Chapter 57 ·The Demon Blade Sect’s Scheme!

Spirit ‍​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​​‌‌​​‌​​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌​​​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌‌‌​‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​​‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌​​​‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​​​‌​​​‌‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​​​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​​​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌​​‌​​​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌‌​​​​​‌‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​​‌​​‌​‌​‌​​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌‌‌‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​​​‌​​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌‌​​​​​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​​​‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌​​‌‌‌‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌​‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​​​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​​​‌‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​​‌​​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌‌‌​​​​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌​‌​​​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​​​​​‌‌​‌​​​‌​‌​‌​​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​​​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌​​​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌​​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌​‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​‌​​​‌​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​​‌‌‌​​​‌‌​‌​​​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​​​‌​​‌‌​‌​​​‌​‌​​​‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌‌‌​​​​​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌​‌​​​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​​​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​​‌‌‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​​‌​‌​​​‌​​‌‌​​‌​​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌​‌​‌​​‌​‌​​​‌‌​​​‌​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌​​​​​‌​​‌‌​​​​​‌​​‌‌‌​​​‌‌​​​‌​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​​​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌‌‌​​​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​​‌‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌‌​‌‌‌‌​​​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​​​​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌​‌‌​​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​​​‌​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌‌​​​​​‌‌​​​​​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​​‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​​​​​​‌‌​​​‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌​​‌‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​​​​‌​‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​​​​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​​​​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌​​‌‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌‌‌​​​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​‌​​​‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌‌​‌‌‌‌​​​​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌‌‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​​​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​​​‌​​​‌​​​‌​‌​‌‌‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌‌​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​​​​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​​​‌​​​‌​‌​​​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌‌‌‌​‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​‌​​‌​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌‌‌​‌​​​‌​​​‌​‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​​‌​​​‌​​​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​​‌‌​​​​​​‌‌‌‌​‌‍Realm, Eastern Continent, Blood Fiend Valley, Demon Blade Sect garrison.

This ‍​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​​‌​​​​​​​‌‌​​​​​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​​​‌​​‌‌​​​​​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌​​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌‌​​‌​​​‌​‌‌‌​‍place was not some picturesque blessed land, but rather a deep valley enclosed by dark red rock walls.

The ‍​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​​‌​​​​​​​‌‌​​​​​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​​​‌​​‌‌​​​​​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌​​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌‌​​‌​​​‌​‌‌‌​‍structures within the valley were rough and ferocious, mostly built from piled black stone.

They ‍​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​​‌​​​​​​​‌‌​​​​​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​​​‌​​‌‌​​​​​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌​​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌‌​​‌​​​‌​‌‌‌​‍resembled unsheathed blades or crouching vicious beasts—completely opposite to the elegant, immortal aura of the Azure Wave Sect.

At ‍​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​​‌​​​​​​​‌‌​​​​​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​​​‌​​‌‌​​​​​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌​​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌‌​​‌​​​‌​‌‌‌​‍this moment, on a relatively open training ground at the edge of the garrison, a scene entirely unrelated to cultivation or comprehension was unfolding.

Rather ‍​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​​‌​​​​​​​‌‌​​​​​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​​​‌​​‌‌​​​​​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌​​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌‌​​‌​​​‌​‌‌‌​‍than a training ground, it was more like an execution ground.

Pa! Pa! Pa!

Each crisp crack of the whip was accompanied by muffled groans of agony.

At the center of the ground stood two dark ironwood stakes.

Bound to them were two young men wearing tattered inner sect robes of the Azure Wave Sect.

Their sect robes had long been soaked through with blood,

barely hanging onto their scarred and mutilated bodies.

Before them, two bare-chested Demon Blade Sect disciples with bulging muscles were swinging jet-black, gleaming whips, striking without mercy.

The whips were clearly no ordinary objects—their bodies faintly revealed dense scale-like patterns.

And when they struck a person, it was not merely tearing flesh.

It was more like red-hot iron hooks ripping viciously.

With every lash, a spray of blood and a chunk of mangled flesh would be torn away.

The wounds were deep enough to expose bone, their edges charred black as if burned.

Even more bizarrely, a faint layer of black qi lingered around the wounds,

constantly obstructing the natural healing ability of Foundation Establishment cultivators while amplifying and prolonging the pain.

