Chapter 1009: Obtaining the Array Diagram, Returning to the Sect

When refining the Demon Soul, Jade Spring Fairy also learned of this soul's origin through its residual memories!

Approximately eight thousand years ago, in the Nine Abysses Sea of Cangwu Continent, a Demon-corrupted cultivator advanced to Class VII. No sooner had he broken through than he began devouring blood food on a massive scale to strengthen himself. Even the True Immortals of Ancient Demon Palace could no longer stomach it. After all, those who walked this path only sought to emulate Demons in completing the transformation of their own life form and cultivate into True Immortals, not to become fodder for Demons. Thus they rallied another three True Immortals and together killed this Big Heavenly Demon.

However, just like Chunyang Zi, this demon, right before death, performed the Great Heavenly Demon Dissolution Secret Technique, transforming his primal Essence and Qi into hundreds of millions of Demon Souls that scattered across the Immortal Realm. One of them then burrowed into the body of Fulong Immortal Master, first appearing in the guise of the remnant soul of a fallen Great Cultivator to guide Fulong Immortal Master and assist him step by step in cultivating to the Formless Realm.

And as his cultivation level continuously rose, Fulong Immortal Master also perceived the true nature of the Demon Soul. But by then he had been in contact with the Demon Soul for nearly two thousand years, and his thoughts and intentions had constantly been influenced by it. In the end he still chose to trust this Demon Soul and kept it strictly secret.

Later Fulong Immortal Master reincarnated as the Silver-haired Child and once more set foot on the immortal path; this Demon Soul also exerted great effort. Unfortunately, it had ill intent from the very beginning, merely seeking to borrow Fulong Immortal Master's rebirth.

In order to prevent its host from falling again and delaying its Resurrection process, it would only make a move when the Silver-haired Child encountered a Life and Death crisis. Facing the killing assault of Longevity Demon Lord, it had no choice but to reveal its tracks before Shen Mo and the others. This Demon Soul had originally intended to silence them; even if it could not, it would have to flee far away, lest its whereabouts be exposed and it be cut down!

But in the battle with Longevity Demon Lord it damaged its primal source, and only when the Silver-haired Child was captured by Jade Spring Fairy did this Demon Soul, under intense crisis, awaken from its silence—yet by then, it was already too late.

"No wonder…"

Hearing what Jade Spring Fairy said, a hint of realization surfaced on Shen Mo's face.

The Silver-haired Child was suppressed by the Kang Family patriarch Kang Yan, yet the Accompanying Demon Soul never emerged, nor did it influence the Silver-haired Child's mind to escape from Jade Spring Mountain. So it turns out the Accompanying Demon Soul had fallen into silence.

But very soon he set this matter aside, and then, through the Gecko False Body, issued a decree to the upper echelons of Red Flame Sect, instructing them to pay extra attention to the immortal and mortal folk of Five Dragon Mountain. Once any signs were discovered of a creature being parasitized by Chunyang Zi's remnant soul, they were to report immediately!

Although the Earth Yuan Array intercepted much of it, there were still three hundred million Demon Souls that carried fragments of demonic nest, scattered throughout the Immortal Realm.

Now, with cultivators on Five Dragon Mountain numbering in the tens of billions, it is entirely possible that some have become hosts to Demon Souls, which is no small hidden danger… Of course, Chunyang Zi's Demon Souls cannot break through Green Cloud Cave, so the sect disciples and mortals within the Fairyland face no risk of being parasitized; only the creatures outside the Fairyland need to be watched.

Given the cultivation level of Yuan Heming and the other sect leaders, even if they notice anomalies they cannot ascertain who has been parasitized by a Demon Soul; Shen Mo will still have to personally take the field.

This matter is not overly urgent. After all, the scattered Demon Souls of Chunyang Zi are not particularly strong; they can only parasitize mortals and low-class cultivators. To cultivate to a level sufficient to threaten Shen Mo would require at least two to three thousand years of bitter effort!

After accompanying Jade Spring Fairy in drinking spiritual wine for two days, Shen Mo took his leave and once again began the drudgery of moving Immortal Mountains.

After this battle, hundreds of millions of Heavenly Demons in western Dongjie Continent were slaughtered seven or eight out of ten. The remaining Heavenly Demons no longer include any Class VII existence and are nothing to worry about. But the demonic primal intent diffused through the land still needs to be refined away; otherwise, with time, it can still Corrupt this world and once more give birth to a demonic nest capable of gestating Heavenly Demons!

