84: Threats and Contacts

Meanwhile.

In an unknown, dark space.

This was the headquarters of the Evil God Cult.

An incredibly massive black long table, pieced together from unknown bones, emitted a grim and chilling aura.

The long table was surrounded by figures.

They were of various forms, wearing all sorts of strange attire.

Some were draped in black robes with faces hidden in shadows; others were dressed in luxurious silks, looking like nobles; there were even half-human, half-beast monsters whose bodies were covered in scales.

But without exception, every person surged with an aura so powerful it was suffocating.

The entire space was dead silent; one could hear a pin drop.

The atmosphere was oppressive to the extreme, and the air became thick, as if it had solidified.

Everyone sat upright and still, even their breathing was deliberately slowed.

Finally, the man sitting at the head of the long table spoke.

His face was shrouded in a blurry shadow, making it impossible to see clearly, but everyone felt the displeasure radiating from him.

“Eternal Life Cult.”

The man's voice wasn't loud, yet it echoed clearly in everyone's ears, carrying an irresistible authority.

“The mission I gave you—what happened?”

As soon as he finished speaking.

With a "thud."

A man wearing black cult robes knelt in the center of the hall.

He pressed his head deep against the cold, hard floor, his entire body trembling violently, humbled into the dust.

“Lea... Leader, Lords, this... this really isn't our fault!”

The man's voice was filled with fear and despair, carrying a sob that sounded incredibly miserable.

He was none other than the Yongsheng Cult Leader.

Outside, he was a lawless existence worshipped by countless followers, deciding the life and death of thousands with a single word.

But here, before this long table, he was more humble than a dog wagging its tail for pity.

“Not your fault?”

The leader at the head seat repeated.

“Then whose fault is it?”

His tone didn't change in the slightest, yet it made the Yongsheng Cult Leader shake even harder.

“It's Chen Nian! It's all because of that guy named Chen Nian!”

The Yongsheng Cult Leader shouted urgently, as if grabbing onto a final life-saving straw.

“If he hadn't suddenly interfered halfway, our plan would have succeeded long ago! That Demon Cave, the one we worked hard to prepare for months, wouldn't have been completely destroyed by him!”

“Our people... all our people are dead, Lords!”

As he spoke, he kowtowed frantically, his forehead hitting the ground with dull "thump thump" sounds.

Chen Nian?

As soon as this name came out, a slight commotion immediately broke out in the previously dead silent scene.

Although the sound was small, it was exceptionally clear in this environment where a pin drop could be heard.

The powerful beings around the long table began to discuss in low voices.

“Chen Nian? I seem to have heard this name.”

“Is he the guy who's been gaining fame recently? Rumor has it he wiped out the Heart-Devouring Old Demon single-handedly.”

“More than just the Heart-Devouring Old Demon. According to the news I got, even the Youdu Corpse Emperor of the Corpse Ghost Cult died at his hands.”

“The Youdu Corpse Emperor? That undying zombie? His strength wasn't weak, yet he actually fell?”

“Rumors are rumors after all. Who knows how much exaggeration is in them? We haven't faced him head-on, so it's hard to say how strong he really is.”

Everyone present had heard more or less about the intelligence regarding Chen Nian.

However, they held high positions and thought highly of themselves. While they paid some attention to a rising star, they didn't truly take him to heart.

In their view, these rumors might just be hearsay that exaggerated the facts.

“Enough.”

The leader at the head seat uttered two words.

The discussion came to an abrupt halt.

The entire space returned to that suffocating, dead silence.

“Chen Nian?”

A slight ripple of emotion finally appeared in the leader's voice.

“Him again!”

These three simple words contained a sense of pressure like an impending storm.

The leader's body leaned forward slightly, and the shadow covering his face shifted along with it.

“First, he beat the Heart-Devouring Old Demon to death and wiped out the entire Heart-Worshipping Cult.”

“Then he killed the Youdu Corpse Emperor and uprooted the Corpse Ghost Cult.”

“Now, he actually dares to lay a finger on the Demon Cave we worked so hard to find, and even destroyed it.”

The leader's voice was neither rushed nor slow, as if he were stating a trivial matter.

