Wutong and Huai Xiu were now standing in a fan-shaped zone on the ground-floor wooden platform. This area mostly accommodated guests from minor sects within the Immortal Alliance, portions of the demon-beast and sprite clans, as well as solitary individuals like Wutong and Huai Xiu. Because the space was sufficiently large, it did not feel crowded. From Wutong’s perspective, although the central giant wooden pillar was still quite far away, the exquisite and intricate carvings on its surface were now clearly visible. The carvings wound around the pillar body, depicting mountains, rivers, and human figures with breathtaking craftsmanship. Many of them portrayed stories based on the historical legends of the immortal realm, making them fascinating to observe. Just as Wutong was concentrating on the carvings, a voice suddenly sounded beside his ear: Young Master Wutong, the Young Family Head invites you to proceed to the Ji family viewing stand. Wutong started and looked up. The person who had approached wore the uniform of a Ji family guard and was bowing respectfully, inviting Wutong to move over. He immediately turned his gaze toward the Ji family’s section on the second tier of the wooden platform. He saw his father sitting squarely in the wide chair against the backdrop of the giant roc, while his eldest brother, Ji Longbai, stood by Ji Huaishan’s side, also looking in this direction. Meeting Wutong’s gaze, Ji Longbai smiled from afar and gestured for Wutong to come over. Wutong turned his head aside and smiled at the guard. I need to go relieve myself. With that, he turned and walked backward, accelerating his pace as he passed Huai Xiu and whispered: Run! His speed quickened as if he were about to kick up a gale. Young master, Young Master Wutong! the guard shouted anxiously from behind. Alas, because the ceremony had already begun and people were moving forward in droves, his path was repeatedly blocked, and within moments he lost sight of Wutong. Wutong discarded the remaining powder of the little blue pill in his hand. This single pill should have been enough to make him vanish from beneath the attendant’s very nose. He glanced back at the grand platform, seeing his father, dressed in luxurious ceremonial attire, turn his head to whisper briefly with his eldest brother before looking in his direction. But clearly unable to spare the time, his father quickly stood up to prepare for the ceremony. Meanwhile, his eldest brother searched the crowd in vain and likewise gave up the hunt. Wutong let out a silent sigh of relief; he truly had no desire to stand upon that elevated stage. Only, it was somewhat strange that he did not see his second brother anywhere. Looking over at the Liuling Palace’s seating area on the platform, only an emblem backdrop of a jade Qilin stood there, and not a single person from Liuling Palace had arrived. A deep sense of puzzlement stirred within Wutong, but he had no time to ponder it further. When he turned his head to signal Huai Xiu, he discovered that Huai Xiu had not followed him! Wutong was startled and strained his eyes back down the path he had come. After a long while, he spotted him still lingering in the previous zone. At this moment, Huai Xiu seemed to have forgotten about Wutong; like everyone else present, his gaze was firmly captivated by the space directly above the central pillar on the platform. Wutong initially wanted to turn back and find him, but a wave of gasps from the surrounding crowd forced him to look up as well. High in the sky directly above the giant pillar, the winds and clouds were churning violently. Shimmering as though illuminated by seven-colored light, the sky presented an auspicious multicolored phenomenon. From the center of the churning clouds, a pillar of light composed of colorful clouds gradually descended, shining directly onto the apex of the giant pillar. Atop the previously flat and open summit of the pillar, the falling clouds slowly solidified into a bud shape, crystalline and translucent like colored glaze, suspended a short distance above the pillar’s top. The beams of light shining down gradually converged, and the clouds in the sky faded away as they rolled past. Finally, all eyes landed squarely upon that multicolored glazed flower bud. The master of ceremonies for the grand event loudly announced that the auspicious hour had arrived and the grand ceremony was officially beginning. The two succeeding sects, each led by their respective sect masters, walked out onto the arena. The Tianchen Sect was led by Grand Elder Immortal Quanheng, with Feng Yuanchi and a retinue of disciples