Having been given a second chance at life, I choose to join the Demonic Sect!

Wang Longhai knew what Wu Hui was planning, so he handed the array plate that controlled the formation to Wu Hui:
"Senior Brother Wu Hui, what are you saying? We're all fellow disciples, what's wrong with showing you a mere array plate!"

Wang Longhai isn't stupid; now Tian Cong is being sidelined.

Unless Tian Cong cultivates to the Void Refinement stage, he will basically never have a chance to turn his life around in the Xuan Tian Sect.

Tian Cong wanted to cultivate to the Void Refinement stage, which required an enormous amount of resources.

Huyan Ke, Wu Hui, and Yu Mengshang will definitely suppress Tian Cong in the future, making it difficult for him to reach the Void Refinement stage.

"Senior brothers and sisters, there's been some problem in the cultivation area over at Thunder Pool. I need to go and check it out."

If anything happens to the disciples cultivating inside, I won't be able to explain it to the sect. I'm entrusting this place to your care."

Seeing that Wu Hui and his two companions were about to deal with Tian Cong, Wang Longhai decided to slip away as well.

It's so boring to stay here and guard Tiancong for eighty-one days. Now that there are free replacements, why not take advantage of it!

As for the three of them wanting to kill Tian Cong, Wang Longhai felt that it was definitely impossible, since many people had seen the three of them come to the forbidden zone.

Moreover, these three are not fools; even if they wanted to kill Tiancong, they wouldn't do it at this time.

For them, the best course of action would be to use someone else to do their dirty work and deal with Tiancong.

"Junior Brother Wang, the matter of the Thunder Pool training area is of great importance, so you can go with peace of mind!"

Wu Hui, anticipating Wang Longhai's words, replied, indicating that if the other party wanted to go and cause trouble, then so be it!

After Wang Longhai left, Wu Hui turned to the array plate and activated the lightning intensity of the Thunder Execution Platform to the maximum.

The thunderbolt, which was originally as thick as a bowl, suddenly became as thick as a washbasin.

Bolts of lightning struck down, making Tiancong suffer a fate worse than death.

Tian Cong glared fiercely at the execution platform. Damn Wu Hui, Yu Mengshang, Huyan Ke, and Su Qingyue who hasn't shown up yet, you guys are really ruthless!
I, Tiancong, swear that one day I will make these people pay for their crimes in blood.

And those two opportunistic scoundrels, Yuan Jun and Wang Longhai, I won't let them get away with it either.

Hehuan Sect...

Cao Meng was performing a demonstration of dual learning of physical body and spirit with the great demon when he suddenly received a notice to go to the council hall for a meeting.

After getting up, Cao Meng clutched his lower back with one hand, looking completely out of sorts!

"Giggle!"

The great demon looked at Cao Meng's appearance and burst into laughter.

"You little brat, do you really think that just because you've advanced to the Nascent Soul stage, you can turn the tables and become the master, and that I can't do anything to you?"

In contrast to Cao Meng's weak appearance, Xia Yulan was beaming with joy.

What kind of sect is the Hehuan Sect?
Most of the techniques of the Hehuan Sect involve absorbing yang energy to replenish yin energy. If I can't defeat Cao Meng, what will happen to me!

Faced with the great demon's mockery, Cao Meng was furious. This great demon couldn't take a joke and actually used his martial arts against him.

"You little rascal, I'm doing this for your own good, so you won't go around flirting with other women!"

Xia Yulan supported Cao Meng, showing no intention of apologizing whatsoever; on the contrary, she was incredibly self-righteous!

"You little rascal, hurry up and get to the council hall!"

Xia Yulan helped Cao Meng up, and the two of them fled towards the main hall at the same time.

……

When Cao Meng and his companion arrived outside the discussion hall, he felt a powerful pressure.

He then looked toward the oppressive aura and saw a plaque that read: "Heaven rewards diligence!"
"Uncle Xia, who wrote this plaque?"

Cao Meng wanted to know who was so treacherous as to use such tactics in the plaque, subtly intimidating and bullying people!
"It seems that it was written down by an ancestor who broke through to the Void Refinement stage several thousand years ago, as a way to encourage the people of the sect!"

The great fairy Xia Yulan wasn't entirely sure either; she remembered that Xi Feng had said the same thing to her back then.

"It's just showing off, bragging!"

