Chapter 409
“Are you thinking of abandoning the darkness for the light now that the Great Freedom Demon Ancestor can’t be resurrected?”
Zheng Fa couldn’t help but ask.
“Of course not!” The Blood River Ancestor replied with a firm tone, “I have not betrayed the Holy Ancestor!”
“…”
“If the Holy Ancestor is resurrected, I will wait for him to save me. If he cannot be resurrected… then I can only submit to the thieves and the Immortal Sect…”
Zheng Fa silently nodded in agreement. The Blood River Ancestor was quite clear-headed about his situation. He was currently trapped within this life-bound flying sword, suppressed in the Nine Mountains Realm.
Previously, he had refrained from cooperating, still hoping that the Great Freedom Demon Ancestor would come back to rescue him.
But now, seeing the unfavorable trend, he had no idea how many years he would be suppressed, or if he would ever see the light of day again.
Naturally, he was willing to cooperate now.
“Sign here.”
Zheng Fa pulled out a stack of contracts he had prepared long ago and smiled as he handed them over.
“Spirit Treasure Experiment Knowledge Agreement.”
“Demon Sect Law Cooperation Agreement.”
“Demon Sect Defense Course Instructor Employment Agreement.”
“Confidentiality Agreement…”
“Voluntary Waiver of Personal Freedom Agreement…”
“…”
The more the Blood River Ancestor looked, the darker his expression became, until he couldn’t help but say, “This is different from what we discussed before…”
If he signed all these documents, not only would he be bound in the Nine Mountains Realm, but he would also have to teach students how to deal with disciples of the Demon Sect.
From time to time, he would have to offer up his own body… his life-bound immortal sword would be used for research by Zheng Fa and the others…
This was going to hollow him out from the inside out.
“Can the price for surrendering before be the same as now?”
Zheng Fa said softly.
The Blood River Ancestor gritted his teeth, clearly reluctant, not wanting to sign these contracts that felt like selling his soul.
But…
“If I wait any longer, the price will be different…”
Zheng Fa’s words made a deep conflict appear on his face.
But Zheng Fa no longer paid him any mind, instead turning his gaze to the light screen above. Within it, the eight-headed giant had transformed into a rather ordinary headless giant… the surgery to remove the snake heads from the three outstanding disciples of the Five Sects had been a success, swift and clean, though the patient didn’t seem to die peacefully.
Zheng Fa even felt that the three of them still had some strength left.
“Done!”
As the headless giant fell, the Blood River Ancestor seemed to fully grasp the situation, no longer hesitating, and swiftly inscribed his soul into the contracts.
Zheng Fa couldn’t help but regard him with newfound respect. This choice was indeed difficult; on one side was the prospect of being suppressed for an unknown number of years, waiting for the resurrection of the Demon Ancestor or for Zheng Fa to make a mistake.
On the other side, he could work for Zheng Fa, retaining some freedom and opportunity.
It seemed that the Blood River Ancestor was not one to passively wait.
From the look on his face, Zheng Fa could even faintly see a thought—might as well have another Holy Ancestor!
To be honest, this self-comforting thought was quite effective…
Zheng Fa nodded lightly at the Blood River Ancestor and directly asked, “Will this headless giant be resurrected?”
“It will, but it will take a long time… The Holy Ancestor hasn’t resurrected yet, and who knows how long it will take for them to come back to life.”
“So you’re not willing?”
“No one is willing…” The Blood River Ancestor shook his head, “They say that with the Blood Sea, we are essentially immortal, but being in the Blood Sea for too long will torment the mind, and there are plenty of Transformation Gods ahead of us.”
“Hmm?”
“The Tianhe Venerable killed some, uh, a batch.”
“...No wonder that Yin-Yang Rakshasa ran away so quickly.”
“The Yin-Yang Rakshasa is indeed the best at preserving life in our Demon Sect…” The Blood River Ancestor acknowledged, clearly envious that the Yin-Yang Rakshasa had not only retained their life but also their freedom.
Zheng Fa looked toward the gradually dissipating darkness, where the shadow of the Yin-Yang Rakshasa had long since vanished.
But a voice came from the darkness!
“Yinming Immortal, you’re here too?”
“Qin Mu! What are you doing!”
“You betrayed the Holy Ancestor?”
These three sentences left even the Blood River Ancestor stunned.
Had the Yin-Yang Rakshasa just betrayed their teammate, only to be betrayed by their own people?
From the darkness, footsteps approached, calm and unhurried.
A figure slowly emerged from the shadows.
As they stepped closer, Zheng Fa noticed the person’s gentle gaze, dressed in pure white, untainted by dust, exuding a faint, ethereal aura.
If it weren’t for the blood-red flag swirling with malevolent energy in their hand, they appeared more like a celestial being than anyone else present.
“Yinming Immortal…”
Beside him, the Blood River Ancestor lowered his voice slightly, as if separated by a world.
