Great Li Martial God

Just as the assembled demonic experts from the three sects were deep in their discussion, a sudden call cut through the conversation, "The Cult Master has arrived."

At those words, every expert from the three great demonic sects looked up. A bloody gust of wind came racing in, and in the blink of an eye a white-haired elder with a ruddy complexion and magnificent robes touched down on the stone seat at the center of the underground space.

At the sight, the experts of the Blood River Demonic Sect immediately dropped to one knee and called out in unison, "We pay our respects to the Blood River Patriarch."

The other two sects' experts also bowed their greetings. No member of the demonic world would dare show disrespect to any of the three cult masters.

"Rise."

The Blood River Patriarch's eyes carried a hidden crimson light. He swept a glance over the assembled demonic experts in the underground space, then stroked his beard, "I am the first to arrive it seems. When will the other two cult masters be coming?"

At those words, the experts of the Sun and Moon Demonic Cult and the Ten Thousand Malice Demonic Sect exchanged a glance.

The enforcer who had spoken before was about to respond when a wailing sound, somewhere between near and far, like the cry of a vengeful spirit, drifted in.

When the sound faded, the Ten Thousand Malice Demonic Sect's Sect Master had already appeared on the stone seat beside the Blood River Patriarch.

The Blood River Patriarch turned to look at him, and narrowed his eyes, "Old ghost, it has been many years. Your Ten Thousand Malice Heavenly Demon Art has indeed broken through to the tenth layer."

The Ten Thousand Malice Demonic Sect Master slowly turned his head toward the Blood River Patriarch, and a drifting, unanchored voice came from beneath the hood, "You are not bad yourself. The Heart-Devouring Blood Fiend within you cannot be compared to when we last met."

At those words, the Blood River Patriarch stroked his beard and let out several hearty laughs, the crimson light in his eyes flickering. His gaze drifted to the other stone seat nearby, which remained empty.

"The host of this gathering and still the last to arrive. Quite an entrance."

The smile on the Blood River Patriarch's face gradually faded, and as his words fell, the sound of violent coughing suddenly rose from the tunnel outside the underground space.

Every demonic expert turned to look. A white-robed elderly woman with a stooped figure, leaning on a dragon-head walking staff, was making her way slowly toward the central stone seat one step at a time.

"We pay our respects to the Cult Master. May the Cult Master enjoy everlasting blessings and live as long as heaven itself."

The Sun and Moon Demonic Cult's experts dropped to their knees as one, calling out in a chorus of reverent salutation.

The elderly woman in white robes, embroidered front and back with the sun, moon, and heavens, gave a gentle wave of her hand, then continued walking slowly forward. She looked toward the two cult masters on their stone seats and said, "Please forgive me, both of you. This old one suffered severe injuries last night and found moving difficult, which is why I could not help but arrive so late."

At those words, the Blood River Patriarch and the Ten Thousand Malice Demonic Sect Master both furrowed their brows and exchanged an almost imperceptible look.

The crimson light in the Blood River Patriarch's eyes flared immediately. He studied the approaching elderly woman in white carefully, then rose from his seat, "Sun and Moon Demonic Empress, you are injured? What happened? Who could possibly have done this to you?"

The elderly woman in white shook her head gently, and under the gaze of the assembled demonic experts, made her way slowly to the stone seat beside the Blood River Patriarch and sat down.

As Cult Master of the Sun and Moon Demonic Cult, the elderly woman's face was deeply lined and her complexion pale, and she looked somewhat weakened.

She then propped herself on the dragon-head staff with withered hands and looked at the two cult masters beside her, "Both of you should have heard the news coming from the Great Xuan imperial palace today."

At those words, the Ten Thousand Malice Demonic Sect Master's hooded face tilted slightly upward, "You mean the death of the Great Xuan emperor?"

The elderly woman in white gave a slow nod, then sighed, "In truth, this old one happened to be present when the Great Xuan emperor was killed, and witnessed it with her own eyes."

At those words, the Blood River Patriarch, the Ten Thousand Malice Demonic Sect Master, and the assembled demonic experts all showed expressions of startled disbelief.

"The emperor was killed? How is that possible?"

"The Great Xuan imperial palace is heavily guarded, with countless experts and mechanisms, its defenses without equal. Who could have gotten inside and killed the emperor?"

The elders and enforcers of the various sects all cried out in surprise. When they had first heard of the Great Xuan emperor's death, the official word from the palace had been that he had died of illness.

Though the Great Xuan emperor dying so suddenly with Taixuan City under lockdown was admittedly a touch abrupt, the emperor was advanced in years, and death by illness was not impossible. It had not aroused much suspicion.

But now they were hearing from the Sun and Moon Demonic Empress's own mouth that the Great Xuan emperor had been killed. It was plainly difficult to believe.

