As soul fragments of the Heavenly Demon settled into the Heavenly Demon Plaque.

Its interior functioned as the mental world of the Heavenly Demon.

In other words, everything Zhang Sanfeng saw and felt when he entered the Heavenly Demon Token was a world created by the Heavenly Demon’s mental imagery.

Because that mental world surpassed the ordinary, the Heavenly Demon’s mental world was as vast as the Central Plains itself.

Zhang Sanfeng saw many scenes within the Heavenly Demon’s mental world.

Among them, the first thing he saw was the events at Mount Kunlun.

The young Heavenly Demon.

No, at that time he was not called the Heavenly Demon yet. He should be called the deposed crown prince, Zhao Guang.

His father, the Crown Prince, was deposed as a result of a power struggle.

The fate left for the deposed crown prince and his supporters was obvious.

They were imprisoned and exiled to prevent future troubles, and eventually died.

That fate was the same for the still young Zhao Guang.

When the Crown Prince died, the aristocrats who supported him also suffered.

Those with strong loyalty or a desperate will to live clung to the surviving deposed crown prince Zhao Guang.

If they overcame the current hardships, they would someday seize the chance to return to the royal palace.

When young Zhao Guang grew up, he would rightfully reclaim the throne.

With that delusional belief, the ministers took Zhao Guang’s hand and fled.

Their destination was Xinjiang.

They calculated that if they crossed the treacherous Kunlun Mountains, they could escape the influence of the Song royal family.

In that distant place, there was a group of White Lotus Cult followers.

Since the White Lotus Cult had ties with the deceased Crown Prince, they would shelter Zhao Guang.

Thinking so, they crossed the Kunlun Mountains.

But the escape was not easy. Pursuers constantly followed.

The ministers threw their lives away like grass, but eventually lost their horses and had to run the narrow paths bare-handed.

“I can’t run any further!”

The aristocrats were not accustomed to running.

They panted heavily but pulled the young prince’s hand.

Within the Heavenly Demon’s mental world, Zhang Sanfeng quietly observed it.

Zhao Guang and his group were being pursued.

However, the pursuer was not human.

An amorphous black monster filled the narrow path and chased them.

It had a strange form like an advancing landslide.

The young Zhao Guang looked back and screamed sharply.

The monster’s speed was much faster than a running person.

The ministers protecting Zhao Guang threw themselves one after another.

But their sacrifices, drawing swords and charging, were meaningless.

Like darkness swallowing the sky, they all vanished in an instant.

In the end, only Zhao Guang and a young official holding his hand remained.

People reveal their true nature when facing imminent death.

The official holding Zhao Guang’s hand revealed his true nature at the last moment.

He tried to push the young Zhao Guang away and escape alone.

But the amorphous monster, already close, swallowed the official first.

Zhao Guang, clutching his broken knee and sitting down, trembled as he looked up at the monster.

That monster had no emotions.

A black wave engulfed Zhao Guang.

At that time, Zhang Sanfeng looked on with a curious expression.

The Heavenly Demon, who was watching Zhang Sanfeng, also knew what he was thinking.

He thought that was an illusion created by the Heavenly Demon’s mind.

He believed the forces chasing the young crown prince were personified as the black monster.

Because that is what a mental world is supposed to be.

But that was not the case.

The Heavenly Demon was a very realistic person, and the scene shown in the mental world was not a distorted illusion.

That was a vivid memory.

The young Zhao Guang was swallowed by the monster.

The downfall of the Crown Prince was not only caused by words and swords.

Among those who deposed the prince were those who wielded strange powers.

Those who implanted worms inside people’s bodies to control them.

Those who worshiped the god of division.

Old priests who sought to manipulate the world from the shadows.

He only learned that these were the ones called the Evil Cult after gaining the title Sky Shattering Divine Demon.

“Gasp, wheeze, gasp.”

When Zhao Guang, swallowed by the monster, regained consciousness.

He was in a place where White Lotus Cult followers lived.

In the middle of a huge river was an island where White Lotus Cult followers lived in a crude city.

The island had no name. Just an island. That was all.

A White Lotus Cult follower who went out collecting by boat found the collapsed Zhao Guang and brought him back.

They thought he was dead and searched his body, then realized he was alive.

From Zhao Guang’s perspective, it was a once-in-a-lifetime fortune.

“That dream again…”

All the ministers were devoured by the black monster, and he himself was swallowed by it.

But somehow, he alone survived.

It was so unreal that it felt like a dream.

But it was not a dream. The evidence of that day remained clearly on Zhao Guang’s body.

On Zhao Guang’s pale chest was a black scar.

The large wound, big enough to fit three fingers, was where the monster’s teeth had pierced.

It was a large wound that should have meant death, but Zhao Guang did not die.

The unhealed wound was filled with something black.

There was no pain, but a sinister and cold sensation radiated from the wound.

The bishop of the White Lotus Cult examined Zhao Guang’s body with interest.

He said that demonic energy had taken root in his body.

Contrary to the officials’ expectation that Zhao Guang would be welcomed by the White Lotus Cult, the bishop’s eyes were extremely cold as he looked at him.

“You understand that your crown prince’s identity cannot be revealed, right?”

“The crown prince will live as an ordinary believer. He will live the same life and bear the same duties. Only I will know your identity. Do you understand?”

Intimidated by that cold spirit, the crown prince could only nod.

The bishop immediately spoke informally.

“You understand. You will stay here only until today. From tomorrow, you will enter the training hall and stay there.”

He muttered that he had a good specimen and left.

Xinjiang was cold and dark.

