Refining the Mountains and Rivers

The once in a century Demon Ascension Gate was a grand ceremony for the Demonic Path to absorb some fresh new blood. It was their way of attracting the most talented individuals in the world, thus this event attracted attention from everyone who followed the demonic path. Heavenly Demon City was responsible for hosting it. Because of this, the entire city was placed under martial law. Without permission, no one could leave or enter. This was to prevent any possible incidents from occurring at the grand ceremony.

12 transmission arrays were scattered around a square. Outside of each transmission array, there were Demonic Path cultivators standing and waiting in silence. They did not speak a single word and the atmosphere around them was cold and sharp. It made them seem as if they were beasts in human form, ready to devour anyone that approached them.

Suddenly, in the southeast corner of the square, a transmission array began to light up. The runes shimmered and space violently shook as ripples appeared.

A group of cultivators slowly emerged from the spatial ripples.

Shua -

Qin Yu opened his eyes. When he felt the spatial fluctuations around him rapidly fading, he knew that the transmission was about to come to an end.

As expected, after several breaths of time the kaleidoscope of colors around him began to fade away and the surrounding environment became increasingly clear.

"The Black Demon Sect has 257 participants joining the Demon Ascension Gate. Count them!"

A loud shout entered Qin Yu's ears, causing his heart to skip a beat. This voice was a little hoarse but it wasn't too difficult to hear. There wasn't any excess strength within it, but it actually gave off a horrifying feeling.

Just listening to this voice, one felt as if they fell into an asura hell. A rich smell of blood flooded the senses, causing several people to almost vomit.

At the side, the Black Demon Sect cultivators chosen to enter the Demon Ascension Gate all had pallid complexions. Shock and fear was written in their faces.

This Demonic Path cultivator was terrifyingly strong!

In particular, there was a dense slaughter energy to this voice, one so rich that it almost substantialized. It was unknown just how many people this person had killed to accomplish this.

"Senior-apprentice brother, the count is correct."

"Bring them away."

The Black Demon Sect people walked out of the transmission array. It was only then that Qin Yu saw the Demonic Path cultivator who had an incredible amount of slaughter energy around him. This person was slender and his complexion was especially pale, as if he had a loss of blood energy. He gave off a weak and feeble feeling, completely different from what everyone had imagined.

What was particularly strange was that this person's aura was volatile and uncertain. He clearly seemed as if he had just entered the Blue Sea realm, but he actually gave off an unfathomable feeling.

Several breaths of relief came from the Black Demon Sect cultivators who emerged from the array formation. When they discovered that he only had an initial Blue Sea realm cultivation, they relaxed a bit and became much calmer.

Qin Yu secretly shook his head. These Black Demon Sect cultivators underestimated this person far too much. If they were to fight, even if all of them gathered together, they wouldn't be this person's match.

This was truly worthy of the Demonic Path. In the Land of Divinity and Demons, it was the only super influence that was capable of standing on par with the Immortal Sect. There were formidable geniuses everywhere.

"Bring them to pay their respects to the demon statue." After giving an order, this person turned and left. This seemingly irresponsible behavior didn't stir up any annoyance. Instead, the other Demonic Path cultivators bowed and looked towards the person as he walked away with worship in their eyes.

Straightening themselves and turning towards the Black Demon Sect cultivators, one of the Demonic Path cultivators said, "Follow us. Don't lag behind on the road, otherwise you will lose your little lives. Don't blame us for not reminding you of this."

The Black Demon Sect people had indignant expressions. If they were chosen to attend the grand ceremony of the Demon Ascension Gate, they could all be considered talented elites of their time. It was natural for them to be proud and arrogant.

"What, you aren't convinced? If you can enter the Demonic Path, you can come look for us at any time. But right now, it would be best if you are all a bit more obedient!" With a cold sneer, the several Demonic Path cultivators dispersed, surrounding the 257 people and leading them out of the square.

