532: A Drop of Demon Blood
Though they encountered Zhong Heng and others while waiting, Jiang Mo and Yun Qingyue had no intention of traveling together after leaving Xuanqing Sect. The pair bid farewell to Zhong Heng's group upon exiting the sect, then made their familiar way to Xuanqing City.
After two days, Xuanqing City remained as deathly silent as before.
Jiang Mo and Yun Qingyue's main purpose this time was to deliver a message to the Nine Abyss Sect Leader, with monster hunting as a secondary objective, so they weren't as cautious as during their previous visit. They found the same residence almost by habit and infiltrated it with practiced ease—perhaps due to her improved cultivation, Jiang Mo quickly sensed that they had been discovered after entering.
This wasn't particularly surprising. Although their cultivation levels were high, this was still a Nine Abyss Sect stronghold. With the foundation of one of the seven major sects and its sect leader in residence, it would have been a joke if two juniors could infiltrate without a trace.
Fortunately, the Nine Abyss Sect Leader bore them no ill will, at least for now, which was why they had managed to escape unharmed last time.
Since she realized they had been discovered, Jiang Mo didn't plan to proceed deeper with Yun Qingyue. After all, they were only here to deliver a message, and Sect Leader Qingxiao had prepared a jade slip just like the Nine Abyss Sect Leader had—whether the messenger and recipient met face-to-face was irrelevant. So Jiang Mo grabbed her senior sister, who was about to continue forward, and transmitted: "Ah Yue, no need to go further. This is far enough."
Hearing this, Yun Qingyue was momentarily stunned, then seemed to understand something. She nodded without question as Jiang Mo looked around, then slipped the jade slip they had brought into a small hole in a nearby rockery before taking her senior sister's hand and leaving without looking back.
They came and went quickly. The formations outside the residence were practically useless against them, and even leaving Xuanqing City didn't take much time.
After their departure, a figure suddenly appeared where they had been. The man wore a dark robe and a golden crown, his gaze following their direction of departure, his expression deep and his thoughts unreadable.
After a long moment, he withdrew his gaze, retrieved the jade slip from the rock hole, and vanished with a turn.
……
Jiang Mo led Yun Qingyue away from Xuanqing City, running far before stopping, not forgetting to look back to sense if anyone was pursuing them.
Yun Qingyue didn't ask why she was so cautious, immediately cutting to the point: "Were we discovered just now?" After speaking, she also looked back: "No one should be following us, right?"
Only then did Jiang Mo withdraw her gaze, her tense spirit gradually relaxing: "Should be fine."
Xuanqing City was filled with many high-level demons, making it the ideal location for Jiang Mo to farm experience points. That had been her original plan, but after actually visiting Xuanqing City, she temporarily abandoned the idea—before, she had acted without fear because she didn't know better, but now that she knew how troublesome even the Nine Abyss Sect Leader was, she had no desire to face the demon race prematurely.
Jiang Mo's caution was fully endorsed by Yun Qingyue when she explained her concerns. So the two returned to the vicinity of Xuanqing Sect, as the demons surrounding it were the most numerous aside from those in Xuanqing City, making monster hunting relatively convenient.
The pair had only made a quick trip to Xuanqing City before returning, and Sect Leader Qingxiao hadn't mentioned anything about a reply—the cultivation world had numerous means of communication, and using messengers wasn't the best option, rarely used except in special circumstances. Now that Xuanqing Sect had decided to ally with the Nine Abyss Sect, the sect leader's reply would naturally include arrangements for future contact, so they didn't need to worry about it.
With one responsibility fulfilled, Jiang Mo and Yun Qingyue returned to the vicinity of the protective formation and began exterminating demons on a large scale. Jiang Mo was focused on gaining experience, while Yun Qingyue purely wanted to clear out some cannon fodder before the main battle.
In any case, both were extremely diligent in slaying enemies, and their harvest was quite substantial.
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While Jiang Mo and Yun Qingyue were vigorously eliminating demons outside the formation, they were unaware that shortly after they left the jade slip, the Nine Abyss Sect Leader had already contacted Sect Leader Qingxiao. Whether he truly wished to ally with Xuanqing Sect or simply wanted to use them to eliminate his enemies, he freely shared information about the demon race that sounded highly credible.
At that time, the Xuanqing Sect side knew almost nothing about the demon faction, only making deductions based on the original strength of the few sects that had been absorbed. As for the demon race itself, they had only guessed that it had possessed the body of the Celestial Demon Sect's vice-leader.
Not waiting for Jiang Mo and Yun Qingyue's return, Sect Leader Qingxiao convened another meeting in Lingyun Hall, this time with all the sect's powerful cultivators in attendance.
Sect Leader Qingxiao sat at the head as usual, his gaze sweeping across the packed hall—these were all cultivators of Fusion stage or higher, not only from Xuanqing Sect or the other major sects, but also powerful figures from smaller sects. In short, all the powerful cultivators within Xuanqing Sect's sphere were gathered here, representing the most important fighting force for the upcoming battle.
