So What If You’ve Been Reborn? - CH 24

C24. The Ancient Demonic Sect’s Inheritance

After ten whole days, Granny Poison Scorpion finally walked out of the Redwinds Desert, looking weathered and worn.

“Wicked little fellow, Granny shall give you a taste of the Wudu Sect’s power even if it costs her life! Aiyo!” Granny Poison Scorpion thumped her back with a fist. She tapped her cane against the ground, hastily searching for a source of water.

Being at the Foundation Establishment stage, Granny Poison Scorpion had barely survived even after going without food and water for ten days. But the blazing sun had made her dazed, and heavens only knew how many unnecessary rounds she had made.

“When I see my good disciple again, I must have her give me a nice back massage.”

Granny Poison Scorpion took her anger out on a rock by smashing it to bits with her cane. She panted for breath, deciding to sit down and rest.

Several shadowy figures slid out from behind the rocks. With a flash, a sharp blade came to rest against Granny Poison’s neck.

“Ahh!”

Shocked stiff, Granny Poison Scorpion said with a dry laugh, “Good sirs…This is a misunderstanding, I’m an external guard of the Wudu Sect who got lost in the Redwinds Desert and barely made it out. The gravel beach is a large place, I’ll go somewhere else at once! Go somewhere else…”

“Wudu Sect?”

Granny Poison Scorpion immediately gave an affirmative response. Her eyes swivelled, a smile breaking out on her lips.

One could tell from hearing the voice that this was a young man, a man who was no older than thirty. Although many in the cultivation world aged slowly, there was no way to hide the voice unless they reached the Nascent Soul stage.

In the cultivation world, twenty to thirty years of age was far too young, amounting to pretty much nothing.

The cultivation world used to have a saying that one would be unable to form a Golden Core if they did not know their fate. It was a reference to how it would be more suitable to break through to the Golden Core stage around age fifty.[1] Disciples of the major sects normally came under their masters around age twenty, built up foundations and cultivated steadily for thirty-odd years, then went into seclusion to form their Golden Cores.

Granny Poison Scorpion had completed the Foundation Establishment stage; had she not been utterly exhausted, she would not have been had by this little whelp! What was she afraid of! She only wanted to know if the other person had some patron, perhaps if this patron was someone the Wudu Sect could not offend.

“Let me guess what you must be thinking—”

The person behind her had a hint of a smile in his voice. He said, in a low voice, as if he were an inner demon tempting her, “You are thinking, has some secret or some treasure gotten out on this gravel beach, or why else would a group of people be on alert here, even going so far as to hold a knife to your neck?”

Granny Poison Scorpion was shocked, but she had already been pierced by the knife.

“Dispose of the corpse. If the wolves died from eating the corpse of someone from the Wudu Sect, I would be implicated by the karma!”

“Haha, surely you jest, Sir Ji Hong. Why would us demonic cultivators fear something like karma.”

The shadowy figures pressed the knife down and made a clean cut over the throat, throwing the weapon of murder onto Granny Poison Scorpion’s body. Since cultivators’ dantians did not die so easily if the dantian was not broken, Granny Poison Scorpion struggled, stricken by horror. The scorpions hiding on her person leaped out, their tails lifting to attack.

“Fsssss.”

A ball of blue ghost-flame was tossed over. The fire grew as the wind blew, and Granny Poison Scorpion and her scorpions were consumed by the flames.

The firelight illuminated the surrounding perpetrators: six people dressed in black and wearing masks with the faces of demons, and one person dressed the same way, except he held his mask in one hand. This was a young man with refined, gentle features.

He smiled, admiring the leaping blue flames.

“What about the people from the Great Snowy Mountain?”

“They are going about like headless flies and searching aimlessly. It appears they did not receive confirmed information before arriving.”

“That is fine.” Though Ji Hong said this, he had already gone cold on the inside.

Ji Hong was twenty-six years old this year, and this would be his second time being twenty-six years old.

He had been plagued by inner demons during secluded cultivation, and his primordial spirit and soul had shattered. He thought he would die for sure, but when he opened his eyes, he had gone back to when he was ten years old. The Ji family had been set adrift, his father had been removed from his post and jailed, and the whole family had been banished to the lands on the borders.

The last time he was ten years old, Ji Hong thought that had been the dark, dreary end of his life. In fact, this was only the beginning of his life, the beginning of his path of cultivation.

The heavens have given me a way out!

Ji Hong cried and laughed in the prison, shocking his family so much that they thought he had lost his mind.

After venting his emotions, Ji Hong disguised himself appropriately; this was a skill he was most accomplished in. No one would be too wary of a ten-year-old child, after all. And now, Ji Hong had grown up into an amicable gentleman who spoke charmingly. He remained discreet, kept his ambitions hidden, and used the secrets he had known from the past life to plan and arrange things.

Any deviations would make Ji Hong feel troubled. Deviations, that was what he hated the most in life!

