Chapter 684: Chapter 677: The Death of the Demon King

Upon hearing Shangguan Hong’s words, Li Qingfeng was stunned, and silence befell him.

After all, even Shangguan Hong, the strongest within his Huayun Sect, could at most be called a Quasi Heavenly Immortal, in front of a true Heavenly Immortal level power, his own strength still seemed somewhat lacking.

Even though they knew about Zuo Yunxiao’s death, they could only suppress and endure it.

There was no other way, for they were not as strong as their adversaries.

Unless the Huayun Sect wished to court disaster by pitting themselves against an immovable opponent, they had to pretend ignorance regarding the matter.

“Constrained by power, although for the time being we won’t expose this affair and rashly start a war with the Holy Fire Sect, there are still some actions we can take.”

“Guided by the residual imprint within Elder Zuo’s Soul Lamp, besides knowing that his death was extremely tragic, we also have a certain understanding of the surrounding environment where he died.”

“We must first ascertain the location. If possible, we need to find the incontrovertible evidence of the Holy Fire Sect person who killed Elder Zuo.”

“Only then, when I achieve the Heavenly Immortal status, can we have a solid reason to launch an assault on the Holy Fire Sect without the Sect Alliance interfering too much.”

“Moreover, find some new faces to widely spread the news that the Holy Fire Sect has obtained the Gathering Spirit Stone.”

“Regardless whether this news is true or false, once it spreads, it will definitely impact the Holy Fire Sect and hinder their development of strength.”

…

After pondering for a moment, Shangguan Hong’s face turned sinister as he instructed Li Qingfeng.

It had to be said, experience counts for something.

Should this strategy succeed, even if the Gathering Spirit Stone was really in the hands of the Holy Fire Sect, they wouldn’t dare to use it openly and confidently for many years to come.

And that was the breakthrough opportunity for Shangguan Hong, buying him more time.

The Heavenly Immortal of the Holy Fire Sect had only just stepped into that realm.

As long as he could progress further and achieve Heavenly Immortal status, facing that person, Shangguan Hong was confident — not necessarily assured victory, but at least to battle on even ground.

By then, for the Holy Fire Sect to monopolize the Gathering Spirit Stone would be utterly impossible.

Using Zuo Yunxiao’s death as leverage, even if the Huayun Sect lacked the strength to snatch the Gathering Spirit Stone from the hands of the Holy Fire Sect, taking a share of it would certainly pose no problem.

“Sect Master is wise!”

“I will immediately make arrangements for these two matters,” Li Qingfeng said, full of admiration as he promptly made his acknowledgments and followed up.

Shangguan Hong nodded in response and did not continue speaking.

He sat cross-legged once more on the green stone under the pine tree, closing his eyes and slowly sinking back into cultivation.

This was a clear sign that the audience was over. Seeing this, Li Qingfeng bowed to him, then summoned a paper crane and soared into the sky, disappearing into the distant void.

…

Chen Hai was naturally unaware of the developments within the overseas Huayun Sect.

Otherwise, if he knew that the Holy Fire Sect had unwittingly drawn the Huayun Sect’s attention and caused them such trouble, who knows how much he would have laughed.

At this moment, driven by a sense of urgency in his heart, after seeing off Ye Qingqing, he had been staying in the Cultivation Hall for intensive cultivation behind closed doors.

“Leaving aside the boost my disciples provided after joining my sect, using the Gathering Spirit Stone to gather nearly a third of the Spiritual Energy from the Territory of West Barbarian Mountain within the Black Water Immortal Mansion has at least doubled my cultivation speed compared to before.”

“My disciples, cultivating in the Black Water Immortal Mansion, have also improved their cultivation speed quite a bit due to the abundant Spiritual Energy within the mansion, and the boost they provided to me has correspondingly increased.”

“A Spiritual Treasure is indeed a Spiritual Treasure, even though it is not innately formed but acquired through crafting, its potency remains fearsomely incredible!”

“For the sake of this treasure, although I killed Zuo Yunxiao and offended the Overseas Sect Alliance, it was absolutely worth it.”

Chen Hai sat cross-legged on the ground, smiling brightly as he felt the various benefits brought about by using the Gathering Spirit Stone. He felt an immense sense of satisfaction.

As he immersed himself in cultivation, time began to fly by swiftly. In the blink of an eye, more than fifty years had passed.

Deep within a cavern beneath Ten Thousand Mountains.

“Here it comes again, that damn curse, it’s back!”

“Damn it, that sneaky bastard who only knows how to hurt people with secret arrows. He will not stop until he curses me to death!”

Demon King Chili’s face was full of despair, and he had collapsed to the ground, completely exhausted.

After being tormented by that bizarre curse for so many years, what was once a proud and imposing figure was now reduced to skin and bones.

In order to cope with that damn curse, he had tried every possible method over the years, even changing his residence several times.

He even left Ten Thousand Mountains and went tens of thousands of kilometers away, burrowing for several years in the territory of a Demon King with whom he had a good relationship.

Of course, fearing that his Demon King friend might kick him while he was down and gulp him in one bite, he hid very carefully and did not let his friend know about his hiding in his territory to heal his injuries.

Unfortunately, no matter what he did, it was all utterly useless.

No matter how far he ran or how well he hid, that damn curse would still come when its time arrived.

Endlessly tortured, Demon King Chili had no idea when there would be an end.

He had completely given up hope of ever getting rid of the curse.

Now, he had resigned himself to lying flat. For the strange curse that suddenly surged into his body, he was too lazy to resist.

Perhaps, only by being directly cursed to death by that curse could Demon King Chili escape this endless torment and find complete release.

He could not see, hear, smell, or speak…

Compared to a few years ago, the power of the curse that had befallen him was obviously stronger now.

After being tormented by that curse for so many years, now reduced to a skeleton wrapped in skin, his strength was but a mere fraction of its former glory.

Faced with this sinister curse, he did not want to give up, but in fact, he had no choice.

Previously, he had already been unable to withstand this curse, lying on the ground like a living dead, watching as insects, snakes, and rats fed on his body. That feeling of extreme darkness lasted for nearly two years before he could barely regain a bit of mobility.

Now, faced with the curse that had clearly grown much stronger, he had not resisted for long before he ‘pop’, burst open, turning into a pool of black blood, with few intact pieces of skin and flesh to be found.

At the summit of Black Water Immortal Mountain, inside the Cultivation Hall.

“Mongolian Skin Grassman exploded, does that mean Demon King Chili has been cursed to death by me?”

Staring at the pile of grass debris before him that used to be a Mongolian Skin Grassman, Chen Hai was a bit dumbfounded.

Before he started each cultivation session, he would take out the grassman for a bit of fun.

After completing each cultivation session, he would similarly bring out the grassman for relaxation.

When he was in a bad mood, he would take out the grassman and curse Demon King Chili as a way to vent.

This time, he temporarily stopped cultivating because he had reached the Perfect state of the Earth Immortal Realm and was just one step away from becoming a Heavenly Immortal. He just wanted to celebrate a little with the grassman.

But now, with the grassman exploding and Demon King Chili cursed to death by him, his only source of entertainment was unexpectedly gone…

At this, Chen Hai was so frustrated that he wanted to curse.