Chapter 159

Chapter 159: Blood Cauldron

The cultivators gathered by various means had braced themselves to see bloody scenes. Instead, what greeted them looked like daily life, and many froze in surprise.

Liu Bai murmured to Ye Qing Er, his voice low: “See? I told you, the Heavenly Sovereign Society might not be as terrifying as you think.”

Ye Qing Er nodded. She still looked timid, but she seemed a bit calmer.

Watching their faces, the Copper Devil Guard said: “The Heavenly Sovereign happens to be free. Come with me. Only after you meet the Heavenly Sovereign and receive the Lord’s word will you be true members of the Heavenly Sovereign Society.”

They had come this far and could not retreat. Following the Copper Devil Guard, everyone crossed street after street until they stood before the tallest palace.

The Copper Devil Guard paused at the door and waited.

He did not wait long.

A slim woman walked out. She looked delicate and soft, yet the small parts of her bare skin shone with silver light, and even her eyes were a shade of silvery gray.

She trained her body too, and the power in her flesh felt stronger than that of the Copper Devil Guard.

Li Shuang understood: this had to be the Silver Devil Guard.

The Silver Devil Guard swept her gaze over them and said coolly: “Come in.”

She waved her hand. The large gate opened wide, revealing a huge courtyard. Past the yard stood another great hall.

At the hall entrance, a man whose whole body glowed faintly gold stood guard in silence.

From within the hall came a voice heavy with majesty: “Enter.”

The sound was airy and distant, as if it came from far away.

This was enough to scare a crowd of Qi Refining Stage and Foundation Establishment Stage cultivators. Li Shuang, with her strong spirit sense, understood at once.

[This so-called Heavenly Sovereign, counting generously, is at most at the Nascent Soul Stage.]

[If that is true, then the demon-slaying trip is already a success. Our opponent is too weak.]

Still, thinking it over, that was normal.

Devil Path methods promised fast gains. No matter how often the Righteous Path wiped them out, Devil Path groups revived again and again.

If every Devil Path group could truly rise, the Mortal Realm would already be a purgatory.

For mortals, a Devil Path gang whose peak was only the Nascent Soul Stage could already cause massive harm.

Li Shuang and her team traded looks.

[The arrow is on the string. If the Heavenly Sovereign dares show himself, we will kill him here.]

Holding the thought, Li Shuang kept her face smooth and stood among the other cultivators in the yard.

The Heavenly Sovereign did not speak again.

Even so, Li Shuang felt as if an eye hung in the air, quietly watching them.

When everyone had entered, the giant door suddenly swung shut with a creak.

Power flared. A transparent Barrier Formation formed several meters overhead and covered them all.

Some shouted in alarm: “Barrier Formation?” Others cried: “What is this?” “Are they afraid we will run?”

The Silver Devil Guard watched their reactions with a smile, then said mildly: “Do not worry. The Barrier Formation is to keep your noise from causing panic.”

Noise? Why would they make such noise? Her words only made the crowd more afraid.

The Silver Devil Guard waved her hand. The ground at the center of the yard sank. People scrambled away in fright.

A huge bronze cauldron slowly rose from the pit.

Inside, a red liquid boiled and bubbled.

The air filled at once with a choking smell of blood.

“That is blood. Human blood,” someone screamed, his legs giving out as he fell to the ground.

If some had still hoped the Heavenly Sovereign Society might not be as evil as they feared, that hope shattered at the sight of the blood.

The cauldron was enormous, ten meters across and three meters deep, and it was filled to the brim.

No one dared to think how many lives this represented.

A few tried to run, but the Barrier Formation flashed and threw them back.

The Silver Devil Guard seemed not to notice. She said calmly: “The bloodlines of mortals are divided into true blood and mixed blood. Even if you drain a person dry, true blood yields only ten drops. Mixed blood is easier to gather. For years, so as not to draw notice, we took only part of the blood from each mortal and did not create large massacres. What you see in this cauldron is the mixed blood gathered by the families of our Heavenly Sovereign Society.”

She lifted her chin, her tone bright with zeal: “The Lord passed down a method. With special refinement, the fresh blood of mortals tempers our bodies and gives us incredible strength.”

“For example, me. I have Four Spiritual Roots, which count as Mixed Spiritual Roots. Without heaven-defying luck, even reaching the Foundation Establishment Stage would be just a dream.”

“After the Heavenly Sovereign’s guidance, in only three years, with my flesh alone, I can fight a cultivator at Mid Golden Core Formation.”

The Silver Devil Guard raised her fist and hammered the ground. Cracks split the stone at once.

“Three years, to reach the Golden Core Stage,” she said with a hint of temptation. “We loose cultivators have poor roots and weak bones. The great sects shut us out, and we struggle on our own. I believe most of you have been bullied or oppressed. Join the Heavenly Sovereign Society, and your cultivation will soar. When you reach the Golden Core Stage, will you not be able to settle old debts? We will finally stand tall.”

Her voice carried a strange rhythm.

Many listened, eyes fixed. Some who had been terrified now showed a trace of longing.

The Silver Devil Guard clearly practiced a Bewitchment Art. Inside Li Shuang, the Supreme Emotionless Art ran on its own, and the bewitchment could not touch her.

For loose cultivators, though, the Silver Devil Guard’s words hit home.

Great sects had full inheritances and many Secret Arts, but those all demanded talent and strong roots.

Since they were loose cultivators, most lacked such gifts and would be trapped at low stages for life.

In the Sword Sect, the Golden Core Stage was a low rank disciple. For a loose cultivator, it made one a local expert.

If you added a time limit in front of Golden Core Stage, three years, the temptation multiplied.

“But,” the Silver Devil Guard said with a small smile, “blood is limited. With so many cultivators here, we can help only fifty of you train the new Secret Art. As for the other two hundred or so people…”