Chapter 309: The Martial World Is Very Unpredictable [End of Book 3]

It turned out that after Jiang Yuebai found the name "Yan Renjie," she had searched through the registry of the Mount Shu Sect’s disciples and found no other record of him aside from the fact that he’d had a son and a daughter.

The lineage of his family continued on from there, eventually leading to a person named Yan Zi. That person was the peak master of Azure Falling Peak, Daoist Yan.

Jiang Yuebai was rather worried. The fact that her investigation into this matter led her to her teacher meant that her teacher’s great-grandfather might have damaged one of the Mount Shu Sect’s legendary artifacts. Moreover, it also suggested that there was a high possibility her teacher might be a descendant of a half-demon person!

Even after passing through hundreds and thousands of generations of descendants, demon blood was still demon blood. No matter how little of it had actually been passed down, there was always the possibility that the descendants might transform into demons.

This discovery didn’t make Jiang Yuebai think any less of her teacher. However, she feared what would happen if this matter were revealed because of her. She didn’t want her teacher to be criticized.

Nevertheless, it didn’t matter even if Jiang Yuebai kept her lips sealed. There was no doubt that the higher-ups of the Mount Shu Sect would have made headway in their investigation even faster than she had. Her desire to keep what she had discovered a secret was pointless.

Now, Jiang Yuebai was weighed down by her guilt.

"I see..." Chu Liang muttered.

As he listened to Jiang Yuebai express her worries, he finally understood why Daoist Yan had been able to defeat two monstrous talents of her generation, one with the Transcendent Spirit constitution and the other with the Divine Fire Spirit. If they had a peer with the Xuan Yuan Eyes, the Mount Shu Sect would have had all three mystical abilities of the three great powerful families in the same generation of disciples.

If Daoist Yan were truly half demon, that would explain how she’d managed to defeat Jiang Tiankuo and Di Nufeng. All three of them were freaks of nature.

It also explained why Daoist Yan kept a low profile despite being so talented. If this matter were discovered, she would inevitably be subjected to the same strange looks that her great-grandfather had gotten.

After pondering for a moment, Chu Liang asked, "Have you talked to Senior Aunt Yan about this?"

"

Huh?

" Jiang Yuebai raised her head. "How am I supposed to tell her—"

"You feel guilty because you think she’ll get criticized because of this, but how does she feel about it?" Chu Liang said slowly. "Ultimately, the effect this matter will have on Senior Aunt Yan depends on how she feels about it. So, you might as well just be honest and upfront with her."

"You're right." Jiang Yuebai suddenly stood up. "I'll go talk to her now."

She hurriedly walked toward the cave’s entrance.

Just as she got there, she turned back. "Thank you, Chu Liang."

Chu Liang smiled softly.

...

Chu Liang was about to head to the fruit garden when he suddenly felt something vibrate in the pocket by his chest.

He took the item out and found that it was the jade pendant the chamber master of the Ghost-Face Chamber had given him. This jade pendant couldn’t be used for communication; it only contained a preset meeting point. Once the members of the Ghost-Face Chamber received their summon through the jade pendant, the jade pendant would lead the members to gather at the meeting point.

"This guy isn't dead yet?" Chu Liang was surprised. "He's pretty lucky."

After the recent battle between the Mount Shu Sect and the Dark King Sect, Chu Liang deeply realized just how important a role intelligence played in a war. Now that he had another opportunity to gain more information about the Mount Shu Sect’s enemy, he set off gladly.

At night, Chu Liang flew straight to the familiar meeting point and saw Ghost Face waiting there with a few of his subordinates. This made for quite a pitiful scene compared to when that large group of diabolical cultivators had assembled there previously.

"

Ah...

" Ghost Face uttered when he saw Chu Liang. "You're still alive."

Ghost Face had a strong impression of Chu Liang because of his enthusiasm during the meeting they had before the Dark King Sect attacked Mount Shu.

"It’s all thanks to your great fortune, Chamber Master," Chu Liang said with his hands cupped together respectfully. "I killed two disciples of the Mount Shu Sect that day, but I was injured and fell into a sea of clouds. After waking up, I struggled to climb out."

