Chapter 405 - 402: The Next Target
Those of the Demon Dao, because of the Cultivation Techniques they practice, tend to have flawed personalities.
They are inherently unruly and rebellious, and few are willing to submit to another’s rule.
Yet, within the Nanyue Kingdom,
the hierarchy of "the one Sect, two Gates, and four Tribes" was the acknowledged power ranking.
All the major Demonic Forces,
had no objection whatsoever to the status of the "one Sect."
This was true even for powerhouses like Seven Extremes Ancestor and White Bone Old Demon, existences who stood at the Divine Travel Peak Realm.
It was always so!
For the Netherworld Sect to make all Demon Cultivators in the Nanyue Territory acknowledge it as their leader,
it naturally possessed the power to compel the submission of everyone from the Demon Dao in the Nanyue Kingdom.
The source of this power,
was the Celestial Demon Sect!
The Celestial Demon Sect,
was a titan of the Demon Dao,
a counterpart to the Yuqing Immortal Sect, which lorded over the Thirty-Six Small Domains of the Southern Great Domain!
And the relationship between the Netherworld Sect and the Celestial Demon Sect was like that of the Dragon Cloud Sect to the Yuqing Immortal Sect.
Over two thousand years ago, the ancestor of the Netherworld Sect, who hailed from the Celestial Demon Sect, came to the Nanyue Territory and established the Netherworld Sect.
It has operated and developed to this day.
During that time, countless demonic sects and factions rose and fell, flourishing for a moment only to be extinguished.
Only the one Sect stood unshakable,
towering above all other powers in the Nanyue Kingdom.
Three hundred years ago,
it even colluded with the Xiangshan Sect,
wreaking havoc from behind and causing immense trouble for the Yuqing Immortal Sect, which was at war with the Celestial Demon Sect at the time.
As a result, in the great war between the righteous and demonic paths three hundred years ago, the Yuqing Immortal Sect had expended vast resources and was on the verge of victory, only to have it all fall apart at the last moment when the Xiangshan Sect backstabbed them.
This was also why the Yuqing Immortal Sect, enraged and humiliated,
turned around and completely annihilated the Xiangshan Sect.
However, even before the Xiangshan Sect was destroyed,
the Netherworld Sect had already gone underground, concealing all traces of its activities,
not daring to show its face in public, lest it invite a heavy-handed strike from the Yuqing Immortal Sect.
Perhaps it was because the Nanyue Territory was too remote,
or perhaps because the Netherworld Sect was too good at hiding.
In the end, it managed to evade the crisis of three hundred years ago.
However, although the Netherworld Sect had gone underground and hidden for three hundred years, with its Disciples concealing their movements and rarely appearing in public,
within the Nanyue Kingdom,
no one still dared to underestimate this sect.
Because everyone knew,
the Netherworld Sect was only hidden,
not dead.
In the war that destroyed the Xiangshan Sect three hundred years ago, the Netherworld Sect had not suffered the slightest loss.
Even hidden beneath the surface,
it remained an unimaginably massive behemoth!
What’s more,
everyone was well aware,
that behind it,
there was an inseparable connection to the legendary Celestial Demon Sect.
Otherwise, it wouldn’t have lured the Xiangshan Sect into backstabbing the Yuqing Immortal Sect at such a critical moment three hundred years ago.
White Bone Old Demon was naturally aware of the Netherworld Sect’s background.
Three hundred years ago,
he had even personally experienced that great upheaval.
But because of this,
he was all the more displeased.
"The defeat at Broken Soul Mountain was due to our incompetence!"
"But it doesn’t matter anymore. Worst comes to worst, I’ll just abandon my foundation, run off somewhere else to hide, and pop back up after a while."
"I refuse to believe the Yuqing Immortal Sect would give a damn about a desolate backwater like this!"
"And if it comes to it, I’ll leave this damn place and travel to the Central State, or even farther!"
"As for you, Netherworld Sect... heh heh... With Master Wandering Dragon and the Tian Nan Domain’s joint army invading, I’m afraid you’re their main target!"
