Devouring Evil Martial Arts, Eliminating Demons from All Heavens

Chapter 340 The Bat Mage Sticks His Nail to the Head

"Anyone who truly wants to get rich should start their own religious sect."

Inside a hillside villa in Busan, the lights were on and the environment was elegant.

A night wind whistled through the courtyard, rustling the flowers and trees.

The two sat facing each other at a table and chairs as white as jade, the black tea on the table just warm.

One of them was Takagi, the president of the "One Word Spiritual Retreat Society." He wore glasses, had an upright and kind face, graying temples, a slightly protruding belly, and was dressed only in a short-sleeved shirt and suit trousers.

Another elderly man with a chubby face looked to be at least sixty, but he had thick hair, a cinnabar mole in the center of his forehead, and eyebrows that were thin near the center and thicker at the ends.

He was dressed in an ancient robe, with a black cloak lined with red brocade on the outside. His hands were slightly chubby, yet remarkably steady, with his wrists off the table as he held a book.

"To be frank, to establish a religion just to make money, very good. The famous quotes in this book truly deserve to be called famous sayings."

The old man savored the words he had just read, and he greatly appreciated the meaning conveyed in some of the sentences.

"But you said that these sentences can be easily found on the internet."

"Such wise words can only be shared with confidants; how can they be spread around? If those common people were to find out, wouldn't that just add unnecessary obstacles to spreading the faith?"

Takagi laughed and said, "There are always many famous quotes, but how many people actually read them, and even fewer actually listen to them?"

"The contents of this book are the words of world-renowned religious leaders since the last century. After they were arrested, people went around interviewing them, hoping to warn the general public through the self-confessions of these evil leaders."

"However, very few people will actually read this book."

"On the contrary, we younger colleagues regard the contents of this book as the golden rule, read it often, and apply what we have learned, making it one of the best teaching materials in the industry that is not tacitly understood."

The old man listened, stroking his beard.

"These hundreds of years, though not enough to turn the sea into mulberry fields, have brought about such dramatic changes in the world that they are truly astonishing."

The old man touched the book in his hand. Just the quality of the paper and the clarity of the printing made it a rare treasure in his time.

But in this day and age, no one will care if you tear something up and use it to wipe your own mess.

"Back then, before my grand plan was fully launched, I was chosen by the grotto-heaven. To this day, I still don't know whether it will succeed or fail if it is launched. For hundreds of years, I have often regretted this."

"Now I feel only immense gratitude towards the Seven Souls Grotto-Heaven, for it brought me to this era."

Takagi agreed, "If it weren't for that miraculous grotto, I wouldn't have had the chance to meet a senior like you, the Night Light Cult Leader, from the Luo Ancestor Cult."

“My family’s records document that secret history. At its peak, the Luo Ancestor Cult’s influence extended to both sides of the Grand Canal, and it controlled the manpower and financial resources of its followers in several provinces.”

"Especially you, the leader of the Night Bright Sect, personally cast spells to assist Prince Lian of the Qing Dynasty in surviving the great calamity he should have faced in the fourth year of Yongzheng's reign, thus entangled him with Emperor Yongzheng for ten years, initiating the Council of Eight Princes to restrain the emperor."

Takagi also recalled the excitement he felt when he read this history in his youth.

"Whether it's wealth, power, or even magical skills, you have been my idol for decades."

Throughout history, many heretical sects have engaged in the practice of accumulating wealth, and the methods of accumulating wealth by the Luo Zu Sect reached their peak during the Yongzheng period. They possessed clear and well-defined systems, and their enforcement was quite strict.

While amassing wealth, they also managed to maintain the unity of their followers, which only fueled their growing hostility towards other groups.

At that time, this force was almost ready to complete the transition from heresy to patronage by the dynasty.

However, after the proposal of the Eight Princes Council failed, Luo Zujiao was subjected to continuous and relentless suppression by the two emperors Yongzheng and Qianlong. His power was scattered and he was scattered to various places. He could no longer reach the threshold that once seemed so close.

