The True... Devil Sect!

"The Limitless Devil Sect really isn't quite what I imagined." Looking around the elegant, peaceful courtyard, Qi Yun couldn't help murmuring to himself.

The bloody selections of the past two years and the brutality of the final trial, where lives could be lost at any moment, had all proclaimed the devil sect's cold ruthlessness.

Yet after he actually entered its gates, everything he saw and heard held an eerie peace and harmony, utterly unlike the scene he had imagined, with devilish flames blotting out the sky and the strong devouring the weak.

The contrast left him inexplicably uneasy.

"Maybe I'm overthinking it. A devil sect isn't a bunch of perverts. Surely they can't keep tormenting us to death like before?"

After offering himself a few words of reassurance, Qi Yun took the Great Void Jade Tally to the screen wall beside the courtyard entrance. His gaze roamed over the rough blue-brick surface for a moment before he found an inconspicuous recess on the right and fitted the jade token into it.

Hum-

The jade token trembled slightly. Wisps of brilliant blue light seeped out of it like living things, rapidly spreading and suffusing the blue-brick wall.

In the blink of an eye, the entire ordinary screen wall had transformed into a smooth, lustrous jade wall.

Then densely packed groups of text surfaced and scrolled across the jade wall like flowing water, forming a dizzying array of sect mission listings.

[New Pill · Taste Testing]

[Mission description: Seeking fellow disciples with sensitive taste buds and robust physiques to test newly developed pills.]

[Reward: Thirty Sacred Yuan, plus one complimentary portion of "Intestine-Cleansing and Poison-Warding Powder."]

[Note: Survival guaranteed.]

[Cursed Law Artifacts · Negative Emotion Recycling]

[Mission description: The Artifact Refining Hall has a large backlog of Law Artifacts tainted with Sha. Disciples are needed to wear designated Law Artifacts against their bodies for three days, absorbing the Sha Qi they release.]

[Reward: Two hundred Sacred Yuan.]

[Netherworld Passage · Pioneer Sightseer]

[Mission description: A stable, small-scale netherworld rift has been discovered. Exceptionally courageous individuals are invited to serve as "pioneer sightseers," wearing the sect's specially made "Soul-Locking Talisman" to explore within for two hours. Only the following need to be recorded: Yin Qi concentration gradients and types of wandering souls. Chart new territory, and your name may be recorded in the sect's history.]

[Reward: Two thousand five hundred Sacred Yuan.]

[Ten Thousand Souls Banner · Chief Soul Experience Tester]

[Mission description: A newly refined Ten Thousand Souls Banner urgently requires a "chief soul experience tester" to reside in its core, help stabilize new souls, and untangle resentful Qi. The experience lasts only seven days. A private, quiet soul chamber is provided inside the banner, where you will enjoy the worship of ten thousand souls. Release upon completion.

[Reward: Seven thousand Sacred Yuan.]

"Pah!"

Unable to stop himself from spitting hard, Qi Yun rolled his eyes several times in succession.

His earlier notion that "the devil sect isn't so bad" was instantly crushed to dust!

These aren't sect missions at all. They're simply treating us newly admitted disciples as cheap consumables.

Of the sect missions appearing on the screen wall, nine out of ten concealed traps, with more pits lurking inside the pits.

The remaining one openly treated you as a test subject.

"Luckily, I'm not completely penniless."

Taking out the Storage Bag he had obtained from Tang Shun, Qi Yun removed its contents one by one and laid them out before him.

A bottle of precious pills with unknown effects, two technique-transmitting jade talismans, and a silver bracelet of unknown purpose.

Sweeping his gaze over these items, Qi Yun wanted to rule out the silver bracelet first. Its origins and effects were unknown, and Tang Shun's frantic, crazed search for the Storage Bag had most likely been for its sake.

As for the bottle of precious pills, although it looked valuable, he had no idea what it did.

That left only these two technique-transmitting jade talismans...

"[Red Night Sword Qi] is off-limits. It's too distinctive. One wrong move could bring fire down on my own head.

