After Xiao Mo stabbed the woman to death, the illusion suddenly disappeared, revealing the true form of the Qiankun Ring – a void. In the distance, there was a hazy white mist, and on the ground lay several dead cultivators. They had been drained of their spiritual energy and perished, yet their bodies remained in the state they were in when they were alive.
Xiao Mo took a few steps, then slapped his forehead, saying, “Oh no, I acted too quickly. I didn’t manage to extract the way out!”
The Emotionless Sword sent out a sword intent, directly cutting Xiao Mo’s finger, and a drop of crimson blood fell low to the ground.
“Damn, what are you doing?” Xiao Mo exclaimed as he held his injured finger. But the next moment, he froze in astonishment.
The distant mist dispersed, revealing an empty ground. The blood on the ground gradually disappeared, and Xiao Mo suddenly felt a mysterious connection with something in his mind. In the next moment, he was teleported out.
He found himself in an unfamiliar forest, dropped into a freezing pond. A glowing ring slowly floated up from the bottom of the icy pool. Xiao Mo had a realization that it was the qiankun ring responsible for creating the illusion. He reached out to grab it, but the ring automatically slid onto his finger.
Xiao Mo: “…”
Inside the qiankun ring, there were several dead cultivators. Did he just wear those corpses on his hand? The thought sent shivers down Xiao Mo’s spine. He quickly removed the ring, planning to figure out how to retrieve the bodies of those cultivators. But as soon as the idea crossed his mind, a glimmer of light appeared before him, and several corpses materialized on the icy pool’s surface.
Xiao Mo found it quite peculiar, and he thought about the actions of the qiankun ring earlier. Could it be… the legendary blood-bonding?
With a thought, he returned to the illusion several times to make sure, and Xiao Mo finally confirmed that the qiankun ring had indeed recognized him as its master.
He waved his hand, casting a spiritual energy spell to dig a hole and bury the bodies of the cultivators together in it.
“Don’t blame me for being lazy and not digging more graves. Your ways of dying are all the same, which means you have some natural affinity. Buried together, you might become good brothers in your next lives.”
After burying the deceased cultivators, Xiao Mo walked to the edge of the icy pool. “This cold pool water is a great thing, filled with spiritual energy. If my senior brother saw it, he’d surely like it.”
Xiao Mo daydreamed about finding something to decorate the pool, but then there was a rumble, and the icy pool suddenly turned into an empty pit, with not a drop of water left.
Xiao Mo was instantly shocked. “Wow, who took away such a large pool from right under my nose?”
As an elemental infant-stage cultivator, having his prized icy pool disappear right in front of him without noticing was quite embarrassing. The qiankun ring seemed to have awakened the real spirit of the ring, which caused all of this.
“Inside my body,” the child’s voice came from Xiao Mo’s qiankun ring.
Xiao Mo was surprised. “So, the qiankun ring indeed has a spirit? Then how did you allow that woman to take over your space?”
Qiankun Ring: “…” Did it have to admit that it felt sorry for the woman initially and let her in? But later on, it realized that she was no pushover. It had been without a master for too long, and being trapped beneath the icy pool meant there was no opportunity to absorb spiritual energy, which almost led to eternal slumber. It couldn’t muster the strength to expel her.
Xiao Mo entered the qiankun ring and indeed saw the icy pool embedded in a secret space within it.
Xiao Mo contentedly exited the qiankun ring and then tossed the emotionless sword into it. He declared, “It’s time to find my senior brother!”
However, when Xiao Mo, relying on his memory, reached the cliff, there was no one in sight. He couldn’t detect anyone’s presence in the vicinity.
Xiao Mo was bewildered, “Could it be that my senior brother got tired of waiting for me and left in anger?”
He had spent quite some time inside the qiankun ring, and his senior must have grown impatient.
“It has nothing to do with me,” the qiankun ring’s spirit sensed his thoughts and explained, “Time inside the qiankun ring is frozen. No matter how long you stay in there, when you come out, it’s still the moment you entered.”
“So, your senior brother probably thinks you’re slow, and he didn’t want to wait any longer.”
The qiankun ring’s spirit inserted a merciless dagger into Xiao Mo’s chest. However, Xiao Mo thought that the qiankun ring was such a precious gift from his senior brother, which proved how much his senior brother cared for him.
