"A blood-red jade pendant?"
Shui Huanmeng furrowed her brows slightly upon hearing this, then took the wooden box and examined its contents closely.
"This is a crystallization of the blood curse that resides within commoners!"
"The blood curse is essentially a form of divine punishment. It prevents them from leaving the blessed realm, though it doesn't harm their bodies. But if all the cursed hosts are consumed, the curse would have nowhere to reside and would solidify into something like this pendant! This item is extremely dangerous! A single careless touch can affect a cultivator's mind. Did you touch it?"
"I didn't," Chen Jinshu shook her head lightly. "But the two senior brothers traveling with me were exposed to some of its blood aura." It was only after hearing her Master's words that she realized the gravity of the situation.
"This pendant must not be touched by cultivators. Without a host, the curse will seek a new body. That seeping blood aura you mentioned—that's the curse searching. Your brothers might already be carrying it inside them. If they face tribulation now, it could cost them their lives."
As Shui Huanmeng spoke, she sealed the pendant with several powerful restrictions, preventing the curse from escaping.
"Master, is there no way to remedy this?"
"There is. If the blood curse hasn't fully invaded the body, it can be suppressed. But if it's not resolved before the third Nascent Soul tribulation…"
Hearing that, Chen Jinshu felt her heart drop. Thankfully, she hadn't touched the pendant and had protected herself in time with a golden lantern flower. Otherwise, she might have been cursed too.
"You only need to discreetly inform those two. Let their masters handle it. This is tied to their destiny."
"Understood."
"I'll take this pendant. The divine curse on it might help me comprehend a trace of the path to ascension."
"It's up to Master's judgment."
"You brought back both the Calamity Stone and this cursed jade pendant. How should your master reward you?"
"Disciple obtained a segment of Grade-3 Purple Thunder Bamboo. I wonder if Master could help me find a craftsman to replace the face of my Lüqi Zither with it? Perhaps also forge a flying sword while at it."
As Chen Jinshu spoke, she retrieved a yard-long piece of the Grade-3 Purple Thunder Bamboo from her storage pouch. Shui Huanmeng's eyes lit up at the sight of its quality.
"Quite excellent! This bamboo can indeed enhance the quality of your Lüqi Zither. And being thunder-elemental, it also wards off evil energies."
"Since you've asked, I'll see it done. Also, this is my cultivation journal from when I advanced to Foundation Establishment. I'm unsure how long I'll be in seclusion, so I'd best give it to you now."
"Thank you, Master!"
While the master and disciple discussed matters in the Biyi Palace, the Xuanming Sect erupted in a storm of commotion.
Almost all elders, except for a few Golden Core ones, were mobilized. Every single disciple, even Foundation Establishment inner disciples, was summoned to the rear mountain.
The sect's protective formation had already been activated.
If Chen Jinshu were to step outside, she'd see a thick golden barrier hovering just beneath the clouds. Disciples attempting to flee were secretly apprehended and brought to the rear mountain for investigation of demonic corruption.
The rear mountain was now abuzz with activity. Every peak had gathered thousands of disciples. The Sect Master stood with a Demon-Illuminating Mirror, shining it across their bodies.
Those who had fallen to demonic cultivation emitted faint black smoke and were captured on the spot. Each peak had around ten such cases, with a third of them in the Foundation Establishment realm. Including those from other branches, over a hundred disciples had fallen.
"The Xuanming Sect has stood for thousands of years. A millennium ago, we claimed this spiritual vein and founded our current site—destroying a demonic sect that threatened mortals and cultivators alike. And yet, after all these years, some of our disciples still succumb to demonic temptation!"
"Let it be known: any disciple caught turning demonic will be executed without mercy!"
"From now on, everyone entering or leaving the sect must pass through the Demon-Illuminating Mirror! We cannot allow corrupted disciples to infiltrate again!"
The Sect Master's stern declaration echoed in the ears of all present, striking fear in their hearts. Only now did they realize how many demonic disciples had been hiding among them.
While demonic disciples were connected to dark cultivation, they often looked and acted just like ordinary ones. Without using specific techniques, they were virtually indistinguishable—this was how they had remained hidden for so long.
Then, in front of everyone, the Sect Master personally executed two-thirds of the corrupted disciples. The center of the rear mountain erupted with horrifying screams. This was both a warning and a strategy to flush out the true masterminds behind the corruption.
So many disciples couldn't have turned demonic by accident—there had to be traitorous elders among them. What puzzled the Sect Master was that Xuanming Sect had always been generous with elder compensation. What temptation could have led them astray?
When he slew one-third of the demonic disciples, those still bound began to release violent demonic energy. Their eyes turned blood-red, their expressions beastly. They were no longer human.
"Found them!"
The Sect Master's eyes gleamed coldly. He had sensed something and immediately sent a message to a Nascent Soul elder behind him. Moments later, a Nascent Soul cultivator appeared, dragging forth an elder whose cultivation had been suppressed and limbs bound.
The Sect Master had planned to use the hidden formation in the rear mountain to find the traitor—and it had worked.
If the demonic disciples were interrogated too late—after they lost their minds—the soul-searching would yield little. Their divine souls would be in chaos, too fragmented to reveal anything.
The mastermind, trying to cover their tracks, had likely pushed these disciples into madness. That, in turn, helped the formation locate them.
"It's you… Dang Xiaoshan?"
The Sect Master looked genuinely stunned.
Dang Xiaoshan was one of the elders of the Medicine Peak, a late Golden Core cultivator—one who could potentially reach the Nascent Soul realm with another century of cultivation. Yet he had long been a servant of the demonic path, betraying the sect. Nearby elders were shocked, even horrified. If even long-standing elders like Dang Xiaoshan had turned, how many more were hiding?
"Where are Dang Xiaoshan's disciples?" the Sect Master asked grimly.
"Here!" Another elder of the Medicine Peak stepped forward, dragging five of Dang Xiaoshan's disciples forward.
With their master fallen, the disciples were undoubtedly complicit.
"Send word! Every disciple and elder must undergo the Heart-Testing Path once again!" the Sect Master finally unleashed his long-held anger.
"Anyone who refuses will be detained immediately!"
In the Biyi Palace, Chen Jinshu and her master heard the Sect Master's voice clearly and exchanged a glance.
"Something's happened… something big."