Chapter 876 - 871: True Demons Naturally Emerge from the Human Heart!
In the South, at Gantang Dao.
As the resounding DONG of a bell echoed, the members of the Ganhai Li Clan gathered in the clan’s meeting hall. Deep frowns marred every face.
The reason was simple:
"The Jiangbei Demons are attacking. Another Sect is about to fall..."
"Do you even need to say it? It has spread throughout the entire South. Using the Marvel they conquered in the South years ago—the Mass Grave—as their foundation, the Demon Sect is aggressively invading the South."
"Right now, the flames of war are rising everywhere in the South."
"Not to mention anything else, just look at the Daoist Talisman Sect, the closest to Gantang Dao. Three days ago, it was breached by a Foundation-Stage Demon. No one in the entire Sect survived!"
"And the Wine Immortal Sect..."
For a moment, panic filled the meeting hall.
It couldn’t be helped. After all, in the South, under the jurisdiction of the Sword Pavilion, both large and Small Sects primarily focused on the Hundred Skills of Cultivation. Sects skilled in Combat were pitifully scarce.
This was an intentional move by the Sword Pavilion. Only by keeping them weak would these Sects need their protection, making it easier for the Sword Pavilion to collect protection fees. The saddest part was that over time, even these Sects themselves took this dynamic for granted, entirely oblivious to anything being wrong.
However, the Ganhai Li Clan was different.
As a newly promoted Foundation Establishment Immortal Race, they had obtained the fortuitous encounter of the Grotto Heaven Fragment at the bottom of the waters of Gantang Dao. This allowed them to rise to prominence, naturally birthing ambitions.
They were unwilling to have their claws and teeth pulled out by the Sword Pavilion, reducing them to mere vassals.
Under this mindset, the initially panicked atmosphere in the hall began to shift, until a branch family disciple suddenly had a stroke of inspiration and said:
"Patriarch, why don’t we just surrender?
"Instead of being dogs for those Sword Species in Jiangnan, we’d be better off fighting for a future in the North. At the very least, the Demons have no interest in exploiting us."
"Bullshit, those beasts just rob people directly."
"If you ask me, even though we have to be vassals in the South, at least the danger isn’t huge. The North is a man-eating place; we might not even survive there."
"You spineless coward!"
"I’m just playing it safe..."
Seeing the clan members’ arguments spiraling out of control, shifting from verbal sparring to the brink of a physical brawl, a voice finally echoed through the meeting hall:
"Silence!"
Instantly, the hall fell dead silent. A radiant heavenly light descended, surging like raging waves, before ultimately transforming into a figure in blue robes who landed in the seat of honor.
"Greetings, Perfected Person!"
The Patriarch of the Li Family was the first to bow, followed by a collective SWISH as everyone dropped to their knees. After all, Master Xiao Hai before them was the true Heaven-Supporting White Jade Pillar of their family today.
Soon, the Li Family Patriarch looked up again, his face full of hope. "Perfected Person, you previously went to the bottom of the sea at Gantang Dao to seek fortuitous encounters. Could it be that this time..."
Before he could finish, Master Xiao Hai smiled and nodded.
A second later, a tsunami-like ROAR erupted from his body. It transformed into a dense, watery light that shot straight into the sky, merging seamlessly with the Cloud Sea above.
"ROAR!"
At once, the stirring roar of a dragon echoed inside and outside Gantang Dao. Simultaneously, the inner and outer Arrays activated, turning into a screen of light that enveloped all of Gantang Dao.
Above Gantang Dao, the Cloud Sea surged. A phantom of a True Dragon could be faintly seen weaving through the clouds, freely stretching its body as it summoned the clouds and brought down the rain. Finally, a dragon claw gathered the Cloud Sea together, turning it upside down to cover the entirety of Gantang Dao below. It spawned endless waves, expanding limitlessly in all directions.
Ren Shui Divine Technique, Long Xingyu!
Below, the Patriarch of the Li Family was overwhelmed with excitement. "Ren Water governing the stars, an Innate Divine Technique—it really is an Innate Divine Technique! Congratulations to the Perfected Person for reaching the Mid-phase of Foundation Establishment!"
The Mid-phase of Foundation Establishment!
In Jiangnan, generally only the Sword Pavilion would possess Perfected Persons at the Mid-phase of Foundation Establishment. For large and Small Sects outside the Sword Pavilion, merely having a Foundation-Stage Cultivator was considered a blessing from Heaven.