Cao Meng strongly suspects that the sect's ancestor who wrote the four characters "Heaven rewards diligence" was not doing so to encourage future generations.

Instead, she was using this imposing plaque to tell the descendants of the sect that she had reached the Refinement stage—a blatant display of power!

"Cough cough!"

Just as Cao Meng was complaining about the plaque outside the main hall, a cough came from inside the hall.

"You bastard, get your ass in here right now!"

Nangong Yan's angry rebuke suddenly came from inside the main hall.

As soon as Cao Meng and Xia Yulan entered, Xi Feng immediately pulled Xia Yulan aside to prevent her from being implicated by Cao Meng later!

Nangong Yan immediately gave Cao Meng a candied chestnut, then scolded him:
"You worthless wretch, you'd better apologize to the Fifth Patriarch right now. He's magnanimous and won't hold it against you!"

"???"

Nangong Yan's reprimand startled Cao Meng, who was somewhat confused about what was going on.

I don't know where I offended the Fifth Patriarch they mentioned. I don't even know who that Fifth Patriarch is!

Nangong Yan pressed Cao Meng's head down and, facing a veiled woman, whispered to Cao Meng:
"You bastard, those four characters were written by the Fifth Ancestor. Admit your mistake right now, or you'll get a beating later, and don't say I don't care!"

Nangong Yan is furious right now, so why should Cao Meng bother complaining about those few words?

Although those words did have a boastful or pretentious connotation, the person in question is still around!

Can't we wait until the person in question isn't around before we start complaining?

As the saying goes, a true man can bend and stretch; when it's time to back down, he should back down.

Cao Meng promptly bowed and apologized to the five patriarchs.

"Fifth Ancestor, Cao Meng knows his mistake!"

I, Cao Meng, am but a common man, ignorant of calligraphy and painting. Fifth Ancestor, you are a magnanimous man; please don't hold a grudge against a junior like me!

The person who could frighten Nangong Yan must obviously be a higher level of cultivation than her.

Cao Meng glanced at Wu Zu Yuan Ling secretly. She had a very attractive figure, but unfortunately, she was wearing a veil, so his face could not be seen.

However, I'm a little puzzled as to how a woman wearing a veil, who seems like a cold and aloof fairy, could do something like writing to show off and flaunt her status.
"It's normal for young people to be ignorant. Why would I, an elder, hold a grudge against a junior like you!"

Although Yuan Ling, the fifth ancestor, was quite angry when Cao Meng criticized her for being pretentious.

However, with so many people around, and Nangong Yan and Cao Meng praising her, she couldn't easily retaliate against Cao Meng.

Yuan Ling felt that sometimes being too senior wasn't a good thing.

If someone of a higher seniority tries to discipline a younger person, they will be criticized for being petty and bullying the younger generation.

After carefully examining Cao Meng, Wu Zu Yuan Ling immediately began to praise him:

"Cao Meng, you are so young, with a bone age of less than twenty, yet you have already reached the sixth level of the Nascent Soul stage."

Although he used a clever method, he is still only at the sixth level of the Nascent Soul stage, truly worthy of being a peerless genius of the Joyful Union Sect!

Although Wu Zu Yuan Ling is not at the Integration Stage, he is still considered to be a formidable opponent among those at the Refinement Stage.

She could tell at a glance that Cao Meng carried the lingering aura of her primordial yin energy.

Clearly, Cao Meng's Nascent Soul stage cultivation level may be related to the female cultivator's primordial yin.

When Wuzu Yuanling revealed Cao Meng's cultivation level, the entire audience was shocked.

A Nascent Soul Stage 6 cultivator who is not even 20 years old!
How can this be?

Although they had heard Nie Xuan say it before, they all thought Nie Xuan was just talking nonsense. They never expected that what she said was actually true!
Although the Void Refinement stage elders looked down on the sixth level of the Nascent Soul stage, Cao Meng was too young. A sixth-level Nascent Soul cultivator who was not even twenty years old was indeed terrifying.

The most shocked were the peak masters and hall masters. There were so many of them, but only a few had reached the sixth level of the Nascent Soul stage.

Take Yuwen Jing, the master of Hundred Flowers Peak, for example. He has only just entered the fifth level of the Nascent Soul stage.

