Chapter 386 : Soul-Searching in the Demon's Cauldron

Although that Demonic Cultivator possessed cultivation at the Golden Core Mid Stage, he found it difficult to defend against the duo's ambush in his haste. On the spot, a single sword strike cleaved half of his physical body.

The man still sought to flee, but alas, the Six Harmonies and Eight Desolations Cauldron in Exquisite Jiang's hand descended with a crushing pressure. With one move, she drew the man into the cauldron.

"Do not kill him yet."

Eldrin Chen called out loudly. Hearing this, Exquisite Jiang understood his intent and spared the captive's life.

Seeing the demonic cultivator suppressed within the cauldron, Eldrin Chen let out a sigh of relief. "This Demonic Cultivator laid such a hidden trap; there must be an Infant Soul [the stage of cultivation where the nascent soul is formed] demonic master pulling the strings behind him."

"And this fiend is merely at the Golden Core Mid Stage. In principle, he shouldn't possess the capability to set up a formation on behalf of an Infant Soul Demonic Cultivator."

Exquisite Jiang's eyes sharpened. "It seems the one who laid the formation was not this fiend, but someone else entirely."

"Let's see if we can extract some information from this demon."

Eldrin Chen nodded and retrieved a Soul-Searching Talisman.

The Soul-Searching Talisman [a talisman that forcibly extracts the memories from a cultivator's soul] can seize the spiritual memories of a cultivator. However, this talisman is excessively brutal and insidious. Once a soul is extracted by it, the victim's consciousness shatters, and all memories are lost. For uninterrupted reading, go to audio~novel.com.

In truth, when dealing with such Demonic Cultivator [practitioners who cultivate using malevolent and forbidden methods], there was no need for any niceties. They directly employed the Soul-Searching Talisman [a talisman capable of extracting and reading a target's memories].

After the demon's memories were drawn into the talisman and the two of them examined its contents, Eldrin Chen's expression turned grave.

It turned out this demon was named Ming Shan Lin and was one of the disciples of the Black Fiend Patriarch.

"I never imagined that old fiend still had such a contingency plan hidden away."

"Had we not discovered it, he might very well have managed to escape his fate."

Exquisite Jiang also spoke with solemnity. It was revealed that the Black Fiend Patriarch had been scheming within the Demonic Flame Ridge for many years.

Although the Black Fiend Patriarch had been trapped within the Black Fiend Demon Ridge all these years, he had dispatched his disciples to establish two hidden contingencies at this location.

Among these two hidden schemes, besides the 'Demon Flame Thunder Gathering Formation' [a formation that gathers demonic flame and thunder energy] before them now, there was also a 'Netherworld Void Crossing Formation' [a formation for traversing the void of the netherworld].

That Netherworld Void Crossing Formation was an extremely unique type of Teleportation Formation [an array designed for spatial transportation]. It could covertly harness the power of the demonic flames in this place to secretly bypass the detection of the Ji Clan True Lord and draw the Black Fiend Patriarch here.

All these years, the eldest disciple of the Black Fiend Patriarch had been hiding within the Demonic Flame Ridge, secretly preparing the Formation [a structured arrangement of energy nodes and conduits] for his master, intending to facilitate the Black Fiend Patriarch's eventual escape when the time was right.

At this thought, Eldrin Chen spoke with a tone of shock, "If the Black Fiend Patriarch successfully deceives Ji Clan True Lord, wouldn't that mean he could later launch a covert, fatal strike against the Ji Clan Patriarch during his breakthrough to the Primordial Spirit [the spiritual core of a cultivator] realm?"

"That would indeed introduce an unpredictable variable."

Exquisite Jiang's gaze also turned grave. The sheer variety of methods employed by high-level demonic entities was truly terrifying.

Thinking this, she couldn't help but say, "It's fortunate you didn't slay that demon. Otherwise, the Black Fiend Patriarch would surely have been alerted, thoroughly warning our quarry."

"Indeed. But the Infant Soul [the nascent soul stage of cultivation] Demonic Cultivator possesses extraordinary means. I fear we cannot conceal the truth for long."

Eldrin Chen spoke with profound gravity. The Black Fiend Patriarch was a top-tier Demonic Cultivator at the Infant Soul Late Stage, his methods utterly inscrutable. Facing such an entity, no amount of caution could ever be excessive.

With this conviction, Eldrin Chen declared, "We must act swiftly and decisively. We need to quietly dismantle the Black Fiend Patriarch's Netherworld Void Crossing Formation [a teleportation array connecting to the netherworld]."

"Otherwise, once the Black Fiend Patriarch senses something amiss, our chance to act will be lost."

"Agreed."

Exquisite Jiang nodded, then added thoughtfully, "However, the Netherworld Void Crossing Formation is guarded by the Black Fiend Patriarch's chief disciple, Black Fire True Person."

"This Demonic Cultivator has already reached the Golden Core Perfection realm. Dealing with him will likely not be easy."

"It shouldn't be too difficult."

