Chen Xuan left Kunlun Mountain and headed straight for the Great Desolate Land.
Now that Dao Ancestor Hongjun's three lectures at Purple Cloud Palace had concluded, the prelude to the Witch and Demon Great Calamity was about to begin.
Yet the conflict between the Witch and Demon Clans was not as fierce as the Demon Race's internal strife.
Because Di Jun and Eastern Emperor Taiyi intended to establish the Demon Race Heavenly Court, they were bound to demand that all demons under heaven acknowledge them as their leaders.
Naturally, this provoked resistance from certain great demons, and for a time, the entire Great Desolate Land was filled with slaughter.
Chen Xuan had come down from the mountain precisely because of this.
Of course, Chen Xuan had not come out to mediate fights out of boredom. He intended to take advantage of this opportunity to reap some benefits.
The Demon Race of today was different from the demons of later generations. Every one of them was an ancient great demon.
Their true forms were either ancient Spiritual Beasts or ancient ferocious beasts. Their bodies were unquestionably superb materials for artifact refinement.
More importantly, Chen Xuan needed their Demon Cores. He intended to nurture for Tongtian a treasure capable of suppressing the fortune of a great sect.
Thus, whenever he came across a slaughter, Chen Xuan would sit in midair and watch the tigers fight from the mountain.
The Demon Cores of those top-tier great demons would naturally be taken by the victors. But the Demon Cores of lesser demons would be left behind.
That was when Chen Xuan would step in to clean up the battlefield, collecting the lesser demons' Demon Cores while taking away any Demon Race bodies suitable for artifact refinement.
On this day, Chen Xuan was once again watching the slaughter below from midair, just as he usually did.
He was waiting for them to finish fighting so he could clean up the battlefield.
But just then, a Daoist in red robes approached from the opposite direction.
Chen Xuan took a closer look and realized that he actually knew this man.
It was none other than Red Cloud Ancestor, who had plucked the Purple-Red Gourd on Kunlun Mountain that day.
Red Cloud Ancestor naturally recognized Chen Xuan as well and knew Chen Xuan's standing in Dao Ancestor Hongjun's eyes.
So he hurried forward, made a ritual salute, and said, "Why is Little Friend Chen Xuan here?"
Though Red Cloud Ancestor addressed Chen Xuan as Little Friend, Chen Xuan did not regard himself as one.
Instead, he made a ritual salute and said, "So it is Uncle Master Red Cloud. This disciple greets you."
After all, Red Cloud Ancestor had also been a guest at Purple Cloud Palace. By that reasoning, he was also a disciple of Dao Ancestor Hongjun.
Therefore, Chen Xuan addressing Red Cloud Ancestor as Uncle Master was perfectly reasonable.
Red Cloud Ancestor smiled and waved his hand at Chen Xuan. "I dare not accept the title of Uncle Master. From now on, let us address each other as equals.
"What puzzles me, though, is why Little Friend is here. Could it be that one of the demons fighting below is your friend?"
Chen Xuan smiled and shook his head. "I merely happened to pass through this place. Seeing people fighting below, I stopped to watch the excitement.
"May I ask where Uncle Master Red Cloud is hurrying off to? Have you already comprehended the mysteries within the Primordial Violet Qi?"
Logically speaking, those who had attended the lectures at Purple Cloud Palace should all have sealed themselves in their caves to digest the Great Dao they had heard there.
Of course, that excluded people like Di Jun and Eastern Emperor Taiyi, who were busy establishing the Heavenly Court.
Red Cloud Ancestor smiled and shook his head. "That Primordial Violet Qi is obscure and difficult to understand. Even after several hundred years, I have made no progress.
"Fortunately, my old friend Zhen Yuanzi has had the Ginseng Fruit at his home ripen. So I am planning to visit my old friend and ask for a cup of wine."
Upon hearing Red Cloud Ancestor mention Zhen Yuanzi and say that the Ginseng Fruit at his home had ripened, Chen Xuan could not help but entertain some improper thoughts.
