VGAB Chapter 53

The male demon, now disguised as the Temptation Demon, left for a few minutes and then returned.

Qi Heng looked at him and asked, “What is it now?”

“Master, you mentioned that the person is currently in the Nascent Soul stage, while I’m just at the early Nascent stage. I’m not very powerful, and he is a formidable sword cultivator. Even a cross-tier battle would heavily favor him. I’m afraid I might not be able to defeat him…”

The male demon delicately conveyed his lower cultivation level, expressing his concern about being overmatched by the sword cultivator. He was genuinely worried about facing the potential danger.

Qi Heng contemplated for a moment, then removed a relatively unimportant decorative jade pendant from his body and infused it with a strand of sword intent.

“This should help you withstand a lethal attack, and it should be enough for you to seize an opportunity to escape.”

The male demon might not excel in other aspects, but the ability to escape was innate to their kind. After all, they had endured persecution from the cultivator world for thousands of years, and that experience had imparted them with essential survival skills.

“Thank you, Master,” the male demon expressed his gratitude, receiving the jade pendant with excitement.

Once outside the Demon Palace, the male demon found a resilient vine and used it to string the jade pendant, hanging it around his neck. This was a life-saving item, and he couldn’t afford to lose it.

…

Meanwhile, within the confines of the Qiankun Ring, Xiao Mo turned the pages of the books in the Tianyan Sect’s library, absorbing knowledge. After finishing, he carefully placed the books back exactly as they were and left the Tianyan Sect with a determined expression. He needed to find his senior brother as soon as possible.

Thinking about the hidden history of cultivation that he had stumbled upon, and considering the current decline of the Dao of the Sword, Xiao Mo had almost no hesitation in believing what was written in that secret history.

It turned out that the Heavenly Dao was afraid of being replaced by the prophesied sword cultivators, which led to it severing the path to ascension. However, it was constrained by its own rules and couldn’t directly interfere in worldly matters. So, it resorted to using the Nine Heavens Tribulation Thunder to eliminate sword cultivators during their tribulations, preventing them from fully blossoming.

In an instant, Xiao Mo realized the reason behind his senior’s descent into the demonic path.

“If the heavens don’t accept me, I shall embrace the path of the demon.”

His senior was in danger! Xiao Mo clenched his lips and gazed at the sky with a cold determination in his eyes.

A Heavenly Dao tainted by self-interest and fear had no right or capability to occupy the position that required equality for all living beings.

The Heavenly Dao seemed to sense Xiao Mo’s thoughts and directed a lightning strike toward the spot where he stood. However, for some unknown reason, just before it struck Xiao Mo, the lightning bolt abruptly changed direction and hit a spot one step away, leaving that area charred and black.

Xiao Mo took a step back, and his ears involuntarily twitched. Did he just hear a suppressed sound of someone coughing up blood?

The male demon who had stealthily approached using invisibility techniques indeed spat out a mouthful of blood. He had encountered bad luck; after painstakingly tracing the aura to locate Xiao Mo, he got hit by a lightning strike before he could even make a move. Fortunately, it was just a regular lightning bolt and didn’t inflict major injuries.

The male demon felt relieved and followed his plan, revealing his form and emitting some demonic energy, running in the designated direction.

Xiao Mo sensed the demonic energy but wasn’t particularly interested in hunting demons or evil creatures. He needed to find his senior brother as quickly as possible.

With that in mind, Xiao Mo decisively headed in the opposite direction.

The demon, who was confident that someone would come after him, ran quite a distance without anyone pursuing him. He stopped and waited for a while, but no one showed up.

The male demon began to doubt the state of the world, wondering if the current cultivation realm had abandoned practices like demon slaying and banishing entirely.

Reluctantly, he returned to the original location, only to find that the target had already left.

He began to doubt his own existence. Could it be that the demon race had lost any standing in the hearts of cultivators? 

The male demon sighed and followed the lingering traces to continue his search.

He discovered that the other person had once again sneaked into the outer gates of Tianyan Sect, then entered a room and came out with… half a piece of paper?

What Xiao Mo took was the remaining spirit paper from the last time, and he carefully folded it into the shape of a paper crane.

Once he was done, he channeled spiritual energy into it while calling out to his senior brother in his mind.