It was possible that his senior brother had encountered some urgent matters and had to leave.
With this in mind, Xiao Mo decided that it was necessary to visit the Tianyan Sect. His senior brother had trapped everyone from the sect in an illusion array and even set the Forbidden Tower on fire. The old man inside the jade pendant would undoubtedly report to the Tianyan Sect.
He needed to inquire about the situation at the sect.
Two days later, Xiao Mo sneaked into the outer sect of the Tianyan Sect. However, the outer sect of the Tianyan Sect was eerily quiet, almost as if it were deserted. Xiao Mo hid in a concealed spot for a long time before finally seeing two inner sect disciples hurrying past.
Xiao Mo followed the two inner sect disciples, tailing them all the way up the mountain. Although the inner sect was also quiet, there were still some people around.
“I really don’t understand what those ungrateful people were thinking. The sect has nurtured them for so long, and they leave the sect just for an illusion,” one of the disciples said.
“They left, and now we have our chance,” the other disciple replied. “You see, now we can easily access spiritual pills and elixirs. If we catch the eye of the Sect Master, we might even become peak masters in the future.”
“Alas,” the first disciple sighed, “who would have thought that the peak master of the Jade Sword Peak was actually a demon! If it weren’t for the Sect Master falling for their scheme, the sect wouldn’t be in this situation.”
The other disciple didn’t seem to care. “The Sect Master has already informed various major sects, and I heard they issued wanted posters. Even if he’s a powerful sword cultivator, it’s hard to beat multiple opponents.”
Xiao Mo’s eyes gleamed, and he used his magic to control one of the disciples.
The controlled disciple’s eyes widened, and words involuntarily came out of his mouth.
“Speaking of it, our m… Jade Sword Peak’s Peak Master burning down the tower was for everyone’s good. He released everyone’s soul fragments and allowed them to return to your bodies. Moreover, he didn’t kill anyone. Why should he be called a great demon and be wanted?”
“The Sect Master said he’s a great demon, so he is a great demon,” the other disciple replied.
“And if it weren’t for him setting up the illusion to sow discord among us, our sect wouldn’t be in this situation!”
“Unbelievable!” Xiao Mo was furious and was about to control the disciple to argue with him. However, he suddenly felt a wave of pressure.
“Who dares to hide and reveal themselves?”
A deafening reprimand echoed, and Xiao Mo’s control over the disciple was disrupted. He quickly realized the situation and suppressed the sweet taste rising in his throat, then fled in another direction.
“Huh?” Upon examining his surroundings, Xiao Mo was slightly puzzled. “Is this the Tianyan Sect’s library?”
It seemed that his thoughts had been answered. He had been concerned about his lack of knowledge about the cultivation world, fearing he wouldn’t be able to answer his senior brother’s questions. Now, fate had brought the First Immortal Sect’s library right to him.
Furthermore, considering the unique properties of the Qiankun Ring, Xiao Mo raised his hand and stored all the books on the shelf in the Qiankun Ring. Then, he entered the ring himself and began diligently absorbing knowledge.
…
In the Demon Realm, after taking control of the demons, the first thing Qi Heng did was to order the reconstruction of the Demon Realm.
For a good reason – the Demon Realm was in a shambles. Even the Demon Palace was constructed from dark stones and wooden planks. The rowdy and combative nature of the demon inhabitants meant they didn’t care much about their living conditions. After all, they could go years without returning home due to their frequent battles.
However, this was unbearable for Qi Heng. Most of the common demon residences in the Demon Realm were made from a mixture of one type of demon’s excrement and mud. Just the thought of it was suffocating.
However, those demons who thought that the new Demon King would lead them to dominate the Three Realms and reach the pinnacle of demon life were taken aback.
On his first day as the new Demon King, why was he ordering them to engage in the construction of demon cities? Wasn’t it more thrilling to go out and conquer the world of cultivation?
Inside a demon tavern, a few demons with horns were seated on rudimentary willow stools.
“My younger brother’s friend is working as a janitor in the Demon Palace. Word has it that the Demon King found our dilapidated houses too unsightly and decided they needed an upgrade.”
The demon paused for a moment, and seeing that everyone was listening intently, he felt quite satisfied and continued speaking.
