The raucous riots of the demons in the Demon Ruins, the usage of over a thousand upper house disciples as sacrificial offerings to awaken the spirit of Tian Myriad Mother had resulted in the countless deaths of the Qi Practitioners' disciples. What happened here had caused the Swords Gate to erupt in a furor.
The higher-ups of the Swords Gate were furious; this could be taken as the greatest and most extreme humiliation the Swords Gate had ever suffered since its inception. Not only were some scions of the top ten clans among the casaulties, but some were even descendants of the clan leaders' bloodlines!
One after another, the elders walked out of their majestic palace on the high mountain and entered the Demon Ruins in search of the demon Qi Practitioners and the traces of Tian Myriad Mother's spirit.
The incident caused a big uproar, but there was also news; that was a rumor that said there were traitors within the Swords Gate, and that someone was conspiring with the demons of Demon Ruins, planning something egregious.
Tens of days passed and the mayhem was once again returned to calm, the elders of Swords Gate sealed the Demon Ruins, forbidding anyone to enter.
But all these matters had nothing to do with Zhong Yue.
Elder Pu rushed to them on the first moment, he felt happy and sad at the same time, watching the disciples coming back to safety. He once had over hundreds of disciples, but now only dozens were left, it was a grievous blow to him.
Ting Lanyue, He Chengchuan and the others stepped forward, bowed and said, "Elder Pu, it is all because of Junior Martial Brother Zhong that we could escape from the Demon Ruins."
The few of them quickly summarized their experiences in the Demon Ruins.
Elder Pu was moved, he carefully observed Zhong Yue from head to toe and slowly nodded, "Zhong Yue of the Zhong Shan Clan? You are young and promising. You saved my disciples, and you are talented enough to grasp the teachings of my [Spring Thunderbolt Sword Skill]. I intend to adopt you as my disciple…"
Ting Lanyue repeatedly gestured to Zhong Yue with her eyes, urging him to accept the offer.
But Zhong Yue pondered for a moment before he shook his head and declined, "Thank you Elder Pu for the offer, but if Elder Pu takes me in as a disciple, I'm afraid I will only bring about unnecessary displeasure from the Tian Feng Clan. However, if Elder Pu is not against it or disgusted by it, I would often like to attend and listen to your teachings. As long as I am not among the ranks of your bona fide disciples, Elder Pu and the Tian Feng Clan would not fall out of grace with each other."
Initially, he was eager to be taken in under a Qi Practitioner, but now he no longer felt that yearning; he even wished that he would not have any master at all.
"The [Sui Sovereign Flame Order Palace Visualization Art] given to me by Xin Huo is too strong, my cultivation speed with it is too fast. It has only been a few days, and I have broken through the level of Soul Liberty and Soul Manipulation! If I learn under a Qi Practitioner, the technique I'm cultivating would definitely be exposed!"
Zhong Yue mumbled in his heart, "If the technique is exposed, the Swords Gate will surely conduct an investigation, Xin Huo will then be exposed and when Xin Huo gets agitated…"
"Alright."
Elder Pu smiled, "You saved my disciples. I will definitely repay you. You still lack a soul weapon?"
He gazed at Zhong Yue and saw the two mutated exotic demon arm-scythes while the corpse of the Tian elephant Qi Practitioner was not far behind, he said, "You have profound achievements in the aspect of strength. Your psyche can also be considered as among the best within your fellow disciples, and you can manipulate two soul weapons. I will use the darksteel and mystic gold as crafting materials to craft two darkgold soul weapons for you. Come look for me at the Knowledge Teaching Pavilion twenty days later, you will meet your soul weapons then!"
The other disciples' faces were filled with endless envy. It wasn't any hard task for Qi Practitioners like Elder Pu to craft soul weapons. At most, it would take two or three days before he could craft a soul weapon. As for the matter of Elder Pu instructing Zhong Yue to claim the soul weapons 20 days later, it was evident that the two soul weapons he would be crafting must be extraordinary!
The darksteel and mystic gold were among the most outstanding materials to craft a soul weapon, in addition to the buffing of Elder Pu, the two soul weapons must be rare within the upper house, the core members of the top clans might not even have such exquisite treasures!
