White-Robed Chief

Chu Li said, “I heard that the Heavenly Demonic Spirit Devouring Technique can be used to inflict severe injury on Enlightened Masters.”

“That’s only possible at the eighth level.” Elder Li replied impassively, “You’ve just advanced to the seventh level right now, and it’s not possible for us to help push you all the way into the eighth level. You’ll have to work hard from now on. There’s nothing much we can do to help you anymore… Moreover, even if you managed to advance to the eighth level, there’s a condition to be fulfilled before you can inflict any severe injury on an Enlightened Master!”

Chu Li was shocked to hear that. “What condition?”

Elder Li replied, “You’ll have to use the Heavenly Demonic Spirit Devouring Technique to devour the energy of an Enlightened Master and turn it into your own. Then, you’ll have a slim chance to hurt an Enlightened Master… No matter how refined your inner energy is, you won’t be able to do any harm to an Enlightened Master without using their energy, so this technique will be useless to you anyway!”

Chu Li frowned and muttered, “An Enlightened Master’s energy…”

“Stop letting your imagination run wild.” Elder Bai said with a smile, “You’re not Du Feng anyway. You don’t have to seek revenge against an Enlightened Master.”

Chu Li’s heart skipped a beat, and he hurriedly used the Omniscient Mirror to check Elder Bai’s thoughts to find out if that was just a careless comment. Chu Li wondered if he had raised Elder Bai’s suspicions somehow and was worried that Elder Bai might have been implying something with those words.

Nonetheless, Chu Li did not change the topic right away. Otherwise, it could easily arouse their suspicions as well. These old fellows were all men with extensive experience, so the slightest mistake could cause them to raise their guard.

Chu Li said, “I’m just scared that I might unexpectedly run into an Enlightened Master, so I was hoping to have some way of protecting myself.”

“You’ll be able to devour an Enlightened Master’s energy only when you seek out an Enlightened Master and receive an attack from them. The other option you have is to visit an Imperial Mausoleum.”

Chu Li curiously asked, “I can find the energy of an Enlightened Master in an Imperial Mausoleum?”

Elder Bai chuckled and replied, “The bodies left behind by deceased Emperors contain energy from Enlightened Masters. If you find a way to devour their Enlightened Master’s energy, you won’t be completely helpless in the face of an Enlightened Master.”

Chu Li became even more intrigued as he asked, “Their bodies can still retain their Enlightened Master’s energy even after they’ve died?”

“This is what’s so special about being an Enlightened Master,” Elder Du replied while shaking his head. “We’re not Enlightened Masters, so we can’t fully understand how things work for them. Nonetheless, we know that it’s exactly because of their Enlightened Master’s energy that their bodies remain incorruptible. It’s as though only their souls have ascended to Outland while their bodies retain their natural functions. Thus, it would seem like their bodies are still alive and remain in a constant state of cultivation.”

“As expected, it’s a great thing to become an Enlightened Master!” Chu Li sighed in admiration. “I must keep cultivating the Heavenly Demonic Power until I achieve perfect mastery in it!”

Elder Li replied coldly, “You think it’s easy to achieve perfect mastery? If it were that easy, our sect founder wouldn’t have been the only one capable of achieving perfect mastery to this day!”

Elder Du grinned and said, “Young Ying, keep working hard in your cultivation and strive to achieve perfect mastery. When that happens, build a Heavenly Demonic Realm within Heavenly Demonic Sect so that our disciples won’t have to leave this world and ascend directly to Heaven after they die.”

Chu Li solemnly replied, “Understood. I’ll definitely try my best to accomplish this!”

“Go and get some rest now,” Elder Bai said and waved a hand. “You’ve just advanced to the seventh level, so you should properly consolidate and strengthen your cultivation. Don’t try to look for any more shortcuts!”

“Understood,” Chu Li replied and gave a fist salute.

“Off you go then,” Elder Du said with a smile.

Elder Du was overjoyed as he watched Chu Li stroll away. “This young fellow is very lucky to have met Du Feng, who delivered this fortuitous encounter directly to Young Ying and saved him twenty years of cultivation!”

“I wonder if this is a blessing or a curse!” Elder Li muttered disdainfully.

“Junior Brother Li, you’re always dampening our spirits.” Elder Du laughed without taking Elder Li’s words seriously. “None of us were as quick-witted as him when we were young. Only he could have thought of doing such a thing. How bold of him! He’s very clever indeed!”

…

Chu Li came into the stone chamber at dawn and stared at Zhe Ying who was lying on the iron bed.

Zhe Ying was still in a deep sleep, and it seemed as though his body had entered into hibernation. There was only a slight strand of force left within his body to preserve his vitality.

Chu Li took out a fine silver needle from his inner pocket and pricked the tip of Zhe Ying’s index finger. Then, he kept the needle in his sleeve and turned around to leave.

He performed the light-body technique and glided straight to a stone building halfway up a cliff like a gust of wind.

This square-shaped stone building looked simple and old-fashioned from the outside and did not seem like a Sutra Library at all.

Its main entrance was firmly shut at the moment. Chu Li quietly took out the silver needle from inside his sleeve and smeared Zhe Ying’s blood onto the tip of his left index finger so that it would seem like he had pricked his finger. Then, he went forward and reached his finger into a small hole in the stone door.

“Rumble!” The stone door opened instantly when the blood seeped into it.

Chu Li secretly sighed in relief. Through the Omniscient Mirror, he had noticed that the disciples of Heavenly Demonic Sect had been entering their Sutra Library by passing a blood test.

