In an inner courtyard, a young man sat under a maple tree.

  Around him, numerous disciples had gathered in rings surrounding the man. It was story time for these young disciples of the Divine Demon Sect. Many of them were young, between five to twenty five years old. Held every five years for those disciples who wished to listen to the origin of the greatest sect, the Divine Demon Sect.

  He took a deep breath, then began.

  “In the mortal world, there was the Demon God Sect. It was one of the more powerful sects. Not strong enough to challenge Noctem, a peak power, but it was certainly a first-rate power. It stood alongside Lotus and 逍遥居 as the giants of the mortal world.”

  “After being expelled by Noctem for being too weak, I decided to join the Demon God Sect. There, I met the deputy, Nyato, who monitored the sect for the ever absent sect master, Sou Ne, the elder, his daughter, Laolord, and Thaiboi, a fellow sect member.”

  “The mortal world was peaceful at that time. Until one day, when a demon emerged from Lotus, the righteous sect. Jason. Rumors had been abound that Jason had been cast down from Noctem for committing unspeakable crimes, but who could be absolutely sure?”

  “Along with his henchman, Benyurem, he launched a crusade against the world. Promising to unite the world under a singular sect, Lotus, he declared war. First, he attacked Noctem.”

  “Despite its power, Noctem made few movements in the mortal world. This deceived Jason into thinking their power was but a smokescreen. When he attacked Lotus with Benyurem, a single member was dispatched to stop them. That day, two Late Incarnation cultivators were severely hurt and forced to recuperate for 50 years in the face of a lowly member. Yet, little did we know, this was all a trick prepared by Noctem and Lotus.”

  “After emerging from their seclusion, Jason and Benyurem changed their targets. With laughter in their eyes, they laid their eyes on the weakest sects of the cultivation world. These third and second rate powers did not have the power required to halt the advances of the first rate sect. One by one, their barriers were shattered and the sects pillaged. Screams of cultivators and mortals echoed throughout the world.”

  “Demon God Sect was naturally concerned about this development. But we dismissed it. After all, we were a first-rate sect, one of the foremost powers of the mortal world!”

  “However, as they rampaged, several Middle Incarnation stage disciples accidentally roamed into the territory of Noctem in pursuit of a Late Incarnation stage treasure. Noctem, who would never miss a chance to humiliate and put us first-rate sects ‘in our place’ quickly dispatched three inner sect disciples along with three hundred outer sect disciples.”

  “The Demon God Sect disciples were quickly annihilated. As they had been the ones who had committed the offense, we naturally had no choice but to swallow the bitter pill. After arranging the suitable gifts for an apology, I headed to Noctem to make the appropriate apologies to their court. At this time, Elder Sou Ne and deputy Nyato had left to stabilize a realm that had been overrun by monsters. Even though there was only Laolord of the Late Incarnation stage remaining, I felt giving Noctem a reason to attack us was too dangerous. Little did I know, my actions were too late.”

  The young man briefly fell into a trance before continuing, with a slightly hoarse voice.

  “If I had stayed that day, maybe things would have been different. Taking this opportunity, the three inner sect disciples and three hundred outer sect disciples rushed over to our barrier and began to attack. By then, I had already arrived at Noctem's court. Because of this, I nearly fell into Qi Deviation.”

  The young disciples widened their eyes. Their elder, suffer from Qi Deviation? For a powerful figure like him, it would have been unheard of. Qi Deviation not only produced severe backlash that could hurt or even cripple your cultivation stage, but had other side effects. Most notably, the loss of sanity and the transformation into a true devil.

  “What happened in the inner court, elder?” One particularly brave disciple asked.

  “When I arrived at Noctem's court, I quickly passed the various inspections. I was initially glad, because I could present the gifts quicker and prevent misunderstandings. But there was a more sinister plan at work.”

