Mortal: My divine sense has mutated.

Chapter 17 Rewards, Black Fiend Cult

Two months later, the situation had been largely confirmed, and Linghu Laoguai, Lei Wanhe, and Fengyun Zhenren returned to Huangfeng Valley one after another.

Still in the main hall of the sect leader, Linghu Laoguai, Lei Wanhe and others gathered together to discuss how to deal with the invasion of the demonic path and the defection of the Spirit Beast Mountain.

Li Huayuan, with his fiery temper, proposed to first unite the five sects of Yanyue Sect, Tianque Fortress, Huadaowu, Qingxu Sect, and Giant Sword Sect to destroy Spirit Beast Mountain, and then fight a decisive battle against the demonic path.

The four, Hong Fu Zhenren, Feng Yun Zhenren, Lei Wanhe, and Linghu Laoguai, thought this was inappropriate. They discussed it for a long time, but due to the complexity of the situation, they were unable to come up with a perfect solution.

The Tiannan Continent can now be divided into five regions: the Nine Kingdoms Alliance at the southernmost tip, the Righteous Path Alliance and the Six Demonic Sects occupying the east and west sides respectively, and numerous scattered countries at the northernmost tip of the continent.

Finally, there is the Yue Kingdom and the surrounding Jiang, Chechi, and Yuanwu Kingdoms, a buffer zone sandwiched between the righteous and the demonic paths.

The Yue Kingdom, as well as parts of the surrounding Jiang Kingdom, Chechi Kingdom, and Yuanwu Kingdom, were actually the territory of the Six Demonic Sects hundreds of years ago, while another part of the Yuanwu Kingdom was the territory of the Righteous Alliance.

The war between the Righteous Alliance and the Six Demonic Sects was a mutually destructive conflict, which gave the Yue Kingdom, Jiang Kingdom, Chechi Kingdom, and Yuanwu Kingdom the opportunity to establish their own independent states and separate them from the territories of the Righteous Alliance and the Demonic Alliance.

Ultimately, most of the forces in the Yue and Jiang kingdoms originated from the demonic path. Although they have established their own independent entities, some of these forces still maintain connections with the demonic path.

Therefore, the Demonic Path's initiation of this war must have involved more than just Spirit Beast Mountain in secret. At this point, even if Yellow Maple Valley wanted to rally allies to resist the Demonic Path, it would be difficult to discern the true allies, except for the Hidden Moon Sect, which has already clearly stated its allegiance.

Finally, Linghu Laoguai decided to first secretly investigate all sides and win over allies before deciding how to deal with Spirit Beast Mountain. During this period, Huangfeng Valley had to actively prepare for war, ready to go at any time.

In addition, they also need to send people to test the attitude of the righteous path. If the righteous path also intends to invade Yue, then there's nothing left for them to fight, and they can just run away.

After discussing and deciding on a plan, Linghu Laoguai remembered the matter of rewarding Chen Liang.

After all, Chen Liang's offering of the image-recording bead, allowing Huangfeng Valley to learn of the demonic invasion in advance, was a great achievement.

Even the Grand Elder of the Hidden Moon Sect rewarded Chen Liang for offering the Image Retention Pearl, including some spirit stones, pills, and a high-level dual cultivation technique.

This can be seen as both a reward and a way to win over Chen Liang, a master weapon refiner.

After having Zhong Lingdao send a communication talisman to summon Chen Liang, Linghu Laoguai couldn't help but inquire about Chen Liang's spiritual root aptitude and sect seniority.

When Linghu Laoguai learned that Chen Liang possessed the aptitude of five spiritual roots and had relied on his self-created cultivation techniques to reach this point, even though he already knew of Chen Liang's identity as a master weapon refiner, his interest in Chen Liang diminished considerably.

However, when Linghu Laoguai learned that Chen Liang was a guest elder in Mo Caihuan's family and had broken through from the Qi Refining stage to the mid-Foundation Establishment stage in just nine years, he began to have some expectations for Chen Liang again.

When Chen Liang returned to the main hall of Huangfeng Valley, Linghu Laoguai kindly asked him what reward he wanted, and Chen Liang asked for the permission to copy scriptures at will in the Scripture Pavilion.

Linghu Laoguai readily agreed and even gave Chen Liang extra Foundation Establishment stage cultivation pills. Then he handed over the reward given by the Grand Elder of the Hidden Moon Sect to Chen Liang and said some words of encouragement.

