Chapter 334: Chapter 334

Orthodox sects also needed funding, and confiscating these ill-gotten gains was only natural—something they often did.

This was what was happening on the other side. Returning to this side, Hei Xue continued answering Xiaoyao's questions.

"It's a box. We don't know what's inside yet, but it's definitely something very important."

"A box? Is it the one in the innermost room of the Demon Palace? You actually opened it? Who cultivated the Heavenly Demon Technique to the sixth level?" Xiaoyao guessed what box it was and knew the conditions for opening that room.

"How do you know? Have you been inside?" Hei Xue immediately asked. She hadn't mentioned these things yet, but Xiaoyao already knew everything, and in such detail—only someone who had been inside would know.

"Oh, no, I just saw an introduction," Xiaoyao said, looking up at the moon. Obviously, this response was evasive.

"You must have been inside. I knew it—after being at Heavenly Gate for over a year, how could you not have found a way in? What method did you use to get in? The Demon Palace doors had never been opened before," Hei Xue asked curiously, pursuing Xiaoyao with questions, seemingly not caring that Ten Thousand Swords Sect knew about this.

"Aren't you afraid of these people knowing? Strange, your attitude is very problematic. Are you lying to me?" Xiaoyao found it very strange, changing the subject while voicing his suspicions.

He felt Ten Thousand Swords Sect seemed to have some connection with Hei Xue, not a purely adversarial relationship. Otherwise, even if Hei Xue was captured, she wouldn't reveal Demon Cult secrets.

"I'm not lying to you. I'm not afraid of them knowing because they themselves are a branch of the Demon Cult. They want to obtain this box to seize the position of Demon Cult Master," Hei Xue revealed something that surprised Xiaoyao, though it somehow didn't feel unexpected.

If this news were released on the continent, it would be a magnitude-12 earthquake. Who could believe that Ten Thousand Swords Sect, the representative of the anti-Demon Cult alliance, was actually a branch of the Demon Cult itself?

Thinking about it now, perhaps when Hei Xue had gone to sabotage Ten Thousand Swords Sect's affairs, it might have been to strike at rivals.

"How is it another Demon Cult branch? Just how many branches does your Demon Cult have?" Xiaoyao felt somewhat powerless. He knew Greedy Wolf Empire was a Demon Cult branch, knew Great Tang Empire had some connections to the Demon Cult, and now Ten Thousand Swords Sect appeared.

Now it seemed the struggles across the continent were all internal Demon Cult conflicts, which was truly incredible.

"The Demon Cult has existed for over ten thousand years, with countless forces split off from it. The thirty-six branches we speak of are the relatively strong ones that can be presented publicly. Those like Ten Thousand Swords Sect are only known by some people. The world has always thought the Demon Cult only appeared occasionally, but that's just when we were discovered. We Demon Cult members are everywhere..." When Hei Xue spoke of this, she seemed to become rather proud, which was indeed something any Demon Cult member could be proud of.

The Demon Cult, honestly speaking, had always controlled the continent's situation, but no one knew about it. They thought those orthodox sects, those countries—many people were all from the Demon Cult.

However, in the recent three thousand years, the Demon Cult had fragmented, so its influence on the continent wasn't as great as before, though it was still very powerful.

How exactly did the Demon Cult come about, and why did it possess such terrifying power? This was difficult to figure out. Xiaoyao had read some historical materials and researched the Demon Cult's emergence. They seemed to have suddenly appeared at a certain point, with no prior signs.

This might be due to gaps in records or other reasons. Xiaoyao had no way to investigate clearly, because that was history from over ten thousand years ago.

However, there was one interesting record—it seemed the Demon Cult wasn't originally called the Demon Cult, the Heavenly Demon Technique wasn't originally called the Heavenly Demon Technique, and the Demon Cult wasn't the villainous force it was now. Originally, the Demon Cult was called the Moyun Sect and had established a very powerful empire, the Moyun Empire.

Later, because the Moyun Sect acted arbitrarily and did things people considered evil, plus propaganda from certain people, the Moyun Sect gradually became the Demon Cult. Some people deliberately used the homophone of "Mo," and the Moyun Empire became the Evil Demon Empire, always a forbidden existence that no one recorded in history—it could only be seen in unofficial histories.

The Demon Cult seemed not to care about this and even enjoyed it. However, one Demon Cult Master didn't want to be constantly watched, so he dissolved the Moyun Empire, transforming it into many forces that infiltrated various places across the continent, secretly controlling the entire continent.

For that Demon Cult Master, this was more comfortable than being in the open, and the Demon Cult itself was primarily a cultivation-focused sect. They felt this was indeed good—they could cultivate peacefully while obtaining the best resources, so they continued implementing this idea.

