Chapter 442: The Nine Nether Sect Leader Mu Baiyi

The Senior Disciple Sister arrived at Prison Peak. The Child Grandmaster was stunned to see two Tribulation Period souls. How much time had passed for two more Tribulation Period cultivators to arrive? Calculating the time, four Tribulation Period cultivators were captured in a year. In a few more years, he wouldn't be able to keep Prison Peak subdued. His strength was considerable, but he couldn't handle containing so many Tribulation Period souls. Anyone else in his position would also struggle to maintain control.

"Actually, there are three. One was refined into an artifact spirit by me. All three were encountered by Junior Brother when he went out."

The Child Grandmaster's face twitched. This grand-disciple of his caused even more trouble than that boy Buyu. He was only at the Golden Core stage now; what would he be like in the future?

"Even in retirement, there's no peace," the Child Grandmaster sighed. He had retired early and left the responsibility to Daoist Buyu and the other nine because he was simply too weary. That generation of Wen Dao Sect produced many outstanding talents. The nine most exceptional among them were known as the Nine Sons of Wen Dao Sect, considered the hope of the sect. Coincidentally, all nine of them were his disciples. When he was the Sect Master, he spent every day cleaning up the messes those fellows created. Thanks to him, he came to know all the high-ranking figures in the cultivation world at that time. He desperately cultivated to the Tribulation Period just so he could easily discipline those little rascals. Otherwise, as their master, watching those little rascals cause trouble and being unable to defeat them, wouldn't he have died of anger?

"I should have swapped places with my junior brother back then. He could have been at Prison Peak, and I would have been in the Scripture Pavilion." The Child Grandmaster sighed as he imprisoned Wu Youdao and Venerable Xuanlei.

Lu Yang swaggered through the Wen Dao Sect, carrying the soul of Venerable Witchcraft in his hand, looking extremely punchable. Fortunately, he successfully reached Hundred Refining Peak without being beaten. He happened to see Li Haoran sparring with Qin Yanran. Qin Yanran's body transformed into a wisp of white smoke, ethereal and elusive. Hidden within the smoke were talismans, capable of delivering a stealth attack to Li Haoran. Li Haoran was not one to passively defend. He removed the wig from his head, which spun rapidly, dispersing the white smoke. The father and daughter sparred, locked in an an intense and evenly matched fight.

"Smoke and Cloud Pill?" Lu Yang recognized Qin Yanran's Golden Core; it was a first-grade Golden Core. This type of Golden Core allowed a cultivator to transform into mist, becoming intangible and shadowy, making it extremely useful for combat, defense, or escape. It wasn't in vain that Li Haoran had accompanied his daughter in cultivation for so long.

"You've successfully formed your Golden Core, congratulations!" Lu Yang smiled. The father and daughter also noticed Lu Yang's arrival and ceased their sparring.

"Senior Brother Lu, why are you here?" Li Haoran was unaware of Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou's trip to Barren State. He only felt a bit uncomfortable due to not having seen them for a month. Being subjected to karmic backlash was not something glorious, so Meng Jingzhou naturally kept it a secret. The disciples of Wen Dao Sect only knew that Qiu Jin'an had ambushed the sect; as for the cause and effect, they knew nothing.

"Oh, Old Meng and I went to Barren State, captured a Tribulation Period soul, and Senior Disciple Sister told me to give it to Fifth Elder." Lu Yang held up the chain in his hand, speaking casually as if he had just returned from a trip and brought back a small souvenir for his neighbors. Even the father and daughter, who were almost accustomed to Lu Yang's luck, didn't know what to say. Was a Tribulation Period soul some kind of common cabbage that you'd just stumble upon when going out?

"Master is refining artifacts at the mountaintop," Li Haoran told Lu Yang, pointing the way.

"Alright, I'll be back soon. There's something I need to ask you." Li Haoran was puzzled.

Lu Yang arrived at the mountaintop and saw Fifth Elder staring intently at a pot, deep in thought, his brows furrowed in concentration and looking quite conflicted.

