There can only be one servant of the Divine Lord.
I am the true servant of the Divine Lord.
Only I can attain immortality…
"And only by killing everyone else can I be that 'one and only.'"
This thought instantly surfaced in the minds of all the demonic cultivators present.
Right then, a beast cultivator from Ten Thousand Demon Mountain went mad—he tore off his black robe, bared his fangs, and bit into a corpse cultivator from the Corpse Valley, tearing at his flesh and blood.
"Beast! Courting death!"
The corpse cultivator flew into a rage. The killing intent that had already been stirring in him could no longer be held back. While transforming his own body into corpse form to resist the beast cultivator's attack, he shook his corpse-controlling bell and summoned a bronze corpse from his coffin to attack the mad beast cultivator.
The bronze corpse, with a green face and tusks, immediately extended its sharp claws. With a stench of decay, it tore open the beast cultivator's back—flesh peeled away, revealing stark white bone.
But the blood that splattered from the beast cultivator sprayed onto a Blood Refinement Sect cultivator nearby.
The Blood Refinement cultivator, who couldn't resist the sight of fresh blood, was instantly aroused by the scent. His eyes turned crimson, and he pounced on the beast cultivator, biting into his neck. Activating his sect's blood-devouring technique, he began to drink the beast cultivator's blood like a whale swallowing the sea.
As the slaughter began, blood, demonic energy, and murderous intent mingled—and that mix ignited the hidden desires in everyone's hearts.
The great hall immediately descended into a brutal melee.
But not all demonic cultivators joined the frenzy.
Those who lost control and succumbed to madness were mostly early-stage Core Formation (Jindan) cultivators.
Mid-stage Core Formation cultivators barely managed to retain a sliver of reason amidst the chaos.
And the late-stage Core Formation cultivators, with stronger cultivation and divine sense above twenty-seven threads, mostly remained calm, coldly observing the unfolding situation.
After a brief pause, a late-stage Core Formation cultivator from the Corpse Valley turned to the steward of the Profound Demon Sect, face dark as he asked:
"What's the meaning of this?"
The steward of the Profound Demon Sect frowned. "What do you mean?"
The Corpse Valley cultivator sneered. "Don't think I can't tell. This is the Dao-Heart Seed Demon Great Art of the Illusion Demon Sect."
"So what?" said the Profound Demon steward.
The Corpse Valley cultivator's gaze turned frosty. "Now that the Illusion Demon Sect has declined, the original scripture of that demonic art has fallen into the hands of your Profound Demon Sect's Immortal Ascension cultivator, Xuan Sanren."
"These lunatics are clearly affected by Dao-Heart Seed Demon. If your sect isn't behind this, then who is?"
The steward's face darkened, but then he scoffed:
"Nonsense! Just a few vague words, and you want to splash this dirty water on my Profound Demon Sect? Laughable!"
Seeing him flatly deny it, the Corpse Valley cultivator's expression grew even more sinister.
The other late-stage Core Formation cultivators silently began to distance themselves from the Profound Demon steward, yet subtly closed ranks around him.
All kinds of divine senses—chilling, putrid, bloodthirsty—quietly locked onto the Profound Demon steward in secret.
Everyone present had lived hundreds of years—they didn't judge by what you said, but by what you did.
And in this situation, it was clear: everyone had fallen victim to the Dao-Heart Seed Demon art.
And the only suspect… was the Profound Demon Sect.
After all, of all the demonic sects present, only the Profound Demon Sect had ever obtained the original scripture of this art.
No one else was capable of mastering such a profound and sinister demonic technique.
The Profound Demon steward, now the target of everyone's suspicion, looked grim. But surrounded by so many late-stage Core Formation cultivators, he could only suppress his temper and patiently explain:
"You're all mistaken. This truly has nothing to do with the Profound Demon Sect."
A red-clad female cultivator from the Pleasure Sect sneered, "Talk is cheap. Show us evidence."
The steward frowned. "What kind of evidence do you want?"
She giggled. "Surrender yourself, let us search your storage pouch, and see if you're hiding any Dao-Heart Seed Demon worms."
Searching a cultivator's storage pouch was a major taboo.
There was no way the steward would agree to that—let alone surrender himself.
In this situation, if he gave up resistance, the next moment these demonic cultivators would divide him up until not even bones remained.
