Chapter 10: A Vow to the Heavenly Centipede Deity

"Who're the perpetrators?" Hou Fang asked with an enraged expression.

"That's just the problem," Yin Shengong sighed. "The perpetrators are people that we can't afford to mess with."

𝐟𝕣𝕖𝐞𝐰𝕖𝚋𝐧𝗼𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝗰𝐨𝐦

"How did this happen?" Qian Sanjiang asked.

"Here's what happened," Yin Shengong sighed in a weary manner. "Sun Yuan was able to reach the Emperor thanks to divine power injection, and he had to consolidate his cultivation base, so he stayed at the capital for training. Around that time, Night Demon came back from the Parasite Ascension Project, and the clans of all of the people that Night Demon killed wanted to seek him out for vengeance, but no one knows who Night Demon is.

“There were five Kings from our One Heart Church over there, and they were all approached by the Wang Clan, but four of them didn't even know of Night Demon at all. However, when they asked Sun Yuan, it seemed like he must've inadvertently let on that he was familiar with Night Demon. They tried to force Sun Yuan to lead them to Night Demon, and he had no choice but to allow them to go with him.

“I thought Sun Yuan's luck was finally beginning to turn with his breakthrough to the Emperor tier, but it seemed like fate had other plans. On the way back, we were trying to figure out a plan. I told him to lead them to the White Apple Prefecture rather than the White Cloud Prefecture, and I told him to scrap the plan to protect Night Demon and return to the headquarters as soon as he could slip away."

"How did he end up dead then?" Mu Linyuan asked in a puzzled manner.

"Everything was going according to plan, but they ran straight into Night Demon on the way to the White Apple Prefecture! As it turned out, Night Demon had just returned home for a few days, and he ran into Sun Yuan while traveling back to the White Cloud Prefecture!" Yin Shengong explained. "After that, things took a rapid turn for the worse, and Sun Yuan sacrificed himself to cover Night Demon's escape."

Yin Shengong's voice trailed off here as he rose to his feet and began pacing back and forth, and sighing incessantly to himself the entire time.

Of course, Sun Yuan's death was of no concern to him. On the contrary, he was happy to no longer have to share a disciple with someone else. However, Night Demon's reaction was a huge source of concern for him.

Clearly, Night Demon was very emotional, and that was a perfectly understandable reaction.

However, the problem was that he wanted revenge, but he had no idea who he was dealing with!

The Wang Clan and the Li Clan were both prominent clans of the main church, and there was a very good chance that these two weren't even the only clans involved!

Night Demon's messages were still pouring in.

"I know you must've been aware of this, Master. There's no way Master Sun Yuan wouldn't have reported such an important development to you. Please tell me who those people are."

"What should we do?" Yin Shengong asked as he turned to Mu Linyuan and the others with a helpless expression.

"Who are we dealing with?" Mu Linyuan asked.

"The Wang Clan and the Li Clan," Yin Shengong replied. "According to my connections at the main church, that so-called Wang Yun'er is actually Li Mengyun, a direct lineal young mistress of the Li Clan, while her two guards are Li Changbo and Li Changhe, both sixth-rank Emperors. "

A grim look appeared on Qian Sanjiang's face upon hearing this.

These two clans weren't particularly powerful, but they had countless powerful ties and connections thanks to alliances forged through marriage and other arrangements.

Many of the members of those two clans were working in various departments of the main church, and even though none of them held any particularly important positions, their combined might was still quite a force to be reckoned with.

Even in the best of times, the One Heart Church wouldn't have been able to do anything to the two clans, and now that the One Heart Church was in a state of forced lockdown, they were even more powerless.

More importantly, it simply wasn't worth making an enemy out of these two clans over Sun Yuan.

"We have to tell him," Qian Sanjiang said. "An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. If Night Demon wants to avenge Sun Yuan, then let him do it. However, he has to bide his time. If he tries to take on the Wang Clan and the Li Clan at his current cultivation base, he'll be crushed like an ant!"

Yin Shengong nodded in agreement, then picked up his communication jade and sent a message to Night Demon.

