Chapter 333: The Demonic Path

Mr. Zhuang sensed the celestial dao's anomaly, but Mo Hua knew nothing of it.

He found a hidden patch of grass at the cave entrance, activated a concealment technique, and hid inside.

Even a Foundation Establishment cultivator would fail to detect him.

Mo Hua was worried about Elder Yu and the others, but after watching the cave entrance for a long time, there was not a single stir within.

"Is there no beast in this den?"

Mo Hua was puzzled.

When he probed with his spiritual sense, he found the den's aura faint, the energy dull—nothing like the dwelling of a beast.

Or perhaps a second-rank beast once lived here, but is gone now; otherwise, the beast aura could not be this faint.

What kind of second-rank beast had lived here before?

Mo Hua frowned, thought for a moment, then suddenly gasped inwardly:

"Even in the cultivation world, it's the same: lone cultivators are exploited by great clans, great clans are oppressed by mid-tier families, and mid-tier families are suppressed by low-tier aristocratic houses."

Among them, there are still secrets I don't know.

"But even if you want to build a family, you need spirit stones and connections—on your own, you can never establish a Qian family."

"If that's the case, then you must kill, you must steal."

"Could it really be that pig…"

Mo Hua sighed helplessly.

"So never be a lone cultivator!"

"You've lived over eight hundred years, and only now have you understood one truth: a cultivator's power is endless, but to achieve small goals, you must borrow others' strength, drain their blood."

The Longevity Pill uses human lives as its medicinal catalyst—it replenishes blood and qi, and extends life.

"Only now do I understand: in this world, people devour people."

If the Qian family's senior elder took the Longevity Pill and healed his injuries, he'd only invite suspicion.

To meet the Qian family's ancestor is to face either fortune or misfortune.

Mo Hua froze slightly, listened closely, and realized the voice came from inside the cave.

Concealed, Mo Hua pressed his body against the stone wall, leaned his head forward, and glanced at the stone chamber with the lightest of peeks.

Don't go deep—just look at the entrance, and only once.

"That, then, is the one unshakable truth of this world!"

The Qian family's ancestor continued: "Do you know what this world is truly like?"

"In this world, the strong devour the weak: big fish eat small fish, and small fish eat shrimp."

The flesh used as a ritual medium is either human or beast.

These were only Mo Hua's guesses, but the truth was likely not far off.

"They are merely tools for your spirit stones, servants at your beck and call, pigs and dogs to be slaughtered, spirit slaves and blood slaves to fuel your cultivation, the foundation stones of your great Dao."

Qian Hong across from him did not answer.

The matter of Shanzhai cannot be fully resolved.

The problem is, others will encounter the Qian family's ancestor, will encounter danger.

Mo Hua calmed his mind, thought carefully, and soon his mood grew simple.

But what was this entrance for?

Around the entrance, there were no arrays whatsoever.

"I cultivated demonic arts, forged demonic pills, entered the demonic path—and suddenly, everything became clear."

The Transferring Life to Essence Pill is hard to forge, takes an extremely long time; human blood and qi are insufficient to sustain such a prolonged alchemical process.

This was an entrance, sealed long ago with earth and stone.

But he still paused his steps, wanting to hear what the Qian family's ancestor intended to say.

"Demonic and heretical sects devour human flesh and absorb human spiritual power, yet these orthodox sects oppress and enslave cultivators too, draining invisible blood, eating invisible flesh—only the world's eyes are blind."

Mo Hua spat inwardly, "This old bastard is shameless—his Qian family is easy, but what about the scattered cultivators in Tong Xiancheng?"

The Qian family's ancestor had the senior elder fake his death, concealed his presence, secretly lurked in Shenshan, built Shanzhai for him, recruited demonic cultivators, forged Longevity Pills, and also forged Transferring Life to Essence Pills.

Could this old bastard really be here?

What should I do?

Mo Hua was puzzled.

If there was nothing unusual inside the cave, or nothing connected to the Qian family's ancestor, I could still slip out quietly.

"The cultivation world's prosperity is built on the blood and tears of lone cultivators—but that prosperity has nothing to do with us."

Mo Hua stole another glance, and saw the stone chamber was bloody and chaotic, filled with strange medicinal herbs and porcelain bowls brimming with multicolored herbal juices.

"The Qian family was built, and gradually grew strong—but still not enough."

These sounds and thick blood auras were peculiar, as if trapped in this space—inaudible up close, too loud from afar—no one knew what method was used.

"I realized that if I continued like this, I'd eventually die a mediocre death."

If there was nothing unusual inside the cave, I'd leave and call for help.

Could the Shanzhai matter also be connected to him?

"The family's growth is limited, my cultivation has stagnated, and my lifespan won't reach a hundred years…"

Even wounded, a seventh-rank beast is beyond the power of Qian Wei alone; the one who subdued that pig beast was likely the Qian family's senior elder.

Mo Hua's heart tightened slightly, then realized no spiritual sense was probing him—the Qian family's ancestor was still speaking to someone, tone and cadence unchanged—and only then did he relax.

Mo Hua reached out and touched the wall—the earth and stone were new, faintly damp.

The pig is still breathing—the pill isn't finished yet.

Mo Hua gradually formed a suspicion.

After all, those demonic arts and strange pill formulas are only obtainable by aberrant cultivators.

Beside the pig stood two cultivators: one was Qian Wei, the other was none other than Qian Hong, the head of the Qian family!