Around the training ground, dozens of cultivators stood or sat sparsely scattered.

Men and women, young and old.

Their clothing varied, clearly not disciples of the Demon Blade Sect.

Each of them had pale faces and evasive eyes—either lowering their heads, not daring to look, or tightly closing their eyes pretending to be in meditation.

Yet every time the whip cracked, their bodies still trembled involuntarily.

These people were mostly loose cultivators who had been “invited” or captured by the Demon Blade Sect from various places across the Eastern Continent in recent years.

The Demon Blade Sect needed labor to mine the unique Blood Fiend Ore within the valley, and also required manpower for miscellaneous tasks.

For these obedient loose cultivators, the Demon Blade Sect was not entirely unwilling to grant them a chance to live.

As long as they did not resist and completed assigned tasks, they could survive.

If they could pass certain harsh loyalty tests and voluntarily accept a secret restriction technique, they might even have a chance to don that black robe in the future and become peripheral members of the Demon Blade Sect.

Thus, despite living in constant fear, like walking on the edge of a blade, most loose cultivators chose silence and obedience.

However, the two Azure Wave Sect disciples in the field were clearly not treated the same.

The treatment they received was entirely different.

The Demon Blade Sect did not seem eager to kill them, nor did they execute them outright like some stubborn captives.

The one tied to the left stake was named Zhao Lie. True to his name, he had a fierce temperament and specialized in fire-attributed techniques. Within the Azure Wave Sect’s inner sect, he had once been a rising talent.

His aptitude was second only to Lin You.

The one on the right was named Han Song. His personality was relatively calm and meticulous, excelling in water and wood techniques. He was also a key disciple under focused cultivation.

A few days ago, the two had teamed up to accept a sect mission to investigate abnormal demonic beast activity in the miasma forest at the edge of the Eastern Continent.

Three other familiar fellow disciples had accompanied them.

The mission itself was not difficult. With their late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivation, it should have been easily accomplished.

Unexpectedly, a planted spy from the Demon Blade Sect had been mixed into their group!

Just as they were about to complete the mission and had relaxed their guard, two companions suddenly turned on them.

Together with several late-stage Foundation Establishment Demon Blade Sect cultivators lying in ambush, they attacked from both inside and outside.

Caught off guard, Zhao Lie and Han Song resisted desperately, but ultimately could not fight against overwhelming numbers.

Worse still, they were stabbed in the back by their own companions.

In the end, their spiritual energy was exhausted, and they were severely injured and captured.

After being brought to Blood Fiend Valley, the nightmare began.

Each day, aside from a tiny amount of water and pills to maintain basic vitality, they endured endless torture—whipping, branding with hot irons, bone-chilling freezing punishments, each more cruel than the last.

At this moment, the two were already on the verge of death.

The whipping finally paused.

Not because the executioners were tired, but because a middle-aged cultivator in a dark red-black robe walked over with his hands behind his back.

He was at the early Golden Core stage—one of the Demon Blade Sect’s stewards responsible for this area and handling captives, surnamed Tu.

Steward Tu approached and swept his gaze over Zhao Lie and Han Song’s mangled bodies as if inspecting livestock, letting out a cold sneer.

“Tch, inner sect elites of the Azure Wave Sect. Your bones are indeed harder than those loose cultivators.”

“But no matter how hard, bones can still be crushed.”

“I’ll ask you one last time—are you willing to submit to my Demon Blade Sect, swear a heart devil oath, and become a hidden agent of our Holy Sect within your Azure Wave Sect?”

Zhao Lie’s swollen lips moved slightly: “You… your mother… when… did you ever… ask us…?”

He did not recall any such formal recruitment before.

Steward Tu’s expression darkened. Without warning, he raised his hand and made a grasping motion—the black-scaled whip flew from the executioner’s hand into his own.

With a flick of his wrist, the whip lashed across Zhao Lie’s freshly scabbed wound, instantly tearing it open again!

“Ugh—AH!” Zhao Lie let out an uncontrollable scream.

“When I say I asked, then I asked.”

“Here, I make the rules.”

His gaze shifted to Han Song, who was equally miserable. “And you? Want to taste the Bone-Eroding Whip again?”

Han Song had seen more of the world and understood that resisting now would only bring more pointless suffering.

