Chapter 136: A Mere Wave of the Hand

Ji Feichen returned to his residence, and Tianchenzi hurriedly rushed over to join him.

"Junior Brother has finally returned."

"It was so peaceful out there, naturally I was in no rush to come back." Ji Feichen invited him to sit down, looking the burly man up and down: "Judging by Senior Brother's cultivation, you must have recovered the cultivation base you lost previously?"

Today, Tianchenzi was full of vigor and vitality, a far cry from his condition just a few days ago.

"Barely enough, I suppose. After all, a body forged later in life cannot compare to the physical vessel one has tempered over many years." Having become a lotus body, Tianchenzi found practicing the Demonic Dragon Scripture slightly more troublesome than before.

"Take your time. The one thing immortals and demons are never short of on is time. Later on, use the dragon pearl to slowly nourish it; one day you'll be able to recover fully." Ji Feichen's expression was calm; he didn't hold high expectations for Tianchenzi. As long as he could have a companion by Elder Heiliu's side, and have one of his own people to help out, that would be enough.

Seeing his calm expression, Tianchenzi felt anger rising in his chest. But thinking of his purpose this time, he darkened his face again: "Junior Brother, our master has pushed the two of us out into the open!" Disaster was imminent, yet how could he still remain so calm?

"I guessed as much, which is why I was reluctant to return." Ji Feichen sighed faintly: "Those fellow disciples who practice the Profound Nether Black Demon Canon are the reserve rations he has prepared; there is no way he would push them out to act as scapegoats right now. On the contrary, since you and I practice the Demonic Dragon Scripture, he cannot use us for his own cultivation, so naturally he wants us to risk our lives for him."

Ji Feichen twirled a white jade teacup, silently pondering Elder Heiliu's intentions.

"That fellow views the two of us as thorns in his side. I'm afraid we can't let him stay." Thinking of Elder Heichi's actions on the other side, Ji Feichen sneered inwardly: The moment Elder Heichi finished refining his pills, he would be able to play the role of the mantis stalking the cicada, and secretly plot against Elder Heiliu.

"The tribulation is still a long way off. Let's kill him first and see if he can still scheme against me then."

However, if both senior and junior brothers Heiliu and Heichi died, and the Hall Master of Kanming ascended and left, into whose hands would the Black Vein fall?

"Senior Brother, do you know? Apart from our Master and Senior Uncle Heichi, who else among the Black Vein is most likely to become an Earth Immortal?"

"This..." Tianchenzi showed a peculiar expression: "To be honest, there are quite a few in our Black Vein who could attain the Earth Immortal realm. It's just that Grand Master, well, you know how he is."

The Hall Master of Kanming was only a step away from attaining the Celestial Human realm. At this time, all it would take was for a single Earth Immortal to go and offer themselves up as a meal, and that formidable jinx would be sent straight up to the heavens.

Currently, all the senior veteran demons of the Black Vein were single-mindedly refining treasures to enhance their combat power, yet not a single one dared to break through their cultivation realm. They were all waiting for someone else to act as the scapegoat.

"But if we're talking about the highest probability, it would be Senior Uncle Heiming and Senior Uncle Heiyuan, right?" Tianchenzi rubbed his chin, trying hard to recall the information he had gathered.

"I heard that Senior Uncle Heiming suffered a cultivation deviation a few years ago, and his realm dropped from the peak of the Human Immortal stage. As for Senior Uncle Heiyuan, he was bitten by a demonic beast a few years ago, damaging his foundation. Well... but you know, it's nothing more than self-inflicted wounds."

Elder Heiyuan had achieved success in his cultivation a few years ago, and several fellow disciples had secretly sent him heavenly treasures. Without his awareness, he had already reached the peak of the Human Immortal stage. Just as his breakthrough seemed imminent, news suddenly spread that he had been severely injured by a demonic beast and his realm had dropped.

Based on what Tianchenzi understood, back when Elder Heiyuan was on the verge of a breakthrough, Heiliu, Heichi, and the others had put in a great deal of effort. They had expended enormous energy to push him up, only for their investment to go completely down the drain, causing everyone to bleed internally with anger.

"The two of them?" Ji Feichen was not close to either of them. After thinking it over repeatedly, he could only temporarily set the matter aside: "Once the tribulation begins, it's still uncertain whether they can survive. Let's wait and see for now. Right now, there's no need to suck up to the future Hall Master of Kanming."

Regarding the tribulation, Ji Feichen placated Tianchenzi with a couple of casual remarks. After sending him off, he strolled around the mountains. Unknowingly, he arrived at the foot of Wujin Mountain, where the outer sect was located.

Once upon a time, he and Xiao Ying had practiced demonic arts here. Later, they had successively entered the inner sect, sworn a demonic blood oath, and entered the Black and White Veins respectively.

Walking down the slope step by step, Ji Feichen saw various disciples diligently practicing and felt a complex mix of emotions in his heart: "Among these people, who knows how many were forcibly dragged into the demonic path."

