He was only at the Mysterious Mastery Realm. Though far stronger than cultivators of the same rank, he still lacked the power to sway the laws of heaven and earth, much less command them at will.
Yet besides the laws of the Heavenly Demon Realm, the Heavenly Demon Origin contained some other interesting things.
For instance, what were Outer-Realm Heavenly Demons best at?
Possession?
Wrong!
Mental attacks!
They exploited flaws in cultivators' state of mind and weaknesses in their spiritual sense to drive them into demonic madness.
In other words, Outer-Realm Heavenly Demons could easily invade a cultivator's spiritual sea of consciousness.
And Lin Xiaoyao had already learned to master this technique. In fact, he had surpassed his teachers, far outstripping ordinary Outer-Realm Heavenly Demons.
Now, he intended to give it a try.
The Founder's Shrine.
Master Green Feather stood before the offering table, respectfully paying his respects to the sect's ancestors.
The Heart-Refining Path, and Old Demon Jia more recently.
Twice in a row, the sect had escaped disaster. He believed it was no coincidence, but that an elder of the sect was secretly helping them.
He had come to pay his respects to the ancestors and express his gratitude.
Whether that senior ancestor was here or could hear him, there were things he had to do as a junior. He had to convey the sincerity of his thanks.
He bowed his head, murmuring softly, his face full of reverence.
Suddenly, his expression grew dazed. Dazzling spiritual light seemed to envelop him.
Time seemed to stretch on for ages, yet also pass in the blink of an eye. When Master Green Feather came to, he was horrified to find himself in an unfamiliar place.
The sky was gray and hazy, and there was no ground beneath his feet. Dense fog shrouded everything around him. Here, his spiritual sense was useless, and his vision could barely make out what lay in the distance.
It was as if he had returned to the ancient Primordial Era, to the moment when Chaos first began to part.
The dignified sect leader now looked somewhat panicked. Wary and confused, he glanced all around.
He soon spotted a tall figure standing proudly not far away.
Green light flickered over his body, and his aura brimmed with spiritual energy.
He was standing there as casually as anyone, yet seemed as immovable as a deep pool beneath towering peaks. An astonishing, surging presence radiated from him.
Master Green Feather was the leader of a sect, and his cultivation at the Mystic Profound Realm was no weak thing. Yet standing before this man, he inexplicably felt ashamed of his own insignificance.
It was like an ant looking up at a mountain, or a tiny firefly standing before the bright moon.
"Senior, where are we?"
He bowed respectfully. Though certain the other party had brought him here, he showed not the slightest disrespect.
Lin Xiaoyao, shrouded in auspicious spiritual light, was just as dumbfounded.
Following the method he had comprehended from the Heavenly Demon Origin, he had pulled the other man's Primordial Spirit into his own sea of consciousness.
He had intended to put on a mysterious act, adopt a false identity, and bestow a treasure on him.
That way, he would accomplish his goal without risking exposure.
On one hand, he could continue quietly blending into the background.
On the other, he wouldn't have to worry about doing good deeds in secret and receiving no gratitude in return.
After all, once the man received the treasure, he would surely be overflowing with gratitude toward this new identity Lin Xiaoyao had made up.
That would solve the problem that had been bothering him all along.
But he had never imagined that—
When he actually performed the spell recorded in the Heavenly Demon Origin,
the effect would be different from what he had expected.
Not merely passable, but astonishingly good.
Outer-Realm Heavenly Demons only exploited a few flaws in a cultivator's state of mind. How could they possibly achieve something like this?
After all, Lin Xiaoyao was different from them. Even if he still lacked sufficient cultivation and magical power, he possessed the Saint Fruit Position.
A few days ago, when he faced Old Demon Jia, even an ordinary Fireball Technique had such incredible power and effect. The profound divine arts recorded in the Heavenly Demon Origin were bound to be even more remarkable.
Seeing the sect leader standing before him in fear and trepidation, Lin Xiaoyao felt both amused and intrigued.
He could see the man's awe and alarm.
So, rather than answer his question, Lin Xiaoyao sighed as if in regret. "The leader of the Feathering Sect is only at the Mystic Profound Realm now?"
At this sigh, Master Green Feather was first taken aback, then grew even more fearful and uneasy.
Countless guesses flashed through his mind.
Why had this senior said that?
His tone seemed to carry some sorrow and disappointment...
But why?
Could it be...
Master Green Feather was an intelligent cultivator, and his thoughts were racing.
He quickly arrived at one possibility.
This strange turn of events had occurred while he was paying his respects at the Founder's Shrine.
The answer seemed to be right in front of him.
Could this senior be one of the sect's ancestors?
The Heart-Refining Path, and Old Demon Jia—twice, without anyone noticing, someone had resolved the sect's crises. Could the mighty figure before him be the one responsible?
The more he thought about it, the more plausible the guess seemed. His expression grew even more reverent.
He bowed deeply to Lin Xiaoyao. "May I ask, Senior, was it you who helped resolve the crisis our sect faced not long ago?"
"An old man?"
Lin Xiaoyao was speechless at the form of address. He was only in his early twenties, while Master Green Feather had been alive for who knew how long—certainly thousands of years.
Lin Xiaoyao fell silent for a few seconds before composing himself.
Then he chuckled, deliberately making his voice sound old. This was his own sea of consciousness, where everything was under his control; he would leave not the slightest trace of a flaw.
In a casual, unconcerned tone, he said, "You mean that demonic cultivator surnamed Jia? It would hardly be fair for me to step in, but I couldn't exactly stand by and watch you all perish and the Feathering Sect be wiped off the map."
Lin Xiaoyao was telling the truth.
If the Feathering Sect disappeared, where would he find such a quiet and comfortable place to check in?
He could ignore ordinary grudges, but Old Demon Jia had wanted to uproot the entire Feathering Sect. That meant he was picking a fight with Lin Xiaoyao.
But to Master Green Feather, those words carried another meaning.
So our disciples have been so unworthy?
Cold sweat ran down Master Green Feather's back.
He felt just as he had in the past, when he had made a mistake and faced his stern master.
He was now even more certain of his guess.
The mysterious senior before him was one of the sect's ancestors.
He was the one who had rescued the sect from danger twice.
Yet he had refused to show himself in public.
Now he had summoned Master Green Feather this way. What could he want?
Was he going to reprimand him for being an incompetent sect leader?
At that thought, Master Green Feather felt both terrified and ashamed. If the ancestor accused him of this, he truly would have no answer.
The Feathering Sect could not be called a declining sect, but it was certainly suffering from a lack of promising successors.
Leaving aside his junior fellow disciples, even he, the sect leader, was only at the peak of the early Mystic Profound Realm. And the sect had been passed down since antiquity, belonging to the lineage of the Three Purities. At its height, it had been guarded by Mahayana ancestors.
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