Trinity Traitor: From One Person to the Other

Chapter 1028 The Decline of the Three Demonic Sects
"You guys have it tough too."

Although He Songling bought the Three Demons Sect's method of severing the three corpses for tens of thousands of silver dollars back then, he was going to run out of money. Forty or fifty strong men needed to eat, wear clothes, and cultivate themselves, and all of that cost money.
Besides, there are ways to live when you're broke, and there are ways to live when you're rich. Things you wanted to do or should have done but didn't when you were broke should now be started.

For example, studying and experimenting with martial arts techniques is not easy. First, you need to find good doctors and good medicinal herbs to have on hand in case of injury. Second, studying martial arts techniques involves no production, and the consumption rate is doubled.

Furthermore, now that we have money, we need to expand our reputation and increase our student body, right? But how can the Three Demons Sect recruit students from a small courtyard and a few dilapidated houses in a garbage dump and public toilet area downwind in Anlu County? Who will come to us with good students?
So they had to expand and take on apprentices.

In the beginning, they couldn't charge much tuition; the support was entirely free.

Of course, these expenses didn't cover the full 80,000 silver dollars. The bulk of the money was lost due to some notoriously dangerous slides that were absolutely off-limits. In short, about twenty years after He Songling visited the Three Demon Sect, the sect completely declined.

They had no money and no one to rely on, and their lives were incredibly miserable.

Having missed the opportunity to train and accept disciples for two generations over twenty years, the remaining elders of the Three Demons Sect were almost all dead. In the late 1980s, Master Tu Junfang, a young man in his early twenties, was forced to take over the entire sect.

Although it was called the entire sect, at that time only his master and grand-uncle remained.

Later, Tu Junfang's great-uncle also died. His master couldn't hold on any longer, so he passed the position of sect leader to Tu Junfang and went out to work in the sea.

Because he was so poor back then that he couldn't even afford a pager, Tu Junfang has never been able to find his master again in all these years, and doesn't know whether he is alive or dead.

What about Tu Junfang? No one in the righteous sects wants him, and given the name, techniques, and image of their Three Demon Sect, the only option is to join the Quanxing Sect.

Fortunately, although the Quanxing sect doesn't provide relief funds, it's still easy to make money. Doing a little illegal or criminal work can bring in money quickly. Tu Junfang hasn't been involved in any illegal or disorderly activities, but within the world of supernatural beings, he works as a mercenary, doing all sorts of shady jobs, and he's doing quite well.

Later, due to his formidable strength, he became a powerful figure within the Quanxing sect.

Even so, Tu Junfang was still a seeker of the Dao who could be considered pure. Otherwise, in the original story, he wouldn't have been surprised by the Old Celestial Master's self-severing of his three corpses, Feng Baobao's complete absence of three corpses, or by the Tang Sect disciples' cooperation in controlling and teaching the three corpses that had been summoned.

Tu Junfang showed particular interest in Lü Liang's Three Corpses technique, which had clearly transformed his mind and character through the Dual-Handed Technique. While he couldn't say it was his only obsession, his greatest pleasure lay in observing the changes and developments his own Three Corpses technique would undergo.

Why do people form sects? Because there's strength in numbers. By pooling wisdom and resources, the results of cultivation are naturally better than if one person were to work in isolation at home.

If Tu Junfang wants the Three Corpses Technique of the Three Demons Sect to continue to develop, be passed down and carried forward, he must try his best to fight and communicate with people, meet different people and learn about different techniques.

At this moment, is there anyone more learned, more talented, and more accomplished than the one before us?

Gone.

Therefore, Tu Junfang was determined to latch onto He Songling's powerful backer. Tu Junfang pulled out all the stops, using both acting skills and craftsmanship to depict the miserable state of the Three Demon Sects and to show off his abilities by having three corpses leave his body simultaneously, as if he wanted to perform a trick on He Songling.

"You're so bad at this."

"Huh?" Tu Junfang, who had just finished performing the "Three Corpses Leaving the Body" act, instantly turned into a beady-eyed man.

Is it... really bad?

"This is already the second strongest single-target combat power in the entire sect!" Tu Junfang roared inwardly.

“Yeah, why is the Three Demons Sect always like this? I warned them back then, but they still hid things in the end.” He Songling covered his nose and glanced at Tu Junfang’s three corpses. Thick black mucus was still flowing from their bodies, and a stench filled the entire office.

"Back then, they charged me 80,000 silver dollars and a method to eliminate stench. It wasn't a big deal; I just slightly modified some Western magic cleansing and preservation spells. And yet they kept it a secret and didn't pass it on?"

"Well, our sect practices the Three Corpses, which represent all the evil desires and thoughts of humankind. Therefore, we emphasize self-cultivation. If one's character is not up to par, many profound techniques cannot be passed on to us..."

"So you're even hiding the way to get clean without taking a bath, huh? Did your sect charge for the bathhouse back then? And the old man who stoked the boiler had a secure job, right?" He Songling said disdainfully.

These people are always like this; they preach grand principles that seem reasonable, but when it comes to actually implementing them, they tend to go in strange directions.

The Three Demons Sect has fallen into decadence, which is quite normal. Although they were valiant in the War of Resistance, they were not uncommon in petty corruption in smaller areas. They had the greater good but lacked the means to pay for small favors! Since its founding, all the wealth of the Three Demons Sect combined was less than the tens of thousands of silver dollars He Songling had given them that time; they were terrified of poverty.

It's good to find ways to generate revenue within your own sect, but the problem is that once the sect declines, it's easy for others to take advantage of it all.

Fortunately, the Three Demon Sect's style was not very hygienic, so even though it collapsed, not many people went to consume its legacy. In fact, few people even know the methods of the Three Demon Sect nowadays. After Tu Junfang made his move in the original story, no one had even seen his methods.

"Didn't I teach you the method of severing the three corpses?"

"No." Tu Junfang let He Songling wash away the stench from the three corpses with a wave of his hand. Now he really knew what was going on. He lowered his head and put his hands in front of him, like a primary school student who had made a mistake.

“I knew it. I advised them to pass it on back then, but they wouldn’t.” He Songling was a little disappointed. “Alright, Ding Shian, you should get ready too. I’ll start your special training this afternoon.”

"No, that's it?" Tu Junfang looked bewildered. You just spent so long reminiscing about your past with our Three Demon Sect, even mentioning some of our lost martial arts techniques, and then you just turned around and left?
"Nonsense! Back then, I spent 80,000 silver dollars to buy that method of severing the three corpses from your Three Demons Sect, along with the cleansing spell I just learned, from Yang Yingchu, the sect leader of the Three Demons Sect at that time. You expect me to give it to you for free? If you want it, fine, you can buy it with money or something else."

(End of this chapter)