And the questions the assembled demonic experts had were equally the questions of the two cult masters, who both fixed their eyes on the Sun and Moon Demonic Empress in clear expectation of an explanation.

The elderly woman in white was silent for a brief moment, the expression on her face gradually becoming grave. She shook her head, "You may not yet know that yesterday, an expert of extraordinary martial power arrived in this imperial capital of Taixuan City."

"An expert?"

Both cult masters' expressions shifted, a look of startled uncertainty rising in their eyes. The elderly woman in white continued, "You should have some prior knowledge of this: this old one had a certain connection with the Great Xuan emperor, and it is because of this that the Sun and Moon Demonic Cult has been able to establish itself in Taixuan City without being suppressed by the court."

At those words, both cult masters and the assembled demonic experts gave slight nods.

That the Sun and Moon Demonic Cult had set up its headquarters in Taixuan City was partly a matter of sheer audacity, but the other two demonic sects had investigated the matter before. They had found that beyond that boldness, the Sun and Moon Demonic Empress had a certain undisclosed relationship with the Great Xuan emperor, and this was one of the important reasons the Sun and Moon Demonic Cult had been tolerated within the imperial capital.

"Because of the court's recent actions against the demonic world, this old one decided last night to take the risk of slipping into the palace, hoping to speak with the Great Xuan emperor and persuade him to order the lockdown on Taixuan City lifted."

The elderly woman's clouded eyes grew dark and unreadable, and she let out a quiet sigh, "But what this old one could not have anticipated was that last night, a young expert broke into the Great Xuan imperial palace. This person's martial cultivation is unfathomably deep. Not only did he force his way through all nine levels of the Mystic Mechanism Palace and drive back countless powerful palace experts, but he even conspired with the Crown Prince in a plot to seize the Great Xuan throne. This old one happened to be seeking an audience with the emperor at the time, and witnessed this person kill the Great Xuan emperor with her own eyes."

"This old one attempted to intervene but was no match for him. After being severely wounded, this old one only barely managed to escape."

As she said this, the elderly woman in white suddenly raised a hand to cover her mouth as a violent bout of coughing overtook her.

The Blood River Patriarch and the Ten Thousand Malice Demonic Sect Master each caught a glimpse from the side of streaks of vivid red blood being coughed up.

Both furrowed their brows immediately. Internal organ damage was something almost unthinkable for someone at their level of cultivation.

This made it clear that the Sun and Moon Demonic Empress was genuinely severely injured.

And if what she had just said was true, then whoever had wounded her must possess martial cultivation that was extraordinarily formidable, likely exceeding even the two of them.

"Do you know that person's identity? Where did the Great Xuan Crown Prince find an expert like that?"

The Blood River Patriarch's eyes shifted slightly as he looked at the elderly woman in white and asked.

The other demonic experts all looked over as well, clearly both shocked and curious.

The elderly woman in white covered her mouth and nose, then swept a slow look over everyone in the underground space, "For the Crown Prince to have engaged an expert of that caliber, he would naturally have had to pay a tremendous price. And one part of that price was the Demonic Cores held by our three sects."

At those words, every demonic expert present, including the Blood River Patriarch and the Ten Thousand Malice Demonic Sect Master, changed expression sharply.

"Absurd. The Demonic Cores were left by the Demonic Patriarch to us three sects of the demonic world. Does a mere Crown Prince dare reach for them?"

"Besides, all nine Demonic Cores are currently in our three sects' hands. What capability does he have to take them from us?"

The demonic experts from all three sects erupted in outrage. The most important purpose of this gathering had been to collect all nine Demonic Cores and unlock the demonic arts and legacy the Demonic Patriarch had left behind. The idea of the Great Xuan Crown Prince coveting the Demonic Cores from their hands was something none of them could accept.

At this, the Blood River Patriarch and the Ten Thousand Malice Demonic Sect Master exchanged a look, then addressed the elderly woman in white, "Old man here has three Demonic Cores, and old ghost has two. Together with the four Demonic Empress holds, that is exactly nine."

"Time is short and delay only breeds trouble. Why not gather everyone's Demonic Cores together right now and open the Demonic Patriarch's legacy immediately?"

At those words, the elderly woman in white looked at the two of them, but shook her head, "The Sun and Moon Demonic Cult did indeed find four Demonic Cores, but unfortunately one of them was stolen away halfway during the journey back to Taixuan City."

"So this old one currently holds only three."

At those words, the Blood River Patriarch's brow creased, and he fixed the elderly woman in white with a narrowed stare, "You are telling me that the nine Demonic Cores we worked so hard to gather are still one short?"

The elderly woman in white gave a nod, then flicked a finger. The dragon head of her staff flipped open, and three Demonic Cores flew out and landed in her palm.

