Since childhood, Cheng Zui had idolized the Living Immortal, vowing to become a person like him when he grew up, vanquishing demons, upholding justice, and being revered by thousands, a hero in the hearts of immortal sect cultivators.
He never expected fate to play such a cruel joke. His life's goal was to become the greatest demon in the Yuehua Realm, the Heavenly Demon. His world had collapsed, and he didn't know what to do next. As an immortal sect cultivator, his intuition told him this was a grand conspiracy. He should reveal this to everyone, warning them to be wary of the Living Immortal. He also needed to alert the immortal sects that the Heavenly Demon Valley had gone to Furong Peak to seize a rare treasure, cautioning them to be vigilant and prepare.
However, the Living Immortal was, after all, the master who raised and taught him. If he revealed this, the Living Immortal would be disgraced and ultimately become an enemy of all immortal sects. Cheng Zui was conflicted, unsure of what to do.
"So that's how it is. No wonder you said the Living Immortal spent most of his time in seclusion in Langya Cave. He wasn't in seclusion, but using the teleportation array to preside over matters in the Heavenly Demon Valley. However, we only heard voices from underground just now; we didn't see the Heavenly Demon's face. Perhaps it was just someone with a voice similar to your master's. Didn't you say your master knew someone was impersonating him and went to investigate? Maybe the Heavenly Demon is that impersonator. Seeing is believing. Perhaps you were mistaken and wrongly accused your master. It wouldn't be good to cause a rift between master and disciple, would it? How about we go confirm it again?"
Zhu Ji initially appeared enlightened, convinced the Living Immortal was the Heavenly Demon. But seeing Cheng Zui's distress, she felt pity and sought an excuse to exonerate the Living Immortal.
"You're right. We didn't see the Heavenly Demon's face. We can't wrongly accuse master based solely on a similar voice."
Hearing Zhu Ji's words, Cheng Zui looked up, a spark returning to his eyes. He clung to the hope that he had misheard, that his master couldn't be a demonic cultivator. The Heavenly Demon giving orders in that grand hall couldn't possibly be the Living Immortal. He then pulled Zhu Ji, and they went back to confirm.
But when they returned to the grand hall, it was empty. The meeting must have concluded, and everyone had dispersed. Unwilling to give up, they used earth遁 (earth escape) to move through the underground of the Heavenly Demon Valley, hoping to find the Heavenly Demon and confirm his identity.
Finally, in a bamboo forest, they found the Heavenly Demon clad in black. Perhaps heaven was helping them; Zhu Ji was a bamboo demon, and in the bamboo forest, she felt as if she were home. She enveloped Cheng Zui with her aura, and the two boldly emerged from underground, appearing near the Heavenly Demon. With the bamboo forest as cover, even if someone walked right up to them, they wouldn't be exposed.
This time, they saw the Heavenly Demon's appearance clearly. Cheng Zui's heart sank. Although the color and style of the clothes were different, he would never mistake that face. The Heavenly Demon before him was his master, the Living Immortal. He was about to rush forward and question him, to ask why. Why would he deceive him, deceive the world? How could he be a great demon, yet pretend to be the virtuous, compassionate Living Immortal?
Just then, a splash of water appeared in the bamboo forest. It solidified into a scholar in white robes. The two dared not move rashly, carefully concealing themselves, wanting to hear what they would say.
"My Lord, the Five Elements Demon Lord has led ten thousand demons on their way. With their five elements united, controlling the power of ten thousand demons, they can rampage through the Yuehua Realm. I believe they can surely bring back the treasure from Furong Peak," the man in white said to the Heavenly Demon, cupping his fists with confidence.
"Ming He, do not be arrogant. Nothing in this world is absolute. I have been planning for five hundred years to conquer the Yuehua Realm, and each time I have failed. Do not underestimate the strength of the immortal sects. Do you forget? Five hundred years ago, you were pursued by the immortal sects like a stray dog. If I hadn't announced your death in my guise as the Living Immortal and brought you back to the Heavenly Demon Valley, you would have died five hundred years ago." The Heavenly Demon's face was calm, his gaze fixed on the moon, as if lost in thought.
"My Lord, I beg your pardon. Ming He was presumptuous. But this time, with your personal command and a meticulous plan, and after a full year of preparation, there should be no mistakes." Ming He's expression sobered, his smugness vanishing. Only adoration for the Heavenly Demon remained as he spoke with full confidence.
"Heh! A year? Ming He, do you know that to conquer the Yuehua Realm, I have prepared for five hundred years? First, I hid my identity as the Heavenly Demon and mingled with the immortal sects, taking the alias Qian Qi, becoming the Living Immortal. This allowed me to infiltrate the immortal sects and know them inside out. Then, I planted spies in various sects to control them. But the sects select their disciples strictly. Over centuries, I only managed to develop two dim-witted fellows, He Lian Bo and Yong Gao Ya, who could not stir up much trouble or achieve the goal of subverting the immortal sects. In desperation, I had to use my clone, taking the name Qing Lan, to become a disciple of He Lian Bo and join the Heavenly Dao Sect. I intended to personally intervene and create an inside-outside attack during the great war between immortals and demons. However, the younger generation of the immortal sects produced outstanding talents. Not only the Hundred Flowers Palace, Sword Sect, and Heavenly Sound Sect had exceptional disciples, but even the Golden Crow Palace, which had already been infiltrated, produced a Golden Crow Fairy. They united to resist the Heavenly Demon Valley, forming a force that could contend with it. On one hand, I instructed He Lian Bo to close his sect and appear to be uninvolved, hoping other sects would follow suit so I could defeat them one by one. On the other hand, I assigned Qing Lan to befriend the Golden Crow Fairy and others, hoping to gain intelligence. But I underestimated the Golden Crow Fairy's strength and miscalculated. Due to my clone being separated from my body, my strength was halved. I was wounded in the soul by the Golden Crow Fairy and urgently needed my clone to return, or my life would be in danger. Thus, during the immortal-demon battle at Tiandu Peak, I pretended to perish with Qing Lan, but in reality, I was merging to heal myself. This saved my life, but the battle ultimately ended in defeat. I am telling you all this to warn you: do not underestimate the immortal sects, nor underestimate any young disciple of any immortal sect. Never let your guard down. Sometimes, what appears to be a sure victory can turn into variables in an instant, leading to total defeat."
The Heavenly Demon turned to Ming He, recounting the past with a calm, expressionless face, as if speaking of something completely unrelated to himself.
"Your subordinate has learned a lesson. However, I still have one thing I don't understand. Since my Lord predicted a year ago that the rare treasure to appear at Sifang Mountain would affect the Heavenly Demon Valley, and meticulously prepared for a year to obtain it, why did you then announce the news of the treasure's appearance to the world, attracting elite disciples from various sects to gather at Furong Peak? Wouldn't it have been better to quietly enrich ourselves, saving a lot of trouble?" Seeing that the Heavenly Demon seemed talkative today, Ming He gathered his courage and asked the question he had always wanted to ask but dared not.
"The news was not spread by me. As for the person who impersonated me, I still have no information. It's as if they vanished after spreading the news. I find it very strange. That's why I'm not as optimistic as you are. Perhaps that person is a variable." After speaking, the Heavenly Demon looked up at the sky again.