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Chapter 553: Ten Thousand Demons
Chapter 553: Ten Thousand Demons
The frail and elderly man suddenly felt a surge of inexplicable terror.
But soon, this fear dissipated, as if it had been merely a momentary illusion.
The old man relaxed, feeling weary and sleepy. Thinking that it was already late, and knowing that tomorrow would undoubtedly be another day of racking his brains and toiling, he felt like closing his eyes for a quick nap.
But just as he was about to doze off, he suddenly felt hungry and couldn't help but take out a few pills from his storage bag and pop them into his mouth to chew...
However, Mo Hua beside him was looking at the old man with a shocked expression.
Because he clearly saw that the old man was not chewing the pills but his own fingers!
He was putting his fingers into his mouth and chewing on them!
His mouth was already bloody.
And the bones of his fingers were exposed.
At the same time, the middle-aged cultivator was in a daze, taking out a knife and holding it to his own neck.
Young Master Yun also drew his sword and was about to stab himself in the chest.
It was a Heart Demon!
"Master is trying to kill these three!" Mo Hua panicked and his thoughts immediately turned to what he knew about "Heart Demons". His eyes darkened and with a few quick strokes, he modified the array pattern of the Warm Fire Array on the ground.
As soon as the Warm Fire Array was altered, it clashed and instantly self-destructed.
With a loud "boom", the array exploded, emitting an ear-piercing sound.
At the same time, the fire blazed up, filling the night with a bright red light that was exceptionally dazzling in the darkness, obstructing the Weird Daoist's vision and distracting him.
It also interrupted his Heart Demon technique.
The commotion startled the three men, and they snapped out of their trance, looking around with confused expressions.
The frail old man suddenly felt a sharp pain in his hand and looked down to see his fingers, bloody and mangled, the white bones visible. He felt a surge of terror.
"What's going on? What happened?"
He looked around and happened to see the little boy opposite him, his expression slightly anxious as he looked at them. The boy's mouth was moving as if he was saying something, but he seemed to be hesitating about something and wasn't making any sound.
The old man endured the pain, frowning as he tried to figure out what the boy was saying from his lip movements.
He seemed to be saying two words:
"Run away!"
"Run away!"
Run away?
The old man was stunned for a moment, then his eyes widened.
He recognized him! This little boy was the young array master from Nan Yue City, the little disciple of Master Zhuang! And now, he was urging him to run away?!
The old man's heart trembled, and a chill surged in his heart. He immediately thought of the Daoist who had been hiding in the shadows when they entered.
He wanted to turn his head to look, but he forcibly stopped himself.
His intuition, honed over years of calculating cause and effect, told him that this person was treacherous and he must not look!
The old man subconsciously reached for the Three Talents Coin in his storage bag, but as soon as he touched it, he felt something amiss. With a slight rub, his pupils shook.
Shattered?!
The Three Talents Coin... was completely shattered?!
Even the Three Talents Coin couldn't withstand the life-threatening danger they had just faced!
"Run away!"
The old man's hands trembled slightly as he tightly grabbed the middle-aged cultivator and Young Master Yun, fear still lingering in his eyes.
The other two didn't understand what was going on, and just as they were about to ask, the old man shook his head.
The two men were startled, then realized that their behavior had been somewhat abnormal. Sensing the danger and strangeness in the dilapidated temple, they solemnly nodded.
Without further delay, the three men suppressed their auras and quickly got up, leaving the place quietly without making any noise.
The Weird Daoist's eyes flickered, but even after the three men left, there were no more unusual changes. He just gave Mo Hua a meaningful look.
Mo Hua scratched his head and smiled sheepishly, "Master, I messed up the array, it was an accident..."
The Weird Daoist remained expressionless, clearly not believing Mo Hua's excuse.
But he didn't say anything and closed his eyes again to rest.
Mo Hua heaved a sigh of relief.
Fortunately, his master was on guard against him and had only used the simplest and most basic "Heart Demon" technique. The demons in the hearts of Young Master Yun and the other two were not deeply rooted.
Otherwise, if a more profound "demon-seeding" method had been used, it would have been troublesome.
Even if he wanted to save them, he wouldn't have been able to do anything.
