Rage

Jiang Li genuinely wanted to laugh. When had he ever cultivated demonic arts? Demonic arts were a key target of the Human Emperor Palace. Anyone who cultivated them would have to be prepared to stand against the entire cultivation world.

There were dozens of paths to immortality—tempering the body through the Body Refinement Path, raising Gu with one's own body on the Gu Path, refining Qi into essence on the Qi Refining Path, and using heaven-and-earth rune arrays on the Rune Path. But there was one path that the cultivation world forbade.

That was the demonic path of solitary ascension.

The demonic path was about having no taboos, no scruples, using the masses to nurture a single person. It didn't matter how many died, as long as you could survive and grow stronger.

Back when the path to ascension still existed, the Nine Provinces Continent wasn't too hostile toward the demonic path. After all, even demonic cultivators ascended at the end of their journey, which was still within the continent's tolerance. But after ascension was cut off, demonic cultivators began plotting blood sacrifices of the entire continent, using all living beings to forge a single immortal in hopes of breaking through. They even caused a massacre that left an entire dynasty with no survivors.

Because of this, the Nine Provinces Continent reached an unwritten rule: anyone who cultivates the demonic path is to be killed on sight.

"You're not surprised?"

"Without evidence, naturally I'm not surprised."

"Of course there's evidence. Haven't you heard a legend—true or false—that before Jiang Human Emperor became the Human Emperor, he fought an Extraterrestrial Demon without regard for consequences, causing an entire city to perish with no survivors? And the Jiang family has stolen over a hundred infants. What could they need so many babies for? Surely it's blood sacrifice, using their forms to supplement cultivation, helping people break through to Nascent Soul. That's pure demonic method. How could Jiang Human Emperor not know about this?"

"With Jiang Human Emperor's means, helping someone reach Nascent Soul is trivial. But he doesn't stop the Jiang family from using demonic methods. That means he's not just indulging them—he's probably a demonic cultivator himself. Only a demonic cultivator would ignore other ways to achieve Nascent Soul and let his own clan use such extreme demonic techniques!"

"Senior Zhang, if my speculation is true and the current Human Emperor is a demonic cultivator, the Nine Provinces Continent faces a catastrophe! Please inform your sect's leader of this!"

Yuan Wu Xing finished speaking and was about to kneel, begging Jiang Li, but found himself held up by an invisible force, unable to lower himself.

"Senior Zhang..."

Yuan Wu Xing wanted to say more, but saw Jiang Li's face darken as he stood and walked out of the room.

Jiang Li's aura was terrifying, as if he was on the verge of rage. Yuan Wu Xing swallowed his words and said nothing more.

When Yuan Wu Xing slandered the Human Emperor—claiming Jiang Human Emperor secretly helped the Jiang family or cultivated demonic arts in hiding—Jiang Li would just smile faintly and let it slide, treating it as entertainment. He knew he hadn't done those things.

But Yuan Wu Xing's guess about the Jiang family sacrificing infants was different, because Jiang Li knew it was very likely true! Otherwise, why would the Jiang family need so many babies? The Human Emperor Palace was the foremost force opposing demonic cultivation on the Nine Provinces Continent, yet the Jiang family might be using his name to practice demonic arts!

Jiang Li's anger was unbearable. He spread his Divine Sense hundreds of miles in all directions, taking in several cities including Green City, but found nothing.

Finding nothing was itself the problem.

He found no traces of infant blood sacrifices, but he also found no missing infants.

Jiang Li focused his Divine Sense on the Jiang family estate. As before, they were performing ancestral rites, with no changes, no basements, secret passages, or hidden areas.

This meant either Yuan Wu Xing was completely wrong, or someone was hiding the infants in another space.

The Nine Provinces Continent had two ways to use space. One was through a Storage Ring as a carrier, allowing entry at any time, but such spaces couldn't hold living things. The other was finding a Space Node, which was immovable but could contain living beings—Secret Realms worked this way.

Space Nodes were extremely well-hidden. Unless someone entered or exited, they were impossible to detect from outside.

"Do you have solid evidence for these claims? Like an Image Retention Orb recording a conversation between the Jiang Family Head and the City Lord?"

Yuan Wu Xing saw Jiang Li re-enter the room, his expression as calm as before, without the gloom from earlier.

"No. Using an Image Retention Orb would cause Mana fluctuations, which couldn't escape a Nascent Soul Realm City Lord. As for other evidence... none."

Yuan Wu Xing sounded dejected, but then added, "The frequency of the Jiang family's ancestral rites matches the rate of missing infants. I suspect they're just pretending to worship ancestors while actually sacrificing babies. But the rites are too heavily guarded—I've tried for years and can't get in."

"The Jiang family is holding their rites right now. Senior, you could try..."

Jiang Li shook his head. "I've already been to the Jiang family. Nothing unusual... Hm?"

A faint smile curled at the corner of Jiang Li's mouth—whether from the joy of finding a clue or a cold sneer was unclear.

"Speak of the devil, and he appears."

Jiang Li hadn't withdrawn his Divine Sense; it still covered a hundred miles in all directions.

Outside Green City, beneath a large tree, space twisted, and a Linen-robed Elder stepped out.

He cautiously surveyed his surroundings. Confirming no one was there, he rose and flew toward the Jiang Family Ancestral Hall.

Jiang Li didn't follow the Linen-robed Elder to the Jiang family. Instead, he pulled Yuan Wu Xing to the Space Node outside Green City.

With a light tap, space rippled into layers of waves, eventually forming a stable spatial gate.

The space was tiny, only the size of a cave. As soon as they entered, a pungent stench of blood hit them, making Yuan Wu Xing cough.

After adjusting to the smell, Yuan Wu Xing was stunned by the sight.

Hundreds of skeletons, shorter than an arm's length, were piled on both sides of the cave, tossed aside carelessly. Skulls were separated from spines, hand bones and leg bones detached from torsos—a chaotic mess.

At the end of the path was an altar stained red with blood. On it lay over a dozen intact infant corpses. Blood energy seeped from the bones into the air, flesh dissolving at a visible rate, adding to the nauseating stench. Soon, only white bones at the fingertips remained.

Yuan Wu Xing couldn't hold it in. Stumbling to the wall, he leaned over and dry-heaved, but his hand slipped, and he fell into a pile of bones.

Too weak to get up, he lay among the remains, vomiting and sobbing. "Monsters! Those Jiang family monsters! How could they do this? Don't they have children of their own?"

Jiang Li said nothing, but his expression was terrifyingly cold.

Jiang Li hadn't followed the Linen-robed Elder. He knew the man couldn't escape. He came here to see if there was any chance of saving anyone.

Now, it was clear—no one could be saved.

The calm, righteous Rebirth Mantra echoed through the small space. At first a low, rapid murmur, it grew louder and clearer.

The final syllables shook the space until it trembled, stones falling as if it might collapse at any moment.

"Sen... Senior Zhang."

Yuan Wu Xing stared at the furious Jiang Li, dumbfounded.

Shaking space to the brink of collapse with just his voice—this was clearly beyond what a Nascent Soul Realm cultivator could do.

Jiang Li turned to look at the red-eyed middle-aged man, bared his white teeth, and smiled. "Let's go pay the Jiang family a visit."