Stealing Immortal

Chapter 233: Chapter 230: True Demon

Chen Qingyang felt little remorse for what the Second Temple Master had done. ’In an environment like this, who could truly be innocent?’

He dragged the body to another valley and incinerated it in the same manner.

This time he obtained 5,713 Immortal Seedlings, proving his Cultivation was above the Second Temple Master’s. Now, only one remained.

After a short rest, he consumed the Immortal Seedlings to recover his strength. He then deployed his Conscious Fish and returned to the Divine Maiden Statue, only to find that everyone had dispersed once the array returned to normal.

No one paid any attention to where the two missing temple masters had gone. The disciples of Fuyuan Temple were all busy with their own affairs. It was only in the training chamber that Chen Qingyang spotted the Grand Temple Master.

The doors and windows were shut tight, and the room was dim.

The old man sat on a prayer mat, his gaze vacant, muttering, ”Second Brother, Third Brother, where are you...” He repeated it over and over like a machine, with no capacity for independent thought, driven only by instinct.

’I’ve already killed two of them. Killing him will be easy.’

The Five Elements Sword and the Li Yang Earth Fire struck out together. Before the man could even react, he was dead. Chen Qingyang then hauled the corpse to the valley and reduced it to ash.

He gained over five thousand more points of Cultivation, all of which he poured into the Danxia Nourishing Truth Sword Manual. Its progress smoothly broke the forty-thousand mark, making the path to the Sixth Realm that much easier.

’A month or two of planning has yielded more than decades of my own hard work. Once I’m out of True Demon Mountain, I’ll have to find more opportunities to hoard Immortal Seedlings.’

He wasn’t in a hurry to leave. A few dozen miles away, he found a spot, took out some Spirit Stones, and began to meditate to recover his energy.

His Conscious Fish continued to patrol the area. He would know instantly if there was the slightest disturbance.

「Gradually, the sky began to brighten.」

In the distance, the golden sun, hidden behind the clouds, suddenly burst forth with dazzling brilliance, like a Golden Carp leaping from a lake. Majestic green mountains were wreathed in clouds and mist, and a river rushed down from between them, its surface gleaming like pearls.

But amidst this beautiful scenery, birds in the farthest forest suddenly took flight, surging towards the heavens in wave after wave. The roars of wild beasts echoed through the air.

An immense pressure! An unbelievably powerful pressure!

It swept over from the distance, blanketing everything like a flood, a mass of dark clouds pressing down from an otherwise calm sky.

A bad feeling rose in Chen Qingyang’s heart. He first had his Conscious Fish lie flat against a rock, minimizing its aura. Then, he hunkered down in a cave, holding his breath and focusing his mind, not daring to let his breathing quicken.

The forest fell still. The beasts fell silent. Everything returned to a state of calm. Chen Qingyang felt that immense pressure lingering right above his head. It was like a powerful consciousness, one that could only sense the spiritual Qi Mechanisms in the world.

A great rumbling began in his mind, a terrifying change taking place. His own Qi Mechanism felt as if it were about to boil, drawn out to meet the presence in the sky.

Chen Qingyang was horrified. Not daring to be careless in the slightest, he relied on the techniques of the Great Soul Scripture to barely keep himself under control.

’As far as I know, a Foundation Establishment Master definitely couldn’t do this. This has to be a Golden Core True Monarch! Such a grand display... could they have tracked me all the way from that other Fuyuan Temple?’

His heart filled with alarm and uncertainty. He didn’t dare leave, nor did he dare make a single rash move. All he could do was wait in silence.

Fortunately, the Great Soul Scripture was profound enough to keep him hidden. He waited a full two days after the consciousness had vanished before he dared to move his Conscious Fish, stealthily sending it back toward Fuyuan Temple.

Of course, he didn’t dare get too close. It could only circle the perimeter, hoping to overhear a scrap of news from any Qi Refining Disciples who left the temple.

’Otherwise, forget about continuing on to True Demon Mountain. I’d have to crawl along the ground just to escape, not daring to do anything that might reveal my trail.’

A narrow, winding path led down into the valley.

The valley floor was overgrown with purple flora and shrouded in miasma. Stalks of Immortal Grass, covered in dewdrops, emitted a brilliant golden luster.

An old man and a middle-aged man, both dressed as Daoists and carrying two Brocade Boxes, were slowly making their way toward Fuyuan Temple.

’This must be a Spirit Field, and those are surely Immortal Grasses. They must be taking them back for Alchemy.’

The old man was speaking about the events of the past two days at the temple. ”...It’s for the best that they’re dead. The way those three brutes were, all crazy and mad, we were bound to say the wrong thing sooner or later and get beaten to death for it. I’ve been here for sixty years, and I’ve seen at least a hundred people die just like that. Ai...”

His long sigh was filled with both a lament for the world and a sense of helplessness about his own fate.

The middle-aged Daoist beside him looked slightly better, but his words were just as heavy. ”Don’t you know? We’ve already died once.”

”What do you mean?”

”They were direct descendants of the True Demon Sect, after all. Being humiliated was one thing, but now they’re completely dead. I heard that immense pressure the other day wasn’t from some Foundation Establishment Master, but from the Celestial Child True Monarch himself. We’ve earned his wrath, and now we’re all going to be buried with them!”

”Ai!” Other than sighing, the old man’s expression barely changed. ”It doesn’t matter if we’re buried with them or not. I’ve only managed to barely cling to life this long by feeding on the blood of the Holy Mother and Holy Slaves. If I die, I die...”

The two continued their conversation, and Chen Qingyang overheard that there was a Foundation Establishment Master from the Yu Xiao Demon Sect currently at Fuyuan Temple, keeping watch. Apparently, it was she who had convinced the Celestial Child True Monarch to leave.

