Nether and Pagoda — Who Is the True Successor of Demonic Arts?
Nether and Pagoda — Who Is the True Successor of Demonic Arts?
After leaving the Human Hall, Gu Changge did not head to Peach Village, nor did he return to the Gu Family.
Instead, he first went to the headquarters of the Nephrite Breeze Pavilion, found Bai Lian’er—who had now broken through to the Sacred Emperor Realm—and gave her a few instructions.
Even now, when it came to assassination missions, the Nephrite Breeze Pavilion had yet to completely supplant Nether and Pagoda, those two old-established assassin organizations.
So he had to personally intervene.
However, Nether and Pagoda were hidden extremely deep, and the methods by which their assassins contacted one another were rather peculiar—
Without finding their points of contact, it was very difficult to root them out completely.
Moreover, the headquarters of these two forces were said to be hidden within some Overworld, having evaded the vengeance of countless enemies for innumerable years.
Even the Immortal Forces and Longevity Families were extremely wary of them.
At the peak of Nether and Pagoda’s power, no small number of True Daoists had died at their hands.
Gu Changge figured that the foundations of these two forces surely included Remnant Immortals holding down the fort. With the Nephrite Breeze Pavilion’s current strength, if it truly clashed head-on with them, there would be only one outcome—death.
The Nephrite Breeze Pavilion’s rapid rise had already made it a thorn in the side, a splinter in the flesh, of Nether and Pagoda.
During this period, those two had been trying every method imaginable to locate its headquarters and annihilate it.
“Although the Alliance of Thousand Merchants has been providing intelligence to the Nephrite Breeze Pavilion during this time, greatly increasing our assassination success rate, the foundations of Nether and Pagoda run deep and cannot be underestimated. Many of our people have already been assassinated by them, dying in the middle of missions.”
“Because of them, I’ve lost quite a few young seeds.”
Bai Lian’er wore a long black dress, her features seductive, her skin like ice and bones like snow, her face exceptionally fair and delicate, her complexion radiant and soul-captivating.
She stood before Gu Changge, a trace of vexation in her words.
“As long as we find where Nether and Pagoda are located, annihilating them won’t be difficult. What’s difficult is finding their headquarters.”
Gu Changge set down his cup, a hint of contemplation in his gaze.
After all, he was the true master behind the Nephrite Breeze Pavilion.
Nether and Pagoda were blocking his path, so naturally he had to act and destroy them.
“I’ve already sent people to investigate the location of their headquarters, but there’s still not the slightest clue.” Bai Lian’er was quite troubled by this as well.
Her strength was still far too lacking compared to the true Lord of Nether and Lord of Pagoda.
So even if she found traces of them, there was little she could do. She could only report these matters to Gu Changge and let him figure something out.
“Nether and Pagoda have managed to stay hidden for so many years—it’s not without reason. But I refuse to believe they can hide forever.”
Gu Changge shook his head, planning to have Yin Mei’s side keep a closer watch.
In addition, Ah Da and the many True Daoist puppets had already been dispatched by him to begin working together with Bai Lian’er’s subordinates to investigate the contact points of these two forces.
After that, he sent for Bai Lian’er’s Junior Brother and her father Bai Kun, having them divine the location of the Celestial Path.
Regarding news of the Celestial Path, Gu Changge still had no leads whatsoever—he could only try his luck like a blind cat stumbling upon a dead mouse.
The Beyond’s territory was incomparably vast, covering all heavens, endless and boundless, as if countless ancient worlds and star domains had been stacked and interwoven together.
Even those whose cultivation pierced heaven and earth could never hope to reach the other shore of the Beyond; even exhausting an entire lifetime, they could not cross this boundless expanse.
Therefore, no one knew what lay in the deepest depths of the Beyond, or at its outermost edges.
To ordinary Cultivators, even spending their entire lives, they could hardly leave the star domain of their birth.
Were it not for the great Transportation Arrays built in ancient times between the major star domains,
the time required just to traverse between star domains alone would consume the lifetimes of many Cultivators.
Meanwhile, within the Ashen Immortal Star Domain, the territory where the Immortal Dao Alliance resided.
An incomparably massive Ancient Battleship, its surface radiating light that soared into the heavens, Divine Chains of Order flowing across it, was crushing through the sky like a terrifying Devil Mountain, carrying a great load of cargo as it traversed the starry space.
This was a cargo ship of the Immortal Dao Alliance, bearing cultivation resources offered up during this period by the many dependent forces and orthodoxies.
As the absolute overlord of the Ashen Immortal Star Domain and even the surrounding star domains, the Immortal Dao Alliance’s heritage stretched across countless epochs.
In ancient times, there was even an ancient being known as the Ashen Immortal who founded the Immortal Dao Alliance here, holding sway over all directions and ruling the Eight Wastelands.
This was a powerful force that had produced a True Immortal, its foundations unfathomable—even ordinary Immortal Orthodoxies were unwilling to provoke it lightly.
Moreover, the Immortal Dao Alliance’s roots ran deep and tangled below, with many ancient families and sects attached to it—pull one hair and the whole body moves.
And at this very moment, in the northwestern section of this Ancient Battleship, there stood a stretch of towers, palaces, and Buddhist pagodas, divine light brilliant and dazzling, incomparably grand and imposing.
