Chapter 664: Original Rune (Part 2)

Chapter 664: Chapter 362: Original Rune (Part 2)

…

For a Nascent Soul True Monarch,

a distance of tens of thousands of miles, though vast, could be covered in a single day.

The moment he arrived at the True Spirit Sect, Lü Zhong headed for the True Spirit Hall, intending to pay Shuini a visit. However, the sound of a conversation carried on the wind caused his brow to furrow.

Without breaking his stride, he soon crossed the threshold.

Just as he entered the hall, Lü Zhong heard an aged voice say, “Fellow Daoist Shui, the terms I just proposed were made with the utmost sincerity. You should consider them carefully. This is a mutually beneficial arrangement, a win-win situation. There’s no need to refuse so lightly.”

The voice had a strange cadence, not like that of an ordinary person.

Lü Zhong walked in calmly, taking in the entire scene. He could see a stooped figure facing Shuini, who stood on the main platform.

As if sensing his arrival, the stooped figure slowly turned around. She had a pointed snout and pointed ears—the face of a fox. A white crescent mark was imprinted between her brows, but her lower body was no different from that of an old woman.

Sensing her aura carefully, he could tell that her cultivation was close to the Early-stage Nascent Soul. This was clearly an accomplished Transformed Demon Cultivator.

“You must be Star Sun True Monarch!”

The fox-faced old woman was somewhat surprised when she got a clear look at him.

At the same time, she subconsciously adopted a defensive posture.

This Star Sun True Monarch before her was an absolutely ruthless character. When it came to the cultivator who had slain the most Nascent Souls in the Southern Barbarian region, he was without a doubt number one.

Lü Zhong paused, naturally noticing the fox-faced old woman’s subtle movement. He found it amusing. ‘So that’s the extent of my reputation,’ he thought, gaining a better understanding of his own deterrent power. ‘No wonder they call me the “Source of Turmoil.”‘

“That’s right. It is I!”

“Hehe…” The old woman laughed and cupped her hands toward Shuini. “Since Fellow Daoist Lü has arrived, I will take my leave for now. Fellow Daoist Shui, please give my proposal serious consideration.”

Lü Zhong watched her leave. After the Demon Cultivator’s figure had vanished, he asked curiously, “If I’m not mistaken, her true form should be a Moon-Gazing Fox. That species was thought to have been extinct in the Southern Barbarian region long ago. Not only has one reappeared now, but it has successfully achieved Transformation. What is her background?”

“The Demon Court,” Shuini said, rubbing her temples.

“Wasn’t it destroyed?” Lü Zhong was slightly surprised to hear this. He quickly thought of a possibility, and his expression couldn’t help but change. “Could it be that a Demon Saint has rebuilt the Demon Court?”

The Demon Cultivators of the waters all revered the Water Palace Demon Saint, while the supreme power among the land-based Demon Cultivators was naturally the once-glorious “Ten Thousand Beasts Court.”

In an instant, Lü Zhong considered the potential consequences of the Demon Court’s revival. He even had the thought of leaving the Southern Barbarian region.

It wasn’t that he was a coward; the enmity between humans and demons was simply too deep.

One had to understand that the old Demon Court had been destroyed by the Ancient Immortal Cultivators. Now that it was being rebuilt a million years later, it was hard to believe the Demon Cultivators would treat the matter peacefully.

A war between the two races was inevitable!

“There’s no need to worry too much. It’s only a Semi-Saint Demon Roc. If a true Demon Saint had rebuilt the Demon Court, the Southern Barbarian Immortal Cultivation World would already cease to exist,” Shuini said, walking down from the platform. She shared everything she knew with Lü Zhong without reservation.

The fox-faced old woman from before, just as Lü Zhong had discerned, was indeed from the rare Moon-Gazing Fox clan. Her name was Yuechan.

She called herself the “Envoy of the Demon Court.”

She had appeared three days ago.

The True Spirit Sect, located on the western border of the Southern Barbarian region, was the first Immortal Cultivation Sect the Demon Court had contacted.

Hearing this, Lü Zhong thought, ‘No wonder. It’s only natural that my Incarnation hasn’t received any news in such a short time.’

He continued to listen as Shuini spoke.

“As for the terms the Demon Court proposed… hehe…”

She gave a cold laugh and explained. They wanted to trade Spirit Medicines for texts, including but not limited to the Hundred Skills of Cultivation like the Alchemy Dao, Talisman Dao, and Artifact Refining.

The scope of the trade wasn’t limited to that. They were even seeking all sorts of travelogues, miscellaneous records, biographies, and books from the Mortal Realm.

Any discerning person could see what the Demon Court was planning.

‘Have the Demon Cultivators wised up?’

That was Lü Zhong’s first thought.

