Ye Ling, the Successor of Demonic Arts — What a Vicious Scheme
Ye Ling, the Successor of Demonic Arts — What a Vicious Scheme
This night was destined to be anything but peaceful.
For the White Tiger Clan, a monumental, earth-shaking event had occurred.
Within their territory, Godly Islands stretched beyond count, ancient trees pierced the heavens, the land was vast and boundless, and essence energy surged forth in torrents.
At this moment, a heaven-shaking roar erupted, one that seemed capable of shattering the very stars from the sky.
Terrifying blood qi surged skyward, coalescing into the form of a fearsome White Tiger. Its gaping, blood-drenched maw resembled a lake of blood as it materialized in the heavens in an instant.
It let out a world-shaking roar, clearly consumed by boundless fury!
“Who dares kill my son!”
It was none other than Bai Lie’s father, the White Tiger Emperor of the White Tiger Clan, whose cultivation was unfathomably deep.
The White Tiger Emperor’s rage had now reached its absolute peak. He had been in secluded cultivation when his clansmen informed him that Bai Lie’s Soul Lamp had gone out!
Bai Lie was the White Tiger Emperor’s most beloved offspring, with the purest bloodline the clan had seen in tens of thousands of years, one with the potential to someday surpass even him.
The White Tiger Emperor had nurtured him with meticulous care, pouring in vast amounts of time and effort.
Yet never in his wildest dreams did he imagine that barely after Bai Lie had left the clan grounds, such devastating news would arrive.
This filled the White Tiger Emperor with fury — truly, his hair bristled with rage beneath his crown.
“Investigate! Investigate for me! Who is so bold as to kill my son? I will grind them to dust, tear their corpse into ten thousand pieces, bar them from the cycle of reincarnation, and make them suffer for all eternity!”
Below, the many clansmen of the White Tiger Clan were utterly terrified. Their faces had gone pale, their teeth chattered, and not a trace of color remained on their faces.
When the White Tiger Emperor raged, catastrophe was sure to follow. Someone had actually dared provoke the White Tiger Clan and slain their Young Master!
This was an irreconcilable blood feud. Even in clashes among the younger generation, such a thing rarely happened.
Thus, they concluded that someone had maliciously murdered Bai Lie to provoke the White Tiger Clan.
But as long as that person had shown their face even once, there was no escape — the White Tiger Clan would hunt them down.
“The Young Master’s Soul Lamp has gone out. What are we to do now...”
“What are we to do!”
In the Boundless Heaven, within Skyward Ancient City.
Bai Lie’s Dao Protector had collapsed to the ground, his eyes vacant, repeating those words over and over, scared out of his wits.
He had searched the entire night without finding any trace of Bai Lie, and now word came from the clan that the Young Master’s Soul Lamp had been extinguished.
To him, this was simply unbelievable.
The moment he heard it, it felt as if the top of his skull had been ripped off, his entire body going ice-cold!
Young Master Bai Lie was dead. The White Tiger Clan would surely be enraged, and a catastrophe of unimaginable scale would follow.
He had failed in his duty of protection and could not escape death either — no, when the time came, death itself would be a luxury.
At that point, a fate worse than death would be the true horror.
The White Tiger Clan’s soul-binding techniques were renowned throughout the Beyond; they had countless methods to torture him to death.
He never imagined that last night’s ominous premonition would become reality.
“The Young Master is actually dead! He had life-saving means, and he still died. What do I do now?”
“It must be Ye Ling. It must be Ye Ling! He’s definitely the one who killed the Young Master!”
At this moment, the only person he could think of was Ye Ling, and all the evidence pointed to Ye Ling as the culprit.
Back then, Bai Lie had gone to settle accounts with Ye Ling — something Yin Mei, the Gifted Lady of the Nine-Tailed Fox Clan, could testify to.
When the other experts of the White Tiger Clan arrived, Yin Mei could vouch for all of this on his behalf!
Right now, only by capturing Bai Lie’s killer could he hope to atone for his failure through merit.
Thinking of this, the middle-aged man hastily mobilized every man under his command, preparing to search across the various ancient cities.
