The Quest for Immortality

”I want to see, where exactly the demon wraith in this painting is hidden...”

Mo Hua’s eyes flickered slightly as he stepped towards the depths of the Demon Refining Diagram.

”My Divine Sense has been stuck for too long.”

”This time, it should advance further...”

...

While Jin Gui’s Divine Soul was obliterated by Mo Hua with a single finger.

In a grand hall, deep within the Valley of Ten Thousand Demons.

A gust of sinister wind swept across an altar.

A lamp in front of Jin Gui’s physical body was instantly extinguished.

The more than ten bustling monster cultivators managing the hall fell silent in an instant, their expressions showing a hint of bewilderment.

”What’s going on? The lamp... extinguished?”

”How could it be extinguished?”

”A person’s death is like a lamp extinguishing, did his Divine Soul... just die like that?”

Some monster cultivator stewards immediately showed cold smiles.

One monster cultivator sneered and said:

”He really was a useless waste!”

”The young master entrusted him with such a small task, yet he couldn’t even do it right and lost his life in there.”

”The demon wraiths in the diagram are all sealed and can’t come out. He only needed to deliver three Divine Souls, yet he messed up...”

”I wonder how that fool managed to die?”

A monster cultivator chuckled coldly, ”Could it be that he slipped and fell off a cliff, smashing himself to death...”

Other monster cultivators also began to mock.

In the center of the hall, behind beaded curtains, a young master with an indistinct, yet handsome figure sat there.

He was currently sorting through the scrolls within the Valley of Ten Thousand Demons.

Upon hearing the conversation, the young master slightly frowned, his expression turning cold.

The crowd of stewards, realizing the atmosphere was not right, ceased their laughter and dared not speak further.

After a moment of silence, an elderly steward spoke:

”Young master, I’m afraid there’s something fishy...”

”Though Jin Gui was incompetent, he bore the Four Symbols Mysterious Tiger Demon Patterns, and without being besieged by demon wraiths, it was absolutely impossible for him to die so easily within the Demon Refining Diagram.”

”I fear...” The elderly steward paused briefly, then said solemnly, ”The Demon Refining Diagram has been ’infiltrated’ by something.”

”Infiltrated the Demon Refining Diagram?”

The group of monster cultivators exchanged glances in astonishment.

Jin Yixuan’s gaze sharpened as he said, ”Young master, could it be... that ’rat’ lurking in the shadows?”

The young master’s expression remained indifferent.

Jin Yixuan explained, ”Previously, when those three little devils escaped, it was evident someone secretly helped them.”

”But when we captured those three little devils, there were no other figures around. Clearly, that ’rat’, seeing the situation was unfavorable, fled beforehand.”

”Now, secretly ’infiltrating’ the Demon Refining Diagram, it seems still to recover those three little devils.”

”This ’rat’...”

Jin Yixuan’s expression turned slightly somber, ”It’s probably more ’troublesome’ than we imagined.”

Skilled in concealment, proficient in the Yuan Magnetic Formation, and even somewhat knowledgeable of the Dao of the Divine, capable of bypassing the ”ceremony” and infiltrating the Demon Refining Diagram with Divine Thought... many methods, diverse strategies.

The young master’s gaze slightly narrowed, his tone chilling:

”Find it, and kill it.”

By this point, he had lost all patience.

This rat had meddled in his affairs repeatedly, and now there was no need to keep it alive.

From among the crowd, one person stepped forward arrogantly and said:

”A mere ’rat’, I’ll light the lamp and enter the diagram to kill it.”

This person, a young master in appearance with a charming yet wicked visage, was none other than Jin Yicai of the Sever Gold Sect.

Jin Yixuan slightly frowned, ”You’re going?”

Jin Yicai grinned lightly and said, ”Cousin, don’t worry, I’m not like that useless Jin Gui, who died so inexplicably.”

Jin Yixuan was slightly uneasy.

In his eyes, Jin Yicai was also a waste.

But, given his special status and noble bloodline, if something happened, it would be hard to answer to the family elders.

”This ’rat’, might not be underestimated...” Jin Yixuan said.

Jin Yicai shook his head, ”Cousin, you’re mistaken, only weaklings would be sneaky, how could a strong person be so secretive?”

”If this ’rat’ was truly strong, they’d have killed us all by now, how could they be so cautious?”

”Precisely because he’s not our match, he acts like a ’rat’, daring only to do these petty tricks in the dark.”

Jin Yixuan appeared contemplative, nodded, and said:

”Take a few stewards with you.”

Jin Yicai hesitated for a moment, wanting to say it wasn’t necessary as simply his skill would suffice alone and calling more people would only split his merits.

But as this was his cousin’s wish, he could not refuse.

Moreover, since this was an order from the young master, if something went wrong, there would indeed be no explanation.

Jin Yicai then said, ”Alright, as my cousin wishes.”

Jin Yixuan appointed four ”stewards” to accompany Jin Yicai in sitting at the altar while facing an eerie mural, lighting the soul lamp.

Under the influence of the Divine Soul, they naturally entered the Demon Refining Diagram.

When they opened their eyes, they found an eerie valley shrouded in a black cloud of blood mist before them.

A bloody stream trickled, and white bones covered the ground.

This was truly the Demon Refinement Valley within the Demon Refining Diagram.

They followed the fixed path of ”sacrifice”, walking into the valley, searching for clues along the way.

Soon, they found the place where Jin Gui met his end.

”There was a battle here...”

”The Demonic Qi is intense, mixed with Sword Qi; the enemy seems to be a ’Sword Demon’.”

”There’s another weak Divine Thought Aura, seemingly barely contributing in the battle; compared to the Demonic Qi, its presence is much fainter...”

Jin Yicai was slightly stunned, ”Sword Demon?”

Not human, not a monster, but a Sword Demon?

Which Sword Dao Sect cultivates this?

Jin Yicai was somewhat puzzled, looking into the distance, he continued:

”Chase!”

A group of five monster steward cultivators continued their pursuit.