Chapter 384: The Demonic Cores

At the same time, inside the Treasure Assembly Trading House's Taixuan City branch, Theft Saint Bai Wuying had finished drinking and was sprawled on a silk-sheeted bed taking a nap.

In the chair across the room, Bai Xiaotang sat with two enormous dark circles under her eyes, every acupoint on her body sealed so that she could not move a single muscle.

For the past several days, the old beggar had been working her like a pack animal, which was simply inhumane.

And to prevent her from running away, he was not even letting her sleep, sealing her acupoints directly. He was not a decent human being.

But Bai Xiaotang had no recourse. She could not beat him in a fight. As for trading insults, the old beggar's tongue was sharper than hers, and he had nearly talked her to tears.

At this moment, the Grand Manager of the Treasure Assembly Trading House appeared at the room's door, peeked inside, then called out a warm greeting and strode in.

Bai Xiaotang caught sight of him and her eyes lit up at once. She was about to open her mouth to ask a question, then remembered her speech acupoint had been sealed and she could not say a word.

The Grand Manager looked at Bai Xiaotang and seemed to read what she wanted to ask. He spoke first with a smile, "Miss Bai, the person you were looking for has been found."

At those words, Bai Xiaotang's eyes blazed with sudden brightness, and she nearly cried outright with happiness.

In her current situation, the only person in the world she could think of who might save her from this torment was Li Musheng.

The only thing that had kept her going these past days was Li Musheng. She had dreamed every night that the old beggar would get thoroughly beaten by Li Musheng, giving her the chance to make her escape from this misery.

Though she was not actually sure whether Li Musheng could genuinely suppress Theft Saint Bai Wuying, a person needed something to hope for. Without that, she simply could not have gotten through these days.

"Found the person?"

At that moment, Theft Saint Bai Wuying, who had been sound asleep on the bed, suddenly opened his eyes and looked toward the Grand Manager.

At those words, the Grand Manager quickly came before Bai Wuying and clasped his hands in a bow, "Elder Brother Bai, this humble one has not let you down. I had to call in nearly every connection the trading house has, but even in this chaotic Taixuan City, I have located where the person Miss is looking for is staying."

Bai Wuying remained lying on the bed without getting up, only glancing briefly at the Grand Manager before looking away.

The upheaval in the Great Xuan imperial family was something Bai Wuying was naturally aware of, and the Grand Manager before him had genuinely put in the effort.

"Tell me where the person is, then you can get out."

Theft Saint Bai Wuying waved a hand, then looked at Bai Xiaotang sitting in the chair and gave a cold laugh, "Tonight I will go in person and let you watch how I bring that person back and string them up right in front of you."

Of course, though Bai Wuying said all of this with absolute certainty, he had not the slightest actual contempt in his heart. Someone who possessed a finger art like that was clearly not someone whose overall strength could be dismissed.

And the fact that he had not acted the moment he learned of the person, but chosen to move at night, said enough about his caution.

After all, night was his domain, the habit of years spent as the Theft Saint making his way through the world.

Theft Saint Bai Wuying was confident that once darkness fell, he was already standing on undefeatable ground.

At those words, Bai Xiaotang could not speak and could only sit there rolling her eyes.

The Grand Manager beside them showed a faint change of expression. He naturally knew perfectly well that Theft Saint Bai Wuying had no idea what kind of extraordinary figure he was about to go and find. But he did not say a word about it, and also did not bring up the matter of seeking the Theft Saint's help at that moment. He very wisely took his leave.

Back in his own room, the Grand Manager resumed soaking in his medicinal tub to suppress the poison in his body, his brow furrowed deeply.

The confrontation between Crown Prince Zhao Kuang and the two surviving princes had thrown the Great Xuan court and the entire Taixuan City into chaos and bloodshed.

Others might not understand it, but he understood clearly enough that the Great Xuan emperor's hand was almost certainly behind all of this.

There were no soft hearts in the imperial family, and every one of them was ruthless and merciless beyond the last, as could be seen from Crown Prince Zhao Kuang killing his father and slaughtering his brothers, and from the Great Xuan emperor scheming away with complete disregard for the lives of his own children.

And the Grand Manager's life was still in the Great Xuan emperor's hands. If that man died, the Grand Manager would most certainly not survive either.

Though the Grand Manager would have liked nothing more than to cut the Great Xuan emperor down himself, at this moment he had no wish to see anything happen to him.

His reason for finding Li Musheng's location, beyond wanting to ask for Bai Wuying's help, was also that he had a quiet interest in keeping watch over Li Musheng's movements.

