Chapter 474: Evil Existence

Banguo Cuo stood at the center of the mirror, gazing around him. He saw various facets, where fragments of other mirrors appeared like broken, transparent continents, separated by insurmountable distances.

This mirror was a mystical treasure he had acquired from the Great Ruins. The world within it could overlap with reality without being detected, though its sole drawback was that divine abilities and spells were unusable there.

Previously, Banguo Cuo had always used this mystical artifact as a tool for escape, never imagining that he himself would one day be trapped within it.

Now, escape was impossible. Qin Mu had severed his means of retreat, leaving him with only one option: to jump out of the mirror. Yet, doing so would surely result in Qin Mu impaling him with a sword.

"Leader Qin isn't trying to kill me, but rather to capture me for a discussion?" Banguo Cuo abandoned his escape plan and tentatively asked, "Why didn't you say so sooner?"

Qin Mu looked at Banguo Cuo in the mirror, a wry smile on his face. "When did I get the chance? The moment we met, you tried to assert your dominance and even kill me, so I simply retaliated. In fact, when we first encountered each other, didn't I say, 'Isn't it a joy to have friends come from afar'? You should have realized then that I was here to catch up, not to kill. So, why put yourself through all this trouble?"

Banguo Cuo nearly choked. That scoundrel had clearly said, "Friends come from afar, now roll out and die!" When had he ever mentioned "isn't it a joy"?

However, this was no time for arguments. With his life in the young man's hands, it was best to humor him.

"Leader Qin is truly noble and magnanimous, something I have always admired. I was merely jesting with you, hoping to witness your formidable power and might. And now I finally have; it is indeed extraordinary, and I am utterly convinced." Banguo Cuo in the mirror wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, sat on the ground, and smiled. "Leader, you've traveled a long distance. What do you wish to discuss?"

"We'll discuss the god-demon behind you," Qin Mu said, raising the mirror with a broad smile. "The Imperial Preceptor and I are very eager to meet him, to pay our respects to this divine sage. Great One, might you grant us this opportunity?"

Banguo Cuo's expression instantly changed. The god-demon behind him was precisely the one that appeared from the altar when he performed his Soul-Worshiping Witchcraft!

Qin Mu's inquiry about the god-demon's whereabouts clearly wasn't an attempt to visit a divine sage, but rather to rally forces and eliminate this entity!

"Leader Qin, Human Emperor Qin, how could I possibly know such an existence?" Banguo Cuo hastily replied with a laugh, "You know my capabilities; a humble and lowly being like me, Leader Qin could defeat two with one hand. How could I recognize a god-demon? As for the god-demon's whereabouts, that's certainly not something a weakling at my level could know! Leader, please understand!"

Qin Mu held the mirror fragment in one hand, idly poking the sand with his sword in the other. He said nonchalantly, "Great One, you say you don't know the god-demon? You're obviously lying. If you didn't know a god-demon, how could you invite people from the Heavens to deal with me? How could you draw out Xu Shenghua? If you didn't know a god-demon, how could you recognize True Heavenly Old Mother? Great One, neither you nor I are three-year-old children; let's speak plainly. You certainly don't have the qualifications to know a god-demon, but the person behind you does, and he should be very close to you. When you perform your Soul-Worshiping Witchcraft, a phantom of a god-demon appears behind you. That god-demon should be your master or grandmaster, shouldn't he?"

Banguo Cuo watched his sword poking the sand, his expression shifting from dark to light. He suddenly stood up and paced back and forth within the mirror, clearly struggling to make a decision.

The world believed him to be the founder of the Loulan Golden Palace, unaware that another truly held that distinction.

That god-demon indeed had a deep connection with him, having founded the Loulan Golden Palace long ago. However, by a twist of fate, the Golden Palace eventually fell into Banguo Cuo's hands.

Many unsavory incidents lay hidden within this history.

"He is my master," Banguo Cuo said, stopping his pacing and looking up at Qin Mu outside the mirror. "You guessed correctly; my connection with the Heavens and my ability to recognize True Heavenly Old Mother are indeed related to him. However, I advise you not to provoke him; he is truly evil!"

The corner of his eye twitched violently as he whispered, "Leader Qin must know that I am quite evil myself, but compared to him, I am merely a minnow among sharks. I am his disciple, yet every time I activate the Soul-Worshiping Witchcraft, I must borrow his power. Do you know that? Each time I use this witchcraft, I forfeit a significant portion of my lifespan! Heh heh, if he treats his own disciple this way, imagine how he treats others? That's precisely why I'm so reluctant to use this particular divine ability."

Qin Mu couldn't help but be taken aback. Banguo Cuo, calling someone else evil? It was truly outlandish and utterly unbelievable!

If one were to discuss evil in the world, who could possibly surpass Banguo Cuo, who poisoned the entire grassland and decimated countless herdsmen?

"I don't know his true name either, only his title," Banguo Cuo said. "Others call him Kui Wushen. I believe his surname should be Kui, but those of our lineage rarely reveal their true names, so his surname might not even be authentic."

"Kui Wushen?" Qin Mu paused, startled. Kui was indeed a surname, but the 'Kui' in 'Kui Wushen' might not be. Breaking down the character '隗' reveals '耳' (ear) and '鬼' (ghost). Could it be that this 'Kui' isn't a surname, but rather a racial designation? If so, Kui Wushen's race would likely be the Ghost race.

"However, Leader, I'm afraid it's highly unlikely you'll find him," Banguo Cuo said. "He's from another world and left this one back when I was in my first life."

