Chapter 488: Chapter 148: Cyan Lotus Mountain

Two days later.

Land of the South Demon.

At the foot of a desolate mountain.

Shi Shuhong looked up at the towering mountain reaching into the clouds, his expression complicated.

"Cyan Lotus Mountain... I didn’t expect to come here again."

Uncontrollably, the tall and beautiful yet nightmarish figure appeared in his mind once more.

The fight between the Three Great Sects and the Cyan Lotus Sect had lasted for hundreds of years, with neither side achieving victory.

It wasn’t because the Three Great Sects were weaker than the Cyan Lotus Sect, but because they each harbored ulterior motives, restraining each other.

However, the emergence of the peerless genius Xia Qinglian forced the Three Great Sects to set aside their distrust and selfishness, and they were compelled to unite.

For the first time in hundreds of years, they worked together, their experts launching a full-on attack, using many despicable means akin to the Demon Sect, finally annihilating the Cyan Lotus Sect.

Ironically, without such a strong enemy as Xia Qinglian, the Three Great Sects wouldn’t have been so united, and the Cyan Lotus Sect wouldn’t have been annihilated.

So in a way, Xia Qinglian was too strong and ended up harming the Cyan Lotus Sect.

Shi Shuhong shook his head and chuckled, "Anyway, I’ll soon advance to Divinity Transformation and eradicate my Heart Demon."

In the battle of Celestial Ridge Mountain, Shi Shuhong, along with the elders of the Three Great Sects, besieged Xia Qinglian, but almost got killed by her in a single encounter.

Since then, that tall half-red half-white figure had become his Heart Demon.

Even the now-ruined Cyan Lotus Mountain, he dared not easily set foot on.

Now, he could finally overcome his Heart Demon and make his way back to Cyan Lotus Mountain.

"Innate Top-grade Spirit Root, wait for me."

Shi Shuhong took a deep breath, lifted his foot, and took the first step up the mountain.

At this moment, he finally stepped onto Cyan Lotus Mountain once again.

"Hehe, Xia Qinglian, you can no longer disturb my Tao Heart!"

"Shi Shuhong, weren’t you headed to West Imperial City? Why are you here?"

A familiar voice suddenly came from behind, and Shi Shuhong turned around, his expression turning cold:

"Wei Shouyuan, how dare you descend the mountain without the Sect Leader’s permission?!"

Wei Shouyuan laughed loudly: "Shi Shuhong, at this point, stop pretending. You’re here for the Innate Top-grade Spirit Root too, aren’t you? If I obtain the Innate Spiritual Qi and advance to Divinity Transformation, would I still care about a mere Tantai Mingyue?"

Shi Shuhong displayed a righteous fury: "Wei Shouyuan, how dare you disrespect the Deputy Sect Leader! If the Sect Leader emerges, would you still dare be so presumptuous?!"

"Hahaha, Shi Shuhong, you’re too hypocritical. We both know that if I advance to Divinity Transformation, even if Chen Qingmo recovers and emerges, the position of Sect Leader would still be mine!"

The righteousness on Shi Shuhong’s face disappeared, and a cold fierceness appeared in his eyes:

"Junior Brother Wei, are you really going to compete with me?"

Wei Shouyuan sneered, "Senior Brother Shi, what are you saying? The capable should come first. Why don’t we compete to see who finds Tang first? The Top-grade Spirit Root will go to whoever finds her first."

"Alright!"

Before Shi Shuhong’s words were finished, his figure suddenly disappeared, already rushing up Cyan Lotus Mountain!

"Shi Shuhong! You’re still so despicable!"

Wei Shouyuan was furious, transforming into a stream of light, quickly pursuing up Cyan Lotus Mountain.

Their destination was clear; they chased each other straight toward the back of Cyan Lotus Mountain.

According to He Zhiqiu, his mistress named "Tang" lived in the lotus pond at the back of the mountain.

The two quickly ran along, only to see a forest of white bones everywhere, transforming the picturesque Cyan Lotus Mountain into a ghostly and eerie place.

