Chapter 97: Slaying the Demonic Cultivators
"So, you're senior disciples from the sect." When Yuan Niya revealed her identity, the errand disciple immediately put on a fawning smile.
"Enough. Just tell us what you know, and you'll be rewarded." Yuan Niya waved her hand impatiently. She wanted to complete the mission quickly and return as soon as possible.
"This isn't the place to talk. Please, follow me. I have a companion nearby who has also gathered a lot of intel." The errand disciple glanced around before gesturing for them to follow.
"Alright."
Yuan Niya nodded. This place made her uncomfortable, so she was willing to move elsewhere.
The three of them followed the errand disciple out of the small town. Along the way, Gu Mo scrutinized the disciple, his eyes flashing with thought, but he ultimately held back from making a move.
The man was well-hidden, managing to deceive both Yuan Niya and Chu Feifei—but not Gu Mo's spiritual senses. To him, this seemingly ordinary errand disciple was, in fact, a demonic cultivator.
But remembering the companion the man had mentioned, Gu Mo decided to wait. He wanted to catch both demonic cultivators in one fell swoop.
Initially, he thought this mission would take a lot of time, but they had made a major discovery right away. Of course, their success was largely due to Gu Mo's exceptionally strong spiritual sense. Without it, he wouldn't have detected the distant observer or uncovered the disciple's true nature.
However, the fact that this man was posing as an errand disciple of Qinglu Sect gave Gu Mo pause. It seemed that his own past experiences in the errand disciples' quarters were not an exception. Just how many errand disciples had secretly cultivated demonic techniques?
What was even more concerning was that these demonic cultivators were spreading their heretical arts within Qinglu Sect. What was their true goal?
Shaking his head, Gu Mo dismissed those thoughts. This wasn't something he needed to concern himself with. His current task was to help Yuan Niya complete her trial as a true disciple.
Once the truth was revealed, she would report it to the sect, and the higher-ups could handle the matter.
Following the errand disciple, they soon arrived in front of a manor.
"Hm?"
Chu Feifei let out a soft murmur of surprise when she noticed the formation enveloping the manor. Clearly, this wasn't an ordinary estate—it belonged to a minor cultivation clan.
Such small cultivation clans were as common as weeds in this world, many of them established by former sect disciples. This place was no exception; the owner had once been a disciple of Qinglu Sect.
Yuan Niya took out her jade slip to confirm. Sure enough, the manor was marked on it. As an inner disciple, she could request assistance from the owner if necessary.
Since the manor's owner had been a Qinglu Sect disciple, it wasn't unusual for errand disciples on missions to rest here. Yuan Niya thought nothing of it.
But Gu Mo's expression turned grim. His spiritual sense had already swept through the manor, and inside, he found only one presence—a figure radiating thick, murderous bloodlust.
Aside from that presence, there was nothing.
It was obvious that the manor's owner and their clan members had already been slaughtered—likely used as resources for cultivation.
"Please, come in, Senior Brothers and Sisters." The errand disciple warmly invited them in, leading the way. But as he turned his back to them, the enthusiasm in his smile disappeared, replaced by greed.
The inner disciple's flesh and soul weren't for him to claim, but those two followers—he could definitely take one. That would be enough to push his cultivation to the next level.
"Let's go."
Gu Mo gave Chu Feifei a meaningful glance before striding forward.
"Hm?"
Noticing Gu Mo's signal, Chu Feifei's heart tightened. She discreetly clutched a few formation stones in her palm. As soon as they entered the manor, she quietly scattered them.
"Why does it smell like blood?"
The moment Yuan Niya stepped past the manor's formation, she was hit by the thick stench of blood. Her guard immediately went up.
Something was very wrong with this place.
"Senior Sister, we can act now," Gu Mo reminded her.
There were only two demonic cultivators here, and neither seemed particularly strong. The one who led them was only at the third level of Qi Refining. The other, slightly stronger, was at the seventh level—likely the true culprit behind this mission.
In just a few years, this person had climbed to the seventh level of Qi Refining by devouring mortals' flesh and souls. No wonder some cultivators couldn't resist falling into darkness—it was an incredibly fast way to gain power.