Seeing that the three men had left, Mo Hua felt relieved. But then he remembered the words the old man had spoken...
"Heavenly Burial in Gui Xu..."
What was Gui Xu? And what did "heavenly burial" mean?
Was it a heavenly opportunity? An ancient secret? A lineage, a manual, or perhaps...
An array? Mo Hua shook his head, confused.
"Never mind, I shouldn't get ahead of myself..."
As his master had said, such opportunities involved too much cause and effect, and one wrong step could bring deadly disaster. It was better for him not to know for now.
Mo Hua nodded.
He then looked down at the Warm Fire Array and felt a sense of loss.
The self-destruction of the array had also burned the sweet potatoes, yams, wild fruits, and a big fish that he had been roasting, turning them into a pile of charcoal...
The fish was almost done, and it had already smelled delicious, but after roasting it for so long, he didn't get to take even a single bite...
"My fish..."
Mo Hua felt a pang of regret and sighed involuntarily.
He drew another Warm Fire Array and then took out the remaining sweet potatoes from his storage bag, continuing to roast them as if he was the only one there.
...
The three men hurriedly left the dilapidated temple, ignoring the darkness of the night as they kept walking. After an hour, when they felt they had put enough distance between them and the temple, they finally stopped.
The old man's hand was still bleeding. He took out some medicinal powder and sprinkled it on his hand, then swallowed a few pills to stabilize his condition.
Recalling the incident at the dilapidated temple, he still felt shaken. He turned to look at the other two and said with a trembling voice, "The Three Talents Coin... it's shattered."
"We three... we almost died."
Young Master Yun was startled.
The middle-aged cultivator frowned, "It can't be that serious, can it?"
"Do you remember the little boy who was warming himself by the fire in the temple?"
"The little boy by the fire?"
The middle-aged cultivator paused, then furrowed his brows as he tried to recall, suddenly his expression changed as he remembered:
"He... he's that little array master?!"
Young Master Yun also recalled, his eyes lighting up, "It's Little Brother Mo!"
Then he muttered, "Strange... why couldn't I remember earlier?"
The old man sighed, "This little boy is most likely the disciple of that person. Despite his young age, he is definitely extraordinary."
"We fell under a heart demon's influence in the temple without even realizing it."
"It was this little boy who startled us by creating a disturbance."
"Later, it was also him who urged us to 'run away'..."
"Otherwise, our fate today would likely have been much worse..."
...
The middle-aged cultivator was suspicious, "What kind of danger lurked in that dilapidated temple?"
The old man's face was filled with confusion as well.
What exactly was the danger?
Why did they fall under the heart demon's influence?
Was it the doing of that Taoist priest?
Why didn't they sense anything at all?
The old man racked his brains, then suddenly had a realization, remembering the Taoist priest sitting in the corner of the temple, hidden in the shadows, his features obscured.
A forbidden title surfaced in his mind.
The old man's entire body trembled like a sieve.
"Is it...?"
"What is it?" The middle-aged cultivator asked curiously.
The old man swallowed the words "Weird Taoist" and simply said, "That person... is a Taoist priest..."
"A Taoist priest?!"
The "Taoist priests" of the Demon Sect were not to be taken lightly.
Each and every one of them was a true, extremely vicious demon lord!
The middle-aged cultivator's expression turned solemn, but he was still curious, "Which Taoist priest is it?"
The old man glanced at him coldly, "If I were to speak his name, the three of us would surely die, and it would be an ugly death at that!"
The scene from the temple earlier replayed in their minds.
The middle-aged cultivator drawing his blade to commit suicide, Young Master Yun about to stab himself with his sword, and the old man chewing on his own flesh...
Just thinking about it made their faces pale.
The middle-aged cultivator didn't dare to ask further.
The old man furrowed his brows in thought, then suddenly had a eureka moment, exclaiming, "I understand now!"
The middle-aged cultivator was taken aback, "What is it?"
The old man's emotions were stirred, and he quickly said, "Do you remember what I said after divining with the calculi upon our entry into Nan Yue City, when we sensed the corpse qi permeating the mountains?"
The middle-aged cultivator thought for a while, then shook his head, "You were rambling on about so many things, how am I supposed to remember which particular thing you're referring to?"
