Chapter 225: 225 - Interesting figure...

The demon cult was one of the largest and most powerful organizations in the nine peaks basin, on an individual level, probably more powerful than any of the nine great sects and seven great families.

Naturally, its base was worthy of such power and wealth.

A sea of luxurious pavilions stretched as far as the eye could see, surrounded by high walls and a city where crime was basically legalized.

Qingyi passed through this city, his eyes encountering atrocities of all kinds.

Prostitution, human trafficking, slavery, not even children were spared.

He had to stop the vomit from rising to his throat as he forced a cold face, ignoring the prostitutes who smiled provocatively at him.

It was a difficult task, but he managed to do it, arriving in front of the sect’s wide gate, where a few hundred people were already waiting to be selected.

Qingyi scanned the faces of everyone there, finding none of his three companions.

Each of those people exuded a powerful murderous intent, with sharp eyes full of hatred.

But they were no match for the one masked elder who watched them all coldly.

"Ugh... Garbage... garbage... garbage... almost garbage... garbage..." The elder muttered, his fingers tapping anxiously against the wood of his mask.

Standing up, he waved to the recruits. "What are you waiting for? Start the massacre! Five of you should be left." The elder raised both hands in the air, his body trembling.

No one there was surprised or even hesitated.

That was normal.

During the demon sect’s selection month, every day dozens or hundreds of challengers would gather in front of its gates and fight to the death, leaving only five.

This was the third day of the selection, but a countless amount of blood had already been spilled on the ground.

Qingyi was the only one taken by surprise, narrowly dodging as a blade passed inches from his neck.

If he had taken longer than a blink to dodge, he would surely have been beheaded.

Drawing his heaven-defying thunder sword, he slashed, severing his attacker’s hand before piercing his heart.

Qingyi barely paid attention to the look of pain and terror he received from that dying demonic cultivator before moving on to the next one.

The fight was complete chaos.

Cultivators from the Nascent Soul Realm and the Crystalline Core Realm were completely mixed up, the weakest being slaughtered without a chance to react.

The numbers began to fall rapidly and soon only ten were left standing.

Qingyi erected an ice barrier around himself, the illusory mask creating a false demonic Qi in his ice Qi as he fended off a pincer attack from two other cultivators.

Leaping into the air, he used his Eternal Wall of the Icy Lord technique again, focusing it on the feet of the two cultivators.

"Damn, I’m stuck!" one of the cultivators realized, swinging his sword towards the ice beneath his feet in an attempt to break it.

The other tried to do the same, using his flaming Qi to set everything in front of him ablaze, trying to melt that ice.

But it was no use and Qingyi’s blade soon cut their throats.

When that happened, there were only four of them left.

The masked elder stopped, a high-pitched, crazy laugh escaping his lips as he leapt off the wall, stopping in front of Qingyi.

Of the four, Qingyi was the only one not at the Nascent Soul Realm.

"Interesting figure... very interesting figure! Hahahaha!" The masked elder laughed, studying every bit of Qingyi’s features, who was unable to hide the discomfort on his face.

"Come with me," he said as he waved to the demon disciples accompanying him. "Clean up the bodies and prepare for the next selection, may the heavenly demon bless you."

Without hesitating any longer, the elder led the four.

"As disciples, you must accept the heavenly demon within you," he said, stopping in front of a small dragon-shaped statue.

"You must pray to the heavenly demon once a day, you must drink virgin blood once a year, you must follow the ten heavenly commandments and you must swear your body and soul to the heavenly demon and its sacred flame."

Hearing those words, Qingyi just closed his eyes.

Sometimes he forgot that the demon cult was actually a sick religious cult that followed unholy commandments, even compared to his own lineage.

After explaining everything, the elder forced them to completely memorize one of the demon cult’s prayers, repeating it again and again.

Qingyi could feel a slight discomfort in his mind and, opening his eyes softly, noticed the same in the others beside him.

Was that... an soul attack?

At that moment, he remembered something he had talked about with Yedu; the demon cult did a kind of brainwashing on its disciples.

The mask provided by the fattie offered some protection, but it wasn’t absolute, so he had to suffer a little.

After long hours, the old man stood up, looking at the four of them. "Glory to the heavenly demon!" he shouted.

"May his dominion be eternal and may his flame burn all sinners!" The four replied in unison.

"Perfect! Perfect! Hahaha!" The masked elder laughed wildly, but the laughter soon died down.

On the horizon, a lone figure appeared.

It was a woman with long black hair and red eyes, her skin of an inhuman pale, every feature carrying a heavenly beauty.

Qingyi immediately recognized the woman, unable to hide the gentle smile on his face as he watched her information screen.

[Name: Xue Ruyan

Age: 29

Corruption: 0/100

Chastity: Taken

Lust: 3%

Talent: Great genius

Reward: High

Cultivation: First stage of the nascent soul realm

Spiritual roots: Low-level blood spiritual root

Bloodline: Blood of the crimson dragon (Lendary grade)

Constitution: Body of the blood dragon (Legendary grade)

Traits: Faithful, naughty crazy bitch, masochist, master of hemomancy, child of the leader of the demonic cult, half-demon]

Apparently, she had already managed to fully control the crimson dragon’s body and bloodline.