Immortal Dao is dead, I am the mastermind behind it all.

"Father! What's wrong, Father!"

In front of the city lord's mansion, Cen Zhiyuan staggered backward, his expression terrified.

The father and son brought the goods to the city lord's mansion as instructed by the customer, preparing to wait for someone to come and take them over at the appointed time, but no one came after waiting all day.

Cen Zhihong grew increasingly angry as he waited in the cold night wind, so he quickly unloaded the goods, left them where they were, and prepared to leave.

But the moment his hands touched the goods, a hissing black mist began to rise from them, instantly filling Cen Zhihong's body.

When his son Cen Zhiyuan came to his senses, he saw that Cen Zhihong's eyes were filled with black smoke and his face was as pale as a corpse.

Then the black mist spread out, directly enveloping the entire city lord's mansion, causing the city lord, who had just returned, to cough incessantly.

Seeing his once-familiar father transformed into this inhuman and grotesque figure, Cen Zhiyuan felt nothing but deep fear.

"Is there some immature brat here?"

A chilling voice rang in Cen Zhiyuan's ears.

Ni Gaoyuan walked slowly past the boy, a blur of motion flashing across his hand.

The next moment, red flowers splattered all over the bluestone bricks, and pus and fragments piled up on the ground in a mess.

The demon seed has a drawback: its mind is immature. Those without inner demons are minimally affected.

"As expected of an ancient sect, this 'Heavenly Demon Transformation Technique' is truly remarkable." A hint of crimson flashed in Ni Gaoyuan's eyes as he looked at the man beneath him with great interest.

Chu Sheng, the former disciple of the True Lord who once held absolute power in the city, was now writhing on the ground in agony.

His enemy was merely a minor cultivator at the seventh level of Qi Gathering.

"Stop struggling, Lord Chu. This demonic seed is the remains of a True Monarch of the Gui Cang Realm. Even a True Person of the Purple Mansion Realm would have to put in a lot of effort to deal with it."

Ni Gaoyuan raised his hand at him, his eyes flashing red light, and activated the Heavenly Demon Transformation Technique to accelerate the invasion of the demonic seed.

"Your physical body has been destroyed. Become my demon slave obediently, and you'll suffer less pain in your soul."

"Well done... Ni Gaoyuan, that Jiang inspector... was he... summoned by you? And that bastard... the bird demon was also summoned by you to help..." Chu Sheng lay on the ground, black energy emanating from his seven orifices, staring at the person in front of him with a ferocious expression.

"You've followed me... for... sixty years!... I trusted you so much, all for nothing!"

Chu Sheng crawled on the ground in a twisted manner, gritting his teeth as he spoke.

"Heh, what a statement. All people in the world are driven by profit. You're making us, desperate rogue cultivators, work in your nursery."

"Year after year, you alone have absorbed most of the life essence of the Refining God Array for your own cultivation."

"Have you ever cared about the interests of us beasts of burden? We rogue cultivators have to be mindful of your attitude even when we're just getting a bowl of soup."

Things are different now.

Ni Gaoyuan sneered, looking down at the boss who used to be treated with utmost respect.

"Words are useless... Today... I'll risk my Dao foundation... to kill you!" Chu Sheng still had a sliver of reason left, burning his own magic power as he lunged at Ni Gaoyuan.

Ni Gaoyuan simply stared at him indifferently, his face expressionless.

Because Chu Sheng could no longer advance even half a step, his movement to cast the spell froze in place as a long sword pierced through his lower abdomen.

Swish!

The blade, six zhang long, cleaved Chu Sheng in two.

"Well done, Fellow Daoist He."

Without even glancing at the other person, Ni Gaoyuan took out a blood gourd from his storage ring and absorbed all of Chu Sheng's physical body and soul into it.

"In this world, we rogue cultivators are all in the same boat, just trying to find a way to survive." He Qiao'er's face was pale as she slowly sheathed her sword and began to regulate her breathing.

That sharp blade of energy, enough to kill someone at the Transcendent Realm, took her three years to refine.

Just as the two were talking, the gate of the city lord's mansion was smashed open by a brute force, and the fat man's figure appeared from the dust.

"Fellow Daoist Meng, have you looted everything in the manor?" Ni Gaoyuan asked.

