Myriad Treasures Tower, within the basement.
All the Demon Cultivators, except for the Blood Corpse True Person, gathered together.
The Netherworld acted very cautiously; such meetings, even when carried out as secretly as possible, could hardly avoid leaving some traces.
Therefore, they usually communicated through secret messages. Unless it was a major event, they tried to avoid gathering for discussions.
"It's been only one day since the last meeting, and Rakshasa has summoned us again; could it be that something major has happened?" the Demon Cultivators whispered among themselves.
"Eh, but why isn't Blood Corpse here?" someone noticed something amiss.
...
Knock——
The leading elder tapped the table lightly, interrupting everyone's discussion.
Everyone turned their gaze toward the elder known as Rakshasa.
Rakshasa swept his gaze over everyone in the room and said coldly, "Blood Corpse's identity has been exposed. This afternoon, he was captured alive in the city by the Human Cultivators of the Watch Guard Tower and is now being held in the Prison Warden Office."
The crowd looked at each other with disbelief, but only Crying Soul True Person's face turned extremely unsightly. Seeing this, Rakshasa's eyes flickered, but he said no more.
The room fell into silence until finally, someone spoke up to break the stalemate, "Blood Corpse has always been cautious, and he has been operating in Yuanshan City for decades, with a flawless disguise. How was he discovered?"
Rakshasa's eyes were frosty, "You're right. If the intelligence system of the Watch Guard Tower is so tight that it could see through Blood Corpse's disguise, then everyone here should have been executed. How could it be possible for us to gather here?
Therefore, the probability is high that there is more to the exposure of Blood Corpse's identity."
"Do you mean to say... there is a traitor among us?" a Cultivator asked softly.
Instantly, the room erupted into an uproar.
The meaning of these words cast a shadow of suspicion over everyone present.
People of the Netherworld acted independently, betraying the Human Race for personal gain, banded together only by coercion, with not a shred of trust among them.
Upon hearing that there might be a traitor, the look in everyone's eyes became guarded as they turned to their fellow conspirators.
Rakshasa spoke slowly, "When the people of the Netherworld join, they all have the Heart Demon Gu planted in their divine souls. Should anyone harbor thoughts of betrayal, the demon gu consumes the soul, causing agonizing pain. Thus, I still trust the loyalty of those present to the Netherworld."
The Heart Demon, one of the eight Eighth Grade Holy Demon Bloodlines of the Demon Race, possesses the unique ability to induce the Heart Demon Gu.
Once implanted in the cultivator's divine soul, the Heart Demon Gu grows continuously as the Cultivator's power increases.
The Heart Demon Gu, with simple intelligence, will instantly unleash soul-devouring power at the first sign of betrayal from its host, cruelly consuming the host's divine soul.
Until the host's soul perishes.
The agony of soul devouring is one of the most painful things in the world.
Compared to soul devouring, even the sophisticated interrogation techniques of the Watch Guard Tower are nothing.
Therefore, members of the Netherworld captured by the Watch Guard Tower seldom betray the Netherworld due to torture.
Since the Heart Demon Gu merges with its host's divine soul, it is difficult for anyone besides the one who implanted the gu to remove it,
For the divine soul is the cultivator's most vulnerable part!
Without this gu, the Netherworld could not have grown powerful.
——Most members of the Netherworld are treacherous humans pursuing personal gain.
These individuals, who for their self-interest would betray their own races, who can guarantee they wouldn't betray the Netherworld again for gain?
For these malefactors, only by resorting to coercive measures like the Heart Demon Gu, can they be controlled by fighting fire with fire.
"However...." The cold light in Rakshasa's eyes flared, "I believe you wouldn't dare betray the Netherworld, but it's not guaranteed that some fools haven't done something stupid that implicated Blood Corpse."
"Crying Soul, when I mentioned the capture of Blood Corpse, you looked troubled. Do you know something?" Rakshasa's expression was as dark as water as he turned his gaze to Crying Soul True Person.
Facing Rakshasa's questioning, Crying Soul True Person also tensed up, clearly feeling the weight of Rakshasa's authority.
"Rakshasa, I do know something." At this point, Crying Soul True Person dared not withhold any longer. "Blood Corpse True Person's Corpse Refining Cave, hidden away in the mountains, was raided a few days ago by Cultivators of unknown identity, and it was for this reason that his female disciple came to Yuanshan City seeking Blood Corpse."
