39: Chapter 39 The Beginning of a Change

"By the decree of the Sect Master, from the moment the Luoxia Assembly ends, the entire Sunset Glow Sect shall execute the 'Demon Suppression Order'!"

The three words 'Demon Suppression Order' seemed to carry the weight of a thousand jun, slamming heavily into everyone's heart.

"The order states: All Disciples of my Sunset Glow Sect, regardless of rank, must obey!" His speaking speed increased, each word like an iron nail, "Slay the demonic Cultivators and eliminate future troubles! Anyone with a Bloodline connection to demonic Cultivators, kill! Anyone with a Cultivation Technique Legacy from demonic Cultivators, kill! Anyone who harbors, conceals, or colludes with demonic Cultivators, same crime, kill!"

The three 'kill' words, each colder and heavier than the last, echoed over the square, stirring up an invisible, bloody wind.

"The scope," he paused, took a deep breath, and spat out a verdict that seemed to cover the entire world, "Within the territory of the Great Qian, the Nine Provinces, it shall reach everywhere!"

"This order is not an ordinary Sect mission." Lu Ming's gaze was sharp as an eagle's, "There is no time limit, until the demonic aura is completely cleansed! There are no exemptions; the injured and sick must report for review by the Law Enforcement Hall! Those who fear battle or feign compliance—their cultivation will be crippled, and they will be expelled from the Sect! Those who privately release demonic beings or collude with the enemy—their three clans will be wiped out, and their Divine Soul will be destroyed!"

"After the Luoxia Assembly ends, the six great peaks shall immediately organize rosters and allocate regions. Inner Sect Disciples will be the vanguard, Outer Sect Disciples will be the wings, and Deacon Elders will supervise the battle and patrol. In three days, the first batch of demon-suppressing teams must set off for the Nine Provinces!" Lu Ming finally raised Li Ping's blood-drenched head, the dripping blood reflecting on his expressionless face, "This order, with blood as a warning, in the name of Luoxia, purge all demons under heaven!"

"We respectfully obey the decree!" The Elders and true-transmission Disciples on the high platform responded in unison, the sound waves rolling.

The people below the platform woke as if from a dream, hurriedly bowing in succession, and chaotic sounds of agreement rang out: "We respectfully obey the decree!"

In the voices, there was fervor, fear, numbness, and deep exhaustion.

From this moment on, everyone's peaceful days of cultivation had ended.

Furthermore, with the issuance of this Demon Suppression Order, it was tantamount to a direct declaration of war against the Heavenly Demon Hall; this trip to the Nine Provinces would likely be unavoidable bloodshed.

Yun Ming squatted in a corner, wearing an expression as if he had eaten excrement.

He thought to himself that his Dao Fruit of Longevity had just arrived, and he was about to pocket a million Spirit Stones, so why did the Demon Suppression Order have to be implemented now? He wondered if he, an Alchemist, could be exempted.

After Lu Ming finished his announcement, he took Li Ping's corpse and left with all the Disciples of the Law Enforcement Hall.

Accompanying their departure, the great formation from just now vanished, and everyone's emotions erupted all at once.

"I am only at Qi Refining Level 3, do I have to go too?" A young Disciple asked with a confused face, tugging on the sleeve of the Senior Brother beside him.

The Senior Brother beside him had a livid face and whispered a reprimand: "Silence! The order has been issued; harboring hesitation is a crime!"

"What is there to fear!" A burly man slammed his hand on the scabbard at his waist, his eyes flashing with hatred, "Kill all those demonic brats! It is only right to use their blood to sacrifice to my brother's spirit in heaven!"

"But this 'anyone with a connection must be killed'... is too..." A female Disciple frowned, but before she could finish, her companion pulled her.

Her companion looked around and lowered her voice: "Watch your words! Didn't you hear Senior Brother Lu? Privately releasing demonic beings means the destruction of the Divine Soul! At a time like this, you must absolutely not make any mistakes."

On the edge of the crowd, two Disciples who were clearly newly initiated Outer Sect Disciples were pale as paper.

"I don't want to go and die, what should I do..." one of them said with a crying tone.

The other, slightly older one, could only smile bitterly: "We are definitely on the list. Sigh, let's hurry back and see what life-saving items we can trade for."

"Hmph, it's just killing demonic Cultivators, what is there to fear." A youth from the Inner Sect stood holding his sword, his eyes showing sharp excitement, "This is the perfect opportunity to make achievements and hone my sword edge!"