"Something as commonplace as [Basic Sword Qi] shouldn't carry such a great risk."

Having made up his mind, Qi Yun went to the jade wall and reached out to swipe across it.

Apart from accepting sect missions, this jade wall also served as a marketplace, called the [Wuji Treasure Market].

It was just the thing for selling the technique-transmitting jade talisman he had.

Soon, Qi Yun found several listings for [Basic Sword Qi], with prices varying considerably from low to high.

The cheapest sold for only ten Sacred Yuan, while the most expensive had an asking price of one hundred and ten.

The difference was more than tenfold.

"The difference should lie in how many key intricacies they explain. After all, the more detailed those key intricacies are, the more they help with cultivating Law Techniques.

"The contents of mine are about as thorough as they could possibly be. It's the finest of the finest.

"It should sell for around a hundred..."

Qi Yun had only just listed [Basic Sword Instruction] on the [Wuji Treasure Market] when a knock came from the side.

Surprised, he opened the courtyard gate.

A young Daoist stood outside, sporting heavy dark circles beneath his eyes. His complexion had the ashen pallor of someone chronically deprived of sleep.

Upon seeing Qi Yun, he wasted no words and handed over a gray cloth bag densely embroidered with tiny talismans. His voice was as dry and rough as scraping sandpaper:

"Collection. Put it in here.

"The sect handles valuation and sale.

"Takes... a ten-percent service fee."

Qi Yun nodded and placed the [Basic Sword Qi] jade talisman into the bag. He was just about to speak again when the Daoist turned and hurried away without wasting a moment.

Recalling the heavily oppressive air about that Daoist, Qi Yun's gaze grew thoughtful.

There was no exploitation, no bullying, and no bloody fighting to the death.

An assessment held just once a year was enough to force every member of the outer residence to cultivate and earn Sacred Yuan as though their lives depended on it.

If you dared slow down, others would overtake you.

And in that process, many would naturally be forced-or even unwittingly led-to abandon their bottom lines, ultimately becoming a little kindling to feed the colossal behemoth that was the Limitless Devil Sect.

"Clever. They use people's desire to rise to leave you with no control over yourself, making you sink into the mire of your own accord."

For the first time, Qi Yun felt the terrifying nature of this devil sect with such clarity.

"This is what a devil truly is..."

He closed his eyes, his voice low and carrying a trace of heaviness.

"A true great devil that devours people without even spitting out their bones!"

Two days later.

Sitting cross-legged on a meditation cushion in the quiet chamber, Qi Yun was fully focused on circulating the True Qi in his body, slowly guiding it along his meridians to temper and hone it.

Suddenly, the Great Void Jade Token hanging at his waist vibrated faintly, interrupting his meditation.

He opened his eyes and took out the jade token. A clear line of small, brilliant blue characters glimmered on its smooth surface.

[Sacred Yuan credited: One hundred and five]

It sold that quickly? It seems these detailed versions explaining the key intricacies really are in demand compared with ordinary versions of Law Techniques.

Now that he had money, Qi Yun immediately went to the screen wall, inserted the Great Void Jade Token, and opened the [Wuji Treasure Market].

"This is it!"

Having browsed the [Wuji Treasure Market] dozens of times over the past two days, Qi Yun had long since decided how to spend his Sacred Yuan once it arrived.

With a swipe of his fingertip, the hundred-odd Sacred Yuan he had only just received, before he had even warmed it in his hands, instantly dwindled to five!

Less than two minutes later.

Knock, knock, knock-

The knocking arrived right on cue.

Qi Yun opened the courtyard gate. Outside stood another Daoist with a sallow complexion and swollen bags under his eyes, looking almost wrung dry. He held a talisman-wrapped bundle.

"Hello..."

"Thank you. Goodbye."

Qi Yun took the bundle without wasting words either. He accepted the goods, thanked him, and shut the gate, all in one fluid motion!

Carrying the bundle back into the courtyard, Qi Yun took a deep breath and untied it before him.

The next second!

A familiar stirring welled up from the bottom of his heart.