Demonic Dao Committee

Mr. Hong remained expressionless, but above the entire Iron Gate Pass, a massive, helmeted head had emerged completely from the crack.

The helmet's visor covered most of his face, revealing only a pair of eye sockets burning with crimson flames. Those eyes looked down at the Iron Gate Pass below, and wherever his gaze fell, the rubble on the ground began to move without wind, and small pebbles jumped and rolled on the ground, as if even the earth itself felt uneasy under that gaze.

When this gaze fell upon Eighth Master Hui, billowing blue smoke rose from his skin, as if scorched by invisible flames; at the same time, individual gray hairs appeared and disappeared beneath his skin, and his square and powerful face seemed to have gained a more pointed, monkey-like shape, and his eyes turned a deep green, gleaming with a cold, eerie light in the dim light.

"Tsk, is it the Military Dao Dharma Eye or the recently developed Heavenly Eye? The Five Virtues Rotation is truly a great benefit; it makes cultivation so much easier." Eighth Master Hui's voice also became shrill, carrying a tone unique to rat spirits, as if they were chewing on something. "Of those eight high-ranking members back then, your cultivation level should be the highest now, right? Nascent Soul Late Stage, no, the Nascent Soul Great Perfection achieved through Secret Method; if it weren't for the restrictions of the Dragon-Slaying Department, you would have broken through to the Spirit Transformation stage sooner or later. But don't worry, this restriction will soon be lifted, sir. When that time comes, the Dragon-Slaying Department can then target the Spirit Transformation of the Heavenly Gate."

He paused for a moment, then changed the subject. "But Minister Hong, you haven't answered my question directly yet."

Those bright green eyes were fixed on Minister Hong.

"You must understand, the Dragon Calamity is a more troublesome thing than a demon in your heart. A demon in your heart merely amplifies your desires and removes your moral constraints; you can suppress a demon in your heart through self-cultivation. But the Dragon Calamity can manipulate your obsessions, causing you to become attached to them, leading to a state of delusion. This is what monks say. You can still hold onto your original mind now, but once you are tainted by the Dragon Calamity, the original mind you hold onto now will become your true weakness."

"I didn't expect that Eighth Master Hui would be such a sharp-tongued person," Minister Hong snorted coldly, his expression darkening further.

"I'm a rat spirit, and a thousand-year-old one at that, so it's normal for me to be a bit gossipy."

Eighth Master Hui continued to laugh:

"How about this? If you give up investigating me and the Ghost Lord behind me, I'll help you resurrect your deceased wife. Is this deal acceptable?"

Minister Hong's face twitched violently, as if an invisible needle had pierced a sensitive spot; for a moment, a slight fluctuation appeared on his weathered face.

"The hedgehog spirit of the Yu Dynasty, the weasel of the Chen Dynasty, and the fox spirit of the Liang Dynasty —these monsters can all be resurrected, let alone a living person from the modern era. Her body is still there, right? If there's a body, her three souls and seven spirits will most likely still remain. Back then, Heavenly Gate medicine wasn't advanced; what they couldn't do, we can do. So, Minister Hong, I'm not joking with you. I really want to complete this deal with you. I'll resurrect your wife, and then you can go your way, while I'll go mine. How about it?"

Minister Hong's apple bobbed up and down, as if he were swallowing something bitter; then he spoke, his voice a few decibels lower than before.

"There is a difference between monsters and humans."

"That's right, so I'll be honest. The woman who was resurrected probably needs to have demon blood, but Minister Hong is so deeply in love, he probably won't care about such a mere appearance; besides, demons can also transform and cultivate, so she can stay with you for a very long time."

"Minister Hong, we all know about the red lines of Heavenly Gate. We won't use this to blackmail you, after all, you also have leverage over us. We just hope that both sides can live in peace. It's not wrong for Ghost Lord to have some personal hobbies, is it? Tell me, which law of Heavenly Gate does resurrecting an ancient monster violate? If you can name one right now, I guarantee I'll obediently surrender and never resist."

Minister Hong's breathing suddenly became erratic, as if he had inhaled halfway and then suddenly stopped, as if something was blocking his chest. He then exhaled sharply, carrying a Turbid Qi that had been suppressed for too long.

Eighth Master Hui wanted to say something more, but suddenly his expression changed and he stopped; because the next moment, the Iron Gate Pass suddenly trembled, and the rift in the dark cloud torn open by the descending Dharma Aspect began to slowly close without any external intervention.

The sky that had just been forcibly torn open by the Dharma Aspect Image was like a wound that was healing, with the clouds at the edges churning and gathering towards the center, gradually filling the crack.

The light of day dimmed again, and the enormous Dharma Aspect gradually became transparent as the crack closed, eventually dissipating into the air like a projection whose signal had been cut off.

Minister Hong instantly turned expressionless.

"You failed, didn't you, Minister? There was a reason I used the Yin-Yang Passage to send you here. This Iron Gate Pass was also called the Dragon-Locking Pass in the Chen Dynasty. Back then, that Sinful Dragon from beyond the pass, the Wula People, was locked up right in front of this Iron Gate Pass. A hundred thousand nomadic troops couldn't move. Even though the Chen Dynasty Iron Gate Pass later abandoned the Iron Gate Pass, the changes in the landscape brought about by the Dragon-Locking Pass remained completely unchanged."