There were many present, but compared to the enemy forces Sect Leader Qingxiao knew about, they were hardly worth mentioning. His heart felt heavy, but his expression maintained its customary steadiness as he spoke directly to the point: "I've summoned everyone here today to discuss the current situation."
Regardless of the identities of those present, they were now gathered at Xuanqing Sect and naturally formed a unified camp. Therefore, even though the major sects usually held meetings without them, the Fusion stage cultivators from smaller sects were not truly uninformed. They gathered intelligence on their own, and Xuanqing Sect had no intention of concealment, so almost everyone understood the current situation... which was not optimistic, to say the least.
Sure enough, Sect Leader Qingxiao continued: "The current situation is not favorable. I just counted, there are fifty-seven people here today, with a few absent due to other matters, but even adding those, the number of Fusion stage or higher cultivators won't exceed seventy. But the demon faction outside the city has absorbed several major sects' upper echelons, along with some whose power has surged after being demonized, giving them at least three to five times our combat strength."
This assessment was even conservative, because under the stimulation of demonic techniques, the cultivation of those lower-ranked demons was continuously increasing. Their potential was being exhausted, perhaps not sustainable for long, but enough to become a mortal threat.
Everyone knew the situation was dire, but after Sect Leader Qingxiao's explanation, they felt a chill down their spines. Some with less firm resolve or particularly concerned with self-preservation had already considered defecting.
Sect Leader Qingxiao had anticipated this reaction and immediately added: "I understand your unease, but with demonic energy entering your body, even life and death would be controlled by the demon race—how would that differ from being a puppet? I have cultivated for a thousand years to reach my current level, not to live as a walking corpse. So I cannot give up, nor can I allow a mere demon to destroy the foundation our human race has built over millions of years."
Indeed, the demon causing such turmoil in the cultivation world was actually just one entity. Even tens or hundreds of years ago, this demon didn't exist—at that time, the demon race was merely a drop of demon blood!
Tens of thousands of years ago, when the demon race invaded, the cultivation world united to drive them out, both sealing and eliminating remaining demonic entities, a process that was quite thorough and successful. The cultivation world truly eliminated all demons, except by extreme coincidence, a single drop of demon blood was sealed and preserved in the Canglán Secret Realm.
For the next ten thousand years, this drop of demon blood remained dormant under the seal, until by chance, the seal was broken by a Buddhist cultivator who had accidentally entered the secret realm.
As is well known, demons possess remarkable vitality and regenerative abilities. However, the demon blood was still weak at that time and failed in its attempt to possess the Buddhist cultivator who broke the seal, ultimately having to reside in a spirit plant, slowly recovering and growing stronger.
After several decades or centuries, it finally regained consciousness and began causing trouble, then possessed a body and emerged from obscurity.
The Buddhist cultivator who accidentally broke the seal was Wuxiang, who was still with the Buddha Sect at that time. The unfortunate person possessed by the demon was the current vice-leader of the Celestial Demon Sect who now stirred up chaos. As for the first person to be manipulated into causing trouble, that was naturally the Nine Abyss Sect Leader.
The Nine Abyss Sect Leader, being half a participant in these events, naturally had no intention of explaining the origin and process, but Sect Leader Qingxiao had pieced together most of the story from his fragmentary words. After hearing it all, he felt like hitting someone—it was just a single drop of demon blood. The calamity faced by the cultivation world ten thousand years ago involved the entire demon realm, but now the calamity stemmed from just one drop of demon blood—the thought was laughable.
He briefly recounted this history, and everyone fell silent after hearing it. Most of those who had considered defecting abandoned the idea. Not wanting to become walking corpses was one reason, but cultivators' pride also wouldn't allow them to willingly submit to a mere drop of demon blood.
So after a brief silence, someone asked: "The current situation is unfavorable to us. Does Sect Leader Qingxiao have any good strategies?"
With these words, a certain tone was set, and all hopeful gazes turned toward him.
Sect Leader Qingxiao remained composed, his gaze once again sweeping across everyone, unable to be certain if all present were sufficiently reliable. He had no habit of betraying teammates, even temporary ones, so he said: "I have a list here of all opponents at Fusion stage or above in the demon faction. None of you should remain idle these days—go out hunting."
At these words, some were confused, but most had an inkling of understanding—Sect Leader Qingxiao wasn't asking them to go out hunting at this time to diminish their own strength. But how could he be certain this would be hunting rather than sending lambs to slaughter?
And that so-called list... anyone with clear eyes could see that Sect Leader Qingxiao had certainly arranged everything. Although the enemy camp was controlled by the demon race, there must be an insider from Xuanqing Sect, and that insider's position must be quite high. As for who this insider was and how Sect Leader Qingxiao controlled them? With Xuanqing Sect's accumulation over tens of thousands of years, having some secret methods wasn't surprising.
Everyone immediately felt more confident, and as Sect Leader Qingxiao began making detailed arrangements with the list, they became increasingly at ease.
As for Jiang Mo and Yun Qingyue, they only learned of these arrangements after returning in the evening, but readily accepted their mission—though they were juniors, their cultivation levels were far from low, especially since Jiang Mo had broken through to Grand Achievement, making them fully qualified to participate in all plans.