On the Yi Public House’s small island.
The flowers and trees around them looked vibrant and beautiful under the radiant sunlight. A gentle breeze blew as Chu Li sat quietly in a gazebo while staring at Zhe Ying across a stone table.
Zhe Ying had a grim look on his face, which had been restored to his original handsome appearance. Since Chu Li had devoured his Heavenly Demonic Orb, Zhe Ying’s current cultivation level was very weak, and he seemed like a lamb waiting to be slaughtered in front of Chu Li.
Nonetheless, Chu Li would not show mercy to him just because of his pitiful demeanor. He could still recall perfectly how Zhe Ying had devoured his Heavenly Demonic Orb and how the guy had intended to kill him.
Chu Li smiled faintly at Zhe Ying. “Brother Zhe, we meet again.”
Zhe Ying scanned his surroundings and replaced the grim look on his handsome face with a smile. “Brother Du, what are you trying to do?”
Chu Li said, “This place belongs to me, so you don’t have to be so courteous, Brother Du. Feel free to treat this place like your own home.”
“Where am I?” Zhe Ying asked.
Chu Li smiled faintly. “You’re in the Ji Dynasty. I believe Brother Du has never been here before, right?”
Zhe Ying shook his head.
His heart kept sinking as he realized that he was going to meet his end soon.
Indeed, he should not have been complacent and let his guard down back then. Zhe Ying never expected Du Feng to turn the tables on him at his most joyful and proudest moment. Due to his arrogance, he had become Du Feng’s captive in an instant and allowed Du Feng to devour his Heavenly Demonic Orb.
Chu Li continued to smile at him as he asked, “Brother Zhe, Heavenly Demonic Sect should be able to sense it if you die, right?”
Zhe Ying’s expression changed slightly as he did not wish to die just yet. He had finally managed to come out and experience the world of sensual pleasures after having lived in the ravine for eighteen years. He had not enjoyed himself enough!
Chu Li found his answer in Zhe Ying’s mind and shook his head while saying, “Does the Heavenly Demonic Sect not have any item that allows them to immediately sense something when you die?”
“Of course, we do!” Zhe Ying replied with a scoff.
In reality, the Heavenly Demonic Sect did not have anything that could allow them to check whether their disciples were dead or alive. They had only depended on an annual roll call.
Chu Li finally realized that perhaps only the four major sects would have items such as the Heaven and God Pill that would allow them to keep tabs on whether their disciples were dead or alive.
He had been so worried and did not dare to kill Zhe Ying before this. It seemed like he had been worried for nothing after all.
Since they had no such items, he no longer needed to stall in killing Zhe Ying considering how it would not affect his plans anyway.
Chu Li would never underestimate anyone. Since he had managed to turn the situation around, Zhe Ying might be able to do the same too. Thus, he could not rely on luck and handle this situation carelessly. It would be better to kill Zhe Ying as soon as possible.
Despite his rising killing intent, Chu Li maintained a calm composure and asked with a smile, “Aside from that ravine, there should be other places that belong to Heavenly Demonic Sect, right?”
“No.” Zhe Ying shook his head.
Chu Li read his mind and smiled when he found that the truth was the exact opposite of what Zhe Ying had said. “Your sect leader should be carrying out his isolated cultivation somewhere else… Well then, as a disciple of the Heavenly Demonic Sect, I’m sure you have some way of contacting your fellow disciples, don’t you?”
Zhe Ying frowned as he looked at Chu Li. “What are you planning to do?”
Chu Li chuckled and replied, “I’d like to meet a few other disciples of the Heavenly Demonic Sect and get closer to them.”
Zhe Ying looked alarmed and asked gravely, “You’re planning to devour their Heavenly Demonic Orbs?”
Chu Li smiled and replied, “The Heavenly Demonic Sect owes me a life. I ought to collect some interest, right? So just tell me. How many Heavenly Demonic Sect disciples’ locations can you give me?”
“Don’t even think about it!” Zhe Ying muttered coldly.
Chu Li chuckled and shook his head as he said, “You’re pretty loyal to the Heavenly Demonic Sect. I thought you didn’t have any friends there?”
Zhe Ying laughed scornfully and replied, “I’m not trying to be loyal to the Heavenly Demonic Sect. I just don’t want to watch you grow stronger! Go ahead and kill me if you can!”
“It wouldn’t make a difference to me whether or not I kill you. You won’t be able to stir up any trouble with those weak martial arts skills of yours,” Chu Li replied with a faint smile. “I might still spare your life and let you go out of pity.”
“Humph.” Zhe Ying laughed coldly.
He could tell that he and Du Feng were birds of a feather, so Du Feng would never spare his life and would kill him instead after he was done using him!
Chu Li said, “If you refuse to tell me anything, I’ll have to kill you now to avoid wasting my food supply!”