"Right now, our church is undergoing a process of overhaul, so we're all stuck in the headquarters right now. Sun Yuan must be avenged, but you must accumulate more power before you can attempt to avenge him. Otherwise, you'll only be joining him!"

"I understand, I just want to know who the perpetrators are."

"That would be the Li Clan and the Wang Clan. Wang Yun'er is actually just an alias for Li Mengyun, a direct lineal young mistress of the Li Clan. As for her two guards, those are Li Changbo and Li Changhe, both of whom are sixth-rank Emperors."

Yin Shengong debriefed Fang Che on all of the events leading up to Sun Yuan's death, omitting nothing from his recount of events.

"Master Sun Yuan once asked me to look after his clan if anything happens to him. Where is Master Sun Yuan's clan?"

"Sun Yuan's clan is in the White Cloud Prefecture. It's just an ordinary clan with only a few mediocre warriors among its ranks, and that's why he invested so heavily into you. By the way, Sun Yuan's real name is Sun Yuanxiu."

"The clan is in the White Cloud Prefecture?"

Fang Che was genuinely surprised to hear this.

Sun Yuan had never told him this.

It was no wonder he had always been so secretive in the White Cloud Prefecture, considering it was the home of his clan.

"That's right. To the south of the prefectural city is a Sun Village, and that entire village is your master's clan."

In Yin Shengong's eyes, Sun Yuan's clan was entirely inconsequential. It wasn't even a warrior clan at all, so what use could it possibly serve?

If such a clan were to move to a city overseen by a demonic church, it would be decimated in days.

Hence, Yin Shengong allowed it to exist peacefully under the jurisdiction of the Guardians.

However, after seeing Yin Shengong's message, Fang Che felt as if an explosion had rung out in his mind, leaving him reeling.

The Sun Village situated to the south of the prefectural city was the very same village where he had found the Formless Divine Jade!

It was almost as if everything were connected, as if everything that had taken place in his second life had been preordained by fate, and just the mere thought raised goosebumps over his skin.

"Master, I have already sworn a vow to the Heavenly Centipede Deity to avenge Master Sun Yuan. I'll either decimate the entirety of the Wang Clan and the Li Clan, or die trying!"

Yin Shengong almost dropped his communication jade in alarm upon seeing this.

After a stunned silence, he heaved a forlorn sigh.

"What's wrong, Pope Yin? What did Night Demon say?"

"He said he's sworn a vow to the Heavenly Centipede Deity to avenge Sun Yuan," Yin Shengong sighed, and Mu Linyuan and the others were also very alarmed to hear this.

Vows to the Heavenly Centipede Deity were the most binding vows that one could swear in the Church of the Self-Righteous, and in swearing such a vow, Night Demon had condemned himself to a path of vengeance.

"He's too sentimental for his own good," Yin Shengong sighed in a glum manner. "How has a bunch of cold-blooded demons like us ended up with such an empathetic disciple? Is that not absurd?"

"I suppose it is, but then again, isn't that why you hold him in such high regard, Pope Yin?" Mu Linyuan mused with a wry smile. "If he were just as heartless as everyone else, you wouldn't be so invested in him."

"That's true, but his empathy is going to be the death of him someday!" Yin Shengong said with tightly furrowed brows.

"He'll be fine. With the four of us looking after him, no one will dare to try and take advantage of him, and by the time we're unable to look after him, he'll have learned not to be so naive and sentimental," Hou Fang said.

"Indeed," Mu Linyuan chimed in with a nod. "We were all just like Night Demon in our youth. It's only because we've endured too much hardship and betrayal that we've become what we are today. Eventually, Night Demon is going to become just like us, so we have to cherish this version of Night Demon while it lasts.

“Once he becomes just as jaded and cynical like us, he'll be ready to traverse this cruel world without our guidance. However, the fact that we were his mentors during this tender and naive stage of his life means that he'll never do anything to us, and that's great news as far as I'm concerned."

"My thoughts exactly," Hou Fang and Qian Sanjiang agreed with a nod.

"I'm going to be an elder for the rest of my life with no chance of ever progressing up the ranks, so at this point, I'm just waiting for Night Demon to take me to the top," Qian Sanjiang grinned.