Chapter 897 - 396: 200th Birthday, Identity Exposed, Tier 5 Reincarnation Wheel

The Old Turtle let out a deep sigh. At the time, he and many other Righteous Nascent Souls had their suspicions.

However, Holy Fire True Monarch was the descendant of a Black Tortoise Sect disciple. He had grown up in the sect and received frequent guidance and promotion from Black Tortoise True Monarch throughout his development. To him, Black Tortoise True Monarch was both a mentor and a friend. Even if he were a beast, he shouldn’t have ruthlessly murdered him.

Moreover, he had been the picture of grief at the time, pointing to the heavens and swearing to uncover the truth to avenge Black Tortoise True Monarch. As a result, the others dropped their suspicions.

Having reached the Nascent Soul realm, one stood at the very pinnacle of the Cultivation Immortality Realm. Why would anyone bother defecting to the Demonic Path? Even if they did, they wouldn’t gain much benefit.

Yet, none of them had anticipated that three hundred years ago, while Holy Fire True Monarch was merely a Qi Refining disciple, he had already defected to the Demonic Path!

His cultivation talent was indeed quite good. But the Black Tortoise Sect had a legacy spanning ten thousand years and countless disciples; the last thing they lacked was geniuses. Among that multitude of prodigies, he wasn’t the most conspicuous. In fact, he wouldn’t have even ranked in the top ten!

In every sect competition, he would lose to a stronger Celestial Pride. Defeated time and time again, he could only watch helplessly as the treasures he desired fell into the hands of others. Even the female cultivator he admired was snatched away by another Celestial Pride. He spent his days in agony, nearly developing a Heart Demon.

It was then that he met the person who would change his life forever. Celestial Nether True Monarch!

"Holy Fire said he was originally hostile toward Celestial Nether True Monarch. He didn’t genuinely want to defect to the Demonic Path; he merely feigned allegiance to swindle the resources Celestial Nether True Monarch offered him," the Old Turtle recounted slowly. He relayed Holy Fire True Monarch’s words to Li Chang’an so that he could better understand their enemy.

Three hundred years ago.

On an utterly ordinary dusk, Holy Fire, who only had Qi Refining cultivation, met Celestial Nether True Monarch, who was already the Sect Leader of the Nether Soul Sect.

Lacking any of the haughty airs of a Nascent Soul powerhouse, Celestial Nether True Monarch wore an incredibly gentle expression as he invited him to join the Demonic Path. He made a promise to Holy Fire. As long as Holy Fire joined the Demonic Path, he would personally cultivate him and provide boundless resources. It wouldn’t be long before Holy Fire could claim the top spot within his sect, become the strongest Celestial Pride, and personally take back everything he had lost!

Filled with bitter resentment from his repeated failures, Holy Fire accepted Celestial Nether True Monarch’s invitation on the spot.

Of course, at that time, his surrender was merely a pretense. This was simply because Celestial Nether True Monarch hadn’t placed any restriction within his body, nor had he sent anyone to monitor him. He allowed Holy Fire to grow freely. In other words, whenever he wished, he could easily betray the Demonic Path again, or even sell Celestial Nether True Monarch’s information to the Nascent Souls of the Black Tortoise Sect.

However, as they interacted over time, he gradually changed his mind.

Celestial Nether True Monarch fulfilled all of his promises. With his help, Holy Fire underwent a complete metamorphosis. He stood out among the numerous Celestial Prides, securing first place in the sect competition that year and ascending to the very pinnacle of his peers, basking in everyone’s limelight!

At that moment, Celestial Nether True Monarch stood among the crowd, a smile on his face. His eyes were filled with gratification as he gave Holy Fire a slight nod.

From then on, Holy Fire’s resolve began to waver.

In the years that followed, Celestial Nether True Monarch remained patient and gentle. To Holy Fire, he was like both a master and a father, guiding him through one obstacle after another and personally leading him on the path of Nascent Soul Formation.

On the day before his Nascent Soul Formation, Holy Fire—fearful that he wouldn’t be able to survive the Heart Demon Tribulation—confessed his original treacherous intentions to Celestial Nether True Monarch. But Celestial Nether True Monarch didn’t get angry. He remained as easygoing as ever, simply telling Holy Fire to walk whatever path he wished to walk. Whether it was the Righteous Dao or the Demonic Path, he was free to choose.

That conversation untied the knot in Holy Fire’s heart, allowing him to successfully overcome the Heart Demon Tribulation and become a Nascent Soul expert of his generation!

"Holy Fire told me that without Celestial Nether’s help, he might not have even formed a Golden Core. Sooner or later, a Heart Demon would have been born from his endless failures. Therefore, he was resolved to follow Celestial Nether."

Hearing this, Li Chang’an fell into deep thought. Whether it was the Cui family or Holy Fire True Monarch, both were willingly following Celestial Nether. Within the Righteous Dao, there were likely many more hidden followers.

"Elder Turtle, could you ask Holy Fire who the other moles within the Righteous Dao are?"

"I already asked, but Holy Fire doesn’t know either. He holds the winning hand now; he even detailed the process of how he plotted to kill Black Tortoise and Red-eyed Flood Dragon, so there’s no need for him to hide anything else."

The Old Turtle explained that Holy Fire almost exclusively contacted Celestial Nether True Monarch and had little interaction with other Demonic Path powerhouses. He was completely oblivious to the other moles lurking within the Righteous Dao. Because of this, the Old Turtle had brought Lin Xuanyan along to seek out Li Chang’an.

He suspected that the other seven major Nascent Soul Influences all harbored Demonic Path moles. If they went to them for help, it was highly likely they would be walking right into a trap.

"That Tier Four Demonic Path Demonic Monarch, the ’Six-winged Water Snake,’ was actually able to slip into our Black Tortoise Sect completely unnoticed. Even I didn’t sense a thing.

"Among the other Nascent Soul Influences, even if there are no Nascent Soul moles, there might still be Demonic Nascent Souls or Demon Monarchs lying in ambush," the Old Turtle said. He was extremely cautious and refused to trust any faction.

But for whatever reason, he trusted Li Chang’an. This was simply because, upon laying eyes on Li Chang’an for the first time, he had felt quite fond of him—it was as if he were looking at another Old Turtle who had lived for thousands of years.

After hearing him out, a look of helplessness crossed Li Chang’an’s face.

"Elder, I only have Golden Core cultivation. Even if I wanted to help, I wouldn’t be able to. Why don’t I contact the Wang family ancestor, Wang Yannian, for you?"

The Wang family had been annihilated by the Demonic Path twice in a row, suffering countless casualties among their clansmen. As Li Chang’an saw it, the possibility of Wang Yannian defecting to the Demonic Path was extremely slim.

Standing to the side, Lin Xuanyan was equally puzzled.

"Old Turtle, saving you would require breaking into the Black Tortoise Sect and directly confronting Holy Fire True Monarch and the Six-winged Water Snake. How could Daoist Li possibly undertake something so dangerous? Even if he wanted to, he lacks the strength."