following behind him. Twenty years ago, after Immortal Dongyao perished, Immortal Quanheng could have assumed the position of Tianchen Sect Master. However, out of respect for Immortal Dongyao, he adamantly declined the role, continuing to act as interim sect master solely under the title of Grand Elder. Feng Yuanchi had followed by his side since childhood; hence, despite his youth, he had entered the sect earliest and served as the Tianchen Sect’s foremost disciple. On the Ji family’s side, naturally, Ji Huaishan took the lead, followed by Ji Longbai. Seeing his father attending in grand ceremonial attire today, his stalwart physique matched with lavish formal robes making him look extraordinary and full of heroic spirit, Wutong could not help feeling a surge of pride in his heart. The ceremonial rites continued on the platform. Wutong glanced once more at the Liuling Palace section, wondering why his second brother and the others had missed the auspicious hour. While keeping one eye on the ritual upon the stage, he walked back toward Huai Xiu’s direction. That Brother Black really was a country bumpkin who had never seen the world; he was already lost in wonder. The ritual flow finally reached the much-anticipated sacred artifact handover phase. Immortal Quanheng and Ji Huaishan slowly walked to a spot not far from the front of the giant pillar. Quanheng first stared intently at the glazed flower bud above for a moment, then began regulating his breath to channel his arts. The glazed flower bud, which had been floating quietly, slowly began to spin. Simultaneously, layer after layer of petals unfolded sequentially. When all eight petals had fully opened, a wave of red light rippled outward from the center, instantly sweeping across the entire Upper Immortal Platform. After the red light vanished, a jade ring, as crimson as dripping blood, appeared right in the heart of the flower bud. The Zhutian Jue! It is the Zhutian Jue! Gasps of amazement erupted throughout the crowd. The moment the wave of light swept across Wutong’s body, he felt a tingling sensation like an electric shock run through his entire frame. Wutong instinctively shivered, though he noticed the people around him did not react similarly. He sighed softly; after all, he simply lacked spiritual power and cultivation. He was now less than a person’s length away from Huai Xiu. Seeing him staring single-mindedly at the Zhutian Jue without a shred of distraction, Wutong could not help finding it amusing. Up on the arena, the master of ceremonies shouted aloud: Handover of the sacred artifact! As the words fell, the glazed flower chalice supporting the Zhutian Jue began to close layer by layer. Ji Huaishan on the platform stared unblinkingly at it, his hands already raised and positioned to receive it. The sudden catastrophe struck at that exact moment! A piercing chill surged outward abruptly, accompanied by howling winds and an icy rain as fine as silver needles. It felt as though thousands of invisible ice-slivers were piercing into every pore of skin across his body, with the joints of his hands and feet stinging most noticeably. The howling wind made it impossible for Wutong to keep his eyes open, and the sudden drop in temperature paralyzed him so severely that he nearly stumbled to the ground. The astonishment and trembling faces of the people around him revealed that they were suffering from the exact same icy assault. The once sun-drenched Upper Immortal Platform plunged into gloom in an instant. As the chilling aura escalated, it felt as though they had been thrust deep into late autumn, like an invisible hand tearing away the springtime veneer of the Upper Immortal Platform and reverting it directly to fall. Everyone was completely dumbfounded by the sudden turn of events. For a time, chaotic shouts and clamor rang out, and panic spread through the crowd. The formations of the Tianchen Sect and Ji family members on the platform were already disrupted. Some had purplish lips, while others stumbled and fell, plunging the scene into disorder. Only a few disciples, led by Feng Yuanchi, desperately forced their long swords out of their scabbards, though their movements were exceptionally stiff. Some failed to draw their blades even after multiple tries, shouting in panic, The swords are frozen solid! Protect the sacred artifact! Several cries jolted everyone present back to reality, and all eyes turned toward the Zhutian Jue. The first to move were Immortal Quanheng and Ji Huaishan. Both leaped toward the giant pillar simultaneously, though their movements were clearly hindered by the bitter cold