  “Upon entering the court, instead of accepting my gifts, the deputy Perk had a sly smile on his face. It was at this moment my heart began to feel cold. This feeling only intensified when he waved his hand, and ToastWang brought forward a vast mirror, one hundred Zhang tall and one hundred Zhang wide. It was their All-Seeing Mirror, which had supposedly fallen down to the mortal world from the upper worlds. In this mirror, I saw a sight I will remember for the rest of my life.”

  “Back in the sect, Jason and Benyurem must have heard the news from a spy, because they rushed over to our barrier as well. Laolord naturally sensed this and rushed over to our barrier in the east. But what could she do? Even with her mighty Late Incarnation stage, she would have needed an unparalleled treasure to resist five cultivators in her stage. When she began to burn her potential, it was no longer my heart, but my entire body that grew cold. I quickly turned around and moved to leave. But behind me, Perk said in a gloating tone, ‘Where are you going, esteemed elder? Please, enjoy the refreshments.’”

  A flaming aura suddenly burst from the young man’s body, scaring the disciples. Each of them felt as if a monster had awakened in front of them, reeking of blood and slaughter. The young man quickly raised his left hand into a gassho mudra, and shut his eyes closed. The flaming aura gradually restrained itself and disappeared back into the man. He continued.

  “Perhaps better if I simulate the memory.”

  With his spiritual power, he formed a watery screen in the air above the disciples. A burst of light emerged from his forehead, melting into the watery screen. A scene began to take place.

  An massive court began to form in the watery screen. It was replete with beautiful carvings, murals, and decorations of a mortal world long ago. A large throne dominated the room, alongside which a smaller throne was placed. In this smaller throne, a bald man lay across the throne, his feet languidly resting on the armrest. Lining the left and right sides of the pathway to the throne, four golden chairs each with their unique furnishings were placed. In one seat, a beautiful woman watched the scene in excitement.

  The disciples began to murmur.

  - “Hey, why does it seem like I’ve seen that woman before?”

  - “Idiot! That’s ToastWang, one of the most powerful cultivators in Divine Demon Sect!”

  - “Wow, so she was in Noctem before?”

  In the middle of the pathway, a young man stood in black and white robes. Alongside him was a veritable mountain of boxes.

  - “Hey, that’s the elder, isn’t it?”

  - “Yeah, he looks so handsome even at such a young age!”

  - “The cold air and aloofness aura, who wouldn’t recognize it???”

  The young man in the memory began to speak.

  “Greetings, Daoist Perk. In light of the mistake committed by my Demon God Sect’s disciples, I have brought these gifts as compensation for the oversight. Please accept them.”

  Instead of answering, Perk smiled a wicked smile that sent chills down the collected disciples’ spines. He lazily grabbed a cup of wine from a beautiful attendant standing next to him, and took a sip. Cherishing the flavor, he rolled the drink in his mouth before he continued.

  “ToastWang.”

  With a smile, ToastWang lifted her arm and a large mirror appeared, one hundred zhang tall and one hundred zhang wide.

  The young man cautiously watched. He was confused. Why was the Heaven Mirror being shown to him now? It was a treasure Noctem had found in a ruins, supposedly having originated in the upper world. It was something precious that surely they wouldn’t want to show to an outsider.

  A blurry image began to appear in the mirror, and gradually grew clear.

  The young man’s eyebrows furrowed immediately. He recognized that place. The barrier of the Demon God Sect! He did not hide his divine sense any more. He feared that he would be assassinated here. He began to make what battle preparations he could keep invisible.

  In the mirror, three hundred and three cultivators flew towards the barrier and began to attack. The three hundred cultivators were clearly weaker Nascent Soul cultivators, while the three cultivators who hung back occasionally throwing a spell were Late Incarnation stage cultivators.

  A young lady quickly appeared from within the barrier, followed by two hundred cultivators. It was Laolord, leading the outer sect cultivators of Demon God Sect.