Yun Ming shook his head; he did not want to wade into these muddy waters, but his mother was still in Qingzhou, so he had to find a way to bring her into the Sect first; Senior Brother Xiao Hao should have a way.

He thought about finding Senior Brother Xiao Hao to ask him in person after the competition ended.

Once the Demon Suppression Order was issued, the remaining competing Disciples had no heart to watch, and many even left, leaving the entire valley looking desolate.

Yun Ming had no heart to watch either; he went straight back to his Immortal Cave, waiting for someone to deliver the Spirit Stones to him, and then he would sneak into the auction to buy some life-saving items.

Sure enough, Yun Ming did not have to wait long before the Outer Sect Disciple from before came knocking.

"May I ask if this is Senior Brother Yun Ming's Immortal Cave!" the Outer Sect Disciple shouted from outside the door.

"Yes, yes, yes! Please, come in, come in quickly!" Yun Ming hurriedly welcomed this Junior Brother in.

"Senior Brother, the location of this Immortal Cave is truly secluded; it was quite hard for me to find, Junior Brother. However, seclusion has its benefits, presumably..." This Outer Sect Disciple had just sat down and wanted to exchange pleasantries with Yun Ming, but seeing Yun Ming's fiery gaze, the polite words were all stuck in his throat.

"Uh, Senior Brother's Spirit Stones are all here." Seeing this, he didn't waste any more words and took out fourteen Storage Pouches directly, each containing one hundred thousand Spirit Stones.

"This pouch is Senior Brother's principal, and these thirteen pouches are what you won; the house took a ten percent cut, so Senior Brother earned a total of 1.35 million Spirit Stones this time, congratulations, Senior Brother."

Yun Ming smiled calmly on the surface while putting away all the Spirit Stones, but secretly he carefully checked all the Storage Pouches. After confirming there were no issues, he laughed loudly and said: "Hahahaha, thank you for making the trip, Junior Brother; take these jade marrow body washing paste."

Looking at the five portions of jade marrow body washing paste in his hands, this Outer Sect Disciple also smiled from ear to ear; he knew this trip would not be in vain.

"Junior Brother, I have other matters to attend to, so I won't keep you for a meal." After giving the items, Yun Ming had essentially issued an order to expel the guest.

This Outer Sect Disciple was also quite perceptive, "Then I won't disturb you further; Senior Brother, farewell."

"Farewell."

After seeing off this god of wealth, he dumped all the Spirit Stones into his naxu ring, and then burned the Storage Pouches that held the Spirit Stones to ashes in one go. Yun Ming felt a bit of heartache while burning them, but to prevent anyone from tampering with them, he decided to burn them clean.

Once these Storage Pouches were burned to fly ash, Yun Ming returned to his room, changed into a black magic robe, and covered his face with a piece of black gauze.

After concealing all of his aura, he arrived at the Luoxia Assembly again and waited quietly for the auction to begin.

The competition for the Foundation Establishment Realm continued until evening before it ended.

Then, the Elders of each peak began to present prizes to the winners.

For the Qi Refining Middle Stage, it was a bottle of qi condensing pill and five thousand Spirit Stones.

For the Qi Refining Late Stage, it was a bottle of Yellow Dragon Pill, a Medicinal Pill used for breaking through Realms, as well as thirty thousand Spirit Stones.

The reward for the Qi Refining Great Circle, which was Ye Chen, was a foundation establishment pill, which made Yun Ming a bit jealous.

For the Foundation Establishment Early Stage, it was a second-tier Medium Grade Magical Artifact.

For the Foundation Establishment Middle Stage, it was a second-tier High Grade Cultivation Technique.

As for the Foundation Establishment Late Stage, it was actually a promise: if one breaks through to the Foundation Establishment Great Perfection in the future, one can have priority in applying for the five elements gold-condensing jade liquid.

It was only priority in applying, not priority in receiving.

Yun Ming instantly felt a headache.

After the award ceremony ended, the six peak masters appeared again and began to announce that the auction would be held in the evening.

At that time, with proof of one hundred thousand Spirit Stones in assets and a deposit of ten thousand Spirit Stones, one could receive a number plate to enter.

Hearing that one had to pay a deposit of ten thousand Spirit Stones just to enter, Yun Ming gasped; originally full of confidence, he suddenly felt a bit guilty, wondering if his Spirit Stones were enough.