Xiao Mo released the paper crane, and it flew leisurely into the air. He couldn’t help but feel delighted; it seemed that being in the Nascent Soul stage indeed made a significant difference.

The demon was puzzled about what he was doing but seeing Xiao Mo’s joyful expression, he guessed that the paper crane must be something quite important.

Important thing = If stolen, it might be pursued = Execute the plan!

The demon’s straightforward mind led him to this conclusion. He immediately revealed his true form, snatched the paper crane, and began to run.

Xiao Mo, who had gone from joy to anger, didn’t hesitate and drew his heartless sword, chasing after the thief without a second thought. “Where did this petty thief come from, daring to steal the message I prepared for my senior brother!”

Running for one’s life was always a natural talent for demons, and the male demon had always been proud of it. However, today he encountered a formidable opponent. He nearly got caught by this human cultivator several times and even suffered multiple sword strikes.

Despite all the difficulties, the destination was getting closer. The male demon’s eyes lit up, and he hurriedly sped towards it.

Thinking that the demon intended to escape with his paper crane, Xiao Mo didn’t hesitate. He threw his heartless sword at the demon’s back, shouting, “Go!”

The male demon narrowly avoided a fatal strike but still suffered internal injuries from the sword intent. He fell from the sky.

The paper crane dropped to the ground and showed no signs of movement. It was powered by spiritual energy, but being held by a demon for so long, its energy had been drained, rendering it unable to fly.

Xiao Mo’s eyes turned red with frustration. The paper crane was a one-time-use item, and he had no other means to contact his senior brother. The plan had been thwarted by this demon in disguise.

“Heartless Sword, kill him!” Xiao Mo commanded.

The Heartless Sword released an overwhelmingly dominant sword intent, charging towards the demon on the ground. The demon tried to evade, but the overpowering sword intent suppressed him, rendering him immobile.

The demon felt the imminent threat right in front of him, showing despair. Then, there was a “ding” sound as his chest’s jade pendant shattered into two pieces and fell to the ground. The killing intent was blocked by another sword intent.

“It’s my senior brother’s sword intent!” Xiao Mo immediately realized. He also noticed the jade pendant on the ground, which was the one he had worn as a pendant before!

Seizing the moment when Xiao Mo was momentarily distracted, the male demon escaped into the void and fled. He didn’t even manage to take the shattered jade pendant with him.

However, Xiao Mo had no intention of letting him escape. After picking up the jade pendant, he exerted all his strength and swiftly caught up. To widen his field of vision, he even flew higher, disregarding his fear of heights.

The male demon, knowing he couldn’t escape, stopped and tried to confuse Xiao Mo, relying on the face of the Temptation Demon.

“I was just curious and wanted to grab something of the young master’s. Is there a need to chase me like this?”

The voice was dripping with seductiveness and charm, and for a moment, Xiao Mo’s gaze faltered.

The male demon felt a surge of relief and mimicked the seductive expression of the Temptation Demon. As expected, he saw Xiao Mo’s gaze become even more entranced.

However, Xiao Mo sensed his momentary lapse in vigilance and, without hesitation, lifted his sword and swiftly thrust it towards the demon’s chest.

The male demon felt a chill in his heart. “How… could you…”

Xiao Mo looked at him with extreme disdain. “A male demon transforming into a female to seduce someone, who gave you the confidence?”

“Have mercy, sir!” Faced with his true identity being exposed, the male demon immediately yielded. “I was only following orders from my superior. I was tasked with leading you to a certain location and had no intention of harming you. Furthermore, this appearance was not my own choice!”

“I don’t care whose orders you were following.” Xiao Mo was growing impatient and prodded the sword further. “Tell me, where did you steal my senior brother’s jade pendant from?”

“No, no, no!” The demon shook his head frantically. “I didn’t steal it; I wouldn’t dare steal something from my superior. It was given to me by my superior for self-defense.”

Huh?

Xiao Mo raised an eyebrow and his tone became calmer. “Who is your superior?”

“It’s… the new Demon King…”

“I asked for the name!” Xiao Mo’s voice turned cold.

“The real name of the Demon King is not something a common demon like me would know.”