Ghost Face looked surprised.

𝑓𝘳𝘦𝑒𝑤𝑒𝘣𝘯ℴ𝘷𝘦𝓁.𝑐𝑜𝑚

"What a coincidence..." Monk Pushan spoke at this moment. "I just reported to the chamber master that I killed three disciples of the Mount Shu Sect that day, fell into a sea of clouds, and struggled to climb out..."

"It is indeed a coincidence," Luo Yao chimed in. "Before the two of you reported to the chamber master, I reported something similar."

Chu Liang felt a bit awkward.

This story... ended up getting repeated. It seemed that it had been raining black-clad diabolical cultivators over the sea of clouds that day.

Fortunately, Ghost Face did not dwell on this.

Besides the trio, there was only one other member of the Ghost-Face Chamber. That meant Ghost Face only had four subordinates left.

Ghost Face said, "We've waited for a long time. It’s unlikely anyone else will be coming. There’s probably only the four of you left in our chamber."

"

Haaa...

" the trio sighed in unison.

The remaining member of the Ghost-Face Chamber thought that was strange.

He wondered,

Why do those three seem to move so synchronously? Am I the odd one out?

Chu Liang, Luo Yao, and Pushan had joined the Ghost-Face Chamber together, but they didn’t pay much attention to each other. It was the same for the last member of the Ghost-Face Chamber; he hadn’t been been concerned about their backgrounds.

Ghost Face continued excitedly, "But this might not be bad news. Our sect suffered heavy casualties in that great battle! It's a time when we’re short on members, which means it’s time for us to get promoted!

"Our honorable hall master is recruiting guards for the White-Bone Hall, and I've been fortunate enough to be selected. From now on, I'll be the hall master's bodyguard!"

"Congratulations on your promotion, Chamber Master!" the trio said in unison.

"

Haha!

" Ghost Face laughed. "After I become the hall master’s personal guard, the chamber master position of the Ghost-Face Chamber will be vacant. But I don't wish for the Ghost-Face Chamber to disband."

In reality, there was no such thing as interpersonal bonds in diabolical sects. There was already grass growing over the grave of the most loyal member of the White-Bone Hall, General Hei Yu[1].

Despite becoming a guard of the White-Bone Hall, Ghost Face didn't want to give up having his own troops. That’s why he was talking about not wanting to disband the chamber. The other guards of the White-Bone Hall had done the same. In addition to being the hall master's bodyguards, they all had a chamber’s worth of troops under their control. That way, they had the manpower to support them when they vied for positions of power within the White-Bone Hall.

Ghost Face announced, "So, I plan to select one of you to take over as the new chamber master so that the Ghost-Face Chamber can continue to exist. With the chamber master’s token, you can recruit more members and expand the Ghost-Face Chamber in the future!"

He wants to select a new chamber master...?

Chu Liang blinked.

I’m surprised there’s such a great opportunity.

Ghost Face grinned. "If you want to become the new chamber master, come up here and talk about your ambitions for the chamber. Then the four of you will vote to select the new chamber master. I think it’s best for you to choose among yourselves."

Chu Liang, Luo Yao, and Pushan exchanged glances. Despite feeling quite surprised, they all nodded in agreement.

Vote to select the new chamber master... Mm, that was fair.

"Me!" The lone real member of the Ghost-Face Chamber sprang up. "Chamber Master, I want to compete for the position!"

Consequently, they went through a fair and democratic process of appealing for votes and then having the members cast the votes. Chu Liang was voted the new chamber master of the Ghost-Face Chamber, winning by a margin of two votes.

The lone member of the Ghost-Face Chamber stood there with his head hung low, wondering where he’d been lacking in his speech.

Ghost Face gave the chamber master’s token to Chu Liang.

Chu Liang smiled, feeling a little bewildered.

This is truly an unexpected turn of events.

How did I, a proper disciple of the Mount Shu Sect, end up as a chamber master of the White-Bone Hall?

The martial world is truly full of uncertainties.

...

