Swing the sword at the future female devil

Chapter 342 Prepare in advance for being forced to become the villain!
Looking at the empty cave, Taiqing's expression grew even more grim. Jiang Xiyu's spiritual body just now resembled the highest realm of the Crimson Lotus Body Tempering Technique: the Undying Crimson Lotus Sacred Body.

However, it seems that she had too much karmic fire and evil energy during her cultivation, which eventually led her to another extreme - the Undying Red Lotus Demon Body. Compared to the immortality of the Holy Body, the advantage of the Undying Red Lotus Demon Body lies in its killing power.

However, Taiqing knew in his heart that the difficulty of cultivating the Undying Red Lotus Demon Body through the Crimson Lotus Body Forging Technique was no less than that of the Sacred Body. If this child did not have a complete inheritance, he would never have been able to take this step...

But only I possess the complete inheritance... Could it be a remnant of the Heavenly Realm?

Impossible! Taiqing immediately denied this conjecture. After all, she had slaughtered the entire Heavenly Realm. The strong were refined into the Heavenly Demon Banner to become brothers, while the weak were used as sustenance to supply the Heavenly Demon Banner with their souls for advancement. If one had to trace it back to this, it could only be the group of people from the Holy Land who sealed her into the Jiangshan Sheji Tu back then.

Undeniably, the witch Xiao Jiang used Taiqing as a causal transit point—first, she injected divine blood into Taiqing's brow to store a portion of her power source. The second time, she would trace back the causal path, descend to this place, and then retrieve her power. In this way, she could stay here for the longest time with minimal cost!

How dare anyone in this world treat Taiqing like a pawn, manipulated at will! It's an utter disgrace!
Despite her anger and humiliation, Taiqing also felt a deep sense of dread towards the person behind the scenes. If such a person truly existed, it meant that their cultivation in the Dao of Cause and Effect might even surpass her own!
Who exactly is this person? Is he from the Holy Land? Or from some other faction?
After so many millennia, even the Map of Mountains and Rivers has been shattered and broken. How could the Holy Land still exist? Taiqing first ruled out this conjecture, and after thinking for a moment, still couldn't find a suitable breakthrough.

What is her purpose in returning? A pawn, a pawn... Using me as a pawn, her schemes must be earth-shattering, a truly defying act...

Perhaps... I can use this to break out of this predicament for myself?

Taiqing's eyes flickered uncertainly, as if he had considered some possibility, and a cruel smile appeared on his lips...

If you've treated me like a pawn, you should be prepared to be turned on by me...

……

With the military's involvement, the post-war reconstruction and wounded relief work at Longhu Mountain proceeded smoothly and in an orderly manner. In just one day, the area had undergone a complete transformation. Duan Huaige was also busy, working with the Old Celestial Master to repair the grand formation at Longhu Mountain.

This gave Duan Huaige a more direct and shocking understanding of Taiqing's methods—she was able to take control of the entire Longhu Mountain formation in a short time through the Reversal Path, and many times she even used the power of the formation to fight the enemy without suffering any losses herself.

This is beyond the reach of ordinary array masters. Unless she designed the original array herself, and only she knows the core of the array, she could gain control of the array so quickly!

Seemingly sensing Duan Huaige's surprised and uncertain gaze, the old Celestial Master sighed softly and said, "You guessed right. This formation was indeed obtained from Kunlun by Zhang Daoling, the ancestor of my Celestial Master's Mansion."

Upon hearing this, Duan Huaige suddenly realized: No wonder Taiqing said at the beginning: Zhang Daoling's descendants... It turns out she also knew that famous first Celestial Master.

So, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to call Taiqing the source of all laws, would it? It seems that all the great supernatural powers and techniques in this world are related to her.

How could she possibly possess so many cultivation techniques all by herself? Isn't that a bit unscientific? Unless, she's somehow managed to acquire the entire cultivation world!

Duan Huaige suddenly felt that his guess was a bit ridiculous... but inexplicably it fit the character of Taiqing's crazy demoness. The old master continued, "I underestimated her before. I thought that with the Heavenly Thunder Formation of Longhu Mountain, which is specifically designed to counter soul bodies, the demoness wouldn't be able to cause too much trouble even if she came."

"This attack on the mountain by the demoness has made me realize that external things are ultimately just external things... Only powerful strength is the most tangible thing." The old Celestial Master said in a deep voice, "In order to protect Longhu Mountain, I have decided to take Celestial Master Du into seclusion to break through to a higher realm... If we succeed, the righteous path will have a new peak of combat power. If we fail... Duan Huaige, I ask that you take over the position of Celestial Master of the Celestial Master's Mansion in the future."

Duan Huaige: ?

Why the sudden entrustment of his orphan... Master, isn't this plot unfolding a bit too quickly?

“Master, please be careful with your words. I am not capable of taking on the heavy responsibility of the Celestial Master’s Mansion… You should find someone more capable.”

“Alright.” The old Celestial Master nodded, then sighed as if he had expected this, saying, “Actually, I know that entrusting you with this might not be a good choice, because you carry too much karma on your shoulders… A slight misstep could plunge you into an abyss of no return…”

"Why did you test me, Master?"

“Throughout history, those who have been able to bear immense karma, if they grow up, will become outstanding figures of their time. If we bind the Celestial Master’s Mansion to you, I believe it will bring the Celestial Master’s Mansion to a new level.” The old Celestial Master said without any hesitation, “This can also be considered an investment. Risks and opportunities often coexist.”

"However, since you don't plan to bring the Celestial Master's Mansion along, that's fine. I just hope that you can help out the Celestial Master's Mansion if it ever faces any difficulties in the future, for the sake of me and Xiao Yao'er."

As he spoke, the old Celestial Master handed Duan Huaige a peach wood sword, saying, "This sword is made of wood struck by lightning a thousand years ago. It can unleash my full power three times. Within the Dan Transformation Realm, no one can face its sharpness directly. I am giving it to you now, which can be considered as forming a good karmic connection with you."

"The remaining resources and rewards will be delivered to you by Longhu Mountain as agreed, but due to unforeseen circumstances, it may not be so fast."

"It's alright, it's alright, Elder Celestial Master, please take your time, I'm not in a hurry." Duan Huaige accepted the peach wood sword as if it were a priceless treasure, playing with it for a moment with great affection—this was the strongest attack of the Elder Celestial Master of Longhu Mountain. Don't be fooled by how he hesitated and seemed to be at a disadvantage when he fought Taiqing just now; that was because Taiqing used Zhang Zhiyao's body, and there were also disciples of Longhu Mountain below him. As the Celestial Master, he had to protect them.

If they were to fight with all their might, Taiqing would never be able to handle the Old Celestial Master, who was fighting on Longhu Mountain's home turf, with such ease!

My buddy now has a new trump card... He has the power to fight back when he goes to other places to retrieve fragments of maps, or when he is being hunted down by the authorities!
Duan Huaige knew very well that Xiao Jiang's future identity as a female demon might be exposed one day. Don't be fooled by the fact that the court seems to be treating him quite well now. Sooner or later, he would turn against the court because of Xiao Jiang. Before that happens, he must make sure that he has enough power to talk to the court.

(End of this chapter)