Something Terrible! A Demon Path Mole Has Infiltrated Our Sect!

Thunder Peak, Council Hall.

"Grand Elder, a Demon Path mole may have infiltrated the sect!"

"Oh? There's such a good thing? Tell me quickly!"

"..."

Ding Mingcang, the Second Elder, was rendered speechless as he watched Chao Wendao's eyes light up.

Come to think of it.

The Grand Elder usually had nothing to do but drink tea and play chess. If such a bold demon cultivator had truly appeared, he would have a new source of amusement.

"Recently, the sect disciples' attendance rate has plummeted, and the atmosphere for cultivation has grown lax."

"After the Enforcement Team investigated closely, they discovered that the disciples had all become obsessed with an Illusion Realm trial, neglecting their cultivation because of it."

"This Illusion Realm trial has the ability to erode cultivators' minds. I suspect it is the work of the Demon Path."

Ding Mingcang took out a Mini Illusion Tower and an Illusion Crystal Stone.

He had personally led a team yesterday to confiscate them from disciples.

At the time, two Inner Disciples had been fighting in their dormitory, gleefully trying to jam spittoons over each other's heads, when Ding Mingcang caught them red-handed.

Chao Wendao waved a hand, and the Illusion Crystal Stone slowly flew into his palm.

His Spiritual Sense swept over it, and Chao Wendao raised a brow. "This is... a Replica?"

"That's right. The disciples are all using Replicas. I heard the Original is in the Artifact Forging Hall's Illusion Training Hall."

Chao Wendao narrowed his eyes and stroked his beard with great interest.

A Replica was merely a simple copy. It did not contain all the spells of the Original, so the information it could provide was pitifully scarce.

Yet even these few fragmented spells made Chao Wendao feel something new.

It seemed no one had ever done this before.

"Since this concerns the Artifact Forging Hall, have Elder Nangong deal with it."

"Grand Elder, have you forgotten? Elder Nangong has gone traveling."

"I see... Then tighten up discipline. Handle this matter yourself."

Chao Wendao suddenly remembered that he himself had not even filled his classes in recent days, and nodded as he spoke.

After Chao Wendao left with the Illusion Tower and Crystal Stone.

Ding Mingcang summoned one of his Stewards.

"Have you investigated the source of the Illusion Crystal Stones?"

"Yes. They were all sold by a disciple from the Artifact Forging Hall named Lu Ze."

"Hmph. Such a large business, handled by a single disciple? Investigate thoroughly!"

Ding Mingcang's expression darkened.

The sect's financial authority lay in his hands.

The disciples becoming obsessed with "Demonic Path Escape" was one matter.

A huge quantity of Spirit Stones flowing into someone else's pocket was another.

When disciples traded Artifacts among themselves, no matter how expensive, it had nothing to do with him.

But this sort of large-scale sales business had always been run by the sect.

And now it had actually been monopolized by someone else?

He had to punish this person severely.

"Have you found out who created this Illusion Realm?"

"There is no record in the archives. I am sending people to question the Artifact Forging Hall disciples."

"Bring the person to me by tomorrow at the latest!"

"Yes."

Sword Inquiry Peak, Severed Thought Cliff.

It was said that in ancient times, the Spirit Cloud Sect had once been jointly besieged by the Demon Path.

The Sword Inquiry Peak Elder of that time fought here, splitting ten thousand spells with a single sword strike and leaving behind a sheer cliff face.

Countless cultivators later came here to pay their respects, comprehending the Dao from this crack.

It had now become a sacred site of the Spirit Cloud Sect.

"Senior Brother Zhong summoned me here. What is this about?"

Mu Yawen drained the tea in his cup in one gulp and smacked his lips.

In the Cultivation World, cultivators generally considered handsome features and slender builds the ideal.

Even cultivators specializing in Body Tempering deliberately controlled their outward appearance.

Yet Mu Yawen was the complete opposite, his entire body exceptionally broad and brawny.

The True Disciple's Daoist robe was stretched taut by his muscles, and his bronze-colored skin was clearly visible.

"Junior Brother Mu, have you heard that a new Illusion Realm trial has recently become extremely popular in the sect?"

A handsome long-haired cultivator sitting opposite Mu Yawen spoke.