—Liang Qianshan was selfish by nature and hated listening to things he disliked, but he was not someone who was highly suspicious of things.

The message sent to the Great Snowy Mountain by the spy had been secretly changed by Ji Hong. Every word of every sentence in that secret report had been carefully chosen. By right, Liang Qianshan should not have sent anyone to the gravel beach.

“Maybe Liang Qianshan is just playing smart by making a big fuss on the gravel beach, but he’s actually searching the wastelands with all his might!” a man interjected on the side.

No, the spy’s mind was tightly controlled by Liang Qianshan; the Divine Master of the Snowy Mountain believed greatly that the secret report was accurate. Liang Qianshan would only rush to find the Secret Beixuan Treasure before the demonic cultivators noticed anything amiss, and he would not do something so excessive. Kicking up a bigger fuss would only make the other sects grow cautious.

Ji Hong’s brows creased; where had it gone wrong, he wondered.

“Sir Ji Hong, we captured another two cultivators over there. They probably followed us over from the capital.”。

“Kill them if they are demonic cultivators. Otherwise, knock them unconscious and lock them up,” Ji Hong replied without a hitch.

Within Grandmaster Huanjian’s subordinates, there were many others vying for the position of demonic grandmaster’s disciple along with him.

“Speed it up. As long as we find the demonic sect’s inheritance and the Secret Beixuan Treasure first, we shall be the ones holding power and influence among the Venerable Grandmaster’s subordinates!” Ji Hong declared, smiling.

“Haha, that’s right, our lives have been much better after getting to know Sir Ji Hong!”

“Let us be off.”

Ji Hong gazed across the empty gravel beach. He was confident in being able to find that place from his memories, but Ji Hong had no choice but to put on an act. He guessed that Grandmaster Huanjian’s trusted men could be keeping an eye on them from right behind.

The Secret Beixuan Treasure, such a tempting treasure that had caused countless bloodshed over eight thousand years.

In reality, it was just—

Ji Hong withheld a laugh. Either way, he just had to present the box containing the treasure to Grandmaster Huanjian, the second-highest grandmaster of demonic cultivation, in exchange for a chance to become his disciple.

***

Night had fallen. The wolves in the pack howled anxiously.

Their territory had been invaded. Recently, a group of strong humans had been searching all over in the gravel beach, and the wolf pack was being chased away every day. Any wolves who bit back in retaliation were killed.

This was another night of unease.

Its head having been burned bald by the Stone-borne Flame, the wolf king lay on a large rock, sniffing the scents in the air.

The wolf pack hung around listlessly nearby as they rested. Those with wounds licked each other. Some wolf cubs whined, weak with hunger, and female wolves came over and wrapped them in their own fur to comfort them.

Not all of these wolf cubs were the leader’s young. There were lone wolves living in the gravel beach as well, and they had been affected far worse. Wolves would care for any cubs they picked up, no matter whose children they were.

After more than ten days of picking up cubs, the number of wolf cubs had increased drastically.

The wolf king was filled with rage. After daybreak, it would have to lead the wolf pack in another migration, and they were about to be driven out of this land they had inhabited for generations.

Downwind, not far away from the wolf pack.

A young man and woman were silently fleeing as they crouched low.

The young woman was Baiwu, Granny Poison Scorpion’s disciple. She had changed out of the colourful clothing that drew too much attention, and she held her silver whip in hand, quietly threatening Young Master Yao into leaving.

“I…I have not eaten anything for a day now!” Young Master Yao protested weakly.

Baiwu had a mustard seed storage treasure that contained large amounts of dried food and water, which her master had given her, but she was extremely harsh towards Young Master Yao. As the amount of dried food decreased, she began to stare at Young Master Yao’s back with unconcealed killing intent.

Young Master Yao cursed in his mind, frantically thinking of a way to escape.

This woman was not even at the Foundation Establishment stage. Attracting the wolf pack over to kill her was a good way to kill her, but then he too would be unable to escape.

While he was becoming annoyed and unable to think, Young Master Yao suddenly felt his foot sink down. He looked down at it. That part of the rock was not particularly different from the others, but if one looked closely at the patterns on it, they would feel dizzy.

A gate!

Young Master Yao was overjoyed. The hardship he had endured these days had not made him forget about the ancient demonic sect’s inheritance.

It was just that he only heard a rough idea of it in his past life, thus he had not the faintest idea where the exact location was.

He had suspected that Baiwu knew about it since a long time ago, but after more than ten days of observing her and testing the waters, he could only admit resignedly that Baiwu knew absolutely nothing.

In the previous life, Baiwu the White Centipede Lady had obtained the demonic sect’s inheritance through pure coincidence.

The timing had been different in this life, and the Great Snowy Mountain’s followers had appeared on the gravel beach to drive other cultivators out. All sorts of signs had made Young Master Yao uneasy, and he had given up hope on this opportunity.

Who would have expected him to chance upon it so suddenly, after enduring so much hardship!