Eldrin Chen said with a smile, "We can impersonate this fiend and send a message to lure Black Fire True Person out."

After all, this was the harsh environment of the Demonic Flame Ridge. Treasures here tended to degrade quickly, requiring constant maintenance to keep the Formation [a complex arrangement of energy channels and nodes used for defense, attack, or cultivation] operational.

According to the memories extracted from the Soul-Searching Talisman [a talisman used to forcibly read the memories of a target], this Demon Flame Thunder Gathering Formation would suffer degradation every few decades, requiring Black Fire True Person to come and repair the Formation.

It had become almost a routine for this Lin Old Demon to periodically invite Black Fire True Person to mend the Formation. Continue reading this story at audio-novel`com.

With this in mind, Eldrin Chen retrieved a black treasure talisman from Lin Old Demon's Storage Bag [a spatial artifact used to store items]. "This Demonic Fiendish Energy Communication Talisman is the tool Lin Old Demon used to communicate with Black Fire True Person. We can use it to trick him into coming out."

"That is a good plan."

Exquisite Jiang nodded in agreement. The two decided to use the Demonic Fiendish Energy Communication Talisman to draw out Black Fire True Person.

This Demonic Fiendish Energy Communication Talisman was crafted from the skin of a Violet Sanctum Cultivator [a cultivator at the Violet Sanctum realm], making it an exceptionally vile and cruel object. Were it not for the need to lure out Black Fire True Person, they would have been unwilling to handle such a sinister artifact.

The two activated the Demonic Fiendish Energy Communication Talisman and did not simply wait idly for the arrival of Black Fire True Person.

They ascended to the mountain peak and located the Demonic Flame Lunar Thunder Pearl coalescing at the heart of the Formation [a structured arrangement of energy nodes and flows, often used for defense, attack, or cultivation].

At the core of the Formation, a black-red orb pulsed with crimson-black lightning, radiating a power that seemed poised to tear the very fabric of space.

"This thunder pearl has already reached the Fifth Rank Low-Grade [a classification for the power level of artifacts and techniques]."

"If it continues to gather power, it might even advance to Fifth Rank Mid-Grade, or potentially reach the level of Fifth Rank High-Grade."

Eldrin Chen's pupils contracted sharply, and he could not help but exclaim in awe.

Of course, for this thunder pearl to reach Fifth Rank Mid-Grade would likely require another three hundred years of energy convergence. To attain Fifth Rank High-Grade would not only demand a millennium but also the personal ritual intervention of Black Fiend Patriarch to succeed.

To avoid alerting Black Fiend Patriarch, the pair did not immediately retrieve the pearl. Instead, they began the work of seizing control over this Formation.

With the Soul-Searching Talisman in their possession, gaining control over this Formation was not overly difficult for them.

It was during this process that Eldrin Chen discovered most of the techniques used in this Formation were of an exceptionally vile and sinister nature, characteristic of Demonic Cultivator [practitioners who use malevolent, often soul-consuming methods to advance their power] methods.

Merely seven Formation Flag [a flag used to anchor and control a formation's energy flow], yet they were woven from the hair of ten million common folk. Such an act was truly unspeakably vile and cruel.

"To lay this Formation [a structured arrangement of energy channels and nodes for defense, attack, or cultivation], the Demonic Cultivator [a cultivator who pursues power through cruel, bloody, and soul-corrupting methods] must have slaughtered more than one Golden Core Immortal Clan [a clan whose patriarch has reached the Golden Core realm].

After inspecting the Formation, a flicker of killing intent flashed in the pupils of Exquisite Jiang.

To employ such a vicious method against their own kind, the Demonic Cultivator of this world truly had extinguished all humanity and were unworthy of being called human.

Eldrin Chen's gaze was equally icy as he stated coldly, "In all the world, Demonic Cultivator are more deserving of death than even the Demon Race [a race of beings, often bestial or monstrous, that cultivate demonic energy]."

Both were brimming with lethal resolve, their determination to thwart the hidden schemes of Black Fiend Patriarch and slay Black Fire True Person now steeled beyond doubt.

Thus, half a month passed in haste. Then, a figure wreathed in black flames soared through the sky, its voice echoing across the distant void.

"Junior Brother Lin, what mishap has befallen the Formation this time?"

Within the black miasma, there was a slight pause. Eldrin Chen, mimicking the voice of the Eccentric Lin, replied, "Senior Brother Black Fire, one of the Formation Flag was consumed by demonic flames and requires replenishment."

"I see."

Just as Black Fire True Person [a powerful cultivator known for his mastery of dark flames] was about to step into the Formation [a complex array of energy channels used for defense or attack], his foot paused mid-stride.

As a high-level cultivator, Black Fire True Person had sensed the anomaly. His gaze sharpened, pupils contracting as they fixed upon Eldrin Chen atop the mountain peak.

"Who are you, truly?" he demanded.

"Now!" Read, share, and discuss at audio‑novel.com.