According to the legends of the humans living in the nine provinces, the Far West was a wild, desolate, and terrifying land of evil. Fire fell from the sky, and ice formed on the ground. Earthquakes and tsunamis ravaged the land day and night. Not even a blade of grass could grow in that place. That was where most of the demons living in the nine provinces had fled to after the demon god had been suppressed.

Yet, the Far West that Young Noble Xunyang saw was nothing like what the legends described.

After crossing a high mountain ridge, he saw a city!

Well, calling it a city might be a bit of an exaggeration. It was more of a very large fortified village. There were no tall buildings or bustling streets and markets. Instead, it stretched continuously over a vast plain, seemingly without an end in sight.

It looked just like a human village. The demons had dwellings, clothing, a written language... and even agriculture. These demons cared about producing grains and vegetables.

Young Noble Xunyang looked around and saw huge, bulky demons wearing raggedy clothes and carrying hoes. Some were fully humanoid, while others were partially humanoid. Aside from the few demons who needed to carry heavy objects, all the demons tried to live in forms that were as close as possible to that of a human.

The demon children, however, were still in their natural form as demonic beasts. Despite looking like little white foxes and black bears, they were chattering away as they learned the human language, making for quite a bizarre scene.

It was hard to believe that this was the legendary Land of Demons!

"Shocking, isn't it? It was the same for me when I first came here," said the man standing in front of Young Noble Xunyang with a gentle smile.

The man was dressed in a tall hat and a scholar’s robes. He had soft facial features, which made him look a little feminine.

Young Noble Xunyang nodded. "It is indeed astonishing."

"Not every demon king runs things like this. Among the Seven Great Demon Kings of the Land of Demons, Demon King Qingqiu[2] is the only one who is friendly toward humans and is committed to developing a civilized society in the Far West," the man in the tall hat explained. "She has been in power for over two centuries. However, that is a short period for demons, so the influence she holds is still quite limited. If she’s given a few more centuries, she might actually be able to have enough influence to help the Far West develop into a state like the Yu Dynasty."

Young Noble Xunyang remarked, "That’s quite a terrifying possibility."

The strength of the average demon was far greater than that of the average human. Furthermore, in terms of numbers, the demon race as a whole—with all the various clans included—was on par with the human race. However, the difference in their stages of civilization was the main reason the humans had always suppressed the demons.

In an era when neither race had a ninth-realm Hallowed One, the demons had never been a match for humans. If the demons were to develop a more civilized society and shift their focus from the individual to the collective, then they might truly become incredibly powerful in the future.

"That’s good for us though. In the Yu Dynasty, we’re criminals that the humans cannot leave alive. But here, we’re Demon King Qingqiu’s honored guests," replied the man in the tall hat as he walked. "She welcomes anyone from the Yu Dynasty. It doesn’t matter if they’re criminals or convicts. As long as they can bring knowledge of human culture and change the way of life here, she will accept them."

Young Noble Xunyang nodded with a smile. "That's great."

Despite his words, he still looked rather pale.

He was thinking about how the Black-Clothed Guards had launched an attack on his residence and almost captured him the other night. He’d managed to escape, but his identity had been exposed, and the imperial court and the Divine Nine and Terrestrial Ten were putting in full effort to hunt him down. He would have a hard time surviving during this time.

After making some arrangements, he had fled to the Far West, planning to lay low for a while. He had thought the Far West would be full of bloodthirsty demons, but he ended up discovering that it was more like a utopia.

As the two men climbed over a hill, the man in the tall hat pointed at a slender and alluring figure in a green dress up ahead.

"Look, that’s Demon King Qingqiu," he said. Then he lowered his voice. "She prefers to meet people alone, so I won't accompany you any further. Remember to be polite. Although Demon King Qingqiu likes to appear as a young lady, she is still a demon king."

Young Noble Xunyang nodded. "I understand."

"Also, the demon king likes to be addressed by her human name," the man in the tall crown added a final reminder. "Her human name is... Caiyi[3]."

1. In other words, he’s been dead for quite a while now. ☜

2. Her name means "a small green hill." ☜

3. It means "colorful ripple." ☜