The Council Hall.
The visitors from the Primal Demon Temple had taken over like cuckoos occupying a magpie's nest. Some sat quietly, while others stood against the walls, watching Tong Yi question his informants.
"So he was once a disciple of the Lingxiao Sect, and only recently won Senior Teng's favor by selling out his sect."
Tong Yi looked thoughtful.
Having laid out everything they knew, Shen Yanrong and Qin Hui stood in the hall filled with Primal Demon Temple disciples, fully aware that control of Tamu Town had changed hands the moment these people arrived.
Both yearned for the Primal Demon Temple and felt Cui Pinyuan amounted to little, so they saw nothing wrong with Tong Yi's actions.
"Sorry for the trouble, you two."
Tong Yi waved a hand, and Shen Yanrong and Qin Hui tactfully withdrew.
"Senior Brother Tong, are you truly willing to cede the earth yin cold spring to Zhao Changfeng?"
Once the two had gone far enough, Zhong Qiaomu could not help asking.
"Junior Brother Zhong, do you think I'm the sort to go back on my word?"
Tong Yi narrowed his small eyes and leisurely sipped his tea, seemingly pondering an important matter.
"I wouldn't dare!"
Zhong Qiaomu's expression changed, and he hurriedly said, "It's just that you also cultivate the Profound Yin Scripture, Senior Brother. That earth yin cold spring would greatly benefit your Demonic Cultivation Art. I simply feel it's a pity on your behalf."
Tong Yi smiled easily. "Sorry to make you worry, Junior Brother Zhong."
After a pause, he added, "Naturally, I, Tong Yi, won't renege on anything I've promised."
"However, those demon spirits could descend at any moment. If Zhao Changfeng dies in the demon spirit tide, the earth yin cold spring will have no owner, and will naturally remain under my control."
At those words, everyone understood Tong Yi's meaning.
When the demon spirit tide arrived, ideally Zhao Changfeng would die from the demon spirits' corruption. If they failed to kill him, Tong Yi would employ other means.
"Senior Brother Tong, according to those two, Zhao Changfeng does have a knack for dealing with demon spirits."
Zhong Qiaomu spoke again, continuing with deep concern, "Zhao Changfeng's Blood Shadow Art is quite extraordinary. He seems to have incorporated Divine Sense into it, which was what caused Junior Brother Xiang's death."
Tong Yi nodded with a smile and settled the matter. "Rest assured, he will die at the hands of demon spirits. There's no need to discuss this further."
Whatever peculiar abilities Zhao Changfeng possessed, why would someone at the perfected Primordial Spirit Realm like him take them seriously?
"Senior Brother, if Zhao Changfeng dies under suspicious circumstances, and word of it later reaches Old Devil Teng's ears..."
Another disciple offered a reminder.
Tong Yi frowned and pondered for a moment before saying, "After the demon spirit calamity, no one in Tamu Town will remain alive except us. You... won't let anything slip, will you?"
All seven answered, "We wouldn't dare!"
Zhong Qiaomu suddenly remembered something and said, "Senior Brother Tong, that one-armed woman is a Love Slave raised by Junior Brother Xu. If he learns what we've done, I'm afraid..."
At the mention of Xu Lang, everyone in the hall showed a slight change of expression.
Tong Yi also withdrew his smile and weighed the matter seriously before saying, "Junior Brother Xu cultivates the Heaven-Stealing Seed-of-Love Demon Art as a supplementary technique to help him survive the great tribulation of the Six Tribulations Realm in the future. He's planted seeds in more than a dozen Love Slaves. The death of one one-armed woman won't affect him too much."
Even Tong Yi spoke of Xu Lang with considerable caution, making it clear that Xu Lang's standing in the Primal Demon Temple was far from low.
Atop the tower.
Chen Jian held an Echo Stone, hearing every word of the conversation in the Council Hall.
Cui Pinyuan's face was ashen.
He had never imagined that the visitors from the Primal Demon Temple had no intention of leaving anyone a way to survive. To prevent word from leaking out and reaching Teng Kun afterward, they had even included him among their victims.
"The Primal Demon Temple doesn't even intend to spare the City Guard Army, let alone you and me."
Chen Jian's expression was icy. He suddenly felt he was in a tremendous mess.
He had never wanted to wade into these muddy waters, but now he could no longer extricate himself, because Shen Yanrong had already reported his name to her superiors through the formation.
If he simply walked away, the Ghost-Controlling Sect would surely punish him severely.
If he stayed, Tong Yi intended to kill him along with everyone else.
