Chapter 14: The Demonic Cult Members of Jiuyin Mountain

Su Changqing, far away at Jiuyin Mountain, was unaware of this operation by his own sect.

He was even less aware that a divine ability he had tried out on a whim had caused such a massive commotion that people mistakenly believed a Heaven-Sent Spiritual Treasure had appeared, spreading the news back to his own sect and creating a farce.

At this moment, he was advancing toward the hinterlands of the Jiuyin Mountain range.

When he walked into a dense forest, even though such a place should have been a gathering spot for demonic beasts, it was eerily quiet.

Encountering such a situation, his intuition told him that this place was highly abnormal.

Always cautious, he naturally trusted this intuition and directly employed the Heaven Concealing Method, hiding his figure among the lush branches while gradually suppressing his Qi fluctuations.

The Heaven Concealing Method, improved by his Against-Heaven Comprehension, was already a top-tier concealment technique among the best.

Even with Su Changqing only at the ninth level of Qi Refining, even a master at the Nascent Soul Realm would not necessarily be able to discover him unless they were searching with full concentration, let alone ordinary cultivators at the Foundation Establishment or Golden Core Realm, who would find it completely impossible to detect his presence.

What was even more profound was that if one practiced the Heaven Concealing Method to its peak, one could truly live up to its name: conceal oneself from the heavens and escape, such that even the Heavenly Dao could not perceive one's existence.

Su Changqing, having employed the Heaven Concealing Method, moved cautiously through the trees; after walking for quite a while, he finally heard two voices.

Moreover, these two voices were not demonic beasts, but proper human speech!

"I can't walk anymore, let's rest for a bit!"

One voice said.

"That won't do, if the Sect Master finds out we two are slacking off, he definitely won't spare us!"

The other voice replied.

"You are truly inflexible; if you don't say anything and I don't say anything, who would know we two are slacking off? You go ahead if you want, I'm going to rest for a while anyway."

"Sigh!"

The two voices exchanged words back and forth, and finally, they stopped their pace.

Su Changqing took this opportunity to sneak between the branches and slowly approach, only seeing the physical characteristics of the two talking when he got close.

Both were dressed in black, their faces covered by black masks, making it impossible to see their features; they did not look like good people.

"People from the Demonic Cult?"

Su Changqing frowned slightly; without needing to think, he knew that such attire was very strange, and the two were nine times out of ten people from the Demonic Cult, though they were likely just ordinary Disciples, as their cultivation levels were only around the seventh or eighth level of Qi Refining.

"But how could people from the Demonic Cult appear here?"

Su Changqing looked at the two, silently pondering in his mind; this doubt became the most curious thought in Su Changqing's heart.

The two sat down leaning against a tree, and during their conversation, they soon provided the answer, resolving the doubt in Su Changqing's heart.

"Do you think there really will be the ancient fierce beast Kui Ox appearing in this godforsaken place?"

One voice asked.

"How would I know? The big shots in the sect said there is a Kui Ox appearing here and sent so many of us to search for it, so there must be one; could it be that you could choose not to come?"

The other voice replied.

Kui Ox?

Su Changqing, his figure hidden in the branches, heard this term and immediately remembered that the story described an ancient fierce beast, the Kui Ox, which appeared once every three thousand years and possessed immense power. It was subdued by the Ghost King, the master of the Ghost King Sect, using the Dragon-Subduing Tripod, intended to be used to complete the Four Spirits Array; after the righteous path intervened, the Kui Ox flew into a rage that no one could match, and in the end, it was only sealed after Zhang Xiaofan revealed his prowess before the crowd.

"How could a Kui Ox appear at Jiuyin Mountain?"

Su Changqing knitted his brows, not knowing whether he should be happy or sad; he had finally come out of the mountains to search for the Huanglan Narcissus, only to unexpectedly run into this group of Demonic Cult people, and on top of that, a Kui Ox had appeared here.

With his current cultivation, he would certainly find it difficult to resist either of the two.

But with the help of the Heaven Concealing Method, Su Changqing decided to take the risk and investigate what was going on with this group of Demonic Cult people looking for the Kui Ox.

The two rested for only a short while before getting up again to advance into the depths of the mountain range, while Su Changqing moved through the branches, following closely behind them.

Sure enough, as they went deeper inside, he saw more and more people from the Demonic Cult; although they were all in black, the decorations on their black clothes were different, and Su Changqing soon understood that this was definitely not one Demonic Cult sect in action, but several Demonic Cult sects acting in coordination.

Seeing that there were more and more people, Su Changqing could not get too close and could only gradually increase the distance before making further plans.

Suddenly, Su Changqing saw a Demonic Cult Disciple break away from the team and turn to walk into the dense forest.

"Got you!"

Seeing this opportunity, Su Changqing decided to take a risk and hurriedly followed.

"Urinating everywhere, truly lacking in manners."

This Demonic Cult Disciple who had left the team was relieving himself under a tree; Su Changqing immediately leaped down from the tree and said to him with a slight smile.

"Who are you?!"

The Demonic Cult Disciple was startled by the suddenly appearing Su Changqing; seeing him dressed in white, he knew at a glance that Su Changqing was not of the same demonic path as himself.

Just as he was about to shout for help, he saw Su Changqing's eyes narrow, and a long sword in his hand flashed with white light as he struck, sealing the Disciple's throat with a single blow.

Before he could even shout "Help!", he widened his eyes and fell down; until his death, he could not understand how he had thrown away his life just for urinating in public.

Su Changqing stepped forward, stripped off the Disciple's clothes, cleaned them with Qi, and put them on himself.

Fortunately, it was a carefully chosen unlucky fellow; the two had similar builds, and this black Demonic Cult outfit fit him perfectly, neither too big nor too small.

This Demonic Cult Disciple was only at the fourth level of Qi Refining; with the Heaven Concealing Method, he could feign his cultivation at the fourth level of Qi Refining, and with the mask covering his face, Su Changqing was confident he would not be discovered.

Now, Su Changqing had gained the identity of a 'Demonic Cult Disciple'; with this identity as a cover, he could hide within the Demonic Cult team and obtain more information.

"Lao Chong, what's wrong with you? Why did you take so long to take a leak?"

After Su Changqing walked out of the forest, someone immediately approached him, patted Su Changqing on the shoulder, and complained.

"Had a big one."

Su Changqing gave a sheepish smile and replied, imitating the way these Demonic Cult people communicated.

"Alright, alright, let's go! The Sect Master is already waiting for us ahead; if we are late, there won't be any good fruit for us to eat."

Sure enough, under several layers of cover, this person really did not notice that his companion had been replaced, and he pulled Su Changqing along toward a cave; the dozens of Demonic Cult Disciples around them also did not notice anything unusual about 'Lao Chong'.

Su Changqing was extremely cautious, speaking as little as possible while silently observing the surrounding environment.

(End of chapter)