"Fifth Elder, what are you doing?"

"Our Heavenly Court Cult's cooperation with the Nine Nether Cult relies on the automatic skewer grilling formation, right? So I was thinking, could I refine a magic artifact that can automatically stir-fry dishes?"

"Did you succeed?"

"Not quite. I encountered many problems, such as this pot having too high an attack power. I don't even know where the problem lies. Anyway, let's not talk about that. What are you here for... a Tribulation Period powerful cultivator's soul?!"

Fifth Elder snapped out of his daze. Seeing the soul of Venerable Witchcraft in Lu Yang's hand, his eyes lit up, more excited than if he had seen his wife. He rubbed his hands together, grinning, with his lips stretched to his ears.

"Senior Disciple Sister asked me to give this to you. She said it could be used as an artifact spirit."

"Indeed, that's what she meant!" Fifth Elder took the chain, treating it like a precious treasure. With the soul of a powerful Tribulation Period cultivator, he was confident he could refine a Tribulation-level magic artifact. This was an extremely valuable experience, and the process would greatly help improve his artifact refining skills. Fifth Elder tossed the automatic stir-fry pot aside. With an opportunity to refine a Tribulation-level magic artifact, who would still bother researching an automatic stir-fry pot?

Lu Yang bid farewell to Fifth Elder, who was now utterly oblivious to everything else, and went down the mountain to find Li Haoran, explaining his purpose.

"This time in Barren State, I met someone from the Nine Nether Cult. See if you recognize him?" Lu Yang used his spiritual power to conjure an illusion of a man wearing a white paper hat.

"Mu Baiyi?"

"This person is called Mu Baiyi?"

"There's no mistake, it's Mu Baiyi. In Qin Haoran's memories, he was one of the Four Vice Cult Masters of the Nine Nether Cult, and the youngest of the four."

"He is now the Cult Master of the Nine Nether Cult."

If Lu Yang had previously been unsure whether Mu Baiyi was the Cult Master, after the battle at Hanshui City, considering the combat power Mu Baiyi displayed, he was certainly the Cult Master.

"He became the Cult Master?"

Li Haoran was slightly surprised. In terms of seniority and cultivation, Mu Baiyi wasn't particularly outstanding. Shi Huagu had a greater chance of becoming Cult Master than Mu Baiyi.

"Could it be that he made some promise, like building Fengdu?" Li Haoran pondered. Mu Baiyi held no advantages in any aspect. The only possibility was that he had promised to build Fengdu once he became Cult Master, which would sway the neutral faction to his side. "But that's not right. The Nine Nether Cult is so poor. Qin Haoran is chased by creditors every day. Where would they get the money to build Fengdu?" Li Haoran was completely baffled.

"Mu Baiyi is most skilled in clone techniques and transformation arts; he can transform into men, women, old, or young. Mu Baiyi said that when he was young and studying in his sect, his fellow disciples didn't want to go to the academy to study. They preferred to cultivate on their own. However, the academy elders frequently took attendance, so his fellow disciples would ask Mu Baiyi to answer for them. It wasn't for free; they gave Mu Baiyi spirit stones. Since Mu Baiyi came from a humble background and lacked spirit stones, he agreed. Mu Baiyi was diligent. To avoid being discovered, he learned clone techniques and transformation arts, using these two spells when answering attendance."

"Then why didn't he continue studying in the sect later, and instead joined the Nine Nether Cult?" Lu Yang asked curiously. "Was it because the elders discovered his habit of answering for others and expelled him? Who would leave a sect to join a demonic cult if they could study there?"

"No, that's not it. The sect disbanded later."

"Disbanded?" Lu Yang was even more perplexed. Why would a perfectly fine sect disband?

"The sect was quite strange. Despite many disciples coming to the academy and a hundred percent attendance rate, their final evaluations were terrible. Only Mu Baiyi's performance stood out. The sect felt it couldn't teach anyone properly and didn't want to mislead its disciples, so it disbanded."

Lu Yang: "..."