Chaos was spreading throughout the entire Wubei Sect. Most of the traitors had come from the Hidden Orchids Faction. Almost no one knew exactly what this faction was about. But apparently, they were full of traitors and demonic cultivators.
Most of them had never really practiced any kind of demonic cultivation thanks to Xiao Xuefeng's presence. She would have been able to detect anyone who had. No matter what kind of demonic art they would have practiced, those arts had effects on the soul. Even if they had not an ounce of Evil Qi in them, anyone who was using those techniques long enough would have an unbalanced soul. For most Spirit Warriors this could be difficult to identify easily. But for Xiao Xuefeng, this was not a problem at all.
For that very reason, Luoming Tian had made sure that no demonic cultivator in the Wubei Sect had ever practiced those arts. Along the years, he had recruited many traitors just like Lu Meihan. And he had attracted Xiao Xuefeng in the Wubei Sect with the incident in Yinmen City when Cao Yun had uncovered a demonic cultivator. According to his original plan, Luo Jiang should have caused some mayhem in the Golden Flowery Fragrance Institute and should have paved the way for their theft during the stampede. Originally, he was supposed to be discovered by Xiao Xuefeng herself. But the plan had failed. Thankfully, this had not disturbed his overall plan, and in the end everything had worked out just fine. However, this had created another problem, the young Cao Yun.
Now that he had awakened Demon God Da Mo's body, Luoming Tian had no more worries of any kind. With such a powerful puppet beneath his fingers, he could do everything he ever wanted to do. But first, he would kill Xiao Xuefeng, Sect Leader Xuan, and also Cao Yun who had been a thorn in his side. Because of that young brat, he had been forced to alter his plans several times. Since he had the favors of many, it was better to eliminate him right now while he was still powerless.
Hopefully, he could also exterminate everyone in the Wubei sect who would not see eye-to-eye with him. Paradoxically, because Xiao Xuefeng had activated the defenses, that meant that what Luoming Tian was doing was being concealed. If no one could escape from his slaughter, it would give him even more time to prepare for the next phase, marching on the Imperial City and deposing Emperor Weide.
The giant red arm had completely crushed the character from the Seal of Authority but Xiao Xuefeng still controlled the seal. Since she could do nothing against such a threat with her own strength, and since the chief elders could not either, she sent them to take care of the chaos all around. Meanwhile, she was focusing all her strength on the Seal of Authority in order to contain the Demon God.
From the Seal of Authority, many characters appeared. All around the Wubei sect, every single array formation got activated. Golden chains rose from the ground and crisscrossed the sky as a dome. From above, thousands of those golden chains rained down toward Demon God Da Mo and Luoming Tian. For an instant, the arm was completely sealed as well as his master.
"Really?! You think those gimmicks will stop an Exalted Demon?! Even if the old geezer were to come and help you, there is nothing he could do. And look! He's hiding, still letting you do his bidding. With age, he's grown pathetic and senile. This is the fate of us all. Listen to me, listen to reason. Miss Xiao, you are the woman who has the brightest future ahead of her. But you'll never be able to become a Sage. I can find a way! You have always discarded demonic methods. But someone with your mind cultivation, you could practice any demonic art without being affected by it. No inner demon could disturb you. And we're not even forced to use humans. Demons enslaved us for generations, we could use them as resources. What do you say?"
"You won't make me waver. I know your ways and I know how many people you've sacrificed. Power obtained by giving up on your humanity is no power I want."
"I knew that this would be your answer, that's such a waste... My own father chose a debilitating death rather than to try this out. You think there is honor in your choice, but at the end, you'll be a mess. You'll end up like mortals, unable to care for yourself, pathetic and old. Your life will have been extraordinary and your death will be a disgusting tragedy."
Da Mo's arm closed its fist and all the golden chains binding him exploded, even those around Luoming Tian.
