CHAPTER 440: MOON SHADOW SECT

Chapter 440: Moon Shadow Sect

Cangyun Realm, Northern Continent, deep within the Hundred Thousand Mountains.

"Great King! Disaster! The Spirit Vein is gone!"

The Mountain-Moving Sage, who had been busy all day and was just about to enjoy some honey, spat out his mouthful in shock upon hearing this.

"What? The Spirit Vein is gone?!"

The Mountain-Moving Sage stared blankly at the trembling little demon kneeling before him. Was this some new trendy phrase? Why couldn't he understand these words put together?

His territory possessed one of the largest high-grade Spirit Veins in the entire demon race, if not the entire Cangyun Realm. Moreover, less than forty percent of it had been mined so far. How could such a massive vein be described as "gone"?

"Great King, it's truly gone! Just now, a little demon reported the mine was empty. I didn't believe it and beat him up. Then more demons came reporting the same thing. I went to check myself and... it's empty! The mine is completely empty!"

"Impossible! I'll see for myself!"

The Mountain-Moving Sage stood up, disbelief written across his face. His heavy black armor clanged like muffled thunder with each urgent step.

Arriving at the mine entrance, he found it completely intact. Were it not for the distressed little demons gathered around, he would have suspected a prank.

"Great King, the mine's gone! All gone!"

"I was mining just moments ago when—whoosh!—the entire vein disappeared before my eyes!"

Listening to the little demons' accounts, the Mountain-Moving Sage frowned and peered into the mine. What had once been packed solid with ore was now just an empty shell—not a single Spirit Stone remained.

"The... the mine? It's really gone?!"

He pulled back, rubbed his eyes, and looked again. After repeating this three or four times and slapping himself, he finally accepted the truth.

The entire high-grade Spirit Stone vein had vanished without a trace under his very nose—without him sensing anything!

"Who?! Who dares steal my mine?!"

The Mountain-Moving Sage roared furiously at the sky, his eyes bloodshot. His Great Ascension Stage divine sense spread out, covering thousands of miles in an instant—not a single blade of grass or flying insect could escape his detection. Yet he found nothing.

"Great King, did you find anything?"

"Great King, that Spirit Vein was our lifeline! Without it, how can we compete with other demon factions?"

"Don't worry, our king is a Demon Sage! He'll definitely find the thief!"

The little demons chattered endlessly. A crow cawed as it flew overhead. A leaf landed on the Mountain-Moving Sage's forehead. The air grew still.

True devastation wasn't loud—it was this absolute silence, the calm before the storm, the stillness before a volcanic eruption.

"Great King..." A little demon hesitantly broke the silence, seeing the sage staring motionless at the sky. "You... couldn't possibly have failed to find the thief, could you?"

BOOM!

A new crater appeared beside the mine, containing the flattened corpse of the unfortunate demon. The Mountain-Moving Sage planted his blood-dripping war hammer on the ground, shaking the entire mountain. No one dared speak another word.

"I'll investigate other Demon Sage territories first. If the Spirit Vein isn't in demon lands, the culprit is obvious!"

Narrowing his eyes, the Mountain-Moving Sage considered his options. As a demon, he lacked the human cultivators' ability to divine heavenly secrets—but he wasn't stupid. He could eliminate possibilities one by one.

With little internal conflict among demons as they licked their wounds from past wars, the only ones who would harm demon interests were the human sects of Cangyun Realm! If humans had indeed stolen the high-grade Spirit Vein... they would face the full wrath of the demon race!

They had remained dormant in these Hundred Thousand Mountains for far too long. So long that humans might have forgotten their threat.

...

"Ancestor, is this our new sect? Quite impressive!"

The first Sword Pavilion disciple emerging from the minor world looked around the empty, somewhat desolate sect square and blatantly lied through his teeth.

"Wow! The spiritual energy density rivals that of a Holy Land!"