According to ancient records, the old Demon Court was not destroyed because of a massive power gap with the Ancient Cultivators. On the contrary, thanks to its long history of accumulation, the Demon Court’s strength had initially even surpassed that of the Human Race.

The reason for its eventual failure was actually its long period of peace, which led to stagnation and complacency.

The Demon Race revered the Cultivation Techniques passed down through their bloodlines as scripture.

This was especially true for the few great royal clans that ruled the Demon Court; they took this principle to the extreme, forbidding even the slightest modification. Thus, once the weaknesses in their Cultivation Techniques were discovered and studied, the various Great Saints were quickly targeted by the Ancient Cultivators, leading to a total collapse.

Perhaps the pain of that defeat had been seared into their very Divine Souls, which was why the new Demon Court was now sweeping away old malpractices.

The emergence of such an opponent was not a good thing for the Southern Barbarian Immortal Cultivation World.

If things went poorly,

it would mean a new, great war that would sweep across the Southern Barbarian region.

Lü Zhong’s gaze instinctively turned to the northwest, toward the Vast Forest Sea.

The environment of the Vast Forest Sea was far harsher than that of the Nether Abyss Continent, which was precisely why the borders of the Southern Barbarian Immortal Cultivation World were limited to their current extent. To think that after a million years, the Demon Race that had fled there to survive and multiply had actually recovered its Primordial Qi.

He suddenly thought of a problem.

Lü Zhong knew Shuini’s personality through and through. Hailing from Central Earth, she possessed the innate pride of a Central Earth Cultivator and would never cooperate with Demon Cultivators.

The Bihai Sect, which Lü Zhong led, was currently rolling in wealth; they had no need to become “human traitors.”

Neither of them would trade with the Demon Court. The Daoist Sect lineage controlled by the Gui Miao Sect likewise shared the pride of the Central Earth’s Human Race—in fact, their pride was even greater. They probably wouldn’t tarnish their own reputations either.

But there was no stopping some cultivators, or even Sect Clans, from taking the risk. Given the selfish nature of most cultivators, they wouldn’t care about the deluge that might come after they were dead and gone.

When Lü Zhong voiced his thoughts, he found they coincided perfectly with Shuini’s.

She was worried about the exact same thing.

If this scenario truly came to pass, the Demon Cultivators’ power would swell dramatically. After all, the reason humans could defeat wild beasts was their ability to use tools.

Once that advantage was lost, the power gap between the two sides would be closed, and humans might even be surpassed by the Demon Cultivators, who were naturally more talented in combat.

When that time came, the True Spirit Sect would be the first to suffer.

“Our only option is to have the Qian Nan Alliance enforce strict control to slow the Demon Cultivators’ progress,” Shuini said, her voice heavy with worry.

She understood perfectly well that with the Southern Barbarian region’s borders being impossible to seal, preventing the Demon Court from acquiring knowledge was a nearly impossible task. Even if every cultivator remained loyal to the Human Race and wasn’t tempted by the Demon Court’s immense profits, there was no stopping the Demon Cultivators from simply taking what they wanted by force.

It was foreseeable that the Southern Barbarian region would be plunged into turmoil from now on.

All sorts of strange and bloody incidents would likely occur again and again.

Suppressing her frustration, Shuini’s worried expression suddenly vanished, replaced by a smile. “You don’t visit without a reason. I don’t recall you ever coming to see me on your own initiative before. So, spill it. What trouble have you run into?”

“What do you mean, ‘don’t visit without a reason’?” Lü Zhong’s expression froze.

Nevertheless, he handed over the Dao Transmission Bead and explained the problem he had encountered.

Unexpectedly, Shuini just rolled her eyes at him.

A dignified disciple of the Flying Star Magic Vein had actually been reduced to asking her, a member of the Profound Moon Vein, for advice on the Dao of Runes. It really was improper.

Normally, the Flying Star Lineage were masters of this Dao. After reaching the Nascent Soul Stage, many of their Secret Skills were cast using Runes to enhance their power.

However, she also understood Lü Zhong’s situation.

With his powerful Thunder Skills and sharp Magical Treasures to protect him, his combat strength was second to none in the Southern Barbarian region. Since he could guarantee his own safety, there was indeed no need for him to study Runes.

After all, for cultivators, especially those on the path of Immortal Cultivation,

pragmatism had always been the guiding principle.

The reason Shuini rolled her eyes was simply to remind Lü Zhong to respect his Flying Star Inheritance and not treat his Main Cultivation Technique as a mere tool for increasing his cultivation level.

“As for this Rune, allow me some time to study it…”

Shuini said with a rare, serious expression.

This Original Rune was no simple matter. It seemed to hold a great secret. If she could unearth it and adapt it for use by Immortal Cultivators, she might be able to create a powerful new Secret Skill.

Or perhaps even a powerful Divine Technique!