“Who is he?”
“The true disciple of the Taishang Dao. For some reason, he betrayed the Taishang Dao and joined our Holy Sect. Not only is he skilled, but he has also won the Holy Ancestor’s favor… We find it difficult to communicate with the Holy Ancestor now, but he can.”
“Senior Sister Zhang, retreat! This person is dangerous!”
Zheng Fa immediately warned.
Although he hadn’t heard of the concept of Xuanwei having a darkened form that increased combat power, someone who could emerge from the Taishang Dao and now thrive so well…
It was better to let the Chengkong Master handle it!
Senior Sister Zhang led Uncle Pang and the others to retreat, but the Yinming Immortal seemed unconcerned, merely smiling as they looked at the Chengkong Master.
“You’ve refined the Yin-Yang Rakshasa?”
Before he could speak, the Chengkong Master fixed his gaze on the blood flag, his expression a mix of shock and anger.
Zheng Fa then realized that the malevolent energy from the blood flag actually came from the Yin-Yang Rakshasa…
“He doesn’t trust me, yet he’s powerless to gather enough blood essence for the Holy Ancestor…” The Yinming Immortal casually stroked the flagpole, “So it’s better to offer up his own blood essence to assist in the Holy Ancestor’s resurrection.”
“His Transformation God blood essence is more than enough.”
Zheng Fa felt a buzzing sound beside him and turned to see the flying sword beneath the Blood River Ancestor trembling.
“?”
“Once it enters the Blood Fiend Flag, there’s no coming back.”
Zheng Fa couldn’t help but sigh inwardly; when it came to slaying demons and exorcising evil, it seemed the Demon Sect had to rely on itself!
The Chengkong Master gritted his teeth and coldly said, “You’ve betrayed my Taishang Dao, and now you want to betray the Demon Sect too?”
“Betrayal?” The Yinming Immortal chuckled lightly, “I’m merely exhausting myself for the resurrection of the Holy Ancestor.”
The Chengkong Master tightened his grip, the Qingjing Bamboo in his hand trembling as if he was about to strike.
The Yinming Immortal, however, showed no fear, merely focusing on the Qingjing Bamboo and shaking his head with a smile: “How many more uses does this Qingjing Bamboo have?”
“It malfunctioned when I left; it can be used at most five more times.”
“Blood River, you’ve used it once.”
“To break my Five Directions Blood Fiend Flag formation, you’ve used it once.”
“How many times have you used it against the four Transformation Gods? Twice, or three times?”
The Yinming Immortal seemed very familiar with the Qingjing Bamboo, counting on his fingers.
The Chengkong Master’s expression grew increasingly grim, and Zheng Fa finally understood that the Qingjing Bamboo seemed to be withering, nearly at its end.
“Did you calculate this? To send them to their deaths? …Wait, how do you know?”
“No, they chose it themselves. But, Jiang Shizhi, don’t you know who the last master of the Qingjing Bamboo was?”
The Yinming Immortal countered.
“You?”
“Turns out your master didn’t tell you… oh, he might not even know. I tampered with the Qingjing Bamboo.”
“…”
“Otherwise, do you think a traitor from the Taishang Dao could win the Holy Ancestor’s favor?”
“…”
Zheng Fa increasingly felt that the Yinming Immortal was a bit deranged, quietly retreating with the Sun and Moon Bell and Senior Sister Zhang.
“Why are you doing this!” The Chengkong Master was naturally furious, “You were highly valued within the sect, seen as the next generation’s top candidate. My uncle nearly lost his life in the Heart Demon Tribulation because of your betrayal!”
“Why?” The Yinming Immortal’s smile deepened, as if he had heard something incredibly amusing, “My master asked me the same thing back then.”
“It seems my answer was not conveyed to you.”
The Chengkong Master was taken aback, confusion filling his eyes.
Everyone in the room looked at the Yinming Immortal, whose gaze seemed distant, as if recalling something, and he softly spoke the answer: “He taught it.”
“…Your master taught you to betray the sect, to join the Demon Sect, and be driven by the Demon Ancestor?”
The Chengkong Master’s words were filled with disbelief.
“Truly, those who do not know me ask what I seek. The methods of the Taishang Dao have their flaws; I wish to take the methods of the Demon Sect, to learn from each other and merge the two, and the so-called being driven is merely a cost of achieving the Dao.”
“...What he taught me, oh no, what the Taishang Dao taught us, was it not for the sake of achieving the Dao? Collaborating with the Demon Ancestor is not out of the question?” The Yinming Immortal continued, his eyes teasing, “For instance, to deal with that Venerable, isn’t it?”
Zheng Fa glanced over and saw the Blood River Ancestor looking bewildered, while the three disciples of the Xuanwei Five Sects were left speechless.
Clearly, they seemed to understand some of the underlying truths.
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