He refused to believe Ye Ling could have fled far by now.
And even in the worst case — even if Ye Ling wasn’t the killer — he had to find a scapegoat!
......
“Old turtle, what’s going on? Why do I feel so uneasy, like someone is scheming against me from the shadows? Who exactly was that white-robed man last night?”
“Why did he say he would see me again? The feeling he gave me back then was too terrifying — no ordinary person could possibly have that kind of presence.”
Inside a room of an inn in Skyward Ancient City, the black-clothed Ye Ling wore a sullen expression, his face shifting between light and shadow as he questioned the spirit turtle in his pendant.
He was currently hiding here.
Last night, he had fled all the way from the black-robed elder’s pursuit and escaped into Skyward Ancient City. Perhaps fearing exposure, the black-robed elder had given up the chase upon reaching the city outskirts.
This allowed Ye Ling to breathe a sigh of relief, after which he found a random place to settle down.
For him, within the Celestial Ancient Continent of the Skyward Schloss, there was still a relic left behind for him by the Ancient Reincarnation Supreme Being.
So Ye Ling had no plans to leave Skyward Ancient City for the time being.
“I feel like you, kid, have gotten yourself tangled in a truly terrifying vortex. That white-robed man last night — his aura was extremely strange, not someone to be provoked. Yet he specifically sought you out. This whole matter reeks of something deeply bizarre...”
“Tell me, have you offended anyone recently? I suspect your Supreme Being inheritance has caught someone’s attention,” the spirit turtle inside the pendant said, urging Ye Ling to carefully recall recent events.
Hearing this, Ye Ling shook his head. “Who have I offended recently? If anything, others have offended me. Besides Yue Mingkong and Ye Langtian, who else is there?”
“That white-robed man last night couldn’t possibly be connected to them, could he?”
“Could it be that Gu Changge? But I’ve never met him, and last night that man’s face was shrouded in mist.”
Thinking of this, he felt deeply unsettled.
Once again, those cold, all-overlooking eyes from last night surfaced in his mind. In that moment, he had been like a tiny ant being toyed with in someone’s palm — utterly insignificant.
This left Ye Ling, who had defeated countless powerful foes along his journey, feeling extremely aggrieved.
One day, he would trample that man from last night beneath his feet!
“When I have time today, I should go find Brother Bai Lie and explain yesterday’s matter. No matter what, we’ll still have to meet at the Skyward Schloss eventually...” Ye Ling added.
As he spoke, he suddenly frowned. “Why is it so noisy outside?”
Hearing the sounds from outside, Ye Ling suddenly froze, his entire body as if struck by a bolt from the blue, instantly dumbfounded.
Coming back to his senses, Ye Ling’s face turned pale, his lips trembling, drained of all color, unable to believe it.
“How is this possible!”
“How could Bai Lie be dead?”
“I didn’t kill him. I don’t know anything. How could this be...”
Ye Ling’s whole body went ice-cold, nearly freezing in place, his scalp feeling like it was about to explode.
Just moments ago, he had been curious about what the Cultivators outside were discussing.
He leaned in to listen — and his entire being went numb.
He never imagined the Cultivators outside would be saying that the White Tiger Clan’s Young Master had been murdered last night — and that the killer was him, Ye Ling!
Now, the experts of the White Tiger Clan were scouring everywhere for his trail.
Last night, he had clearly been hunted the entire time — when would he have had the chance to kill Bai Lie?
This was completely impossible!
“Has there been some mistake? Someone is framing me. I’m innocent — old turtle, you know it, I’m innocent! Last night I was clearly the one being hunted!”
Right now, Ye Ling’s only lifeline was the spirit turtle in his pendant. Only the spirit turtle and the black-robed elder who had hunted him last night could prove he hadn’t killed Bai Lie!
Hearing these words, the spirit turtle inside the pendant fell into a long silence.
Only then did it speak heavily, “At this point, saying all this is useless. What good does it do that I know the truth? Someone is clearly framing you.”
Ye Ling realized this too, and at this moment, his face was deathly pale.
