Tang Changsheng even suspected that the Dragon Flower Secret Manual had not originated with the Dragon Flower Patriarch at all. It had come from the Northern Demon Cult.
The Southern Demon Cult and Northern Demon Cult were originally distinguished by geography.
Back then, the orthodox Immortal Sects had lumped every unorthodox practitioner in the Central Land under the label of "Demonic Cult," then divided them into northern and southern branches.
The Southern Demon Cult was remote and had little presence before the Long-Haired Bandits rose up. At least, it could not compare to the Northern Demon Cult.
To exaggerate only a little, the entire history of the Ming and Qing Dynasties was practically the history of the Northern Demon Cult.
Ever since the White Lotus Sect's uprising at the end of the Yuan, the Great Ming had emerged from the Ming Cult. By the transition from Ming to Qing, the cults had grown rampant.
Despite the Imperial Court's relentless suppression, they kept putting down roots and sprouting like weeds. Worse, they repeatedly stirred up storms of blood and led uprising after uprising.
There was King Sai'er of Yongle, then the Incense-Smelling Sect under Tianqi. After the Manchu Qing took power, the cults grew even more rampant. The White Lotus Rebellion sent the dynasty from prosperity into decline...
In the Great Chu World, the Founding Emperor had risen amid that turmoil, overthrown the Manchu Qing, and founded a new dynasty.
But in the Mirror World, there was no Founding Emperor. That uprising had failed to destroy the Manchu Qing. Soon afterward came a farce for the ages: the Heavenly Principle Sect spread into the imperial palace, joined forces with eunuchs and palace maids on the inside, and fought its way in...
Then the Taiping Army emerged under a new guise. In