In his view, Zhao Kuang was no match whatsoever for the Great Xuan emperor, and the only person in all of Taixuan City who might actually be capable of killing the Great Xuan emperor was Li Musheng.

As long as he kept an eye on Li Musheng, the Great Xuan emperor was essentially safe, and he could focus in peace on dealing with the poison and the Intestinal Fiend Worm in his body.

And if Li Musheng showed any signs of moving, he could notify the Great Xuan emperor in time.

...

The inn remained as undisturbed as ever. Even with Zhao Kuang and the two princes locked in a battle that had the sky turning dark, the Great Xuan palace's experts that had been hunting Zhao Muning's group never appeared.

Another uneventful day passed. The large black cat lay around beside Li Musheng with nothing to do.

Only occasionally pulling out the promissory note worth ten thousand taels of gold to look at gave it any sense of purpose, as it daydreamed about when it might go and collect the gold from the seven major sects.

Of course, most of the gold would have to be handed over to Li Musheng, but even with just a small share, the large black cat dwelt on the thought constantly and eagerly.

As night fell, the large black cat lay on the windowsill, its round green eyes occasionally drifting toward Li Musheng inside the room.

The demonic shadows filling the room were getting more and more alarming. If it were not for the fact that Li Musheng gave it an overwhelming sense of solidity and security, it would not want to spend another moment in here.

Just then, the large black cat's eyes shifted. It watched Li Musheng, sitting at the table, suddenly stop cracking melon seeds and turn his head for no apparent reason to look toward the window.

The large black cat twisted its head immediately and followed Li Musheng's line of sight, but could not detect anything unusual at all.

The entire inn was as quiet as usual.

But the large black cat understood that just because it could not detect something did not mean Li Musheng could not. If Li Musheng had made that movement, something had certainly happened, and something significant enough to catch Li Musheng's attention.

At that moment, the large black cat watched Li Musheng run a hand over his chin and murmur to himself, "A few days of silence, and now they finally cannot hold back any longer."

With that, Li Musheng rose from his seat. The large black cat saw this and immediately bolted to his feet in an instant, letting out an urgent meow.

It was obvious that Li Musheng was about to go out and do something impressive, the way he had that night at the Great Xuan imperial palace.

The large black cat had absolutely no intention of missing a scene like that, and immediately pleaded to be taken along.

Li Musheng glanced down at the large black cat at his feet, thought briefly, then raised a hand and scooped it up. In the next instant, both of them vanished from the room and headed out of the inn.

The large black cat did not know where Li Musheng was taking it, but it felt a surge of inexplicable excitement, because the truly spectacular part was clearly still to come.

At the same time, barely moments after Li Musheng left with the large black cat, a masked figure in night-black attire slowly emerged from the darkness.

"What extraordinary speed. I did not even manage to get a clear look at the person."

A flash of startled uncertainty passed through Theft Saint Bai Wuying's eyes. That morning, having learned Li Musheng's location from the Grand Manager of the Treasure Assembly Trading House, he had waited for darkness to fall, locked Bai Xiaotang up, changed into the professional attire he had not worn in years, and made his way immediately to the inn where Li Musheng was staying.

But he had barely arrived in the vicinity of the inn when Li Musheng flashed out of it and disappeared in the blink of an eye.

For a moment, Theft Saint Bai Wuying was genuinely startled by Li Musheng's speed, and could not help feeling that the man's movement technique was clearly no ordinary thing.

"This has to be the expert that troublesome girl was talking about."

Theft Saint Bai Wuying narrowed his eyes. With a movement technique and finger art like that, it was no wonder that troublesome girl had been completely swept away and no longer regarded him with the same respect as before.

And had even made the outrageous claim that this person could string him up and beat him with one hand.

"No sense of propriety. This person's movement technique is not bad, but compared to me, the Theft Saint who has roamed the martial world unchallenged, it still falls far short."

Theft Saint Bai Wuying gave a cold laugh, then his figure melted into the night and vanished at speed in the direction Li Musheng had gone.

...

At the same time, the demonic experts of the three great demonic sects in Taixuan City had also quietly set out.

For the three great demonic sects of the Great Xuan martial world, this was a critical night, one upon which the future flourishing of the demonic path depended.

Having gathered all nine Demonic Cores, the three demonic sects planned to open the Demonic Patriarch's legacy arts tonight.

Virtually every person in the demonic world understood that if the Demonic Patriarch's legacy could be obtained, the strength of the three great demonic sects would grow enormously.

After that, crushing the seven major sects and reviving the glorious era of the Demonic Patriarch's time would be within reach. The entire Great Xuan martial world would answer to the demonic sects.

