Devil Venerable Also Wants to Know

Hidden Corruption

True Yin Mountain, original location of Violet Spirit Pavilion.

Two years ago, when True Yin Mountain erupted, its natural might razed Violet Spirit Pavilion in a day, the lava spewing forth for a month before stopping. Now, after two years, the area blanketed by the ash was filled with the vivid green of lush growth. The lava had reshaped the landscape around True Yin Mountain, but fortunately it was remote and had no human settlements nearby. Countless plants and animals had died though. The life in the vicinity had undergone a cleansing, reemerging stronger than ever before.

After the eruption, a new spiritual vein had formed underneath True Yin Mountain, enriching the spiritual energy around it. If no new sect claimed it, after a thousand years, there was a good chance it could give rise to a few primordial spiritual beings or new species.

Yin Hanjiang selected this place because the surroundings were remote, so even a major battle wouldn't affect mortals. Also, though it was covered with lush plants, new animals had yet to appear after the disaster. This was the location where the least innocent lives would be harmed.

Even though his thoughts had been muddled and filled with the desire for revenge, Yin Hanjiang instinctively chose a place which would do the least harm to the mortal world.

He had watched Wenren È for so many years, so even if he didn't understand, he had been subconsciously influenced by many ideas.

The sects here had all been threatened by Zhongli Qian, so in tacit agreement, they arrived ahead of time, checking that the demonic cultivators hadn't set up a trap and setting up an inescapable net of their own, hoping to bring the demonic path down in one move.

The previous Great Sect War started because under Wenren È's management, the internal strife in Xuanyuan Sect decreased. Their influence grew by the day, and since demonic methods were faster than righteous ones, in just ten years, the Xuanyuan Sect had the power to take on the entire righteous path alone, and Wenren È had become the top expert of the cultivation world, unmatched by anyone.

Thus, the righteous sects needed to curb the expansion of the demonic sects and fight over the limited spiritual energy. Also, of course, both the righteous and demonic sides had realized that only by having this war could they escape the judgment of heaven.

The last time, the righteous sects found a random excuse to declare war. A small sect had been slaughtered, everyone assumed by the demonic cultivators, so that had become the fuse to kick off the Great Sect War.

This war, however, wasn't fate. It was Yin Hanjiang's determination for justice.

Altar Master Yuan used to work with the righteous sects' scum, growing his own power in the shadows, so his death unearthed many secrets. Any one of the things Yin Hanjiang discovered would be enough to make a great sect's reputation completely collapse. Zhongli Qian well understood the importance the righteous sects and cultivation clans placed on reputation, and since Yin Hanjiang was impatient and Zhongli Qian had his own motives, he had used the Xuanyuan Sect's name to threaten each and every sect.

Several arrays from ancient texts had been dug up, and the small mountain was blanketed with the Drunken Dream Array, the Sky Fire Array, the Ascending Firmament Array, and over a dozen others, awaiting the arrival of Xuanyuan Sect so they could massacre them all at once.

A red streak flew over the mountain first. The people waiting in hiding saw it was Yin Hanjiang and quickly gave the signal to activate the arrays.

A vast torrent of spiritual energy approached Yin Hanjiang. He made no move to avoid, stopping in the air and watching as countless cultivators emerged from hiding.