Old Devil Mou was a titan of the Demonic Dao.
As the leader of the Righteous Dao, it was understandable for Lingzhuzi to slay demons and eliminate evil, but for the Demon Lord to take action as well was truly shocking.
No one knew what heinous deed Old Devil Mou had committed to incite such universal indignation, provoking both the Righteous and Demonic Daos at once.
Soon, the true inside story spread.
Old Devil Mou had dared to violate the rules established by the ancient human sages, going on a murderous rampage in the Hall of Seven Kills and unscrupulously slaughtering Core Formation stage juniors. Even more detestable, he had blockaded the sole entrance to the Hall of Seven Kills—an atrocious, abhorrent act.
Such vile conduct provoked public fury; anyone and everyone had the right to punish him.
This joint strike by the Righteous and Demonic Daos was not only to punish Old Devil Mou, but also to serve as a warning to all others.
"I’ve long heard that the Hall of Seven Kills is a dragon's den and a tiger's lair, but only now do I realize that the greatest danger lies not in its ancient restrictions, but in human nature. Heaven knows what Old Devil Mou was after by slaughtering Core Formation cultivators, only to end up like this."
Sitting opposite Qin Sang, the shopkeeper shook his head and sighed.
"Fortunately, the two Great Cultivators did not stand idly by. Seeing Old Devil Mou's fate, those Nascent Soul Patriarchs must all fear for their own necks. They should behave themselves a bit more now, not daring to flout the Four Sages Decrees as they please."
"What are the Four Sages Decrees?"
This was the first time Qin Sang had heard those words, and he asked out of curiosity.
"It’s only natural that you haven’t heard of the Four Sages Decrees. After all, they have little to do with Core Formation cultivators like us; they mainly exist to restrain those Nascent Soul Patriarchs. I only learned of them from a senior myself. You've seen the Four Sacred Mountains, right? As the name implies, the Four Sages Decrees were jointly laid down by those four sages. Their decrees were proclaimed across the four seas, and no one dared disobey!"
The shopkeeper pointed outside and continued.
"This island is named Tianxing Island, also known as the Sacred Island, precisely because it was once the Four Sages' place of cultivation, and it was from here that humanity began to rise!
"You probably know a bit of the human race's history.
"Once, humanity was in decline while the Witch Clan flourished.
"Before the Four Sages, more than half of the Canglang Ocean was occupied by the Witch Clan. We humans could only cower in the North Sea, and at our most desperate, were even forced to flee into the Rain Desert.
"The Four Sages turned the tide, repelling the Witch Clan and rescuing humanity from the brink of destruction. Afterward, they led our counterattack, driving the Witch Clan back to the Witch God Continent. That marked the beginning of humanity's great resurgence.
"With their prestige reaching its zenith, the Four Sages established the Four Sages Decrees. Several of these decrees pertain to the Hall of Seven Kills, and one explicitly forbids Nascent Soul cultivators from slaughtering low-stage cultivators within it.
"However, across the passage of countless ages and endless changes, the internal landscape of humanity has shifted many times. Many have forgotten the Four Sages Decrees or simply no longer care.
"Among low-stage cultivators like us, even fewer have ever heard of them.
"Rumor has it that the Hall of Seven Kills was discovered by the Four Sages themselves. Within it, they obtained supreme treasures and immortal arts, causing their cultivation to soar and enabling them to overpower the Witch Clan's experts..."
The shopkeeper spoke at length.
Hearing these secrets, Qin Sang finally understood the origins of it all.
No wonder the Four Sages held such lofty prestige, worthy of humanity's veneration to this day.
"Thank you for shedding light on this, Fellow Daoist."
Qin Sang thanked him, then shifted the conversation, asking curiously, "Do you know how Old Devil Mou ended up? Was he wiped out along with Tianfeng Island?"
"Well..."
The shopkeeper furrowed his brow and shook his head. "That is hard to say. There is no definite news on the streets, and neither the Demon Lord nor the Tiandao Sect has made an announcement. Still, Old Devil Mou is merely at the mid-Nascent Soul stage. Facing two Great Cultivators like Lingzhuzi and the Demon Lord, he couldn't possibly have escaped, right?"