The long-haired cultivator was Zhong Yi, a True Disciple of the Grand Elder, Chao Wendao.

"Illusion Realm cultivation? Has another Grandmaster left behind a divine thought?"

Mu Yawen's brows shot up, and his eyes instantly blazed with fervor.

He was most familiar with Illusion Realm cultivation.

Mu Yawen was a battle fanatic.

He spent all day immersed in Illusion Realm trials, fighting strands of divine thought left behind by various Grandmasters or phantoms of great demons from distant places.

"No. It seems to be for Outer Disciples to train their movement techniques. It's called 'Demonic Path Escape.'"

"Why have I never heard of it at all?"

"Because it is in an ordinary Training Ground. It is only natural that Junior Brother Mu has not heard of it."

Mu Yawen usually trained in the Illusion Realm trial tower reserved for True Disciples, where all the trials were high-level. Naturally, he knew nothing of what was happening outside.

"If it is for Outer Disciples to train their movement techniques, why is Senior Brother so curious about it?"

Mu Yawen asked curiously.

"That is precisely the key! An Illusion Realm trial meant for Outer Disciples has become incredibly popular even among Inner Disciples. I heard some Outer Disciples have even scored better than Inner Disciples..."

Zhong Yi explained.

Every sect disciple knew what Illusion Realm trials were like.

Other than a battle fanatic like Mu Yawen, not a second person in the entire sect was so obsessed with them.

Yet somehow,

"Demonic Path Escape" had achieved it.

"Is it really that miraculous? Then I must try it!"

Mu Yawen rubbed his hands together, unable to wait.

"If that is the case, the two senior brothers can go together. Why call me along?"

A cool female voice came from within the sword mark on the sheer cliff.

"Junior Sister, you are finally willing to come out..."

Zhong Yi gave a wry smile.

The woman who spoke was Li Moran, a True Disciple of the Fifth Elder.

She spent every day atop Severed Thought Cliff, practicing her swordsmanship with the ancient sword intent and comprehending the Sword Dao. Her nature was exceedingly aloof.

"Master told me there seems to be something suspicious about this Illusion Realm cultivation. He asked me and the other True Disciples of the peak to assess it together."

"..."

After hesitating for a moment.

A streak of light swept across the cliff face and condensed into an exceptionally beautiful figure.

Li Moran parted her crimson lips, her expression frosty.

"Since it is Elder Chao's assignment, let us go quickly and return quickly."

Glazed Fire Peak, Illusion Training Hall.

Compared with a few days ago, the Training Hall was much quieter.

The Outer Disciples' trial cards had expired. They were still desperately earning Spirit Stones to buy Mini Illusion Towers, so naturally they would not appear here.

As for the Inner Disciples, each of them had a Mini Illusion Training Tower and could play in their dormitories.

Lu Ze looked at the empty hall and felt somewhat emotional.

He had heard that an Inner Disciple had skipped class this morning to play "Demonic Path Escape" in the dormitory, only to be caught by the Enforcement Team, who had confiscated the Mini Illusion Tower as well.

If those above investigated, they would soon trace it back to him.

Lu Ze was not worried.

He had indeed created the Illusion Realm according to the requirements. Its core purpose was to help Outer Disciples temper the Cloud Shattering Art. There was nothing wrong with that.

Was it his fault that he had made the Illusion Realm more interesting?

Clearly, the disciples' Dao Hearts simply were not firm enough.

A Righteous Path sect still had to be reasonable. They would not do anything to him over this. At most, they would stop disciples from playing "Demonic Path Escape" in the future.

In any case, the task had already been completed. If "Demonic Path Escape" was gone, then it was gone.

As long as the concept of "video games" took root, one "Demonic Path Escape" might fall, but thousands upon thousands more "Demonic Path Escapes" would rise up.

The biggest problem at present was,

his Demonic Value was increasing far too slowly.

After obtaining the Myriad Manifestations Xuan Demon Immortal Physique, the Demonic Value required for every realm increase had multiplied tenfold.

Most of his current player base consisted of Qi Refining Stage Outer Disciples and Foundation Establishment Realm Inner Disciples.

The highest cultivation level among them was only the Golden Core Stage.

He now needed to expand the player base further, or advancing his realm would be far too difficult.

Just then, a crisp system notification sounded in his ear:

Demonic Value +10