Chapter 228: 228 - Xue Mo

"Repeat what you said..." A loud, hate-filled voice left the lips of a man of youthful beauty, short black hair and piercing red eyes, a pair of horns rising from his head.

"Lady Ruyan has taken a servant, Y-young lord, a new recruit. She seems to have locked herself in her mansion with him and avoided going out as much as possible."

The servant’s words were answered by a loud crack as the glass goblet in the man’s hands shattered, fragments scattering across the floor.

That man was the young lord of the demon cult, the demon lord’s rightful and only heir.

"Who is that? Who dares approach my sister?" he roared, the whole building shaking as he stood up, his demonic aura expanding uncontrollably.

"He is-" The servant tried to speak, but was interrupted when the door to the private room they were in opened, revealing a powerful, dignified-looking man wearing imposing crimson armor.

"What do you want? I’m busy." Young lord Xue Mo growled as he turned around.

That man was a member of the Crimson Guard, a group of a hundred private protectors of the demon lord, each one a cultivator at the peak of the Rebirth Realm.

Even so, Xue Mo showed him no respect.

"Young master Xue Mo, your father requires your presence immediately." The guard spoke and the anger on Xue Mo’s face finally disappeared.

"What does father want?"

"I dare not presume on our lord’s thoughts, young master."

"Ah... fuck." Xue Mo got up and left with the guard, the servant following right behind.

***

Qingyi stopped in front of one of the richest and most luxurious establishments in the city that surrounded the demon cult.

A building that rose more than twenty stories, its façade seemed to have been dipped in gold and on its door, a large, bright sign read: Dead Moon Pavilion.

That was where the signal from Ruxue’s fragment was coming from.

Qingyi hesitated for a brief moment before entering the main entrance , where he was immediately greeted by an attendant in long, elegant robes.

"Greetings, honored customer. What can I do for you? Do you need a bed for the night? Food? Cultivation rooms? The Dead Moon Pavilion has it all!" She spoke, flashing a professional smile.

"I-" before Qingyi had even finished his sentence, a commotion gripped the entire building, a powerful demonic aura exploding for a brief moment before ceasing.

A few moments later, three figures appeared: a guard in crimson armor, an ordinary-looking servant and finally, a man with a handsome, youthful face.

"Qingyi, my fragment is with one of those three!" Ruxue’s voice echoed in Qingyi’s mind, but he ignored it, focusing his eyes on one of the three figures.

His appearance perfectly matched the description of the young demon cult lord given to Qingyi by Ruyan.

While observing the three, Qingyi’s eyes met those of the servant, who immediately shuddered.

"Y-young lord..." He whispered to Xue Mo, who completely ignored him.

Gathering his courage, he finally grabbed the young lord’s sleeve. "Y-young lord, this is-"

"Did I give you permission to touch me? Worm." Xue Mo suddenly stopped his steps, turning to the servant.

"N-no, young lord, it’s just that-" The servant’s head exploded under Xue Mo’s bloodthirsty gaze, his murderous intent locking everyone in place as the headless corpse fell to the ground.

Even Qingyi shuddered.

It was powerful, far beyond his current power.

Qingyi immediately realized that he would need to advance to the Nascent Soul Realm to fight on an equal footing with that guy.

"Fucking worms... you give them a bit of responsibility and suddenly they think they have power over something." Xue Mo spat on the corpse before turning around, his eyes finally meeting Qingyi’s.

From his clothes, he was a newcomer to the cult and from his apparent age and cultivation, he had a miserable talent, mediocre at best.

Xue Mo seemed to think for a brief moment before waving his hands, a small token appearing from the servant’s clothes and floating over to Qingyi.

"You will be my new personal servant, report to my palace in three days at dawn." Without giving Qingyi time to reply, Xue Mo left with the guard.

The handsome young man remained frozen in place for long moments, still unable to process everything that had just happened.

"Ah... there’s nothing I can do." Qingyi shook his head.

Well, at least now he had an idea of Xue Mo’s power and was almost certain that he was the one carrying Ruxue’s fragment.

He also knew that someone had reported the fact that Ruxue had taken him to her mansion.

Perhaps one of the other three recruits or the masked elder himself who had recruited him into the demon cult.

Whoever it was, Qingyi would keep it in mind.

It wasn’t long before the corpse was cleaned up and the attendant approached Qingyi, this time even more respectfully.

"Dear customer, can we get you something?"

The handsome young man thought for a moment before nodding, asking for some wine and boiled mutton.

He had a slight headache and really needed to fill his stomach.

He was sure that Elize would be more than happy to cook for him now, but she was cultivating with the other girls and he didn’t want to disturb her.

After eating and paying, Qingyi set off in the direction of the tavern where he would meet his companions.

It was a remote place in the outskirts of the demon cult city.

Hesitating for a brief moment, Qingyi entered.

"You’re late, I thought you were dead." A tired voice caught Qingyi’s attention and he immediately turned around.

At a far table, two men were sitting.

It was Yedu and fattie Heidu.

"I’ve had a few annoyances, where’s Mojie?" Qingyi asked as he sat down at the table.

Apart from them, the place was completely empty, surrounded by sound suppression and concealment arrays.

"Dead." Yedu replied, clenching his fists.

"We were at the selection together, I tried to protect him but I ended up between two cultivators at the peak of the Nascent Soul Realm. I couldn’t do much."