A tall, slender young man in blue robes was walking over, surrounded by a crowd of young male and female Cultivators.
His features were refined and clean, his gaze clear, with faint threads of golden light occasionally flashing through his eyes. Even his hair seemed to shed a hazy radiance, and his entire being exuded an aura of transcendent grace.
At one with heaven and earth, in harmony with Natural Dao Principles, his state of mind serene—even his walking and breathing seemed to carry some special Dao rhythm.
The many older-generation figures in the surroundings, upon seeing this blue-robed man, couldn’t help but feel a chill in their hearts, their expressions shifting slightly as they stepped aside.
As the Chosen One of the Immortal Dao Alliance, though Lan Yifei kept a low profile,
within this Ashen Immortal Star Domain, there was no one who did not know of him.
He rarely made a move, but each time he did, it carried extraordinary significance.
Some time ago, someone had even seen him venture deep into an abandoned star domain and subdue a Sacred King Realm ferocious beast as his mount.
One had to know that among the current younger generation, aside from Gu Changge, the strongest in cultivation were merely at the Sacred Lord Realm level.
And those were ancient freaks, possessing special bloodlines, sealed away since ancient times.
Among the contemporary prodigies, few could be found with Sacred Lord Realm strength.
Lan Yifei’s physique was extremely special and mysterious—almost no one knew of it.
They only understood that he seemed able to borrow the power of all things between heaven and earth, inexhaustibly, placing him in an inherently invincible position.
Even when facing an enemy he could not hope to match, he could find a way to escape unscathed.
“I heard that this shipment of the Immortal Dao Alliance’s goods is being escorted by the Chosen One himself.”
“I wonder what exactly is in the cargo, that the sect would value it so highly.”
Aboard the Ancient Battleship, Cultivators of the Immortal Dao Alliance watched Lan Yifei pass by with his many Junior Brothers and Sisters, and couldn’t help but speak in hushed tones.
The Ancient Battleship carried not only people of the Immortal Dao Alliance, but also other forces and orthodoxies, as well as many rogue cultivators. However, aside from the Immortal Dao Alliance’s people, no one else dared approach the area where the escorted cargo was kept—they could only speculate endlessly in their hearts.
“Thanks to Senior Brother Lan, otherwise we never would have discovered such a huge mining vein this time—and hidden within it, Profound Immortal Jade Marrow several million years old.”
“If we can successfully escort this batch of Profound Immortal Jade Marrow back to the sect, it will be a great merit for all of us. We’ll definitely be commended by the Elders and the Sect Master.”
Lan Yifei’s group walked toward the depths of the Ancient Battleship.
The Junior Brothers and Sisters beside him, hearing the discussions of the crowd in the distance, couldn’t help but break into smiles, one of them speaking with great excitement.
Hearing this, the others also trembled with energy, joy showing in their eyes.
After all, Profound Immortal Jade Marrow was an immortal treasure born only within Mysterious Jade—even a single drop could cleanse a Cultivator’s marrow and bones, causing their cultivation to soar.
Even many older-generation existences would come to blows over a single drop of Profound Immortal Jade Marrow.
“This great merit isn’t mine alone. Without the help of all you Junior Brothers and Sisters, we never would have found the Profound Immortal Jade Marrow.”
Lan Yifei shook his head gently, extremely humble. He appeared utterly transcendent—even as he walked, there was an indescribable Dao rhythm about him, making it impossible to ignore his presence.
“Senior Brother Lan is truly too modest. If you hadn’t held back the guardian beast of that mining area, how could we have ventured deep inside?”
“Without you, we probably would have long since perished in the jaws of that guardian beast.”
However, the crowd did not agree with Lan Yifei’s words—their speech was full of admiration, along with some lingering fear.
Hearing this, Lan Yifei still shook his head gently, appearing quite indifferent, not taking the matter to heart.
Afterward, he parted ways with the group and headed toward the courtyard where he usually cultivated. This entire area was filled with towers and palaces, much like a small city.
Even as the Chosen One of the Immortal Dao Alliance, his residence looked extremely plain and simple, adorned with only a few slender bamboo stalks.
“Who’s there?”
However, the very moment Lan Yifei returned to his courtyard, his brows suddenly furrowed slightly, and he asked without betraying any emotion.
At the same time, an inexplicable surge of mana rippled from his body, and threads of the rules of heaven and earth surged forth, seeping into every corner of the surroundings.
In just an instant, the place seemed to weave with endless runes, great swathes of order churning, the killing intent terrifying.
“As expected of the True Dao Source Physique—born in harmony with the Dao, one with heaven and earth, with astonishing perception. Back when you hunted me down, I was nearly killed by you.”
“Did you ever imagine that I would survive that catastrophe?”
A calm, cold voice rang out, neither male nor female, its direction impossible to discern.
“It’s you? The Successor of Demonic Arts?”
Hearing this voice, Lan Yifei seemed somewhat surprised, raising an eyebrow, then shaking his head. “No, it’s you—but you’re not the Successor of Demonic Arts. Whoever the true Successor of Demonic Arts is, he wouldn’t be as weak as you.”