Zhao Guang curled up on the hard bed.

He was incredibly tired but could not sleep.

Many assumptions arose and vanished in Zhao Guang’s mind.

Among them was the thought that maybe he should have hidden at Wudang instead of the White Lotus Cult in Xinjiang.

That was his mother, the Crown Princess’s suggestion.

She said that the Taoist Zhang Sanfeng was wise and virtuous, so he would protect the crown prince.

But due to opposition from the officials, Zhao Guang fled all the way to Xinjiang.

Perhaps his mother’s idea was correct.

Zhao Guang tightly hugged something as if it were a doll.

It was a single ornate shoe.

It was none other than his mother’s shoe.

It was after his mother was murdered, when Zhao Guang was led by officials to start fleeing.

He hurriedly took the single shoe placed in front of the porch as a last keepsake.

Looking back, it was a foolish thought…

Zhao Guang hugged his mother’s shoe and swallowed his tears.

“…Motheeer.”

He had such tender days.

The bishop truly did not care for Zhao Guang.

At that time, the White Lotus Cult was selecting 300 young followers to train in demonic arts.

They were a heretical group aiming to restore the Central Plains.

They planned to strengthen their demonic nature by making those 300 followers kill each other.

Who would have imagined that the Crown Prince’s son would become part of that?

Zhao Guang was thrown into that ruthless demonic lair.

But he did not die and survived.

Time passed steadily.

The shoe he cherished was originally a splendid purple silk embroidered item.

Its vivid color faded over time.

It was stained with mud and bloodstains several times.

The young Zhao Guang’s heart was similarly stained with blood and dirt.

His first murder was just a month after joining the White Lotus Cult.

Children his age bullied him.

To the rough White Lotus Cult kids, Zhao Guang’s tender appearance must have seemed alien.

When they realized Zhao Guang treasured the shoe, they tore it and beat him in front of his eyes.

Zhao Guang struck the brat’s head dozens of times with a stone, killing him.

He cried bitterly, thinking he would now be chased for murder.

But the instructor teaching demonic arts to the kids praised Zhao Guang instead.

Only then did Zhao Guang realize the rules of the world he knew were meaningless now.

He continued his life in the White Lotus Cult.

The black hole pierced in his chest did not heal over time.

Rather, it constantly supplied demonic energy.

Pure demonic energy that no one else possessed.

It was around when Zhao Guang turned thirteen.

He began to overwhelm his peers who trained in demonic arts with him.

Soon after, even adults.

And finally, he became stronger than the powerful bishop of the White Lotus Cult.

“Ugh, ugh…”

Zhao Guang was clinging behind the bishop, who was foaming and convulsing.

The wire tightly wrapped around the bishop’s neck was strangling him.

The bishop struggled, punched Zhao Guang’s stomach repeatedly, and broke nearby furniture, but no one came despite the commotion.

“Gurgle!”

The bishop exhaled his last breath.

But Zhao Guang did not release his grip for a long time.

Only after confirming the death completely did he loosen the wire.

Zhao Guang coldly looked down at the bishop’s body rolling on the floor.

Thus, the only person who knew he was the deposed crown prince died.

No longer was there the image of a young, naive boy in Zhao Guang.

There was only a ruthless demon.

That was the beginning of the Sky Shattering Divine Demon.

Such a story.

Before Zhao Guang became the Heavenly Demon.

The childhood tragedy.

The dead, the killers.

The journey that turned the White Lotus Cult into the Demon Cult.

The fact that the Evil Cult was the mastermind that destroyed everything and twisted his fate.

The Heavenly Demon had no intention of telling Yi-gang all those detailed circumstances.

“So your goal was to eradicate the Evil Cult?”

「They are my greatest enemy.」

Therefore, he only told Yi-gang the facts and conclusions.

“Even sealing yourself and trying to resurrect…?”

「With the lifespan given to me, I could not stop them. I needed roughly over 200 more years.」

Yi-gang’s face twisted.

It was a face of disbelief.

Since the Heavenly Demon did not explain the detailed background and grudges, it was understandable.

Was his hatred for the Evil Cult so deep that he tore and sealed his own soul?

Grudges are naturally like that.

One must experience it firsthand to know its depth.

「You look like you don’t believe me.」

“Yes.”

「Isn’t it a matter of showing proof?」

But the Heavenly Demon knew a better way than telling Yi-gang his story.

He just needed to show it.

The arrangement he prepared to take revenge on theEvil Cult.

「I want to tell you the request I mentioned before.」

Yi-gang listened with a serious expression.

「Kill the cult leader who remains at the Cult Leader Hall. Then obtain the qualification to be the cult leader yourself.」

Yi-gang gave a bitter smile.

Just a few days ago he was fleeing through Sky Shattering Island, and now he was being told to kill the Absolute Master, the Sun Moon Divine Demon.

It was a matter of possibility, and telling Yi-gang to gain the cult leader’s qualification was even more unreasonable.

“Why should I do that?”

「I have prepared a plan to permanently kill those evil gods’ disciples. Only the cult leader has the right to use it.」

Yi-gang’s eyes finally widened.

The Heavenly Demon knew well about the Cardinals of the Evil Cult.

Confirming his words had credibility, the Heavenly Demon added.

「Also, do you want to hear the evidence that Zhang Junbao, and the great immortals of the Heavenly Realm are hypocrites and will eventually betray you?」

He intended to tell even if Yi-gang did not want to hear.

「You don’t know why that Zhang Junbao waited for me at the Heaven-Slaying Demon Valley.」

The Heavenly Demon began to tell that story.