  Seeing this, the man’s facial features slightly relaxed. Laolord was proficient with the barrier spells, and she could definitely restrain three Late Incarnation stage cultivators and force them to retreat. The outer sect disciples began to attack each other, with swords and spells flying wantonly. Laolord watched the inner sect disciples with caution in her eyes.

  However, two men appeared from slightly south of both parties. Seeing this, the young man froze, and his face quickly turned into fear for her and the sect. It was Jason and Benyurem, their demonic aura clearly visible even from the mirror.

  He quickly bowed to Perk, and spoke.

  “I’m afraid pressing matters have to cut this meeting short, Daoist Perk. May we meet again on the path to immortality.”

  He turned to leave and moved to sweep the gifts into his spatial bag.

  However, Perk’s spiritual power quickly dissipated his spiritual hand.

  The young man was furious, but restrained his emotions.

  He moved to leave the court. Behind him, Perk’s voice rung.

  “Why must we end this meeting so late? Our inner sect disciples dearly wish to duel with an esteemed elder such as you. Not only, but I have prepared some lovely refreshments for you. Surely, you would wish to partake?”

  The young man forced a smile onto his face.

  “I’m afraid the matters are truly pressing, Daoist Perk. I am unable to entertain your inner sect disciples now.”

  A young man and woman emerged from behind a pillar next to the entrance.

  “Why so hasty, elder? Daoist Melancholy wishes to share pointers with elder!”

  “Daoist Star wishes to share pointers with elder!”

  The young man cursed under his breath. He sternly spoke.

  “Daoist Perk! What is the meaning of this?! Do you mean to obstruct my departure?!”

  Perk smiled.

  “Ah, my apologies. My disciples are battle hungry, and not having contact with the mortal world has dulled their manners. I will be sure to punish them appropriately afterwards.”

  The young man’s face hardened, and his heart grew cold.

  “So be it! This elder accepts your duel!”

  He summoned his six treasured relics, and charged. The young man smiled.

  “Forgive my lack of manners, elder, but I’m eager to test the mettle of the famed Six Swords of Yin and Yang!”

  He charged forward with nothing but rippling robes that complemented his dazzling physique as he charged forward. Behind him, Star quietly began to cast a trigram spell.

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  The young man cast Shadowstrike and Skyfall.

  Around him, the swirling swords grew faster and faster until they flitted from one spot to another, blending together into a whirlwind of swords! A long sword held in each hand, he charged at Melancholy.

  With a blazing fire in his eyes, Melancholy summoned a seal in his hands, which quickly enlarged and became ten zhang tall. With bulging muscles, he cast it down at the young man! Star, who had finished her trigram spell, had nearly finished casting Blizzard.

  A sharp flame began to coalesce around the young man! The watching disciples felt as if it were directed at them, they would pop like bladders and be erased. The young man roared.

  “BREAK FOR ME!”

  The whirlwind coalesced to a sharp point and followed the man, and clashed into the seal. A blinding light sparked from the seal, sending it flying several meters. The young man did not fare well, flying back several tens of meters!

  It was at this moment Star cast Blizzard, sending an ominous wave of frost towards the young man. The flames grew frenzied, following the swords as they twisted and twirled into a sword qi shield protecting the young man! The frost crashed into the shield, quickly eroding the shield and finally crashing into the young man. It dissipated against his protective shield, but this was no relief. The man quickly spat out blood and gazed at the two disciples in shock.

  They were powerful, far, far beyond the average strength of Demon God Sect’s inner disciples!

  Despair quickly flitted through his eyes. Perk did not miss this, and his smile only grew wider. The young man no longer restrained his divine sense, covering the entire court. With a smile, ToastWang restrained his sense and caused him backlash. Even so, he still managed to see the court. More than half of Noctem’s inner sect disciple had gathered to watch this scene today! They all had mocking smiles plastered across their face, or faint pitying faces.

  Even as he clashed with the two disciples, he still observed the mirror with his divine sense. Laolord had been quickly besieged by the five Incarnation cultivators. Spells flew across the sky and swords twisted across the sky. The Nascent Souls from Demon God Sect were being overwhelmed as well. Combined with the disciples from Lotus, the Noctem disciples overwhelmed them and slowly but surely killed each disciple.