“… Fine, I’ll tell you!” Zhe Ying replied. “I know the whereabouts of four other disciples. The first one is Jiang Ziwen, the second one is Yu Xuanshi, the third one is…”
Chu Li silently listened to him.
Zhe Ying was up to no good again as the people he mentioned were all top-notch masters who had achieved the eighth level of Heavenly Demonic Power. These people were famous figures in the Fu Dynasty’s entire martial arts world.
Many outsiders knew about the identities of these four martial arts masters, but no one dared to get into trouble with them. A person would be seeking their own death by going against them.
Chu Li nodded with a thoughtful look on his face. “Okay, thank you for telling me about them.”
He pulled Zhe Ying up and vanished from the small island immediately before appearing in a forest outside the ravine of the Heavenly Demonic Sect.
Chu Li’s location at that point was a mile and a half away from the Heavenly Demonic Sect.
He had already beheaded Zhe Ying and had gotten rid of his body elsewhere in the ravine.
Chu Li intended to stay here and wait for other disciples of the Heavenly Demonic Sect to appear.
Three days later, he finally saw an old man gliding into the area. Chu Li paid no attention to his appearance and focused his gaze on the person’s Heavenly Demonic Orb. Judging by the size of his Heavenly Demonic Orb, this person should be at the sixth level.
His spirits lifted instantly as a level-six Heavenly Demonic Orb was exactly to his liking.
Chu Li would not ask for trouble and try to seek out those level-eight martial arts masters Zhe Ying had mentioned just yet. He would be faced with a difficult situation if he failed to defeat them and was forced into a corner by them instead.
He should pick the right people to take advantage of. There was no need for him to hold himself back since the Heavenly Demonic Sect had been so ruthless to him.
That level-six martial arts master traveled through the forest with incredible speed.
A sense of foreboding suddenly rose in his heart and the old man quickly swerved his body sideways.
“Tsh, tsh!” Two invisible energy blades swept past him, and a tree branch in front of him fell to the ground.
“Tsh, tsh!” Two flying blades shot toward him again.
The old man could not move his body sideways in time so he hurriedly bent over and lay on his stomach instead.
An invisible finger force reached him. By the time he noticed this finger force, it was already too late for him to avoid it.
The Petrifying Finger caused his body to freeze for a moment, and his inner energy stopped flowing in his body as well. Instantly, a few more Petrifying Finger forces struck him while Chu Li appeared out of nowhere after having changed his appearance and went forward to seal off the old man’s acupuncture points.
The old man widened his eyes upon seeing Chu Li and glared at him in disbelief.
He had sensed Chu Li’s Heavenly Demonic Energy.
Chu Li had intentionally allowed him to sense it. Otherwise, he would have used Maha-Vairocana’s Immobility Scripture or the Life and Death Scripture to seal up the force in his body, so that his Heavenly Demonic Energy would be completely hidden away.
Judging by the old man’s expression, he had clearly recognized Chu Li as Zhe Ying.
Everyone in Heavenly Demonic Sect knew that Zhe Ying had used the Heavenly Demonic Spirit Devouring Technique to devour Du Feng’s Heavenly Demonic Orb and advance straight to the sixth level. They had all been very envious of him and had come over to say hi to him after the incident, so they had sensed his force back then.
That was why the old man had immediately recognized him as Zhe Ying when Chu Li allowed him to sense his force.
Chu Li said nothing and directly performed the Heavenly Demonic Spirit Devouring Technique to devour the old man’s Heavenly Demonic Orb until the old man was left with only one level of cultivation. Then, Chu Li smiled with satisfaction. As expected, this was a good idea indeed.
This old man’s Heavenly Demonic Power was remarkably refined, so his level-six Heavenly Demonic Orb allowed Chu Li to improve significantly in his Heavenly Demonic Power and reach the halfway point of his seventh level. If Chu Li managed to devour two more level-six Heavenly Demonic Orbs, he should be able to advance to the eighth level very soon!
It would be possible for him to harm an Enlightened Master only when he had reached the eighth level. Thus, he intended to push himself all the way into the eighth level this time.
It would be best if he could advance further to the ninth level. At that point, he should be able to get away even if an Enlightened Master were to hunt him down.
However, those Four Grand Elders had unbelievably profound cultivation levels and knew many unique martial arts and antique studies of Heavenly Demonic Sect, so Chu Li had no hope of defeating them.
The old man glared at Chu Li resentfully and seemed as though he was trying to make out Chu Li’s real face.
Chu Li looked at him thoughtfully and finally released a sigh before withdrawing his hand and gliding away.
As the old man stared after Chu Li’s retreating figure, he became even more convinced that his attacker was Zhe Ying. He was glad that Zhe Ying still had a shred of conscience left in him since he had decided to spare his life after all.
