Chapter 58: Righteous-Demonic Truce, Sharing the Heavenly Roots
"Qiming's got real talent, especially with the sword—no one his age can match him!"
"Qipeng stumbles into another opportunity? That kid's luck is off the charts, even making his old man jealous. He's a born protagonist! Who knows, maybe he'll carve out his own path with all these fortuitous encounters."
"What's Mengxue doing studying formations now? It's good to have more skills, more paths forward, but it's a bit of a time sink. I'll remind her later—can't let it derail her regular cultivation..."
"Those demonic bastards are getting bolder... Wait, Qiling's in danger!"
Qin Changqing's eyes sharpened. In an instant, he donned a black robe and mask, activated his teleportation, and vanished in a flash of white light.
Zhao Kingdom's cultivation world.
Qin Changqing appeared before Qin Qiling, surging spiritual power hurling a massive bear-like demon beast flying backward. A streak of purple light pierced its skull in the next breath.
The beast's enormous corpse crashed to the ground, deader than dead.
"Master!"
Qin Qiling's face lit up with joy. Her master always showed up at the critical moment!
Qin Changqing sighed helplessly. "Qiling, places like this aren't for you yet. Stick to what you can handle—don't take needless risks. I can't watch over you every second. Got it?"
Qin Qiling flushed with embarrassment. "I was chasing a demon beast and ended up here without realizing. Don't worry, Master—I'll be more careful next time!"
Qin Changqing tapped her forehead in exasperation. "Next time? Think three times before acting from now on. Plan thoroughly, consider every possible outcome. Unless you're at least eighty or ninety percent sure, don't make a move."
"Got it, Master!" Qin Qiling scratched her head with a sheepish grin, then her eyes sparkled with hope. "Will you... stay a bit longer? I miss you so much!"
A flicker of heartache and reluctance crossed Qin Changqing's eyes. After a moment, he nodded.
"Yay!" Qin Qiling cheered.
Behind the mask, Qin Changqing's expression grew complicated. Qin Qiling was the first child he'd sent out of Jing Kingdom—venturing alone was tough and lonely, he knew that. But it had to be done.
These days, clashes between righteous and demonic paths were heating up. Demonic cultivators frequently ambushed disciples from the Ten Sects, including his own children, who had faced life-or-death crises multiple times.
Without his timely interventions, several might have perished.
In recent years, he'd sent more children out of Jing Kingdom one by one. It served the dual purpose of letting them "disappear" naturally without drawing sect attention—everyone would assume they'd fallen to demonic hands.
——
In the grand hall of the Sword Demon Tomb.
Sect Master Yang Ziping shot to his feet at his subordinate's report. "What did you say? Haoyang Sect unearthed two more Heavenly Spiritual Root seedlings?"
"It's not just Haoyang Sect. Our spies in all Ten Sects report the same—they've somehow gathered a bunch of kids, all around six or seven years old, every one a Heavenly Spiritual Root prodigy!"
"Impossible!"
Yang Ziping's eyes bulged, demonic qi roiling around him in waves of unrest.
Their infiltration of the Ten Sects had deepened over the years; they knew the kids' fates almost as soon as they were brought back.
"Summon the leaders of the other three sects at once!" Yang Ziping couldn't sit still. He barked the order gravely.
Soon, the sect masters of Moon Demon Sect, Six Desires Demon Sect, and Ghost King Sect arrived together.
"Yang, you know too, don't you?"
Shen Yantu's face was icy. "Something's seriously off with the Ten Sects. I suspect they've mastered a way to breed Heavenly Spiritual Roots."
"Exactly!" Six Desires Sect Master Zhou Huan looked grim. "Our plants report that exceptional female cultivators have vanished from various sects. After long investigations, it turns out they've all gone to Taicqing Sect."
"Taicqing Sect again!"
Yang Ziping whipped around. "That sect's hiding something huge. We can't let it slide anymore. If this continues, the Ten Sects will churn out more Heavenly Roots. Once they mature, there'll be no place for us in Jing Kingdom!"
"Worse—they hate our guts. When that day comes, they won't leave us breathing room!"
The pressure weighed heavy on them all.
But the Ten Sects had united against them, entrenched and formidable. The demonic sects, already weaker, stood no chance against their ironclad alliance.
"How about... we invite the Wan Yao Ancestor?" Zhou Huan suggested suddenly.
The others jolted, staring at him in shock.
The Wan Yao Ancestor was the founder of Wan Yao Sect in neighboring Liang Kingdom—a true Fusion Void Realm powerhouse.
Wan Yao Sect dominated Liang's cultivation world, its might rivaling or surpassing the Ten Sects Alliance.
"Zhou Huan, have you lost your mind? You know what kind of monster the Wan Yao Ancestor is—tyrannical and ruthless. Inviting him means no gains, just getting ourselves devoured!"
Yang Ziping scowled.
Though aligned in the demonic path, the Ancestor's stature dwarfed theirs. Dealing with him was like bargaining with a tiger—inviting the wolf inside.
