Gentlemen, it's time to enter the Banner of Ten Thousand Souls.

Chapter 264 One of the Eighteen Venerable Masters of the Demonic Sect
Chen Ye frowned. If she really was that mysterious and unpredictable demon, then Chen Ye really wouldn't be able to do anything about her.

Chen Ye couldn't understand how this demon could manipulate people from thousands of miles away with just his unpredictable voice.

However, since she's willing to speak up, perhaps we can talk about it.

Chen Ye tentatively asked, "Senior, you killed so many cultivators just to let them possess these mirage demons? For the demonic sect, such an operation would be a losing proposition. It would be better to refine them."

"What senior? You're making me sound old. Although my cultivation is higher than yours, I'm not necessarily that much older."

Chen Ye frowned. This devil was rambling on and on, never getting to the point.

"Since that's the case, I'll call you 'elder sister.' Although I don't know why you've set your sights on these mirage demons, how about you give me, Chen Ye, some face and show some mercy today?"

Chen Ye didn't want to start a war with this mysterious and unpredictable demon here. If the people of Chenguang were to be caught in the crossfire, the casualties would be heavy. If he could make this demon back down, that would be the best outcome.

"Targeting them? Sect Leader Chen, you've misunderstood. It's not them that's targeting these mirage demons, but rather your so-called righteous sects. Haven't you noticed? The disciples of the Mirage Sect are the real culprits."

Chen Ye didn't believe a word the demon said, but he still followed up and asked, "Please explain more clearly, sister. If there's a misunderstanding, I will definitely apologize to you."

After a burst of charming laughter, the demon said, "Then it's settled. But I don't want you to apologize. I'll tell you the Mirage Faction's plans, and you have to answer one question for me."

"Please tell me what the problem is first, sister. I may not be able to agree."

"It's very simple. What I want to ask is, since you seem to be able to control this Void, how did you become a pure-blooded Azure Dragon? Are you also a dragon that has become a spirit?"

Chen Ye quickly said, "If this is the only question, I'm willing to help you understand."

Although the Eight-Nine Arcane Arts is a very powerful technique, it is impossible to hide it from others.

If he were to perform this technique in public once in the future, the whole world would know that Chen Ye had mastered the Eight-Nine Arcane Arts. So there's nothing wrong with telling this demon. At worst, she'd just guess that the Yellow Springs Sect possesses innate treasures.

"Alright, I still trust the promise of the Yellow Springs Sect Master. Then let me tell you what the Mirage Sect did. The Mirage Sect expelled all their disciples who were possessed by inner demons and forced them to infiltrate the Void to hunt Mirage Demons. Only those who succeeded could return to the sect, otherwise they would be expelled from the sect."

"These Mirage Sect disciples are all abandoned trash. They were just unlucky to run into me. I didn't want to see these mirage demons suffer innocently, so I used some methods to make them perish in the rubble."

Chen Ye was puzzled. What was the Mirage Sect thinking, sending these disciples to infiltrate the Ruins of Return? It was clearly a suicide mission.

Chen Ye said doubtfully, "This doesn't make sense. With the abilities of these disciples, they shouldn't be able to reach Guixu at all."

"Indeed, so the Mirage Sect went to the extreme of placing a restriction on them. Once they died, their bodies would naturally be refined into zombies, and then they would sneak into this place. I found this method very interesting, so I tried to imitate it, and it really worked. With just a little bit of illusion magic, these corpses could be easily sent into this hall. However, I accidentally tested it too many times, and it ended up looking like this."

Chen Ye looked at the hundreds of corpses in front of him. He didn't know if they were demonic cultivators or unlucky rogue cultivators, but the other party must have been a ruthless demon, and killing was just commonplace for her.

Chen Ye pressed further, "So, sister, you sent these hundreds of corpses to try and possess these mirage demons, just like the Mirage Sect did?"

"Pretty much, anyway, I'm just killing time. But I'm different from those hypocrites of the Mirage Sect. They want their disciples to possess living mirage demons and turn them back into livestock they enslave. I, on the other hand, only let them possess the dead mirage eggs."