He immediately smiled and said, "Uncle Master Red Cloud, I happen to have nothing to do. May I accompany you?"
Red Cloud Ancestor was famously a kind-hearted fellow in the Great Desolate Land and simply did not know how to refuse.
So he nodded without hesitation. "Since Little Friend is interested, let us travel together."
As they spoke, the demons below had already determined a victor.
Those defeated demons were forcibly taken to the Heavenly Court by people sent there, leaving only corpses strewn across the ground.
Chen Xuan made a ritual salute to Red Cloud Ancestor. "Uncle Master Red Cloud, please wait a moment. I will be right back."
After saying that, Chen Xuan descended from the clouds and arrived beside the bloody battlefield.
Broken treasures, Demon Race Demon Cores, and Demon Race bodies suitable for artifact refinement were all swept into Chen Xuan's Universe Bag.
Afterward, he did not forget to wave his hand and bury the Demon Race corpses he found unworthy right where they lay.
Then he returned to the air and said to Red Cloud Ancestor with a smile, "Uncle Master Red Cloud, we may leave now."
At this moment, Red Cloud Ancestor's gaze toward Chen Xuan held a trace of confusion, along with a hint of inquiry.
Chen Xuan naturally knew that he needed to give Red Cloud Ancestor an explanation, lest he become suspicious.
Chen Xuan let out a helpless sigh. "Uncle Master Red Cloud, you do not understand. I am softhearted and cannot bear to see others' bodies exposed in the wilderness.
"That is why I buried their corpses, so that they could rest in peace."
Chen Xuan spoke with immense sorrow, as though he had truly only buried their bodies and had not taken anything from them.
Not only did Red Cloud Ancestor not doubt Chen Xuan's words, he even nodded with an expression of praise.
"Little Friend possesses such compassion for all living things. No wonder the Dao Ancestor favors you so greatly."
It was not as though Red Cloud Ancestor had failed to see Chen Xuan collecting the Demon Cores. He simply did not take those Demon Cores to heart.
Given Chen Xuan's cultivation, even if he wanted the Demon Cores of powerful great demons, he could obtain them with ease.
There was no need for him to play the role of the oriole behind the mantis. After all, slaughter was normal in the Great Desolate Land.
Afterward, Red Cloud Ancestor and Chen Xuan headed together toward Longevity Mountain Five Villages Temple.
While they were still at least a hundred li away from Longevity Mountain, Chen Xuan saw streaks of golden light flashing ahead.
"Uncle Master Red Cloud, is that golden light ahead the Ginseng Fruit Tree at Uncle Master Zhen Yuanzi's Dao Field, Five Villages Temple?"
"Correct. That golden light comes from the Ginseng Fruit Tree. It has just ripened, so we have arrived at the perfect time."
With that, he took Chen Xuan along and descended directly toward Five Villages Temple.
A distance of a hundred li was no more than the flick of a finger to cultivators like them.
In the blink of an eye, Chen Xuan and Red Cloud Ancestor appeared outside Five Villages Temple.
At that moment, two attendant boys stood outside Five Villages Temple. They were Qingfeng and Mingyue, Zhen Yuanzi's two attendants.
The two first bowed to Red Cloud Ancestor. Then Qingfeng said with a smile, "Master knew that Lord Red Cloud would come today, so he specifically instructed us to wait here."
It seemed Red Cloud Ancestor had often gone to Zhen Yuanzi's place to eat and drink for free, to the point that even Qingfeng and Mingyue, the two attendant boys, had grown used to it.
At the same time, Mingyue's gaze fell upon Chen Xuan.
Chen Xuan did not have the appearance of Red Cloud Ancestor. His features were refined and handsome, and he looked only eighteen or nineteen years old.
Therefore, Mingyue naturally did not think much of Chen Xuan. He asked Red Cloud Ancestor, "Lord Red Cloud, is this your newly accepted disciple? He does not look like much."
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