Then, blood spread from the arm. It flowed like ink in water, but it was flowing as well on the ground as in the air. The arm extended itself and the palm brutally smashed against the ground. The entire Heidai Peak trembled at that moment. From the ground, it took a handful of blood that slowly solidified into a small javelin.
As soon as the weapon was ready, it threw it in the distance. Xiao Xuefeng was ready to defend herself but she was not the target, the Palace of Supreme Wisdom was.
"Sorry, Miss Xiao. I had to take care of my disciple first. I won't let anyone say that I am ungrateful... Hopefully your disciple as well as this Chen Guo boy are already dead or will be soon enough. You see, my disciple was a bit desperate and I suspect he caused the collapse of the inner realms within the Palace of Supreme Wisdom. But you should not be too worried. Just like them, I'll make sure that you won't ever join the cycle of reincarnation. I will free you from the burden of suffering through new lives again.
"Since you wanted to bind me, my turn!"
From Da Mo's arm, rusty and bloody chains began to spurt forth. Xiao Xuefeng had still been unsure of Luoming Tian's words about the cultivation level of this arm. Even she didn't know enough about demon cultivation to be certain. But she knew what those chains were. They were formed just before a demon broke through to the Exalted Demon realm. Just like humans, this was the highest level of cultivation for demons right now. Not a single one had been able to cross over to the Exalted Demon realm. And yet there was now one right in front of her.
Even with the Seal of Authority, she wasn't sure she could win. Not only was it the body of an Exalted demon, but he was also accompanied and controlled by a 9th-grade Spirit Warrior who knew his stuff. Xiao Xuefeng was not even certain whether Sect Leader Xuan, Matriarch Huang and Emperor Weide would have been enough to take on this arm. And they only had Sect Leader Xuan at the moment. Although there were many rumors about him, Xiao Xuefeng knew perfectly well what to think of them.
The rusty and bloody chains were stylized and full of ominous ornaments as well as many pikes all over them. This was really an instrument of torture rather than mere chains. Now their target were Xiao Xuefeng.
From the Seal of Authority, another character appeared, 'Absolution'. Several array formations also got activated and Xiao Xuefeng took out her guqin, 'Crane Dancing on the Pillars of Heaven and Earth'.
She started to play a melody and a giant white crane with a red beak appeared in the sky above. It was right under the dome made of golden chains.
Below the sky, all the rusty chains went straight for the musician. They collided against 'Absolution'. Around it, an invisible wall had been formed that could protect her.
"Break!"
As she was playing her instrument, Luoming Tian began playing his. With the rhythm of his dizi, the chains were moving around, trying to find any weakness in the defense. At the same time, the red arm gathered even more blood in its hand. Another javelin appeared and it threw it toward the white crane above. Following its master's melody, the Qi Manifestation evaded the assault. With a powerful movement of wings, it created a terrifying gust of wind. Several buildings were blown away despite the array formations supposed to protect them. Xiao Xuefeng was using the Seal of Authority to drain all of these array formations in order to fortify her own defense.
Even with all of that, she could feel the 'Absolution' character weakening. The seal was connected to her soul, so she was able to feel it in her very being. The sensation was not pleasant at all. It was as though she was being ripped apart by those chains herself. Such chains were not physical. They were made to chain down souls. For demons, they were used to submit the Demon Soul which was sometimes compared to the Soul Embryo. But they were two completely different things though. The Soul Embryo was blank and had to be harmonized with the soul, while the Demon Soul was full of all the perversions possible and had to be tamed.
Even if she went all out, Xiao Xuefeng knew she would ultimately lose. But she just had to wait long enough for...
Way sooner than she had thought, her defense broke. In a fit of rage, Da Mo's arm had punched the wall preventing it from killing its target. It had completely shattered. Even the physical Seal of Authority had been damaged in the process. Xiao Xuefeng barely kept a hold on it.
