184: An old friend was reunited.

At the peak of Asura Peak, the fierce winds were like blades.

Two waves of Purple Mansion pressure poured down like a celestial river, forcing thousands of demonic Cultivators to bend their spines and sink their knees deep into the mud.

The crimson sea of clouds churned.

A tall, slender figure stepped through the Void Realm, slowly emerging from the depths of the Wan Sha Hall.

Ling Yunzhi.

This newly advanced Purple Mansion True Person was draped in a robe woven from ten thousand souls, his black hair wildly dancing, surrounded by visible resentful spirits and Evil Qi.

With each step he took, the Void Realm beneath his feet rippled with dark red waves, as if he were treading upon the spines of countless deceased souls.

"Sect Master Sect Master Youquan, it has been a while."

Ling Yunzhi stopped ten zhang away, his voice hoarse, carrying a penetrating quality like metal grinding.

He did not perform the Junior's salute; instead, he looked down upon Immortal Master Sect Master Youquan from a superior position. In those crimson eyes, there was not a trace of the former deference, only naked arrogance and aggression.

Immortal Master Sect Master Youquan's face tightened.

But after all, he was an old fox who had lived for centuries, with profound depth and cunning.

"Congratulations, Fellow Daoist Ling, on attaining the Dao of the Purple Mansion. From now on, you are separated from the mortal realm, free to roam heaven and earth."

Immortal Master Sect Master Youquan cupped his hands, his face breaking into an appropriately polite smile, as if he hadn't noticed the other's rudeness.

Ling Yunzhi's lips curled into a mocking arc, but he did not respond.

His gaze passed over Immortal Master Sect Master Youquan, firmly locking onto that mass of gray, misty fog.

"And who is this?"

Ling Yunzhi narrowed his eyes slightly, two beams of bloody light deep within his pupils shooting out like unsheathed swords, directly piercing towards Gu Changsheng's face.

He sensed something amiss.

An extremely strange, yet indescribable sense of familiarity, like a thorn, was lodged deep within his Divine Soul.

This feeling made him instinctively disgusted, even... wary.

Gu Changsheng stood with his hands behind his back within the fog. Faced with this aggressive probing, he did not even lift an eyelid.

An intangible, formless Taiyin Power flowed upstream along Ling Yunzhi's probing, silently distorting the other's perception.

In the feedback from Ling Yunzhi's Divine Sense.

The person before him was like a piece of dead wood that had withered for ten thousand years, devoid of any vitality or Karma, as if he were a living corpse crawled out from an ancient tomb.

He did not match anyone in his memory.

"This seat is Protracting Purity."

Gu Changsheng spoke lightly, his voice filtered through the Taiyin Power, becoming aged and eerily cold.

"A mere idle man from the wild mountains, borrowing the Corpse Yin Sect's precious land for a few days of quiet cultivation. Not worthy of Fellow Daoist Ling's concern."

"Protracting Purity?"

Ling Yunzhi frowned tightly, a flash of confusion in his crimson eyes.

When did such a figure appear in the Southern Border Cultivation World?

The Dao of Wither and Flourish?

He increased the output of his Divine Sense once more, attempting to tear through that layer of gray fog to see the other's true appearance.

However.

No matter how hard he tried, once his Divine Sense touched the gray fog, it vanished without a trace, like clay oxen entering the sea.

Even the restless demonic heart within his body felt an inexplicable chill under this aura of desolation.

Unfathomable.

Completely unfathomable.

"Fellow Daoist Ling."

Gu Changsheng suddenly chuckled lightly, waving his sleeve to disperse the Evil Qi approaching him.

"Upon our first meeting, you stare at this old man like this. Could it be that there are flowers on my face?"

This move, executed with effortless ease, instantly dissolved Ling Yunzhi's pressure.

Ling Yunzhi's heart tightened, and he withdrew his unrestrained gaze.

This person's cultivation was unfathomably deep.

"Fellow Daoist jests."

Ling Yunzhi forced a smile and cupped his hands, "It's just that I find your aura unique and couldn't help but take a few extra glances. Since you are a friend of Sect Master Sect Master Youquan, you are an honored guest of the Wan Sha Hall."

