Chapter 767: Using the Yuan-Xin Seal to Interrogate Others’ Hearts

While returning to the Golden Tent, Meng Qi preemptively used the Yuan-xin Seal to confuse Devil of Malice’s Vital Spirit before he entered the range of an Earth Immortal’s natural perception. Meng Qi clouded Devil of Malice’s mind and evoked fragments of his memories. He avoided the core secrets of the Destruction Sect so as to avoid a backlash but learned enough about Devil of Malice’s tent like the back of his hand. Thus, after ordering the female disciple, he patted his golden robe and calmly walked back to his tent.

He had just stepped inside the tent when his mind suddenly became clouded. Waves of emotions surged, prompting cold sweat on his back. Naturally, he turned to look at the edge of the tent.

He saw a man dressed in a large robe with wide sleeves. His jet-black hair, without the slightest hint of silver, was casually clasped with a wooden pin. He was the very picture of carefreeness as he stood with his side toward Meng Qi. Half of his face was devilishly beautiful as if he were a G.o.d that had descended on earth. With his hands behind his back, he stared at the sky through the gap between the walls of the tent. He looked contemplative as if he were pondering over the true meaning of life and death.

“Evil Master” Han Guang!

This man was none other than “Evil Master” Han Guang!

Meng Qi had never thought of sneaking into the core forces of Dharmakaya masters to gather intel. His goal was to infer the truth from the intel and commands being exchanged in the layer of grandmasters. Ever since he enhanced his Eight Nine Mysteries technique to the Seventh-fold Heaven realm, his disguise could fool all the Exterior experts and Half-step to Dharmakaya masters without the skills to negate the effects. However, it was not good enough to be used on Dharmakaya masters in the Earth Immortal realm. He could only do that after crossing the third step of the Celestial Ladder.

Even though Taoist Chonghe gifted him with the Charm of Inversing Mysteries before his departure, the charm would not much helpful in concealing his true ident.i.ty. He held onto it, in fear that those from the Destruction Sect would augur his whereabouts on a whim and discover that he was in the Golden Tent.

If he were to meet a Dharmakaya master in person, it would be impossibly difficult for him to fool them unless the latter was unsuspecting and not trying to sound him out.

Certainly, he hadn’t expected to come across “Evil Master” right after he adopted Devil of Malice’s ident.i.ty!

“Thump… Thump… Thump…” Ever since his battle against Taoist Chi Xia, Meng Qi had gained control over his physical body and Vital Spirit down to the smallest detail. No matter how alarmed and terrified he was, he kept these thoughts firmly suppressed in his mind so that it would not affect his heartbeat or the speed of his blood flow. He remained in the same state as he had been in when he first entered the tent, calmly recalling Devil of Malice’s att.i.tude and speaking manner in front of Han Guang. Then, he saluted Han Guang and said, “Sect Leader.”

Han Guang was still looking up at the sky as if nothing in the world could rival the vast sea of stars above. “I heard Merciless Tyrant went on an adventure in Bomi and became enlightened after gaining a top-notch Buddhist impartation. He has melded Buddhist and Demonic arts together. I was once an abbot of Shaolin myself. I can’t help feeling curious about this,” he said placidly.

The little smile that appeared on his face diminished his bewitching beauty as mercy and compa.s.sion fleeted across his handsome face. He emanated an aura of tranquil and calm Zen Philosophies as if he had turned into an elder monk in a flash. Just from his appearance alone, no one would believe that he was the current generation’s Grandmaster of Evil!

“Han Guang’s interested in the integration of Buddhist and Demonic arts? Could it be that his integration of Heaven Sovereign skill isn’t enough and requires Teachings of Buddhism to make up for certain deficiencies?” Even though Han Guang was restraining his breath without trying to strike fear into Devil of Malice, Meng Qi’s nerves were still stretched taut. When the thoughts crossed his mind, he dared not ponder over them lest Han Guang noticed the s.h.i.+ft in his emotions. He showed a hint of fear in his voice as he said, “Sect Leader, Merciless Tyrant has escaped.”

“Hm?” Han Guang slowly turned his head, showing his bewitchingly handsome face. His gaze finally landed on Meng Qi, appearing neither angry nor apathetic. His eyes were so serene that they looked like two bottomless pits. They were utterly unfathomable.

