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

Chapter 297 Complex Relationships within the Demonic Sect

Looking at the mess on the ground, Master Hansha couldn't help but think, "This is exactly the feeling!"

Squeezed and crushed, his Gu worms had experienced this countless times, but watching others being crushed felt quite good. In particular, Hu Chang and You Luo had the worst relationship and deep-seated hatred between them. Seeing Wu Jin's body being shattered, Han Sha Dao Ren suddenly felt that Chen Ye was truly "one of their own".

Han Sha Daoist quickly said to Chen Ye, "Sect Master Chen, this way please."

The Taoist priest walked up to the bronze door, knocked lightly a few times, and the tightly closed door slowly opened.

To Chen Ye's surprise, it wasn't a deep cave at all, but rather an underground palace.

Five-colored rays of light descended from the dome, reflecting on the jade-like ground like a rainbow. The palace walls were inlaid with countless rare gems, crimson like blood, emerald green like jade, and deep blue like the sea, as if a galaxy had been poured down.

The magnificent palace gave Chen Ye a sense of familiarity.

Isn't this the feeling that Guixu gives people? Although Guixu's decorations look more ancient, this style of palace seems to be related to ancient times.

As expected, the Demonic Sect could not have survived to this day solely through clandestine plundering.

They must have unearthed many valuable items from this ancient underground cave, which allowed the Demonic Sect to survive.

However, Chen Ye's dragon pearl is probably useless this time, as the layout and size of this palace are clearly not designed for dragons.

As Chen Ye continued forward, he tentatively asked, "Fellow Daoist Hansha, what is the origin of this palace? Could you tell me about it?"

Han Sha Daoist shook his head and said, "I can't say what its origin is. After all, when I learned about this palace, it had already been emptied out, leaving only those luxurious but useless things. It must have been found by our fellow Daoists who were forced into the underground a thousand years ago. Now, its only use is to allow the Venerable Lords to meet inside and discuss important matters."

That sounds true. Han Sha Dao Ren is only at the Tong Xuan Realm, at most four or five hundred years old. The palace was probably already emptied when he was born.

However, since this palace has become a meeting place for the Demonic Sect, its restrictions must have been mostly destroyed. Otherwise, the ancient cave dwelling would definitely be the best location for any sect, and no one would be willing to give it up.

As Chen Ye traveled along, he carefully observed the various details of the palace, trying to guess the identity of its original owner.

Guixu is clearly not a place for people to live in; both its passageways and courtyards are enormous.

The threshold and steps alone are made to resemble a city wall; this is clearly not meant for people to walk on, but for dragons to swim across.

The palace before him seemed to be made for people in every size, but Chen Ye couldn't discern anything from the intricately carved pillars and palace lanterns.

These things can only be described as exquisite and magnificent, like the hobbies of an emperor, which are somewhat incompatible with cultivating immortality.

Chen Ye had also visited the Incense Burning Sect and the Qinghe Sword Sect. No matter how grand these sects were, they were all in the style of cultivators. They didn't pay much attention to details, but rather to the overall atmosphere.

However, upon closer reflection, this kind of extravagance does bear some resemblance to Tianxin Island.

Back when I was at the Pearl and Treasure Pavilion, I felt that this sect loved luxury, and almost every detail was extremely ornate.

Chen Ye thought to himself, "If Tianxin Island knew that there was such a palace, they would probably send troops to attack it overnight."

Lost in thought, Chen Ye finally arrived at a grand hall.

In front of the hall was a huge plaza with a large cauldron in the center. Around it, spiritual energy transformed into countless runes. The billions of runes were constantly being created and destroyed, making the plaza appear ethereal and otherworldly, without any of the eeriness and terror of the demonic sect.

This was clearly some kind of formation. Chen Ye blinked, and his eyes turned golden. With his spiritual eyes, he could vaguely make out some clues. It seemed to be a formation used for sacrifices, mainly for gathering spiritual energy and also having an illusion-like effect, but it didn't have any offensive or defensive capabilities.

As Chen Ye and Han Sha Dao Ren walked halfway through the palace, they were met by a large, dark group of people, all of whom were demonic cultivators.

Chen Ye frowned immediately. Were these people never going to stop?

There were hundreds of people at a glance; this was no longer a show of force, but a direct show of force.

Just as they were about to unleash the Ruyi Divine Weapon to crush the group of demons, they saw the demons suddenly stop and bow to the two of them.

Hundreds of people shouted in unison, "Greetings, Flag Bearer!"

Chen Ye then realized that these were not people dismounting; they were all cultivators under Youluozi's command.

What an exaggerated number! Although their cultivation levels don't seem to be very high, there are still several hundred of them. That number is quite frightening.

It should be noted that the Qinghe Sword Sect, including its founder Zhang Qi and even those who have already perished, has less than a hundred members.

Chen Ye whispered to Han Sha Dao Ren, "When did I become the flag bearer? What flag do I command?"

Han Sha Daoist laughed and said, "I am the flag bearer. I am one of the four flag bearers under the Lord, and I am in charge of the Insect Calamity Flag. However, I have been lying low by the side of the Azure Dragon Lord and my identity has not been revealed. I will introduce the other three flag bearers to you later."

Chen Ye then asked curiously, "So what position do I hold?"

Han Sha Dao Ren said, "Well... it seems there is no suitable position for you under the Lord's command. But aren't you the Sect Master of the Yellow Springs Sect? There's no need for you to compete for a position with people like us who can't see the light of day, is there?"

Hansha Daoist hadn't heard Youluozi mention Chen Ye's status, but he figured it must be higher than his.

After all, Chen Ye was not only skilled, but also dominated the northern frontier and owned the entire Yellow Springs Sect. His power was comparable to that of the four flag bearers combined.

Chen Ye didn't really care about the title, but since he was going to pretend to be one of them later, he naturally wanted to learn more about it.

Continuing towards the main hall, Chen Ye inquired about a lot more information about Youluozi's side.

This Demonic Sect Master is mysterious and unpredictable. He has two close attendants and four flag bearers under his command, but none of them have ever seen Youluozi's true form.

Even the two who were called close attendants could only approach the cold pool where Youluozi was, but they had never gone into the water, let alone seen Youluozi himself. People in the world did not even dare to confirm whether Youluozi was actually in that cold pool.

All four flag bearers are at the Profound Realm, and the two attendants are at the Nascent Soul Realm. Although they may not be particularly strong in combat, they each have their own specialties and are quite famous figures in this underground demonic sect.

Han Sha Dao Ren was originally Qing Jiao Zun Zhu's man, but his identity was exposed this time, and he returned to You Luo Zi's forces, which made the other Zun Zhu nervous.

The Azure Dragon Lord had almost raised Han Sha Dao Ren as his illegitimate son, but it turned out he was You Luo Zi's man. How many of his own disciples were actually spies?
This is the power of the Demon Lord's legacy; you never know when you'll fall into his trap.

This conference, ostensibly to discuss how to counterattack the righteous path, was actually a test of Youluozi's abilities to see if he could force out more spies.

Han Sha Dao Ren warned, "Sect Leader Chen, you must be prepared. In a moment, you will become the target of everyone's attacks. All the Venerable Lords will want to use you as an excuse to force our Venerable Lord to step down."

(End of this chapter)