Daoist Competition

Quan He stayed here for several months. Except for a maid delivering food every thirty days, no one came to attend to him.

He was originally a Demon King, ruling over tens of thousands of demons, and his heart was understandably filled with resentment at being reduced to such a state.

Even though the spiritual energy here was abundant, he lost interest in cultivation whenever he recalled his past glory, spending his days in a daze, weak and listless.

After more than a month had passed, his body suddenly shivered, his eyes snapped open, and slowly, another head emerged from his shoulders while the original one continued to sleep deeply.

He looked around, his eyes revealing a cunning and fierce expression. Turning to the chains binding him, he muttered to himself, "So I’ve been imprisoned. No wonder there’s been no activity for months, and my cultivation hasn’t increased but decreased, making it easy for me to handle this."

He took a deep breath, secretly startled: "The spiritual energy here is so dense that it surpasses even my own Cave Mansion. Could it be the Cave Heaven Mansion of a Cave Heaven True Master?"

Thinking this, he was shocked, warily glancing around before decisively casting a spell, releasing dozens of threads of spell towards various parts of the Cave Mansion.

This spell technique of his was a marvelous technique of Jiuling Sect’s Demon Skills, formless and invisible, capable of transforming into a qi mechanism to scout around. Highly sensitive to cultivators’ auras, if any were weaker than himself, he could detect their basic details upon the slightest touch.

As the spiritual energy here was distinct from other places, marking it as a possible Grotto Heaven Mansion, he speculated it might be the cultivation site of a Phenomenon True Master. Even though the spell was imperceptible to those untrained in this art, he was still extremely cautious, making three steps back for every step forward, dreading any misstep.

After half a day’s scout, upon confirming repeatedly, he discovered that apart from one area in the twelfth layer of the Cave Mansion that he couldn’t discern, the highest realm among the cultivators here was only Third Realm of Hua Dan, inferior to his body’s cultivation.

Even having reached this conclusion, he was still extremely prudent, contemplating that the indiscernible place might be the abode of the Pavilion Master in secluded cultivation.

However, this investigation wasn’t without gains. He mused to himself: "The female demon on the northeast corner is about to break through the shackles and enter the Nascent Soul Realm. This is quite an opportunity. Once she succeeds, with this being her cultivation site, she’ll be overjoyed and unguarded. If I can sneak a spell into her while her heart and spirit are fluctuating and slowly incite her underlying desires, she could become a great aide to me, no less than my senior brother."

This technique, known as the "Heart-Attracting Demon Spell," requires the target’s mind to have a mental flaw or go through emotional extreme to exploit. It sneaks into the body, occasionally arousing inner desires and greed until the victim becomes completely obedient, turning into a puppet for manipulation, plunging deeper the harder to extricate.

The insidious feature of this technique is that the target retains self-awareness, assuming all actions are genuinely personal desires rather than someone’s trickery, and would wholeheartedly follow the instructions given.

This technique is a secret transmission of the Demon Sect, surpassing Jiuling Sect’s previous Human Control Technique in brilliance. However, it’s only recorded in Jade Scrolls throughout thousands of years with no one mastering it. If not for the demon tribulation bringing abundant spiritual energy into the Demon Cave, spawning many unprecedented devils, mastering it might have been impossible.

Previously, Quan He’s concubine inexplicably fell for a lowly slave and bore a child, all due to his secret manipulation.

He deliberately stirred their lust and love, resulting in this ill-fated bond. Quan He’s ensuing fury provided him the opportunity to penetrate into the demonic heart.

In the dream, the sect’s secret Quan He received was no bewildering enemy technique but a seed storing potential for the Old Demon’s Demon Skill, conjuring demon souls.

Yet, the Old Demon laid hundreds of spell threads, each entwining different cultivators of varying cultivation realms, hence he wouldn’t stay focused solely on Quan He, usually lying dormant awaiting opportunity, only stirring when their will fluctuated.

Today, sensing Quan He’s unprecedentedly weakened mental defenses, he took advantage of the opportunity, easily turning from guest to host once the spell thread rotated.

After another round of reconnaissance, the Old Demon retrieved all of his spell threads.

Although wishing to claim the discovered female demon for his own use, he reconsidered, thinking: "The true reality of this place is unclear to me, acting rashly is inadvisable."

So far, he couldn’t ascertain the Pavilion Master’s cultivation. If truly a Cave Heaven True Master, any action would likely be detected.

But if the Pavilion Master was absent or not even a Cave Heaven True Master, then the chance couldn’t be missed.

Thinking cautiously, he concluded that by fully seizing the current body and devouring its divine soul, he could glean some memories and insight into the mansion’s intricacies.

But doing so would render the body useless in the future, yet the temptation was strong enough that he was willing to gamble.

The Old Demon stealthily operated his cultivation technique. In moments, he had seized Quan He’s shell, capturing nearly all his memories. "So, that was it! This foolish wolf was caught. Very well, Pavilion Master Zhang Yan, although not simple, is merely a disciple of some Cave Heaven True Master but still just a Hua Dan Cultivator. If I act, he certainly won’t perceive it."

The Old Demon, an expert in arrays, found it not difficult to leave when they were unmonitored. As for the Cloud Golden Lock, he had the means to unravel it.

Just as he was about to act, he suddenly recalled, "Something’s not right. The child who brought me here earlier bore a striking resemblance to a True Spirit of a Dharma Treasure capable of managing the array’s center, certainly interconnected with this Great Array. What a narrow escape! While within this array, it won’t be detected. Outside, it could fool others but not the True Spirit. If alarmed, all efforts would be in vain."

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...(To be continued. If you like this work, welcome to cast recommendation and monthly votes on Qidian (qidian.com). Your support is my greatest motivation.)