Chapter Eighty-Eight: The Gathering of Demons, Part Two

Somewhat similar? Zheng Qiong and Ling Feng both wondered, and even Tian Cheng seemed to have something to say but held it back.

Though Tian Chengzi did not know Ji Feichen’s arrangement, he could guess a few things. So he cooperated with the act: “Junior Brother, that person and you—”

“Ahem...” Zheng Qiong suddenly cut him off. “No need to say more. This is no place to linger. Let us go find the others of our path and discuss our next move. The people of the Blood Sea have already come in; how we should deal with them must be decided together.”

Zheng Qiong dimly understood that the wandering immortal Qinghong and this bargain junior brother of his probably shared some blood relation.

“Ji Feichen’s sealed memories probably have not fully awakened yet. He still does not know the details of the two of them. It would be unwise to stir up trouble now. We should first handle the matter of the immortal mansion; once we return to the mountain gate, we can speak of the rest.”

The group departed to seek out the others. Zheng Qiong sent out a signal, and before long Tao Wanru and the other disciples of the demonic sects came to join them.

Among them were Teng Zijian of the Black Saint Sect, Jiang Chan of the Toad Palace, and Wei Chen of the Six-Armed Demon God Sect, as well as disciples from various major schools and hermit cultivators of the demonic path. Even Yang Fei, who had parted with Ji Feichen not long ago, was there.

They had been scattered throughout the immortal mansion, and now their fortunes were utterly different. Some had reaped abundant gains, some returned in defeat, some came away empty-handed, and some were covered in dust and shame.

Wei Chen, meanwhile, somehow produced a roasted meat leg and was eating it bite by bite. Yet seeing the shape of the limb, everyone wisely refrained from asking what creature it had come from.

Jiang Chan had a sword qi wound that was difficult to dispel and was silently circulating his power to heal. Yang Fei and the people of the Bright Sun Demon Cult sat to one side; seeing Jiang Chan’s injuries, they could not resist coming over to sneer.

“Toad Palace disciple, were you dealt with by some chief disciple of the orthodox sects? Taiqing Sect, or perhaps the School of Moral Teachings? You are a successor of the grand Dao lineage, and this is all the skill you have?”

“Hmph! If you meet a successor of the Supreme One Palace, I hope you can defeat him openly and honorably, young cult master!” Jiang Chan replied coldly, then continued healing.

“A successor of the Supreme One Palace?” Everyone was startled and hurried to ask what had happened.

For this nominal young number one expert, they still maintained a degree of caution. After all, a new successor of the Supreme One Palace appeared only once every thousand years, and many generations of them had been the foremost figures under heaven, suppressing all eight wildernesses.

“The Blood Sea Earth Immortal’s manifestation entered as well; could it be that even a successor of the Supreme One Palace has come?”

For all present, this was not good news.

Seeing the others grow attentive, and even Yang Fei no longer bringing up his own injuries, Jiang Chan let out a sigh of relief and recounted everything from beginning to end.

Not long ago, Li Jingxun obtained the Azure Cloud Demon-Subduing Banner and hurried to help after receiving guidance from an immortal. She happened to encounter Jiang Chan using ice sorcery to break the immortal restrictions, freezing the immortal spirit within the palace with the Jade Toad’s Cold Radiance.

After this immortal perished, he had placed his own spirit into the painting hanging in the dwelling palace, intending to wait for people of the orthodox path to come in the future so he could bestow the stored demon-subduing treasures, as well as many elixirs and spiritual herbs, upon them. Who would have thought that the people of Toad Palace would arrive first, and after entering, they paid no heed and swept away everything.

When the immortal tried to stop them, he was frozen in spirit by the Toad Palace demonic cultivator and left hanging between life and death.

The painting floated in midair, golden radiance dancing around it. Within, the immortal glared in fury. “You demon, you enter my cave and steal my treasures. Are you not afraid calamity will come to you in endless succession in the days ahead?”

“Calamity?” Jiang Chan looked down on the painting before him, stepped forward, tore the scroll apart, and stamped on it several times. “Taking your treasures is a sign of respect! In my hands, they will shine brilliantly one day, and even after you die, you can go in peace with a smile!” With that said, Jiang Chan moved to kill with murderous intent.

Fortunately, Li Jingxun arrived in time, allowing the immortal to escape calamity for the moment. Although she held the demon-subduing banner and stirred up clouds of azure light to shield herself and the immortal spirit, her cultivation was inferior to Jiang Chan’s, and in the end she could not overcome the demon.

But at that very moment, a formless sword qi suddenly flew down from the sky.

Supreme and nameless, immense and formless. With only one strike it severely wounded Jiang Chan, who dropped the treasures and fled as demonic light.