Since there were no Foundation Establishment cultivators here, there was no need for hesitation. Gu Mo instructed Yuan Niya to strike immediately. Meanwhile, he took out a recording artifact to document the scene as evidence for her mission completion.
If their trial proctor—a Foundation Establishment elder—was nearby, they wouldn't need to go through all this trouble. But since he hadn't shown up yet, it was best to ensure they had solid proof.
With that, the battle began.
"[Shing!]"
With Gu Mo's reminder, Yuan Niya immediately drew her enchanted sword. She had also noticed Gu Mo giving Chu Feifei a meaningful look earlier and understood that something was wrong with this manor.
Now, combining the scent of blood with Gu Mo's warning, Yuan Niya realized that the target of her mission was right here.
"Heh, it's too late to notice now."
The enthusiasm on the face of the servant disciple vanished, replaced by a sinister grin. Without hesitation, he pulled out a jade talisman—one that controlled the manor's formation. As long as he activated it, the three before him would be suppressed by the formation.
"What's going on?"
However, despite his attempt to activate the jade talisman, the manor's formation did not respond at all. His eyes quickly swept toward Chu Feifei—at that moment, she was tossing out formation stones one after another. It was her interference that had prevented the formation from activating.
"You're courting death!"
Now that he had identified the culprit disrupting the formation, the servant disciple charged toward Chu Feifei. But with a casual flick of her wrist, she deployed several formation stones, setting up a simple formation that trapped him. Although Chu Feifei was a formation master and lacked the combat power of an average cultivator of the same rank, as a fourth-layer Qi Refining cultivator, she had no trouble dealing with this third-layer Qi Refining demonic cultivator.
Yuan Niya glanced at the trapped servant disciple but paid him no further attention—her target was inside.
Without hesitation, she rushed into the manor, her high-grade fire-attribute enchanted sword whistling through the air as it slashed at a figure radiating a bloodthirsty aura.
"Clang!"
The sword strike landed on the blood-fiend figure, producing the sound of metal colliding. The sheer toughness of its body startled Yuan Niya.
"As expected, it's the Corpse Ghoul True Scripture!"
Gu Mo thought to himself. As he had suspected, this seventh-layer Qi Refining demonic cultivator had been practicing the very Corpse Ghoul True Scripture that Gu Mo had acquired long ago. This was an extremely powerful body-refining demonic art.
However, as its name suggested, cultivating this technique turned the practitioner into a zombie-like existence. Indeed, the seventh-layer Qi Refining demonic cultivator before them had a withered frame, resembling a corpse. The only thing that distinguished him from an actual zombie was that he still carried the aura of a living being.
"Heh, is that all an inner disciple is capable of?" A hoarse voice sneered after blocking Yuan Niya's attack.
As the voice echoed, a wave of bloodthirsty energy surged toward Yuan Niya—an incoming attack from the demonic cultivator. She immediately prepared to dodge, but suddenly, a sharp pain pierced her mind, momentarily slowing her movements.
"It's the Soul Refining Art! "
Gu Mo, who had been closely observing the battle, immediately recognized the technique—the demonic cultivator had just used another sinister art specializing in refining the soul.
In theory, by refining enough souls, the Soul Refining Art could enable a Qi Refining demonic cultivator to develop a divine sense equivalent to that of a Foundation Establishment cultivator.
Of course, this was merely theoretical. In reality, a Qi Refining cultivator who absorbed too many souls would most likely corrupt their own spirit, ultimately transforming into a monstrous abomination.
"Die!"
Forcing herself to endure the spiritual assault, Yuan Niya's enchanted fire sword flared brilliantly. In the next instant, it transformed into a blazing dragon, lunging at the demonic cultivator.
Meanwhile, Gu Mo carefully adjusted his viewing angle, recording Yuan Niya's most heroic moments. With her strength, eliminating a seventh-layer Qi Refining demonic cultivator was not a difficult task.
Gu Mo only needed to record the fight. If anything unexpected happened, his divine sense had already locked onto the demonic cultivator, allowing him to intervene at any moment.
This mission was never about defeating the demonic cultivators—it was about finding them in the first place. Fortunately, Gu Mo's unique abilities had allowed him to quickly identify the accomplices of the true culprit. Once he followed their trail, finding the real mastermind had been a simple task. Now, all that remained was for Yuan Niya to finish the job, and the mission would be complete.
