The Demon with Holy Radiance Chapter 53

Inside his residence, Yang An had just woken up. He stretched, savoring the feeling, a series of pops and cracks echoing from his bones.

The process of fusing with the second Dao of Destiny Technique had been exceptionally smooth, without a single hitch.

He had now successfully advanced to the Middle Stage of the Fake Food Realm, and his power had once again increased by a large margin.

The Fake Food Second Understanding had also expanded the capacity of his acupoint as he fused with the Dao of Destiny Technique.

If one were to compare the acupoint’s capacity to something, it would be like the famous Russian Nesting Dolls. Except, you opened these dolls from the smallest to the largest, from the inside out.

With each advancement in realm, the acupoint’s capacity would expand severalfold, but its actual physical volume remained unchanged.

In truth, calling it an acupoint was the nice way to put it. To be blunt, it was a tumor.

A tumor connected to his very Heart!

If not for the fact that the Cultivation Technique required the acupoint to be fixed upon and connected to his Vital Meridian, and the absence of a Dantian in his body, Yang An would have wanted to fix the acupoint in some unexpected location from the very beginning, somewhere it couldn’t be easily found.

Originally, Yang An had wanted to experiment with the changes in his Dao of Destiny Technique after his breakthrough. However, it was now time for the apprenticeship banquet, so he didn’t dare delay any longer and immediately left his residence with his second senior brother.

"The guests will begin arriving at our Corpse Saliva Valley within the next hour, Junior Brother. You must not be negligent.

Once the guests have gone to the Golden Sun Pavilion, you will go to the Heavenly Respect Pavilion to invite Master. Then, you will perform the apprenticeship ceremony at the Golden Sun Pavilion."

As they walked toward the valley entrance, Second Senior Brother Fu Ming explained the procedures to Yang An. These were the old rules of the Life Crane Sect; all the disciples before him had gone through the same process.

Yang An understood. After a few more words of instruction from his second senior brother, he arrived at the valley entrance alone.

It was currently the hour of Chen, with a full hour remaining until the hour of Si. He couldn’t go anywhere and could only wait obediently.

Fortunately, the time wasn’t too hard to pass. Yang An took the opportunity to circulate his Mana, familiarizing himself with the subtle changes that came with his new realm. The time passed quickly.

Just after the hour of Si began, the first guest arrived outside Corpse Saliva Valley.

It was a short, bloated man dressed in brocade robes and a Jade Crown. He had the face of a toad, yet it was plastered with a wide grin.

"It seems I, Old Fang, am the first to arrive! The Thirteenth Young Master is indeed as magnificent and exceptionally talented as they say!"

’Young... what did he just say?’

The man’s accent was so thick that if not for the word "Thirteenth" preceding it, Yang An almost didn’t realize he was referring to his title.

Once Yang An processed what was said, he quickly put on a smile, bowed, and welcomed the man inside.

Where there was a first, a second and third were sure to follow, and then many more.

Within half an hour, Yang An had welcomed more than twenty "species" into Corpse Saliva Valley, who were then led to the Golden Sun Pavilion by Corpse Slaves.

What Yang An found strange was that, according to his second senior brother, Life Crane Sect disciples were loathed by everyone.

Yet most of the people arriving from the various sects of Han State were quite friendly and showed no signs of hostility.

’Is this just social etiquette?’

That was the only explanation he could think of, and it was probably close to the truth. They were likely all the type to be polite to your face and treacherous behind your back.

Soon, another guest arrived.

"I am Yang An, here to welcome you. Please, enter the valley!"

Following procedure, Yang An maintained his smile and bowed, preparing to welcome the person into the valley and instruct a Corpse Slave to lead them to the Golden Sun Pavilion.

This time, however, the newcomer walked right up to him and stopped.

"I have no invitation."

The man said suddenly, his voice resonant and powerful, which gave Yang An pause.

He looked up to study the man and saw a burly, middle-aged man with half-white hair but a relatively young face.