Mo Hua's heart tightened; he sensed something was off, but still forced himself forward, ascending the stone steps.

That's the white lamp…

Mo Hua had focused all his attention on the array within the den, so he never noticed there was already another entrance.

Before the entrance was a dark, upward-sloping stone staircase, its end glowing with a faint crimson light.

"The way of man: taking from the insufficient to enrich the surplus, sacrificing the many to benefit oneself—that is how one rises above all others, surmounting all beings to attain the path of immortality."

The Qian family's elder ancestor truly thought differently from ordinary people—he never followed the usual patterns!

Had Qian Wei not noticed me?

It's the Qian family's elder ancestor!!

"Relying solely on hunting beasts, you'll never earn enough spirit stones in a lifetime."

Beast beasts consume humans; their blood qi is vast, their lifespans long—indeed, they are the most suitable furnaces for the Soul-Transferring and Yuan-Transforming Pill.

But good fortune came to me…

Mo Hua thought about it, but still didn't understand.

…………

The array deep inside was merely meant to mislead.

It was the echo of the wind.

But with the Life-Elixir, it's different.

Mo Hua was stunned.

It must have fallen into the Qian family elder ancestor's hands after suffering severe injury, allowing him to snatch it up.

I should slip out first, send a signal, call others, and together we eliminate the Qian family elder ancestor.

Everyone assumed the Qian family elder ancestor hid deep within the den—but no one expected he was hiding right at the entrance!

"The heavens never seal off all paths. One day, I happened upon a strange Daoist; after conversing with him, he was overjoyed and gifted me several demonic cultivation manuals, the Life-Elixir, and the formula for the Soul-Transferring and Yuan-Transforming Pill."

The crack at the entrance was large, and poorly sealed; Mo Hua's slender frame slipped through easily.

"Is there no one in this world?"

Those who swim well drown; those who ride well fall.

The stone steps were narrow and deep, but not long; Mo Hua quickly reached the end.

Mo Hua couldn't help shivering, when suddenly he heard a faint whisper of wind.

Therefore, the most suitable furnace is a second-rank beast.

Qian Wei had not taken any pills—he remained at Foundation Establishment mid-stage, and moreover, he was severely wounded.

Mo Hua turned his gaze back to the den, his unease growing.

Could the Qian family elder ancestor truly be hiding right at this entrance?

Mo Hua sighed inwardly, "The Qian family elder ancestor truly has meticulous thought."

This den is so deep—how could the mountain wind produce an echo?

After walking a few steps, a loud snore and an old man's voice reached his ears.

I am the head of the Qian family; though I hold little real power, I am still the highest-ranking person beneath the Qian family elder ancestor.

The Qian family elder ancestor wishes to refine the Soul-Transferring and Yuan-Transforming Pill, and to refine demonic pills requires a demonic array; for such an array to function, it needs flesh and blood as its medium.

In the center of the stone chamber, a pig lay on the ground, snoring loudly.

Thus, the Qian family elder ancestor usurped the den and turned it into his secret pill chamber.

"The greatest profits in this world are monopolized by greater clans and sects; your families, even if you squeeze the lone cultivators dry, have little left to gain."

"The Dao Court shifts power, clans rise and fall, sects come and go—but the only constant is the lowly lone cultivators, forever at the bottom, forever bled dry, forever looked down upon and despised."

"So I wish to branch out, establish a family, rely on my family, and attain the Great Dao."

Moreover, refining such pills requires constant use of humans as ingredients.

"Even if your methods are filthy, once you achieve fame and success, others will cleanse your name, sing your praises, and serve you loyally like dogs and horses."

Night had already fallen; the Shenshan dew was heavy, and the mountain wind brought a chill.

Qian Wei is cunning and long-planning—what dangers has he laid deep within this den?

The Qian family elder ancestor can't possibly force people to eat humans.

Mo Hua excels at arrays, but precisely because of that, he was blinded by them, overlooking places without arrays.

A chill ran through his heart, and cold sweat poured down his body.

This den might not be the pig's den at all.

"Ultimately, it's all about bleeding the lone cultivators."

"It can exist, or it cannot exist—it all depends on how you choose to see it."

"You treat others as non-humans, then they are non-humans; you treat them as humans, then they are humans."

The Qian family elder ancestor did not wait for his reply, but spoke on his own:

The Qian family was sealed off; no cultivators were allowed to leave.

"Hong'er, our Qian family is not easy…"

Mo Hua sighed, resolving inwardly to be more cautious next time.

To the left of the staircase's end was a narrow stone chamber.

It seems my concealment technique was not detected.

In other words, lone cultivators support great clans, great clans support medium clans, medium clans support low-ranking clans...

Mo Hua turned to leave, when Qian's Ancestor sighed:

Mo Hua concealed his form, crept quietly out of the den, listened for sounds to pinpoint positions, and first noticed a massive crack beneath a wall near the cave entrance.

During the subjugation of the Boar Demon, Qian's junior elder lost an arm to the beast and suffered grave injuries—he should have died.

Mo Hua frowned, thought for a moment, and decided to go take a look.

"That's a truth you understood even when you were still a lone cultivator."

Mo Hua extended his spiritual sense, but found the air before the cave entrance strangely clear, yet thick with blood—unable to discern what lay within.

"Both demonic and orthodox paths consume it."

Regardless of why, better flee first.

With a slight exertion, the earth and stone collapsed inward.

Mo Hua's eyelid twitched.

How could Qian Hong be here?

Thank you for the tip, PYHuang!