But Young Master Yun looked thoughtful, "Elder Wen, are you talking about... good karma?"
He vaguely recalled the old man's words back then:
"Lately, I've been feeling nervous for no reason..."
"It seems like there's great terror ahead, an extraordinary danger, and the chances of survival are slim."
"But if we can suppress the corpse mine, save the cultivators in Nan Yue City, or even the entire state, perhaps we can create some good karma. Then, when we encounter a life-threatening situation in the future, there might be a glimmer of hope..."
The old man's eyes narrowed, "It seems that this karma has manifested in the form of that little boy!"
"If we hadn't taken action to help in Nan Yue City back then, if we hadn't calmed the corpse outbreak, if we hadn't created this good karma, and if we hadn't known this little boy..."
"...then today, without his rescue, we would have died without even a proper burial!"
The middle-aged cultivator and Young Master Yun were deeply shaken.
The old man sighed, "Karma, good and evil, cause and effect... Master Zhuang gave us a choice back then, which also gave us a chance at survival."
Master Zhuang...
The three of them felt a mix of wonder and complexity in their hearts.
After a moment, Young Master Yun suddenly thought of something and asked anxiously, "If that Taoist priest is a demon lord, then what about Little Brother Mo...?"
The old man shook his head, a bitter smile on his face, "Don't even think about it. We can barely protect ourselves, how can we even consider saving that little boy..."
Young Master Yun looked ashamed.
The old man consoled him, "Rest assured, he's Master Zhuang's disciple, he should be fine..."
In the temple, Mo Hua's eyes sparkled as he happily roasted fish and sweet potatoes by the fire, his cheeks flushed.
The old man heaved a sigh.
Indeed, he was Master Zhuang's disciple, and his mental fortitude was extraordinary...
Even while traveling with a "Taoist priest," a great demon lord, he still had the leisure to roast food...
And despite offending the "Taoist priest," who let them go without any harm...
The old man found it unbelievable.
Their lineage specialized in divinations and calculations, and they had heard of the fearsome reputation of that Taoist priest.
The frail old man sighed, "A blessed person has their own destiny. Let's... turn back now."
Young Master Yun still looked worried.
The middle-aged cultivator, however, was taken aback. "Go back? Back where?"
The old man replied impatiently, "We came from there, so we go back there!"
"But what about the opportunity?" The middle-aged cultivator was anxious. "We've been through so much already..."
The old man coldly smiled, "Don't you understand yet? This matter is no longer something we can meddle with..."
"Or perhaps, it was never something we could meddle with to begin with!"
"We were merely pawns used to gather information. Now that the message has been delivered, it's up to those above us to plan the next steps."
"Da Li Mountain will soon become a slaughterhouse."
"If we stay any longer, we'll lose any chance of escape!"
The middle-aged cultivator frowned. "Because of the Ancient Demon, Xuan Mo Lao Zu?"
The old man sighed. "It's not just him..."
He turned back to glance at the dilapidated temple, his eyes clouded with a mix of gloom and fear.
"The Taoist's arrival signifies that the true demons of the Demon Path will also be drawn here..."
Although the Demon Sect had been suppressed by the Dao Court and had lain dormant for many years, their influence was still formidable. It was certain that they had more than just the Ancient Demon, Xuan Mo Lao Zu, as their Nascent Soul Realm old demon.
All three of them understood this.
However, faced with such an opportunity, the middle-aged cultivator still hesitated.
The old man snorted coldly, "Whether you leave or not is up to you. As for me, I'm leaving."
The middle-aged cultivator was startled, then frowned. "How can you just leave? We had an agreement, and I gave you quite a few spirit stones..."
"I'll return the spirit stones to you."
The middle-aged cultivator's expression was conflicted, and after a long internal struggle, he sighed. "It's not that I'm reluctant to give up the spirit stones..."
"Fine, let's go."
He knew that it was the old man's divination and calculations that had kept them safe on this journey.
Without the old man, he wasn't sure if he could make it out of Da Li Mountain alive on his own.
He didn't want the spirit stones back; he just wanted to part on good terms.
The middle-aged cultivator looked a little dejected. "I had hoped to seize this opportunity to change my fate, but now... sigh, I guess I'll just go back to Qian Zhou and continue being a teacher..."