His gaze sank. He activated his Profound Demon technique, a swirl of demonic energy rising around him to intimidate the others. At the same time, he said:
"This situation is strange. Our priority should be to join forces and uncover the truth."
But the Corpse Valley cultivator didn't back down. He shook his bell again and summoned his bronze corpse.
This bronze corpse had streaks of silver—on the verge of evolving into a higher-tier Silver Corpse.
He commanded the evolving bronze corpse to lock onto the steward with murderous intent and coldly said:
"It is indeed strange, and we are investigating. But if we capture and interrogate you, we'll soon uncover the truth behind this Dao-Heart Seed Demon technique."
The steward cursed silently.
Demonic cultivators were violent and paranoid. Once they became suspicious, they wouldn't change their minds easily.
And in this case, the Profound Demon Sect truly looked the most suspicious.
Even the steward himself began to doubt.
Could it be… was this really orchestrated by the Profound Demon Sect?
Had Young Master Xuan not left?
Had he stayed behind, under the orders of the sect's patriarch, to secretly infiltrate the Blood Offering Formation—only to strike at the most critical moment of the Evil God's resurrection, all for some unknown scheme?
The steward frowned.
Outsiders wouldn't know, but as the Profound Demon Sect's late-stage Core Formation steward, how could he not?
Xuan Sanren had indeed paid a great price to obtain the original scripture of the Dao-Heart Seed Demon Great Art.
But the technique was incredibly difficult to master. To this day, within the entire sect…
Only two people had ever learned it: the Immortal Ascension Xuan Sanren himself, and the monstrously talented Young Master Xuan.
But…
Could Young Master Xuan really have such ability, to use the Dao-Heart Seed Demon on so many Core Formation cultivators?
If not him… then who?
The steward was filled with confusion.
The atmosphere grew tense.
The other demonic cultivators merely surrounded him for now—none had made a move yet, each with cold expressions and different calculations in mind.
Everyone was silently pondering just what the truth was behind all this.
After a moment of contemplation, the steward frowned and said:
"This matter truly has nothing to do with the Profound Demon Sect. Slaughtering fellow cultivators brings us no benefit whatsoever."
The surrounding demonic cultivators remained expressionless—but when they thought it over, his words did make some sense.
Just then, a coarse voice rang out from the crowd:
"Who says there's no benefit?"
Everyone turned toward the sound and saw a burly man, muscles bulging and tattooed with black wind bear demonic patterns, glaring at the Profound Demon steward with a ferocious and angry expression:
"The Divine Lord possesses supreme power and can grant us eternal life!"
"Now that He is awakening, your Profound Demon Sect clearly wants to monopolize His blessings—so you used the Dao-Heart Seed Demon technique to try and kill us all!"
"You—!"
"You guys…"
The great man spoke until here, then suddenly faltered.
As if he heard something, after a moment, he nodded, his gaze sinister:
"Yes, that's right. You, the Xuanmo Sect, want to become the Godmaster's only 'slave gate,' you want to become the Godmaster's only 'servant'!"
Seeing this, everyone's expressions changed drastically and they questioned:
"Who are you talking to?"
The black wind bear demon cultivator sneered, his face full of devotion, "The Godmaster is speaking to me."
"He is revealing your conspiracy to me."
"He is guiding me to stand out among the myriad demon followers, to become his sole 'servant,' granting me eternal life!"
As he finished speaking, blackness instantly surfaced in the bear demon cultivator's eyes.
His murderous intent was fully "ignited," his aura surged violently, flesh grew rapidly, hair thickened, and within moments, he transformed into a towering black bear demon several dozen feet tall, his sharp claws suddenly ripping out fiercely.
The late Golden Core demon heads from Yin Corpse Valley, Xuanmo Sect, Demon Sword Sect, and Hehuan Sect turned pale instantly, sensing danger. They hurriedly activated their body techniques to dodge the beast's claws.
But several mid Golden Core demon heads were directly torn in half at the waist, blood spilling everywhere.
As the blood scent spread, it further provoked the demon cultivators' bloodlust.
For a time, the great hall became even bloodier and more chaotic.
The bear demon cultivator was even stronger, causing more brutal slaughter, dragging almost all the mid Golden Core demon cultivators into the carnage.
Once caught in the slaughter, there was no control; all demon cultivators, whether actively or passively, could only kill.