"To gather such concentrated spiritual energy in Cangyun Realm without relying on subspace... Ancestor, you're terrifyingly powerful!"

Just then, a True Martial Holy Land disciple exclaimed in shock:

"Good heavens! There's a high-grade Spirit Stone vein in this mountain?!"

"Really?" Others immediately crowded around, confirming the presence of high-grade Spirit Stones in the strata below.

"I thought all Spirit Stone veins outside demon territory had been mined out?"

"Exactly! I visited these Central Continent mountains ten years ago—it was a godforsaken wasteland. A high-grade vein couldn't form in just ten years..."

Listening to the discussions, Chen Huaian smirked mysteriously. No one could guess that this high-grade Spirit Stone vein wasn't natural at all—he had bought it outright.

"Ancestor... you didn't 'relocate' this vein from some major power, did you?" A sly voice whispered nearby.

Chen Huaian frowned at the grinning Su Qinian and snorted coldly:

"And what makes you so sure this vein didn't form naturally here?"

Su Qinian chuckled awkwardly, rubbing his hands before producing a mining pick from his Storage Ring.

"Ancestor, stop pretending. I found this pick in the mine—there are several like it. Just admit which power's high-grade vein you 'borrowed'?"

Seeing the pick, Chen Huaian's heart skipped a beat. Could the store-bought vein actually belong to someone? He recalled the Righteous Cultivator Store's questionable methods of acquiring artifacts—this seemed increasingly likely.

Would this high-grade vein cause trouble later? But as a Great Ascension Stage cultivator, how many beings in Cangyun Realm could challenge him? Comforted by this thought, Chen Huaian's conscience cleared.

"This vein's origins are... questionable," Chen Huaian admitted quietly after glancing around. "So our disciples must keep it secret. Discuss it within the sect if you must, but never mention it outside! While we're strong, remember: don't flash your wealth!"

"Truly cautious, as expected of our Ancestor!" Su Qinian clasped his hands in admiration.

"Ancestor," Zhang Mengchu approached them with a bow, "the disciples wish to know our sect's name. A new sect needs a grand name to give us confidence in Cangyun Realm. Have you decided?"

"Since Li Qingran is sect master, shouldn't she name it?" Su Qinian interjected. "Speaking of which, where is she? Shouldn't she be present for such an important matter as sect location?"

Chen Huaian smiled wryly. He'd love Li Qingran to appear, but though she'd agreed to be sect master, she claimed to need more "psychological preparation."

"The sect master will appear at the founding ceremony," Chen Huaian improvised. "She's currently in secluded cultivation!"

This wasn't entirely false—since accepting the position, Li Qingran had been training nonstop to match a sect master's strength, delegating all decisions about location and naming to Chen Huaian under the pretense of "sect affairs."

"With the sect master absent, the Ancestor's word is law," Zhang Mengchu said after taking a satisfying sip from his Wangzai milk drink. "The Ancestor must already have a name in mind—this junior won't embarrass himself by suggesting one."

Chen Huaian thought, 'Like hell I do!' But with Zhang Mengchu putting him on the spot, he had to engage his "peerless intellect."

Sect naming usually reflected its cultivators' characteristics—his was a complete hodgepodge. Alternatively, it could derive from its founder, like how the Qingyun Sect was named after the Qingyun Ancestor.

In that case...

Chen Huaian pondered. He was a cheat. A cheat's sect... why not call it Moon Shadow Sect?

Moon Shadow Sect in Cangyun Realm, and Zhang Yibai's soon-to-be-established sect on Earth Star would be Wind Spirit Sect! Perfect!

Smirking, Chen Huaian closed his eyes and pretended to divine while fingering mystic calculations. Zhang Yibai and Su Qinian exchanged glances, not daring to interrupt.

After a suitably dramatic pause, Chen Huaian opened his eyes and declared:

"Through divination, I've glimpsed a thread of heavenly will! For our new sect to prosper and inherit the world's fortune, it must be called—the Moon Shadow Sect!"

...