"Don’t think you can make us take the fall for you. If you’re not going to put in the effort, then this whole thing is off!"
White Bone Old Demon let out a cold laugh.
After the disastrous defeat at Broken Soul Mountain not long ago, the White Bone Sect had yet to recover, and now the Netherworld Sect was talking about pulling out.
’Are they trying to make us their scapegoats?’
’What a joke!’
The fury of being backstabbed nearly made him lose all reason.
The blunt, explosive temper of a Demon Cultivator was on full display.
"Oh, is that so..."
The blood-robed figure on the altar heard him, but his expression barely changed, his voice placid.
"And you, Lord Seven Extremes?"
"I think Fellow Daoist White Bone is right."
"Mere pawns like us cannot afford to be targeted by the Yuqing Immortal Sect."
"I ask the Sect Leader to please consider the difficulties we face."
"After all, we are not the Xiangshan Sect of the past, nor do we have the strength to face the Yuqing Immortal Sect head-on!"
Seven Extremes Ancestor’s expression was unchanged as he also spoke in a level tone.
But his words carried a hidden, pointed meaning.
Back then, the Xiangshan Sect at least had a Profound Pill Realm Zhenren overseeing it, yet it was crushed with devastating ease when facing the Yuqing Immortal Sect’s assault.
And afterward,
the Netherworld Sect retreated almost completely unscathed.
Many outsiders suspected something fishy was going on.
They...
...had no intention of becoming the next Xiangshan Sect.
"My two friends, it is not that our Holy Sect is unwilling to contribute, but that we are powerless to do so..."
The blood-robed figure on the altar was silent for a moment,
before speaking.
He didn’t intend to elaborate on the specific details, however.
He simply made a promise.
"Circumstances have changed for our sect. Our high-level Divine Travel Realm combatants are entangled, and we cannot spare them at this moment."
"But I, the Sect Leader, swear on the Great Dao that this is the truth. I will certainly not send you to your deaths!"
"I only hope that you two can hold on. In three years, things will surely take a turn for the better."
"I, the Sect Leader, am willing to make a Dao Heart oath that after three years, the Holy Sect will strike with its full power!"
"Three years?"
"Yes, three years!"
"If nothing changes in three years, I, the Sect Leader, will personally take action. I will not go back on my word!"
"Easier said than done," White Bone Old Demon said with a cold laugh. "With the might of the Tian Nan Domain’s joint army, if they launch an all-out assault, I’m afraid we won’t even last a year on our own!"
He wasn’t that he suspected the Netherworld Sect Leader before him of lying.
An oath on the Great Dao,
was not something one could make lightly.
His earlier threat to just walk away,
had been nothing but words spoken in anger.
He had no desire to lose the foundation of his White Bone Sect so easily.
Since the other party had made a guarantee,
White Bone Old Demon’s mind began to turn.
"I have also heard about the matters at the front line."
"The defeat at Broken Soul Mountain was not a failure of high-level combat strength. If you had relied on the Array to defend yourselves, even Master Wandering Dragon of the Yuqing Seven Sons could not have done anything to you."
"The reason for the great defeat was entirely due to losses at the mid and low tiers, all because a certain junior burst onto the scene, causing the Gu Techniques you relied on to run rampant to become almost completely ineffective."
"It was precisely the collapse of the mid and low tiers that led to the failure of your high-level forces."
"As long as this matter is resolved, holding out for two or three years will not be a problem for you."
"Are you talking about that brat named Shen Changchuan?"
Seven Extremes Ancestor’s gaze flickered,
as he spoke.
The facts were indeed more or less as the Netherworld Sect Leader had described.
During the initial battle at Broken Soul Mountain, with the help of two Divine Travel Realm Cultivators provided by the Netherworld Sect, the battle at the Divine Travel Realm level had been a stalemate, with neither side gaining an advantage.
Until three years ago,
that brat named Shen Changchuan burst onto the scene. He developed a Gu-controlling Secret Technique and mass-produced a number of Tier Two Poisonous Insect Kings to counter their side’s Gu Dao Secret Techniques.
This directly changed the course of the war!