Chapter 36: Mad Demon Patriarch 1

Mad Demon Ancestor 1 (Fourth Update, Please Bookmark)

The ancestor in charge of Earthfire Hall at the time was one of the strongest cultivators in the entire Yin Soul Sect. When the alchemy disciples under him had even run out of spirit herbs, he naturally flew into a rage and reported the matter directly to the sect master. The sect master had not thought much of it at first, but once he discovered that Qi Refining Stage cultivators no longer had cultivation pills, he felt that the matter had already affected the sect's foundations to some extent and ordered the Enforcement Hall to deal with it severely. At that point, every disciple who had damaged the herb fields was rooted out and executed one by one. The first disciple to destroy the herb fields had his soul searched, and after the mastermind was found, three Golden Core Realm ancestors were killed. In short, that bloody slaughter left the entire sect in a state of panic, with countless disciples trembling in fear.

After that incident, the sect's management of herb fields became far stricter, and specific requirements naturally emerged, written directly into the Sect Law Code. Even so, the ancestors of the various peaks still did not feel at ease. In the end, they restricted all tasks related to herb fields to their respective peak's own tasks, and whenever there was a task concerning herb fields, it had to be reported to the peak master, among other rules.

As Hu Donghan listened, he could not help sighing again and again.

Naturally, such matters would not have been specially recorded in the sect's history. If this steward had not explained it to him, Hu Donghan likely would have remained baffled forever.

This Mass Grave Mound was vast. Looking from one end to the other, they could even see two gate towers. Numerous bones lay piled within the Mass Grave Mound, and many weapons still clung to those bones. Clearly, this was a Mass Grave Mound fashioned after an abandoned battlefield!

The steward lowered his voice and introduced the place, saying, "This is the ancestor's residence. The ancestor's Ghost Wraith is a high-grade War Ghost, so the ancestor specially built this battlefield-like Mass Grave Mound near his residence..."

"Oh..." Hu Donghan suddenly understood, but immediately afterward, he dismissed it inwardly.

In Hu Donghan's eyes, so-called Ghost Wraiths were merely tools. Building such an elaborate Mass Grave Mound just for a single tool was truly making a mountain out of a molehill.

The steward had no idea what Hu Donghan was thinking. He first knelt upon the ground, then called out loudly, "An Outer Affairs Hall steward of Overlapping Peaks requests an audience with the ancestor!"

Not long after the steward's words fell, a figure clad in armor and shrouded in mist flickered swiftly out from the depths of the Mass Grave Mound. In just a few breaths, it had arrived beside the Outer Affairs Hall steward and asked, "Are you two here to see Master? Hm? There is even an Enforcement Hall disciple?" When the voice within the armor mentioned the words "Enforcement Hall disciple," it seemed rather wary.

Before Hu Donghan could speak, the steward said again, "Weapon Ancestor, this senior brother wishes to accept the task of overseeing the herb fields at Little Emerald Terrace. I specially brought this senior brother here to report it."

"So that is the case." Only then did the mist surrounding the armor disperse, revealing a face covered in knife scars. Yet some parts of that face were faintly transparent.

A Ghost Wraith? Hu Donghan was startled inwardly. Then he recalled the steward's earlier form of address, "Weapon Ancestor," and understanding dawned on him. This must be Mad Demon Ancestor's War Ghost, Ghost Wraith! The stronger a Ghost Wraith becomes, the greater its intelligence and autonomy. It seems that truly is no lie. This War Ghost should possess Golden Core Realm strength. Its intelligence is probably no different from an ordinary person's! The War Ghost had no idea that Hu Donghan was muttering idle gossip about it in his heart.

As it happened, the War Ghost was also talking about Hu Donghan behind his back. The War Ghost had grown alongside Mad Demon Ancestor, and its strength had reached late Golden Core Realm. Its mind was even sharper than that of most people. Naturally, it knew the Yin Soul Sect's many rules like the back of its hand.

Hu Donghan wore the robes of an Enforcement Hall disciple, yet he wanted to accept an Overlapping Peaks task meant for that peak's own disciples. In the War Ghost's eyes, this situation was exceedingly strange!

You're an Enforcement Hall disciple. What else could you not do, yet you insist on guarding herb fields? How utterly baffling! Could someone in Overlapping Peaks have killed a person from another peak and buried them in the herb fields at Little Emerald Terrace? That seems unlikely too...

After letting its thoughts run wild for a while, the War Ghost finally said, "You two, follow me."

"Yes." The steward promptly answered.

The War Ghost led the way, with Hu Donghan and the steward following behind. They had not gone far when the War Ghost took a step forward, and the surrounding scene changed. The originally gloomy, yin-energy-choked Mass Grave Mound had actually become a dark cave residence. Before the cave stood a massive boulder bearing three large characters: "Mad Demon Cave."

"A formation?" Hu Donghan exclaimed in amazement.

In his previous life, Hu Donghan's study of the True Exposition of the Ghost Path had only been preliminary. Among the miscellaneous sections of the True Exposition of the Ghost Path were formations built from Soul Bodies and ghost creatures, as well as formations built from Zombies and skeletons, among others. However, Hu Donghan's strength at the time had been far too weak. He had not even possessed the qualifications to come into contact with such things...

Actually, in Hu Donghan's understanding, a place of solidification was, in a sense, an extremely simple formation. It was simply too rudimentary; perhaps it did not even count as an introductory concept in the True Exposition of the Ghost Path. That was why it had naturally not been classified as a formation.

The War Ghost slapped the boulder. No one knew exactly how it mobilized its spiritual power, but the cave entrance immediately opened, and the War Ghost continued leading the way inside.

Before long, they arrived outside a stone chamber. The furnishings within were extremely casual and devoid of any luxury, while an unknown number of Wandering Souls drifted faintly about the chamber. On the bed within the room sat a middle-aged man with graying temples, cross-legged in meditation. When Hu Donghan and the others arrived before him, the middle-aged man abruptly opened his eyes. Glints of light mixed with wisps of yin energy swept from his gaze over Hu Donghan and the steward—this middle-aged man was clearly Mad Demon Ancestor!

Hu Donghan was not overly afraid. He merely narrowed his eyes. The steward, however, immediately fell to his knees and saluted. "This Outer Affairs Hall steward greets the ancestor."

Enforcement Hall disciples and Battle Hall disciples held extremely high status within the sect. Unless they encountered the heads of the Enforcement Hall or Battle Hall, or the Yin Soul Sect's sect master, disciples of this kind did not need to kneel before anyone, regardless of who it was. Enforcement Hall disciples represented the authority of the Enforcement Hall! Battle Hall disciples, meanwhile, represented a form of respect for the battlefield!

"Overlapping Peaks disciple Hu Donghan greets Mad Demon Ancestor." Hu Donghan slightly cupped his hands and bent at the waist, offering Mad Demon Ancestor a salute.

Mad Demon Ancestor nodded, then said in a hoarse voice, "You? You must be that Hu Donghan, then? Your elder sister is the personal disciple of Soul-Devouring Ancestor from the Enforcement Hall, correct?"

Hu Donghan nodded. "That is correct, senior."

"So it really is you!" Mad Demon Ancestor's words carried a sinister cackle. "Because of you, one-tenth of the Qi Refining Stage disciples in my Overlapping Peaks outer disciple courtyard died this time! Hahaha! When your elder sister kills people, her hand truly is not soft!"

(End of Chapter)