Zhong Yue was overjoyed, and he quickly thanked the elder. He smiled and said to Ting Lanyue, "Senior martial sister, since Elder Pu will be crafting the soul weapons for me from the mystic gold of this demon Qi Practitioner, then the rest of the mystic gold left behind shall be distributed to the other martial siblings."
Ting Lanyue quickly said, "How can this be? The demon Qi Practitioner was dragged back by you. You should be the one to take the bulk. No matter what, you must be given a portion of it. To be honest, if the rest of the mystic gold were to be sold through the Da Ting clan, every one of us could receive at least 800 Feather Spirit Pellets!"
Zhong Yue was shocked, 800 Feather Spirit Pellets!
The Swords Gate assigned only ten Feather Spirit Pellets to the upper house disciples, given the rate, to acquire 800 Feather Spirit Pellets would need at least six to seven years!
Ting Lanyue smiled and said, "Junior martial brother seems enthusiastic. I will sell off all of the mystic gold and then come find you again."
The disciples dispersed, Zhong Yue walked back to this courtyard. He was talking to Xin Huo in his psyche ocean, "Xin Huo, it would have been a hundred thousand years since the establishment of Swords Gate, how can the Tian Myriad Mother live until now?"
"You wouldn't know, the gods are different from you lot. Whether if it's the humans or the demons, they only have souls but not spirits. Your soul and spirit are two different things. Only a Qi Practitioner can combine and fuse them into one."
Xin Huo explained, "For example, the little brat you called Elder Pu just now is a Qi Practitioner of the state [Spirit-Soul As One], the mountain god is his atman, he can refine his atman into the totem and let his clan members worship it. If in the future, the little brat dies, his soul and spirit are inextricably intertwined, as long as the spirit survives, the soul remains! While through the worship, it will subsist his spirit and allow it to continue existing in this world. This way, his soul will not dissipate, thereby tethering his soul to life. At that point, he will be the god, the mountain god! If his followers worship him with greater fervor, then he might be able to condense a body for his atman, essentially resurrecting himself from the dead!"
Zhong Yue then understood it all, the ancestor of the demons was the Tian Myriad Mother, a demon god, although she was dead, the martial ancestors of Swords Gate didn't eradicate her spirit, and it went to find refuge in the shadows. If the demons of the Demon Ruins continued to worship her, her soul might have also survived.
Spirit can still be used like this? That's why the Qi Practitioners fused the spirit and the soul together… to protect their soul from disintegrating after their death.
Zhong Yue had gained a more profound understanding of the spirit, and he said, "I wonder if Fang Jiange had slain the Tian Myriad Mother spirit…"
"Nope!"
Xin Huo forthrightly answered his doubt, "Just not long after all of you left the Demon Ruins. I sensed a devilish aura departing. It should be the spirit of the Tian Myriad Mother."
Zhong Yue was shocked. He shouted out involuntarily, "Tian Myriad Mother left the Demon Ruins? Didn't the elders enter the Demon Ruins to track her down, how could she leave so easily?"
"Naturally, someone among the elders brought her out of Demon Ruins."
Xin Huo insouciantly said, "There aren't any demons worshipping her outside of the Demon Ruins, the Tian Myriad Mother will manage to live long before she finally perishes; unless she finds herself a body to possess and contain her atman. Well, my guess is, the one that brought her away would have already found her a suitable vessel by now. Now, the Tian Myriad Mother lurks within the Swords Gate. No one would know who she is."
"Tian Myriad Mother as one of the Swords Gate?"
Zhong Yue suppressed his alarm in his mind, and he mumbled, "This is bad…Xin Huo, can you sense which body she is possessing?"
"She is in the body of the others; the body hinders my senses."
Xin Huo laughed and said, "However, I would be able to sense her if we meet face to face, but now I can't. Things are getting interesting. The traitor of Swords Gate wasted so much effort to free her from Swords Gate. They must surely be up to something. Heihei, this is getting interesting…"
While at this point, in a Ganoderma-like palace in the middle of the mountainside, a young lady of 13-14 years of age measured her body curiously, looking left and right. Suddenly, she laughed out banteringly, "I never expected that I would hide in the body of livestock, Kekeke, how ironic! Don't you think?"