"You probably don't know this, but every ten years, a mirage demon can lay dozens or even hundreds of eggs, but only about one percent of them survive. The majority of the rest are dead eggs. Since that's the case, why not make use of them? I'm also very curious to know what abilities these humans can have after they become mirage demons."

Chen Ye found it hard to believe; how could this ruthless demon possibly treat the mirage demon differently?

However, he couldn't find any weakness in her words for the time being, so he had no choice but to go along with her: "In that case, thank you for your help, sister. Since you don't intend to harm the mirage demons, I will take them away. You shouldn't stop me, sister."

"Of course not, but have you thought this through? If you do, we'll become accomplices. I killed the Mirage Sect members for the sake of the Mirage Demon, and in the end, you rescued the Mirage Demon. Ultimately, the blame will fall on you."

Chen Ye smiled and said, "Then there's no need for you to trouble yourself, sister."

After saving Chen Guang, Chen Ye was already prepared to turn against the Mirage Sect, so he didn't care about these Mirage Demons.

As for the deaths of Qin Ze and the others, Chen Ye had no intention of taking the blame. However, things would work out in the end, and it wouldn't be too late to deal with it later. Chen Ye had promised Chen Guang that he would definitely protect these mirage demons.

"Oh, Sect Leader Chen, you really surprise me. Seeing is believing. Are you really not afraid of spreading rumors about a demon like me?"

Chen Ye joked, "I don't even know who my sister is, so what rumors are I afraid of?"

"Those words warmed my heart. Although I know you want to know about me, I also want to have a deeper conversation with you. So, I'm willing to tell you. I am Youluozi, one of the eighteen Venerables of the Demonic Sect. I suppose you have already met that Soul Venerable. Like him, I am in charge of the inheritance of one of the eighteen Demon Venerables."

Chen Ye quickly said, "You are in charge of the legacy of the Bewitching Demon Lord, right?"

Youluozi readily admitted, "That's right, you know a little bit about it too, don't you? Last time, you were able to break my Illusionary Sound Technique, and I could tell then that you also knew a little bit. How about it, why don't you become my disciple, and I'll teach you the real Illusionary Sound Technique?"

Chen Ye shook his head and said, "That won't be necessary. Trying to do too much at once will only lead to failure. I can't even learn all of my own techniques."

"It's not entirely a lie. I can see that you also have the orthodox lineage of the Demonic Sect. However, the Crimson Serpent Demonic Sect has more than one successor. You'd better be careful not to be expelled from the sect." Whether this was true or not, Chen Ye still kept a watchful eye on it.

If the Underground Demonic Sect truly possesses all eighteen complete lineages, then the Crimson Serpent Demon Lord's lineage would naturally be no exception. In that case, they might really have to fight over who is the rightful heir.

"Alright, I've said what I needed to say. Now it's your turn to answer my question." Youluozi asked, "Are you really a dragon that has become a spirit?"

Chen Ye honestly replied, "Of course not. I just learned the Eight-Nine Arcane Arts. I took the dragon pearls from the four dragons in front of the Guixu Gate and used these treasures to temporarily transform into a dragon."

"I see." Youluozi seemed to ponder for a moment before saying to Chen Ye, "You were able to master the Eight-Nine Arcane Technique because the Yellow Springs Sect possesses innate treasures, right?"

"It seems you are quite knowledgeable about the Eight-Nine Arcane Arts, sister. Indeed, I do possess a primordial treasure."

This kind of thing can't be hidden from those in the know, so Chen Ye could only continue to answer honestly.

Chen Ye thought Youluozi would press him about the ginseng fruit, but to his surprise, she sighed and said, "Alas, what a pity, if only you were a real dragon."

Before Chen Ye could ask for clarification, Youluozi continued, "However, a fake dragon will do. Do you want to know the true secret of this Guixu, and what exactly is suppressed beneath it? If you are willing to cooperate with me, we can split the treasures in Guixu three for seven."

Chen Ye refused, saying, "Sister, you jest. With this dragon's body, I control the entire Guixu. If we were truly searching for treasure, why would I need to share thirty percent with you?"