"Please."

He stepped aside to make way, pointing towards the towering, ferocious Myriad Fiends Devil Hall... inside the hall.

The atmosphere was suffocatingly oppressive.

The decorations here were extremely luxurious, yet exuded a nauseating bloody stench.

The carpet was sewn from whole hides of high-level Yao Beasts, the tables were polished from white bones, and even the wine cups were delicate skull caps.

Directly above the great hall, a massive Blood Jade Throne was placed.

A withered, skeletal old man sat upon it.

His skin clung tightly to his bones, showing a sickly gray pallor. Only his eyes were frighteningly bright, like two burning ghost flames.

The Hall Master of the Wan Sha Hall, Blood Fiend Master.

A Five Methods Purple Mansion Cultivator, nominally the foremost among the Southern Border's Demonic Path Purple Mansion Cultivators.

"Sit."

Blood Fiend Master's voice was hoarse, like the cry of a night owl.

Everyone sat down as instructed.

Blood Fiend Master took the head seat, Ling Yunzhi the second, with the Hehuan Sect's Crimson Powder Maiden and the Ten Thousand Poisons Sect's Thousand-Foot Old Monster seated to the left and right.

Immortal Master Sect Master Youquan and Gu Changsheng were placed at the lowest guest seats.

This seating arrangement was itself a naked insult and provocation.

Immortal Master Sect Master Youquan's expression turned ugly. Just as he was about to flare up, he saw Gu Changsheng sit down calmly, as if he were not sitting on a cold bench but a cloud bed in the Nine Heavens.

His heart settled, and he followed suit and sat down.

"I heard the Corpse Yin Sect has gained a new supreme worship official."

As soon as he sat down, Ling Yunzhi launched another attack.

He picked up the human bone wine cup before him, gently swirling the crimson liquid inside, his gaze sharp as a blade, directly targeting Gu Changsheng.

"Fellow Daoist Protracting Purity cultivates the Dao of Wither and Flourish and yi wood? That is indeed rare."

"May I ask where your Dao techniques were learned? On which immortal mountain did you cultivate before?"

"This seat has roamed the Southern Border for many years, yet I have never heard of your name."

This rapid series of questions carried the sharpness and aggression unique to a newly advanced Purple Mansion Cultivator.

Inside the hall, the few Devil Heads who had been whispering instantly fell silent.

Crimson Powder Maiden covered her mouth with a light laugh, Thousand-Foot Old Monster toyed with the poisonous insect in his hand, both wearing expressions of watching a good show.

Everyone could see that Ling Yunzhi intended to establish his authority using this unknown "Old Ancestor Protracting Purity."

Gu Changsheng picked up his wine cup but did not drink, only looking at the blurred face reflected in the liquid.

"A hero's origins need not be questioned."

Gu Changsheng's tone was flat, his fingertips gently rubbing the smooth edge of the bone porcelain.

"Fellow Daoist Ling is now a noble Purple Mansion Cultivator. Why are you still interested in such stale, trivial matters?"

"Unless..."

Gu Changsheng lifted his head, those heterochromatic eyes hidden behind the gray fog staring at Ling Yunzhi with a half-smile.

"Fellow Daoist Ling lacks confidence in your 'Dao Attainment Battle,' so you're eager to find a sense of superiority in others?"

As these words were spoken.

The temperature in the hall plummeted.

Ling Yunzhi's wine cup cracked with a snap, splitting into several fine lines.

Killing his grandfather, murdering his mentor.

This was the deepest taboo in his heart, his most proud masterpiece, and also the source of his current Heart Demon.

"Fellow Daoist, what do you mean by that?"

Ling Yunzhi slowly stood up, Evil Qi churning around him, the phantom of his Ten Thousand Souls Dharma Form faintly appearing behind him, emitting mournful roars.

"Exactly what it means."

Gu Changsheng remained seated, even leisurely taking a sip of the blood wine.

"This seat is praising you."

"Decisive in killing, recognizing neither kin nor friend."

Gu Changsheng put down his wine cup, uttering a sincere sigh of admiration.

"Such Heart-Nature truly makes you a born demon seed."

"In comparison, this seat's Dao of Wither and Flourish seems somewhat petty."

