After a while, the Xuanwu Peak disciple was brought to the mountaintop by Su Qinian.
Chen Huaian also clearly saw the disciple’s appearance.
How should he describe it?
It felt like a tall version of Wu Dalang.
Even though he didn’t know why he was brought up here, his face still had an endearing expression.
“Junior Sister, the view from this mountaintop is truly excellent.”
Tu Xinghe bowed to Li Qingran and looked around the mountaintop, his eyes filled with envy.
Although Li Qingran was the youngest among the Sword Pavilion’s disciples, she received the highest treatment there.
This was not only because of her outstanding talent but also because she had a powerful master.
It seemed that her master was also one of their Sword Pavilion’s ancestors?
Truly enviable.
Chen Huaian also felt that Tu Xinghe did not seem like a demon cultivator disciple; he did not look like one, nor did he have the aura of one. His demonic energy was completely hidden, even Chen Huaian could not detect it. It was normal for him to deceive Su Qinian.
“Do you know why I brought you to the top of Sunset Peak?”
“Answering the sect leader, disciple does not know.”
Su Qinian turned and stared at Tu Xinghe fiercely, saying coldly, “Have you practiced any demonic arts?”
Tu Xinghe trembled, his face full of shock, turning pale.
“Sect Leader, disciple, disciple doesn’t understand what you mean… since entering the Sword Pavilion, all I’ve heard and learned are orthodox techniques of our pavilion, and I have never come across any demonic arts.”
“Would you dare extend your hand so I can probe it?”
“Disciple obeys.” Tu Xinghe extended his hand in front of Su Qinian.
Su Qinian placed his fingers on Tu Xinghe’s wrist, simultaneously sending spiritual energy and spiritual awareness into it, but found nothing after probing.
“Ancestor.” He turned his head to look at the void above Li Qingran’s head and bowed, the meaning clear.
【Hmph! Your probing is invalid, let me do it!]
A cold snort came from the void.
Su Qinian and Tu Xinghe both tightened their hearts for a moment.
One was scared, and the other was also scared.
But after that, there was no follow-up, and the void remained silent.
Li Qingran looked up in confusion, muttering to herself, wondering if her master had gone back to work or fallen asleep.
Unbeknownst to her, Chen Huaian was staring blankly at his phone screen.
[Charge 6 yuan to obtain a Demon Reflection Mirror to expose Tu Xinghe’s identity as a demon cultivator.]
[Charge 66 yuan to obtain a Righteous Aura Talisman to expose Tu Xinghe’s identity.]
[Charge 666 yuan to grab Tu Xinghe and instantly refine the demonic energy in his body, exposing his identity.]
There were three options.
He couldn’t even choose the least costly one.
He had no money.
He owed 680,000 yuan.
The game ultimately revealed its blatant malice.
He couldn’t play at all.
But now there were several people waiting on Sunset Peak, he couldn’t just do nothing? He had already boasted about it, and if he didn’t handle this well, his status as the Sword Pavilion’s ancestor would drop drastically!
What kind of look would Li Qingran give him then?
Trash?!
Facing the imminent danger of becoming trash, Chen Huaian’s brain spun, and images of the Thunderfire Talisman mechanism flashed through his mind.
The Thunderfire Talisman sealed within it the thunderfire condensed from righteous qi.
Though not as powerful as Purple Heaven Divine Lightning, it was still of the same origin.
And the higher the grade, the more intense the righteous qi became. Any evil spirit would be triggered by the talisman’s righteous qi and explode with the thunderfire. Demonic energy must be part of the evil spirits’ aura, otherwise, how was that human-faced spider killed?
With this thought, Chen Huaian understood.
He pressed the communication talisman and said to Li Qingran:
[Qingran, take out the supreme-grade Thunderfire Talisman I gave you and stick it on the table!]
Li Qingran complied.
Su Qinian looked at the Thunderfire Talisman on the table, still puzzled.
Tu Xinghe also didn’t understand what was going to happen next, but he felt a sense of unease in his heart.
[The Thunderfire Talisman I refined is convenient for Qingran to use; it can trigger without needing spiritual energy. It can automatically identify demonic energy, demonic aura, and murderous intent… You only need to touch it lightly. If you don’t have demonic energy in your body, it won’t trigger the intense righteous qi.]
Ah, so the master refined such a talisman for her convenience?
Li Qingran’s ears twitched, feeling warm, and her lips curled into a gentle arc.
Her master was truly considerate of her.
She decided, since her master liked it, she would use that material to make tea bags for her master in the future!
Su Qinian reached out to touch the talisman.
Yes, it didn’t explode, very safe.
