Just as this Outer Disciple's thoughts raced, Fang Yang's expression turned utterly cold, though terrifying auras still shrouded the surroundings.
"Where's the spirit jade he gave you? Hand it over."
"Yes!"
With a hoarse reply, the disciple respectfully placed a piece of jade in Fang Yang's hand.
The Soul-Testing Stone!
A rare and peculiar kind of jade!
It contained no spiritual energy and could not be used as a material for artifact forging.
Those in the cultivation world called it a chicken rib-too meager to eat, yet a shame to discard.
Yet this very chicken rib possessed a miraculous function.
It could precisely detect whether the soul within a body had suffered severe damage.
The soul and the body seemed to exist completely independently, but in truth, they were intimately connected, intertwined in countless ways.
Once someone suffered severe damage, it would leave many traces on the body, even causing it to emit an aura of decay. Only the Soul-Testing Stone could detect this aura accurately.
Simply place the Soul-Testing Stone within two meters of the target, and after an hour, its color would reveal the result.
"Soul-Testing Stones are exceptionally rare. Even buying one is difficult. These people really will stop at nothing to deal with me."
Fang Yang sneered.
He clenched the Soul-Testing Stone in his palm, and streams of astral wind surged from his hand into the stone.
Before long, the Soul-Testing Stone turned pitch-black, releasing wisps of black mist.
The mist was so dense that it almost condensed into dripping liquid.
This proved that it had absorbed a vast quantity of decay aura, and that the target was gravely injured.
With a casual toss, he threw the Soul-Testing Stone into the Outer Disciple's hands. Looking at the black stone, the disciple froze, his face filled with horror and his eyes with disbelief.
"H-how did it change color?"
His voice trembled with terror.
He had thrown his lot in with the Demon Venerable because he was betting that the Demon Venerable was unharmed and had nothing to fear from those petty villains.
Earlier, outside the Demon Venerable Pavilion, the terrifying heaven-and-earth phenomenon that accompanied the Demon Venerable's appearance had cemented his confidence.
The Demon Venerable could not possibly be gravely injured. He might even have achieved a breakthrough. Otherwise, how could such a heaven-and-earth phenomenon have appeared?
But what was happening now?
Why had the Soul-Testing Stone changed color?
Had the Demon Venerable truly suffered cultivation deviation and still not recovered?
Then what was he supposed to do?
"Having regrets?"
Amid his terror, a hoarse voice sounded. He raised his head and met Fang Yang's faintly mocking smile.
"N-no!"
"Your subordinate is willing to brave boiling water and raging fire for you, Demon Venerable, without hesitation."
He gritted his teeth as he spoke, but Fang Yang merely smiled.
"Relax. I won't let your efforts go unrewarded. Return the Soul-Testing Stone to that man and tell him that I am indeed gravely injured. Once this is done, I'll reward you generously."
Whoosh!
At these words, the Outer Disciple's eyes lit up.
His eyes brimmed with excitement, and his whole body shook. Finally, he respectfully kowtowed to Fang Yang and obediently departed.
"Your subordinate will obey your command, Demon Venerable!"
With the Outer Disciple's departure, silence returned to the palace.
Fang Yang sat in the darkness, toying with the two Demon Venerable cards and one Ye Qinghong card in his hands.
A faint smile rested on his face.
He murmured.
"This time, I'll cement my position as the Demon Venerable once and for all."
Chapter 23: Who Are You?
The night was deep.
After leaving the Demon Venerable Pavilion, the Outer Disciple headed straight for the Inner Court.
Before long, an Inner Court disciple came running out.
He then headed for the courtyard of that sleazy swordsman.
The swordsman's right-hand man darted out. After hearing the report, he slipped back into the courtyard.
Inside, lamplight flickered.
The swordsman held the black Soul-Testing Stone, with a Sword Canon lying beside him.
A cold smile curled across his face.
"After all these years of waiting, that fiend has finally suffered cultivation deviation. The Soul-Testing Stone absorbed so much decay aura that it could almost drip ink."
"It seems the fiend is badly injured."
"No wonder he's been behaving himself lately."
"He's probably already realized that his death is certain."
"Once he's dead, I can take possession of the woman ranked first on the Tang Kingdom's Rouge Ranking-the Princess Consort of the Southern Pacifying King."
"Even after being defiled for three years and long since having her shape altered, a beauty is still a beauty."
He laughed sinisterly.
The pitch-black longsword behind him radiated waves of chilling light.
It seemed to be stirring already, eager for action.
"Protector Zhang, should we notify the other protectors?"
"With their help, perhaps we could kill the fiend more safely."
His right-hand man asked cautiously.
"Of course we should tell them."
The swordsman spoke coldly.
"Killing the fiend is so dangerous. How could I go alone? If his dying counterattack injured me, even if I killed him, the others would come to seize the treasures."
"Don't you understand that while the mantis stalks the cicada, the oriole waits behind?"
"I-I understand!"
His subordinate nodded, trembling.
"Dawn is approaching. To keep a long night from breeding more nightmares, I'll notify the others right away. And while I'm at it... settle the promise with that woman about when she'll sleep with me."
Sneering, the swordsman was just about to head outside.
The Sword Canon he had been leafing through for some time gave off wafts of subtle fragrance.
And once that fragrance entered his nose...
He froze for a moment, feeling somewhat dazed.
The next instant, a bold idea surfaced in his mind.
Why should I tell those people?
The fiend is gravely injured now. His cultivation might have dissipated entirely. At the very least, he must have fallen several realms.
Under these circumstances, assassinating him would be a sure thing. If I told the others...
Wouldn't they take a larger share of the treasures?
Then my own share would shrink.
Wealth and glory are won amid danger...
Right now, I could assassinate him alone. All I need to do is secretly slaughter the fiend, take the treasures, and abduct the Princess Consort.
Then I could live free and unfettered!
The more he thought about it, the more excited he became, his emotions surging. The moment the idea appeared, it burned like wildfire, raging without end until he could no longer suppress it.
"Wait here at home. Don't let anyone inside. If anyone asks where I am, don't tell them. Understood?"
The swordsman looked coldly at his right-hand man.
"U-understood."
"Good. After tonight, we'll be able to leave the Demon Cult. When the time comes, I'll take you with me, and you'll enjoy endless wealth and glory."
"Thank you, Protector."
The Demon Venerable Pavilion!
It stood at the highest peak of the Blood Rain Cult.
Above, one could grasp the stars; below, one could look down upon all living beings.
This was the residence of the Tang Kingdom's most terrifying figure, the Blood Rain Demon Venerable.
There were two reasons behind the title of Blood Rain Demon Venerable.
One was that the fiend had slaughtered countless people, staining his hands with untold blood. The other was that he was excessively lustful and skilled at making women bleed.
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