But with every sentence he spoke, the Yongsheng Cult Leader kneeling on the ground shrunk a bit more, and the atmosphere on the scene grew increasingly heavy.

The expressions of everyone present also began to turn serious.

They could ignore the Heart-Worshipping Cult and the Corpse Ghost Cult.

Even the Eternal Life Cult kneeling on the ground was, in their eyes, just a small sect recruited midway to handle some miscellaneous chores.

The strength of these sects was not worth mentioning before their truly core cults.

However, the demons those sects worshipped were no mere nobodies.

The Heart-Devouring Old Demon!

The Youdu Corpse Emperor!

These were all powerful existences who had made illustrious names for themselves in the Demon Realm!

Any one of them was enough to bring ruin to a whole region.

But now, these powerful demons, along with the sects they supported, were being wiped out one after another by the same person.

Moreover, they were almost all easily defeated in a crushing manner.

This explained a lot.

More importantly, everything this Chen Nian wiped out belonged to the forces of their Evil God Cult.

Once is a coincidence.

Twice is an accident.

But what about three or four times?

Has this Chen Nian set his sights on them?

A terrifying thought simultaneously surfaced in everyone's minds.

The scene fell into a long silence.

“Heh!”

Suddenly, the leader at the head seat let out an ambiguous chuckle.

“Interesting.”

“Since he has opposed us again and again, it seems we also need to... have a good 'contact' with him.”

The leader deliberately emphasized the word "contact."

Hearing this, a man beside him, completely shrouded in armor, asked in a muffled voice, “What does the leader mean?”

The leader's fingers tapped lightly on the bone table, making crisp "tap, tap, tap" sounds.

“This Chen Nian's strength is undoubtedly very powerful.”

“If such a talent can be used by us, it will greatly enhance our cult's strength.”

The leader's voice returned to a calm state, as if analyzing a business transaction.

“So, first send someone to have a good contact with him and test his attitude.”

“If he is willing to join us, that would naturally be best.”

At this point, the leader's voice paused, and a grim killing intent suddenly enveloped the entire hall.

“But if... he is unwilling.”

“Then he will surely become our cult's greatest enemy!”

“For enemies, our principle has always been only one.”

“That is, before he fully grows up, use all our power to hunt him down and exterminate him, pulling him out by the roots, leaving no future troubles!”

The leader's words were decisive, without a hint of hesitation.

“Exactly, this boy must not be allowed to remain!”

“Either he becomes one of us, or he becomes a dead man!”

“His existence already seriously threatens our subsequent plans!”

“He must be dealt with as soon as possible!”

Hearing this, everyone present nodded in agreement, discussing fervently.

They all understood how terrifying a powerful person with infinite potential who was also their enemy could be.

Allowing him to grow was no different from nurturing a tiger that would eventually cause trouble.

The leader raised his hand, and the scene quieted down again.

His gaze fell once more on the Yongsheng Cult Leader, who was kneeling on the ground with a stiff body.

“This mission is assigned to you.”

“You go and contact him.”

“Probe his background and probe his attitude.”

Hearing this, the Yongsheng Cult Leader was completely stunned, his body jolted violently, and he looked up in horror.

What?!

Let him go?!

What a joke!

Chen Nian had just killed all of his people.

Sending him to contact Chen Nian now—what was the difference between that and sending him to his death?

His face was written with resistance and fear, his lips trembling as he wanted to open his mouth to beg for mercy.

But when he met the leader's emotionless gaze, all his words were stuck in his throat, and he couldn't say a single word.

A few seconds later, the Yongsheng Cult Leader kowtowed heavily again, his voice hoarse and trembling.

“Yes, this subordinate... obeys!”

He used almost all his strength to squeeze out those few words.

“Very good.”

The leader nodded in satisfaction.

He stood up.

“Meeting adjourned.”

After saying that, his figure vanished into thin air from the head seat.

With the leader's departure, the other figures around the long table also got up one after another, turning into black shadows and disappearing into the dark space.

Soon, only the Yongsheng Cult Leader was left in the entire hall, still kneeling there, lost in soul.

He knew very well that he had just accepted an incredibly unreasonable mission.