“You guys don’t know, the Demon King, he used to be a cultivator in the cultivation realm. What’s the cultivation realm like? I heard that their sects have grand buildings with exquisite galleries, painted murals, and exotic flowers, immortal cranes. It’s like a fairyland.”
“Think about it, the Demon King spent so long in the world of cultivation; naturally, he can’t stand the sight of our dark and shabby Demon Realm.”
“Is the cultivation realm really that beautiful?”
Since the previous Demon King’s demise and the retreat of the demon clans to the Demon Realm, the new generation of demons had never seen the cultivation realm, so they had no idea what it looked like.
“Absolutely, especially the female cultivators in the cultivation realm, each one of them is so beautiful…” The demon speaking licked his lips, “After meeting them, the Demon Lord of Temptation is nothing special.”
Before they could finish their conversation, the demon who had been speaking was suddenly pushed out, and a seductive, graceful demon in a red dress entered the tavern. The remaining demons had their faces turn pale and quickly went forward to greet her.
“Greetings, Demon Lady.”
“Hehe,” the red-dressed demon lightly chuckled, her voice soft and laced with deadly seduction. “Who gave you the audacity to gossip about me behind my back?”
“Forgive us, Demon Lady,” the demon who had been pushed aside said as he got up. “I spoke out of turn. The female cultivators from the cultivation realm can’t hold a candle to you, Demon Lady.”
“Do you want me to forgive you?” The Temptation Demon crouched down, extended her hand, and gently caressed his chin, her eyes filled with allure. “Well, you can help me with a little task.”
“Please, tell me what you want, Demon Lady,” the demon said, and as he spoke, drool began to trickle from his mouth.
The Temptation Demon’s eyes briefly showed a hint of disgust as she quickly released her hold and coquettishly said, “Come with me.”
She brought the demon to stand before Qi Heng.
“Lord Demon, I’ve found a suitable candidate.”
Qi Heng looked at the male demon, and the Temptation Demon added, “He volunteered to go to the cultivation realm. I didn’t use any threats or temptations.”
“You just need to lure the person depicted in the portrait into that secret realm,” Qi Heng said.
If he wasn’t mistaken, Xiao Mo had also reached the Nascent Soul stage, and it wouldn’t take long for the Heavenly Dao to notice the appearance of another sword cultivator, especially one practicing the ruthless Dao, which the Heavenly Dao abhorred. Once detected, the Heavenly Dao would show no mercy. Since Xiao Mo’s cultivation had been expedited through inheritance, his foundation was not solid. He wouldn’t withstand the Nine Heavens Tribulation.
Therefore, Qi Heng intended to guide Xiao Mo into the secret realm, which would shield him from the Heavenly Dao’s scrutiny. In that realm, he would encounter numerous formidable beasts, which would help him progress rapidly.
However, what puzzled him was that in his previous life, Xiao Mo claimed he had been led there by a female demon who called herself the Temptation Demon.
However, at this moment, the Temptation Demon showed no intention of going to the cultivation realm herself. In fact, she even enlisted a laborer to do it for her.
Qi Heng pondered for a moment and then looked at the male demon. He used his power to transform the demon into the likeness of the Temptation Demon.
“You will use this appearance to lure him into the secret realm.”
After all, in his previous life, Xiao Mo had mentioned that he was drawn in by the woman’s captivating appearance, even though she seemed somewhat secretive. This had piqued his curiosity and led to his discovery and subsequent entry into the secret realm during their altercation.
Qi Heng was concerned that if this male demon’s appearance was too ugly, he wouldn’t be able to entice Xiao Mo successfully.
“Ma…Master…” The male demon was startled by the sudden changes on his chest, but when he tried to speak, his hoarse and unpleasant voice made Qi Heng furrow his brow.
He had almost forgotten to change the voice.
Qi Heng cast another spell, causing a cooling sensation in the male demon’s throat. The demon touched his throat and tentatively let out a sound, his voice now matching the coquettish tone of the Temptation Demon.
A portrait floated in front of the male demon.
“Take a good look. You just need to lure him into that secret realm,” Qi Heng reiterated, “and there will be a generous reward once the task is completed.”
The male demon’s eyes lit up at the mention of a reward, and he eagerly agreed.
