Vengeance Fulfilled, Meeting the Heavenly Mystery Holy Land's Sect Master

Drunken Flower Brothel.

Jiang Li leaned against the side of the bed.

He assumed a cultivation posture, inhaling and exhaling as he drew in Heaven and Earth Spiritual Energy, transforming it into his own cultivation.

The process was dull and flavorless.

The progress was slow.

There was none of the visible cultivation growth speed he enjoyed during Cultivation Technique Hosting.

Only when cultivating on his own did Jiang Li realize that compared to true prodigies, his aptitude was not particularly outstanding—merely somewhat above average. He was utterly incomparable to those geniuses in the Transformation Class, let alone the system's cultivation efficiency.

"After Qi Refining Level 7, cultivators must begin preparing for their first major realm—Foundation Establishment. At my own cultivation speed, even with sufficient resources, it would take ten years to achieve it."

That was not considered a long time.

After all.

Even with those ten years added, he would only be in his early thirties. A Foundation Establishment cultivator at that age might be considered merely average in the Heavenly Mystery Holy Land, but out in the wider world, he would be an unparalleled genius fought over by every great clan.

"Ten years is too long. I strive only for the day before me."

Jiang Li muttered.

How could he possibly sit still and cultivate for ten years...

The Myriad Desire Demon Lord's lifespan was nearing its end. No one could say when his final hour would come. Jiang Li had to raise his cultivation as quickly as possible.

Golden Core was the bare minimum goal. Only at Nascent Soul would he possess the strength to protect himself; only at Spirit Transformation could he sit at the negotiating table. If he could reach Void Refinement Realm, he could turn the tables and kill his enemy instead.

"Though that Dog Cultivation Method loves showing off, I still need to put it under hosting. I just wonder whether that dog thief Yuan Li has arrived yet. He's holding up my return to the sect for hosted cultivation."

A trace of impatience flashed through Jiang Li's eyes.

Add another crime to Old Dog Yuan's ledger.

Just then.

The private room's door was pushed open.

Nightingale walked in and said respectfully, "My lord, Yuan Li has arrived. He is in the secret chamber we arranged."

At this, Jiang Li's eyes lit up.

The corners of his lips curled upward slightly.

He had finally lured the man out.

In the name of the Ten Thousand Demons Sect branch, he had told this Undercover Contact Person that the organization had a new mission. The man had come running eagerly without suspecting a thing.

That was enough to prove just how correct his decision to subdue this branch had been.

In the future, not only could he remotely obtain information from the Ten Thousand Demons Sect, but whenever the Profound Yellow Heart Refining Art lacked cultivation motivation, he could also temporarily scrape some together.

"Let's go. I can hardly wait to meet my superior."

Inside the secret chamber.

Yuan Li sat in his seat in black robes, looking thoroughly displeased.

As an Undercover Contact Person, though he possessed only Qi Refining Level 9 cultivation, his position was effectively equal to that of Drunken Flower Brothel's liaison. Ordinarily, this liaison would not treat him with such neglect.

But for some reason, he had been left waiting all day today.

Just as he was thinking about it.

Tap, tap, tap.

Crisp footsteps slowly sounded.

Yuan Li turned around with displeasure written across his face.

"Nightingale, you had better truly have something to discuss with me. Otherwise, I do not mind reporting this to the Ten Thousand Demons Sect headquarters. Don't think that because your cultivation is higher than mine, you can simply disregard me."

Nightingale said nothing.

She merely stopped walking.

"Someone else wants to see you. I am only responsible for luring you out."

Upon hearing this.

Yuan Li frowned.

Someone else wanted to see him?

And they could contact him directly through the Ten Thousand Demons Sect branch?

Could it be a high-ranking member of the Holy Sect?

"Who is it?"

Yuan Li asked solemnly.

"It's me."

Jiang Li slowly stepped forward.

His steady, forceful footsteps echoed through the secret chamber.

"Three years. Do you know how I spent these three years?"

A rare savage grin appeared on Jiang Li's face.

His entire bearing was steeped in gloom.

"You oppressed me for three years. You never imagined that one day you would fall into my hands, did you?"

In truth.

The instant Jiang Li stepped out, Yuan Li sensed that something was wrong.

His expression changed drastically.

He had considered every possible candidate, except Jiang Li—the undercover agent he had exploited for three years.

"You... you intend to move against me? Privately attacking a member of the Holy Sect, and an Undercover Contact Person at that? You have gone mad."

Yuan Li said in disbelief.

Even he could only eliminate Jiang Li by taking advantage of the Undercover Optimization Plan.

Yet this fellow actually wanted to attack him for no reason at all.

More importantly.

Nightingale, the liaison of the Frost Feather Branch, seemed to know about it and had even chosen to help.

"Nightingale, do you know what you are doing? He has gone mad—have you gone mad with him? The Holy Sect will never let you off if it learns of this."

