The Speedrun Begins with Choosing Hunter

Thanks to his relationship with Elder Pei, Bai Yuan could move freely throughout the Dragon Tiger Sect. This made it much easier for him to search for the Divine Mansion hidden somewhere within its grounds.

Unfortunately, despite having explored the entire Dragon Tiger Sect, he still hadn't found a single clue.

The Dragon Tiger Sect had too many hidden depths. Even with Elder Pei watching his back, it was impossible to conduct a meticulous search of every nook and cranny. As a result, he was still completely clueless.

He glanced at the Little Daoist beside him.

"Xiaopei, are there any Great Demons in the Dragon Tiger Sect?"

The Little Daoist Child beside him rolled his eyes.

This Little Daoist Child was an orphan Elder Pei had adopted during his travels, which was why he shared the elder's surname. For the past few days, he had been constantly seeking out Bai Yuan to hear stories about the outside world.

The Dragon Tiger Sect had strict rules; one had to at least become a Green Robe Taoist to be qualified to leave the mountain.

Therefore, the Little Daoist had never seen the world beyond the mountain.

Hearing Bai Yuan's question, the Little Daoist Child showed no interest in answering.

'The Celestial Masters of the Dragon Tiger Sect hunt and kill Demons. Countless Great Demons have fallen at their hands. How could there possibly be a Demon at the Dragon Tiger Mountain stronghold, let alone a Great Demon?'

Bai Yuan persisted, "Think a little harder. I'll tell you the story of the Divine Eagle Hero."

The moment the Little Daoist Child heard Bai Yuan had a new story, he immediately perked up. He had been tagging along with Bai Yuan for some time now—not to monitor him, of course, as someone of his low ability was no match for a powerhouse like Bai Yuan. He was just in it for the stories.

He thought for a moment. "Well, there is a Great Demon imprisoned in the forbidden area on the rear mountain. Does that count?"

Bai Yuan's eyes lit up. "Yes, of course it counts!"

He had just obtained an extremely important piece of information from the Little Daoist Child.

According to the Raccoon Demon's account, that powerful human had assigned a Palace Guardian Beast to every Divine Hall.

'Since I can't find the Divine Hall, I'll change my approach and look for a Great Demon instead.'

Yet, with all his skills as a Demon Hunter, Bai Yuan hadn't found a single trace of any Demon on Dragon Tiger Mountain. The Little Daoist Child's words were a wake-up call.

Elder Pei had specifically warned him not to go to the forbidden area on the rear mountain, which was why he hadn't discovered any trace of the Demon.

'The Divine Mansion was most likely on the rear mountain!'

"Hey, you haven't told the story yet!"

The Little Daoist Child shouted as he watched Bai Yuan eagerly turn and run off.

Without looking back, Bai Yuan called out, "I'll tell you tomorrow!"

The Little Daoist Child could only pout and aimlessly kick a nearby stone dais before wandering off.

....

"You want to go to the forbidden area?"

Elder Pei was astonished to hear Bai Yuan's request.

Not even ordinary disciples of the Dragon Tiger Sect were qualified to enter the forbidden area on the rear mountain. Only the Grand Celestial Masters had that authority, and he was one of them.

However, that didn't mean he could bring anyone he pleased into the rear mountain.

Elder Pei didn't refuse outright. "I need a reason."

Bai Yuan said with a grave expression, "The Demon imprisoned in the Dragon Tiger Sect's forbidden area might be related to the Demon Seed."

A look of interest appeared on Elder Pei's face.

Although he had temporarily dismissed the idea that Bai Yuan himself was the Demon Seed, it didn't mean he had completely let his guard down regarding the matter.

The Demon Sect had existed for ten thousand years. A plan they had been preparing for so long couldn't possibly be some aimless, foolish endeavor.

Seeing Elder Pei's expression, Bai Yuan knew he had succeeded.

This was the Dragon Tiger Sect, a land of crouching tigers and hidden dragons. Leaving aside the two Grand Celestial Masters, there were several Masters of Bright Heart alone. It would be virtually impossible for him to sneak into the forbidden area.

If he were discovered, the consequences would be unthinkable.

Therefore, rather than taking such a huge risk, it was far better to have Elder Pei take him in openly. This would also prevent any future complications.

