To live and to love are no different
They cherish life for time imminent
Living is to fall in love with death
Loving is to live for one's faith
Cherish both and you shall find
The self you wish to know
And the personality you bind
Gaining independence though
Is as hard as attaining Heaven.
Yun Haoran recited a poem on the spot. He was in the sky while the Black Centipede walked in the air. The White Centipede is on his neck, not moving a bit. He was in a state of trance or epiphany or only himself on the world
A while later, Blackie then descended into the sky of Inner Mission Hall. As the name suggested, it was the hall where Inner disciples can accept missions. Because Yun Haoran is equivalent to an Inner Disciple, he could go here to accept some.
It was the mountain that is close to the Inner Court Trial. When one wanted to become an Inner Court as an Outer Disciple, it is where they would get the Trial.
An Outer Disciple cannot use a forbidden technique to stimulate a Qi Sea to cheat on the trial because a Deacon or Inner Elder would know of them.
Inner Disciple needed to accept missions thrice a year. It is for them to hone their battle instinct and resources for them to cultivate.
In contrast, Personal Disciples didn't need to accept missions and only hone their strength in their respective Mountain Peaks. They are the talents that Nine Hall Mountain acquired and they cannot let any mishaps happen.
Although Yun Haoran would go down to the mountain because he wanted to explore and life in the sect is boring for him, sometimes.
In Black Centipede's head, Yun Haoran then jumped down from it. The Inner Disciples bowed their head as they let him come first, he would nod his head to them while smiling.
There are a lot of people going in and going out. It was rather a desolate place without nature growing from it. It had an ample qi of Lightning Qi here and there and had the formation of a lightning bolt. If something of a brawl breaks out, all parties involved would be electrocuted.
Yun Haoran is rather humble and was respected by all, even his rivals in the sect. He was in cahoots with Professions Peak and will teach some guys their deficit with their techniques. He was also the sparring partner for the Personal Disciples of the Sect Master.
Yun Haoran then went into the hall. It was spacious with a lot of people grouping and mission papers everywhere. When the disciple who was in charge of missions saw him, they all wished that he would come in their place while they all expectantly watched him choose a lane.
He then makes his way to a right corner and a mumble can be heard happening which they all say, "Damn, lucky bastard."
All the disciples heard it, and they all chuckled in response and let Yun Haoran cut in. He can only shake his head and go to the counter.
All those giving out missions are also Inner Disciples and were supervised by a Deacon and would be submitted in the Origin Dao Peak, the Sect Master's Peak.
"Senior Yun, what mission do you want?" The disciple in charge smiled and Yun Haoran smiled back. He opened his palm and a pill appeared that give off a scent a hundred meters away.
They all looked and became amazed at the pill with 6 connecting runes which gave off an extreme aura of life and longevity.
"6 turns Grade 2 Healing Pill? Go, go to Alchemy Peak." A person shouted and the Inner Mission Hall became more of a desolate place. They would try their luck and buy some Pills.
6 Turns Grade 2 Healing Pill. It was destroyed and recreated 6 times. If Yun Haoran had one then the Alchemy Peak would have as well because of how he would sell his Pills into Alchemy Peak.
It was how he acquired resources. If the sect is preserving the creations of their Ancestors, Yun Haoran would be even more rich at this point.
He invented too many pills in his spare time and Nine Hall Mountains are strict regarding Culture so they are being left behind by others. His act of rebellion is about him not becoming like them nor teaching them why they are being left behind.
Yun Haoran had an evil smile on his face, it was 10 years ago and he would never forget about that day and said, "Devil Extermination."
"We have really a mission about Devil Cultivators but 4 Qi Sea Middle-Grade Cultivators have responded but they are still missing in action.
There is not enough information but I would gladly give you all the information the Sect had. Would you like to try that Senior Yun?" The disciple explained then Yun Haoran nodded. Those disciples are average. When he was in Meridian Opening, he could slay hundreds of Qi Sea.
10 years had passed and he attained 13th Meridian, maybe he could even slay Grotto Heaven's existence. They are strong and there is a huge difference even one level of Grotto Heaven. Cultivation is not yet perfected so maybe he even had a chance for it.
"Then please accept this envelope." The disciple gave him an envelope where the original mission is located. It was also where the information of those 4 Qi Sea is.
Yun Haoran gave him the pill and accepted the envelope. Information like this is crucial for him to know and deduce how the enemy had taken them down.
Devil Cultivators are the plague of Heaven and Earth. They pillage and destroy anything for their gain and benefit. They would devour even their own kind while kingdoms and empires suffer daily because of them.
There is also a kind of cultivator that had an inkling for them and they are the Demon Cultivators. Although Demon Cultivators hated Devil Cultivators because of how they gained strength.