“I knew that Prince Lian would be defeated when I was chosen by Dongtian on the eve of the Eight Princes' Council.”

The Night Light Cult Leader recalled, "Back then, Emperor Yongzheng once single-handedly killed two monks, one civil and one military, from Mount Wutai. His refined secret arts had reached the point where he could condense a substitute through imagination and actually destroy and kill martial arts masters."

"If I take action myself, success or failure is still uncertain. Without me, Prince Lian would surely die in his attempt to accomplish something great."

Gao Mu looked surprised. It turned out that Emperor Yongzheng was also a master. He had not seen any records of this. "In any case, I believe that the Master's current Divine Bat Reincarnation Technique has far surpassed Emperor Yongzheng's cultivation level back then."

"Haha, after all, it's because he's been dead for a long time."

The Night Cult Leader put down his book. "You don't need to flatter me. I can tell you, I won't use the bat demon poison to transform you into one of my subordinates."

Upon hearing that he wouldn't be poisoned, Takagi didn't feel relieved; instead, a hint of regret appeared on his face.

"The Bat Demon Poison, while it can help you quickly master the Divine Bat Reincarnation Technique, will also taint you with the aura of the spirit world, causing you to suffer from rejection in reality."

The Night Cult Leader said, “You are my incense attendant. When I need to fight with all my might, I must borrow your destiny in the real world. If you yourself are also rejected, the time you can sustain in battle will be even shorter.”

Takagi was silent for a moment, then sighed and said, "When I was young, I wanted to become a billionaire. Now I've had enough of the taste of wealth. All I want is to live a longer life. I try everything to maintain my youth, but I can only make myself look young."

"My incompetent subordinates are able to become eternally youthful divine bat messengers, which makes me... a little jealous."

First, we were together in my dreams for many years, and then we've been together in reality for so long.

Takagi has discovered that appropriately revealing one's desires in front of this cult leader is actually more conducive to gaining his favor.

The Night Cult Leader said with delight, "Maintaining this desire and jealousy is the proper way to begin the Divine Bat Technique; this is the mindset one should have."

"Those envoys didn't even lay a foundation before trying to quickly develop their abilities using demonic poison. This was too wasteful of their potential, and they will never have the chance to refine the demonic poison."

"If we can win, once I become the soul of the cave, I will have no worries and can naturally help you achieve rapid progress, or even help you achieve great success. In the future, we can work together in this world to make further progress and command the wind and rain. Wouldn't that be wonderful?"

He gave Takagi an encouraging smile, then suddenly his expression changed, and he muttered to himself.

"The seventh person has finally completed their bond!"

Takagi was both surprised and delighted upon hearing this, but quickly calmed down and analyzed the situation.

"The seventh person has already formed a bond, which means that there were at least five pairs of enemies active in the city before."

"My men haven't found a single clue. They're utterly useless."

The Night Cult Leader waved his hand.

"It's no wonder they're like this. A city with over three million people and countless tourists—it's no easy task to distinguish the enemy from so many different scents."

He stood up, looked at the rising moon, and his black and red cloak billowed and rustled even without wind.

Takagi also looked up.

Looking at the moon from this courtyard, it seems as if the white moon, which was originally as small as a porcelain bowl, has grown a layer of hazy fine hair.

The eerie, chilly moon swelled and shrank slightly, as if it were breathing.

Takagi was startled and disoriented, and quickly tried to look away from the Night Cult Leader.

That was just an unusual phenomenon caused by the Night Lord absorbing the essence of moonlight.

"Within a hundred days, the senses will gradually become stronger, but by the time you can sense the exact location, you will have lost all the advantage."

The Night Cult Leader said slowly, "We need to send people to do something more obvious to test the waters."

Takagi exclaimed in surprise, "It's fine to investigate secretly, but if we make a fuss, won't we become the first ones to stick our necks out?"

"Ah."

The Night Cult Leader laughed and said, "Although the seven of us are rivals, we have a greater difference in our positions than just the final competition."

"This test is actually a signal to seek allies."

(End of this chapter)