'I don't think they are expecting any trouble, the security here is worse than in some mid-sized sects.'
After spending some time in the inner city the time for the assembly of demons was upon him. While the others that came here were forced to attend it he decided to do something else. Instead of going himself, he had transformed one of the cultists into the older man he was impersonating.
The disguise was intricate and probably no one would be able to discover the foul play that was taking place. No one actually was that close to the Phantom Demon, the cultist that was acting as him already knew all of the mannerisms his Patriarch had. This person could probably do a better job impersonating the cult leader than Zhang Dong could.
To augment the core formation cultist's power he lent him a few treasures that would allow him to exude a nascent soul-like aura. Not many people would be able to tell that it was coming from the treasures instead of his own nascent soul. Before anyone would, he was planning to already be done with his mission.
"Into the closet, you go…"
After shoving one of the guards into a cramped space and taking his clothes, he changed into a new disguise. This already felt better as he didn't need to walk awkwardly as a decrepit old man with a bad back. It was one of the guards patrolling this large sect compound and someone that was allowed to get close to his next destination, the treasure powering the grand array.
From the outside, this looked like the usual sect palace filled with various golden patterns. He wasn't sure why all of these people liked to flaunt their wealth and decorate everything like this. Even the cultivators of the demonic variety liked to put dragons and flying fish on the walls just with more black here and there.
The layout was very similar to all the other fortresses to the point of making them look like they were being copy pasted. Perhaps there were just a few working variants that were considered the best and everyone just made a slight variation to it. Thanks to this he knew that what he was looking for was in the lower areas of this compound.
With the help of his system map, he could tell that this place had a spacious underground. He could feel a faint tint of corrupted Qi coming from below that was being hidden from people with a lesser spiritual sense. But he could tell that if he manages to go through one of those closed gates that he would arrive closer to his destination.
"Greetings, Senior."
"Open up the gate."
Before him, there were two guards but luckily for him, he had turned into someone that was in a higher position. Thanks to this they could only bow with their heads while opening. Even if they found something odd with this situation they couldn't really call him out on it. The demonic cultivators were really overbearing to the point of killing people below them for the faintest transgression. They were gambling with their lives if they asked him about his reason for being here which they were unwilling to do.
This large gate was already in a more secluded location that was kept hidden away from the nascent soul demons. It had a strange demonic dragon that looked like some kind of phantom than the usual serpent type he was used to seeing. There were signs of rebuilding so perhaps this was something that was decided on by their new leader.
The doors slammed open without creaking too much as everything looked to be brand new. On the inside, he was greeted by more people that were wearing similar robes. This was in reality one of the entrances to the core sect region. There were various disciples wandering around with their chests puffed out as if they owned the place.
Yet it wasn't all pleasant, after a few steps he heard some shouting. The disciples weren't the only ones here, there were also various servants that were tending to their needs. Just as he was passing by one of them was getting kicked around by an angry young master. There didn't seem to be a good reason for this and a group of two other young lordlings was grinning not far from there while their servants remained quiet.
'Is this some kind of way they go about their stress levels?'
At first, he thought the young man delivering the beating was angry but soon his furrowed brows shot up and were accompanied by a grin. He was clearly enjoying himself and the person that he was hitting was even of a higher cultivation level than he was. Most of the time the servant was also a bodyguard.
"Learn your place! How dare you embarrass me and lose! What good of a dog are you if you can't even perform?"
"Please y-young master, show mercy."
While he didn't like what was happening here this was not his fight. The commotion was actually a blessing in disguise as it brought everyone's attention to the beaten servant. With the help of this young master he went unnoticed and was able to delve deeper into this underground inner sect.
There was a whole new biome down here. The space was vast and out in the distance, there was something like a miniature sun. This place wasn't as extravagant as the dimensional regalia but it could still house tens of thousands of people without there being worry of running out of space.
'So they are living lavishly here while the rest of the people on the island struggle?'
This place was comparable to larger sects. There were lush forests and even herb gardens along with small lakes with high-quality water. Everything that a disciple could need to advance was here. The only difference was the type of Qi that filled out this area. It was somewhat affecting the plants giving some of them monstrous traits.
'The Evil Qi is stronger here but the source should be there…'
Just like the palace above, there was another castle right here. This one was occupied by some rather unsavory individuals that were radiating massive amounts of demonic Qi. It was actually surprising, he did not expect that many experts to be still here after they were supposedly cleansed by Wang Long and his forces.
'Perhaps they aren't here by their own volition? There is something peculiar about their souls but I won't know for sure until I get closer…'
While still using his hiding technique he tried to identify the robes of the people here. The one he grabbed from the guard would probably do him no good here. He needed to get his hands on one that would allow him to get into the innermost secret chambers of this Chaos Sect.
This wouldn't be such an easy endeavor as realistically speaking only a nascent soul master would be able to get in. While Zhang Dong was strong it would still be risky to take a person like them out. He was lucky enough when the Phantom Demon decided to separate from his ship but here there were more eyes everywhere. A spike in spiritual energy or him putting up a shield to hide it could be noticed.
'There isn't much time left, I only have half a day until Wang Long comes here, it would be better to get out before that happens…'
There was of course another way that didn't require killing anyone. Either he could just sneak in while wearing his current attire and hope for the best or take the form of someone that was busy. There were probably many senior disciples and elders that were in secluded cultivation that could be used for this tactic. The problem was figuring out which one of them would be able to get the closest to his destination without causing the ire of others.
While this area was the inner sect the ones he needed to go to was for the core members. For that, he would either need to take on the form of one of the masters or disciples. Yet there was also a third option. He remembered the scene that occurred when he first appeared here, a lot of servants were living together with their masters, and it would be possible to sneak in if he took on the form of one of them.
'That's probably the safest option considering their power…'
It would be much easier to knock out a servant than a core disciple or an elder. They would probably be situated in areas that weren't monitored by anyone as their worth wasn't all that great. This took him to a large structure that looked like an inn.
'A lot of these people are under the effect of curses that aren't active, they must be the servants.'
Of course, demonic cultivators wouldn't trust anyone. Thus their servants would be forced to agree to a slave contract on their souls or die. From what he heard this could even happen without them agreeing when they were weak and young. Such a servant would slowly be groomed into bodyguards that would have to forfeit their life for their owners if they ordered them to.
'Let's see, is there anyone or should I just try something else."
Zhang Dong listened in on the various conversations that the people here were having. With his enhanced hearing and cultivation he could somewhat separate his attention between the various groups. What he was looking for is someone that was on some kind of errand and after a moment he found him.
"Here, don't forget to be quick, you know that the young master doesn't like to be kept waiting!"
"I know…"
There was a servant doing delivery of some sorts. He was handed a spatial ring along with some kind of talisman. This he had seen being carried by other people around this sect. It was probably an identification table that would allow him to pass through some of the checkpoints.
'I guess this guy is as good as any…'
The plan was simple. First, he waited for the man that looked to be in his mid-thirties to leave the servant quarters. When he was walking through one of the more secluded locations he made his move. Within a second his target was knocked out and stripped of his clothes. To keep his body hidden his dimensional regalia replica was used. If no one was able to find the original servant then his disguise would be almost perfect.
'Hm… demonic qi reinforcement pills and some shitty techniques, this young muster can't be much higher than a foundation establishment junior…'
With everything in place he left the hidden alley and headed for the large core sect building in the distance. With some luck, he would be able to just get in and quickly take care of his task. In reality, he wasn't even planning to interact with the servant. Even if the young master came searching for him Zhang Dong would be long gone, the time to end this infiltration had begun.