The sky was clear and cloudless, under which were the rolling hills. The mountains and the sky were of one color, just like a beautiful scene depicted by the best painter. The whole flowery Fei Hua Sect was seemingly in the middle of spring-green hills dotted by flowers blooming in a riot of color.
When Luo Jianqing and Xuan Lingzi arrived at Fei Hua Sect, the Grand Masters and Chief Master of the sect, who had obviously got the message, were waiting for them.
As the Supreme Master of Tai Hua Mountain, Xuan Lingzi deserved such formal reception.
It was the first time for Luo Jianqing to visit Fei Hua Sect. After all, it was quite far from Tai Hua Mountain while close to Northern Land of Arctic. But he had heard much hearsay about Fei Hua Sect.
It was said that the founder of Fei Hua Sect was a female cultivator unlucky in love. Therefore, she hated all the male cultivators and only accepted female disciples. In another story, the founder was a powerful female emperor who had thousands of male pets. One day, she got tired of this life, so she sent these men away and founded Fei Hua Sect.
Anyway, Fei Hua Sect was the unique one among all sects and also the wonderland for many male cultivators. However, male cultivators were normally forbidden to enter Fei Hua Sect. If a female woman passed through Fei Hua Sect and needed a place to have a rest, she would be received as a guest. However, if it was a male cultivator, he would be driven out!
When Luo Jianqing and Xuan Lingzi reached Fei Hua Sect, and soon an accommodation was arranged for them.
Although that black flare demon had been eliminated by Xuan Lingzi and didn’t cause any aftermath, it still revealed an important thing: it was obvious that the Demon Realm had deployed numerous demons in thirty-six states, and they were by no means weak.
Lady Liu Yu, the Chief Master of Fei Hua Sect said, “Sir Xuan Lingzi, as you have seen, that black flare demon is at the late stage of Tribulation Passage. And demon has inborn skills, which make them far more powerful than their human counterparts. The black flare demon is the most powerful one that we have found so far, but I’ve heard that Duan Hun Sect has spotted another early-stage Tribulation Passage demon in their territory.”
Xuan Lingzi nodded slightly, “We need to eliminate all the spy demons in thirty-six states. It’s the top priority now.”
Lady Liu Yu said, “True indeed, but they are good at hiding traces, making it harder for us to find them.”
After a pause, Lady Liu Yu, who were dressed in purple, looked towards Luo Jianqing. She gazed at them, but before she said anything, Xuan Lingzi said calmly, “Jianqing is not an outsider.”
Lady Liu Yu was baffled at first, then continued, “Thirty-six states and the Fiend Realm have also deployed spies in the Demon Realm, but the number may be far less than the spies of demon.”
Luo Jianqing was shocked.
Human had also deployed spies in the Demon Realm!
But there was no ground for blame. Even though human and demon had signed that agreement and maintained peace for hundreds of years, neither of them knew when the next war would break out. However, Luo Jianqing couldn’t understand that unlike demons, who were good at hiding and thus able to lie low in the thirty-six states, human was not good at it, so how did they hide in the Demon Realm?
After a short conversation with Xuan Lingzi, Lady Liu Yu decided to double their efforts to search all the demons in their territory. After Luo Jianqing and Xuan Lingzi left, Luo Jianqing couldn’t help expressing his confusion.
Xuan Lingzi looked at his disciple and said, “Jianqing, you are not specialized in pill making.”
That was undeniable, so Luo Jianqing said, “I’ve only practiced it for a few years.”
Xuan Lingzi shrugged and said, “It’s my negligence. You only learned pill making for two decades.” Then he changed the subject and explained, “In order to deploy our men into the Demon Realm, 150 years ago, Sir Yu Qingzi, the Fiend Exalt Mo Qianqiu, the Supreme Master of Fei Hua Sect and I made a special pill. It is a Seven-Level Pill with unique effect.”
Luo Jianqing immediately understood, “It can hide our traces?”
Xuan Lingzi lowered his eyes and said with a clam face, “Not exactly.”
Luo Jianqing was surprised, “Then what’s the effect?”
They walked to the yard. Xuan Lingzi fell in a long silence, and Luo Jianqing didn’t pursue this topic. They passed through the yard with the babbling of the stream, and then Xuan Lingzi’s voice came from the distant sky, penetrated the water curtain and reached Luo Jianqing’s ears, “It is… Demonized Pill.”
Luo Jianqing suddenly stopped.
Demons could hide their traces and thus lurk in the thirty-six states for hundreds of years, while human could hardly find them. However, it was extremely difficult for human to hide themselves from demons. Cultivators below Tribulation Passage could never make it, and any cultivator couldn’t escape from the eyes of the demons at the same realm or even higher.”
In this world, even if Mo Qianqiu went to the Demon Realm, he might also be spotted by the four Demon Exalts. Only Xuan Lingzi could hide his traces.
Therefore, hundreds of years ago, Xuan Lingzi and other three cultivators refined an ancient ingredient and made this Seven-Level pill. These pills were distributed to 361 cultivators, among whom the lowest realm was Gold Core, and the highest was a late-stage Tribulation Passage grand master of Tai Hua Mountain.
By then, Luo Jianqing hadn’t been born yet, but he could imagine the scene through Xuan Lingzi’s calm voice.
Once they swallowed the Demonized Pill, their body would be ripped open and disemboweled. All their meridians would be broken until the last drop of their blood was drained. The pill would relentlessly ram their primordial life, and ultimately, their spiritual power would be transformed as demonized power.
The Demonized Pill couldn’t completely transform a cultivator into a demon. They were still human, yet they had lost human appearance. Their power was not true demon power, just demonized power transformed from spiritual power. That meant their power and realm could not improve anymore, but in turn, no demon could know their true identities.
To prevent traitorous action, all selected cultivators were loyal and determined.
After all, when you had the demon appearance, gained demonized power and lived with demons all day, years after years, it was even hard for yourself to tell whether you were a human being or a demon.
However, all the 361 cultivators hated demons for freaking ever, as each of them had vendetta with demons. The grand master of Tai Hua Mountain, for example, lost her daughter who was killed by a demon. She was desperate to take them apart, so she volunteered for this project.
“Can she come back?”
Xuan Lingzi opened the door of the yard, “Since she has become a semi-demon, she is not allowed to come back anymore.”
Luo Jianqing stopped asking.
They entered the yard. Luo Jianqing and Xuan Lingzi hadn’t intended to stay for a night here, but since this “man-forbidden” sect specially arranged an accommodation for them, they felt awkward to refuse, and thus decided to rest for a night and go to the Northern Land of Arctic the next day.