Besides, what he had said was essentially true.

According to Mr. Yuan, anyone who could cultivate the Divine Mansion Technique was a Demon Seed.

The three Divine Mansions must therefore be inextricably linked to the Demon Seed.

So, saying the Demon on the rear mountain was related to the Demon Seed was a perfectly logical conclusion.

Elder Pei was a man of swift action. After a moment's thought, he immediately turned. "I'll go discuss this with the Sect Leader."

Just fifteen minutes later, Elder Pei returned to the small courtyard.

'Success!'

Looking at Elder Pei's expression, Bai Yuan knew the old Daoist had taken care of it.

"Let's go."

Elder Pei said simply.

He immediately led Bai Yuan toward the rear mountain.

Along the way, they happened to run into the Little Daoist Child. When the boy saw Bai Yuan and his master heading toward the rear mountain, he was dumbfounded.

He never imagined that Bai Yuan was actually going to the rear mountain.

'He had just been humoring Bai Yuan before. Even though what he said was true, the rear mountain wasn't a place you could go just because you wanted to!'

'Even the True Disciples of the Dragon Tiger Sect couldn't enter, yet Bai Yuan, an outsider, was going in.'

'It was a real eye-opener.'

...

The rear mountain was actually just a small hill behind the main peak of Dragon Tiger Sect.

As they walked, Elder Pei explained the situation on the rear mountain.

Although it was called a forbidden area, it wasn't as mysterious as the legends made it out to be.

It was simply a place where, over the generations, Celestial Masters would imprison certain Demons. Whenever they came across a Demon with unusual abilities while out hunting, they would bring it back to the Dragon Tiger Sect to be locked up for future study.

And just how powerful was a Celestial Master?

Any Demon a Celestial Master deemed worthy of capture was at least a Tier Eight Great Demon.

Over time, the rear mountain became filled with powerful Demons. If ordinary disciples were to enter, they could easily be enthralled by these Great Demons and be led to do harm. That was why a Celestial Master from a past generation had designated it a forbidden area.

As for the tales about it hiding the secrets to immortality, those were nothing more than groundless rumors.

One of the old Celestial Masters had once tried to debunk the rumors, but it only whipped the public into a greater frenzy, even sparking a trend of would-be adventurers trying to explore it.

People just assumed the Dragon Tiger Sect was hoarding treasure and that their denials were a transparent attempt to cover it up.

So, from then on, the Dragon Tiger Sect gave up on trying to dispel the rumors.

Elder Pei led Bai Yuan along a rugged path on the rear mountain.

The forbidden area was just a small hill, not very large at all.

Calling it a "forbidden area" was a stretch; "prison" would have been more fitting.

The hill itself had been hollowed out to build a series of cells, where numerous Great Demons were imprisoned.

The ferocity of most of the imprisoned Great Demons had long since been worn away. They paid no mind to Elder Pei and Bai Yuan, even as they walked past.

"Have you found the Demon you're looking for?"

Elder Pei, walking ahead, asked calmly.

Bai Yuan surreptitiously activated his Divine Mansion Technique, carefully sensing each Demon as he tried to pinpoint the location of the Divine Mansion.

The two wandered through the rear mountain.

Bai Yuan would stop before each cell for a full fifteen minutes.

Before they knew it, night had fallen.

Elder Pei was remarkably patient. He showed no intention of rushing Bai Yuan, simply standing by and waiting.

Everyone has their own area of expertise.

Although his own power was unquestionably greater than Bai Yuan's, that didn't mean he was better suited for the task of finding the Demon Seed.

Back in Ling Province, he had discovered that even if Bai Yuan wasn't the Demon Seed himself, he likely had some sort of inexplicable connection to it.

The Daoist Family often referred to such connections as destiny.

'Perhaps Bai Yuan really could find the Demon Seed.'

The two soon arrived at a cave.

Elder Pei began his introduction as he had for the others. "This cave imprisons a Great Demon with a Qilin bloodline. It was sealed here personally by the first Celestial Master Zhang and has remained for ten thousand years."

Bai Yuan's eyes narrowed slightly.

The Divine Mansion Technique within him had finally stirred.

'The Divine Mansion might be hidden inside this very cave!'

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