“The White Tiger Clan wants to capture me. I can’t let them catch me now. Even if I could prove I didn’t kill Bai Lie, the fact that I possess the Ancient Reincarnation Supreme Being’s inheritance would still be exposed!”
“No matter how you look at it, the White Tiger Clan will never let me go!”
At this moment, countless thoughts flashed through Ye Ling’s mind.
For a moment, his face turned incomparably pale — he could even sense a dead end ahead!
Whether or not he had killed Bai Lie, he could not show himself now, and he absolutely could not be captured by the White Tiger Clan.
Right now, he was like someone who had jumped into the Yellow River — he could never wash himself clean!
If Gu Changge were here and heard Ye Ling’s words, he would surely praise him inwardly for his cleverness, for figuring all this out so quickly.
But what good did figuring it out do?
Bearing an Ancient Supreme Being’s inheritance, Ye Ling was now a juicy piece of meat. Once exposed, who knew how many powerful existences would burn with greed and move to seize it.
Most importantly, he could not prove he hadn’t killed Bai Lie!
The White Tiger Clan wouldn’t care about any of that. They only wanted to capture Ye Ling — true or false, a Soul Search would reveal everything.
Thinking of all this, Ye Ling’s eyes filled with fury, his lips nearly bitten through. “What a vicious scheme!”
“It must be that white-robed man from last night plotting against me!”
Then, Ye Ling hastily activated his Transformation Technique, taking on an entirely different appearance.
For the foreseeable future, he likely could not walk the world under his real name and true face.
Fortunately, the Ancient Reincarnation Supreme Being’s inheritance contained no shortage of life-saving secret arts, which could help Ye Ling evade capture for a time.
By further concealing his Source with the Power of Reincarnation, he could achieve a certain degree of concealment. Remembering this, Ye Ling breathed another sigh of relief.
After all, he had weathered many such crises along his journey, and many times he had turned peril into safety. His Transformation Technique and disguise skills could be said to deserve immense credit!
At this time, within Skyward Ancient City, a group of White Tiger Clan experts had rushed over overnight, crossing multiple Transportation Arrays.
They were now bringing out rare materials — numerous precious bones and strange divine substances — which were forming into an ancient, simple little altar.
Atop the altar, a single drop of vividly crimson blood spun round and round, containing astonishing divinity!
“This is a drop of the Young Master’s Blood Essence from when he was alive. Thankfully, it was preserved back then. Who would have thought it would serve such a purpose today? As long as his corpse remains, we can find where he is and avenge him!” an elder of the White Tiger Clan said, his face etched with grief.
This secret technique demanded an enormous price.
But right now, they could no longer care about that.
Soon, the secret technique activated.
A hazy radiance emerged here, and from within the blood, the phantom of a White Tiger appeared. It roared toward the void, then dove into it!
“Follow the direction of this phantom, and we can find where the Young Master’s corpse lies...”
As they spoke, this group of experts followed the White Tiger phantom away.
At the same time, in an ancient city to the east of Skyward Ancient City.
Within a desolate courtyard overgrown with weeds, a burst of radiance suddenly appeared. The White Tiger phantom emerged from the void, then vanished into this place in a flash!
The void blurred, and the group of experts swiftly appeared here as well.
“The Young Master’s corpse is hidden here!”
That elder’s face was cold and stern as he sent men to search the area. Soon, beneath this courtyard, they discovered an icy, damp dungeon!
“Why would there be a dungeon hidden here?”
Then, they entered it, and upon seeing the scene within, they were instantly dumbstruck!
“This...” Everyone’s face went pale, their backs drenched in cold dread. “Why are there so many corpses?”
“The Young Master’s corpse is here too. All of his essence energy and Source have been devoured completely...”
That elder caught sight of Bai Lie’s long-shriveled corpse among them, his eyes nearly splitting with rage, mad with hatred.
“To dare kill the Young Master of my White Tiger Clan and devour his Source — this is a vengeance we cannot share the same sky with!”
He threw his head back and roared!
Soon, what had happened here spread as if it had grown wings, swiftly sweeping through all of Skyward Ancient City and even reaching the other ancient cities.
