In the blink of an eye, several months passed.
"Brother, may I ask your name? I am Sikong Han of Heavenly Thunder Peak!"
A voice rang out.
It was the cultivator who had accompanied Han Xuanji in his cultivation for the past several months. Han Xuanji hesitated for a moment before answering:
"I am Li Feiyu of Heaven-Reaching Peak."
"Heaven-Reaching Peak? No wonder you look unfamiliar. With your aptitude, why not come to my Heavenly Thunder Peak? My master is a late-stage Spirit Transformation lightning cultivator."
Sikong Han shook his head.
Han Xuanji smiled. "I've already joined Heaven-Reaching Peak. How could I casually switch sides? Thank you for the offer, senior brother."
"Forgive me for being so forward."
Sikong Han looked apologetic.
In his eyes, Han Xuanji was surely a man who valued loyalty and friendship. Trying to persuade someone like that to switch allegiances was undoubtedly going too far.
The two chatted for quite a while before Sikong Han left.
He had come here to cultivate before Han Xuanji and had spent ten years cultivating in Thunder Spirit Valley. He was leaving now because he had achieved his goal.
"Phew..."
Seeing the other man leave without growing suspicious, Han Xuanji breathed a sigh of relief.
Seven days later.
Han Xuanji also successfully completed a stage of his cultivation of the Limitless Thunder Method.
His physical body had grown much stronger, and he had gained a great deal.
To continue cultivating the Thunder Method, he would need to find a place with stronger lightning attributes. Thunder Spirit Valley was no longer of any use to him.
"Finally, I don't have to run back and forth to sign in anymore. And I'm one step closer to Spirit Transformation."
Han Xuanji left Thunder Spirit Valley, riding the wind on his flying sword in an excellent mood.
The sky was gradually turning dark red as dusk approached.
On the surface, Han Xuanji was only a Qi Refinement cultivator, so naturally, he did not fly very fast. It was just right for enjoying the scenery along the way.
Suddenly, Han Xuanji saw a figure approaching ahead and slowed down.
A disciple in blue robes blocked his path, his gaze sharp.
"Junior brother, hold on!"
The blue-robed disciple's voice reached Han Xuanji's ears out of thin air, perfectly clear.
Seeing this, Han Xuanji had no choice but to stop his sword and descend slowly to the ground.
Blue robes. An inner disciple?
Han Xuanji could sense that the man's cultivation was already close to the Nascent Soul realm, making him quite formidable. On the surface, however, he seemed to be showing only early-stage Golden Core strength.
Something's not right.
It was not simply because the man was hiding his cultivation.
The cultivation world was full of crafty old foxes, and concealing one's cultivation was an everyday occurrence.
Han Xuanji could sense that something was off about him. He was steeped in Evil Qi, hardly the kind of presence a Law Enforcement Hall disciple should have.
If anything... he seemed more like a Devil Cultivator.
The two met in the mountain forest. The blue-robed disciple wore a smile as he asked:
"Junior brother, I'm Zhao Xuan from the sect's Law Enforcement Hall. A demonic spy recently infiltrated our Divine Profound Sect. Have you seen anyone suspicious?"
Han Xuanji feigned puzzlement and said:
"Senior Brother Zhao, I haven't noticed anyone suspicious."
"Is that so?"
Clearly dissatisfied with the answer, Zhao Xuan pressed him:
"Do you know Lu Fan?"
Lu Fan?
Has that guy become so famous already?
Han Xuanji fell into thought. After Lu Fan broke through to the Foundation Establishment realm a few years ago, he had often taken on devil-extermination missions. Thanks to his exceptional courage and strength, he had become quite well known in the outer sect.
"This man rose to prominence all of a sudden and often goes in and out of the mountain forests alone. He's extremely suspicious. Junior brother, would you be willing to help me investigate him?"
Zhao Xuan spoke with a serious expression:
"If you can find evidence, you'll have rendered a great service."
He's pretty slick.
Han Xuanji could not help thinking of certain scammers in his previous life who impersonated law enforcement officers.
An ordinary Qi Refinement disciple faced with a Golden Core cultivator might very well have fallen for his lies.
"Lu Fan has reached Foundation Establishment now, and I'm not familiar with him. How could I be of any help to you, senior brother?"
Han Xuanji shook his head.
"Hmph. Then what use are you to me?"
Seeing Han Xuanji's innocent expression, Zhao Xuan was extremely displeased.