He had only meant to use the earth yin cold spring to temper his yin ghosts. Now that he found himself on Tong Yi's kill list, his anger was truly roused.
"Senior Cui, what do you think?"
He abruptly fixed his gaze on Cui Pinyuan.
"Me? What am I supposed to think?"
Cui Pinyuan felt as though he had swallowed a great mouthful of bile, leaving an unbearable bitterness in his mouth. He sighed. "I can't leave that earth yin cold spring. I can't go."
Chen Jian turned around and looked down toward the Council Hall. "If we don't leave, we die."
Cui Pinyuan lowered his head. "I'm only a rogue cultivator with no sect backing. Those people from the Primal Demon Temple... I truly can do nothing against them. Do you have any wise suggestions?"
Chen Jian had made up his mind. "When the demon spirits come swarming in, you and I will seize a chance to kill Tong Yi!"
Cui Pinyuan was horrified. "Y-you're serious?"
Chen Jian nodded lightly. Once he hardened his resolve, he had no more misgivings. "Of everyone from the Primal Demon Temple, only Tong Yi is truly difficult to handle."
"He may be at the perfected stage, but if a High-Rank Demon Spirit or Song Zejun and his wife keep him occupied, the two of us will have a chance to kill him together."
"Of course, we also have to make sure the demon spirit tide can be dealt with. Judging the timing is crucial. We mustn't act too hastily."
Cui Pinyuan trembled with fear, his lips quivering as he asked, "What about the others?"
Chen Jian said, "We kill them too."
Just as Tong Yi intended to wipe everyone out, he also meant to eliminate every future threat, leaving no one alive to leak the news.
"I, I..."
Cui Pinyuan did not know what to do.
"Come with me to find Zhao Changfeng. We need his help with this too." Chen Jian snorted and cursed, "If he hadn't exposed my identity as a member of the Ghost-Controlling Sect, none of this damned mess would have happened!"
Cui Pinyuan asked, "Why find him?"
"He can save those corrupted by demon spirits. Once the demon spirits start wreaking havoc everywhere, I won't allow him to run around rescuing people."
Chen Jian drew a deep breath and continued, "Besides, I promised not to kill him for six months. If he doesn't join us, what happens if he survives and starts talking?"
"That settles it. I'll persuade him to take part!"
"You and I will deal with Tong Yi and the other Primal Demon Temple disciples."
"Not only must Zhao Changfeng refrain from saving anyone, he'll be responsible for dealing with all the rogue cultivators and the City Guard Army!"
"While we're dealing with the Primal Demon Temple, some clever people may try to escape for fear of being silenced. Zhao Changfeng will handle them."
Giving Cui Pinyuan no choice at all, he explained the stakes and the broad outline of the plan, then promptly set off to find Zhao Changfeng.
Deep underground, where the earth yin cold spring lay.
In the dim cavern, pale, ghostly cold mist continually rose from the well, keeping the temperature extremely low.
Chen Jian's Banner hung above the well, while hundreds of yin ghosts clustered along its walls, greedily devouring the frigid yin energy rising from the earth's core.
Zhao Changfeng lay in a pool of his own blood.
Tiny beads of blood seeped through his flesh like sweat, covering his entire body in bloodstains.
Ruan Meizhen, voluptuous and alluring, sat beside him with his head resting on her thigh, using a handkerchief to wipe away the blood flowing from his face and mouth.
With only one hand, Ruan Meizhen was somewhat awkward when repositioning Zhao Changfeng's body.
Her beautiful eyes, which seemed capable of speaking, shone brightly in the dim cavern with an inscrutable gleam.
Having followed Zhao Changfeng here, she understood what had happened to him after one glance at the many spirit beasts stored in ice.
Demonic Cultivation Art backlash!
During his fierce battle with Xiang Lin, she had noticed something wrong with Zhao Changfeng's condition, faint signs that his cultivation was going berserk. Now her suspicions were confirmed.
"A spirit beast... get me a second-rank spirit beast..."
Zhao Changfeng spoke weakly.
"You still dare to suppress your injuries with spirit beasts? Do you have a death wish?!"
Ruan Meizhen's delicate brows drew tightly together.
Seeing that Zhao Changfeng had regained his senses, she took out the spirit jade they had obtained by putting on an act together and forced it into his palm, then used her lone hand to help him sit upright.
"A spirit beast's blood qi belongs to the beast, after all. It isn't native blood qi generated by your own body. It contains the beast's foreign power, which isn't fully compatible with us."
"After channeling a spirit beast's blood qi into your middle dantian, you still need to spend extra time refining it bit by bit."
