Chapter 367: Demon Kingdom's Carefree Capital

The others at the table were all top young talents from Skysource City, either from prominent families or transcendent disciples, widely renowned and possessing strong cultivation.

As a guest adherent of the Taishi family, Li Weiyi was, strictly speaking, not qualified to sit at this table. His presence beside Jiang Ning drew numerous hostile glances.

Jiang Ning remained in her pristine white official robe, veiled, showing no intention of touching her chopsticks. She was as cool and pure as jade, serene as an orchid. Her purpose in coming to the West Sea Prince's Mansion was not for the banquet.

"Zuo Ning, you spent five years in the Dilang Royal Army, a successor to Shi Liuyu?" Jiang Ning suddenly spoke.

Li Weiyi quickly corrected her, "I was just an advisor for a few years."

"Providing strategies for Shi Liuyu?" Jiang Ning asked.

Shi Liuyu's character was notoriously bad.

For a moment, Li Weiyi found himself in a dilemma, unable to affirm or deny.

Several people at the table frowned deeply, only then realizing the unsavory background of this person.

Some gazes were sharp and cold. If Li Weiyi hadn't been brought by Song Lin, and if his connection with Taishi Bai wasn't extraordinary, they would have already moved to throw him out.

Sitting beside Fairy Yu was simply a desecration.

Jiang Ning looked at him, transmitting her voice with spiritual energy: "With your background, how can I trust you with Zhuang Yue? You only revealed your feelings for Zhuang Yue today to protect yourself. If you truly loved her, you should have continued to hide this relationship, not put her in a precarious situation with no way out. Am I wrong?"

Of course, she was not wrong; her words were sharp and every point accurate.

Any sophistry would only make her disdain him more.

Li Weiyi couldn't tell her the truth. After a long silence, he transmitted his reply: "Entrust her to me, and I will ensure her safety."

Jiang Ning stared deeply at him: "How much were you involved in the events at Nanyan Pass? Are you truly a member of a demonic cult? I want the truth."

Meeting her breathtakingly beautiful eyes, Li Weiyi felt distressed. He had an urgent impulse to tell her everything and found himself unable to continue lying.

However, Jiang Ning was not as compliant as Zhuang Yue; her convictions were too strong. If she knew Skysource City was on the verge of collapse, it would be like the sky falling on her.

Could she react with the same composure as Zuoqiu Hongting?

Zuoqiu Hongting's calmness stemmed from the fact that the great calamity of Skysource City was not personally relevant to her; in fact, it presented an important opportunity for the Zuoqiu lineage to rise to prominence.

"It's so difficult to answer. It seems you are indeed connected to a demonic cult. However, with your intellect, you chose not to lie about Zhuang Yue, which shows a genuine heart. Is there a possibility I could recruit you to the Phoenix Terrace's cause?" Jiang Ning asked.

Was she trying to win him over?

Everyone at the table could see that Jiang Ning held the upper hand in the conversation, leaving Li Weiyi with a furrowed brow and a troubled expression.

Ge Xiantong, who had been heartily enjoying his meal, suddenly spoke, "Is it really interesting for you two to keep transmitting your voices back and forth with spiritual energy? Can't you let us listen too? Or perhaps, you could find a private place to chat and then come back when you're done?"

Long Xiangcen said, "Indeed, it's quite boring! It feels like Fairy Yu is using the power of the Jiang family and Phoenix Terrace to bully Zuo Ning."

Jiang Ning calmly replied, "Miss Long, you've just arrived in Skysource City from the East Sea, haven't you? Conflicts have resurfaced in the East Sea. As a strong practitioner of the Dragon family's successor lineage, I advise you to keep a low profile. The Taishi family may protect you, but that doesn't mean the Phoenix Terrace won't investigate you."

Long Xiangcen's eyes curved like crescent moons as she chuckled, "Cousin, I told you, Fairy Yu just loves to use her influence to pressure people. I wonder how she just threatened Zuo Ning!"

Taishi Bai's tone was completely different from before: "Lord Jiang, as for my people, the Taishi family will conduct its own investigation. If anything goes wrong, I will take full responsibility; there's no need for Phoenix Terrace to trouble itself."

"Please, Taishi Jiachen, remember those words well. I have learned what I needed to know. Farewell!" Jiang Ning stood up, preparing to leave.

Long Xiangcen said, "Don't be in such a hurry. I heard a piece of news that Fairy Yu might find interesting. Everyone, did you know that the demonic cult's Divine Sons and Daughters seem to have six sequences, each of them a successor, incredibly powerful?"

"I have indeed heard about this matter."

An imperial guard master in embroidered robes, appearing to be in his early thirties with a prominent nose, said, "The demonic cult's chief Divine Son is named Qiongji Daozi. He once appeared in the Southern Region and fought with Zuoqiu Cangwu, the current head of the Zuoqiu lineage. It is said that Zuoqiu Cangwu was defeated by him."

"Within sixty years of age, those who can defeat Zuoqiu Cangwu are truly few," Taishi Bai remarked, clearly surprised.

Long Xiangcen said, "On our way to the Prince's Mansion, Cousin Yu and I overheard someone discussing that the demonic cult's Fourth Divine Son seems to be the Jiuli Divine Hermit who shone brilliantly at the Hidden Dragon Lantern Festival two years ago."

"It's rumored that it was internal strife among the demonic cult's Divine Sons, and someone betrayed his information."

Jiang Ning was indeed intrigued by this information. She stared at Long Xiangcen and sat back down, saying, "This news does seem quite outlandish."

Ge Xiantong was very surprised: "Didn't they say Li Weiyi and Tang Wanzhou both died in the underground immortal mansion? The Jiuli tribe and the Snow Sword Tang Court sent many people in to search and rescue, losing a large number of masters in the process."

