Chương 167: Rooting Out the Hidden

The people present fell into a brief, contemplative silence. Fang Jisheng's words carried the weight of truth. Beyond the White Bone Demon Cave, demonic cultivators had spread their taint across every corner of Qingtai Prefecture, large and small alike. They moved like shadows through the darkness, blending seamlessly into crowds, wearing the faces of ordinary cultivators. Under most circumstances, they betrayed no trace of their true nature, indistinguishable from any other cultivator on the street.

Rooting out these creeping vermin from their hidden lairs was no simple task. And it was a problem that could not wait.

"Fellow Daoist Fang, I've already made contact with the Heavenly Crane Sect! The seniors of the upper sect have given their full support to our demon-extermination campaign. What's more, the resurgence of demonic cultivators in the Tang Kingdom has grown serious enough to threaten our very development." Zhou Yuelong of the Zhou family stepped forward to speak. As the Zhou family's very first Tier 3 cultivator, he was now over three hundred and sixty years old.

Yet his cultivation remained stubbornly fixed at the sixth level, trapped behind an unyielding bottleneck. He had attempted to break through three separate times over the decades, and each time he had failed. Now, Zhou Yuezi had risen to match his level from behind. There were even murmurs that Zhou Yuezi might soon break into the late stage. The Zhou family's current prestige had been built single-handedly by Zhou Yuelong. Several of his clansmen had also secured positions within the Heavenly Crane Sect.

"What kind of aid are we talking about?" Fang Xinjin asked. The Fang family, too, maintained connections within the Heavenly Crane Sect.

"The refining method for the Demon-Seeking Mirror!" As Zhou Yuelong's words landed, the eyes of everyone present kindled with interest. The Demon-Seeking Mirror, true to its name, could project a ray of mirror light attuned to demonic aura. A Tier 1 mirror could sweep a radius of a thousand meters. A Tier 2 mirror extended that range to a full ten miles. And with a Tier 3 mirror, demonic cultivators within a hundred miles were laid bare the moment its light passed over them.

Zhou Yuelong produced the refining method on the spot. The Tier 3 cultivators of the Fang family exchanged glances, carefully examined the document, and confirmed it to be the genuine article. During the great war when demonic cultivators had once run rampant, countless Tier 2 and Tier 1 powers had been annihilated. Several Purple Mansion families had also perished. The refining method for the Demon-Seeking Mirror had been lost amid the chaos.

For nearly a century, with demonic cultivators lying dormant, the mirror had seemed little more than a relic of the past. But now that demonic cultivators were clawing their way back from extinction, the Demon-Seeking Mirror had become indispensable.

"Excellent!" Fang Jisheng's face split into a broad smile. He immediately dispatched orders for Fang family cultivators to begin gathering the necessary materials. Zhang Huaijin received a copy as well. Zhou Yuelong pressed on, "The materials are not difficult to acquire. We can delegate the task to the Tier 2 and Tier 1 forces under our command." This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.

"The seniors of the Heavenly Crane Sect have also lent us a Tier 3 upper grade Demon-Seeking Mirror. Once we breach the White Bone Demon Cave, the demonic cultivators inside will have nowhere to hide. From there, it will simply be a matter of how quickly we can cut them down." He was already laying out the full strategy. Within the White Bone Demon Cave resided three Tier 3 demonic cultivators. The strongest among them had only reached the sixth level. The other two were at the fourth and third levels respectively.

The number of Tier 2 demonic cultivators should not exceed thirty. For now, the demonic forces of Qingtai Prefecture were still in their infancy, far from their former peak. Though demonic cultivators sowed chaos across the land, these three Tier 3 demonic cultivators remained entrenched within the White Bone Demon Cave, absorbing demonic aura to temper their spirit artifacts. —— Across the Eastern Great Wilderness, indeed, throughout the entire Nine Peaks Realm, dense networks of demon caves riddled the landscape.