Therefore, the Earth Yuan Array must continue to be laid down, and the number of Seventy-two Earth Fiends Magic must be fulfilled. After that, the big array can cover the entire Demon Zone, refining the remaining Heavenly Demons and demonic primal intent completely clean.

In the battle between both sides, apart from nine medium Immortal Mountains within the array, all the remaining Lower Grade Immortal Mountains were destroyed by Chunyang Zi. Altogether another sixty-three must be moved in, and Shen Mo had previously moved six Immortal Mountains; twenty-four more are needed to fulfill his agreement with Master Jinguang.

After that, Shen Mo spent another three years, moving one Lower Grade Immortal Mountain after another from all over western Dongjie Continent, and successfully obtained the array diagram of the Earth Yuan Array from Master Jinguang.

As for the remaining thirty-nine, they were left to Jade Spring Fairy and her companions. Once their injuries had more or less recovered, they would naturally move Immortal Mountains from elsewhere to complete the big array. After all, for them, the more merit they earn, the better!

...

"Fairy, I'll return to Phoenix Continent first. Once this matter is settled, I'll drink with you again in soaring cups and tall goblets!"

Besides arranging the Earth Yuan Array to cleanse the demonic primal intent of western Dongjie Continent, Jade Spring Fairy and the others also planned to perform an immortal Secret Technique to see whether they could, through the remnant soul left behind by Chunyang Zi, gather and slay all three hundred million Demon Souls scattered across the lands. Thus they would linger in this region for quite some time yet.

After bidding her farewell, Shen Mo performed "Reverse Yin and Yang," switching his true and Standing bodies.

In an instant, his Vitality began to grow faint. Then he smiled and nodded lightly to Jade Spring Fairy, and flames roared up over his body, burning the Standing to wisps of azure smoke, without leaving behind the slightest shred of primal Essence and Qi.

After Shen Mo returned to Green Cloud Cave, he did not immediately begin arranging the Earth Yuan Array, but instead set about improving and refining the Bone Viewing Mirror.

Back in the Primordial Realm, when the Immortal Sects of the Red Flame Zone and various other powers were facing invasion from the Heavenly Demon Realm, they refined a great many Bone Viewing Mirrors, which could reveal Demon-corrupted cultivators hidden among the masses.

However, when the Demon Soul of a Class VII Big Heavenly Demon parasitizes a host, it does not immediately Corrupt the host, but hides within the host's soul and forms a symbiotic relationship. Only when the host attains some level of achievement does it then Corrupt his Dao fruit, making it all the more secretive and difficult to guard against.

At present, even the highest-grade Bone Viewing Mirror in Red Flame Sect cannot reveal creatures that have been parasitized by Demon Souls.

Shen Mo also could not possibly cast Soul

Curse on the tens of billions of mortals and cultivators on Five Dragon Mountain, and using "Insight into All Beings" to inspect them one by one would be sheer fantasy. Hence he decided to enhance the spiritual efficacy of the Bone Viewing Mirror!

The reason the Bone Viewing Mirror can reveal Demon-corrupted cultivators is that, no matter how well a Demon-corrupted cultivator disguises his exterior, his organs, meridians, and Flesh and Blood have already changed. The Treasure Mirror artifact can detect these abnormalities and thus distinguish which individuals are normal and which are Demon-corrupted cultivators.

But this artifact does not involve any observation of the soul, and so cannot detect hosts slyly parasitized by the Demon Soul of a Big Heavenly Demon.

As long as the original foundation is augmented with the corresponding effect, that will suffice. This is not difficult for Shen Mo. In only half a day, by altering the internal runes, he improved the Bone Viewing Mirror so that it could roughly probe for abnormalities in the soul. If the person reflected in the mirror possesses one more soul than an ordinary person, the Treasure Mirror will bloom with blood light in warning.

"Feng'er, take this Bone Viewing Mirror and the refining method to the Forge Hall. Tell them to set aside their current tasks and refine a batch of new-type Treasure Mirrors as soon as possible to screen for Demon Soul hosts!"

After returning from Xuanyuan Mountain, Qian Xiaofeng had not gone out adventuring again, but had remained in Vacuous

Zone to cultivate. Shen Mo also did not intend to go out for the short term, so he summoned her to Guanyun Mansion to impart to her the path of Divine Bridge. With her around, he could also delegate matters, sparing himself from personally handling every trifling affair.

"Yes, Master." Qian Xiaofeng received the Treasure Mirror and the jade slip, then raised escaping light and flew toward the Teleportation Array within the zone.