CHAPTER 428: ELDER OF THE HEAVENLY DEMON SECT

Chapter 428: Elder of the Heavenly Demon Sect

The Great Lamentation Ode was her core cultivation technique.

This technique walked the line between righteous and unorthodox.

At the very least, the power it granted was pure spiritual energy rather than demonic energy.

The demonic energy in her body mainly came from the Lingering Spring Blade Technique and the Demonic Blade—Soul Abyss.

When wielding the demonic blade and its techniques, her spiritual energy automatically converted into demonic energy. Over time, her body became saturated with demonic energy.

This old man before her claimed to be one of the creators of the Great Lamentation Ode. The demonic energy swirling around him clearly marked him as a great demon!

So the Great Lamentation Ode was indeed a demonic technique—case closed.

"I'm currently within the Sword Pavilion, which houses a Great Ascension Stage cultivator!" Mo Shumei knew she was no match for the old man and could only bluff. "Even if you're the creator of the Great Lamentation Ode, could you escape pursuit from a Great Ascension expert? I'll give you one chance—apologize, swear never to appear during my demonic backlash again, and compensate me with 100,000 premium spirit stones. Then I'll pretend we never met today!"

Xiao Feng was an experienced elder demon who'd heard every threat imaginable.

Yet Mo Shumei's words still made him pause momentarily before he burst into uproarious laughter.

"Delightful! It's been ages since I've met such an amusing junior! If not for my impending ascension, I'd take you as my personal disciple...

Don't try to fool me—I know exactly what the Sword Pavilion is like. Their strongest sword cultivator is only at the Unity Stage, and an injured one at that. Unless I'm mistaken, that would be their former head disciple Lin Yuxi, titled the Transcendent Sword!

Beyond her, the Sword Pavilion has no other experts! Their current master Su Qinian is utterly incompetent!"

Mo Shumei nodded seriously, then shook her head.

"I agree with the second half of your last statement, but the first half shows your ignorance!"

"Who would know better than me whether the Sword Pavilion has experts?" She rose using her broken blade as support, spreading her arms with a confident smirk. "Because he's about to appear!"

As her words fell, a flying sword landed beside Mo Shumei, its sword energy coalescing into Li Qingran's form.

Mo Shumei froze upon seeing it was Li Qingran.

"Qingran? You... Wait, where's your master? Where's the Sword Pavilion's ancestral elder?"

Li Qingran blinked. "Master said you've set up impenetrable defenses—his divine soul can't enter."

"Impossible!" Mo Shumei's eyes widened in disbelief. "I never sensed any Great Ascension level presence trying to enter my soul..."

She had indeed detected a soul probe earlier, but only at Golden Core level.

And Golden Core cultivators were obviously not the Sword Pavilion's ancestral elder.

That Golden Core aura didn't belong to the sweet and soft Li Qingran either.

Following her principle of not dragging innocents into conflicts, she'd blocked the probe immediately.

Don't tell me that Golden Core cultivator was the Sword Pavilion's ancestral elder?

"Another fresh young soul!" Xiao Feng's eyes gleamed as he appraised the radiant Li Qingran. "Both such fine seedlings! Were I not at life's end striving for ascension, I'd take you both as disciples to properly pass down the complete Great Lamentation Ode... What a pity!"

As "pity" left his lips, his expression darkened. Clawed hands raised as demonic energy surged around him.

"You were born at the wrong time! Become my nourishment!"

Having monologued enough to satisfy villainous conventions, it was harvest time!

Xiao Feng activated the Great Lamentation Ode, plunging the soul space into darkness. Li Qingran and Mo Shumei saw shadows flicker as eighteen identical copies of Xiao Feng materialized around them, all striking simultaneously.

Eighteen palm strikes trailing sinister demonic energy coiled toward them like pythons.

"Qingran, run! We can't handle him!" Mo Shumei shielded Li Qingran urgently. "Go get your master—that might still save us!"

Li Qingran remained perfectly calm. "Master's already here."

As she spoke, a sword gleam emerged from her soul depths, materializing as Chen Huaian who'd used Li Qingran as a conduit to enter Mo Shumei's body.

Chen Huaian barely had time to land before the eighteen demonic palms struck.

The Unity Stage soul power behind the attacks made his heart race even before impact. Remembering his purchased offense-defense package, he stubbornly held his ground in a defensive stance, arms crossed.

Xiao Feng roared with laughter.

The eighteen phantoms' mocking laughter buzzed painfully in their skulls.

"This is your Sword Pavilion's expert? A Great Ascension sword cultivator?"

"Unless my eyes deceive me, he's merely Golden Core! Delivering himself to death's door! Then perish together—"

Clang! Clang! Clang!

Mid-sentence, a series of golden bell tolls froze Xiao Feng's smile.

A golden inverted bell materialized before the Golden Core sword cultivator, protecting both girls and blocking all eighteen palm strikes.

"Impossible!"

Xiao Feng gaped.

His soul power was at Unity Stage!

Though only a fragment remained in this incomplete Great Lamentation Ode copy, it should still overwhelm any Golden Core soul!

This defied all logic!

The incomplete Great Lamentation Ode functioned like a time bomb.

The complete work had nine volumes. Every three volumes cultivated would activate his implanted soul fragment, causing demonic backlash that brought cultivators face-to-face with him—final nutrients for his ascension.

Mo Shumei's current demonic backlash occurred largely because she'd reached the third volume. Though not fully mastered, he'd grown impatient to harvest.

Seeing himself unharmed, Chen Huaian grudgingly admitted the game system's awesomeness.

Logic be damned—cheat codes were cheat codes.

"Nothing is impossible."

Chen Huaian puffed his chest, shielding the girls dramatically. "How could an ant like you comprehend my intentions?"

"I could indeed enter with Great Ascension soul power, but that would severely burden her body. Even solving the demonic backlash would leave her soul damaged for years!"

"So that's why..." Mo Shumei stared at Chen Huaian's back, now seeming mountainously tall. Her nose tingled, eyes moistening.

So the Golden Core soul was the Sword Pavilion's ancestral elder.

He'd chosen not to force Great Ascension entry to spare her. Not only had he not considered it troublesome, he'd used Li Qingran as a bridge to come rescue her again.

No wonder Li Qingran adored her master.

Mo Shumei had assumed disciple worship involved rose-tinted glasses—that Chen Huaian couldn't be much better than other elders, just slightly more attentive and partial to Li Qingran, still surely arrogant and stubborn. She'd worried Li Qingran would suffer...

Now she understood.

She'd ship Li Qingran and Chen Huaian forever!

"You dare call me an ant?!" Xiao Feng's eighteen phantoms pointed furiously. "Do you know who I am?"

"I do." Chen Huaian nodded.

"Then who am I?"

Chen Huaian smirked. "You're... our hero, Little Nezha~"