After this experience, Chen Liang left the main hall of Huangfeng Valley with a wealth of knowledge and experience.

Afterwards, Chen Liang headed directly towards the Scripture Pavilion, where there were still many cultivation techniques and inheritances that interested him.

After careful selection, Chen Liang left the Scripture Pavilion of Yellow Maple Valley with a very fruitful harvest.

With that, the matter of the image-recording pearl came to an end. Chen Liang planned to collect the three known "gift packages" within the Yue Kingdom before the great battle began.

The first big gift was the true leader of the Black Fiend Sect, the biggest evil leader in the Yue Kingdom—the Emperor of Yue.

Yuejing, the capital of the Yue Kingdom, is the most famous city in the mortal realm of the Yue Kingdom.

At the same time, this place is also the headquarters of the evil sect Black Fiend Cult, making it arguably the most unfriendly place to rogue cultivators in the cultivation world of Yue Kingdom.

But after today, everything will change.

That night, the moon was bright and the stars were few. The Emperor of Yue was strolling in the Imperial Garden with a beautiful concubine in his arms.

Not long ago, Wu Jiuzhi, who had once teamed up with Qingwen Daoren to deceive rogue cultivators in Tainan Valley Market, condensed a Blood Condensation Earth Pill within his body, officially breaking through to the Foundation Establishment stage and becoming the fourth Blood Servant of the Black Fiend Sect—Ye She.

With the addition of the incarnation of the Yue Emperor and the fake leader of the Black Fiend Sect, the Blood Condensation Five Elements Pill that the Yue Emperor had been planning for was finally gathered.

Now, as long as Emperor Yue cultivates to the Pseudo-Core Realm and then takes the Blood Condensation Five Elements Pill, there is a one-third chance that he will directly become a Core Formation cultivator.

Therefore, Emperor Yue, who felt that his grand plan was about to succeed, was quite pleased with himself. He even summoned one of his concubines to accompany him to admire the moon, a rare occurrence for someone who usually didn't treat his mortal concubines well.

However, when Chen Liang's figure slowly appeared at the end of the flower-lined path, Emperor Yue's expression changed drastically.

The imposing middle-aged man was initially startled, but quickly calmed down. He first stopped the mortal guards who were rushing towards him, and then spoke to Chen Liang, who was wearing the robes of the Yellow Maple Valley.

"This immortal master of Yellow Maple Valley, don't you know the rule that cultivators are forbidden from entering mortal palaces?"

As Chen Liang took out the Five-Colored Pearl, he said, "Your Majesty, as a late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator, are you aware of the rule that mortal members of the royal family cannot embark on the path of cultivation?"

Upon hearing this, the Yue Emperor's pupils trembled slightly, wondering how he, who had been using a profound concealment technique, had been exposed.

But he still held onto a sliver of hope and said, "What joke is this immortal master spouting? How could I, a mere mortal, possibly possess any cultivation?"

Upon hearing this, Chen Liang shook his head, not wanting to waste any more words with him. He then activated the Five-Colored Pearl in front of him, unleashing a beam of five-colored spiritual light towards Emperor Yue.

Seeing this, the Emperor of Yue knew that things would not end well tonight. So he suddenly unleashed a powerful aura, blasting away all the concubines, eunuchs, and guards around him.

Then, a crimson divine light surged from Yue Huang's body, protecting him.

Even though Emperor Yue had activated the Blood Refining Divine Light to protect himself, the Five-Colored Spiritual Light was never a simple spell.

The five-colored spiritual light directly dispersed the Blood Refining Divine Light and enveloped Emperor Yue. Then Emperor Yue discovered that the Profound Yin Demonic Qi, which he had cultivated for many years, was out of control.

Despite his best efforts, the Yue Emperor could only muster a small amount of Xuan Yin Demonic Qi, but he was unable to break free from the five-colored spiritual light. The five-colored spiritual light enveloped the Yue Emperor and then returned directly to Chen Liang.

Emperor Yue sensed something was wrong and begged for mercy, "Fellow Daoist, please wait! I can give you all the resources of the entire sect, please..."

Before he could finish speaking, the Yue Emperor, who had already been brought in front of Chen Liang, was immobilized by Chen Liang using a top-grade intermediate-level mind-stabilizing talisman.

Chen Liang said, "I don't need you to give it to me, I can take it myself."