Then, seeming to recall something, the shopkeeper added with lingering fear, "Even if Old Devil Mou was lucky enough to survive, he definitely won't have an easy time of it. Beyond the Righteous and Demonic Daos, the Three Great Merchant Alliances are also kicking him while he's down. Word is that a guild under the East Pole Alliance was taken over by Old Devil Mou, and its high-ranking members met horrific ends. Now, that entire guild has ceased to exist..."
The shopkeeper enumerated Old Devil Mou's crimes, a list so vast that words could barely capture it.
The guild butchered by Old Devil Mou was none other than the Qiongyu Guild.
Qin Sang also felt a chill run down his spine.
If he had fallen into the hands of such a man, who knew what agony he would have suffered.
At the same time, a sense of daze washed over him.
He had thought he would be powerless against Old Devil Mou for the foreseeable future, yet someone had unexpectedly exacted vengeance on his behalf.
Come to think of it, both incidents were closely tied to him.
Old Devil Mou had gone on that murderous rampage in the Hall of Seven Kills while trying to intercept him, and had later taken control of the Qiongyu Guild in order to hunt him down. In a sense, the old devil had brought this doom upon himself.
The only regret was that it was impossible to confirm whether Old Devil Mou was dead or alive.
He still had to remain cautious in the future.
Qin Sang pondered silently. Once he arrived at the Tiandao Sect, he could inquire into the details of that great battle.
Even if Old Devil Mou had managed to escape with his life, he must have suffered grave injuries.
"Should I hand over the fire curse seed? Or go look for him myself?"
Qin Sang mused for a moment, then discarded the idea.
Without knowing Old Devil Mou's current state, he could not recklessly take such a risk.
Bai had mentioned that the fire curse sealed within the seed was minimal, and his self-created condensation method was far from perfect.
Once activated, the fire curse would 'burn' and could not last long. Its detection range was also limited; searching for someone across the vast Canglang Ocean using it would be like looking for a needle in a haystack.
Furthermore, handing over the fire curse seed would require explaining the full sequence of events. Even the Demon Lord would covet the Eighteen Demon Banners. If they were exposed, there was no way Qin Sang could keep them.
"How the tables have turned!"
Though he hadn't exacted vengeance with his own hands, Qin Sang was still in high spirits.
Taking his leave of the shopkeeper, Qin Sang remained on Tianxing Island for a while longer to investigate Ran Luo's whereabouts.
Although Ran Luo had introduced him to the guild, his interactions with her had been brief, as he had dealt directly with Old Zou afterward.
Ran Luo was hardly among the guild's upper echelon. If she had not been implicated, she ought to still be alive.
While he failed to uncover her whereabouts, Qin Sang did learn the names of several guild members who had died tragically at Old Devil Mou's hands, and Ran Luo's name was not among them.
"I hope she is all right..."
Qin Sang sighed inwardly.
Unable to wait any longer, he departed Tianxing Island and flew toward the Tiandao Sect.
...
The island where the Tiandao Sect was located was roughly a third larger than the Landou Sect's island.
There were no other sects here; the entire island was the Tiandao Sect's domain.
The Tiandao Sect was not overbearing in its conduct. Aside from its core grounds where the mountain gate stood, no restrictions sealed off the rest of the island. Even so, few dared to commit misdeeds here.
Along the shore lay a market established by the Tiandao Sect.
To the Demonic Dao, this place was forbidden ground.
For righteous cultivators, however, it was practically the safest place in the entire Canglang Ocean, second only to Tianxing Island. Countless cultivators flocked here, drawn by its reputation.
Though called a market, it was actually an entire city.
Adopting a disguised identity, Qin Sang slipped into the city. Repeating his old trick, he opened a small shop in the market under the guise of an artifact refiner.
Even without the Nine Nether Demonic Fire, he possessed the skill to refine magic treasures.
After careful consideration, he decided against approaching the Tiandao Sect directly. Instead, he would settle down in the market first and investigate who the sword cultivator surnamed Ning was.
Having rented a shop and a cave dwelling, Qin Sang stayed inside his cave dwelling and went nowhere.
For he could feel that the ebony sword was on the verge of completing its transformation!
Chapter 996