Furthermore, now that the Ganhai Li Clan had an expert at the Mid-phase of Foundation Establishment overseeing them, coupled with the enhancement of the Array, they had much more confidence even when facing the Jiangbei Demons. After all, it wasn’t an all-out war between the righteous and demonic factions. To deal with their trivial little clan, the enemy wouldn’t possibly send a Great Trueman at the Late Stage of Foundation Establishment, right?
A moment later, Master Xiao Hai chuckled softly and said:
"Not only that, but there is more good news... After I broke through, I sent word to the Upper Sect. The Upper Sect has decided to dispatch a Cultivator to assist us in battle."
"Oh? Is that true?"
As soon as he said this, the gloomy atmosphere in the meeting hall was instantly swept away. After all, in Jiangnan, the undeniable weight and prestige of the lords of the Sword Pavilion were unquestionable.
"Since the Perfected Person has reached the Mid-phase of Foundation Establishment, the Perfected Person sent by the Sword Pavilion should also be at this Cultivation level. If so, defending Gantang Dao will definitely be no problem."
"We’re secure!"
Seeing this, Master Xiao Hai offered further words of reassurance. Only after everyone was fully satisfied did he dismiss the meeting, ordering everyone to prepare for the Demon invasion.
However, once everyone had left, the smile on his face rapidly faded, leaving behind a profound heaviness. Unable to hide the terror in his eyes any longer, he muttered, "I was discovered the moment I broke through. Sending someone over at this time... are they coming to help me, or to kill me? A bunch of damned Sword Species!"
He had just lied.
He had never told anyone about breaking through to the Mid-phase, much less reported it to the Sword Pavilion... The so-called reinforcements were a message the Sword Pavilion had proactively sent to him.
He thought, "Is it some kind of Artifact?"
He thought, "Have those Sword Species been monitoring the entire South? The moment Cultivators at the Early Stage of Foundation Establishment appear in the Current World among their subordinate Sects, they will be discovered immediately? No wonder there has never been a Mid-phase Cultivator before!"
The more Master Xiao Hai thought about it, the uglier his expression became.
Just then, a hazy silhouette of light abruptly appeared beside him. Accompanied by gusts of gloomy wind, a voice drifted into Master Xiao Hai’s ears.
"You understand now, right? This is the Sword Pavilion.
"In the eyes of the Sword Pavilion, a Cultivator like you, who can break through to the Mid-phase of Foundation Establishment even under their rule, must be a person of great Fortune carrying profound fortuitous encounters.
"How could they miss out on someone like that? You shouldn’t harbor any unrealistic illusions. I can tell you with absolute certainty that the Sword Pavilion is sending someone over this time to take the opportunity to kill you with a single sword strike. Then, they will send you to reincarnate and join the Sword Pavilion. In their eyes, that would be granting you a fortuitous encounter."
"BANG!"
Before the hazy silhouette could finish speaking, Master Xiao Hai couldn’t help but slam his palm against the armrest beside him, instantly shattering the entire Master’s Chair into pieces.
However, the other party continued speaking without pause:
"Angry? What use is being angry?
"If you plan to go all the way and surrender to the Stain Sect, that’s even better. The Sword Pavilion will have a justifiable reason to kill you and uproot your family while they’re at it."
"..."
At these words, Master Xiao Hai, who had just been brimming with fury, instantly deflated. He stood there with a blank expression, and only after a long time did he finally regain his senses.
"...Enough."
He turned his head and looked at the silhouette beside him. "If it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t have been able to break through to the Mid-phase. Now you’re wasting all this breath. What exactly do you want?"
"What do I want? Hahaha!
"Daoist, you misunderstand. I don’t want anything... On the contrary, I am here to save you. Everything depends on your own choice. Do you want to live, or resign yourself to fate?"
With those words, the silhouette of light instantly dissipated.
Only Master Xiao Hai was left standing in place. His expression constantly shifted as his emotions violently fluctuated. He seemed to be struggling with something, but in doing so, he completely ignored the changes happening to his own body.
As Master Xiao Hai pondered, streams of invisible black mist flowed out of his Spiritual Space. Eventually, they transformed into a figure that looked exactly like him, standing calmly beside him like a shadow. Yet, despite this, he remained completely oblivious to it.
Meanwhile, above Gantang Dao.
A Daoist with an Ordinary appearance, yet radiating sharp vigor from his brows, abruptly looked up. The moment the demonic shadow appeared beside Master Xiao Hai, a smile also surfaced on his face.
"True Demons naturally emerge from the human heart.
"It wasn’t a waste of my time nurturing him to the Mid-phase of Foundation Establishment. Now that he has been taken over by his Heart Demon, he can perfectly be used by me and assist me in condensing my second Heart Demon Divine Technique."