Qin Mu carefully scrutinized Banguo Cuo's face in the mirror. Banguo Cuo's frankness seemed genuine as he said, "Leader Qin, there's no need to doubt me. I have no reason to hide anything from you. My life and death are in your hands, so deceiving you would gain me nothing."

Qin Mu pondered for a moment, then smiled. "Great One, you're trying to fool me again."

"How am I fooling you?" Banguo Cuo asked, helpless.

"If he truly left, then why can you still perform the Soul-Worshiping Witchcraft? Isn't that phantom behind you a projection of his primordial spirit?" Qin Mu smiled faintly. "Do you believe he possesses the power to project his primordial spirit from another world? If he did, the gods of the upper realm wouldn't have to go to such great lengths, first transmitting their petrified bodies and then commanding the gods of the Heavens to activate world-ending artifacts."

Banguo Cuo's expression instantly changed.

Qin Mu looked at the young man in the mirror, who appeared a few years younger than himself, and said leisurely, "Moreover, he can sense your summons anytime, anywhere, projecting himself to help you 'worship' others to death. I don't believe a god-demon would be so idle, nor do I think this Soul-Worshiping Witchcraft is performed in such a manner. What if one day he suddenly loses interest and doesn't project himself? Wouldn't you be killed? Great One, we are all intelligent people; tell me the truth, and I can spare your life."

Banguo Cuo's expression flickered between light and dark before he suddenly burst into laughter, clapping his hands in admiration. "As expected of Leader Qin, the man I consider my lifelong formidable enemy! It's truly not easy to deceive you. You're right, he didn't leave. He did intend to leave this world, but I ambushed him, severely wounded and sealed him, then stripped away his primordial spirit!"

Qin Mu's eyes widened in utter shock.

Banguo Cuo, looking triumphant, laughed, "Like master, like disciple. Everything he taught me, I learned, and I even surpassed him! However, that old geezer stubbornly refused to teach me the method to become a god. I was already old back then, and would die of old age within years, yet he showed no regard for our master-disciple bond. Hmph, if the old geezer wanted me dead, then I would make sure he died first! He was finally about to leave this world, with divine light from the upper realm coming to receive him. I struck the very moment he stepped into that divine light."

A chill ran down Qin Mu's spine.

Banguo Cuo laughed, "I used the divine ability he passed down to me to disrupt the divine light of reception, splitting it in two! Leader Qin, you also master teleportation arts. If, when your teleportation art was activated, someone were to split it in two, what would be your fate?"

Qin Mu's heart violently lurched. "I would also be split in two," he said.

"The divine light of reception and teleportation arts are not identical, but they are similar; both essentially separate the physical body from the primordial spirit." Banguo Cuo said smugly and leisurely, "I used witchcraft to blood sacrifice my disciples, splitting the divine light of reception in two. My master Kui Wushen's physical body and primordial spirit instantly separated, falling out of the divine light of reception. This was hitting two birds with one stone, achieving two goals at once. My disciple had long wished for my early demise so he could inherit my position. With this, I eliminated both of them in one fell swoop. Kui Wushen was left with only his primordial spirit, without a physical body. The moment he lost his body, I planted soul worms in him, seizing control of his primordial spirit!"

Qin Mu felt a shiver run down his spine and sighed, "Great One, you claim Kui Wushen is evil, but in my opinion, he might not even compare to you."

Banguo Cuo shook his head. "You flatter me; I cannot compare to him. He is the truly evil one. After I trapped him, his physical body remained alive, and his primordial spirit was intact, nearly breaking through my seal several times. I used his primordial spirit to create the Soul-Worshiping Witchcraft. Leader, you didn't expect that, did you? In my first life, I was also peerlessly talented, one of the top existences of my time, an expert nearly akin to a god. Perhaps too many reincarnations have dulled my ambition, but back then, my demeanor was no less impressive than yours, Leader Qin."

Qin Mu nodded. "That's true. Great One's abilities are extraordinary. Although you learned techniques from other sects and sacred lands, your witchcraft remains your most potent method. This ability was accumulated in your first life; the cultivation methods you learned from various sects in later lives merely added a flourish but didn't significantly enhance your strength. Had you focused on deeply researching witchcraft, your achievements would far exceed what they are today."

Banguo Cuo's expression grew desolate as he said sadly, "What's the use of refining witchcraft to be even stronger? I still couldn't become a god, could I? After realizing this, I began to seek a new path, attempting to draw the method of godhood from the techniques of other sects and sacred lands. Unfortunately, these sacred lands also lacked such means, and I was unable to integrate what I learned over these few lives. In the end, it was you, Leader Qin, whom I regarded as a mortal enemy, who proactively revealed the method to become a god to the public, giving me hope. This leaves me sighing with emotion, unsure what to say."

Lost in thought, he suddenly said, "If I had met you in my first life, perhaps we wouldn't be in this hostile situation now. Perhaps we would have been friends."

Qin Mu smiled awkwardly. "Great One, don't jest; I'm not evil at all. Where did you put Kui Wushen's physical body? And where did you suppress his primordial spirit?"

Banguo Cuo said seriously, "After I tell you, you won't kill me and will let me go?"

Qin Mu also said seriously, "I can swear an oath to Lord Earth!"

Banguo Cuo shook his head. "Leader, don't joke."

Qin Mu burst into laughter and waved his hand. "If not to Lord Earth, then let's swear an oath to Kui Wushen's primordial spirit instead. If you break your oath by giving me false information or a false address, you'll instantly drop dead the moment you see him! And the same applies to me: if I don't let you go, I'll instantly drop dead the moment I see him!"