His throat bobbed as he forced out a few words: “Willing… willing… I will… please stop…”

Seeing his companion submit, and feeling the overwhelming pain of old and new wounds erupting together, Zhao Lie’s last trace of stubbornness was finally crushed.

“I… I’m willing…”

The frost on Steward Tu’s face melted instantly, even revealing a somewhat kind smile.

As if he had not been the one inflicting torture moments ago.

“If you had been so sensible earlier, wouldn’t that have been better?”

“You could’ve avoided all this unnecessary suffering.”

“Rest assured—once you join our Holy Sect, as long as you serve loyally, your future will be far brighter than staying in that hypocritical sect like the Azure Wave Sect.”

Zhao Lie and Han Song lowered their heads, not daring to respond, but their hearts were icy cold.

Submission? It was nothing more than a temporary measure—feigned compliance.

As long as they found an opportunity, they would escape and report the Demon Blade Sect’s scheme to the sect!

However, Steward Tu—and the Demon Blade Sect behind him—did not seem to care whether their surrender was genuine.

The Demon Blade Sect and the Azure Wave Sect were sworn enemies, bound by blood feuds spanning hundreds of years.

In the past, the two sects were evenly matched, their conflicts yielding victories and losses on both sides.

But about a hundred years ago, the Demon Blade Sect’s fortune surged dramatically.

Three astonishing geniuses emerged in succession, breaking through all the way to the late Nascent Soul stage.

They became the pillars of the sect, known as the Three Elders of the Demon Blade.

For a time, the Demon Blade Sect’s momentum was overwhelming, pressing the Azure Wave Sect to the brink of destruction.

Yet fate had other plans—the Azure Wave Sect survived by relying on a woman who connected them to one of the overlord forces of the Eastern Continent, the Tianyan Dao Sect, gaining its protection.

Although the Tianyan Dao Sect did not directly act against the Demon Blade Sect, a single decree forbidding the destruction of the Azure Wave Sect’s lineage hung like a sword over their heads, forcing the Three Elders of the Demon Blade to hold back.

The path of outright annihilation was blocked.

If direct methods wouldn’t work, then they would use indirect ones.

After long deliberation, combining several sinister secret techniques of mind control within their sect, the Three Elders devised a vicious plan.

That plan was—

to replace and hollow them out from within!

Since they could not destroy from the outside, they would slowly erode and replace from the inside.

Through coercion, temptation, and secret control techniques, they would gradually replace Azure Wave Sect disciples—and even mid- to lower-level elders—with their own people loyal to the Demon Blade Sect or directly controlled by their secret arts.

When the time came, and most of the Azure Wave Sect—from top to bottom—had become puppets of the Demon Blade Sect, would it still even be the Azure Wave Sect?

At that point, even if the two Nascent Soul ancestors of the Azure Wave Sect realized something was wrong, it would already be too late.

The sect’s foundation and disciples would all be in enemy hands—was this not a more thorough and devastating revenge than simply destroying the sect?

Moreover, the method was covert and difficult for the Tianyan Dao Sect to directly intervene.

This plan required time, patience, and extreme secrecy.

Thus, the Demon Blade Sect had been carrying it out in secret for many years.

They captured lone or promising Azure Wave Sect disciples not merely for slaughter or venting anger.

They sought to transform them into hidden agents and send them back to infiltrate further.

Now, within the Azure Wave Sect, perhaps three or four out of every ten disciples already had intricate ties with the Demon Blade Sect—or were even directly controlled.

Some elders who appeared loyal had unknowingly defected.

It was precisely this vast and covert network of hidden agents that allowed the Demon Blade Sect’s capture operations to be so precise and sudden.

And information rarely leaked.

Most of the Azure Wave Sect’s higher-ups had yet to realize that a catastrophic disaster was approaching in such a strange and insidious manner.

Steward Tu looked at his two newly acquired “recruits,” already calculating what kind of restriction to plant in them for maximum reliability.

The pain of the Bone-Eroding Whip was merely an appetizer.

What truly ensured these agents could never betray them were those demonic secret techniques and heart devil oaths that penetrated deep into the soul—leaving them unable to live or die freely.

He waved his hand, signaling his subordinates to take down the nearly dead Zhao Lie and Han Song and bring them to a specialized chamber for the next stage of processing.

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