"You refuse to cooperate. I have reason to suspect you're a demonic cult spy!"
Zhao Xuan's tone was cold, completely unlike his earlier friendliness.
"Senior brother, something's not right with you."
Han Xuanji immediately backed away, frowning.
Seeing the wary look on Han Xuanji's face, Zhao Xuan grinned.
"Junior brother, since you won't cooperate with my investigation, in order to keep you from leaking information..."
"What are you going to do?"
Han Xuanji looked bewildered.
"Jie jie jie, take your life, of course!"
Zhao Xuan sneered and raised his hand in a grabbing motion. A powerful surge of spiritual power instantly formed a palm with immense suction, attempting to seize Han Xuanji from a distance.
"Tsk."
Han Xuanji stood utterly still. Seeing the man attack outright, he looked disappointed.
He had originally wanted to fool him a little longer, but he had not expected the fellow to be in such a hurry.
"How is that possible?"
At first, Zhao Xuan thought he had used too little strength, but no matter how hard he tried, he found that he could not affect Han Xuanji in the slightest.
"Just who are you..."
Before he could finish speaking.
A powerful surge of spiritual power suddenly erupted around Han Xuanji, instantly shattering Zhao Xuan's spiritual palm.
A crushing pressure swept over Zhao Xuan, leaving him unable to move instead.
In an instant, the positions of attacker and defender were reversed.
"You hid your cultivation... How despicable!"
Zhao Xuan's pupils dilated in disbelief. He had never expected this.
"Cut the nonsense. I'm asking you, who are you really?"
A sharp ray of Qi then appeared between Han Xuanji's fingers, which he held against the spot between Zhao Xuan's brows.
Sensing that his life was in grave danger, Zhao Xuan dared not lie. His voice trembled as he said:
"I... I'm from the Netherworld Cult. Senior, where are you from? Spare my life, and I'll surely repay you someday."
"You're not worthy of knowing where I'm from."
Han Xuanji questioned him sternly:
"I ask, you answer. Say one more useless word and you die... Tell me, why did you come to the Divine Profound Sect? Why are you looking for Lu Fan?"
"The Heavenly Devil Cult spread word that the Heavenly Night Devil Venerable's inheritance was in the Divine Profound Sect and called on demonic cultivators to besiege it. I came to try my luck... There's a bounty on Lu Fan because he killed a descendant of a great demonic cultivator.
"And demonic sect disciples are rewarded for every Divine Profound Sect disciple they kill."
Zhao Xuan spoke with astonishing speed, not daring to waste a single word.
"How did you sneak in without being discovered?"
Han Xuanji continued.
"A concealment treasure sold by the Heavenly Devil Cult."
"You've got some nerve. It doesn't seem like you're lying."
Han Xuanji nodded.
For a moment, he seemed unsure what else to ask.
In that case...
"Then..."
Zhao Xuan's face lit up, but before he could finish speaking,
Sword Qi shot from Han Xuanji's fingertip, swift as lightning and astonishingly powerful. It pierced straight through Zhao Xuan's forehead, and blood splashed across the mountain forest.
But a Golden Core cultivator's vitality was far beyond mortal imagination. His body still trembling, Zhao Xuan said unwillingly:
"You... broke... your word."
"Demonic cult scum deserve to be killed by anyone who finds them."
Han Xuanji spoke indifferently.
Then he used his powerful sword intent to utterly extinguish the last trace of Zhao Xuan's life.
He took the storage Law Artifact from Zhao Xuan's body.
Han Xuanji examined it.
A Golden Core cultivator was a formidable expert in his own right, and Zhao Xuan really did have considerable wealth.
There were plenty of Spirit Stones and pills, as well as many demonic Law Artifacts and several demonic Cultivation Methods.
Han Xuanji took out the Spirit Stones and medicinal ingredients and placed them in his own storage ring, erasing the traces of their previous owner. He shook his head and said:
"These Devil Cultivators really aren't afraid of death."
Although this was considered outer-sect territory, plenty of disciples came and went. Yet demonic experts had infiltrated even this place and dared to impersonate inner disciples of the Divine Profound Sect. These Devil Cultivators truly had the gall to defy the heavens.
Could the Devil Venerable's inheritance really exist?
It seemed even the sect was not absolutely safe anymore.
"What troubled times..."
Han Xuanji sighed softly.
All he wanted was to cultivate in peace.
But the Devil Cultivators' invasion and the Devil Venerable's inheritance were matters for the sect's big shots to worry about. They had little to do with a mere menial disciple like him.