No one knew how they had come to be. Within these caves, the demonic aura was startlingly pure, making them paradise for practitioners of the demonic path. And the demonic cultivators under their command carried out massacre after massacre, with the spoils funneled upward to feed these masterminds behind the scenes. This was one of the key reasons their cultivation advanced at such breakneck speed. But eradicating these demon caves was a grueling ordeal.

Cultivators had to channel their own spiritual energy to slowly grind away the demonic aura within. Demonic aura was a poison to orthodox cultivators, one misstep could damage their meridians and erode their cultivation. It also heightened the risk of heart demons taking root. For most cultivators, the price was simply too steep. And to make matters worse, the demon caves occasionally shifted their locations. This was one of the main reasons demonic cultivators could never be completely stamped out.

Demonic cultivation legacies were scattered everywhere, waiting for new hands to pick them up.

"We have seven Tier 3 cultivators in total. For this battle, we'll deploy five. I'll lead the expedition personally. Along with Fellow Daoist Huaijin, that gives us six combatants. There's no way three Tier 3 demonic cultivators can stand against us." Fang Jisheng took a deep breath, his voice ringing with resolve. Zhang Huaijin's expression remained impassive. Neither did Ning Nanzhi's stir. The demon-extermination campaign in Guiyun Prefecture had already commenced.

Zhang Huaijin had killed the Blood Infant Elder, and four Tier 2 demonic cultivators had fallen in battle. The major powers of Guiyun Prefecture were not about to let such a golden opportunity slip through their fingers.

"Good! Then let us set the demon-extermination campaign to begin ten days from now!" Zhou Yuelong's eyes blazed with killing intent.

"Fellow Daoist Zhang, do you have anything to add?" Zhou Yuelong could not help but feel envy for the rising prodigy of the Zhang family. Here was a man destined for the Purple Mansion Realm, one who even held hope of breaking through to the Golden Core.

"You two have arranged everything admirably. I hope we can succeed in a single, decisive attack." Zhang Huaijin's voice was calm, betraying no hint of emotion.

"Excellent! Then let us wish ourselves a triumphant victory, may we succeed in our mission and annihilate the White Bone Demon Cave!" Fang Jisheng's voice boomed with ambition. If they wanted to reclaim the Blood Lion Mountain ten years from now, the White Bone Demon Cave had to be destroyed first. And with the Demon-Seeking Mirror, the mortal cities under the protection of the various cultivation forces would also become far safer. After Huaijin departed, he began rallying his family's cultivators.

To prevent any leak of information, aside from a few established Tier 2 families, the other Tier 2 forces were left in the dark. This was to avoid any infiltration by demonic cultivators that might tip off the enemy. The conflict between the Jin and Zhang families was temporarily mediated by the Fang and Zhou families. The Zhang family, Including Huaijin, mobilized five Tier 2 cultivators: Zhang Lixian, Zhang Liwei, Zhang Liliang, and Zhang Wuijian.

As for Huaijin himself, he began refining Demon-Seeking Mirrors in Qingtai Prefecture's main city without delay. The materials were easy to come by. Five days later, Huaijin had produced three Tier 2 mid grade Demon-Seeking Mirrors. It wasn't that he couldn't refine a Tier 2 upper grade mirror, the materials for the higher grade simply weren't available at the moment. He hung one mirror at Purple Cloud Peak, one at Green Bamboo Mountain, and one at Green Bamboo City.

No demonic cultivator would dare set foot on Purple Cloud Peak or Green Bamboo Mountain, and Green Bamboo City became substantially safer. Other forces had also began refining their own Demon-Seeking Mirrors. Before long, the demonic cultivators lurking around the various powers were rooted out one after another. The number of these hidden demonic cultivators had already reached nearly a thousand.

Though the vast majority were only Tier 1 cultivators, the scale was still shocking enough to send a chill through everyone. The major cultivation forces of Qingtai Prefecture were on high alert. Everyone wanted to get their hands on a Demon-Seeking Mirror, to capture and kill all these demonic cultivators lurking in the shadows.