"There is no reason for this old one to deceive you. All nine Demonic Cores are needed and nothing less will do. Keeping that one core serves no purpose."

The elderly woman in white displayed the Demonic Cores in her hand for the Blood River Patriarch and the Ten Thousand Malice Demonic Sect Master to inspect. At the same time, one of the Sun and Moon Demonic Cult's high-ranking enforcers also spoke up, "Everything the Cult Master has said is true. This matter was reported back to us by agents in the field. The Demonic Core was lost at Gaofu City on Great Xuan's border."

"Though the cult spared no effort to recover it afterward, there have unfortunately been no leads to this day."

Both the Blood River Patriarch and the Ten Thousand Malice Demonic Sect Master studied the Demonic Cores in the elderly woman's hand for a time. The Ten Thousand Malice Demonic Sect Master's expression was impossible to read beneath the hood, and only a drifting voice came from within, "Demonic Empress, you are severely wounded. To avoid any risk of losing the Demonic Cores, it would be safer to leave them in the keeping of old man and myself for the time being."

At those words, the crimson light in the Blood River Patriarch's eyes flickered, and he gave a nod, "Old ghost is right. If the three Demonic Cores in the Demonic Empress's hands were also to go missing, even if we found the remaining one, gathering all nine again would be anyone's guess as to when."

At those words, the Sun and Moon Demonic Cult's experts immediately darkened in expression. Every one of them circulated their demonic arts and came to alert.

The elderly woman in white said nothing, only slowly returned the Demonic Cores one by one into the dragon-head staff, and let out a cold laugh, "Let us not speak again of things that break the covenant between the three sects. Though this old one is injured, she is not entirely without the ability to fight back. Forcing a situation where everyone loses and both sides suffer, what would be the point of that?"

The Blood River Patriarch and the Ten Thousand Malice Demonic Sect Master fell silent, fixing their gaze on the elderly woman in white for quite some time before ultimately doing nothing.

In their estimation, although the Sun and Moon Demonic Empress was displaying signs of severe injury, they could not be completely certain of the actual extent. And that she had dared to appear before them while injured suggested she might have come prepared. Moving against her recklessly was not wise.

"Demonic Empress has misunderstood. Old man and old ghost only meant well. The most pressing matter for us right now is to recover the missing Demonic Core."

The Blood River Patriarch broke the tension with a word, then asked, "Since the Demonic Core was lost while in the Sun and Moon Demonic Cult's possession, do you have any means of recovering it? If there is anything where the two of us can help, say the word and we will spare no effort."

At those words, the Ten Thousand Malice Demonic Sect Master also gave a slight nod. The elderly woman in white said nothing, only glanced at the enforcer who had spoken before.

Seeing this, the enforcer immediately understood his Cult Master's meaning and spoke up, "We have not yet found the Demonic Core, but a senior elder of the cult has used a divination method to calculate that the missing Demonic Core is currently somewhere within Taixuan City."

"As long as we search the city, there is a strong possibility of recovering it."

At those words, the demonic experts from the Blood River Demonic Sect and the Ten Thousand Malice Demonic Sect all showed expressions of skepticism.

"A divination method? Can something like that actually be trusted?"

One of the demonic experts questioned this aloud, and the Sun and Moon Demonic Cult enforcer gave a firm and confident nod, "The four Demonic Cores we found previously were all located through divination by the cult's senior elders. There is no reason to doubt it."

At those words, the Blood River Patriarch's expression became thoughtful, and he furrowed his brow, "If the Demonic Core is confirmed to be somewhere in the city, then having all three sects work together to find it should present no problem. But..."

As he said this, the Blood River Patriarch looked at the elderly woman in white, "You said just now that the Great Xuan Crown Prince used the Demonic Cores from our three sects as part of the price for bringing in that expert to kill the Great Xuan emperor."

"Now there are people watching for the Demonic Cores beyond just our three sects of the demonic world. Even we ourselves may come under the court's surveillance. We cannot afford not to guard against that."

The elderly woman in white waved a hand, "The Great Xuan Crown Prince has just killed the emperor and is far from secure on the throne. He has neither the inclination nor the means to move against our three demonic sects in the short term. He poses no real threat for now."

"The only one we truly need to worry about is the expert who killed the Great Xuan emperor. He is the one who is genuinely interested in the Demonic Cores."

As she said this, the elderly woman in white's expression became extremely grave, "Whether you believe it or not, this old one feels obliged to warn you. This person is not only extraordinarily powerful in martial cultivation, but also very young."

"After escaping from him, this old one looked into his identity. And I found that he closely resembles someone."

At those words, both the Blood River Patriarch and the Ten Thousand Malice Demonic Sect Master stirred, "Who?"

The elderly woman in white narrowed her eyes, "The Eighth Prince of Great Li."

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