Unless the demonic sects of the world were about to besiege the Divine Profound Sect and put it in danger of annihilation, even the most earth-shaking matters would not land on Han Xuanji's head.
"It's about time. I should head back."
Han Xuanji noticed that the commotion from the fight seemed to have alerted some people.
Someone was already approaching from afar.
It seemed the Divine Profound Sect did have countermeasures. They had arrived quite quickly.
After some thought, Han Xuanji did not destroy the corpse and erase the evidence. Instead, he deliberately left some demonic Law Artifacts there.
Once he had done all that, Han Xuanji concealed his presence and used the Heaven-Treading Step. His figure vanished into thin air and appeared ten li away in an instant. Flashing along as though constantly tearing through space, he soon returned to the Divine Profound Sect's Spirit Elegance Peak area.
The Myriad Phenomena Instruction at major accomplishment could not only conceal his cultivation, but also hide fluctuations in his spiritual power while he traveled, keeping others from noticing him.
Combined with the Heaven-Treading Step at major accomplishment, he could even walk right past someone without being noticed.
Before long.
Above the mountain forest.
Cultivators flew through the air on Law Artifacts. They were disciples of the sect's Devil Extermination Hall.
Even the weakest person who could join the Devil Extermination Hall had to be a Foundation Establishment cultivator with a particular specialty. Every one of them was a talented disciple nurtured by one of the various peaks.
Lin Dong stood on a flying sword, his sleeves fluttering in the wind. Compared to before, he looked a little more world-weary and a little less spirited.
Gritting his teeth at the thought of those Devil Cultivators, he said coldly:
"That bunch from the demonic path truly has some nerve. Do they really think they can come and go from our Divine Profound Sect as they please?"
"Our sect has experts as numerous as clouds. How could they think they could offend us?"
At that moment, a young disciple arrived on a flying sword and said:
"Senior Brother Lin, I don't know which expert took action, but a Devil Cultivator's corpse was found nearby. This soul banner also contains the souls of the disciples who went missing earlier."
"This Devil Cultivator was probably Evil Shadow, a well-known Golden Core Devil Cultivator from the Netherworld Cult. He was skilled in disguise techniques and had a ghostly Movement Method. He was always extremely cautious, but today he finally met his match."
Lin Dong could not help exclaiming:
"Even the faint trace of sword intent this expert left behind is immensely majestic, and his cultivation in the Sword Dao far surpasses mine. It may have been one of our sect's Sword Dao Venerables who took action."
He did not know who had done it, but someone with such attainments in the Sword Dao could never be an unknown.
And for some reason, the sword intent gave him a sense of familiarity.
"It's a shame he died to a single sword strike. That devil got off too easily."
"Exactly. He should have been locked in the Demon-Locking Pagoda, so they could experience the torment of being unable to live or die as well!"
Many disciples cursed the Devil Cultivators for their shameless treachery and cruel methods.
Many of them had grown up in the Divine Profound Sect and had deep feelings for it.
Lu Fan was among the crowd.
His feelings were complicated. He stood there in a daze and cursed inwardly:
You people from the Heavenly Devil Cult really are all scum.
Kid, I never said the Heavenly Devil Cult was a good place.
The voice rang out directly in Lu Fan's mind, deep, resonant, and magnetic, yet imbued with authority.
The strong preying on the weak has always been the unchanging rule of survival in the cultivation world. Do you really think everyone in the Divine Profound Sect is good?
Lu Fan recalled some of the things he had experienced and was immediately left speechless.
He had lived in the Divine Profound Sect since childhood and had deep affection for it, but he also knew that not everyone in the sect was a good person.
Just then, the mysterious voice sounded again:
"Don't think too much. Remember, your own strength is everything."
"You and I are grasshoppers tied to the same rope. With this old man's guidance, it won't be hard for you to reach Void Return or Body Integration when the time comes. Why concern yourself with the present? If you can achieve Immortal Ascension, just wipe out the Heavenly Devil Cult."
Lu Fan fell silent, took a deep breath, and said no more.
He only felt that his fate was fraught with hardship, as though he were walking a tightrope, where the slightest misstep could send him plunging into the abyss.
Who could have imagined that a legendary Devil Venerable existed deep within his soul?
If the Divine Profound Sect found out, he wouldn't be able to explain himself even with a hundred mouths.
But if he had to give up his chance to turn his fortunes around, he could never be willing.