On the Yi Public House’s small island.
The flowers and trees around them looked vibrant and beautiful under the radiant sunlight. A gentle breeze blew as Chu Li sat quietly in a gazebo while staring at Zhe Ying across a stone table.
Zhe Ying had a grim look on his face, which had been restored to his original handsome appearance. Since Chu Li had devoured his Heavenly Demonic Orb, Zhe Ying’s current cultivation level was very weak, and he seemed like a lamb waiting to be slaughtered in front of Chu Li.
Nonetheless, Chu Li would not show mercy to him just because of his pitiful demeanor. He could still recall perfectly how Zhe Ying had devoured his Heavenly Demonic Orb and how the guy had intended to kill him.
Chu Li smiled faintly at Zhe Ying. “Brother Zhe, we meet again.”
Zhe Ying scanned his surroundings and replaced the grim look on his handsome face with a smile. “Brother Du, what are you trying to do?”
Chu Li said, “This place belongs to me, so you don’t have to be so courteous, Brother Du. Feel free to treat this place like your own home.”
“Where am I?” Zhe Ying asked.
Chu Li smiled faintly. “You’re in the Ji Dynasty. I believe Brother Du has never been here before, right?”
Zhe Ying shook his head.
His heart kept sinking as he realized that he was going to meet his end soon.
Indeed, he should not have been complacent and let his guard down back then. Zhe Ying never expected Du Feng to turn the tables on him at his most joyful and proudest moment. Due to his arrogance, he had become Du Feng’s captive in an instant and allowed Du Feng to devour his Heavenly Demonic Orb.
Chu Li continued to smile at him as he asked, “Brother Zhe, Heavenly Demonic Sect should be able to sense it if you die, right?”
Zhe Ying’s expression changed slightly as he did not wish to die just yet. He had finally managed to come out and experience the world of sensual pleasures after having lived in the ravine for eighteen years. He had not enjoyed himself enough!
Chu Li found his answer in Zhe Ying’s mind and shook his head while saying, “Does the Heavenly Demonic Sect not have any item that allows them to immediately sense something when you die?”
“Of course, we do!” Zhe Ying replied with a scoff.
In reality, the Heavenly Demonic Sect did not have anything that could allow them to check whether their disciples were dead or alive. They had only depended on an annual roll call.
Chu Li finally realized that perhaps only the four major sects would have items such as the Heaven and God Pill that would allow them to keep tabs on whether their disciples were dead or alive.
He had been so worried and did not dare to kill Zhe Ying before this. It seemed like he had been worried for nothing after all.
Since they had no such items, he no longer needed to stall in killing Zhe Ying considering how it would not affect his plans anyway.
Chu Li would never underestimate anyone. Since he had managed to turn the situation around, Zhe Ying might be able to do the same too. Thus, he could not rely on luck and handle this situation carelessly. It would be better to kill Zhe Ying as soon as possible.
Despite his rising killing intent, Chu Li maintained a calm composure and asked with a smile, “Aside from that ravine, there should be other places that belong to Heavenly Demonic Sect, right?”
“No.” Zhe Ying shook his head.
Chu Li read his mind and smiled when he found that the truth was the exact opposite of what Zhe Ying had said. “Your sect leader should be carrying out his isolated cultivation somewhere else… Well then, as a disciple of the Heavenly Demonic Sect, I’m sure you have some way of contacting your fellow disciples, don’t you?”
Zhe Ying frowned as he looked at Chu Li. “What are you planning to do?”
Chu Li chuckled and replied, “I’d like to meet a few other disciples of the Heavenly Demonic Sect and get closer to them.”
Zhe Ying looked alarmed and asked gravely, “You’re planning to devour their Heavenly Demonic Orbs?”
Chu Li smiled and replied, “The Heavenly Demonic Sect owes me a life. I ought to collect some interest, right? So just tell me. How many Heavenly Demonic Sect disciples’ locations can you give me?”
“Don’t even think about it!” Zhe Ying muttered coldly.
Chu Li chuckled and shook his head as he said, “You’re pretty loyal to the Heavenly Demonic Sect. I thought you didn’t have any friends there?”
Zhe Ying laughed scornfully and replied, “I’m not trying to be loyal to the Heavenly Demonic Sect. I just don’t want to watch you grow stronger! Go ahead and kill me if you can!”
“It wouldn’t make a difference to me whether or not I kill you. You won’t be able to stir up any trouble with those weak martial arts skills of yours,” Chu Li replied with a faint smile. “I might still spare your life and let you go out of pity.”
“Humph.” Zhe Ying laughed coldly.
He could tell that he and Du Feng were birds of a feather, so Du Feng would never spare his life and would kill him instead after he was done using him!
Chu Li said, “If you refuse to tell me anything, I’ll have to kill you now to avoid wasting my food supply!”
