it'll be the death of her."

As he spoke, the remaining three junior brothers, all at the Essence Condensation Fifth Realm, didn't dare to respond and just kept their heads bowed before him.

Senior Brother Bai seemed quite annoyed. With a wave of his hand, he said, "Go about your business. And remember what I said."

"Yes, Senior Brother Bai."

The three men left the courtyard and furtively headed off in different directions. Chen Qingyang chose one to follow. In a nearby alley, a ball of fire suddenly erupted, causing the Demon Sect Disciple to lose his footing and nearly fall to the ground.

He had no idea who had plotted against him and was panicking. Just as he was about to shout out, he saw a streak of Danxia Sword Radiance stab at him from a side alley.

It was incredibly fast, the Sword Momentum overwhelmingly powerful. Caught completely off guard, he was pierced through the chest.

His Cultivation was already lower than Chen Qingyang's, and being ambushed by such a strange technique, he died instantly.

Chen Qingyang then moved the body to another location and incinerated it with a burst of fire.

'The Demon Sect wants to operate in the dark, and it seems the Daoist Sect has the same idea. In that case, I might as well fight fire with fire and secretly take out a few Demon Sect disciples. Who would ever know?'

[Available Immortal Seedlings: 36,412]

'The rate of acquiring Immortal Seedlings is incredibly fast. If it weren't for the distraction from Zhang Jiu, I'd probably have even more by now.'

After taking care of that, he returned to where he had ambushed the Demon Sect Disciple and continued in the direction the man had been heading. In a small courtyard not far away, he found three more Demon Sect disciples, all at the Essence Condensation Third Realm.

Chen Qingyang suddenly understood the structure. The Demon Sect disciples hiding here were organized in squads: one Fifth Realm cultivator leading three disciples from the Second and Third Realms. These squads were then commanded by a Half-Step Foundation Establishment cultivator, who in turn was accompanied by someone at the Sixth Realm or above.

It seemed chaotic, but there was a clear order to it.

First came a burst of fire, then a flash of a sword. Two died instantly. The last one had no time to escape before he was taken down as well.

Their Cultivation wasn't high, but their numbers were a boon. He gained nearly ten thousand Immortal Seedlings from them. Chen Qingyang suddenly understood why Zhang Jiu's Cultivation had been improving so quickly.

He disposed of the bodies, then moved his Conscious Fish back to the courtyard where Zhang Jiu was.

Only about seven minutes had passed. The woman's face and neck were soaked with sweat, her cheeks as red as apples.

"This matter you mentioned... I should discuss it properly with Senior Brother Bai and see what he decides."

Zhang Jiu grinned. "Mm, please, my dear sister, take me with you to explain the details to Senior Brother Bai."

It seemed his methods were quite effective. The matter the woman had just disagreed with now seemed to have a chance of turning around.

Chen Qingyang figured it out. Zhang Jiu wanted to provoke a fight between this woman and Li Zheng. Once the woman was injured, he would use his Nine Abyss Demon Devouring Technique to devour her.

'It seems that for his Dharma Gate to advance rapidly, he has to constantly attack people with higher Cultivation than himself. To think he'd have to grovel before this woman... it really must be hard on him.'

Chen Qingyang didn't leave. He continued to watch.

He watched as the woman straightened her clothes and then led Zhang Jiu into Senior Brother Bai's room.

Senior Brother Bai was meditating. Seeing the woman, his tone was naturally unfriendly. "Junior Sister, it's not my place to lecture you, but if a person of the Path cannot abstain from the five desires—greed, anger, ignorance, lust, and gluttony—they will find it very difficult to achieve anything."

The woman didn't refute Senior Brother Bai's reprimand at all. "You are absolutely right, Senior Brother. Just let me enjoy myself for a few more days, and then I will part ways with this boy. It absolutely will not affect my Cultivation."

Senior Brother Bai didn't respond to her, instead shifting his gaze to Zhang Jiu. "Essence Condensation Second Realm. If you had focused your mind on the proper path, you wouldn't be in this state."

His disdain was written all over his face.

Yes, at this very moment, Zhang Jiu appeared to have the Cultivation of the Essence Condensation Second Realm. 'His ability to hide his Cultivation is truly brilliant!'