Another group came from the southwest side of the square, both of them going the same direction. They inevitably bumped into each other at the square's exit. A Demonic Path cultivator bowed, "Greetings, senior-apprentice brother Zhou."

Zhou Ruhai had a cold gaze. "Black Demon Sect disciples?"

The other person had an anxious expression. "Yes."

Zhou Ruhai didn't say much. Another Demonic Path cultivator standing beside him swept his eyes across the Black Demon Sect group and sneered. "They really get worse and worse with each generation. The Black Demon Sect is sending you worthless losers this time? Are they trying to disgrace themselves?"

Behind him, a group of young cultivators laughed.

In any large-scale influence, it was impossible for there to be a monolithic pillar of opinion; there were bound to be various factions within. Where there were people, there was the wild martial world. These words might seem a bit vulgar, but they were fact.

For instance, of the 12 branch sects, the Black Demon Sect and Soul Burial Sect had a long and horrid entangled history with each other, one filled with grudges and grievances that could be traced back for tens of thousands of years, perhaps even longer. On the outside, they were suppressed by the Demonic Path and forced to maintain an appearance of peace. But in reality, the secret competition between them had never stopped. It could be said that the hatred they shared with each other was as deep as a sea.

Zhou Ruhai had originated from the Soul Burial Sect, and the cultivator next to him who spoke up was also from the Soul Burial Sect. The young cultivators behind them were the chosen disciples recommended by the Soul Burial Sect to participate in the Demon Ascension Gate this time.

Thus, both sides could be called enemies.

Roughly counting, the Soul Burial Sect had at least 400-500 people participating, almost double that of the Black Demon Sect. And, those of the demonic path always believed in strength first and foremost. From this point, one could see that the current Soul Burial Sect was considerably stronger than the Black Demon Sect.

But even so, the Black Demon Sect cultivators weren't willing to lower their heads and endure these insults. In addition to the insults they received from the other Demonic Path cultivators, their warm blood began to boil over.

With neither side willing to back off, the atmosphere suddenly turned tense. A conflict was about to burst out at any moment.

"Senior-apprentice brother Zhou, please don't make things difficult for us!" One of the Demonic Path cultivators who was guiding the Black Demon Sect cultivators rushed in between the two sides. There was a worried look on his face. He was already in trouble as it was, and if he messed up this assignment today, then even if both sides were at fault, the final nail would land on him.

But what did it matter if he wasn't willing to deal with this? No one could reach the current Zhou Ruhai's limelight!

A Demonic Path cultivator who originated from the Soul Burial Sect sneered and said, "What do you mean making things difficult? Hey, you little beasts from the Black Demon Sect, if any of you aren't convinced then you can step up and compete with the Soul Burial Sect juniors behind me! If you just yap then you're no different from a group of old women. All of you really are pathetic!"

As soon as these words were said, the complexions of those from Black Demon Sect suddenly darkened. Their eyes flushed red and it seemed as if the situation would soon spin out of control.

"What are you all standing around here for? Are you putting on a monkey show or something?" A light voice sounded out, and with it a bitter chill pierced through the air. Everyone shuddered and the scene immediately quieted down.

The cultivator to the side of Zhou Ruhai suddenly changed his complexion. He clenched his teeth and said, "So it was senior-apprentice brother Shang. This is just a minor conflict between juniors of competing branch sects. There is no need for you to worry about it!"

Shang Yuntai had a faint expression. "Lead them away. Don't be late."

He actually completely ignored that person.

The cultivator paled. But before he could speak, Shang Yuntai's eyes fell on him. His body stiffened and he tried to move his mouth to speak, but he couldn't utter a single syllable.

Zhou Ruhai was expressionless. "Senior-apprentice brother Shang has such great momentum."

Shang Yuntai lightly said. "Junior-apprentice brother Zhou, you should do well to remember what day it is today. If anything goes wrong, even Elder Li might not be able to fix the situation."

He waved his hand, "Let's leave."

The Black Demon Sect cultivators were silent. Although they glared at the Soul Burial Sect people, no one said anything further.