The demonic path severed mortal ties; upon entering the sect, one's memories were first sealed. Right now, the outer sect mostly consisted of children and teenagers between seven and thirteen years old. One by one, their memories were sealed as they obediently practiced hard under the supervision of several instructors. These instructors were all those of shallow aptitude from the inner sect, barely possessing the cultivation of the mid-stage Mortal Shedding realm.

Suddenly, a cry came from not far away.

Ji Feichen paused and looked over. An instructor responsible for teaching martial arts was grabbing a seven-or-eight-year-old little girl. Their clothes were in disarray, and the man wore a savage grin, seemingly about to do something.

Nearby, a little boy picked up a stone to attack the instructor.

"Little bastard, you dare resist me with just that?" The instructor kicked the boy flying and proceeded to assault the girl right before his eyes.

Seeing this scene, Ji Feichen showed an expression of disgust, clearly having understood what was going on. With a flick of his finger, a drop of black weak water instantly pierced through the instructor's head.

Boom—

The skull shattered, instantly startling the surrounding companions.

"Who is it! Who dares to act wild in the Netherworld Sect!" Everyone was startled, hurriedly taking out their magical treasures in defense.

Suddenly, a gust of breeze blew past, dissolving everyone's defenses. "Outrageous!"

Immediately following, an elderly man appeared before Ji Feichen: "Greetings, Junior Brother."

Seeing the elder, Ji Feichen's gaze shifted. "Senior Brother Zhang, it's been many years."

The elder carefully examined Ji Feichen, a look of astonishment in his eyes: "So it is Junior Brother Ji. I didn't expect that not long after entering the inner sect, Junior Brother would have already condensed a Dao fruit."

Condensing a Dao fruit was as difficult as it was easy. Some people took a hundred years to pierce through the mysterious barrier, while others could break through in a mere decade.

Seeing the weak water underworld river circling around Ji Feichen, the elder dared not act presumptuously, nor did he dare to question why Ji Feichen had casually taken a life. He himself was a Human Immortal from the Sect Leader's lineage. However, because he disliked the infighting within the inner sect, he had come to the outer sect to teach disciples and escape the sect's internal conflicts.

"Since Junior Brother made a move against him, he must have offended Junior Brother." Senior Brother Zhang immediately sent people to clean up and wash the area, covering up the incident.

Anyway, he was merely an instructor in the Mortal Shedding realm; if he died, he died, and no one would ask any questions.

Ji Feichen smiled knowingly and said to the elder, "I won't make it difficult for Senior Brother either. Later on, just make a note that this person once stole a magical treasure of mine, so in a fit of anger, I killed him." With that, Ji Feichen reached out and grabbed a bead from the corpse.

The elder's gaze flashed, naturally seeing that this bead was a treasure the deceased had practiced with for many years. That person had even flaunted it to them before, but now that Ji Feichen claimed it as his own, it was clearly to cover up the matter.

It was just an excuse; any reason would do.

"Since he stole Junior Brother's belongings, his death is well-deserved."

Thus, the two of them settled the nature of the matter and pursued it no further.

"As for these two, how does Junior Brother plan to deal with them?" The elder looked at the boy and girl hiding in the corner. They were a pair of twin siblings who had been abducted up the mountain together. Although their memories were sealed, the natural ties of blood made the two support each other within the demonic sect. Just now, when the boy saw that something had happened to his sister, he had immediately risen up in violent resistance.

"What does that have to do with me?" Ji Feichen looked indifferent: "Just go on with whatever you were doing. I remember when I was in the outer sect, I practiced hard every day. Tell them to practice well from now on. That way, they can serve our Netherworld Sect in the future."

Having said this, Ji Feichen waved his hand and turned directly to leave.

"He's a young man with a shred of humanity, after all," the elder muttered inwardly. Of course he knew why Ji Feichen had made a move. But this action did no good for him; ordinary people would need to think twice. At most, remaining indifferent and not causing harm was the absolute limit.

After all, one could kill casually, but what if this person had some powerful backing?

Living at the bottom of the demonic sect, the very first thing one learned was to "turn a blind eye." Pretending to know nothing was the only way to live a long life.

The elder looked complexly at the boy and girl: "Practice well." After speaking, he too vanished. Ji Feichen had deliberately avoided contact with them to prevent anyone from seeking revenge. Naturally, the elder would not ruin this bit of kindness.

"Ignorance is bliss; how many more years do I have to live? I might as well pretend I know nothing." Returning to his dwelling, the elder suddenly felt a movement in his sleeve, and a bead rolled out.

Showing an expression of surprise, he silently picked up the Demonic Spirit Bead left behind after the instructor's death: "This Junior Brother is quite generous." Stowing the treasure away, he also pretended nothing had happened. However, since Ji Feichen had given him the item, remembering this favor, he would occasionally look out for the two children left in the outer sect from time to time.