’No invitation?’

Hearing the man’s words, a name immediately surfaced in Yang An’s mind: Yuxiang Mountain!

Back when the old geezer had decided to hold the apprenticeship banquet, he had specifically instructed Fu Ming to invite people from all the various sects, and this name had come up.

Judging from the old geezer’s tone at the time, the people from Yuxiang Mountain were on bad terms with him. He hadn’t even sent Second Senior Brother to invite them, saying they would come uninvited.

’In that case, this man claiming to have no invitation must be from Yuxiang Mountain.’

’No wonder his attitude was so different from the others the moment he spoke. This is an enemy!’

However, since the old geezer had anticipated their uninvited arrival, he must have a plan. Besides, Second Senior Brother Fu Ming hadn’t given him any special instructions, which meant he wasn’t supposed to stop them.

At this thought, Yang An smiled. Still maintaining his courtesy, he bowed and made a welcoming gesture.

"It matters not. Please, you are our guest!"

The man in front of him gave him a deep look, said nothing more, and entered the valley.

As the man walked away, his back slowly disappearing into the thick, bloody mist, Yang An sighed inwardly.

’It seems this apprenticeship banquet is destined to be anything but peaceful.’

’But really, why does this feel so much like a plot from a novel? Don’t tell me I’m going to have to show off my skills later?’

’It can’t be that cliché, can it?’

Yang An stood rooted to the spot, gradually lost in thought.

The hour passed quickly. Once the time for receiving guests was over, Yang An left the valley entrance. His next task was to go to the Heavenly Respect Pavilion to summon the old geezer, so he didn’t dare to delay.

Returning to the interior of Corpse Saliva Valley, Yang An immediately headed for the tallest building visible, the Heavenly Respect Pavilion.

He soon arrived before the Heavenly Respect Pavilion and discovered that others had gathered there as well—his senior brothers and sisters.

There were seven men and two women... and a coffin carried by four Corpse Slaves.

His Senior Brother was not present. Among the others were Second Senior Brother Fu Ming and Third Senior Sister You Hong’Er—the woman who had run the old geezer through.

Yang An didn’t have a strong impression of the others; in fact, there were several he had never even seen since arriving at the Life Crane Sect.

’Oh, right. The one in the coffin must be Sixth Senior Brother Jin Tong, the one who entered my dreams to mess with me before.’

’Unfortunately, after the old geezer found out about that incident, Sixth Senior Brother was severely punished and hasn’t visited my dreams since.’

’Looks like he really learned his lesson. And from the looks of it, he’s actually in a deep sleep, really sleeping in a coffin.’

Just as Yang An was about to step forward and greet his fellow disciples...

At that moment, a furious shout suddenly boomed from within the Heavenly Respect Pavilion. The voice sounded as if it were right next to them, deafeningly loud, yet it was only a single word.

"Jinx!"

The next moment, before Yang An could even react...

BANG!

A sudden explosion erupted ahead. The coffin containing his sixth senior brother was sent flying, crashing heavily into a dilapidated, abandoned house in the distance and blasting a large crater in its place.

"From this day forward, unless I summon him, Jin Tong is forbidden from taking even half a step near the Heavenly Respect Pavilion. Violators will be put to death."

"Old geezer, it’d be easier if you just let me eat him. Wouldn’t even need the coffin then, hehe."

"..."

Watching this scene unfold and hearing the voices of Elder Life Crane and He Tou, Yang An couldn’t help but shake his head and sigh to himself.

’How long has it been? Looks like Sixth Senior Brother has relapsed. A leopard can’t change its spots.’

’I have no idea how he’s managed to survive this long.’

But the hour of Si had already passed, and it was time to invite the old geezer out. Yang An put the matter of his sixth senior brother out of his mind.

He walked to the front of the Heavenly Respect Pavilion, first bowing toward the entrance before kneeling on the ground and calling out in a loud voice:

"The hour of Si has passed! Disciple Yang An has come to invite Master to the banquet!"