The Heavenly Demonic Power could change a person’s appearance but was not capable of changing their blood. Therefore, the most effective method for Heavenly Demonic Sect to keep their Sutra Library secure was to impose a blood test on all those who wished to enter the building. Chu Li sighed to himself as he realized that he would not be able to enter the Sutra Library anymore after killing Zhe Ying!

He strolled into the stone building and saw that its interior looked like a normal library building that was arranged with shelves of secret manuals and various other reading materials.

Chu Li casually browsed through the shelves of books and found many martial arts secret manuals but did not pay much attention to them.

What he lacked at the moment was not secret manuals but time to cultivate. All of the martial arts he had been cultivating were top-notch antique studies, so he would be able to enter the Enlightened Master’s Boundary by achieving perfect mastery in any one of these martial arts.

Nonetheless, such antique studies were much more difficult to cultivate than normal martial arts, so it would still be extremely challenging for him to become an Enlightened Master.

Chu Li did not get sidetracked by greed and went straight to the third floor to look for the Heavenly Demonic Spirit Devouring Technique. Once he found it, he began to study in-depth on how he should cultivate and use this technique. Aside from the Heavenly Demonic Spirit Devouring Technique secret manual, he found a few other books providing further insight into the cultivation method of the Heavenly Demonic Spirit Devouring Technique as well as useful tips on how he could apply it in various situations. He benefited greatly from these books.

After having read through all of them, he gained a thorough understanding of the Heavenly Demonic Spirit Devouring Technique and had a pretty good idea of what he should do next. Thus, the thought of leaving entered his mind.

The only thing he could not let go about Heavenly Demonic Sect was the Heavenly Demon Statue, but unfortunately, the Heavenly Demon Statue was not something he could toy around with. If not, he would have gone ahead and picked up the Heavenly Demon Statue before disappearing from this place.

Although he had peeked into the minds of the Four Grand Elders and had learned their heart technique, which he had suspected to be the Inheritance Technique for the Heavenly Demon Statue, he never had the chance to perform it in front of the Heavenly Demon Statue. The Four Grand Elders had been closely guarding the Heavenly Demon Statue without leaving it unprotected for even a single moment. This also made him realize that he had been lucky to have stumbled upon a chance to touch the statue back then.

On the morning of the third day, he came to the basilica and found Elder Li meditating on a cattail hassock. The early morning sunlight was bright yet gentle as it shone through the glass windows of the basilica.

Chu Li gave a fist salute and said, “Honorable Master Li, I couldn’t find out anything from Du Feng, so I’ve killed him.”

“Hmm…” Elder Li glanced at him. “You wish to leave?”

“Yes,” Chu Li replied sheepishly, “I still have some matters to attend to outside, so I’m hoping to go out and settle those matters as soon as possible.”

“You’re going to seek your revenge, aren’t you?” Elder Li said with a cold laugh, “It’s that Plain Maiden Palace disciple, right?”

Chu Li replied, “Don’t worry, Honorable Master. I won’t kill her.”

“I’m not worried that you might kill her. I’m afraid that she might kill you!” Elder Li laughed scornfully. “Do you think it’s easy to defeat Plain Maiden Palace? Haven’t you ever wondered why that group of women has managed to become one of the eight major sects?”

Chu Li fell silent and tried to figure out how Zhe Ying would handle this matter based on his personality.

“Do you think you’re capable of seeking revenge now that you’ve achieved the seventh level?”

“Yes.”

“Well then, you should give up on this idea.” Elder Li replied with a huff, “With your current capabilities, you won’t be able to defeat anyone from Plain Maiden Palace. You’re just seeking your own death!”

Chu Li frowned and seemed unconvinced.

Elder Li exhaled sharply. “Since you’ve been in a fight with a Plain Maiden Palace disciple, that disciple must have used their Soul-tracking Perfume on you. You’ll certainly be hunted down by disciples from Plain Maiden Palace as soon as you leave the ravine. It’ll be useless even if you change your appearance. After all, Plain Maiden Palace has an unparalleled tracking technique.”

“Am I supposed to just swallow my anger and suffer in silence?” Chu Li asked.

Elder Li replied, “You can stay in the ravine and cultivate for two months. The effects of Plain Maiden Palace’s Soul-tracking Perfume should wear off after two months.”

Chu Li shook his head.

Elder Li’s expression became grim. “It seems like you’ll learn your lesson only after suffering losses!”

Chu Li said, “Honorable Master, I’ll be careful!”

“Fine,” Elder Li muttered coldly. “It’s your life anyway. There’s nothing we can do if you don’t value your life!”

“Honorable Master, I’ve tossed Du Feng’s body off the Broken Soul Cliff,” Chu Li said.

Elder Li frowned and glanced at him. “Okay. You’ve made sure that he’s truly dead, right? He better not come back to life. That guy is very tough!”

“I’ve chopped off his head already,” Chu Li replied.

“That should be good enough then. You may leave now.” Elder Li waved a hand to dismiss him.

Chu Li gave a fist salute and went away to bid farewell to the other three elders before leaving the ravine immediately.

As for Zhe Ying, Chu Li had already used his God’s Limbs to bring the guy back to the island that had been bestowed upon him as a gift by the High Duke’s Public House.

Chu Li intended to keep Zhe Ying unconscious for a few more days and then kill the guy when he was more than three hundred miles away from Heavenly Demonic Sect.

Logically speaking, he should not kill Zhe Ying if he wished to return to Heavenly Demonic Sect and take advantage of their resources in the future. Since Heavenly Demonic Sect might be able to sense it once Zhe Ying was dead, he should not kill Zhe Ying.

However, he did not want to keep Zhe Ying alive and would rather kill the guy even if it meant letting go of the benefits he could gain from Heavenly Demonic Sect.

Moreover, it was actually not that difficult for him to enter Heavenly Demonic Sect.