Chapter 43: Black Iron Heavenly Book Fragment

Inside the hall, both the hunchbacked man and Butcher Second looked at the master."Brother," Butcher Second couldn't help but ask, "is this truly a fragment of the Black Iron Book of Heaven?"

The white-browed man nodded. "Some parts of the Black Iron Books of Heaven from human history have been lost. Eight of them are confirmed to have been shattered into fragments. The demon race also recorded how these eight Black Iron Books of Heaven looked after they were broken. When I came across that information, I deliberately copied it down."

"When I was cultivating on the mountain, I could also enter the library for one day each month," Butcher Second said with a smile. "But I only focused on cultivation scriptures. I couldn't be bothered with 'useless' books. Big Brother, you're amazing for carefully noting all this down. Otherwise, we wouldn't have been able to identify it as a fragment of the Black Iron Book of Heaven."

"This information is confidential among humans, but the demon race doesn't value it much. Even if they get a Black Iron Book of Heaven, demons can't cultivate from it; they only use it for reference," the white-browed man explained. "I've identified it. The fragment the Blood Cloud Bandits want to sell us is from the 'Thunderous World-Ending Saber.' The complete Black Iron Book of Heaven, 'Thunderous World-Ending Saber,' was originally shattered into twenty-six pieces."

"According to the bounty set by the demon race, a complete Black Iron Book of Heaven can be exchanged for one million major merit points," the white-browed man stated.

"One million major merit points!" Both the hunchbacked man and Butcher Second's eyes gleamed with excitement.

"It's impossible to gather all the fragments. Some have long been collected by Yuanchu Mountain, Black Sand Grotto-Heaven, and Two World Island, while others have fallen into the hands of the demon race. Still others are scattered across the world. How could we ever collect them all? Because it's impossible to complete, a single fragment contributes ten thousand major merit points." The white-browed man continued, "Ten thousand major merit points... Demon Kings wouldn't risk coming to a human city just for that. But for us, it's worth fighting for at all costs."

"Let's do it!" Butcher Second's eyes turned red.

"I've been in the Skyfiend Gate for thirty years, and I've only accumulated twelve hundred major merit points," the hunchbacked man said through clenched teeth. "This time, we go all in."

"The old rule applies: if we succeed, I get sixty percent. You two each get twenty percent," the white-browed man stated. "Any objections?"

"None.""We'll follow your lead, Big Brother," Butcher Second and the hunchbacked man replied in unison.

Within the Skyfiend Gate, strength commands respect. Even working together, the two of them were no match for the master. They were quite satisfied with the master taking sixty percent and each of them taking twenty percent.

"If Big Brother hadn't told us, we wouldn't even be sure this was a Black Iron Book of Heaven fragment," the hunchbacked man added quickly.

"After all these years in the Skyfiend Gate, I've only accumulated five thousand major merit points. If I get another six thousand this time, I'll have a chance to enter the 'Fiend Transformation Pond' and attempt to become a Skyfiend," the white-browed man said.

"Big Brother, you've condensed your fiend core over ten years ago. As long as you can enter the Fiend Transformation Pond, you're sure to become a Skyfiend," Butcher Second also remarked.

A Skyfiend is a cultivation path created by the demon race for human traitors, equivalent to a Demon King among demons or a Godfiend among humans.

"Since we've all decided to risk it," the white-browed man said calmly, his gaze sweeping over them, "you must understand that this operation is extremely dangerous."

"Understood." Both the hunchbacked man and Butcher Second replied with utmost seriousness.

"Dongning Prefecture is a human city, with a Godfiend from Yuyang Palace stationed here! Among the five major Godfiend families, there should also be two or three Godfiends still present... If any Godfiend discovers us, we will undoubtedly die," the white-browed man warned. "Even if we get entangled with human experts and more human masters arrive from all directions, we will still certainly die."

"Understood," both deputy masters nodded.

The Skyfiend Gate must remain hidden in the shadows.

After all, it is merely a sect formed by human traitors. Although the demon race created the unique 'Skyfiend' cultivation system for these traitors, the Skyfiend Gate's overall strength pales in comparison to humanity's. Their only advantage is that they are human themselves, and the Skyfiend system excels at concealing auras, allowing them to lurk within human cities. However, as soon as they are exposed, humanity can easily eliminate them.

The hunchbacked man countered, "Master, your strength is almost invincible among those below the Godfiend realm. As long as we act quickly enough, we can escape before the Godfiends even arrive."