Now, there was nothing to protect her and the chains were all coming for her. No matter how powerful her Soul Embryo was, it was going to be ripped away from her flesh and tortured to death with her soul. Now she was ready to use her last card, but she had maybe waited too long. However, she stayed calm and kept on playing her guqin. The white crane in the sky screeched. In theory, it should have halted the chains for a little while. But Luoming Tian was also playing his dizi. The two melodies were colliding. And it turned out that Luoming Tian's was stronger, thanks to his cultivation.
As she was about to be destroyed, Xiao Xuefeng heard the voice she had been waiting for. All the chains coming for her got smashed toward the ground as if gravity had been increased a hundred times over.
"Miss Xiao, please excuse my tardiness."
The voice was calm and melodious. Although he wasn't speaking very loud, the man she had been waiting for could be heard distinctly by all. Towering above the entire Wubei Sect, there was a man who looked like he was in his thirties. He was wearing the uniform of the Wubei Sect and had a noble and dignified air as though he was completely detached from what was going on below him. Despite his appearance, his eyes betrayed his age, and he had several gray hair here and there. Everyone stopped for an instant as they could recognize their sect leader. For some, this was a gift sent by the heavens. For others, this was retribution.
"It seems like some young people thought my Wubei Sect could be easily bullied... It seems like I will have no choice but to show the world why the Heidai Peak has never been invaded in all its glorious history."
Each and every one of his words created an immense weight in the hearts of the demonic cultivators while it lightened those of the orthodox disciples. The morale skyrocketed.
"You old geezer. You think I don't see through you?! You're just putting up a front! You're around a thousand and nine hundred fifty. And even if you were in your prime, there is no way for a Spirit Warrior to fight against an Exalted Demon!"
"Little Tian, I'm sincerely sorry that you chose to go down that path. If I had realized how much seeing your father in such a state had pained you, we could have found a way to appease your mind."
"You cling to old ways! But I found a way for mankind to be free of our shackles. Finally, we'll transcend the Spirit Warrior realm and take everything that we've lost."
"How many will be tortured and killed by your way? How about your friend Zheng?"
"As many as necessary. You do remember our rules. "Mankind is the treasure of the Hongchen Kingdom!" Even if I have to sacrifice millions of humans, if I save mankind in the process, ain't I adhering to the rule? And once this period of massacre and savagery is done, all the humans who will be born will be able to reach the Sage realm and beyond."
"Little Tian, you still think I didn't see through your way?! You intend to try and fuse a human body with demon blood. Qi cultivation and blood cultivation have both failed our species during this Forsaken Dao Era. But if you could somehow cultivate both of them and create both a Demon Soul and a Soul Embryo, you believe that you could finally break through the treacherous Heavens and complete the tribulation to the Sage realm."
Hearing this, Xiao Xuefeng was shocked as she had not even entertained the possibility. Although some humans could cultivate blood, taking in demon blood in too large quantity would mean death. Demon blood would destroy both Dantian and meridians since they were not supposed to exist within a demon. Even the humans who had a bit of demon blood only had a tiny fraction of it. Luoming Tian was shocked for another reason. He thought that no one else but him would have imagined such a solution. He would have to experiment on many demons and humans and a tremendous amount of them would die in abject pain. But in the end, he was certain to succeed. And after that, mankind could finally practice the real cultivation of immortality instead of being stuck at the third realm.
"Your plan is madness, Little Tian. And I am sorry for not seeing through you earlier. Now only death can redeem you..."
There was sadness in Sect Leader Xuan's voice.
"You talk as if you could do anything...!"
Da Mo's arm suddenly extended toward Sect Leader Xuan. But as much as it tried to reach him, it seemed like space itself was being extended. Luckily, Luoming Tian was still inferior to Sect Leader Xuan and he was the one controlling the arm.
The Seal of Authority disappeared from Xiao Xuefeng's hands and appeared in front of Sect Leader Xuan. In the sky, another character appeared from the seal, 'Purge'.