The Devil Race and the Devil Cult

[Mission: Send disciples to hunt down and kill members of the Devil Race and Devil Sect cultists.]

[Mission rewards: For each Devil Sect cultist a disciple kills, reward 10 experience points; for each member of the Devil Race killed, reward 100 experience points and 1 random Saint Rank gift pack.]

[Random Saint Rank gift pack]: Can randomly yield Saint Rank treasures of heaven and earth, Saint Rank cultivation techniques, Saint Rank martial techniques, Saint Rank items, and more. If you can imagine it, this pack can yield it...

Lu Changzhi raised an eyebrow.

He suddenly thought of Qin Li's earlier injuries.

He then tried to recall what he knew about the Devil Race.

Perhaps because he had taken Qin Li as his disciple, he actually did recall a few things.

Simply put, the Devil Race was a race distinct from humans. Their cultivation differed greatly from that of humans: instead of using the spiritual power of heaven and earth as a cultivation resource, they used all manner of evil things.

And to the Devil Race, humans themselves were an excellent cultivation resource.

As such, conflict had always existed between the Devil Race and the human race.

However, humans and the Devil Race had no passage between them, and the two sides rarely came into contact on any great scale.

Even when special circumstances occasionally brought members of the Devil Race into human lands, it usually wasn't too serious.

That was also how Devil Sect cultists came to be.

Only a limited number of devils could come over, and if they wanted to expand their influence, they needed a certain number of subordinates to risk their lives for them.

Devil Sect cultists were just that. They were not members of the Devil Race; they had originally been human.

Yet these people had often willingly fallen from grace, and under the influence of Devil Qi, had placed their lives in the hands of the Devil Race.

Much of the Devil Race's everyday business was handled by them.

After thinking for a moment, Lu Changzhi frowned.

What had happened in that city was most likely the work of those Devil Sect cultists.

Now that the system had issued a mission, he did need to pay attention to it.

Still, the matter was probably no small one.

He ought to have the sect intervene and investigate.

Once he was sure it was safe, he could send his disciples over and catch them all in one net.

That afternoon, the sect's elders returned one after another.

At the same time, there was another piece of news.

The experts from the Cloud Heaven Holy Land had all departed.

They had most likely already obtained the junior with Saint-Rank Aptitude.

Mu Fan returned to the peak as well.

Not long afterward, Lu Changzhi sought out Cang Wenyu.

"Changzhi, you've come at just the right time."

"I was just about to go find you."

Cang Wenyu looked at Lu Changzhi with a smile and said:

"I heard you slipped back quietly on your own. Did you gain anything?"

Lu Changzhi smiled.

"What do you think, Sect Master?"

Cang Wenyu looked at Lu Changzhi for a moment, then said with a smile:

"You're no ordinary brat. I heard from the elders that you ran so fast they couldn't catch up with you."

"I'd say there's at least an eighty percent chance."

Lu Changzhi smiled.

"About that."

He trusted Cang Wenyu quite a bit.

In his memories, Cang Wenyu had been looking after him all these years.

Cang Wenyu's expression jolted, and he was about to speak when Lu Changzhi said:

"I came about another important matter."

"What is it?" Cang Wenyu asked in surprise.

Lu Changzhi described what had happened in the city, then said:

"I think we should investigate. They're very likely plotting something in secret."

Cang Wenyu's expression turned serious as well.

"Those evil cultivators actually did something like slaughtering an entire city.

"The sect will send some elders to get to the bottom of this."

On the third day, Gu Chen returned to Hidden Origin Peak.

With that, the people of Hidden Origin Peak were all back.

Lu Changzhi was waiting for the results of the sect's investigation.

Although the rewards were good, safety still had to come first.

Before long, Lu Changzhi ran into Gu Chen.

"The disciples you take in are getting stronger and stronger, Master."

Upon seeing Lu Changzhi, Gu Chen voiced his feelings.

After getting acquainted with Qin Li, Gu Chen had tried sparring with his new junior sister.

The result could hardly be called an even match.

At the very least, one of them had been assured of victory.

It was just that the one assured of victory was Qin Li.

She was ridiculously strong.

That put him under a great deal of pressure.

He clearly had a system of his own, so how was he still faring so miserably on Hidden Origin Peak?

Looking up, he couldn't beat Xiao Ming; looking down, he couldn't defeat his new junior sister.

Luo Ling'er was the only one he might be able to beat, but she was the one who cooked their meals.

Whether out of feeling or reason, he couldn't bring himself to attack her.

The path of cultivation was truly, ridiculously difficult.

"Qin Li's circumstances are special. It's nothing to worry about if you can't beat her," Lu Changzhi said, comforting him.

"After a while, I'll give you some more resources to help you improve your strength."

Hearing this, fighting spirit ignited once more in Gu Chen's eyes.

"Thank you, Master."

After thanking him, Gu Chen suddenly thought of something.

He glanced at Mu Fan's room and asked curiously:

"Master, when you took Junior Brother Mu out before, did something happen to spur him on?"

"These past two days, I've seen him running over to the other peaks a lot, clanging away at who knows what."

"Could he be planning to cultivate seriously?"

Lu Changzhi smiled at that.

"He ran into Qin Li when she was injured."

"I hadn't taken her as my disciple yet."

"Then he was tied up and hung in midair, calling for me to save him."

Gu Chen froze. "Junior Brother Mu didn't run?"

"It seems he didn't."

Gu Chen suddenly fell silent for a moment. "Master, did you just say Junior Sister Qin was injured at the time?"

Lu Changzhi nodded.

The corner of Gu Chen's mouth twitched, and he began to question his life.

"So Junior Sister Qin was holding back when she sparred with me?"

Another two days passed.

On this day, the urgent sound of a bell suddenly rang out in the Five Symbols Sect.

The bell rang five times in succession, repeated three times, its sound carrying throughout the Five Symbols Sect.

It meant:

Something major had happened. All peak masters and core elders were to proceed to a meeting immediately.