The few late Golden Core demon heads who still retained some rationality all felt a chill in their hearts:
"This is bad!"
The 'path-heart-seeding demon' had already spread to these late Golden Core demon cultivators.
The Xuanmo Sect's leader cursed silently.
Demon cultivators like this—strong-bodied, fierce, hot-tempered but stupid—were the best material for the "path-heart-seeding demon."
But at the same time, he felt a chill in his heart.
Just now he had been certain—someone had spoken to this Black Wind Bear demon cultivator of the Ten Thousand Demons Mountain, which drove the beast mad.
"Who?"
"Surely it's not Xuan Gongzi…"
"Who exactly?!"
The Xuanmo Sect's leader's mind wavered. He quickly released his divine sense to probe the surrounding aura.
But this was a demonic hall, where evil qi was already heavy. With the demon cultivators now slaughtering each other, the mix of blood qi, corpse qi, and demon qi was chaotic to the extreme. His divine sense swept but detected nothing.
The surroundings were utter chaos, killing unceasing. The leader of the Xuanmo Sect felt increasingly uneasy.
"Better leave the hall first…"
He was about to move and leave this eerie hall, when suddenly he heard a voice by his ear, innocent yet tinged with seduction:
"You're just going to leave like that?"
The leader of the Xuanmo Sect instinctively stopped.
That voice continued, "Don't you want to become the Godmaster's servant?"
Then, mixed in the innocence was a trace of cold authority:
"Do you want to betray the Godmaster?"
The leader's heart immediately filled with panic:
"No, I dare not betray the Godmaster."
"Then stay, and accept the Godmaster's test…"
"Yes, I will stay, and accept it…"
The leader's eyes gradually dimmed, a streak of black-gray appearing in their depths, but suddenly, a fingernail-sized skull jade on his body trembled and emitted a piercing shriek.
The leader was instantly awakened, his heart shocked:
"The path-heart-seeding demon! Someone is planting the path-heart-seeding demon in my mind right beside me!"
He looked down at the skull jade, seeing the skull on it seeming to encounter something terrifying, mouth wide open in a scream.
The entire skull jade was already cracked and mottled, clearly this warning exceeded its capacity.
This "Demonic Heart Jade" used to protect the heart of demonic cultivation was now ruined.
The Xuanmo Sect's leader suddenly felt like he had fallen into an ice cellar.
This was a more advanced path-heart-seeding demon!
So advanced that even the Demonic Heart Jade given by Xuan Sanren couldn't resist it.
Who could it be?!
Whose path-heart-seeding demon technique surpasses even Xuan Sanren's?
The Xuanmo Sect leader was stunned.
An unspeakable name suddenly rose to mind.
"Trickery…"
The leader felt as if his soul was flying out of his body, his legs weakening, his entire body trembling to the bone.
But soon his expression changed, and he urgently thought:
"No, that can't be right!"
If it was that person's path-heart-seeding demon, it would be more direct, more violent, more terrifying. At least these late Golden Core cultivators would have lost their divine senses instantly, becoming playthings, slaughtering and devouring each other to death, without this much room for thought.
"Not that person… then who?"
"In this world, besides that person, who else could wield such a sinister path-heart-seeding demon?"
His pupils trembled, shocked and puzzled, then he suddenly realized:
"No, now is definitely not the time to consider this. Whoever is planting the path-heart-seeding demon, we must flee quickly!"
"If we don't escape soon, we'll surely die here!"
But though he wanted to flee in his heart, his legs felt like they were filled with mud and sand, heavy as a thousand pounds, unable to move.
It was as if his consciousness was separated from his instincts.
His body was no longer under his control.
At that moment, that innocent yet eerie voice sounded again by his ear:
"Why do you want to leave? Don't you want to become the Godmaster's servant?"
"Don't you want to become the Godmaster's servant?"
"Don't want to become a servant?"
…
That voice kept echoing in his ears.
The voice continued to echo in his ears.
"I—I don't…" The Xuanmo Sect Steward was terrified beyond measure, yet anger surged within him. "I am not your servant! I'm not your damn servant, you spawn of demons—trying to corrupt my heart! I'll kill you, rip you to pieces!"
He drew his demonic sword, pouring every ounce of his Xuanmo Technique into it, and began hacking at everything around him, determined to find the source of that voice and crush the "monster" tempting his mind.