“Get a move on! What schemes are you trying to hatch!” Baiwu scolded in a low voice, seeing how Young Master Yao had crouched down and stopped moving. Had she not been worried about alerting the wolf pack to their presence, she might have whipped him right there.

“I really cannot take it anymore. Just go, I would rather stay here and become food for the wolves!”

“You!” She was full of suspicion, clearly in disbelief that this man would dare to stay in the gravel beach alone. To Baiwu, he was just a mortal, and he would not be able to use her mustard seed storage treasure even if he killed her and took it. What could he possibly do?

Young Master Yao lay on the ground, pinning his right leg under himself to show his utter refusal to leave. Listening to the howls of the wolf pack, Baiwu finally lost her patience.

“Suit yourself!”

Young Master Yao was greatly pleased. He watched as Baiwu’s silhouette gradually shrank into the distance.

The various humiliations he had suffered since rebirth, the depression from fate toying with him, all of it vanished in an instant!

In his previous life, the things he had heard the most of while in that small sect were the fantastical tales about others. As someone who had never become a disciple of any cultivator, a nobody of the cultivation world who had spent his life tending, cleaning, making purchases and raising spiritual plants, what he loved most was hearing stories of people achieving instant success. And what he knew least of was how the powerful people in those stories truly lived.

Young Master Yao had not even a shred of common sense. Furthermore, he did not know that instant success did not exist in the world.

Even sect inheritances that came at the cost of one’s life would not transfer cultivation bases to the one who would receive it. Such inheritances were like the Liquor-Wisdom Technique on a higher level; it would only grant the person a great wisdom. It had absolutely nothing to do with the direct improvement of one’s capabilities.

And the stories never mentioned this bit.

This was not the worst. Even scarier was that—

The winds on the gravel beach suddenly took a turn. With a sniff, the wolf king looked this way at once.

This was bad!

Young Master Yao was alarmed. Ignoring that Baiwu was not out of sight yet, he gave a hard stomp in the same direction his right foot had sunken.

Instantly, a column of white light stretched all the way to the sky, pulling Young Master Yao in.

The wolf pack was spooked. Baiwu was so stunned, she stood rooted to the spot, not knowing what to do.

The column of light made a sudden change, its bright white light flaring. It headed for Baiwu who was covering her eyes, forcibly snatching her away.

“Argh!” Young Master Yao was tossed out, his head bloodied from smashing onto the rocks. He scrambled off the ground and charged towards the column of light again, as if crazed. “Impossible, this cannot be!”

He was clearly the one who had scored this opportunity. Why had the ancient demonic sect’s inheritance still chosen Baiwu?

“I won’t stand for this!” Young Master Yao’s eyes seemed about to explode.

When he looked back, the famished wolf pack was staring at him, waiting for their chance to strike.

“AAHHHHH!!”

When the Great Snowy Mountain’s followers and Ji Hong saw the column of light and arrived at the scene, the wolf pack had already left, and all that remained were bloodstains and ripped clothing.

No one was concerned about who the wolves had eaten.

“An ancient demonic sect’s inheritance! Quick, interrupt it!” the Great Snowy Mountain’s followers shouted frantically. They knew nothing about the Secret Beixuan Treasure.

“Hurry! Go in and try even if it cannot be interrupted!” Ji Hong was also getting anxious, for he saw the Great Snowy Mountain’s followers beginning to pass messages along. Liang Qianshan was a powerful Immortalisation-level cultivator who could arrive here from the wastelands in under an hour!

For things like these inheritances, it could last over ten days at most, and even the ones that took little time would need at least a day and a night.

Inheritances could only be interrupted during the first two hours. This was because inheritances would automatically ‘choose’ those that were suitable. Once it discovered a target it preferred more, the previous one would be mercilessly discarded.

“This, this is an inheritance for demonic cultivators!” The Great Snowy Mountain’s followers nudged one another.

And some were eyeing it greedily. What was there to fear about demonic cultivation, perhaps they could succeed just by taking this gamble.

Pained cries rang out continuously on the gravel beach. The column of light showed no mercy, tossing out each person who came, as if it was unsatisfied with what they had to offer.

Compared to the people from the Great Snowy Mountain, Ji Hong was much better prepared.

“Li Zan!”

A slim woman emerged from the group of masked and black-clad people he had brought with him. She opened her arms, leaping into the column of light. This time, it accepted her without hesitation.

The smallest of smiles appeared on Ji Hong’s face.

That was right. This ancient demonic sect’s inheritance that Baiwu the White Centipede Lady had received would only choose females.

Three minutes passed, five minutes passed, and the column of light still had not stirred. Ji Hong’s smile grew—he had made the right gamble. This inheritance was the highest-level kind; it would have ‘reserve’ candidates. If it failed to pass on to the first person, it would then turn towards the second person.

This amount of time was enough for Li Zan to search for the Secret Beixuan Treasure in the crypts!

As for the Great Snowy Mountain?

Ha, the Great Snowy Mountain did not accept female disciples!