Meng Qi dared not allow Han Guang to size him up and immediately added, “There’s animosity between Merciless Tyrant and me. I took the chance to ambush him but he was on guard. I only managed to severely injure him before he escaped.”

Han Guang was not all that old. In fact, he could be considered young among the grandmasters. Out of the five grandmasters of the Destruction Sect, Devil of Malice was the only one who ascended to the t.i.tle after him and earned his true tutelage. Thus, Devil of Malice was also the most obedient and could be considered as Han Guang’s trusted aide. Meng Qi was betting that Han Guang would not punish or suspect “Devil of Malice” for the unauthorized action.

He based his confidence on the fact that Devil of Malice did not even think of Han Guang when he lost grip on his emotions and decided to ambush Merciless Tyrant!

“What a pity! I was planning to explore the Buddhist and Demonic arts with him.” Han Guang sighed and slowly walked out of the tent.

Just as Meng Qi was about to heave a sigh of relief, Han Guang abruptly stopped in his tracks and solemnly called out his name.

“Sect Leader…” Meng Qi nearly lost his composure. Fortunately, this was a reaction that Devil of Malice would have made. After all, Han Guang occupied an esteemed position in Devil of Malice’s heart.

“There’s a crucial task that I will be handing to you in a couple of days. I need you to carefully adjust your mental state so as to not let your emotions affect your judgment,” Han Guang said calmly.

The heretical martial artists tended to cultivate at a fast rate and their obstacles were easier too. However, flaws could appear in their mental state at any time, resulting in a loss of control over their emotions or even Qi-deviancy Derangement. Heretical martial artists approaching the Third-fold Heaven realm would typically die not in the hands of those from the orthodox path or fellow heretics, but because of their flawed mental state leading to a countercharge that would ultimately lead to the perishment of their bodies and demonic arts.

“Yes, Sect Leader.” Meng Qi collected himself before respectfully seeing Han Guang off.

After Han Guang’s carefree figure disappeared from Meng Qi’s field of perception, he waited for a long while before finally heaving a sigh of relief. Fortunately, the former did not suspect the latter. Otherwise, Han Guang could have detected a clue just by scrutinizing Meng Qi. He really felt like he had been standing on the fringe of life and death earlier.

There was no shortage of powerful grandmasters here. Even if he failed to enter the core forces of the Golden Tent, Meng Qi knew he would have to meet Dharmakaya masters sooner or later after adopting the ident.i.ty of a heretical authority. He prepared for it by gathering Devil of Malice’s b.l.o.o.d.y flesh and melded it with his own blood. Coupled with the breath of Devil of Malice’s sealed Vital Spirit, it would be enough to keep Meng Qi concealed—provided that the Dharmakaya masters would not suspect and take a closer look at him.

However, he did not expect Han Guang himself to show up and plunge him into a state of chaos. The latter’s appearance nearly made him expose himself!

Meng Qi sighed once again as he recalled what Han Guang had told him. He began speculating what the task would be.

There was little information regarding the spy within Devil of Malice’s memory fragments. Han Guang and “Devil of Obscurity” seemed to be in charge. The Devil of Malice was only aware of the Skysc.r.a.ping Devils’ second ident.i.ties as orthodox masters or turf lords. However, these people were either already a part of the Golden Tent or were targeted after exposing their true ident.i.ties.

“The spy investigation must be done slowly and discreetly. Perhaps I can start from this ‘important task’ that Han Guang spoke of.” Meng Qi walked to the side of the bed and settled down cross-legged. He pinched a strange seal and placed it on his left knee. He gripped his left hand into a fist and released it, over and over.

“Thump! Thump! Thump!” Illusory sound of thumping hearts reverberated in the void. Meng Qi’s spirit followed along with the undulation of the Yuan Xin Seal.

Gradually, he felt darkness enveloping his surroundings. The tent and his own body became “indistinct”, leaving only throbbing hearts falling in rhythm with himself.

“Those on the grandmaster level and above won’t be able to detect it…” Meng Qi’s eyes were partially closed. The throbbing of the hearts gradually followed a bizarre rhythm.

