Uprising Begins

In the basement of the Ten Thousand Treasures Building.

All the Demon Cultivators, except for the Blood Corpse True Person, were gathered.

The Underworld acted with extreme caution. Even with the utmost secrecy, such meetings could still leave behind traces.

Therefore, they usually communicated via encrypted messages, avoiding group assemblies unless it was a major affair.

"It's only been a day since our last meeting, and Lord Rakshasa has summoned us here again. Something big must have happened, right?" the Demon Cultivators whispered amongst themselves.

"Huh? Why isn't Blood Corpse here?" someone noticed something amiss.

Tap—

The old man at the head of the table lightly tapped the table, interrupting the discussion.

Everyone turned their gaze towards the old man called Rakshasa.

Rakshasa swept his gaze across everyone present and said coldly, "Blood Corpse's identity has been exposed. This afternoon, he was captured alive by cultivators from Zhishou Tower within the city and is currently being held in the Prison Department."

The others exchanged glances. Only the Cry Soul True Person's expression turned extremely grim. Rakshasa's eyes flickered at this, but he said no more.

Silence fell upon the room. Finally, someone broke the stalemate: "Blood Corpse has always been cautious. He's been operating in Yuanshan City for decades with a flawless disguise. How was he discovered?"

Rakshasa's gaze was sharp. "That's true. If Zhishou Tower's intelligence system is so meticulous that it could see through Blood Corpse's disguise, then all of you present should also have been apprehended. How could you be gathered here?

Therefore, Blood Corpse's exposure was most likely due to some other complication."

"Lord Rakshasa, are you implying we have a mole?" a cultivator cautiously inquired.

Instantly, a commotion erupted.

The implication cast a shadow of suspicion over everyone present.

The members of the Underworld acted independently, betraying humanity for profit and being driven together. They had no trust in each other whatsoever.

Upon hearing the possibility of a mole, everyone's gaze towards their colleagues became guarded.

"When members join the Underworld, a Heart Demon Gu is planted in their soul. If anyone harbors thoughts of betrayal, the demon gu will devour their soul, causing unbearable pain. Therefore, I trust the loyalty of everyone present to the Underworld," Rakshasa said slowly.

Heart Demons were one of the eight great eighth-rank Holy Demon bloodlines of the demon race. One of their special abilities was to foster the Heart Demon Gu.

The Heart Demon Gu, planted within a cultivator's soul, would continuously grow as the cultivator's power increased.

The Heart Demon Gu possessed a rudimentary intelligence. If its host harbored thoughts of betrayal, the Heart Demon Gu would immediately activate its soul-devouring power, cruelly consuming the host's soul.

Until the host's soul was extinguished.

The pain of soul devouring was the most agonizing suffering in the world.

Compared to soul devouring, even Zhishou Tower's interrogation methods, no matter how skillful, were nothing more.

Therefore, captured Underworld members rarely betrayed the Underworld due to torture.

Since the Heart Demon Gu was fused with the host's soul, it was difficult for anyone other than the planter to remove it.

This was because the soul was a cultivator's most vulnerable point!

Without this gu, the Underworld could not have grown.

—Most Underworld members were traitors to humanity who pursued profit.

These individuals, for their own gain, were willing to betray their own race. Who could guarantee they wouldn't betray the Underworld again for profit?

For these villains, only coercive methods like the Heart Demon Gu, using force to counter force, could maintain control.

"However..." Rakshasa's eyes flashed with cold light, "I believe you dare not betray the Underworld, but it's possible some fools did something stupid that led to Blood Corpse's downfall."

"Cry Soul, when I mentioned Blood Corpse's capture earlier, your expression changed. Do you know something?" Rakshasa asked, his face ashen, looking at the Cry Soul True Person.

Facing Rakshasa's question, the Cry Soul True Person's heart tightened. It was clear that Rakshasa held immense authority over him.

"Lord Rakshasa, I do know something," the Cry Soul True Person could no longer conceal it. "A few days ago, Blood Corpse True Person's Corpse Refining Cave, hidden deep in the mountains, was raided by unknown cultivators. His female disciple came to Yuanshan City to find Blood Corpse for this very reason.