  Laolord, seeing this, began to burn her potential with a hidden technique taught from Sou Ne. The young man, sensing this, knew it was now truly life and death. His face gloomy, he began to cast a secret spell he had once found in a ruins. It was powerful, but there was a reason he had never used it until now. He would risk Qi Deviation to use it, but it didn’t matter to him more.

  Melancholy and Star, noticing his aura, quickly frowned and sent forth their strongest attacks.

  Buddha’s Palm!

  Blizzard!

  They were too slow.

  The young man’s eyes turned black and white.

  “Yin-Yang Transformation!”

  Almost immediately, his swords faltered and he stumbled, spitting blood.

  Seeing the attacks, his already cold face grew frigid.

  “Break!”

  The whirlwind of swords flew through the giant projection of a palm, tearing it apart. The blizzard attempted to freeze the swords for eternity, but the swords pulsed a bizarre aura that made the blizzard wash over them. When the remainder of the blizzard, hit the young man, he was unaffected.

  Melancholy and Star’s eyes dilated. How could it be?

  This elder could barely resist their attacks before!

  They were unresolved!

  They cast their own secret methods and attacked the young man, but they were quickly flung away. They watched the young man in fear.

  Such a grand improvement in strength!

  Seeing this, Perk’s languid face hardened.

  Little did they know, under the man’s cold face, he was wracked with agony. The Yin-Yang transformation was an extremely powerful secret method that sought to become one with the heavens. It required your cultivation method to flow both normally and also in a reverse pattern. The body, only designed to accommodate one cultivation method, would experience damage all over the meridians as spiritual energy clashed.

  Qi Deviation was essentially when the cultivation method did not flow correctly throughout the body. The Yin-Yang Transformation utilized a precise scale to keep the body in balance, but it required immense mental capacity and ability. The young man devoted nearly all of his energy to maintaining this precarious state. Even so, wounds burst all over his body as he experienced backlash from his inexperience.

  Blood dyed his clean clothes red in moments.

  The man quickly flew to leave the court again.

  With his divine sense, Perk briefly signaled to a cultivator hidden behind another column.

  The cultivator emerged, wearing brilliant red and gold armor draped with a red cloak. He held a halberd in his hand. Hiding his concern behind a smile, he spoke.

  “Daoist Dark greets Demon God Sect’s elder! I wish to share pointers!”

  The watching disciples murmured.

  - “GASP! That’s Elder Dark, one of the hottest elders!”

  - “So even Elder Dark has such a dark secret, bullying desperate people!”

  - “Hmph! Shut up and watch the show, no one will think you are mute if you don’t speak!”

  Back in the watery screen, the young man’s face twisted further in despair.

  He knew for a fact that he didn’t stand a chance against Dark. Even Sou Ne, the strongest elder and cultivator in Demon God Sect could only fight him to a draw.

  Despite his powerful secret method, which could boost his fighting power by five times and supplied him with near infinite spiritual power from the heavens, it meant nothing as his fundamental strength was too weak. Even knowing this, he charged with a howl.

  The whirlwind of swords coalesced into a flaming sword, cutting towards Dark. With a sneer on his face, Dark swept the halberd in a grand, sweeping slash.

  “Sunset Halberd Dance!”

  A sun briefly shone above Dark’s head. The gleaming light pierced through the flaming sword and sent a man flying hundreds of meters. He crashed into a spiritual barrier Perk formed. It briefly shimmered under the immense force carried through the man’s body. A large amount of blood exploded from his mouth.

  In the mirror, Laolord suffered a grievous blow and crashed into a mountain. Blood sprayed from her mouth. Unsteadily, she flew out of the mountain and was immediately besieged again.

  Even with the support of Demon God Sect’s formidable barriers, she was being pushed back constantly.

