Demons invaded the Chu estate

Thirty li outside Nine Nether Town!

On a secluded, barren mountain!

Dozens of dark figures gathered together, led by a stunning woman dressed in white robes.

At that moment!

Their gazes were all fixed on a blood-red altar ahead. It was square, its edges engraved with countless flying birds and beasts, humans, ghosts, and demons, all bowing before a shadow.

The shadow's features and figure were indistinct, but they could vaguely make out what seemed to be a humanoid creature.

"Holy maiden, why is the altar still like this? Could our method be wrong?"

"Elder Ghost, this method came from the holy maiden's sudden enlightenment while contemplating the sacred relic. How could there be a mistake?"

"Then why is this happening...?"

Several figures at the front conversed in sinister tones.

Every one of them exuded an endless demonic presence. Clearly, none of them were human. Or rather, they once had been, but no longer were, having cultivated into evil demons.

Just then!

The white-robed woman furrowed her brows and murmured, "No, there was nothing wrong with the sacrificial method. But why hasn't the sacred ancestor awakened? Could we have found the wrong place?"

"That shouldn't be the case either. If the sacred ancestor weren't here, why would the altar glow...?"

Before the white-robed woman could figure it out:

Bang!

An explosive sound shook the barren mountain.

They saw it.

The altar, which had been glowing just a moment ago, suddenly went dark. Fine cracks appeared across it, leaving it as good as ruined.

"Holy shit, the altar actually destroyed itself!"

"How is that possible? Even if the sacred ancestor isn't here, the altar shouldn't have been damaged. Or was it used too many times and destroyed because it reached its limit?"

"Whatever the reason, the sacred ancestor hasn't awakened, and now the altar is destroyed. Our branch may well become the target of every arrow in the White Lotus Cult."

An old woman frowned deeply and said, "Holy maiden, we must seal off the news. No one can be allowed to spread word of this."

With that said.

The old woman pressed down with the staff in her hand!

Boom...

Endless black mist shrouded the surrounding demons!

Thud! Thud! Thud...

Amid the sounds of bodies falling, fewer than ten of the dozens of demons on the barren mountain remained standing. All were at late third rank or above.

As for the others:

Even the middle third grade demons lay on the ground, gradually dissolving into pools of blood. Yet none of the demons showed the slightest unusual reaction.

Just as the old woman had said, once word of the altar's destruction spread, their branch would surely suffer. They had to keep the secret sealed, and the best way to seal a secret was with dead men.

"Holy maiden, what do we do next?"

A ghost-faced demon asked.

The white-robed woman gazed at the shattered altar and said slowly, "Of the White Lotus's thirty-six branches, ours is the weakest. Now we've suffered considerable losses in the battle at Nine Nether Town. Our most pressing task is to recruit troops and buy horses."

The old woman tapped her staff and said, "That may be so, but our White Lotus Cult suffered badly this time. Many unaffiliated demons may not be willing to join us, and those we raise ourselves aren't much use."

"Then we'll establish our might!"

The white-robed woman said coldly, "We'll use the Demon Suppression Bureau to establish our might. Let the demons throughout Yun Province know that even after suffering a heavy blow, the White Lotus Cult is still a force no weaker than the Demon Suppression Bureau."

"Elder Ghost, tell me which Demon Suppression Guards obstructed our plan this time. Who had the greatest influence?"

"Chu He, a Demon Suppression chief banner officer."

"If not for him, we would certainly have wiped out all six battalions of the Demon Suppression Bureau this time. He also killed the demon envoy himself, but he's dead now too."

Elder Ghost spoke quickly.

Clearly.

He knew the situation inside Nine Nether Town very well.

"Good. Him, then!"

A trace of ruthlessness flashed across the white-robed woman's face as she said, "Slaughter his entire family and hang them on the city walls."

"I will let those Demon Suppression Guards know that by risking their lives for the imperial court, they can't even protect their own families."

"Yes, I'll make the arrangements right away." Elder Ghost nodded.

Then.

His figure vanished as though it had turned into a wisp of black smoke.

"Holy maiden, we should leave too." The old woman looked into the distance. "It won't take Zhou Cang long to find this place. Against him, I can't guarantee I'll get away unscathed."

"Let's go!"

The white-robed woman waved her hand, her expression gloomy.

The demons on the barren mountain disappeared, along with the mysterious altar, leaving only a dozen or so demonic corpses lying on the ground.

Green Mountain Commandery!

The Chu estate!

Chu Nan sat upright on his bed, wisps of mist shrouding his body as his presence rose rapidly.

Bang!

With a tremor!

His cultivation stabilized at peak first grade. But in the next moment, Vast Righteous Qi enveloped him.

"Elder Meng, your method really works. In less than a month, you've actually brought me from nothing to peak first grade. Could my brother use this method too, so he can break through faster?"

"No use!"

Elder Meng's voice rang out:

"You can break through this quickly because I'm helping you stabilize your circulation route, and because you have Vast Righteous Qi protecting your body."

"As for your brother, although he's highly talented, he has no Vast Righteous Qi protecting him. Using this method could easily cause him to suffer Qi deviation."

"All right!"

Chu Nan nodded unhappily.

Although he had already suspected as much, hearing that the method really couldn't be used still left him a little unwilling to accept it.

Knock! Knock!

A knock came at the door. Then the steward hurried inside carrying a tray and said with a smile:

"Second master, it's time to eat!"

As he spoke.

He set the tray on the dining table in front of Chu Nan, smiling as he gestured for Chu Nan to begin eating.

"All right!"

Chu Nan nodded, rose, and walked to the dining table.

He sniffed the food on the tray, then said to the steward, "Steward, this meal smells a little strange."

The steward said, "How strange?"

Chu Nan said, "Strangely pitiful. Dog shit stewed into soup!"

With that said.

Bang!

Chu Nan flung the yellow soup in the bowl at the steward. At the same time, he immediately drew a longsword from beneath the dining table and thrust it at the steward's heart.

Squelch!

The sound of flesh being pierced rang out.

"Ah...!"

The steward let out an inhuman scream.

There it was.

A fissure appeared at the top of his head and gradually spread until his entire head split into several tentacle-like monstrosities. Two eyeballs stood atop the tentacles, and rows of fine, sharp teeth emerged.

At the same time.

His entire body rapidly stretched to two meters tall. His hands transformed into sharp claws that gleamed coldly.

Pop.

With one claw, he pulled the longsword from his body.

He roared at Chu Nan, "Roar...!"

Endless saliva sprayed out, forcing Chu Nan, who was just as fastidious about cleanliness as Chu He, to hurriedly dodge.

A trace of confusion flashed through the monster's eyes as he snarled, "You... how did you see through my disguise?"

"You call that a disguise?"

A trace of disdain appeared on Chu Nan's face as he said, "Never mind that the steward of our Chu estate never smiles. With that dog-shit stench on you, I could smell something was wrong from three zhang away."