Long Xiangcen asked, "Lord Ge, haven't you heard the rumor that the demonic cult's main headquarters is in the underground immortal mansion? Don't the two connect? Zuo Ning, haven't you dealt with the demonic cult before? You should know more than us, shouldn't you?"

Li Weiyi sneered inwardly.

When Luan Sheng Linyou directly called out "Li Weiyi" at the Thirty-Six Thunder Tombs, Li Weiyi knew that someone within the Dao Cult had leaked his information.

The fact that Long Xiangcen and Taishi Yu overheard this discussion on their way there meant someone deliberately wanted them to hear it.

How could it be such a coincidence?

Li Weiyi looked at Long Xiangcen, his tone carrying a hint of threat: "I was merely pursued by the demonic cult. I also encountered them at the Sky Pavilion in Leiling City and nearly lost my life."

Long Xiangcen dared not press further and stopped there.

Breaking ties with Li Weiyi, although she believed Taishi Bai would side with her, would ultimately plant seeds of doubt.

Li Weiyi was almost certain that Luan Sheng Linyou had come to Skysource City, had already met Long Xiangcen, and was still suspicious that Zuo Ning was Li Weiyi.

Otherwise, why would Long Xiangcen, as if she had taken the wrong medicine, suddenly bring up this matter?

The secret that Li Weiyi was the demonic cult's Fourth Divine Son, if it spread in Skysource City, could indirectly prove that the cult's main headquarters was in the underground immortal mansion.

This would force the demonic cult to act quickly.

The demon race did not want them to delay further and wished to attack Skysource City as soon as possible.

Even the most foolish of the Dao Cult's Divine Sons would understand this principle; it was impossible for them to expose him so conspicuously in Skysource City.

"Zuo Ning, shall we discuss Zhuang Yue's matter privately again?" Jiang Ning asked.

Long Xiangcen seized the opportunity, chuckling, "Exactly! A frank discussion, and perhaps Fairy Yu might be benevolent enough to marry her handmaiden to you?"

Just at that moment.

Outside the hall, in the night.

A deafening laugh rang out: "I have long heard of the great renown of Song Yulou, the foremost Seed of Dao realm expert in Skysource. I have visited many times, but you were always in secluded cultivation, so I could not meet you as I wished. Today, learning of your emergence from seclusion, I have come uninvited. I ask for your forbearance."

The sound waves roared like a tsunami, shattering countless bowls and dishes.

"Bang! Bang..."

The guest adherents and soldiers guarding the Prince's Mansion gates were swept away by a vast surge of demonic energy, falling to the ground like ragdolls.

The strong practitioners attending the banquet inside the hall had already anticipated the Demonic Child's arrival that night and were not surprised. However, they were extremely displeased with his tyrannical actions. With intense hostility, everyone rose and followed Song Yulou outside.

Some martial cultivators, like Li Weiyi, unaware of the reason, asked in astonishment, "Who is so arrogant? Not only did he come uninvited, but at a place like the West Sea Prince's Mansion, he actually attacked people and forced his way in?"

"Who else could it be? It must be that person from the Du'e Temple."

"That foremost expert of the Seed of Dao realm from Du'e Temple has already defeated five great masters, none of whom could withstand three of his moves. His attacks are extremely vicious; he calls them sparring, but in reality, every move is fatal, and all who face him are severely injured."

"Even if he's from Du'e Temple, doesn't he fear the older generation teaching him a lesson for being so arrogant in Skysource City?"

"It's said that he is not only a disciple of Du'e Temple but also deeply involved with the Demonic Nation."

"Good heavens, the Demonic Nation..."

Li Weiyi, along with the others from Skysource City, walked out of the main hall and stood on the jade steps, looking down.

A vast surge of demonic energy permeated the plaza below the jade steps.

The so-called Demonic Child, appearing to be an eight or nine-year-old boy, had a bare torso covered with a hundred demonic tattoos. His hair was styled into six long braids, and a red demonic pagoda symbol marked his brow.

He walked above the ground, treading on demonic energy. There was no childish innocence on his face; instead, his entire being exuded an aura of domineering arrogance.

If it weren't for the presence of top masters like Zuoqiu Ling and Song Yulou blocking his aura, his sheer demonic might alone would be enough to force countless people to their knees, trembling.

Li Weiyi looked up and saw vast demonic clouds spreading overhead, obscuring the stars.

Two other figures accompanied the Demonic Child.

One was Xie Chucai, handsome and elegant in red robes.

The other, to Li Weiyi's great surprise, was Li Shentong from Zhizhou, Southern Region—a successor-level master whom no one dared provoke at the Hidden Dragon Lantern Festival.

Back in Yao Pass, when Li Weiyi was still at the Rushing Spring realm and first met Shi Shishi, he heard Shi Shishi mention that the Li family had produced a great figure who, in a few decades, might establish a prominent lineage with millions of followers.

At the time, Li Weiyi considered it just idle talk.

This was because the Li family's influence in the Southern Region was nowhere near that powerful.

Now it seemed that the great figure from the Li family Shi Shishi spoke of did not achieve enlightenment in the Skysource realm, but rather forged a formidable reputation in another realm of existence.

The Demonic Child stood with his hands behind his back, his sharp gaze sweeping over the young masters on the jade steps: "You are all so calm; you must have known I would arrive tonight. I heard that the Third Palace Master issued the 'Sixty-Year Scroll' summons, and that's how she gathered this rabble?"

"Demonic Child, do not be so presumptuous! Back then, the Demonic Sovereign Yu Baxian of your Demonic Nation's Carefree Capital was beaten by the Mist Emperor and fled four million li, swearing never to set foot in Skysource again to save his life. What, has your Demonic Nation recovered its power now?" Taishi Yu loudly rebuked him.