It left the young man deathly pale, trembling all over.
"I'll go probe him tomorrow. Please give me another chance."
"I've been giving you chances all along. I hope you can seize this one. Don't disappoint me."
Soon, the Black-Robed Man left.
Silence returned to the servants' quarters in the Demon Cult's outer courtyard.
The young man slowly rose from the floor, the servility draining from his face bit by bit.
In its place came boundless ferocity.
Choose?
How was he supposed to choose? Did he have any room to choose?
Probe the Demon Venerable.
Once this matter came to light, it would surely unleash a storm of blood throughout the Demon Cult.
To put it bluntly...
The moment the other man revealed this matter, he had lost all room to choose. Either he obediently did it...
Or he died.
And the Demon Cult had far too many Outer Disciples like him. Even if he really died, no one would care.
"So I have no other choice."
The night wind was biting, and the cawing of crows drifted from afar. The young man murmured to himself, his expression gradually growing resolute.
With a leap, he raced toward the Demon Venerable Pavilion.
Inside the Demon Venerable Pavilion.
Fang Yang slowly exhaled a breath of stale air.
The breath flowed like a roaming dragon.
It shot a full meter away.
And his deep eyes blazed with piercing light.
Waves of chilling killing intent radiated from him.
He casually swept his hand.
Rumble!
Rumble!
Thunderclap rolled all around him.
Streaks of purple lightning flashed.
Immortal cranes danced through the air, and the Great Dao resounded in unison.
It was as though he had touched the Great Dao Origin, mysterious beyond mystery, wondrous beyond wonder.
It was even more terrifying and unfathomable than the Dharmakaya Realm.
Until...
That palm strike landed on the ground.
Crack!
Only a single crack appeared in the hard rock.
Everything else remained unscathed.
Just then, the chatter of a group of Demon Cult followers drifted in from outside.
"What just happened? Why was there such a huge commotion? I felt like the sky was about to collapse!"
"The Demon Venerable was using his cultivation technique. He must have broken through the Dharmakaya Realm, or he couldn't have caused such a huge commotion."
"That makes sense. I even felt my soul trembling! That's our Demon Venerable for you. There are probably only a handful of people in the world who could withstand that palm strike."
"Obviously! Forget withstanding it. Once the Demon Venerable manifests his dharmakaya, he could probably split this entire mountain peak apart with a single palm strike."
"..."
Everyone lavished wild praise on him, exclaiming again and again.
They were immensely proud of their cult leader.
They seemed to already envision their leader sweeping across the eight wildernesses, his might swallowing ten thousand miles like a tiger.
Meanwhile, outside the Demon Venerable Pavilion.
The Demon Cult Outer Disciple had just arrived when he saw the Heavenly Dao phenomenon, with its rolling Thunderclap.
He was suddenly startled, his very soul trembling.
"So this is the Demon Venerable? The Demon Venerable whose very name strikes terror throughout the Tang Kingdom and fills countless sects with dread."
He murmured, gritting his teeth. The resolve in his eyes grew stronger, as though he had finally made his choice.
He strode toward the Demon Venerable Pavilion.
Inside the Demon Venerable Pavilion.
Fang Yang withdrew his palm and studied the narrow crack in the stone thoughtfully.
As expected of the Profound Heaven Strategy!
Something hailed as a Heavenly Dao cultivation technique.
Although his current strength was nothing impressive, its ability to bluff people was absolutely second to none.
One slap could make heaven and earth resonate.
Looking across the world, there were probably few who could accomplish that.
"Unfortunately, the Demonic Dao Gathering involves real combat. I can't bluff my way through it."
Fang Yang sighed.
"Forget it. I've struggled through all these days and earned a total of fifteen Matchmaking Points. It's time for a draw. Maybe I'll get something."
Lottery draws were quite addictive, and his draws were intimately tied to his life.
That made them even more addictive.
He had only managed to suppress his urge to draw with great difficulty, saving his Matchmaking Points until now so he could draw to his heart's content.
Everything was ready. Just as he was about to draw, he paused, as though something had occurred to him.
He had his subordinates bring bathwater, then bathed and changed.
Afterward, he even took statues of the Azure Dragon and White Tiger from the Demon Venerable's treasury, placing the Azure Dragon on his left and the White Tiger on his right.
He sat between them.
Only after completing all these rituals...
Did he let out a long breath, feeling refreshed and far more confident.
"Today, I'll definitely win a grand prize."
His eyes full of resolve, he confidently chose to draw.
[Ding.] [Treasure chest opened. One Matchmaking Point consumed. Your treasure was stolen by a mouse. Consolation Points +1. Current Matchmaking Points: 1. (When Consolation Points reach 10, the next draw has a 100% chance of yielding a treasure chest.)]
"An accident. This was definitely an accident!"
"You need to build up luck for lottery draws. This draw was just a stepping stone."
Fang Yang smiled, feeling not the slightest panic. In fact, he felt as steady as an old dog.
He drew again.
[Ding.] [Treasure chest opened. One Matchmaking Point consumed. Your treasure was stolen by a mouse. Consolation Points +1. Current Matchmaking Points: 2. (When Consolation Points reach 10, the next draw has a 100% chance of yielding a treasure chest.)]
"..."
The corner of Fang Yang's mouth twitched, and his smile stiffened.
Who wins the grand prize right off the bat? This was perfectly normal. Nothing to worry about.
Keep drawing!
[Ding!] [Treasure chest opened. One Matchmaking Point consumed. Your treasure was stolen by a mouse. Consolation Points +1. Current Matchmaking Points: 3. (When Consolation Points reach 10, the next draw has a 100% chance of yielding a treasure chest.)]
"..."
Three consecutive draws, and not a single win.
His face darkened. Without a word, he kept drawing.
[Ding!]
No win!
[Ding!]
No win!
[Ding!]
No win!
"..."
The system's voice rang out incessantly. At first, Fang Yang could still remain calm.
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