He followed behind the old man, heading back the way they came.
After a few steps, the old man suddenly stopped and turned to look at the dilapidated temple. With a solemn expression, he bowed deeply and sincerely wished in his heart:
"May the young friend escape danger and have a smooth path ahead!"
"If there is an opportunity in the future, I will definitely repay this life-saving grace!"
Young Master Yun also bowed sincerely.
The middle-aged cultivator sighed and, though a bit reluctantly, bid farewell with a respectful bow.
From then on, the three of them gradually parted ways, leaving Da Li Mountain and this place of intrigue behind...
...
Mo Hua, on the other hand, couldn't leave. Instead, he had to follow the Weird Taoist, step by step, toward Li Yang City, into the very heart of the bloody storm.
Ten days after leaving the dilapidated temple, Mo Hua finally arrived at Li Yang City.
He was still a few dozen miles away from the city, but he could already see the blood-red banners blocking out the sky and the sea of blood that raged like towering waves.
It was just like the scene he had witnessed when he had left Li Yang City that day.
"Master..."
Mo Hua's heart was filled with worry. He turned to the Weird Taoist and asked, "Master, are we going into the city now?"
The Weird Taoist's expression was blank.
Mo Hua wasn't surprised. He was used to his master's taciturn nature, especially when it came to speaking with him.
But Mo Hua didn't mind.
When you can't change someone, you learn to adapt to them.
He had learned to read the intentions behind his master's vacant and indifferent face, as well as his dark, empty gaze.
Just like now, his master's frown and unhappy expression conveyed a clear message:
"We're not going into the city."
"Then where are we going?" Mo Hua asked.
The Weird Taoist's black eyes glanced at him.
"Into the mountains?" Mo Hua ventured.
The Weird Taoist's expression froze.
"What are we going to do in the mountains?" Mo Hua continued.
The Weird Taoist's pupils darkened, and his face grew even grimmer.
Mo Hua understood.
His master wanted him to stop asking questions.
Mo Hua nodded and obediently fell silent, following closely behind his master.
Indeed, the Weird Taoist led him into the mountains, to a cliff known as "Kumu Cliff," according to the map.
The surrounding mountains and grass were lush and green, but this particular cliff was barren, devoid of any vegetation.
Mo Hua checked the map and noticed that this place was marked as "Kumu Cliff."
Despite the lush greenery all around, this spot was lifeless, as if the very essence of yin and gloom had settled here, preventing any growth.
"Why has Master brought me here?"
Mo Hua looked at the Weird Taoist.
The Weird Taoist ignored him and walked straight to the edge of the cliff.
"Is Master going to jump off the cliff?" Mo Hua wondered, alarmed.
Then, as the Weird Taoist took a step forward, the world seemed to turn upside down, and the mountains and rivers appeared inverted.
The cliff beneath their feet suddenly rotated, floating up into the sky to form a massive stone palace. Within the palace, there were intricate buildings, and demonic shadows lurked in every corner.
Mo Hua was shocked. "Is this an illusion array?"
It was so realistic that it was almost indistinguishable from the real thing, undoubtedly a second or third-rank array formation.
The Weird Taoist glanced at Mo Hua.
Mo Hua understood and obediently nodded, following the Weird Taoist up the stone steps and into the evil palace.
As soon as they entered the palace, an aura of blood and gloom filled the air.
The yin energy was especially heavy.
Mo Hua felt a little uncomfortable, but what surprised him even more was the large number of evil cultivators inside.
These evil cultivators were not only numerous, but they also had extremely high cultivation levels. Demonic energy swirled around them, indicating that they cultivated superior demonic arts.
Furthermore, these cultivators were clearly more knowledgeable.
The outer circle of evil cultivators mostly looked at the Weird Taoist with disdain, and some even revealed murderous intent, ready to strike.
However, the evil cultivators inside the palace looked at the Weird Taoist with solemn and wary expressions, as if they could see through his identity.
The Weird Taoist remained indifferent, ignoring their gazes.
Their eyes, filled with curiosity, suspicion, or indifference, all landed on Mo Hua...