Thus, the continent had numerous forces with intricate connections to the Demon Cult, whether sects or countries. Although many forces had forgotten this history and completely separated from the Demon Cult, the Demon Cult's influence still existed powerfully.

"Alright, I understand. So this is now an internal Demon Cult matter. I can help you open this box, but it should cancel out one of your conditions," Xiaoyao said. The situation didn't seem very tense. Although Hei Xue was captured, she hadn't suffered much grievance. While the Demon Cult would have internal conflicts, they generally wouldn't kill each other—this was Demon Cult doctrine and one of the reasons the Demon Cult remained strong.

Ten Thousand Swords Sect had no intention of killing Hei Xue and wouldn't harm Xiaoyao either. This was unnecessary—as long as they obtained what was in the box, Hei Xue would have to listen to them. Killing her would mean losing a powerful subordinate.

They knew Hei Xue would definitely submit, because just like them, if they lost, they would definitely listen to Hei Xue without complaints.

"That won't do. How could your condition be wasted like that?" Hei Xue rejected Xiaoyao's proposal.

"Then I won't open it," Xiaoyao also refused.

"I'm not asking you to find a way to open it. If we forcibly destroy this box, we'd rather wait," Hei Xue shook her head.

"Then what do you want me to do?"

"We need you to shed some blood..." ɪꜰ ʏᴏᴜ ᴡᴀɴᴛ ᴛᴏ ʀᴇᴀᴅ ᴍᴏʀᴇ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs, ᴘʟᴇᴀsᴇ ᴠɪsɪᴛ novel⚑fire.net

If this had been before, when Xiaoyao heard about shedding blood, he would have thought they wanted to kill him. But now it didn't sound like that, and he seemed to have studied this box, knowing how it normally opened.

This box, like the Demon Palace gate, required blood from someone with Demon Cult bloodline to open. But unlike the Demon Palace gate, this blood had to be from one person. They had tried before—if unsuccessful, the blood would be expelled and the mechanism would reset, not accumulating.

At the same time, if this box underwent destructive opening, it would probably trigger internal mechanisms that would destroy whatever was inside, which was different from the Demon Palace gate that could be broken through.

"You think too highly of me. Although I have some bloodline, it can't be that pure. You should find the person who cultivated the Heavenly Demon Technique to the sixth level. If not, then continue cultivating. When someone reaches the ninth level, they'll definitely be able to open this box," Xiaoyao understood this, so he knew placing this hope on him was almost like hoping for a miracle of immortals descending.

"Wuqing tried, but could only reach one-third—still far from enough. As for the ninth level of Heavenly Demon Technique, I probably won't see that in my lifetime. Others have tried too, with even less success. So I wanted to find you to try—you're the only hope, though it's very slim," Hei Xue said.

Dongfang Wuqing—so it was her. Only she could have such rapid progress. This meant Dongfang Wuqing would have a pivotal position in the Demon Cult. If she continued breaking through, she could become the new generation's Demon Cult Master.

However, even so, the ninth level wasn't easy to cultivate. Historically, few Demon Cult members had cultivated to the ninth level, especially now when bloodlines were so diluted. The first six levels compared to the final three levels weren't the same concept.

This was why Hei Xue felt she'd never see hope in her lifetime...

"Then wait for the future. Your descendants will have opportunities." Xiaoyao smiled, his expression making even Hei Xue want to hit someone. This was clearly saying: you won't see it, so give up.

"Men, grab this kid and take his blood."

Fan Gao directly ordered. He was too lazy to waste words with Xiaoyao. As long as they had Xiaoyao's blood, trying would tell them everything.

"Wait, I'll do it myself." Xiaoyao immediately said. Having others take his blood would definitely waste a lot. Better to do it himself.

At this moment, resisting would also be unwise behavior. It was just some blood—no need to fight desperately with so many experts over a little blood. Who knows, more blood might be spilled then.

"Smart of you." Fan Gao snorted coldly, then had someone hand Xiaoyao a small knife and placed the box in front of Xiaoyao—held by himself, of course. Such an important thing had to be held by him personally.

Xiaoyao didn't take their knife but pulled out an exquisite small dagger from his body, very carefully letting a little blood—just a little, not giving even a drop extra.

"Why so stingy? Give more," Fan Gao said very displeased.

"Damn, what do you think this is? A little is enough. If it works, just this much is needed. If it doesn't work, more is useless. I think this definitely won't work..."

As Xiaoyao was speaking, he suddenly stopped. He had originally thought his blood would at most make the mechanism move a tiny bit, but the reality was very unexpected. After the mechanism moved a tiny bit, it continued moving bit by bit, bit by bit... until these tiny bits reached the end, completing the entire mechanism.

Under the moonlight, the box emitted a hazy glow, with crisp sounds of mechanisms opening echoing. This box had actually opened under Xiaoyao's single drop of blood.