Blood spattered everywhere as he cut down cultivators one after another.
But what the steward didn't realize was that every person he slew was a fellow Xuanmo Sect disciple.
Meanwhile, as the blood qi and evil qi in the hall intensified, the atmosphere of slaughter grew ever thicker, and the test on their hearts became more severe.
The few other late-stage Golden Core demon-cultivators, who had still clung to some shred of reason, one by one lost their resolve. They, too, descended into indiscriminate slaughter.
Like the Xuanmo Sect Steward, each tried to stifle the innocent yet eerie voice echoing in their minds—but every swing of their blade was aimed at a brother-in-arms.
At the same time, the blackness in their eyes deepened.
This was the work of using the Evil God's rebirth to enact the Dao-Heart-Seeding Demon technique.
The Dao-Heart-Seeding Demon had been planted in their faith toward the Evil God.
As the Evil God descended and its terrifying aura shook all living beings' hearts, the deeper the demon-cultivators' faith in the Great Wilderness Evil God became, the deeper the Dao-Heart-Seeding Demon took root.
Such an incomprehensible method allowed the Dao-Heart-Seeding Demon to exert a power far beyond its grade.
However, only the caster himself could understand the profound principles connecting the Evil God and the Dao-Heart-Seeding Demon. Everyone else was blind to it; those present fell into endless madness and slaughter.
Amid that unending carnage, one thought gradually consumed them all:
"I must become the Divine Lord's servant!"
"I must kill everyone else and be the Divine Lord's one and only servant!"
And at that moment, the childish yet eerie voice rang again in all their hearts:
"You are not the only servant."
A surge of anger rose in every demon-cultivator's mind.
The voice continued: "The one and only servant of the mighty Divine Lord is…?"
"Mr. Tu."
The once-roaring hall fell silent in an instant.
All the cultivators who had been caught in the frenzy turned their dark eyes toward the center of the hall, where Mr. Tu sat within the Blood Anointment Formation. A single wicked lantern flickered before him as he maintained some sort of summoning ritual.
A horrifying, sinister killing intent surged.
The demon-cultivators guarding Mr. Tu felt their scalps tingle.
None of them had anticipated any of this.
They didn't know what had happened or who was pulling the strings behind the scenes.
They only sensed that, when the gates opened and that blood-soaked, execution-blade-wielding demon-cultivator had burst in, it was as if a "Plague God" had walked among them—its strange influence spreading, driving every demon-cultivator into madness and eternal bloodshed.
And now, with all the cultivators already ensnared—already "infected"—every blade suddenly turned toward Mr. Tu.
Toward this Immortal Ascension–level demon lord who had served the Divine Lord for a thousand years: Mr. Tu.
The air froze as if it had turned to ice.
Then, in an instant, killing intent erupted.
All the Golden Core demon-cultivators' eyes went pitch-black, their expressions deranged, as they lunged at Mr. Tu— intent on slaying the Divine Lord's sole servant and taking his place themselves.
The ten demon-cultivators guarding Mr. Tu were all late-stage Golden Core powerhouses—the very pinnacle of defense within this Desolate Heaven Blood Sacrifice Formation. But faced with wave after wave of hundreds of demon-cultivators attacking without regard for their own lives, they could not hold forever.
Soon, some of Mr. Tu's bodyguards were mauled—torn apart, cursed by tainted qi, driven insane, and began mumbling, "I am the Divine Lord's only servant," as they turned on Mr. Tu themselves.
During the turmoil, someone struck out and extinguished the lantern before Mr. Tu.
The Blood Anointment ritual was instantaneously broken.
The backlash surged into Mr. Tu—he spat a mouthful of blood, his divine sense grievously wounded, trapped within his mortal flesh. Then hundreds of demon-cultivators swarmed him.
The slaughter in the hall still didn't cease.
Until the final Divine Lord "servant" remained, this feast of death would not end.
Demonic energy ran rampant; human hearts went mad.
Rivers of blood flowed; corpses littered the ground.
And amid that brutal, bloody scene, no one noticed a lone, slender youth slowly materialize.
An eerie black shadow still lingered around him. His gaze was deep, his expression calm, as he stepped over countless demon-cultivator corpses.
In the midst of the madness and grotesque slaughter, he ascended toward the sacrificial altar.
As if a young master of deceit, he climbed toward his throne.
(End of this Chapter)