Chapter 508: The False Sect Leader

After a round of interrogation, Qin Sang gained a full understanding of the current state of the Demonic Flame Sect.

The late-stage Foundation Building cultivator, surnamed Luo, turned out to be a direct disciple of Daoist Jiupao and had recently been appointed as one of the new Demonic Flame Envoys.

At present, he held the highest status and the greatest strength within the Demonic Flame Sect, effectively taking over the sect in Daoist Jiupao’s place.

Aside from the three he captured, there were eleven other surviving remnants of the Demonic Flame Sect still within its territory. Among them, one was at the late stage of the Foundation Building Realm, while the rest were mostly at the middle stage.

Like a centipede that doesn’t die even when cut in half, this spoke volumes about the depth of the Kuiyin Sect’s foundation.

Daoist Jiupao had wished to sever all ties with the Kuiyin Sect, and so he had strictly forbidden all Kuiyin Sect survivors—except for the cultivator surnamed Luo—from interacting with the new disciples of the Demonic Flame Sect.

Usually, these remnants would remain in the cave, absorbing enough malevolent yin qi for cultivation before returning to the rear mountain to cultivate in seclusion, never coming into contact with the newer disciples.

In the Kuiyin Sect, Daoist Jiupao was their master, or their senior uncle.

These people had spent decades fleeing from Yuanzhao Sect’s relentless pursuit, living in constant fear. Now that they had finally found a refuge, and with their fates tied to Daoist Jiupao, none dared disobey his commands.

Possession would require time to recover strength afterward. Daoist Jiupao, confident in his success, had already summoned all his disciples back to the sect prior to the possession attempt.

Even those originally stationed at the Qingyang City to hold the fort had been recalled under various pretexts, all awaiting Daoist Jiupao’s reemergence.

Thus, every single Kuiyin Sect member who had sworn allegiance to Daoist Jiupao was now gathered within the Demonic Flame Sect, awaiting word. Qin Sang would not need to go searching for them.

He slipped out of the cave and retrieved the one item Daoist Jiupao had left behind—a thumb ring of black iron.

Daoist Jiupao had declared this thumb ring to be the symbol of the sect leader of the Demonic Flame Sect. He once stated that, in the future, whoever appeared bearing the ring would be recognized by the sect as its new leader.

This news made Qin Sang change his mind about dispersing the sect’s disciples. A new plan began to form in his mind.

He killed all three of the prisoners and stuffed their corpses into his Corpse Puppet Pouch. Then, donning a black robe and slipping on the thumb ring, he flew openly to the foot of Earth Fire Mountain, heading straight for the sect in broad daylight.

The Demonic Flame Sect’s protective array was always active.

To mortals, those red-leafed spiritual trees appeared quite ordinary, but cultivators knew the danger they concealed. Each tree in the forest was a hidden killing mechanism, ever-changing and unpredictable.

Just as Qin Sang neared the boundary of the array, a shout rang out from within.

"Halt! Who goes there?!"

Qin Sang stopped in his tracks, didn’t remove his hood, and simply raised his right hand to reveal the thumb ring.

"Sect Leader!"

A soft cry echoed from within the array, and a figure emerged from the forest. He knelt before Qin Sang and bowed low. "Disciple Lu Xing greets the sect leader! I beg the sect leader to forgive me!"

"It was I who ordered the mountain-protecting array to be sealed. What crime is there to forgive?"

Qin Sang noticed lingering suspicion in Lu Xing’s eyes. Without moving from his spot, he swept his gaze around and asked calmly, "Where are Luo Xiao and Mei Gu?"

Luo Xiao was the late-stage Foundation Building cultivator Qin Sang had captured in the cave.

The doubt in Lu Xing’s eyes vanished. He quickly replied, "Reporting to the sect leader, Senior Brother Luo went down the mountain last night. I don’t know where he went but instructed me to guard the mountain gate. Senior Sister Mei is preaching the Dao and instructing the juniors. I’ll summon her at once..."

"No need."

Qin Sang waved his hand and strode into the Demonic Flame Sect.

"I’ll visit the rear mountain first. You relay my orders to Mei Gu and the others. Tell them to wait in the dojo."

As he spoke, he activated his movement art and disappeared into the forest, his voice lingering like an echo on the wind.

Among the newly recruited disciples of the Demonic Flame Sect, apart from the outlier Ji Wu, those who had successfully reached the Foundation Building Realm were all still in the early stage.

𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝐰𝚎𝕓𝐧𝚘𝘃𝗲𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝕞

Someone like Lu Xing had no way of seeing through Qin Sang’s movement art.

Qin Sang made his way alone toward the rear mountain, near the lavish great halls. From Luo Xiao’s mouth, he had already learned all he needed about the sect's inner workings and was ready to wipe out the Kuiyin Sect survivors in one decisive strike.

Just in case, he first laid down an isolation barrier around the outer area. Then, he summoned the Yan Luo Array of Ten Directions, activated his ebony sword, and, with an overbearing presence, charged straight into one of the great halls.

Inside, a demonic cultivator was seated in meditation. Caught completely off guard, he didn’t even have time to resist before Qin Sang struck him down on the spot.

A quarter of an hour later, all eleven remaining Kuiyin Sect survivors within the Demonic Flame Sect were dead by Qin Sang’s hand—none had escaped.

Each of them once possessed a Yan Luo Banner of Ten Directions, though most had been shattered during their years on the run. The few that remained had been reclaimed by Daoist Jiupao and handed over to the Four Demonic Flame Envoys as trump cards when they acted in the outside world.

These survivors had all longed to wield the full power of the Yan Luo Banner of Ten Directions. However, under continued pressure from the Yuanzhao Sect, they still dared not go on a rampage.

The ten banners of the White Flame had all been destroyed by Qin Sang with his Demonic Flames of Nine Hells.

Ji Wu had originally possessed a full set of ten as well.

During the great battle at Hanshan City, Daoist Jiupao's astra was contaminated by the Blood Defilement Divine Light. Pushed to the brink of desperation, he had used Ji Wu’s Yan Luo Array of Ten Directions to resist Qin Sang. That array too had been destroyed in the chaos of the battle.

The other two Demonic Flame Envoys each possessed only six banners.

After killing so many members of the Kuiyin Sect, and combining those spoils with the loot he had already obtained from the previous Demonic Flame Envoys, Qin Sang ended up with just fourteen intact Yan Luo Banners of Ten Directions.

Not even enough to assemble two complete arrays.

The power of the Yan Luo Array of Ten Directions surpassed even that of many talisman astras. If put up for auction, it would certainly fetch an enormous sum. However, since Qin Sang had yet to complete his Core Formation, he still relied heavily on the Yan Luo Array to activate his astra.

To be safe, it was best to keep them.

With that, the last trace of the Kuiyin Sect in the immortal cultivation world was wiped away by Qin Sang.

This once-dreaded demonic sect, which had once shaken the Small Cold Domain and struck terror into righteous cultivators everywhere, now existed only in the annals of history.

After exterminating them, Qin Sang tidied up the spoils and erased all signs of battle before flying toward the mountain summit and the dojo.

...

The Demonic Flame Sect’s dojo sat close to the peak of Earth Fire Mountain. From the platform, one could clearly hear the rumbling of magma surging within the volcano’s crater. The air here was unbearably hot.

But the disciples of the Demonic Flame Sect practiced a unique cultivation art, and none of them felt discomfort.

At that moment, four people stood on the dojo platform—three men and one woman.

Among them were Lu Xing and two other young men of similar age. One was named Zhao Shanran, and the other called himself the Redleaf Layperson.

The woman wore a palace-style gown and carried herself with a gentle, elegant air. She was Mei Gu, and of the four, her cultivation was the highest. She had already sensed the bottleneck at the middle stage of the Foundation Building Realm.

These four were now the only Foundation Building cultivators left in the Demonic Flame Sect. They had once been rogue cultivators with decent talent, brought into the sect and successfully advanced to the Foundation Building Realm.

They were waiting anxiously. An entire hour had passed, yet the sect leader had still not appeared.

"Junior Brother Lu, you really saw the sect leader in person? You’re not just teasing us, are you?" Zhao Shanran asked impatiently, eyeing Lu Xing with suspicion.

Lu Xing’s eyes flared. "Senior Brother Zhao, watch your words! I may be bold, but I’d never dare falsely deliver the sect leader’s decree! I suggest you be careful, lest you bring disaster upon yourself—"

Before he could finish, a black-robed figure appeared out of thin air right in front of them.

There hadn’t been the slightest sign of his arrival.

The four were startled, but the moment they saw the iron thumb ring on Qin Sang’s hand, they all dropped to their knees.

"Disciples greet the sect leader!"