The Demon Lord of All Forms

The burly man shook his head and lowered his voice: "This kid was able to trade a scroll of profound martial arts with me for the Dragon Fang Token. No matter where he got it from, his background must be extraordinary. Right now, Teng'er and the others' cultivation is the priority. There's no need to create unnecessary trouble."

Although the gaunt man still found it hard to accept, the prestige of the burly man over the years prevented him from arguing. He simply sighed heavily, turned around, and made a gesture in several directions in the darkness.

The big man breathed a sigh of relief and rubbed his tense face. He didn't tell his brothers that he had actually heard of the "Heart Sutra of Earthly Fire Prison" that Gu Changyuan had given him. It was a demonic art of the Nine Nether Sect, which was one of the top demonic sects among the Ten Directions of Demonic Path.

If Gu Changyuan has any connection with the Nine Nether Sect, or even more frighteningly, if Gu Changyuan himself is a spy sent by the Nine Nether Sect to infiltrate the Yellow Heaven Sect, then once they take action, they are very likely to disrupt a plan that they have no idea exists. These people cannot afford to offend the Nine Nether Sect, and Da Han dares not participate in the covert struggle between these two major sects. He only wants to raise the children of his brothers in peace and let them become the true disciples of the Yellow Heaven Sect and bring glory to their ancestors.

In the pitch-black street, Gu Changyuan toyed with the Dragon Fang Token in his hand, glanced back at the empty street behind him, there were no pursuers, no ambushes, not even a single prying gaze, and smiled.

"They didn't make a move? That's disappointing."

After putting the token into his storage bag, Gu Changyuan quickened his pace and disappeared at the end of the alley.

Gu Changyuan's residence is located in the west of Longya City. It is an impressive courtyard with three courtyards and three entrances, featuring blue bricks and gray tiles, flying eaves and upturned corners. Two old locust trees are planted in front of the gate, their lush branches and leaves covering most of the street.

This mansion was won by Gu Changyuan two months ago. The original owner was a wealthy merchant from Longya City who relied on his cultivation to bully the villagers. He insisted on competing with Gu Changyuan, but lost and then tried to renege on his debt and refused to move out. Gu Changyuan was not angry and buried the wealthy merchant under a big tree in the center of the mansion. From then on, the two of them lived together in this mansion, one upstairs and the other downstairs, and they got along very well.

Gu Changyuan walked into the courtyard, closed the gate behind him, and sat on the stone bench in the courtyard without lighting any lamps. He then took out the Dragon Fang Token again and looked at it by the moonlight.

Dragon Fang, Phoenix Feather, Tiger Eyes, and Tortoise Shell—these are the four giant cities under the Yellow Heaven Sect. Each one houses the relatives and servants of many disciples of the Yellow Heaven Sect. These people multiplied and thrived generation after generation, gradually building four giant cities with populations of hundreds of thousands.

The Yellow Heaven Sect opens its gates every ten years, and most of its disciples are selected from these four great cities.

The Huangtian Sect's disciple-acceptance ceremony is called the "Ascension to Heaven Assembly," held every ten years and lasting for a month each time. In addition to the Huangtian Palace of the sect leader's lineage, there are four main palaces: Azure Dragon, White Tiger, Vermilion Bird, and Black Tortoise. Three years before the Ascension to Heaven Assembly, each main palace will place one hundred tokens in each of the four giant cities. Only those who obtain the tokens are qualified to step onto the Huangtian Divine Mountain to undergo the entry trial. Those who succeed can become outer disciples of the Huangtian Sect and then advance through the ranks, from outer disciple to inner disciple, and from inner disciple to true disciple.

Two months ago, Gu Changyuan infiltrated Dragon Fang City and spent half a month figuring out the distribution of power in the city before finally finding the group of big men.

The big man's name was Yue Shan. He was a local bully in Longya City. It was said that he had gotten close to an outer elder of the Huangtian Sect. Every time they ascended to heaven, they could get a few tokens through that elder's connections and then sell them at high prices to rich young men who wanted to join the Huangtian Sect but couldn't get the tokens.

Gu Changyuan approached Yue Shan for a trade, offering a scroll of profound martial arts in exchange for a Dragon Fang Token. Yue Shan was stunned for a long time before finally agreeing after confirming that Gu Changyuan was not joking.

The "Heart Sutra of Earthly Fire" was completely disregarded by the Nine Nether Sect. It was a profound-level cultivation technique, and the Nine Nether Sect had hundreds of such techniques, which were just piled up in a corner of the Scripture Pavilion, gathering dust.

As Su Qinghe's cultivation level increased over the years, the demonic path alone could no longer satisfy him. Therefore, Su Qinghe turned his attention to the unorthodox path. Compared to the distant orthodox path, the unorthodox path was located in Cangzhou, which was the closest to him. Moreover, the four giant cities of the Yellow Heaven Sect were the easiest to infiltrate. So Su Qinghe chose the Yellow Heaven Sect.

Half a month passed in the blink of an eye.

The day before the Ascension Tournament began, the atmosphere in Dragon Tooth City suddenly became tense. Many unfamiliar faces appeared on the streets: some were candidates holding tokens, some were elders escorting the candidates, and some were wandering cultivators who came to watch the excitement. The inns were full, the taverns were bustling with noise, and even the usually quiet market was lively, with shouts of various magical artifacts, pills, and talismans rising and falling.

The next morning, before dawn, Gu Changyuan went out, changed into a clean blue robe, tied his hair up with a wooden hairpin, hung a storage bag at his waist, and held the Dragon Fang Token in his hand.

The streets were already crowded with people, walking in twos and threes toward the same direction. The high platform outside the north gate of Dragon Tooth City was the gathering point for the Ascension Society. All the candidates holding the tokens would board the spirit boat of the Yellow Heaven Sect there and be sent to the Yellow Heaven Divine Mountain.

Gu Changyuan walked calmly through the crowd. The open space outside the North Gate was already filled with people, numbering two or three hundred at a glance. The vast majority of them were middle-aged or even elderly, while there were only eighty or ninety young men and women holding tokens.

In the center of the open space stood a three-zhang-high stone platform. On the platform stood three cultivators dressed in white Daoist robes, two men and one woman. They were young but had a calm demeanor, and their bodies were surrounded by a faint spiritual light, indicating that they were at the Dao Embryo Realm. One of the middle-aged male cultivators stepped forward, his gaze sweeping over the crowd below the platform, and his voice booming: "All those who hold the Dragon Fang Token, come up to the platform and board the boat. The token is your proof of entry. If you lose it, you will not be able to enter. Keep it safe."

The crowd began to surge, and Gu Changyuan followed the flow of people onto the stone platform. In the center of the platform was a light screen with flowing spiritual light. As soon as Gu Changyuan approached the light screen, it lit up automatically. The Dragon Fang Token in his hand emitted a warm spiritual light, which resonated with the spiritual energy in the light screen, and then he passed through.

On the other side of the light screen was an empty platform, where a huge spirit boat was already moored. The boat was entirely silver-white and over a hundred feet long. A white crane with outstretched wings was carved on the bow, and two fist-sized gems were embedded in the crane's eyes, shining brightly in the morning light.

Gu Changyuan boarded the spirit boat, found a corner to sit down, and closed his eyes to rest.

A moment later, the spirit boat started moving. Although its speed was far slower than Li Qinghe's flesh and blood ship, it was still quite good. The figures on the river below seemed to recede like streaks of light. In just a quarter of an hour, the spirit boat arrived at its destination.

The formation was activated, and the group descended amidst urging. What came into view was a giant mountain.