“Thump! Thump! Thump! Thump! Thump! Thump!” His perception of the hearts became increasingly clear. Thoughts burst forth from those hearts, rus.h.i.+ng toward Meng Qi’s spirit as if they were drops of water that had turned into tidal waves.

“Lang Mu’s woman is great; both wild and beautiful… Her waist and b.r.e.a.s.t.s…”

“d.a.m.n it! Who the h.e.l.l does he think he is! I call him my brother, but I really want nothing more than to stab him in the back…”

“Those from the Ashura Temple sure are hard to serve. So fierce and evil…”

“Why isn’t he here yet? Did something happen…?”

“d.a.m.ned old man! Hurry up and die already! Don’t keep me hanging…”

“Master Lu and Chong He have entered the Earth Immortal realm? But they didn’t seem to be regular masters of the Earth Immortal realm…”

The treacherous thoughts of human hearts turned into a clamor that reverberated in Meng Qi’s mind. Were it not for his Immortal Primogenitor Form and Giant Golden Buddha suppressing these voices, his own thoughts would have been scattered and turned him feeble-minded.

The darkest human thoughts surfaced in Meng Qi’s mind. This was a function of the Yuan Xin Seal that was similar to the Mind Connection Bead. It could connect the thoughts of others to his own using the “Primeval Heart”. Meng Qi’s mind was clear as he carefully combed for useful information.

“Followers of the Ashura Temple are residing in the Yellow Tent, led by ‘Ashura King’ Luo Hou…”

“Venerable of Vermins of the Blood-robed Cult is also here, near the Green Tent…”

“The Mystic Fairy lineage of the Sect of the Plain Lady aren’t joining, but they promise to be neutral. The current Bliss Bodhisattva, Evil Desire Bodhisattva, and the others from the Bliss Bodhisattva lineage are here. They have immediately made the Golden Tent their home…”

“Those from the Merriment Temple are in hiding and sent a top Exterior expert called Buddha of Desires for negotiations. They have given the Golden Tent a list containing many female orthodox masters’ names, requesting them to be the first targets. The concrete list is unavailable…”

“The Sect Leader of the Changsheng Denomination is in the Black Tent close to the Golden Tent. A lot of shamans have shown up…”

“The Unrelenting Tower isn’t joining, but they have accepted the task from the Golden Tent…”

“Those from the Life-changing Sect are keeping to themselves and sharing the Black Tent with the Changsheng Denomination…”

“The Luo Denomination has sent Dharma King Zhenkong, G.o.ddess of Big Luo, Oracle of the Covenant, and Lampholder Oracle among others. Seems like they’re going all out…”

Meng Qi knew what was going on in the Destruction Sect thanks to Devil of Malice’s memories: there were four Skysc.r.a.ping Devils (three being grandmasters) and “Evil Master” Han Guang here. The Skysc.r.a.ping Devils were responsible for most of the tasks while Han Guang kept his whereabouts a mystery, only appearing every now and then.

When Meng Qi opened his eyes, the thoughts all dissipated. There was an indescribable fire raging inside him. The Merriment Temple was a truly detestable sect. Though he did not have the definitive list of names, it did not take much brainpower to guess which female masters were included!

“Where’s the breakthrough point?” Meng Qi collected himself and began contemplating the matter.

The Ashura Temple and the Blood-robed Cult were dominators of their respective areas. Even if they could harvest great benefits from plundering the North Zhou Dynasty, what would they use to contend with “Earth Immortal” Gu Erduo and his “Divine Immortal” Heaven-killing Axe after the fall of the orthodox path?

Then they would have no choice but to bow to Gu Erduo’s will!

Before this, their obedience was borne out of fear of Gu Erduo’s might and the fact that his power would ravage the orthodox path. However, the combo of Master Lu and Taoist Chonghe had displayed a power equal to that of Gu Erduo’s. Would they change their mind? Would they try to maintain the equilibrium of power so as to maintain their hegemonic positions?

Meng Qi abruptly rose to his feet when the thought crossed his mind. He walked toward the tent that housed followers of the Ashura Temple. He would pretend to be worried about their reneging and find out about their opinions.

Currently, he represented “Evil Master” Han Guang himself!