As Jiang Chan described what he had endured, everyone’s expressions shifted in different ways.

Zheng Qiong thought to himself: Though I could defeat Jiang Chan, he is not the most outstanding disciple of Toad Palace. But to take him down in a single move, that would not be so easy. Is a successor of the Supreme One Palace truly that formidable?

Ji Feichen was surprised by something else: “Why did that girl Li Jingxun come here? She is not even an immortal yet. Coming to a place like this so rashly—did she really think a cultivator who has only shed the mortal body could be of any use?”

After hearing this, Yang Fei sneered. “Your words are probably exaggerated. No matter how formidable that successor of the Supreme One Palace may be, he is still only of our generation. Even if he has cultivated for sixty years, how much stronger can his power be than ours? One sword to deal with you? What is your mystic art for?”

Sixty years was one cycle of the calendar. The younger generation of immortals and demons indeed could not compare with the more seasoned old hands in terms of pure power.

“Also, you mentioned that female cultivator at the beginning. How much cultivation could a little girl who has not yet attained immortality possibly have? And you still could not take her down?”

“Hmph! She had the Azure Cloud Demon-Subduing Banner. If you are so capable, why don’t you try her yourself?”

Yang Fei was about to argue back when a companion beside him seemed to think of something and whispered into his ear. Yang Fei froze, then fell silent at once.

Li Jingxun’s matter did not end there.

At the time, the “successor of the Supreme One Palace” helped her drive off Jiang Chan, and she bowed from afar to the sky. “This younger sister thanks Senior Brother for saving me. May I ask if Senior Brother can show himself?”

There was no reply from above. It seemed the successor of the Supreme One Palace had vanished once more.

Li Jingxun let out a breath of relief and stepped forward to heal the immortal spirit with the Gate of the Mysterious Female.

That strand of spirit fled into the torn painting on the ground. Golden radiance mended the portrait, and the figure within regained its liveliness. “Do not hurry. No need to expend any more effort. This strand of spirit of mine has had its vitality destroyed by demonic light and can no longer endure more than a few days. It is only hateful that these fiends came to make trouble in my immortal mansion. In the future, I only hope you can drive back the demonic people and not allow this immortal mansion of ours to fall into the hands of evil spirits. As for these magic treasures and elixirs, I shall leave them to you for demon-subduing use!”

With that, the immortal bowed and transformed into a stream of light, fleeing into the underworld for rebirth. The painting once again fell to the ground.

Seeing a cultivated expert come to such an end, Li Jingxun stood in silence.

She stepped forward and looked over several treasures. Most were fine immortal implements suitable for use by those of the Human Immortal level, all belonging to the category of treasure artifacts. Among them, two were especially not limited to immortals or demons and could be used by either side.

“My power is shallow. It will be difficult to contend with so many demonic people here. Why not lay a trap here and lure those demons into walking right into it?” Li Jingxun repaired the various demon-subduing restrictions in the hall, cleaned away the signs of battle, and concealed herself in the dark, waiting for visitors to take the bait.

After some time, demonic people indeed arrived.

A group from the Bright Sun Demon Cult came in full force. Several envoys from the Seven Birds Division examined things at the palace gate. “The few ancient exotic treasures refined by the orthodox path are nowhere to be seen. Yet this place is full of immortal radiance and dancing golden flowers. Perhaps this is where a demon-subduing banner lies.”

The crowd entered the hall to search, and Li Jingxun, relying on the immortal mansion’s restrictions, battled the demons in repeated clashes. In the end she killed every one of the arrivals, and only a few of the Seven Birds envoys escaped disaster.

Yang Fei had mocked Jiang Chan for failing to take down Li Jingxun, but now the members of his own sect had been killed one by one by Li Jingxun. His face darkened at once, and he said no more.

What the people of the Bright Sun Demon Cult had said just now was heard by everyone else as well.

Zheng Qiong’s heart stirred, and he had already guessed who that woman was. “The female cultivator from last year in Golden Tortoise City, the one who used the Jade Book of Moral Teachings against us? That woman was the most troublesome. She seems to be from the School of Moral Teachings?”

Just as the others were about to discuss Li Jingxun, Ji Feichen changed the subject. “Everyone, the urgent matter is the man from the Blood Sea. What do a successor of the Supreme One Palace and a female cultivator of the School of Moral Teachings matter? How can their threat compare with that Blood Sea Earth Immortal? You should all understand that the man from the Blood Sea is clearly a split spirit of some great master of the Dao lineage; if he comes here, he certainly will not concern himself with any fellowship of the same sect. Facing him, what should we do?”

At once, the atmosphere turned cold. During this period, many demonic cultivators had encountered that man and been frightened by his methods, and everyone fell into silent thought over how to respond.