Nightingale frowned.

"Do not mention the Ten Thousand Demons Sect to me. I have already abandoned darkness and turned toward the light. I am atoning for my past actions. Demonic wretches like you, who cannot be redeemed, should simply be killed for the benefit of the common people."

Yuan Li:?

When he typed that question mark, it was not because he had a problem—it was because he thought she had one.

What the hell did she mean, abandoned darkness and turned toward the light?

Was that something a bloodthirsty demoness like her ought to say?

Compared to him, an Undercover Contact Person who had spent years in the Heavenly Mystery Holy Land, Nightingale had killed far more people. If he was a demonic wretch, then she was a demon lord.

Where the fuck did she get the nerve to say that?

Yuan Li wore an expression so bewildered it was as if he had seen a dog.

Seeing Nightingale's righteous and awe-inspiring demeanor, he knew he could not persuade her. He could only shout to the other Ten Thousand Demons Sect disciples outside the secret chamber, "Your superior has gone mad. She insists on having her way and dragging all of you to your deaths. What are you standing around for? Stop her!"

Nightingale was a Foundation Establishment Realm cultivator. He was no match for her.

If he wanted to escape today, he could only rely on the other hidden members here.

However...

He spoke for quite some time, yet not a single person paid him any heed.

Instead, they gathered together of their own accord and watched him warily.

"Demon lord, do not lump us in with you. We have already repented. We will never again keep company with those of the Demonic Cult."

At that moment.

What Yuan Li felt was not anger, but a chill crawling down his spine.

A group of demonic wretches sent by the Ten Thousand Demons Sect, with no telling how many lives staining their hands, were now prattling on to him about righteousness.

Babbling lunacies about repentance, Slay Demons and Defend the Dao, and the like.

This was far too abnormal.

It was as if they had been brainwashed and bewitched.

Suddenly, Yuan Li thought of one crucial person. He snapped his gaze toward Jiang Li, and when he saw the perfectly measured mockery on the latter's face, his mind exploded as everything fell into place.

"It was you. Where did you learn such bizarre, wicked methods of the Demonic Path?"

At last, a trace of panic entered his voice.

It was as though he no longer recognized the Jiang Li before him.

Using Qi Refining stage cultivation to control all the hidden members of an entire Ten Thousand Demons Sect branch—such a method was too horrifying.

Even the most sinister Demonic Path techniques could not accomplish such a thing.

And Jiang Li, wielding the power of the entire Frost Feather Branch, truly possessed the means to keep him here.

"Not continuing?"

Jiang Li stood with his arms folded.

The amusement in his eyes had never been concealed.

He thought to himself, So this is why villains do not kill the protagonist in one fell swoop. This sense of control, like toying with a little animal, is simply too wonderful.

He did not mind enjoying Yuan Li's struggling expression before death a little longer.

On the other side.

Yuan Li's expression was indeed spectacular.

His face was incomparably grim.

His entire body was taut.

His eyes were webbed with bloodshot veins.

He clearly looked like a trapped beast making its final struggle.

Suddenly.

Yuan Li sprang into action.

A pair of bloody claws shot toward Jiang Li.

"You little bastard, I'll seize you first. Even if I must die, I'll drag you down with me!"

A Qi Refining peak cultivator's desperate final counterattack was not something even a Foundation Establishment Realm cultivator would dare take lightly.

Jiang Li was an exception.

He merely raised a fingertip in silence.

And slashed forward.

The Mana that had long been gathering momentum transformed into a solid sword force and swept out. The sword light arrived in an instant, like lightning, giving Yuan Li no chance to react. The moment he sprang into action, the sword force had already struck first.

"No way, no way—you didn't really think you were still a match for me, did you?"

Jiang Li sneered.

Under Yuan Li's stiff, despairing gaze, he turned and walked out of the secret chamber.

The instant he stepped outside.

Cracks appeared across Yuan Li's body, which gradually split apart down the middle.

Becoming two pieces.

Foul-smelling blood splattered across the room.

"Clean this up. Throw it to the dogs."

Jiang Li's figure faded farther and farther away, leaving only his voice echoing behind.

More than half a day later.

Having avenged his great enmity, Jiang Li returned to the Heavenly Mystery Holy Land in high spirits.

At that time.

His communication talisman received a voice transmission from his master, Zhang Song.

"My precious disciple, you have truly made your master proud. Come to the Main Peak. Your admission into the Transformation Class has been settled. You no longer need to reach Qi Refining Level 7—the Holy Land has made an exception and allowed you to join."

Jiang Li's expression shifted.

The Main Peak was where the sect's grand hall stood.

In other words, the commotion he had caused this time had already drawn the attention of the Heavenly Mystery Holy Land's upper echelons, perhaps even the sect master?

As an undercover agent, he had made it all the way to standing before the sect master. There really was no one else like him.

"Understood."