It seemed strange to them that the Weird Taoist would bring such a low-level, non-evil cultivator with a pure aura and a youthful appearance.
Under the stares of these evil masters, Mo Hua felt a little guilty.
However, he reminded himself that he couldn't lose face for his master and his "Master Uncle." So, he straightened his back and held his head high, though he still unconsciously moved closer to the Weird Taoist.
He felt that it would be safer by his master's side.
Facing the crowd's gazes, the Weird Taoist walked straight to the main hall and sat down, with Mo Hua standing beside him. Mo Hua asked in a low voice, "Master Uncle, why have we come here?"
The Weird Taoist remained emotionless.
Mo Hua secretly stared at his face, trying to guess what he was thinking.
Perhaps there was too much to explain, or it was too complicated to put into words, so his master uncle chose to remain silent.
However, the Weird Taoist's silence didn't stop the other evil cultivators from whispering among themselves.
Mo Hua eavesdropped on their conversations and soon caught a few key words: terms like "Abyssal Ancestor," "Demon Lord," "Honored One," "Patriarch," and also...
"Ten Thousand Demon Assembly!"
"Ten Thousand Demon Assembly?"
Mo Hua's heart skipped a beat.
Was this the gathering of the old demon lords of the Demon Sect?
Had his Master Uncle brought him to this inverted palace on the Cliff of Dead Wood to attend the "Ten Thousand Demon Assembly?" Mo Hua's thoughts raced, and he felt a little scared as he whispered, "Master Uncle, is it really appropriate for me to attend this 'Ten Thousand Demon Assembly'..."
"I'm a proper cultivator."
"Not some little demon brat."
"And I've only reached the Qi Refining realm."
"Attending such a gathering doesn't seem appropriate for my age, cultivation level, and identity."
The Weird Taoist's pupils darkened.
Mo Hua quickly shut his mouth.
But his mind continued to race:
"What is this Ten Thousand Demon Assembly for?"
"Is it targeting Master?"
"Who will attend this assembly? Will there be at least Golden Core cultivators? Will that Feathering Realm cultivator, Xuansanren, be there too?"
"Will there be even more powerful demon lords?"
"What is the Weird Taoist... 'Master Uncle' planning by attending this Ten Thousand Demon Assembly? Is he planning to join forces with Xuansanren or some other Honored One or Demon Ancestor to deal with the Dao Court, plot against Master, and seize that so-called 'heavenly opportunity'?"
"Will he... kill Master?"
As these thoughts crossed Mo Hua's mind, he felt a sense of anxiety and worry...
The evil palace was filled with a heavy atmosphere, bloody and oppressive.
Bones were used as pillars, and human skins as paintings.
As time passed, more and more evil cultivators entered the palace, and the atmosphere became increasingly solemn...
Mo Hua's initial tension and unease gradually turned into numbness and drowsiness.
Eventually, he leaned against the Weird Taoist's stone chair and dozed off.
After an unknown period of time, a gust of yin wind blew by, causing Mo Hua to shudder and open his eyes, instantly dispelling his sleepiness.
At this moment, the palace was filled with people.
Well, they weren't exactly "people."
Some were half-corpses and half-demons, while others resembled beasts or demons.
Even those with human appearances didn't seem entirely human upon closer inspection.
Some had pale complexions like corpses, while others had beautiful faces with bright red lips; some had large ears with snakes coiled around them, and some were skinny with demonic runes carved on their backs...
The entire evil palace was shrouded in gloom and solemnity, so silent that one could hear a pin drop.
Deadly silent.
"The Ten Thousand Demon Assembly... has begun?"
Mo Hua's heart trembled as he saw several figures appearing on the high white bone thrones in the main hall.
These figures exuded extremely terrifying auras.
Their presence was like an abyss or a vast ocean.
Even a slight leak of their aura was enough to make Mo Hua feel suffocated.
Among them, Mo Hua recognized one figure—it was the one who had blocked off Lishan City with a sea of blood and trapped Master within the Five Elements Sect—the Demon Ancestor, Xuansanren!
Mo Hua's heart turned cold, and his eyes widened in shock.
So, the figures sitting on those white bone thrones, who could sit side by side with Xuansanren, were all Feathering Realm demon ancestors?!
(End of Chapter)
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