Back then, Chen Qingmo lured away Xia Qinglian and her master, leaving Cyan Lotus Mountain without its two top masters, allowing the Three Great Sects to exploit the opportunity.

This was followed by a massacre.

The Cyan Lotus Sect’s thousands of disciples, along with servants, cooks, servants, and children without cultivation, were all slaughtered!

In that battle, corpses littered the ground, and blood dyed the entire Cyan Lotus Mountain red.

Shi Shuhong and Wei Shouyuan also participated in this massacre, fearlessly charging forward with unmatched bravery.

At that time, there was no one on Cyan Lotus Mountain who could stand against them; it was a great opportunity to gain merit, one they naturally wouldn’t miss.

They killed hundreds of Cyan Lotus disciples between them, many of whom were powerless women, children, the elderly, and the young.

They were villagers living nearby; because the Cyan Lotus Sect disciples frequently came down the mountain to help them with medical treatment, deliveries, and killing demonic beasts, they regarded the Cyan Lotus Sect as bodhisattvas and gods, often coming up the mountain to thank the Immortals.

These villagers weren’t cultivators and had never left the vicinity of Cyan Lotus Mountain, so naturally, they didn’t know the Cyan Lotus Sect was called the Demon Sect.

That day, as usual, they brought eggs, wheat cakes, and rice up the mountain, thanking the Immortals for their regular support of the village.

These ordinary villagers were also killed by the Three Great Sects as accomplices of the Demon Sect.

Shi Shuhong killed more than a dozen villagers, including a pregnant woman, while Wei Shouyuan killed even more, as many as several dozen, including children only seven or eight years old.

These innocent lives were all accounted as their merits, fighting to the death against the Demon Sect to protect the common people of the world.

And the lofty Nascent Soul Great Cultivators naturally wouldn’t care about the lives of a mere few dozen ordinary people.

To them, the path of cultivation was inherently paved with white bones and blood; how could there be innocents?

At this moment, the two flew by, their feet treading over patches of sinister white bones, yet they had no effect on their Tao Hearts.

Now their hearts were filled only with the Innate Top-grade Spirit Root!

The two ran with all their might, lightning fast, quickly reaching the mountaintop of Cyan Lotus Mountain, and couldn’t help but stop simultaneously.

It was a vast and lush grassland, with rows of houses built close together, all white bricks and green tiles, not as luxurious as the pavilions and towers of Zhenyang Mountain, but exuding a strong sense of life.

At the time, when the people of the Three Great Sects arrived here, they were all surprised.

In the imagination of these Righteous Path disciples, the core of the Demon Sect would surely be sinister and terrifying, shrouded in dark clouds.

But contrary to their expectations, it was no different from a regular residential area.

Shi Shuhong and Wei Shouyuan remembered seeing ordinary clothes hung out to dry among these utterly normal houses, and even food items like cured meat and sausages.

Women squatted by a small river washing clothes, their laughter and cheerful conversation filled the air, completely unaware that their husbands had been killed at the foot of the mountain.

Then followed another massacre, and Shi Shuhong learned from the interrogation of some women before their deaths that the so-called core of the Demon Sect was actually where the disciples’ families of the Cyan Lotus Sect lived.

The Sect Leader of the Cyan Lotus Sect and Saintess Xia Qinglian also resided there.

The Cyan Lotus Sect, unlike the Three Great Sects, had no strict hierarchy; the Sect Leader and Saintess lived no differently than the ordinary disciples.

Later, among those ordinary residences, they found many children, descendants of the Cyan Lotus Sect disciples.

They were naturally the future of the Demon Sect and could not be left alive.

Shi Shuhong arrived at the charred remains of a blackened wall, remembering that the children were dealt with here.

Suddenly, there was a slight sound of something cutting through the air behind him.

Shi Shuhong was furious, turning to block a streak of green Sword Qi, only to see Wei Shouyuan, who had just ambushed him, swiftly darting toward the direction of the back mountain.

"Wei Shouyuan! Stop! The Top-grade Spirit Root is mine!"