These words sounded like praise but were actually tearing open Ling Yunzhi's unsightly, festering scars and exposing them bloodily before everyone.

Yet the tone was so sincere that one could find no fault.

Ling Yunzhi was stunned.

The anger he had accumulated was like punching cotton—unable to be released, instead causing internal injury from the feel oppressed.

Looking at Gu Changsheng's calm and composed demeanor, the doubts in his heart actually dissipated somewhat.

This old-fashioned, sarcastic tone truly resembled those old monsters who had lived for centuries.

If he were a Righteous Path Cultivator, he would have long jumped up to curse him for being utterly devoid of conscience.

Who would praise "recognizing neither kin nor friend" as a virtue like this?

"Fellow Daoist Protracting Purity flatters me."

Ling Yunzhi snorted coldly and sat back down, though his face remained as dark as if it could drip water.

"The Great Dao is merciless. Only by severing worldly ties can one attain great freedom."

Seeing this, Immortal Master Sect Master Youquan quickly mediated.

"Exactly! Exactly! Fellow Daoist Ling's actions show great courage! We admire you!"

As he spoke, he secretly gave Gu Changsheng a grateful look.

This move of diverting trouble was played beautifully.

Not only did it defuse Ling Yunzhi's probing, but it also turned the tables, seizing the initiative in the conversation.

"Enough."

Blood Fiend Master, who had been silent, suddenly spoke.

His voice was not loud, but it instantly suppressed all noise in the hall.

Those ghost-flame-like eyes swept across the room, finally resting on Immortal Master Sect Master Youquan and Gu Changsheng.

"Today, I invited everyone here not to listen to you bicker."

Blood Fiend Master's withered fingers lightly tapped on the armrest, producing a steady knocking sound.

"The Righteous Path Alliance Army has retreated, but the territory of the Southern Border still needs to be redivided."

The main event had arrived.

Everyone perked up, sitting straight.

"Especially that Blood Lake."

Blood Fiend Master grinned, revealing a mouthful of broken black teeth, his smile sinister.

"That place is rich in Evil Qi, a treasure land for cultivation."

"The Wan Sha Hall contributed the most and suffered the heaviest casualties. We should take the largest share."

"This seat is not greedy."

He extended three fingers, waving them in the air.

"The Wan Sha Hall will take three-tenths exclusively."

"The remaining seven-tenths will be divided among the rest of you."

Three-tenths?

Immortal Master Sect Master Youquan's expression changed slightly.

This Blood Lake was originally ownerless land. For the Wan Sha Hall to demand three-tenths with one mouthful—their appetite was too big.

And the remaining seven-tenths had to be divided among four factions?

"How will it be divided?"

Thousand-Foot Old Monster asked insidiously, his body covered in colorful poisonous spiders.

"Simple."

Blood Fiend Master's gaze shifted, suddenly looking behind Gu Changsheng...

There, Chen Mu stood like a statue.

His body was wrapped in bandages, his left leg woven from vines, exuding a heart-palpitating bloody scent.

Even in this hall filled with demonic Cultivators, this smell was particularly pungent.

"What a fine mad dog."

Blood Fiend Master licked his lips, a flash of appreciation in his eyes.

"Middle Foundation Establishment Stage, yet with Evil Qi not inferior to the Late Stage."

"Fellow Daoist Protracting Purity, you have trained him well."

Gu Changsheng slightly turned his head but did not speak.

Blood Fiend Master withdrew his gaze, looking around at everyone. The smile on his face grew brighter, exuding a bloodthirsty madness.

"Since we are all from the Demonic Path, let's skip the reasoning."

"Whoever has the bigger fist eats more."

"How about..."

He pointed to the square outside the hall.

"We let our Juniors go down and play?"

"Each faction gets a guaranteed one-tenth. Then, send three Foundation Establishment Disciples to set up a ring on that Blood Lake."

"Life and death disregarded."

"Win a match, take half a tenth share."

"Those who lose..."

Blood Fiend Master cackled weirdly, his voice echoing in the hall like a vengeful ghost demanding a life.

"Then leave your life behind, to add some nourishment to this Blood Lake."