Cao Meng's current cultivation level as a sixth-level Nascent Soul cultivator has surpassed that of many peak masters, which puts a lot of pressure on them!
"Cao Meng, I heard you want to be the city lord of Spring Breeze City, is that right?" Wu Zu Yuan Ling got straight to the point, not wanting to waste any more time.

“Ancestor, I have observed that evil forces are rising up in Spring Breeze City and malpractices are rampant!”
As a member of the sect, I am willing to contribute my efforts to governing Spring Breeze City and guarding the sect's gates!

Cao Meng spoke righteously and eloquently, expressing his loyalty to the sect.

He wanted to become the city lord of Spring Breeze City. What bad intentions could he possibly have? He just wanted to contribute to the sect!

As for evil forces and unhealthy practices?

Those who are not on our side, those who are our enemies, are evil forces and unhealthy practices, and must be eliminated!
"Cao Meng, stop talking nonsense."

In the Spring Breeze City under my jurisdiction, the only evil force is you, Cao Meng.

"Cao Meng, your desire to become the Lord of Chunfeng City is simply to seize control of Chunfeng City, suppress those markets, and bleed them dry!"

Nie Xuan now hates Cao Meng to the core. If the situation didn't prevent it, she would have fought to the death to get rid of this scourge.

Cao Meng was immediately displeased when he heard Nie Xuan reveal his true thoughts.

This woman wants to hurt each other, huh? I'll just let her have her way!

"Ancestor, I want to report this! I want to uphold justice and even betray my own family! I want to report that Aunt Nie Xuan is abusing her power and dominating Spring Breeze City, eating, drinking, and having fun without ever giving us any spirit stones!"

Cao Meng originally wanted to let Nie Xuan leave the job with some dignity, but now that this woman has exposed his grand plan, he can't blame him for reporting her!
According to Cao Meng's investigation, Nie Xuan has treated Chunfeng City as her own backyard for the past few hundred years since she became the city lord.

Not only did they not spend a single spirit stone on eating, drinking, and having fun, they also obtained quite a few spirit stones from those markets.

"You traitor Cao, don't you dare slander me!"

Although Nie Xuan did it, she's not stupid enough to deny it.

Nie Xuan was speechless. Among the four city lords of Feng Hua Xue Yue, she wasn't the only one doing this.

The other three were in the same situation as him, and the higher-ups of the Hehuan Sect were well aware of the situation.

This is such a small matter, is it really necessary to bring it up in this council hall?
"This is the bill for what my Martial Aunt Nie Xuan ate and drank for free at my Xuantian Pavilion."

Even disregarding the hefty private room fee, the total cost alone amounted to several million low-grade spirit stones.

"You have to understand how many spirit stones a mere personal disciple like me earns in a month. These millions of spirit stones are an enormous amount to me!"

Cao Meng began to cry pitifully, denouncing Nie Xuan's freeloading behavior as a victim.

The high-ranking members of the Hehuan Sect were speechless when they saw Cao Meng crying miserably.

According to what they knew, Cao Meng was quite wealthy!

With those businesses under his control making a fortune every day, how dare this guy complain about being poor?

"You scoundrel Cao, I just forgot to give you the spirit stones. It's only a few million low-grade spirit stones, it's not like I can't afford it!"

"Take it!"

Left with no other choice, Nie Xuan simply tossed out a pile of mid-grade spirit stones to pay the bill.

Despite Nie Xuan's outward generosity, she was actually heartbroken inside.

For two hundred years, Nie Xuan had been the city lord of Chunfeng City, eating and drinking for free. This was the first time she had to pay the bill!

This is a disgrace to her!
"Fifth Ancestor, things have been rather unsettled lately."

Spring Breeze City is the foremost of the four guardian cities of my Joyful Union Sect, and for its city lord, Nie Xuan, to only possess the strength of the third level of the Nascent Soul stage is indeed a bit too low!

Nangong Yan had previously promised to help Cao Meng obtain the position of city lord of Chunfeng City, and now she is starting to exert her efforts.

Nie Xuan's biggest weakness right now is that she is too weak.

Although Nie Xuan's cultivation level is close to the fourth level of the Nascent Soul stage, she is essentially still at the third level of the Nascent Soul stage.

In the past, Nie Xuan's strength would have been more than enough to make her the city lord of Spring Breeze City.

But things are different now. The top sects, Golden Buddha Temple and Red Academy, have been destroyed one after another. The Joyful Union Sect has obtained three spiritual veins from the Profound Heaven Sect and killed so many people from the Profound Heaven Sect.