Xiao Mo thought for a moment, “So, is this new Demon King very good-looking, like a celestial being?”

“Uh? Yes, he seemed… quite good-looking,” the male demon hesitated for a moment, but he was in the Demon Palace at the time and dared not look too closely due to the Demon King’s intimidating presence.

“What did he want you to lead me to?” Xiao Mo asked again, and the demon was still being prodded with the sword in Xiao Mo’s hand, so he didn’t dare to lie.

“It seemed to be an entrance to a secret realm. The Demon King wanted you to enter.”

Another secret realm.

Xiao Mo was almost certain that this demon was his senior disciple, but he couldn’t let him go so easily.

Xiao Mo pulled out the sword and, with an expressionless face, thrust it at him once more.

“You…” the demon was incredulous. “I told you everything truthfully, why won’t you let me go?”

“Consider it a lesson for betraying my senior brother so easily,” Xiao Mo replied.

The male demon widened his eyes, and a mouthful of blood sprayed out. He had been coerced into revealing the information, and now he was being attacked?

Furthermore, the primary principle for demons was to be flexible and prioritize survival. There was no such thing as betrayal or loyalty among the demons.

“Never mind,” Xiao Mo reluctantly sheathed his sword, “I’ll spare your life since you were sent by my senior brother.”

As soon as he withdrew his sword, the weakened male demon immediately turned into a wisp of black smoke and fled.

Xiao Mo: “…” He fled so quickly that he hadn’t had a chance to ask  about the location of the secret realm!

But why did his senior brother turn a male demon into a female demon to seduce him into entering the realm? Did his senior brother think he’d be more easily enticed by a woman?

Xiao Mo couldn’t fathom the reason behind it.

…

The demon who had been beaten and injured returned to the Demon Palace and knelt before Qi Heng, tearfully apologizing.

Qi Heng hadn’t expected this twist in the situation. “Since he knows I sent you, he should enter the secret realm. You don’t need to go anymore.”

The male demon nodded, “But, I didn’t lead him to the entrance of the secret realm, and I didn’t tell him where it is…”

Qi Heng: “…”

Well, he’d better go himself.

With that in mind, Qi Heng quickly left the Demon Palace and headed toward the location the demon mentioned. Indeed, Xiao Mo was still there.

“My senior brother!” Xiao Mo sensed the presence and turned around to see Qi Heng approaching. “I knew you’d come to find me.”

Xiao Mo was quite pleased.

After the laughter, Xiao Mo seemed to recall something and had a somewhat accusing expression.

“Senior brother, the follower you sent isn’t reliable at all. You mustn’t trust him. I barely started questioning him, and he willingly spilled the beans about you.”

“He was just someone I recruited temporarily,” Qi Heng sighed, rubbing his temples. He then erected a barrier to shield them from prying eyes. “Let’s go. I’ll take you to that secret realm.”

Xiao Mo nodded obediently, and in no time, they arrived at the entrance of the secret realm.

“What’s the purpose of this realm? Does it hold some kind of opportunity?” Xiao Mo inquired.

“No, there are only endless demonic beasts inside,” Qi Heng replied calmly. “Stay inside for a while. Until you’re confident that you can withstand their attacks, you mustn’t coming out.”

Xiao Mo fell silent at his words, and after a long pause, he asked in a low voice, “Is it referring to the heavens?”

Qi Heng’s eyes flickered, “You found out?”

Xiao Mo nodded truthfully, “I stumbled upon a secret history of the cultivation world in the library of the Tianyan Sect.”

“Right,” Qi Heng nodded in a calm tone. “So that’s the reason I’m sending you into this realm. You’re now a threat to it as a formidable swordsman. If you advance outside, it won’t spare you. This realm is actually an undeveloped small world, which can provide you with some cover.”

“I understand, Senior brother,” Xiao Mo said with a serious expression, then lowered his voice, “I won’t let it be arrogant for too long. Swordsmanship shouldn’t be in this situation of surviving between a rock and a hard place.”

His senior brother should have been an ethereal immortal, not forced into the path of darkness by the heavens.

One day, he would set everything right.

Qi Heng watched Xiao Mo, who seemed lost in thought, and with a flick of his hand, he grabbed Xiao Mo by the collar and tossed him into the realm.

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