A black human silhouette stood in a dark corner, the black human silhouette heard her words and smiled, "Tian Myriad Mother, the humans are the livestock raised by the celestial races, but you were oppressed and sealed by them from time immemorial, this is the true irony. If it weren't for me lighting a path for your descendants to help them become demon Qi Practitioners, it will still be a long way before you would be able to get out."
Tian Myriad Mother also chuckled, "I had never thought of it either, a demon god such as myself being saved by one of the celestial race … a race that is one of our greatest nemeses! You planned all these machinations and wasted all that effort to save me, what exactly is your endgame?"
The voice of the black human silhouette came from the dark, "I want the thing that is under the Swords Gate."
Tian Myriad Mother's face changed drastically. Her pretty face became scrunched in wariness, "The thing underground? Who are you, how did you know…"
"I am of the celestial race, of course I am privy to some secrets."
"You know the secrets. Then you should be cognizant of the consequences it will bring if the thing underground is exposed to the world."
"Of course I know."
The black human silhouette casually answered, "I can control that thing. Tian Myriad Mother, I saved you only because you can help, but even without your help, the Swords Gate will be mine anyhow, the thing underground will also be mine!"
Tian Myriad Mother snorted coldly, after a few moments she asked, "I have yet to regain my powers fully, how can I help?"
"I can wait until your strength comes back. Tian Myriad Mother, your body belongs to an outer disciple, you will continue to cultivate in the outer hall and proceed to become a Qi Practitioner. Wait until you regain your powers, I will have jobs for you to do! You are the spirit of a demon god, don't disappoint me."
Tian Myriad Mother gave another cold snort before she left the palace and headed toward the upper house.
In the courtyard, Zhong Yue didn't dare to cultivate the [Sui Sovereign Flame Order Palace Visualization Art] without any Feather Spirit Pellets, these few days he had spent his time practicing on the [Jiao Dragon Winding Body Totem Art] and [Spring Thunderbolt Sword Skill].
There is more to discover in the [Jiao Dragon Winding Body Totem Art] and [Spring Thunderbolt Sword Skill]!
Every time he cultivated the two techniques, he would gain different perceptions on them. The [Spring Thunderbolt Sword Skill] was an offensive combat skill while the [Jiao Dragon Winding Body Totem Art] was a physique-refining art. Zhong Yue now combined the two techniques. As he visualized the Jiao Dragon with the thunder totems and practiced the two techniques concurrently, he discovered more and more astonishing uses of the technique as he became lost in the pleasure of cultivation.
He noticed that by combining the two techniques together, his physique was being tempered at a higher rate. With the thunder totem-formed Jiao Dragon winding on his body, the thunder forces struck into his body and strengthened it. A single thought and his body strength could be unleashed as swiftly as a thunderbolt!
This revamped physique-refining technique was better than the ordinary Jiao Dragon Winding Body Totem Art, strengthening the body at a faster rate than before!
Zilaa!
Rays of lightning flashed on his body. The thunderous Jiao Dragon flowed around him, filling his body with the wild strength of electricity. The energy purified his skin, muscles, bones and his blood. The impurities were purged from his body, and the electric currents slowly seeped into his body before burying themselves within!
Six to seven days were spent in cultivation, Zhong Yue felt like he had reached a bottleneck of his new physique-refining technique, the enhancement on his body was beginning to diminish. He thought to himself, It must be that I have not grasped the true form of [Jiao Dragon Winding Body Totem Art], that's why I can't improve in it anymore…there are still over ten days before the appointment date with Elder Pu, why don't I look for Shui Qingyan. After all, I did promise her to look for her in the female house. I wonder if she had been to the Demon Ruins...
Zhong Yue walked out of the courtyard and went straight to the female house. A few upper house male disciples were sneaking around the perimeter of the female house, peeking into the female house from afar.
Zhong Yue was chagrined, he shook his head and walked straight into the female house.
"Pu! Someone just entered the female house!"
The eyes of the sneaky male disciples almost dropped out in shock, "Pervert at its best! This guy has truly reached the apex. He actually dares to enter the female house!"
"He will be beaten to death by the girls, right?"
There stood a monument in front of the female house gate, the words written on it were, "Whichever male disciple dares to enter the female house will be sentenced to death without mercy!"