Liang Yifei looked at the five Devil Kings before him and sneered inwardly.
With a casual wave of his hand, five aged sheets of paper appeared in the air between them.
"These are the contracts I promised you," he said calmly. "With them, you will be able to replace the souls of the five individuals I arranged."
Each contract contained a faint crimson glow — the unmistakable presence of blood essence.
They belonged to the five cultivators Liang had personally chosen.
The Devil Kings' eyes brightened instantly.
They studied the contracts closely, carefully examining every detail while sensing the aura of the blood essence embedded within them.
For a devil soul to manifest in this world without a physical body, a binding contract signed with the summoner's blood essence was required.
Once such a contract was formed, there was no possibility of reversal.
Ordinarily, the summoner would become completely controlled by the devil.
But this situation was different.
The cultivation gap between the five Devil Kings and the five chosen cultivators was enormous.
Through the contract, the Devil Kings could directly replace the cultivators' souls and take control of their bodies without resistance.
However, such possession came with a fatal limitation.
Because of the vast difference in power, the mortal bodies of the summoners would not be able to withstand the presence of a Devil King's soul for long.
Their bodies would gradually wither and collapse.
Death was inevitable.
That was precisely why Liang had told Li Gang that fulfilling his wish would most likely cost him his life.
From the very beginning, this had been a suicidal mission.
Driven by overwhelming hatred and a thirst for revenge, none of the five cultivators had cared about the consequences.
It was clear that Liang had invested an extraordinary amount of time and effort into this scheme.
Each Devil King took a contract and examined it carefully.
"You need not worry," Liang said calmly. "All five of them possess a True Devil Innate Body. It took me more than two hundred years to find them."
His tone remained casual, but his eyes were cold.
"I also ensured that each of them developed an unresolvable grudge against the ten great sects."
He spoke as though discussing something trivial.
In truth, every tragedy they had suffered had been carefully orchestrated by him.
He was the one who secretly informed the Divine Phoenix Sect elder about Li Gang's dao companion and her rare physique.
As for Guan Wei, Liang had personally killed several Core Formation elders of the Heavenly Conqueror Sect and framed him, provoking the sect into hunting him down.
What Liang had not anticipated was that one of the slain elders had been the direct disciple of a Spirit Severing Realm ancestor.
Unable to locate Guan Wei, that enraged ancestor had vented his fury by annihilating Guan Wei's entire sect.
Zhang Lie's case had been even simpler.
Liang had merely spread a false rumor to the Heavenly Thunder Palace, claiming that the Hidden Moon Sect had discovered a Heavenly Thunder Dao Stone — an artifact of immense importance to one of the palace's most revered ancestors.
The result had been immediate destruction.
As for Han Zhi, Liang had bribed a Nascent Soul elder within the Dragon Terrace Sect to steal a sacred artifact and secretly plant it among Han Zhi's belongings.
The elder's accusation had been accepted without question.
And Li Xin…
Liang had only needed to spread rumors that he was secretly involved with a female disciple of the Immortal Jade Sect.
Because that sect strictly forbade its female disciples from forming relationships with men, the outcome had been inevitable.
The Devil Kings listened silently.
Understanding gradually dawned upon them.
They nodded in approval, clearly impressed by Liang's meticulous planning and ruthless precision.
"Everything is prepared," the crimson Devil King said, his eyes blazing with anticipation. "Then let us begin."
One by one, the Devil Kings absorbed their contracts.
Their figures began to fade, dissolving back into streams of dark energy before disappearing entirely into the mirror's black surface.
The devilish qi lingering in the room slowly dissipated.
Liang watched quietly until the last trace vanished.
A cold sneer spread across his lips.
"I only hope those fools don't disappoint me," he muttered under his breath.
Every word carried unmistakable disdain, as though he had already considered their deaths a certainty.
His thoughts drifted as he reflected on the unfolding events and the scale of his grand design.
A faint smile of confidence appeared on his face.
"If everything proceeds as planned," he thought calmly, "nothing will be able to stop my rise."
His eyes darkened further.
"As for those so-called Devil Kings… and the ten great powers that have long stood in my way…"
A sinister smile slowly formed.
"They will simply cease to exist."
It was as though he had already witnessed their destruction in his mind, regarding their inevitable downfall with detached amusement.
With that thought, Liang turned and walked out of the room.
His mind had already shifted to his next move.
He knew the ten great sects would inevitably begin searching for him once his scheme was revealed.
But he did not hesitate.
For the chance to seize true power and rewrite his fate, he was willing to risk everything.
As he walked down the corridor, a subtle excitement stirred within him.
He was about to step onto a path that would transform his existence forever.
He had already sacrificed countless things to reach this moment.
There was nothing left for him to lose.
Pausing briefly at the entrance, he cast one last glance at the Free Heart Inn.
Then, without looking back, Liang Yifei stepped into the night — ready to face whatever awaited him next.