They also mentioned that this Master’s name was Ling Shuang!

Hearing this, Chen Qingyang’s tension eased slightly.

’Sneaking into Demon Sect Territory for Stealing Immortal Seedlings really is a tough job. Not only do you have to deal with the Demon Sect’s arrays, but you also run the risk of provoking someone with a powerful background.’

’But True Demon Mountain is right ahead, and the Celestial Child True Monarch’s anger is directed at the Yu Xiao Demon Sect, not me. I still have to go.’

’I came here for this in the first place. Now that I’ve heard about the conflict between the Yu Xiao Demon Sect and True Demon Mountain, I’m even more curious to see what the original Demon Sect of Cyan Nether State is really like.’

After using his Conscious Fish to confirm the direction, Chen Qingyang flew at a low altitude, leaving Fuyuan Temple far behind. Passing through the True Demon Mountain region would put him on the path to leave this area.

The so-called True Demon Mountain was not a single peak, nor was it a mountain range. It was the name of a region, ruled by a sect called the True Demon Sect.

It was similar to Duling City under the Nine Nether Mechanic Divine Palace—its local culture and the Cultivation True Skills practiced there formed a unique school of their own, which was precisely why it was worth a visit.

The region bordered the Western Continent Kingdom to the north and the Qian Kingdom to the southeast. It was enclosed on all sides by vast, impenetrable mountains, with peak after peak soaring into the clouds.

The peaks were capped in white, covered in year-round snow. The extreme temperature difference between the summits and the valleys created a natural barrier, completely cutting the region off from the Western Continent Kingdom and the Qian Kingdom.

It took Chen Qingyang half a day to cross the hundred-mile mountain range. After rushing down a mountain path, he finally saw a plain spread out before him.

The local culture here was completely different from that of the Western Continent Kingdom or the Qian Kingdom, reminding him more of the Central Province Yong Kingdom. The common people were prosperous. Though there was no unified nation, the cities were well-governed and coexisted peacefully, allowing everyone to live and work in contentment.

Members of the Demon Sect rarely walked among mortals. Much like the Tai Xu Sect, they simply maintained a Sacrificial Offering in each city where the people could worship and chant their name. The True Demon Sect did nothing more.

The entire region was less than a thousand miles across, and Chen Qingyang traveled swiftly. As for the True Demon Sect, it was hidden among several peaks that jutted up sharply from the northern plains.

At the foot of these peaks stood a large city named Xuan Ji. Chen Qingyang had learned from merchants that it was the largest in the region.

Walking the city streets, he saw bustling commerce and sophisticated architecture. It was nothing like the Western Continent Kingdom, where the rich feasted while the poor froze to death on the streets.

His Conscious Fish patrolled overhead. ’After this city, I won’t linger. I’ll continue on, pass through Duling City, and then double back to Nine True Mountain.’

’I’ve broadened my horizons, but it’s a shame I haven’t seen what Dharma Gates the cultivators of this True Demon Mountain practice, or how they pursue Enlightenment. What are their strengths? What are their weaknesses?’

’Traveling a thousand miles is like reading a thousand books, but I can’t stay here any longer.’

Just as he was about to recall his Conscious Fish, he suddenly heard someone in a teahouse mention the word ”Sect.”

Curious, he listened carefully and identified two men, both with Qi Refining Cultivation. It wasn’t strange to run into Demon Sect Disciples here; the city was at the foot of the True Demon Sect’s mountain. Many who sought Immortal Cultivation passed through here before ascending.

He had also heard merchants say that disciples from Immortal Sects frequented the city.

Chen Qingyang had his Conscious Fish linger to listen in.

”...The Sect is pushing us too hard. We haven’t had a single day of rest this past month. We finally get a trip down the mountain, and we have to rush right back. This life isn’t much better than doing Miscellaneous Tasks.”

The other man complained as well, ”Can’t be helped. It’s just our bad luck this happened on our watch. We’ve just got to put in the extra work.”

’One of them is in the Qi Refining First Realm, the other in the Qi Refining Second Realm. They must be low-Tier disciples in the True Demon Sect, so it’s no surprise they have to do menial labor. It’s just like the disciples in the Qi Refining First and Second Realms at the Tai Xu Sect, who serve as all kinds of stewards and supervise those doing Miscellaneous Tasks.’

”Damn it all. I don’t see any benefit to this Immortal Cultivation. It still hasn’t gotten me a house in this city or a wife. Instead, my master restricts my every move, and I have to train day in and day out. I’m the only son in my family for four generations—how am I supposed to carry on the family line...”

They were just talking about trivial family matters and worldly affairs. Seeing that their Cultivation was so low, Chen Qingyang figured they wouldn’t know much and lost interest. But just as he was about to withdraw his consciousness, he heard one of them speak again. ”You joined the sect before me. You’ve heard of the Nine Nether Mechanic Divine Palace, right?”

Chen Qingyang paused once again.

”I know of them. They don’t practice Demon Cultivation, but they’re subordinate to the Demon Sects. The other day I overheard a senior brother saying that the Nine Nether Mechanic Divine Palace is sending disciples to retrieve something that’s been hidden in our sect for a long time. All these arrangements we’re making are to welcome them.”

”So... what is it?”

”I don’t know. Supposedly it’s an Armor-Protecting Treasure.”

Hearing this, a name surfaced in Chen Qingyang’s mind: Lin Qingxuan.

In all his years of Cultivation, not many people had been willing to sacrifice themselves to save him. Liu Tao was one, and this Junior Sister Lin was another.

He hadn’t had much contact with her, but he still thought of her from time to time.