and lacked fluidity. Almost concurrently, a graceful, bright-blue figure suddenly cut in ahead of the two men, striking two rapid palms marked with a resounding slap against the chests of Immortal Quanheng and Ji Huaishan. The two men let out muffled groans and tumbled backward as they fell. Panic-stricken onlookers below scrambled forward to catch them. Meanwhile, that bright-blue figure stretched out an arm, its five fingers clawing directly toward the Zhutian Jue! Upon seeing that bright-blue figure, the blood in Wutong’s veins froze instantly. That was— Huai Xiu! What was he trying to do? Why was he seizing the Zhutian Jue? Yet, although he still wore the clothes Wutong had bought him, Huai Xiu’s entire appearance had undergone a radical transformation! A shroud of black qi wreathed his body. His brow and eyes no longer held the gentle peace Wutong had seen previously; instead, they radiated a chilling, gloomy desire to kill. His formerly plain features suddenly sharpened into extraordinarily defined contours, turning exquisite, bewitching, and magnificently striking! Wutong froze completely. Just as Huai Xiu’s fingers were about to touch the Zhutian Jue, a streak of sword light slashed straight down from the sky, forcing Huai Xiu to pull back his hand. Simultaneously, a sharp cry rang out: Die, fiend! The voice was so familiar that Wutong did not even need to think to recognize it. Sure enough, the figure plunging down immediately after the flash of sword light was none other than his second brother, Ji Yinsang. High in the sky behind him, Liuling Palace’s flying carriage rumbled past, and dozens of Liuling Palace disciples leaped down from the carriage one after another, racing straight toward the Upper Immortal Platform. The fallen Immortal Quanheng and Ji Huaishan were caught by their followers, but each coughed up a mouthful of blood. Disregarding their physical injuries, Ji Huaishan shouted loudly at Yinsang: Yinsang, quickly secure the sacred artifact! The crowd in the arena snapped out of their daze as well, and the panicked shrieks grew even louder than before: It’s the Demon Lord! The fiend Gu Huaixiu! The fiend has come to seize the sacred artifact! … The Demon Lord? Wutong’s mind went entirely blank, his ears echoing with only one refrain: The fiend Gu Huaixiu! The fiend Gu Huaixiu! Ever since the Immortal-Demon Great War twenty years ago, when Immortal Dongyao’s self-sacrifice bought twenty years of peace for the cultivation world, common tavern tales portrayed the demon race as utterly crushed and cowering in a remote corner, easily defeated even in minor skirmishes. Wutong only knew that after the former Demon Lord, Lieyang, died, the demon race fell into a prolonged civil war to seize the throne of the Demon Lord. Eventually, a new Demon Lord emerged, but compared to the powerful Immortal Alliance, this new Demon Lord could barely stir up any waves and was still bogged down trying to stabilize internal chaos within the demon ranks. In the mouths of the Immortal Alliance members, the new Demon Lord was simply referred to by the general title of fiend, unworthy of even possessing a name. Wutong struggled to recall the rumors he knew regarding the demon race. What was the name of the new Demon Lord? Ah right, his surname was Gu! Therefore, Gu Huaixiu—he was actually the new fiend described by people as even more cruel and ruthless than the former Demon Lord Lieyang! A cold sweat broke out across Wutong’s forehead. He suddenly realized that when they passed through the mountain gate, the anomaly produced by the Reflection Stone had actually detected the fiend’s demonic aura. It was he himself who had helped the fiend pass inspection and brought him right into the grand ceremony venue! He had even foolishly bought him new clothes, treating him like a kindred spirit and a friend! He had claimed his name was Huai Xiu, deliberately concealing his surname and origin; he had deceived him! His purpose in coming to the Tianchen Sect was not some entrusted errand as he claimed; he had come solely to seize the Zhutian Jue! Wutong despised deception above all else. The blood that had just frozen was now boiling inside his chest, filling him with a mix of utter humiliation and incandescent rage. If the grand ceremony was ruined today and the Zhutian Jue was stolen, he, Ji Wutong, would be an accomplice and the prime culprit! He glared furiously toward the platform, his eyes blazing with anger. No matter what, he had to stop Gu Huaixiu from getting his hands on the Zhutian Jue!
Chapter 7 - The Demon Lord?
After The Demon Lord Became A Beautiful, Useless Accessory