  “Elder, it seems I am stronger.”

  Dark said with a smile.

  “Perhaps you were not fated to leave this meeting so early! Why not enjoy the delicacies we prepared for you?”

  The young man glared at him with stubborn eyes.

  He smiled.

  “Then let today be the day I die.”

  He no longer controlled the Yin-Yang Transformation, but let it run rampant across his body. His face immediately cramped and he screamed in pain. Parts of his body grew transparent, and his aura grew weaker until the watching taoists felt as if he was becoming part of heaven and earth itself.

  With madness in his eyes, he decreed.

  “I am the Heavenly Dao. And Dark shall be struck from the sky today!”

  Tribulation clouds began to form above Noctem’s court.

  Perk’s eyes widened, and his brows furrowed.

  “Which fool has taken the time to undergo tribulation now??”

  Noctem’s court burst into activity as they tried to identify the taoist. However, the young man smiled even as his body was wracked with pain.

  “Hmph. I am the Heavenly Dao, and the Heavenly Dao is ME!”

  Tribulation lightning flashed through the sky, and struck Dark!

  With a roar, Dark shattered the lightning with his halberd!

  His eyes were dilated in shock.

  “IMPOSSIBLE!”

  He roared.

  The young man ignored his roars as Dark began to resist against the tribulation lightning.

  “Help him, fools, help him!”

  Perk roared.

  Numerous taoists began to cast protective and enhancing spells onto Dark.

  The young man left all this behind as he rushed out of the court and began moving at full speed towards Demon God Sect.

  Each moment, he felt as if he were being ripped apart into pieces. As this happened, he felt like parts of himself were being erased.

  As if…

  It never existed.

  He knew his time was growing short.

  The longer he let this technique run rampant in his body,

  The faster he would merge with the heavens,

  Eventually becoming part of the world itself.

  But he knew he had no choice.

  With the speed boost granted by the technique, he arrived in Demon God Sect in a mere twenty minutes.

  By then, devastation awaited his eyes.

  The Demon God Sect barrier was completely destroyed, and numerous taoists fled before the advancing onslaught. Sou Ne and Nyato had returned by now, battling the five Incarnation taoists to a standstill.

  With fury in his eyes, the young man charged into the fray.

  His presence was the tipping point that forced the enemy taoists to flee.

  After seeing them scatter, the light in his eyes faded, and he fell from the sky.

  A hand caught him before he hit the ground.

  After this, the watery screen fell as a shower back to the ground and the memory ended.

  - “That was amazing!!”

  - “Noctem is such a bully, using numbers against innocent people!!”

  - “I wish I was there to help fight back, argh!”

  The disciples murmured.

  Several disciples shot glances at the elder, but he gave no sign of emotions.

  He continued to tell the story.

  “After that attack, both Laolord and I managed to survive. However, I was forced to recuperate for a decade, and Laolord’s cultivation fell from Late Incarnation to Middle Incarnation. Not only, but she became fundamentally weaker and had to retrain many techniques.”

  “The rest of the Demon God Sect was not so lucky. Combined with the thieving bastards who took advantage of this, countless talents of the Demon God Sect died that day, and hundreds of millions of mortals were slaughtered.”

  “Upon hearing of this, our sect was enraged.”

  “Our absent sect master, despite this attack, did not leave seclusion. Forced to take on the burden himself, Nyato called the sect to arms. However, only a few answered. Sou Ne, Laolord, Thaiboi, and myself roused ourselves to attack Lotus in retaliation. However, we knew that our sect was rife with spies, and we needed to come up with a code word for the attack. After preparation that took years, making sure that everyone was ready, we set off. Thus, a Lotus party began.”

  “With high spirits, we launched a counterattack on the Lotus barrier. However, reality decided otherwise. Unprepared, we took injuries that needed years of recovery. At the same time, Jason and Benyurem attacked 逍遥居. After years of decadence and corruption, their members had grown distanced from their sect. Their sole deputy emerged to challenge the two. However, rumors spread that the deputy had been quickly defeated and the barrier destroyed.”