"Boom!"
With an explosion of heat, half of the demonic cultivator's body was incinerated. Yuan Niya's Heartfire Scripture was an exceptional fire-attribute cultivation technique, its power undeniable. Coupled with her mid-grade fire spiritual root, her fire-based spells carried additional potency.
"Whoo—"
With the battle over, Yuan Niya let out a long breath, withdrawing the blazing spiritual energy around her. "Junior Brother, did you make sure to capture my best angles?"
"Don't worry, Senior Sister. I recorded your heroic performance perfectly," Gu Mo replied with a smile. With the mission wrapped up so quickly, he was quite pleased.
Having eliminated the target, the three left the manor's main hall. By now, Chu Feifei had completely trapped the servant disciple with her formation, rendering him immobile.
"Spare me! I was forced into this!"
Seeing Gu Mo and Yuan Niya return, the servant disciple realized the situation was hopeless and began pleading for mercy.
"Tell us everything you know," Yuan Niya said coldly.
"Yes, yes!"
Without hesitation, the servant disciple spilled everything. Initially, he had indeed been coerced into practicing demonic arts, but after experiencing the rapid progress they provided, he became completely addicted. He then began actively hunting mortals, consuming their flesh and souls to further his cultivation.
"Senior Brother, Senior Sister, please give me a chance to turn over a new leaf," the servant disciple sobbed, kneeling in despair.
"Did you give those mortals you killed a chance?" Yuan Niya's gaze turned icy. Now that she knew he had devoured mortal flesh and souls, his fate was sealed.
If this were merely a case of practicing forbidden techniques, she would have taken him back to the sect for the Law Enforcement Hall to deal with. But given the circumstances, she couldn't afford to drag along dead weight. Besides, his confession had already been recorded—killing him now wouldn't affect their report.
"You bit—"
Before he could finish cursing, his head was already separated from his body.
With that, Yuan Niya's trial for the True Inheritance was officially completed.
With the mission finished, Gu Mo and the others took a final walk through the manor, gathering and properly burying the scattered remains. Unfortunately, most of the manor's treasures had already been squandered by the demonic cultivators.
However, one invaluable resource remained—a miniature spiritual vein. This explained why the manor had been built in such a remote location.
For a cultivation family to endure through generations, it wasn't just about having cultivators—it required a spiritual land to sustain them.
Whether or not a cultivation family could thrive largely depended on whether they had access to spiritual land. Every such family went to great lengths to secure a territory rich in spiritual energy, as it formed the foundation of their lineage.
This manor had not only a spiritual land but also a protective formation, making it a relatively well-established cultivation family. No wonder Yuan Niya's master had marked it down in her jade slip—if it had been a weaker family, her master likely wouldn't have bothered.
Realizing the presence of a spiritual vein, the three naturally went to inspect it. Upon arriving at the core of the manor, they saw a humble thatched hut and a single acre of spiritual farmland.
The hut was likely the manor owner's cultivation chamber, positioned at the heart of the spiritual vein. The rest of the area had been cultivated into farmland.
Logically, a vein of this size should have been able to support three or four acres of spiritual farmland, but there was only one. Gu Mo's curiosity was answered when he examined the quality of the land.
This small spiritual vein was not low-grade; it was a mid-tier first-rank vein, capable of supporting several acres of farmland. However, the manor's owner had deliberately set up a spirit-gathering formation to further condense its energy.
By doing so, they had upgraded it to a high-tier first-rank land. As a result, although the farmland was limited to one acre, its quality had improved significantly. Additionally, the hut's cultivation chamber would benefit from the enhanced spiritual concentration.
From this, it was clear that the manor's owner had been a late-stage Qi Refining cultivator who had invested significant effort into building this estate—only for the entire family to be slaughtered by demonic cultivators.
A long sigh escaped Gu Mo as the three prepared to leave, planning to report the discovery to the sect so the spiritual land could be properly reclaimed.
However, just as they stepped beyond the manor's perimeter, Gu Mo suddenly pulled Yuan Niya and Chu Feifei back inside.
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