The Demon with Holy Radiance

Yang An had actually arrived some time ago; he had just been observing his surroundings. They were not far from Great Virtue Temple now, and the closer they got, the more cautious he needed to be.

His arrival immediately drew the attention of the group. The cultivators all stood up, their faces full of caution, and only lowered their guard after Yang An produced the Profound Jade Curse Seal to prove his identity.

"Welcome, Elder."

He looked at the group of several dozen people before him. This was the entire fighting force now under his command. There were only a few Zombie Gods among them, all at the State Lord level, who were responsible for commanding the far more numerous Corpse Transformations.

Yang An wasn’t particularly impressed with this fighting force. After all, from his perspective, even Zombie Gods were little more than ants now. ’But I’m an exception,’ he reminded himself. The Golden Thread Pavilion never had many who followed the Insect Dao to begin with; their ranks were mostly filled with Zombie Gods and Corpse Transformations. He had just progressed so quickly that he’d unconsciously developed an inflated sense of self-importance.

In reality, no matter where one went, a Zombie God was already a top-tier powerhouse among the majority of cultivators.

As for Yang An, their newly appointed elder, the cultivators showed no signs of rejection. To them, it made no difference who was in charge. Their job was to fight the Great Virtue Temple, so it was perfectly normal for a new elder to arrive after the last one died.

There were no signs of enemy auras or movements in the vicinity for now, so Yang An accepted the cultivators’ welcome and sat down by the campfire.

From the black smoke drifting overhead, several stark-naked, stunningly beautiful figures suddenly swarmed toward him. Their expressions were seductive, as if they had just spotted an irresistible delicacy.

"Scram! All of you, get lost! Or I’ll devour you!"

Just then, imperceptible to the other cultivators, the Bow Lady’s voice emanated from the Moon Talisman around Yang An’s neck. It was thick with a baleful aura, and it instantly scared the approaching beauties so badly that they turned pale. As if they had seen a ghost, they all spun around and hid back in the black smoke, not daring to emerge again.

The cultivators witnessed this, puzzled. ’Why did those beauties look at Yang An like they’d seen something terrifying?’

But they didn’t dare comment on it. They all assumed it was due to the Elder’s own intimidating presence; he certainly didn’t look like an easy person to get along with.

"How did the previous elder die?"

Yang An asked the question that concerned him most. On any battlefront, the death of an External Affairs Elder usually meant a powerful, hard-to-handle enemy had made a move.

The few Zombie Gods under his command, who were in charge of the Corpse Transformations, quickly explained.

"Someone from Great Virtue Temple who follows the Insect Dao made a move. They were active in the area our front covers, and the previous elder was unfortunately caught in it and died. We couldn’t get there in time to help."

’An Insect Dao practitioner? So, a Bodhisattva from Great Virtue Temple. I wonder which one it was?’

Yang An pondered this. He knew a little about Great Virtue Temple, but his knowledge was limited to those below the Insect Dao realm. He had never met many of their Bodhisattvas.

"Then who’s our superior in charge of this region?"

Yang An asked.

He had come straight here after being dispatched by Thirty Flow and hadn’t yet figured out the local chain of command.

’Thirty Flow must know what happened between me and Zhuan Yu,’ he thought, ’so it’s unlikely they’d deliberately place me under his command.’

"Elder Wen Zhao."

one of his subordinates replied.

’Great.’ Yang An’s face fell. ’So I dodged Zhuan Yu only to land under Wen Zhao.’

He had seen the look in that old bastard Wen Zhao’s eyes earlier. ’There’s no way he isn’t going to pull some dirty tricks,’ Yang An thought.

He could already foresee a lot of trouble ahead for his squad.

Still, Yang An wasn’t too bothered. No matter how outrageous Wen Zhao got, Great Virtue Temple hadn’t yet fielded anyone at the Immortal Platform realm, so Wen Zhao couldn’t possibly order him to go fight one.

If he was ordered to kill someone of the Insect Dao, then he would do just that. As long as Wen Zhao had more tricks up his sleeve, Yang An was ready to take on whatever came his way.

As expected, it wasn’t long before a Zombie God came rushing over.

"We’ve received an order from Elder Wen Zhao! Our squad is to regroup immediately and advance to the next sector. We are required to take Dragonfly Bamboo Peak by nightfall."

The moment they heard the name "Dragonfly Bamboo Peak," the expressions of Yang An’s subordinates changed. The messenger who delivered the order didn’t look happy either.

Dragonfly Bamboo Peak wasn’t far, but it was the very place the previous elder had perished. In other words, it was an area frequented by the Great Virtue Temple’s Insect Dao practitioner. Sending them to Dragonfly Bamboo Peak—and ordering them to take it before nightfall, no less—was tantamount to sending them to their deaths.

"Is this mission just for us?"

Yang An had expected that old bastard Wen Zhao to cause trouble, but he hadn’t thought it would be this fast. The order had arrived right on his heels.

"Not exactly. Three other squads have also been tasked with advancing the front line, just like us. It’s just that our mission is significantly more difficult."

’So there are other unlucky bastards involved.’ Yang An thought with a cold smile. ’Looks like that guy Wen Zhao knows not to make it too obvious.’ Seeing the utterly devastated looks on his subordinates’ faces, he stood up.

"Don’t be afraid. It’s just a matter of pushing the front line. How about we make a deal?"

The cultivators were in the depths of despair when they heard Yang An suddenly mention a deal, and they looked at him with suspicion.

’In a situation like this, what trick is this new elder trying to pull?’

"You all just focus on advancing and completing the mission. I will guarantee your safety. In exchange, after we take Dragonfly Bamboo Peak, you will all give me a copy of the Cultivation Techniques, Techniques, and Body Refining Techniques you have learned. Is that a fair trade?"

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