  “After nursing our wounds, we shouted to the mortal world. Announcements were made, that the Demon God Sect would rally all those willing to stop the righteous sect now turned demon. However, even as Lotus destroyed second and third rate sects, no one came. When the demons attacked our sect, we desperately defended. Despite the severe injuries we suffered, we managed to push them back.”

  “In these desperate times, those who fought quickly grew stronger. Cultivation speed skyrocketed, and epiphanies came quick and fast. Laolord and Thaiboi, who had been severely behind in cultivation, quickly caught up. Sou Ne, who had decided to take the rare, difficult path of dual cultivation quickly began to shine. He was the bastion we relied on, being the only one who could fight Jason or Benyurem to a standstill.”

  “For hundreds of years, we fought. Countless Lotus parties were held, crushing their barriers. Thanks to the Demon God Sect’s foundation, we weathered the war. However, the rest of the mortal world did not prove as resilient.”

  “Rivers of blood flowed through the land. Mountains of corpses could be found, with mortals slaughtered by the tens and hundreds of millions. In the end, Jason could not bear the fact that he had not unified the world, and quietly faded away. His accomplice, Benyurem, remains to this day. Despite his demonic actions, no sign of his karmic punishments had come.”

  “After the war, we found ourselves disgusted by the current state of the Demon God Sect. Our Sect master did not leave seclusion for the centuries we fought against Lotus. Not once. We felt exploited. Betrayed. And discarded. We, who had for centuries fought against the great scourge of the mortal world, were given a mere pat on the back and expected to go back to life like before? No. We refused. Even after the war, our sect master did not emerge from seclusion.”

  “Initially, we still thought well of Demon God Sect. After all, it had raised us! Protected us. Sheltered us. It had become an integral part of our lives that we could not forget. Yet, at the same time, we saw how the sect had begun to rot and decay. Once vibrant sect competitions had grown dull, with disciples barely exerting effort into their sparring. Elders rarely showed up for affairs. Corruption was rife within the sect.”

  “We knew something had to change. In light of the recent changes, we petitioned for Accelerator, our sect master, to leave the office to a more capable leader: Nyato. He was the perfect leader! Capable in both mortal and cultivation affairs, willing to view everything in an unbiased perspective, and knowledgeable in all sorts of administrative duties, Nyato was a perfect option!”

  “Only, there was a problem. The sect master refused to respond to our pleas. Unable to drum support from others in the sect, and even Sou Ne was refused when he attempted to meet the sect master.”

  “Thoughts began to form in our minds. If we had not experienced the war, they would have been unthinkable. But we did experience it. We fought against Lotus, saving the world. Centuries of war had scarred our minds. We saw the Demon God Sect, no longer as a functional sect in which everyone maintained peace. No. We saw it as a sect, in which people secluded themselves to the point of becoming rogue taoists.”

  “Nyato, willing to take the plunge, decided to leave the sect. He began a new sect, called the Divine Demon Sect.”

  “Sou Ne, Laolord, and Thaiboi. They all followed him to join the Divine Demon Sect.”

  “And what about you, elder? Why didn’t you mention yourself?”

  “Well, I did join the Divine Demon Sect in the end. But to be honest with you, I was very close to staying. Yes, I knew our sect had grown decadent. I didn’t want to follow Demon God Sect as it followed the same path that 逍遥居 had taken. Yet, this was a brand new sect we were forming. Not a renamed sect, but a completely new sect starting from Level 1. Who knew how long it would take for it to match the deep foundations of a first rate power?”

  “But you did join in the end?”

  “Yes. I remembered why I joined the Demon God Sect in the first place. I wanted to fight the heavens and establish my own fate. What better than joining the Divine Demon Sect? Where there is no justice or righteousness, only strength, and the will to defy the heavens.”

  “But starting the Divine Demon Sect was not without its own struggles.”