On this night, every single demonic figure was burning with excitement.

Even Wenyue, who was following behind the three cult masters, the Blood River Patriarch, the Sun and Moon Demonic Empress, and the Ten Thousand Malice Demonic Sect Master, could clearly feel the three of them radiating a palpable shift in emotion.

Even so, Wenyue only watched their backs with a composed, indifferent expression, a barely perceptible glint of knowing amusement in her eyes.

She said nothing from start to finish, only following along with the assembled demonic experts from the three sects toward the site where the Demonic Cores would be opened.

Before long, Wenyue arrived with the three cult masters and the assembled demonic experts at the foot of a mountain within Taixuan City.

The mountain rose to over two hundred zhang in height. A stone staircase of cut green stone led from the base all the way to the summit, lined on both sides by dense foliage, hushed and still in the black of night.

Wenyue looked around, and let her gaze drift to the foot of the mountain, where a large stone stele stood, bearing three large carved characters: Qingxuan Temple.

"So this is the place you chose. Does the Qingxuan Temple have some particular significance?"

Wenyue shifted her gaze toward the Blood River Patriarch and the other two, asking the question.

At those words, the Blood River Patriarch stood at the foot of the stone staircase, looked up toward the mountain, and said with a meaningful air, "Has the Great Palace Mistress not noticed? Coming to this place, does it not feel different from everywhere else?"

Wenyue's eyes shifted faintly, and then she gave a slight nod, "Of course I can feel it. The true qi of heaven and earth here is far denser than anywhere else in Taixuan City. There is clearly something unusual about this place."

At those words, the Sun and Moon Demonic Empress glanced at Wenyue, let out a few quiet coughs, and said, "You only know part of it. The Qingxuan Temple is held in great esteem by the Great Xuan imperial family, and the city's officials and nobility come here regularly. Its standing in the Great Xuan imperial capital is not low, and ordinarily no uninvited persons would dare come here."

"But more importantly, not long ago a strange incident occurred in the Qingxuan Temple, and that was one of the main reasons our three sects chose this place to open the Demonic Cores."

At those words, the Ten Thousand Malice Demonic Sect Master waved a hand, "No need to say more. Time is short. We should go up and open the Demonic Cores without delay."

With that, the Ten Thousand Malice Demonic Sect Master moved without further comment, taking a single step and heading up into the mountain toward the Qingxuan Temple.

Seeing this, the Blood River Patriarch and the Sun and Moon Demonic Empress said nothing more either, and led the assembled demonic experts after him at once.

Wenyue saw this and naturally followed close behind.

...

"We respectfully greet the Old Patriarch. The Daoist priests in the Qingxuan Temple have all been dealt with and the formations are in place, but this dark pool is very strange. Our people do not dare approach."

Coming around to the back of the mountain where the Qingxuan Temple sat, before a stone staircase enclosed by tall iron fencing, a group of demonic experts appeared from the surrounding darkness, and their leader reported to the Blood River Patriarch with a grave expression.

At the same time, every one of the assembled demonic experts could see that not far beyond the iron fencing lay a dark pool shrouded in a chilling mist.

Sprawled all around the pool were bodies lying at all angles, both Daoist priests from the Qingxuan Temple and disciples from the three demonic sects, every one of them in an unknown state, alive or dead.

"It is fine. You may all step back."

The Blood River Patriarch waved a dismissive hand, seeming unsurprised by the scene before him.

He then ordered the demonic experts from the three sects to guard the surrounding mountain paths, exchanged a look with the Sun and Moon Demonic Empress and the Ten Thousand Malice Demonic Sect Master, and said, "The true qi of heaven and earth concentrated in this pool is of a purity and density this old man has never seen in his life. It is the perfect place to open the Demonic Cores."

The Blood River Patriarch glanced back at Wenyue, then walked with the Sun and Moon Demonic Empress and the Ten Thousand Malice Demonic Sect Master straight toward the dark pool nearby.

The iron fencing barring their way dissolved silently into iron dust and drifted down. The three of them drew closer to the pool.

Seeing this, Wenyue narrowed her eyes faintly, but without hesitation followed behind the three of them toward the pool.

As they drew nearer, a silent barrier of demonic energy rose and wrapped around the three cult masters, while the true qi of heaven and earth in the surrounding area began churning and trembling with increasing intensity.

At the same time, the surface of the dark pool began to stir with gentle waves.

Though tonight was not a full moon, the moonlight falling on the pool caused a seven-colored halo to rise from it, shimmering and indistinct. Like a rainbow of mist and color, it covered the entire pool's surface without making a sound.