Shen Yantu cackled wickedly. "At this point, who cares? You wanna wait for the Ten Sects to grow and uproot us? I say Zhou Huan's idea is solid!"
Yang Ziping pondered long, then spoke slowly. "The Ancestor's infamous—best not to provoke if we can avoid it. Here's a better play: Use his name to negotiate with the Ten Sects. Squeeze out the Heavenly Root secret. If they refuse, we go all-in—call the Ancestor and make sure no one walks away happy!"
Eyes lit up. Perfect compromise.
Decision made, the four demonic sects wasted no time, marching straight to Taicqing Sect with their forces.
Sensing trouble, Feng Jun and the others emerged from the grand formation, faces wary. What stunt were these four demonic sects pulling now?
Yang Ziping hovered on demonic clouds, calling out from afar. "Sect Leader Liu, we're not here for war—just to talk."
Liu Qinghui flicked his horsetail whisk with a cold sneer. "This old man has nothing to discuss with you demonic scum. We leave you be, and you dare come knocking? Think the Ten Sects are pushovers? You're begging for death!"
As the righteous side bristled, Yang Ziping smirked back. "We're here on Wan Yao Ancestor's orders. Try lifting a finger—see if Wan Yao Sect doesn't flatten your Ten Sects tomorrow!"
Wan Yao Ancestor!
Liu Qinghui's face drained of color!
Feng Jun and the rest froze too.
They'd all heard of the Ancestor's dread reputation—a Fusion Void Realm terror. Even all Ten Sects' Divine Transformation Lords couldn't stop him.
"How'd they hook up with Wan Yao Sect?"
The Divine Transformation Lords transmitted privately.
"Bluffing? That's a Liang Kingdom sect!"
"Maybe not—Liang borders Jing, and they're both demonic. Ties aren't impossible."
"What now? Piss off the Ancestor for real, and Jing Kingdom's done—billions dead, Ten Sects helpless!"
After heated debate, they decided to hear the demons out first.
With Feng Jun's nod, Liu Qinghui gritted out a transmission. "We're all Jing cultivators. Whatever it is, we can talk it over—no need for outsiders."
Yang Ziping exhaled inwardly, snorting. "If we weren't fellow Jing folk, you'd be facing more than just us right now!"
Liu Qinghui's lips thinned. He pointed to a distant peak. "Shall we talk there?"
No way he'd let demonic disciples past Taicqing's gates—too risky.
Yang Ziping's group had no issue; they knew they were just borrowing the tiger's skin. Push too hard, and it'd backfire.
Soon, they carved out a vast space on the peak with divine arts. Both sides landed warily.
Liu Qinghui summoned the other nine sect masters. Divine Transformation elders were present, but sect masters held real authority; elders were just ultimate deterrents, not daily managers.
"Yang Ziping, spit it out!" Chu Tianlu's face was thunderous—being strong-armed by demons chafed.
The others seethed too. Without the Ancestor's shadow, they'd have swarmed and slaughtered the lot.
But the demons' confidence unnerved them. If true, the fallout was unthinkable.
Shen Yantu's wicked laugh grated. "No playing dumb. We know your special method for breeding spiritual root offspring. Share it with our four sects, and we'll handle the Ancestor excuse. Refuse, and we tell him everything. You don't get it? Neither do we!"
Faces darkened; glances exchanged.
Demonic style—unyielding, destructive if denied.
Luckily, the Ancestor was still in the dark.
"Fine, agree—for now. Push these dogs too far, and we're all worse off."
"No choice. Wan Yao matches us in Liang. Invade with a Fusion Void leader? Even Senior Sister Xin couldn't hold."
"Stall them. Once our prodigies mature, wipe them out."
After deliberations, Liu Qinghui spoke measuredly. "Indeed, we have a way to produce Heavenly Spiritual Roots..."
He was sly—admitting only Heavenly Roots, not higher. The other nine perked up inwardly, praising the nuance.
No retreat now; cooperate, but limit to Heavenly Roots.
For the Ten Sects, that was mere baseline.
Buy time, then strike later...
They have it!
Yang Ziping's group beamed—they'd bluffed it out.
"But producing a Heavenly Root requires a superior-grade spiritual root woman. Each child costs at least a million spirit stones..."
Liu Qinghui said coolly.
No courtesy to demons—he jacked the price a hundredfold.
Yang Ziping et al. didn't balk; it fueled their excitement. No strings would be suspicious.
A million stones for a Heavenly Root? Bargain!
"Deal! If you're honest, so are we!"
Agreements sealed with spirit contracts: Demonic sects would send female cultivators and stones regularly; secrecy sworn—no leaks to Wan Yao. Hostilities ceased.
The Ten Sects craved peace anyway, focused on nurturing their geniuses.
Demons, secret in hand, wanted respite too—their losses to the alliance had been brutal. Perfect chance to recover.
Thus, Jing Kingdom's cultivation world entered a fragile peace.