Demon as they seem, they waged war against Heaven and Earth proving their strength through wars and chaos. Devils are those that devour to become stronger.
"Hahahahaha. If they devour anything, let us devour them, shall we?" Yun Haoran laughed while the Blackie transformed into a gigantic being. He was excited by how he giggled.
Whitey on the other sprouted from Yun Haoran's head and she also looked excited. 10 years ago, he became famous not only by defeating countless Qi Sea cultivators but also by slaughtering countless Qi Sea Devils. That notion had gone when a Grotto Heaven made a move which he ran for his life.
They would go to an Empire named Heavenly Tiger Empire, an Empire that is in the jurisdiction of the Nine Hall Mountains. It is where people are being kidnapped and sightings of Devil Techniques are being seen once in a while.
"If you see a Devil, that is an infested region of Devils. They are trying to lure people again. Sons of bitches." Yun Haoran cursed out loud while reading the information.
Those techniques are Meridian Opening or even lower so they only dispatch Qi Sea to exterminate all those Devils.
'They are becoming more and more cunning. This is a headache.' He thought as he started cultivating while Blackie walked on the air.
—
"Are you sure we can pull this off?" It was said in a powerful voice. He was in a robe where even his existence cannot be seen. He smells like blood, dirty and decaying blood to be exact.
"Yes, Senior Hei. 4 Qi Sea Cultivators from Nine Hall Mountains had been sacrificed and they would send another one. That is enough sacrifice to devour and your excellency can break through and become a Primordial Soul Cultivator." Answered by someone with respect. He also smells like blood but is weaker than the first one.
"Devouring an entire Empire for hundreds of Qi Sea to advance and one Grotto Heaven. That formation is marvelous." Senior Hei praised the ingenuity of the formation while also laughing.
He was stuck in the Grotto Heaven for two hundred years without any sign of a breakthrough. If they ever pulled this off, he could now become someone big in the Devil community.
A Grotto Heaven is different from Meridian Opening and Qi Sea. Every stage of it is a qualitative and quantitative leap through the sky. A genius can cultivate for 10 years and yet cannot advance even one stage.
So he accepted the deal and joined the territory of Nine Hall Mountain. It was also protected by the living Saint, Saint Gold Sword. It was a risky plan so they were planning for months so it would succeed. If they ever succeed, they would not do it again.
They are not an idiot to repeat them because the Nine Halls or any other sects would be alerted and they would be caught the second time they did it.
Heavenly Tiger Empire is a good place because hundreds of millions of people are living in the capital alone. They could refine those people in one go and not even the Nine Hall can do anything but watch.
When they were talking about more matters, the door opened and a robe guy then appeared and announced, "Not good Seniors, a Black Centipede walking in the sky had been spotted."
"Yun Haoran, that bastard. He is too arrogant for him to announce he was here." Senior Hei said as his aura rose to become blood red but it was faint and would never be felt by Yun Haoran.
"And his pet, to devour someone whose sole goal is to devour. They are too much." He added as he remembered something from that 10 years ago.
"I thought that cursed being is dead?" Another asked, clenching their hands. They have families he has slaughtered that their hatred towards him cannot be contained.
"A Grotto Heaven went missing but he is still alive. He is being lowkey in this decade." Another said as he deduced that someone had helped Yun Haoran to escape.
"Nothing would matter even if he became stronger. We had planted many contingency plans for this plan to work." Senior Hei proudly said with his aura returning to normal.
"But make sure to run away if you ever notice him even a little bit. No, stay away in his presence for hundreds of kilometers for him to not notice us." He added.
"Senior Hei, why did we need to become cautious? You are a late-stage Grotto Heaven. Even if 10 years pass, he would only be at Late Stage Qi Sea." Someone asked and the other nodded.
"You didn't know. He was a personal disciple of Saint Gold Sword. He was also regarded as a talent comparable to those with Special Physique. He can slay enemies on higher stages than him and even in groups." Senior Hei answered the question with caution.
"Oh, so Senior Hei. Shall we slow down our plans? If we want to succeed a hundred percent, we must wait for a while and stay lowkey." A devil suggested which the other nodded in response.
"That is a good suggestion. Even if we starve for a little while, a banquet is waiting for us anyway." Senior Hei said and
he ordered things to slow down.
—
"Is what they are thinking but that is the reason why they would fail in their plan. Hehe." Yun Haoran said as he looked at a mountain with a high concentration of energies of filth and disgust.
"If they are brain-dead villains, that would be easy. But the more extreme one had, the easier to read. I am more afraid of Demonic Cultivators because of their chaotic tendencies and destroying the chess board." He mumbled while smiling. He was seeing the Empire ahead after two days of traveling.
—
Author's Note:
The poem that was used is mine and I will be creating them with Yun Haoran's journey. Please criticize the novel but not the poem, I'll cry. Just kidding.