This matter triggered a terrifying tidal wave, causing unparalleled sensation.
Every Cultivator was horrified, trembling with fear!
The Taboo Demonic Arts, long severed and vanished into the River of Time, were suspected to have reappeared in the world. Their successor was slaughtering the young prodigies of various clans, devouring their Sources for cultivation.
Now, even the Young Master of the White Tiger Clan had met a tragic end.
......
The corpse had been discovered in another ancient city. In that dungeon, there were also many corpses that had yet to be disposed of — those corpses had likewise had their Sources devoured!
Once this news broke, it set off a monstrous tidal wave.
The entire Boundless Heaven was shaken!
And the White Tiger Clan announced that the one who had killed their successor Bai Lie was a man named Ye Ling!
Any Cultivator who provided information on Ye Ling would be handsomely rewarded!
And soon, a great deal of information about this man named Ye Ling was exposed by Ye Langtian, the Young Master of the Ancient Ye Family, who also laid out the many suspicious points he had discovered.
In an instant, the name of Ye Ling, the Successor of Demonic Arts, spread across the lands, triggering an earthquake — nearly everyone cried for his blood, demanding the death of the Successor of Demonic Arts.
Every Cultivator was searching for this Cultivator named Ye Ling, only to find that Ye Ling had vanished like a stone sinking into the sea, gone without a trace.
......
And in the blink of an eye, several days passed.
The outside world was in tremendous turmoil.
Meanwhile, the Canonization Ceremony of the Skyward Schloss’s successor proceeded smoothly. Numerous elders and a host of disciples gathered on the plaza before the Skyward Schloss’s great hall, their figures stretching out in a mighty procession.
Many disciples of other orthodoxies had also rushed here to witness this Canonization Ceremony with their own eyes.
The Great Elder personally appeared, standing upon the high platform. His face was lean and refined, his bearing immortal and Daoist, his white robes fluttering.
Below the Great Elder stood a mild-mannered, middle-aged man in green robes with a wisp of a long beard.
His figure was tall and straight, his eyes like stars, his hair white as snow. He stood proudly, exceedingly heroic, with what seemed like floating light and dancing shadows around him, dreamlike and illusory — none other than the Palace Master of the Skyward Schloss.
He looked at Gu Changge, who stood very close to him, and smiled faintly. “The future of the Skyward Schloss shall be entrusted to you.”
Gu Changge smiled faintly and returned the courtesy. “Palace Master, such words are premature.”
Beside him, next in line, stood a host of elders with unfathomable cultivation.
Below them were the true disciples and inner disciples, arranged in order.
As for the outer disciples of the Skyward Schloss, they could only watch from far away, unqualified to draw near.
All the disciples now gazed respectfully at that tall, slender figure ahead, many of them filled with envy.
Soon, after a series of elaborate rites concluded.
The Great Elder’s expression was somewhat complicated as he looked at the jade-like, divinely handsome young man below and spoke,
“Today, my Skyward Schloss canonizes its successor. The Ancestral Founder watches from above, bearing witness with his own eyes...”
“We hereby canonize True Disciple Gu Changge as the current successor of my Skyward Schloss!”
“Bestow the successor robes!”
With these words, an elder came forward with a smile on his lips, holding a set of successor robes in his hands!
The successor of the Skyward Schloss was unlike those of other orthodoxies, who changed every few decades or centuries.
As long as the previous Palace Master remained, the successor’s status would not change — all the way until the Palace Master stepped down and withdrew into secluded cultivation.
In other words, once the position of successor was established, it meant it would remain unchanged for at least a thousand years.
The entire vast Skyward Schloss would one day be under his command!
Feathered robes and starry crown, white robes with broad sleeves.
Every inch exuded exquisite splendor, as if embroidered from billions of strands of nine-heaven starlight. Divine radiance flowed across it, as though shrouding endless, resplendent immortal intent.
Once Gu Changge donned it, his figure stood tall and straight, his entire being appearing all the more transcendent and otherworldly, jade-like and divinely handsome.
The many female disciples and elders watching this scene could not help but have their eyes shine with unusual brilliance, their hearts swaying.