Of course, the ancestor could intentionally trigger it when Tu Xinghe touched it.
But as the Sword Pavilion’s ancestor, there was no need for him to do that.
Su Qinian trusted the ancestor very much, so he said to Tu Xinghe, “Go and touch that thunder talisman. Today’s check is just random; every disciple of the Sword Pavilion will go through this process, not just you… If you’re not a demon cultivator, the ancestor will grant you an opportunity.”
Tu Xinghe looked at the talisman, his face turning even paler.
Just looking at the talisman, he could feel the intense thunder energy locking onto him.
He stepped forward, his heart pounding, reaching out his hand.
Before he even touched the talisman, arcs of electricity began to flash on it.
If he really touched it, he would be swallowed by the thunderfire the next second!
Thud.
Su Qinian was shocked to see Tu Xinghe kneeling before the talisman, then suddenly enraged, pointing at Tu Xinghe, “You! Beast! Have you really practiced demonic arts?!”
“Ancestor, Sect Leader, disciple is guilty, deserving death.”
Tu Xinghe bowed repeatedly towards the void and Su Qinian, tears streaming down his face.
“Disciple’s talent is mediocre. Whenever I compare myself to my fellow disciples, I always feel uneasy. Once, during a demon hunt in the mountains, disciple encountered a female cultivator and developed feelings for her. I thought we could become partners, but when we left the mountain, we encountered a great demon at the demon core stage. That female cultivator died in the demon’s mouth to give disciple time to escape…”
At this point, Tu Xinghe was in tears, his voice choked.
“Because of this incident, you felt weak and thus practiced demonic arts?”
Su Qinian’s face darkened, his voice cold.
“Yes.” Tu Xinghe rolled up his sleeves, revealing his arm covered with ugly scars, and smiled bitterly, “The orthodox cultivation methods are balanced and gentle, but they value talent and foundation greatly. Disciple wanted to quickly increase strength, not only for self-preservation but also to prevent losing again, so I practiced demonic arts that don’t require high talent. All I need to do is refine my blood and qi every day…”
He looked up at Su Qinian, laughing maniacally, “Sect Leader, there is no true demonic art, only evil-minded people! If disciple maintains his original heart, isn’t that fine? The improvement of the demonic arts is indeed obvious! In less than a month, disciple’s strength has soared, even if it requires some sacrifices…”
“Shut up!” Su Qinian kicked Tu Xinghe over, pointing his sword and cursing, “Damn thing! Some sacrifices? Now you’re just refining your own blood and qi. I’ll ask you, when your own blood and qi run out, what will you do?
I know what you’ll do.
To survive, you’ll refine the blood of beasts!
Then you’ll find that the blood of beasts cannot meet the requirements of the technique, and then you’ll start hunting the enemy cultivators of our Sword Pavilion to refine their blood. But enemy cultivators aren’t easy to find? Each kill means one less!
Eventually, your targets will become the fellow disciples of our Sword Pavilion who have conflicts with you!
Once you kill your first fellow disciple, you won’t need reasons to kill others!
You will eventually be controlled by the demonic arts and fall into the path of demons!”
Tu Xinghe stared blankly at the enraged Su Qinian.
In the sect leader’s eyes, he saw anger, complexity, guilt, and frustration… but not a hint of killing intent.
He knew Su Qinian was right.
His own blood and qi were already insufficient for the demonic arts. He had tried beast blood, but it was useless.
If he didn’t continue practicing demonic arts, he would die from being drained of blood and qi by the demonic arts.
So he must go out and hunt to acquire cultivators’ blood to maintain his demonic arts practice.
This was a dead end, a road to becoming a demon.
“Sect Leader, disciple deserves death. I am unworthy of you and the sect. I have no face to live anymore.”
Tu Xinghe drew his sword, placing it at his neck, his eyes filled with sorrow.
The Sword Pavilion was his only home.
He was unwilling to leave the Sword Pavilion, unwilling to leave the grass and trees on Sunset Peak, unwilling to leave his fellow disciples, and unwilling to leave the sect leader who had carefully instructed him… but he no longer had the qualifications to cherish these things.
Today, he would only die to atone for his sins!
Su Qinian pursed his lips and turned away, unable to bear watching Tu Xinghe commit suicide, yet unable to stop him.
Practicing demonic arts, he deserved death.
Caught by the ancestor’s hand, he had no choice but to die.
[SLOW DOWN!]
A stern voice echoed through the void.
A fragrant breeze blew, and Tu Xinghe’s hand went empty.
Opening his eyes, he saw Li Qingran standing in front of him.
The sword in his hand was taken away by his junior sister without him noticing.