Youluozi smiled charmingly, then said, "What I meant was that you get 30%, because without my guidance, if you dared to approach the depths of Guixu, you would surely die. This information alone is enough for me to take 70%."

Chen Ye refused again, saying, "Then I won't go to the deepest part. There are countless treasures just in the outer area. Even if my Yellow Spring Sect spends a hundred years, I still can't move them all."

Youluozi wasn't in a hurry, but instead tempted him, saying, "That's because you don't know what treasures are hidden deep within this Ruins of Return. But even if I told you now, you wouldn't believe me, so just keep searching for treasures in this Ruins of Return. Sooner or later you'll agree to my conditions. When you want to find me, just find any conch shell. As long as you speak to the conch shell, I can hear you."

"Oh, since you've called me 'sister' so many times, I'll give you some news. The Soul Lord has come back to life, and he now wishes he could tear everyone in the Yellow Springs Sect to pieces. You'd better be careful and stay alive."

"Otherwise, I'll feel bad for you, sister."

Chen Ye had no choice but to frantically ring the bell in his mind again. These last few words really made his entire soul tremble, as if they were trying to imprint Youluozi's words into the depths of his soul.

This demon's seductive voice is too powerful. If Chen Ye's will were even slightly weak, he would probably be controlled by her. He really treats her like a close older sister.

After waiting for a while, when Youluozi's voice stopped, Chen Ye called Chenguang over and recounted his conversation with Youluozi.

"Sect Master, what Youluozi said is probably true. The information I got from my clansmen is similar; it was the disciples of the Mirage Sect who appeared first. As for whether the possession only targets the dead eggs, I can't be completely sure, but I just examined some eggs, and they are the same as what Youluozi said."

Since Chenguang said so, Youluozi was probably not lying.

But what exactly is this devil plotting?
Chen Ye didn't quite believe that Youluozi had a special fondness for the Mirage Demon and had come specifically to save it. Considering Youluozi's mention of the depths of the Ruins of Return, it was likely that this demon also wanted to use the Mirage Demon to search for treasure, which was why he had designs on Chen Ye's dragon body.

"In other words, the dragon bloodline is the key to finding the treasure. That's not surprising; I can control the formations of the Ruins of Return, so it's naturally the best way to find the treasure. But why did she say that I would surely die if I went near the depths of the Ruins of Return? Was it a threat or the truth?"

Chen Ye was helpless. There was too little information at the moment. He decided to go back and have Qu Heng perform a divination before making any decisions.

Now what needs to be done... Chen Ye turned to look at the mirage demons. How could he take these mirage demons away?
Chen Ye asked Chen Guang, "Are you planning to take all your people back, or will you place a protective barrier here to ensure they can live and multiply here?"

Chen Guang was somewhat troubled. If it weren't for the previous accident, she would definitely have chosen to let her people continue to multiply here.

As long as there are enough mirage demons, they can protect themselves and survive more safely in the Ruins of Return.

But since both the Mirage Sect and the Demonic Sect have their eyes on these mirage demons, leaving them here will definitely be dangerous.

Besides, many of those mirage eggs have already been possessed; who knows what these mirage demons will do once they grow up?
Migration is necessary, but there are several thousand mirages of all sizes in front of them, not even counting their eggs. How can such a huge group be migrated? The Yellow Springs Sect doesn't have that much space.

Chen Ye suggested, "It is indeed difficult to take them away in a short time, but I can now control the formation of Guixu. I can set up this Illusionary Light Hall and use the formation to protect these mirage demons. We can migrate them little by little later."

Chen Guang said gratefully, "Thank you, Sect Master."

Chen Guang joined the Yellow Springs Sect out of desperation, and he didn't really believe that Chen Ye would fulfill his promise.

Unexpectedly, only a few months later, Chen Ye not only took her back to his hometown, but also saved the Mirage Demon clan. Now he can even modify the formation of Guixu to protect the Mirage Demons.

Chenguang truly doesn't know how to repay this immense kindness.

I've been too lazy, always hiding in the City God's Pavilion to absorb the incense and prayers. I must go back and do my best. It's only right that I serve as a servant.

(End of this chapter)