"Hmm, that bastard Chu didn't use his backup plan. As expected of you, you came up with the idea of ​​using the demon seed to interfere with his will and make his mind go blank." Meng Chen nodded, rubbing the storage ring on his fingertip like a treasure, but then his expression turned serious.

"Ni Gaoyuan, the damage to the Soul-Controlling Talisman is getting more and more serious. If it is worn for any longer, it may not be able to withstand the suction force of this Spirit Refining Array."

Those who have registered upon entering the city need the city lord's permission to move freely within Dongshan City. In addition, the city lord will bestow upon them a Soul-Controlling Talisman to protect them from the effects of the city's grand formation draining their lifespan.

But now, under the hands of those two disciples of the Biyang Sword Sect, the Divine Refining Array of Dongshan City is operating beyond its capacity, and mortals in the city are dying one after another. Even cultivators with Soul Control Talismans are being affected.

He looked towards the west of the city, where the celestial phenomena had changed dramatically, birdsong filled the sky, and sword light was awe-inspiring.

"So these are the disciples of the Immortal Dao lineage? It's an honor to meet them today. They are truly extraordinary." Meng Chen's face was filled with envy.

If we compare the city lord Chu Sheng with those two Sword Sect disciples, one is a vulture that only hides in a corner and devours rotting corpses, while the other is a domineering eagle that shows its sharp edge.

"Now is not the time for sentimentality. With that old bastard Chu Sheng dead, the True Lords outside the state will immediately start making moves."

"The Divine Refining Array of All Beings can isolate perception, but it is still too weak to block the divine sense of a True Monarch."

"Let's go to the south exit of the city and clean it up properly. Let the Biyang Sword Sect take the blame for us nobody."

Ni Gaoyuan patted Meng Chen on the shoulder.

"Alas, life is a long and difficult journey." He Qiao'er frowned as she followed the two.

In this world, if one does not want to be bound by the Holy Court or sects, the only option for independent cultivators is to band together for mutual support.

From afar, through his ability to hear, Shen Moyan overheard their entire conversation.

So that's how it is. A group of oppressed rogue cultivators plotted for years, dragging the Immortal Daoist lineage, the Holy Court, and the demon race into the scheme, all to kill and seize treasures, then confuse cause and effect, leave calmly, and avoid the True Lord's revenge.

From beginning to end, it was nothing more than a group of insignificant people rebelling.

"The Returning to the Hidden Realm, that's a realm above the Purple Mansion Realm, isn't it?" Shen Moyan realized.

"By the way, what about the demonic seed that Ni Gaoyuan mentioned earlier, the remnant of the Gui Cang Realm?"

"How could a rogue cultivator like him possibly have the fate to obtain the remains of a Guicang Realm cultivator!?"

"This person harbors a great secret!"

…………

"By the way, Fellow Daoist Ni, how did you establish contact with the demon race?"

He Qiao'er was completely baffled.

"To be honest, I have demon blood; I'm a half-demon."

"When I reported the case to the inspector of Langya Prefecture, I also wrote a letter with my blood and sweat to the depths of the Ten Thousand Mountains."

"When Dongshan City was first established, this place was the tribe of the Gu Diao clan. I used the Bloodline Treasure Bone as bait to lure the Gu Diao clan to send a demon to retrieve it."

"Moreover, the Holy Court is at its zenith. Outside of the Holy Court's jurisdiction, the raw food of a city is a deadly temptation for the Gu Diao, which is fond of eating human flesh."

Ni Gaoyuan spoke these shocking words with a nonchalant air.

In the eyes of a cultivator, the life of a city is nothing more than external things, separate from oneself.

"Heh, Lao Ni, you're a real cold-blooded bastard," Meng Chen sneered.

"The Great Way is ruthless, thank you for the compliment." Ni Gaoyuan remained expressionless throughout.

In a short while, the three used their escape techniques and quickly arrived at the south of the city.

He Qiao'er slightly raised her delicate hand and opened a hole in the transparent barrier.

"Let's go."

The three people who left the city did not notice that someone was following them at a leisurely pace.

Shen Moyan used both the Turtle Breathing Technique and the Concealment Technique simultaneously, pushing them to their limits, while the Heavenly Demon Sword in his hand was poised to strike.