Lan Boting looked bewildered, but he lowered his sword. "Moonbeam Senior Sister, this person reeks of evil energy! He cannot be trusted lightly!"
"I said, he still has his uses," Changxi repeated, her tone leaving no room for argument.
An awkward silence fell. Under the confused gazes of the surrounding Qi Refining disciples, Changxi offered no further explanation. She simply glanced at Wang Yu. "Follow me."
Wang Yu assessed the situation; there was no clear path for escape. His heart sank. *I've walked right into a den of wolves.* He bitterly regretted choosing the Black Mountain Demon Territory for his seclusion. *Next time... next time I'll definitely find a place utterly despised by man and dog, completely unfit for human activity.* The cultivation world was truly perilous. He had thought reaching Foundation Establishment was the beginning of his rise, only to have reality strike him down before he could even take a proper step.
Following Changxi out of the encirclement, Wang Yu waited in silence for her to speak. He was the fish on the chopping block; he would first see what she wanted before making any plans.
"Wang Yu, was it?" she began, her voice cooler than before. "During our earlier conversation, I held some sympathy for you. Yet you deliberately deceived me. What is your purpose?"
Wang Yu was taken aback. Seeing her changed attitude, he immediately began searching for where his cover had slipped. His information from the Reverse Spirit Blood Sect wasn't top secret, but it wasn't something Changxi could verify in such a short time. At most, she could only confirm his past in the Taihu Spiritual Domain—which he had told truthfully. *That couldn't be the problem.*
Soon, he realized the issue. Feeling slightly more settled, he spoke. "When one is away from home, caution is the survival rule for rogue cultivators. I cultivated in the Demon Domain for many years. The harshness of that environment, Fair Immortal, you must have heard some rumors. If I confessed everything about myself to every powerful cultivator I met, wouldn't I have died long ago?"
The reasoning was sound. But once suspicion took root in Changxi's mind, she wouldn't let it go lightly. The secrets of the Black Mountain Demon Territory ran far deeper than this.
"I am the Sword Sect's Wandering Disciple. I walk the righteous path and sit straight. I have judged no fewer than a hundred evil cultivators, never once framing an innocent. Even though you practice a heretical path, I have not used fabricated charges against you. Why the malicious deception?"
Wang Yu gave a faint smile. "I admit to the deception. But where is the 'malice'? The part where I lied was simply not wishing to inform you, Fair Immortal, of my plans *after* visiting my family. Is that wrong? If so, then wouldn't everyone in the world be a paragon of honesty?"
Changxi was momentarily speechless. Her initial anger at being deceived, coupled with the suspicion that Wang Yu might hold secrets related to the current incident, had clouded her judgment. After this exchange, the atmosphere turned heavy and silent.
After a moment, as if having thought it through, Changxi adopted a calmer tone and decided to fulfill her earlier promise. "You wanted to know why we are here, didn't you? I will tell you now."
Wang Yu simply sat on a nearby rock. He couldn't leave for the time being, not until the Sword Sect's business was concluded and he was cleared of suspicion. It was better to hear her out and understand the situation.
"In recent years, numerous cases of missing young girls have occurred in cities near Black Mountain Pass," she began. "Initially, it only happened to those with low-grade spiritual roots. Later, it gradually spread to mortal women. Stone Lake City, Thousand Autumns City, Spirit Stream City... and so on. The number of missing persons increased year by year. By this year's Spirit Measurement ceremony, the number had exceeded ten thousand."
At this, Changxi snorted coldly. "I have spent the last few years rooting out this evil. The city lords of over a dozen cities, centered on Mount Settling City, have all been executed by my sword, their nine generations exterminated. The trail ultimately led here, to the Black Mountain Demon Territory. For over a decade, the missing girls have been sent here."
As he listened, Wang Yu understood the gist of the matter. While his initial confusion faded, a sense of frustration welled up inside him. Years ago, after that slave-hunting team left Black Mountain Pass, six members had headed north on a secret mission. He later learned it was related to an incident involving young maidens. When he was searching for a secluded spot, aside from the Withered Leaf Swamp being unsuitable, part of his reasoning was to avoid running into these people, especially since his plan to 'wait by the tree stump' at Stone Lake had failed.
Now, thinking back, their heading north only had two possible explanations. One was to deceive their own people, treating it as a top-secret mission. The other was that there were informants at Black Mountain Pass, and this was a deliberate misdirection. Between the two, the latter seemed far more likely. *He had been misled! How infuriating!*
Changxi, who had been closely observing Wang Yu's expression, suddenly asked, "You know about this?"
Wang Yu shook his head decisively. "No, I don't. But I can guess it's the work of the Joyful Union Demon Sect. They are the only ones with such a high demand for women. However... I can't figure out why they would need *mortal* women."
"Sigh—" Changxi repeatedly used her Lucid Sword Heart to sense the truth of Wang Yu's words, but ultimately found nothing.
After a moment's thought, she said, "This matter isn't a absolute secret. Telling you is no great issue."
"Oh?" Wang Yu was intensely curious. What other secrets was the Black Mountain Demon Territory hiding?
"The Black Mountain Demon Territory imprisons a 'Demon'," she revealed. "Legend says it was sealed here in an ancient era so remote it cannot be verified. Its name is—[Desire]! It is said the Joyful Union Demonic Path of this world originated when a group of people held a '[No-Cover] Gathering'—a debauched orgy—at the very site of the seal here in the Black Mountain Demon Territory. Their licentious acts stirred the power of the [Desire Demon]. Its demonic thoughts penetrated their hearts, imparting the Joyful Union Demonic Path. It is revered as the Ancestor, the Path-Founding Patriarch, by all demonic cultivators who walk the Path of Joyful Union!"
Wang Yu was momentarily astonished by this history. The concept of '[Demons]' wasn't unfamiliar to him; the Reverse Spirit Blood Sect itself was founded upon remnants of an ancient Blood Demon.
"So the Joyful Union Demon Sect is trying to rescue their Patriarch?"
"Rescue?" Changxi let out a scornful laugh. "They wouldn't dare."
"Why not?"
"Before reaching the Nascent Soul stage, demonic cultivators are merely amateurs lingering outside the gate. They have not cultivated true Demonic Qi and are not genuine demonic cultivators. Demonic Qi is a power higher than Heaven and Earth spiritual energy. These imprisoned and sealed Demons are legendary, indestructible True Demons. Even Transformation Spirit cultivators cannot kill them. After endless eons, they have long gone mad. The first thing they would do upon release is slaughter the very people who freed them."
Wang Yu fell silent. *So they're insane lunatics who have lost their reason.*
"In that case, the Joyful Union Sect's reason for abducting women is clear. Why don't you just go directly to the sealing site? Why search all over?"
Changxi looked at him, surprised. "It seems you truly don't know. The Black Mountain is vast. The cave sealing [Desire] is constantly moving within these mountains. Only the secret methods of the Joyful Union Demon Sect can locate it. We only know the sealed cavern is on a thousand-meter tall black mountain peak, barren, where Crimson Joy Demon Gold grows—a supreme treasure of demonic path desire."
Having said this much, the situation was now perfectly clear.
(End of Chapter)