"You skipped that step and recklessly fought with blood qi that wasn't yours. It would be strange if you didn't suffer a backlash!"
The reproach in Ruan Meizhen's voice was unmistakable.
Zhao Changfeng wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and smiled bitterly. "How was I supposed to know any of that?"
At that moment, the willpower in the cauldron was almost exhausted, and his sea of spiritual qi was on the verge of drying up. Only the blood qi harvested from spirit beasts remained in considerable quantities, running rampant inside him.
Just as Ruan Meizhen had said, the spirit beasts' blood qi was not his own. Without complete refinement, it was incompatible with his body.
Previously, he had abundant willpower and spiritual power available. The three energies had formed a wondrous balance, keeping that blood qi docile.
Now, killing Xiang Lin had almost drained his willpower and spiritual power. The foreign blood qi could no longer be suppressed and had suddenly surged forth to lash back at him.
He had hurried back here precisely to escape everyone's eyes and ears and resolve the backlash.
Demonic arts really are fast, but every step is fraught with danger. No wonder most people who cultivate them die from their backlash.
Zhao Changfeng sighed inwardly.
"Spirit jade contains no foreign power. Although it can't generate additional blood qi, it can replenish your spiritual power. Once you have your own spiritual power available, you can suppress the spirit beast blood qi rampaging inside you."
"Stop talking and refine it!"
After urging him on, Ruan Meizhen moved a little farther away from Zhao Changfeng.
"Oh," Zhao Changfeng replied, immediately drawing in the power within the spirit jade. He added casually, "There are quite a few venomous spirit beasts here too. I don't dare absorb them with my Demonic Cultivation Art. Help yourself, Senior Sister."
Ruan Meizhen had already noticed that the frozen spirit beasts included species she desperately coveted.
Hearing that, she said hesitantly, "Don't they belong to Cui Pinyuan?"
Zhao Changfeng gave a broad, carefree grin. "They belong to me now."
Ruan Meizhen was instantly tempted.
Biting the corner of her lower lip, she gazed at Zhao Changfeng's still-bloodstained face and suddenly asked softly, "Why?"
Zhao Changfeng froze. "Why what?"
Waves surged through Ruan Meizhen's heart. She shifted her gaze from Zhao Changfeng's face to a second-rank Eternal Night Scorpion and asked very quietly, "For a mere rogue cultivator, a crippled woman with one arm... was it worth it?"
She asked the same question Tong Yi had asked.
Zhao Changfeng smiled but did not answer.
Ruan Meizhen had been afraid to hear the answer anyway. Whatever it might be, she would find it difficult to accept. His silence instead brought her a little peace of mind.
A short while later.
Chen Jian and Cui Pinyuan arrived together. One look at the blood on Zhao Changfeng and the fact that he was now cultivating with spirit jade told them both what had happened.
Chen Jian wasted no words. He bluntly laid out Tong Yi's scheme, then asked, "Zhao Changfeng, what do you say?"
Ruan Meizhen blanched in horror.
She had never imagined that this Ghost-Controlling Sect disciple would harbor murderous intent toward Tong Yi and the others, determined to draw Zhao Changfeng into such a terrifying undertaking.
The Primal Demon Temple's accumulated prestige was formidable. It was the supreme Demon Dao Great Sect of the Lingyao Realm. Even after Xu Lang's vicious humiliation, she had only wanted to demand an explanation from him.
Killing Primal Demon Temple disciples, several of them at that, and during the arrival of the demon spirit tide.
Ruan Meizhen did not even dare imagine such a thing.
Without the slightest hesitation, a delighted smile blossomed on Zhao Changfeng's bloodstained face. "Let's do it!"
"Besides the rogue cultivators, there are the City Guard Army, Shen Yanrong, and Qin Hui." Chen Jian looked slightly surprised. Worried that Zhao Changfeng might have reservations, he explained, "Anyone who sets foot on the path of cultivation is no longer a mortal, even if they haven't yet joined a Demon Dao Great Sect."
He meant that everyone in the City Guard Army was a cultivator, so killing them would not seriously violate the iron law.
Zhao Changfeng considered for a moment, then said, "I can't deal with Shen Yanrong and Qin Hui. You two will have to find a way to handle them. Either let them die from demon spirit corruption or do it yourselves."
"As for everyone else, whether rogue cultivators or the City Guard Army, leave all the survivors to me."
"After this battle, if anyone in Tamu Town is still alive, it'll be the four of us."
Zhao Changfeng spoke with a calm expression.
Chen Jian nodded lightly in satisfaction. "I knew coming to you was the right choice."