Initially, I didn't pay much attention. Blood Corpse True Person's Corpse Refining Cave contained nothing but a few blood pools.

Although refining corpse puppets was strictly forbidden by Great Xia, many evil cultivators had continued to do so secretly over the years. So, Blood Corpse wouldn't have been exposed because of this.

His disciples were also unaware of his identity as a Demon Cultivator; they only knew him as an evil cultivator.

Therefore, I didn't consider it a major issue. When you asked Blood Corpse, and he didn't speak directly, I didn't expose him.

Now, thinking about it, Blood Corpse's exposure must be related to his Corpse Refining Cave being raided.

After all, such coincidences don't happen in this world. His lair was raided the day before yesterday, and today he's been caught."

"Utterly foolish!" Rakshasa roared. "This Blood Corpse, I valued him highly for his meticulous actions, but I never expected him to conceal something like this!"

Suddenly, something stirred within Rakshasa's chest. A message was transmitted directly to his forehead and soul. Rakshasa closed his eyes slightly, lowering his spiritual defenses to receive the information.

The Demon Cultivators in the room were silent, not daring to speak.

A few breaths later.

Rakshasa opened his eyes and said coldly, "The Heart Demon Gu on Blood Corpse has died."

The Heart Demon Gu coexisted with its host.

Since the Heart Demon Gu of the Blood Corpse was dead, it meant the Blood Corpse True Person must have also perished.

"Something's not right." Cry Soul True Person frowned, his expression filled with doubt. "Zhishou Tower always detains our Underworld people for a considerable period, using various methods during that time to extract information.

The Blood Corpse was captured only a few hours ago. Why would Zhishou Tower act against him so quickly?"

"This matter is extremely strange, and it's happening at such a crucial time."

Cry Soul True Person's words caused the Demon Cultivators present to fall into deep thought.

"Then, Rakshasa, are we still proceeding with our plan as scheduled?" someone finally asked.

Rakshasa's gaze was unfocused, as if lost in thought.

The Demon Cultivators fell silent, awaiting Rakshasa's decision.

After a long pause.

A cold glint shot from Rakshasa's eyes. "Proceed as planned. Our Qingzhou Branch Hall has been planning the Corpse Puppet Uprising for many years.

If this succeeds, our Qingzhou Branch Hall will lead many other branch halls in the Southern Domain.

The scheme to seize the Heavenly Mystery Mirror in Yuanshan City is an extremely important part of the Corpse Puppet Uprising plan. We have no reason to abandon it.

With the Heart Demon Gu, the Blood Corpse True Person will definitely not reveal our current operation to Zhishou Tower.

Instead, Qi Yuan might become even more determined to use the Heavenly Mystery Mirror Fragment to investigate the Heart of the Blood Pool because of the Blood Corpse's exposure.

Regardless, for the great cause of the Underworld, I would not hesitate to die a hundred times!"

This matter is temporarily put aside. Our priority now is to seize the mirror. You will all go back and re-check the tasks assigned to you. If there are any further mistakes, I will show no mercy. Heh heh.

A faint bloody glow flickered in Rakshasa's eyes, and demonic energy emanated from him.

The Underworld's composition was extremely complex. Besides a large portion of human cultivators controlled by the Heart Demon Gu, there were also many true demons and half-humans who had reincarnated with demonic bloodlines.

Rakshasa was one such demon-human.

Unlike those human cultivators, he had transformed with a demonic bloodline through the Underworld's Blood Pool Reincarnation and could now be considered a demon.

The numerous Demon Cultivators retreated.

Watching the underground chamber empty, Rakshasa rubbed his temples. He felt a sense of foreboding.

No.

This matter was too significant to leave to chance. The Blood Corpse's capture was highly suspicious, and he needed to make further preparations.

With this thought, Rakshasa channeled his consciousness into the wriggling object within his heart.

A Spiritual Sense, carrying information, was transmitted through the wriggling object.