CHAPTER 62: EVIL GOD MOUNTAIN

The Evil God Mountain is one of the most forbidden and ominous lands in the entire Violet Sea World.

According to scattered fragments of ancient jade slips, this mountain was not formed by the shifting of the earth or the eruption of spiritual veins—but from the decaying skeleton of a divine beast of unfathomable origin. Its corpse is said to have plummeted from the sky one night in primordial times, crashing through the firmament like a falling star and shattering mountains upon impact. The noxious miasma that seeped from its bones tainted the land for thousands of li in every direction.

Even now, spiritual beasts born near the mountain often possess three eyes or twisted limbs, and the qi that circulates within this region remains forever stained by an unclean aura.

More than five thousand years ago, in the aftermath of the Great Sect Purge, the one known as the Evil Dragon Lord—a late-stage Heavenly Tribulation Realm cultivator and master of the Shadowclaw Sect—gathered the remnants of the evil and unorthodox factions.

With blood rites and soul pacts, he established the Evil Alliance atop this very mountain.

At the time, the nascent Righteous Alliance was sweeping across the lands like a tidal wave, uprooting lesser sects and executing rogue cultivators without mercy. Had the Evil Dragon Lord not unified the darkness, the entire unorthodox path might have been scattered to the wind.

The first Evil Gathering was held here in secret. Shortly after, three sects—Shadowclaw Sect, Bone Forging Sect, and Crimson Lotus Cult—pooled their resources and erected a city on the corpse of that forgotten beast.

They named it Evil Dragon City.

Over the centuries, it grew into the very heart of the Evil Dao, rivaling even Heaven Fortune City of the righteous path in scale and influence.

It was here that the Evil Gathering would begin.

Usually, the time of the Evil Gathering is decided by a meeting held by the eight main representatives of the Evil Alliance.

Three of these positions are fixed and belong to the three founding sects: Shadowclaw Sect, Bone Forging Sect, and Crimson Lotus Cult.

The other five are different—only the most powerful first-rate evil Dao sects can claim one of them.

A first-rate sect is defined as a sect with at least one late-stage Nascent Soul Realm expert.

For some reason, across the years, these seats have rarely changed.

Among the five seats, one belongs to the Soul Refining Sect, one of the oldest evil sects. Some say its founder was the junior brother of the founder of the Bone Forging Sect.

The sect currently has two late-stage Nascent Soul Realm experts and is considered only slightly weaker than the three founding sects.

The second seat, like the first, hasn’t changed in thousands of years and belongs to Spirit Corpse Valley.

Spirit Corpse Valley is a unique cultivation faction. Unlike other sects that cultivate spirit arts and powerful secret techniques, they walk the path of Corpse Refining Dao.

The Corpse Refining Dao is one of the most feared and reviled paths in the cultivation world—a taboo practice that delves into the manipulation of death essence, the forging of corpse soldiers, and the preservation of spiritual will after death.

Unlike other cultivators who draw power from spiritual veins or harmonize with elemental forces, corpse refiners focus on the essence of decay, resentment, and unfulfilled karma. Their cultivation methods revolve around extracting soul remnants from dead cultivators or ancient monsters, tempering corpses in yin flames, and imbuing them with seals and talismans to create semi-living weapons known as Refined Corpses.

These corpse puppets are not merely animated husks—they are carefully crafted vessels. The more complete the soul and flesh, the stronger the puppet. The highest tier of their creations, known as Spirit Corpse Kings, retain a portion of their former intelligence and can even cultivate on their own. Their strength can rival that of a Nascent Soul Realm cultivator.

Cultivation in Spirit Corpse Valley requires the disciple to offer a corpse to the sect upon initiation. Often, this is the body of someone close—a test of severance from mortal attachments.

Though their methods are reviled, their strength is undeniable. It is whispered that during the last Evil Gathering, a high elder of Spirit Corpse Valley challenged a late-stage Nascent Soul Realm elder of a righteous sect using only his Spirit Corpse King.

The fight lasted three breaths.

Their current leader, Ancestor Mo Ren, is said to be a half-step Heavenly Tribulation cultivator who fused his own soul into a Spirit Corpse body after death, turning himself into a Corpse Sage, a figure equal to a Heavenly Tribulation Realm expert.

The other three positions have actually changed many times over the years, though they are currently held by Thousand Poisons Hall, Blood Sacrifice Palace, and Evil Ghost Sect.

Holy Spirit Hall, the core of Evil Dragon City, stood shrouded in a curtain of soul incense and flickering black lanterns. The obsidian table at its center resembled a coiled beast, carved from the petrified ribs of the divine corpse buried beneath the city.

Eight people sat around it.

Seven gazes focused, wary, or veiled in disdain—all pointed at one woman.

Mie Lin, dressed in somber black robes embroidered with the Shadowclaw Sect’s symbol, sat with her back straight and her hands folded neatly. Her face revealed nothing, but her eyes did not miss a single expression across the table.

Two of those seated were like her—Late-Stage Nascent Soul Realm cultivators.

One was a gnarled elder from the Bone Forging Sect, The other was a woman from the Crimson Lotus Cult.

The rest—five Mid-Stage Nascent Soul cultivators—were from the first-rate sects: Soul Refining Sect, Spirit Corpse Valley, Thousand Poisons Hall, Blood Sacrifice Palace, and Evil Ghost Sect.

Though technically equal in voice, there was a clear hierarchy in the air.

And Mie Lin... was being pushed from the top.

The Bone Forging Elder, Han Yu, tapped a bony finger against the table. "We’ve all gathered to determine a pressing matter that can no longer be ignored."

Crimson Lotus’s representative, Lady Yao Qing, lazily sipped from a jade cup of soul tea. "Indeed. Should we continue pretending the Shadowclaw Sect still holds the same weight it once did?"

Mie Lin’s eyes narrowed ever so slightly. "Pretending?"

"You were once one of the three pillars of the Evil Alliance," Han Yu said without looking at her. "But times change. You haven’t produced a Half-Step Heavenly Tribulation Realm expert in centuries. We’re simply acknowledging reality."

A chuckle came from the Soul Refining Sect’s representative, Jing Shan. "Wouldn’t it be more appropriate if Shadowclaw joined the other first-rate sects? You’d still retain a seat, Elder Mie Lin—but not as one of the Founders’ Three."