A mere Nascent Soul Stage 3 cultivator isn't enough to guard Spring Breeze City, the face of the Joyful Union Sect!

"The key to Spring Breeze City lies not in the Nascent Soul stage, but in the great formation beneath the city!"

Since Nangong Yan had spoken up for Cao Meng, Nie Mingci, as his aunt, naturally had to speak up for Nie Xuan as well.

It is important to know that the key to the four guardian cities of Wind, Flower, Snow, and Moon lies in the formations within the cities.

The city lord is mainly responsible for activating the grand formation at crucial moments.

A cultivation level of the third stage of the Nascent Soul realm is sufficient to manage public order and deter petty thieves.

Therefore, Nie Mingci's claim that Nangong Yan criticized Nie Xuan for being weak is completely unfounded.

"That's true, but what if the city lord is too weak and gets captured and killed before he can even activate the formation?"

“When my Martial Aunt Nie Xuan fought me before, she was pinned to the ground in less than a round.”

Although Cao Meng spoke very softly, everyone present was a cultivator and could hear him clearly.

Nie Xuan was furious at Cao Meng's words, but she quickly came up with a way to break the deadlock.

"Cao Meng, I'm a fifth-tier array master. What tier are you?"

One of the key factors for becoming the city lord of one of the four guardian cities is being a formation master.

After all, only a formation master can better control the great formation beneath the city.

“Uncle-Master Nie Xuan, although I don’t know formations, I do know people from the Corpse Yin Sect!”

Chi Liyu said he would set up a branch in Spring Breeze City. Once the Corpse Yin Sect's branch is established, can you really control Spring Breeze City?

Cao Meng didn't look down on Nie Xuan. But once the Corpse Yin Sect really established its headquarters in Chunfeng City, Nie Xuan, as the city lord, would really be of little use.

Only if Cao Meng takes over as the city lord can he fight against the Corpse Yin Sect.

"you……"

Nie Xuan was speechless for a moment, because, as Cao Meng had said, she was not familiar with the Corpse Yin Sect.

Although the Corpse Yin Sect's decision to establish its headquarters in Spring Breeze City is a good thing for the Joyful Union Sect, it can inform the outside world that the Joyful Union Sect and the Corpse Yin Sect are on good terms, thus deterring other sects!

However, if you don't serve the people of the Corpse Yin Sect well, it will also be a problem, after all, the Red Academy was destroyed by the Corpse Yin Sect.

Seeing that Nie Xuan, a mere nobody, was no match for Cao Meng, the eight-foot-tall Han Sijing had no choice but to lend a hand.

After all, the enemy of my enemy is my friend.

"Dear elders of the sect, my junior nephew Cao Meng has already reached the Nascent Soul stage at a young age. Now is the time for him to strive to improve his cultivation."

"But Spring Breeze City is full of trivial matters. If he becomes the city lord, wouldn't he have no time to cultivate and waste his talent?"

Han Sijing truly lives up to her reputation as someone who rivals the female demon for power; her way of speaking is undeniable.

Han Sijing didn't directly target Cao Meng; instead, every word she spoke was for Cao Meng's benefit.

Han Sijing emphasized Cao Meng's aptitude in order to make the other Void Refinement stage elders understand that Cao Meng's current task is cultivation, not becoming a city lord.

"Senior Sister Han is right!"

Yuwen Jing, the leader of Baihua Peak, also stood up to echo Han Sijing, forcing herself to praise Cao Meng:
“Nephew Cao Meng is the number one genius of our Hehuan Sect, a peerless prodigy who appears only once every ten thousand years.”

"My nephew Cao Meng's most pressing concern is cultivation, aiming to reach the Void Refinement stage as soon as possible, rather than wasting time on these other things!"

Yuwen Jing never forgot how Xia Yulan had taken liberties with Cao Meng and poisoned her.

Now that Cao Meng wants to become the city lord of Chunfeng City, Yuwen Jing naturally opposes him and ruins Cao Meng's plans.

Once Han Sijing and Yuwen Jing spoke up, Han Sijing's faction and Xia Yulan's enemies all began to echo their sentiments.

The scheming female boss, who had been watching the drama unfold, quickly instructed her faction to speak in Cao Meng's favor and denigrate Nie Xuan! (End of Chapter)