“… Fine, I’ll tell you!” Zhe Ying replied. “I know the whereabouts of four other disciples. The first one is Jiang Ziwen, the second one is Yu Xuanshi, the third one is…”
Chu Li silently listened to him.
Zhe Ying was up to no good again as the people he mentioned were all top-notch masters who had achieved the eighth level of Heavenly Demonic Power. These people were famous figures in the Fu Dynasty’s entire martial arts world.
Many outsiders knew about the identities of these four martial arts masters, but no one dared to get into trouble with them. A person would be seeking their own death by going against them.
Chu Li nodded with a thoughtful look on his face. “Okay, thank you for telling me about them.”
He pulled Zhe Ying up and vanished from the small island immediately before appearing in a forest outside the ravine of the Heavenly Demonic Sect.
Chu Li’s location at that point was a mile and a half away from the Heavenly Demonic Sect.
He had already beheaded Zhe Ying and had gotten rid of his body elsewhere in the ravine.
Chu Li intended to stay here and wait for other disciples of the Heavenly Demonic Sect to appear.
Three days later, he finally saw an old man gliding into the area. Chu Li paid no attention to his appearance and focused his gaze on the person’s Heavenly Demonic Orb. Judging by the size of his Heavenly Demonic Orb, this person should be at the sixth level.
His spirits lifted instantly as a level-six Heavenly Demonic Orb was exactly to his liking.
Chu Li would not ask for trouble and try to seek out those level-eight martial arts masters Zhe Ying had mentioned just yet. He would be faced with a difficult situation if he failed to defeat them and was forced into a corner by them instead.
He should pick the right people to take advantage of. There was no need for him to hold himself back since the Heavenly Demonic Sect had been so ruthless to him.
That level-six martial arts master traveled through the forest with incredible speed.
A sense of foreboding suddenly rose in his heart and the old man quickly swerved his body sideways.
“Tsh, tsh!” Two invisible energy blades swept past him, and a tree branch in front of him fell to the ground.
“Tsh, tsh!” Two flying blades shot toward him again.
The old man could not move his body sideways in time so he hurriedly bent over and lay on his stomach instead.
An invisible finger force reached him. By the time he noticed this finger force, it was already too late for him to avoid it.
The Petrifying Finger caused his body to freeze for a moment, and his inner energy stopped flowing in his body as well. Instantly, a few more Petrifying Finger forces struck him while Chu Li appeared out of nowhere after having changed his appearance and went forward to seal off the old man’s acupuncture points.
The old man widened his eyes upon seeing Chu Li and glared at him in disbelief.
He had sensed Chu Li’s Heavenly Demonic Energy.
Chu Li had intentionally allowed him to sense it. Otherwise, he would have used Maha-Vairocana’s Immobility Scripture or the Life and Death Scripture to seal up the force in his body, so that his Heavenly Demonic Energy would be completely hidden away.
Judging by the old man’s expression, he had clearly recognized Chu Li as Zhe Ying.
Everyone in Heavenly Demonic Sect knew that Zhe Ying had used the Heavenly Demonic Spirit Devouring Technique to devour Du Feng’s Heavenly Demonic Orb and advance straight to the sixth level. They had all been very envious of him and had come over to say hi to him after the incident, so they had sensed his force back then.
That was why the old man had immediately recognized him as Zhe Ying when Chu Li allowed him to sense his force.
Chu Li said nothing and directly performed the Heavenly Demonic Spirit Devouring Technique to devour the old man’s Heavenly Demonic Orb until the old man was left with only one level of cultivation. Then, Chu Li smiled with satisfaction. As expected, this was a good idea indeed.
This old man’s Heavenly Demonic Power was remarkably refined, so his level-six Heavenly Demonic Orb allowed Chu Li to improve significantly in his Heavenly Demonic Power and reach the halfway point of his seventh level. If Chu Li managed to devour two more level-six Heavenly Demonic Orbs, he should be able to advance to the eighth level very soon!
It would be possible for him to harm an Enlightened Master only when he had reached the eighth level. Thus, he intended to push himself all the way into the eighth level this time.
It would be best if he could advance further to the ninth level. At that point, he should be able to get away even if an Enlightened Master were to hunt him down.
However, those Four Grand Elders had unbelievably profound cultivation levels and knew many unique martial arts and antique studies of Heavenly Demonic Sect, so Chu Li had no hope of defeating them.
The old man glared at Chu Li resentfully and seemed as though he was trying to make out Chu Li’s real face.
Chu Li looked at him thoughtfully and finally released a sigh before withdrawing his hand and gliding away.
As the old man stared after Chu Li’s retreating figure, he became even more convinced that his attacker was Zhe Ying. He was glad that Zhe Ying still had a shred of conscience left in him since he had decided to spare his life after all.