"I didn't think much of it at first, since aside from a few Corpse Pools, there was nothing else in Blood Corpse True Person's Corpse Refining Cave."
Although the refining of Corpse Puppets was explicitly forbidden by Great Xia, there have been those among the Evil Cultivators who secretly engaged in such practices over the years, so the reveal of a Blood Corpse did not necessarily lead to exposure.
None of his several disciples were aware of the identity of the Blood Corpse as a Demon Cultivator, simply thinking of him as an Evil Cultivator.
Therefore, I did not treat this matter as a big deal. When my lord inquired about the Blood Corpse and saw that he did not give a straight answer, I also chose not to expose him.
Now that I think about it, the exposure of the Blood Corpse's identity must be somewhat related to his Corpse Refining Cave being destroyed.
After all, it's impossible for such a coincidence to happen—the destruction of his lair followed by his scandal erupting the very next day."
"Utterly foolish!" Rakshasa raged, "This Blood Corpse, I regarded his activities as meticulous, and I valued him highly on a day-to-day basis. I did not expect him to dare to conceal such a matter!"
Suddenly, something wriggled in Rakshasa's heart, sending out a message that reached directly to the divine soul between his eyebrows. Rakshasa slightly closed his eyes, lowered his divine soul's defenses, and received the message.
The gathered Demon Cultivators were silent as the grave, not daring to speak a word.
A few moments later.
Rakshasa opened his eyes, his voice cold as he declared, "The Heart Demon Gu in the Blood Corpse has perished."
The Heart Demon Gu lived symbiotically with its host.
If the Heart Demon Gu of the Blood Corpse was dead, it meant that, unquestionably, the true personage of the Blood Corpse had also met his demise.
"Something is amiss," cried the real person with a deep frown of confusion, "The Prison Warden Office, when capturing someone from the Netherworld, tends to imprison them for an extremely long time. During this period, numerous means are employed to extract some intelligence.
It has only been a few hours since the Blood Corpse was captured; why would the Prison Warden Office act against the Blood Corpse so swiftly?"
"This matter is very strange, and it happens to occur at such a time."
The words of the real person plunged all the gathered Demon Cultivators into deep thought.
"Then, Lord Rakshasa, should our plans proceed as usual?" finally, someone ventured to ask.
The gaze of Rakshasa drifted, contemplating something unknown.
The Demon Cultivators present all fell silent, awaiting Rakshasa's decision.
After a long while.
A cold light burst forth in Rakshasa's eyes, "Proceed as usual. We of the Qing State branch have been planning the Corpse Puppet Chaos for many years.
If this matter succeeds, amongst the various state branches in the Southern Territory, it will be our Qing State that will lead.
The scheme of taking the Heavenly Secret Mirror in Yuanshan City is an extremely important part of the Corpse Puppet Chaos plan; there is no reason for us to give up on it.
With the Heart Demon Gu, the true personage of the Blood Corpse would certainly not reveal our actions this time to the Prison Warden Office.
On the other hand, Qi Yuan might become even more determined to use the subsidiary Heavenly Secret Mirror to investigate the core of the Blood Pool because of the exposure of the Blood Corpse.
No matter what, for the great cause of the Netherworld, I would face death without regret!"
"Let this matter be put aside for now. The priority is to seize the mirror. You all go back and double-check the tasks assigned to you. If there is another mistake, heh, I will not be lenient."
A hint of blood-red light flickered in Rakshasa's eyes, his demonic qi overflowing.
The members of the Netherworld were of an extremely complex composition, with a great majority being Human Cultivators controlled by the Heart Demon Gu, as well as many actual members of the Demon Race and those of mixed heritage born of the Demon Race's bloodline through the Blood Pool Reincarnation.
Rakshasa, he was a demon.
Unlike those Human Cultivators, within the Blood Pool Reincarnation of the Netherworld, he had acquired the bloodline of the Demon Race, and he could already be considered one of the Demon Race.
...
The many Demon Cultivators withdrew one after another.
Looking at the now empty underground chamber, Rakshasa rubbed his brow, feeling an ominous premonition.
This won't do.
This matter is of great significance and cannot be left to chance. There are many suspicious aspects concerning the capture of the Blood Corpse, and further precautions must be taken.
With that thought, Rakshasa focused his divine sense into the wriggling thing in his heart.
A divine sense imbued with information passed through the wriggling object.