"With this Dragon-Locking Pass, your Dragon-Slaying Department's most proficient dragon-controlling techniques are completely useless."

"On the surface, you listened to this ancient demon's cheesy love stories, but in reality, you secretly Dharma Aspect magical form to break through the terrain. Unfortunately, Artificial Dharma Aspect are imperfect and lack the ability to reverse the order of things, so your covert operation ultimately failed."

"Your storytelling isn't very good," Minister Hong said casually.

"When people get old, they tend to become a bit old-fashioned and like to wallow in self-pity. Actually, I think I'm pretty good at what I say," said Eighth Master Hui with a smile.

"Since we can't use the Dragon-Slaying Department's signature skills, then we'll have to fight a real battle."

"The problem is that you're in the late Nascent Soul Late Stage, and so am I. If we fight, there won't be a result in a short time."

"You do have two subordinates who could break this deadlock, but one of them is in the Yin-Yang Passage. I took her away with the Soul-Binding Willow. Given how fast this Ghost Willow is growing, she won't be able to get out anytime soon, and she might even die under the willow's suppression."

"Then your only leverage is that kid who uses the Ten Thousand Swords Return to the Origin, but he seems to have encountered something even more troublesome than you. He seems to be trapped by the ghosts inside this Iron Gate Pass using an ancient military formation," Eighth Master Hui said, his gaze fixed on the darkness, clicking his tongue in amazement.

"Logically speaking, this shouldn't be the case. Iron Wall General hasn't reached the point of resurrection yet. Besides him, who else could do this? The ghost general who absorbed a wisp of the general's remnant soul shouldn't be able to do this, right?"

"But it happened anyway," Minister Hong said calmly.

"Yes, there are countless strange things in the world: resurrected prodigies, official major generals who slay dragons, and oh yes, a male demon saintess."

Eighth Master Hui's gaze fell on a place shrouded in Yin Qi, and he asked in return:

"Do you want to come out on your own, or should I get you out?"

The middle-aged woman who had previously claimed to be the Holy Maiden of the Heavenly Demon Sect emerged from the darkness with a smile.

Actually, I quite like your story.

The middle-aged man smiled politely and said, "Since you can so easily figure out Minister Hong's background, why don't you also figure out mine?"

Eighth Master Hui's demeanor was no longer so relaxed, because the pressure this middle-aged man exerted on him was no less than, no, in some ways even greater than, that of Minister Hong in front of him.

Nascent Soul Great Perfection!

Moreover, it's Nascent Soul Great Perfection achieved without needing any special methods!

"Your identity isn't hard to guess," a Ghost Vein figure lit up behind Eighth Master Hui, and at the same time, countless streams of Yin Qi poured into his body, causing his aura to rise steadily.

"Liu Wuniang is a snake spirit from the Yu Dynasty. Given her secret relationship with the Yu Dynasty family back then, if we want to find a foothold in the modern world, the Yu Household is the best choice."

"The Yu Household has always been very close to the demonic path, and you dare to call yourself a member of the demonic path within the Heavenly Gate. So, it's highly likely that you're one of the people from the Demonic Dao Reform Committee back then. With your cultivation level, you're guaranteed a position as a committee member. You're the ones who are in charge of those matters concerning the overseas demonic path now, aren't you?"

"That stupid woman, Bai Siniang, shouldn't have done it. To fill the company's hole, she actually had the idea of smuggling, and the target of the smuggling was even the overseas demonic sects. From the first day I knew about this, I knew that sooner or later, you would find out about it."

Eighth Master Hui shook his head helplessly.

"So actually, all my preliminary work was for you; on the contrary, Minister Hong was an unexpected disruptor for me."

"As for the one behind you—after the century-long Devil Tribulation, after the steam cultivation era and into the electrical cultivation era, also known as the Three Lords era, the last leader of the Heart Demon Sect secretly possessed the Constitutional Emperor of the Yu Household; this leader of the Heart Demon Sect also made enormous contributions during the transition between the Old Heavenly Gate, and after the establishment of the New Heavenly Gate, as the first Luo Lord, he led the work of demonic reform, and his female disciple became the second Winner Luo Lord, and was also the founder of the psychology of cultivation in the New Heavenly Gate."

"While I can't be sure if the third generation of Luo Lord is backing you, it's highly likely you're from Luo Lord Demonic Dao. What, are you trying to resurrect the five great demonic leaders from back then?"

The middle-aged man laughed:

"What use are five Nascent Soul in this day and age? What kind of joke is Eighth Master making?"

He then looked at Minister Hong and extended an invitation.

"Dragon-Slaying Department Minister Hong, after this Eighth Master Hui's introduction, you should know which side I'm on. You investigate the Dragon Vein, and I investigate the demonic path. How about we cooperate?"

Just as Minister Hong was about to speak, everything went black before his eyes, and a modern dragon Dragon Vein, also known as the "Ghost Subway," crashed into him with a deafening roar.

Surprisingly, it was this Eighth Master Hui who made the first move.