"We must not be careless," the white-browed man cautioned. "Among the mortals in Dongning Prefecture, three individuals can hold me back: Yun Fucheng of the Yun family, Zhang Yong of the Zhang family, and Bai Shuwan of the Bai family. All three are experts in the Core Condensation realm. Although none of them are my match, they can still entangle me for a while. Therefore, we should try our best to avoid them."

"Understood," both the hunchbacked man and Butcher Second nodded.

The master was indeed almost invincible in Dongning Prefecture among those below the Godfiend realm.

However, the two deputy masters were a step weaker. Although they had both comprehended 'Force' and possessed various demon arts, they had not yet condensed their cores. There were over ten individuals in Dongning Prefecture who could rival them.

"According to what you two said," the white-browed man continued, "those two Blood Cloud Bandits died at the hands of Meng Chuan of the Meng family. So, the Black Iron Book of Heaven fragment might also be with him."

"Such an important treasure, Bloody Hand Zhao Can wouldn't trust anyone else with it; he'd carry it himself," Butcher Second said. "I also secretly investigated before. When the bodies of the two Blood Cloud Bandits were handled, many people were present, but no Black Iron Book of Heaven fragment was found. It's highly probable that it's in Meng Chuan's possession."

The white-browed man nodded. "The Black Iron Book of Heaven is mysterious and unfathomable. Even ordinary Godfiends struggle to comprehend its secrets. Only powerful Godfiends and formidable Demon Kings can glimpse its legacy. Meng Chuan is only seventeen years old now; he won't be able to uncover its mysteries. At most, he'll treat it as a fragment of a Godfiend artifact. He likely wouldn't carry such a seemingly useless fragment of a Godfiend artifact on him every day."

"Indeed." The hunchbacked man and Butcher Second's eyes lit up.

"Big Brother, are you suggesting..." the hunchbacked man quickly began.

"The Black Iron Book of Heaven fragment is very likely somewhere within Mirror Lake Meng Manor," the white-browed man stated. "It's probably hidden simply within Meng Chuan's living quarters."

"Mobilize the Skyfiend Gate's forces in Dongning Prefecture and find a way to infiltrate Mirror Lake Meng Manor," the white-browed man instructed. "Search Meng Chuan's living area thoroughly. If we can steal that black iron piece, that would naturally be ideal."

"Yes," the hunchbacked man and the others nodded.

If not absolutely necessary, they preferred not to contend with the Meng family.

The Meng family had a group of Flawless Realm experts, and three of them had comprehended 'Force'! Additionally, Liu Yebai was also an expert who had comprehended 'Force.' Most importantly, there was the formidable Godfiend, 'Aunt Meng.' If Aunt Meng discovered them, none of the three of them would escape.

Therefore, they had to rely more on their wits.

The Skyfiend Gate members lurking within human cities were most skilled at gathering intelligence.

They quickly used demon arts to control an old servant and a maid who frequently cleaned Meng Chuan's courtyard. While Meng Chuan was practicing his 'Drawing Saber Stance' in the training grounds, the old servant and maid, while performing their regular cleaning, naturally searched his room thoroughly. They even found silver notes Meng Chuan had hidden, but being under the influence of demon arts, they obediently left the notes where they were to avoid raising suspicion.

Yet, they couldn't find the black iron piece.

That was because...

Meng Chuan had long ago discovered the black iron piece's miraculous nature. It was ten, even a hundred times more valuable than the fragment of Godfiend legacy scroll that the Third Elder had given him.

Therefore, he had hidden both treasures, the black iron piece and the Godfiend legacy fragment, in the secret chamber of his father's underground tunnel. That was the safest place, protected by numerous mechanisms. If anyone dared to trespass and trigger the mechanisms, the entire Mirror Lake Meng Manor would be alerted.

Because it was hidden so securely, only Meng Chuan and Meng Dajiang knew how to activate the mechanisms.

The Skyfiend Gate tried every possible method but still couldn't find the black iron piece.

"We can't find it. What do we do?" Inside the Dongning branch of the Skyfiend Gate, the three leaders sat separately, and the atmosphere was somewhat tense.

"We must obtain these ten thousand major merit points," the white-browed man said with an icy gaze. "Since we can't find it through covert searching, there's only one method: capture Meng Chuan alive! First, we'll interrogate Meng Chuan to find out where the black iron piece is hidden. We might then obtain it easily. If he's given it to his family and the Meng family has hidden it, we can use Meng Chuan to force the Meng family into an exchange. Meng Chuan mastered secret techniques at fifteen; the Meng family undoubtedly values him immensely. They would be willing to trade the black iron piece for Meng Chuan's life."