Volcanic Age

Dan Libai\'s infamy was well deserved in both the current timeline and the previous timeline, so Zhou Xuchuan figured he\'d resemble a Hellspawn or something, but that wasn\'t the case at all.

His facial features were clear-cut, and his thick, straight brows imparted a strong first impression. He was truly the Little Valley Master Dan Libai—one of the One Hundred Experts Under Heaven!

"Good to meet you. You\'re now in the presence of the distinguished Dan Libai!"

Say what now? Distinguished? F*ck off. Zhou Xuchuan expertly held back his sneer.

Their exchange had just started, but Dan Libai was already acting as if he already owned the entire Murim. Unbridled arrogance dripped from the light in his eyes to his manner of speech.

He pressed his back against the throne\'s backrest while his chin was jutted ever so slightly forward so that he could look down on everyone else; even his throne was perched up a step higher than the floor.

From the look of this place, it had to be Dan Libai\'s personal office. Based on how he had decorated his office, one could easily deduce Dan Libai\'s mindset.

Zhou Xuchuan barely held back a wry chuckle and bowed deeply to offer his greeting.

Although irritated, he knew that now was the time to hold his emotions back.

"This one wouldn\'t dare present his name to the Little Valley Master. Please remember me as a mere Elder of Xia Wu Sect, sir."

"The Little Valley Master, is it? Forget it. However, don\'t forget to address me as \'elder[1].\'"

In the past, he was proud of that title, but not anymore.

It failed to satisfy his ambition.

You sure are full of yourself, aren\'t you?

A man barely forty years of age actually wanted to be called "elder"? Zhou Xuchuan thought that a man ought to know how to keep his nonsense to a minimum. However, there wasn\'t much he could do in this situation other than be patient.

He had to play along and kiss ass to keep the conversation rolling.

Mm? When Zhou Xuchuan raised his head to fix his way of addressing Dan Libai, he noticed something amiss. His eyes…?

The blood vessels in Dan Libai\'s eyes were becoming more and more noticeable as he blinked, and the whites of his eyes were taking on a faint crimson hue.

"I summoned you here because, well, I figured we should get familiar with each other since you\'ll be working for me soon enough. And I have an offer for you. From what I hear, you\'re here to make a report to my father?"

"Yes, it is so, Elder."

"Good. From now on, you will report to me first."

"I beg your pardon?" Zhou Xuchuan feigned shock and ignorance. Obviously, he was aware of Dan Libai\'s intentions, but this act was necessary.

"You aren\'t thinking of rejecting this distinguished one\'s offer now, are you?!"

Dan Libai\'s voice grew louder in decibels. Actually, it didn\'t just get louder, but killing intent was now mixed in, too.

His face took on the hue of both red and blue while veins bulged hideously like worms on the back of his hands. Even the wrinkles below his eyes were distorted, creating a bizarre countenance when paired with the bulging blue veins all over his face.

Ah!

Rumble, bubble!

Zhou Xuchuan\'s lower dantian almost reacted just then. There could only be one reason behind such a reaction from a Righteous Faction\'s cultivation art. Demonic cultivation!

The righteous, or orthodox, and demonic were two diametrically opposed paths. Since it was a demonic cultivation art, it made sense for Zhou Xuchuan\'s Daoist-based cultivation art to respond in such a negative way.

Mount Hua\'s cultivation arts were highly regarded among righteous factions\' cultivation arts, but they weren\'t as famous as the Shaolin or Wudang\'s cultivation arts. Still, it would have been even weirder if Zhou Xuchuan\'s cultivation hadn\'t reacted just now.

"How dare you hesitate with your answer!"

Dan Libai\'s voice, heightened with rage, echoed thunderously throughout his office. The vase on the table couldn\'t withstand the killing intent burning like magma in his voice, and it fell to the floor, shattering into pieces.

The abrupt change in his behavior akin to a mental illness, and his crimson eyes all told Zhou Xuchuan the truth. Dan Libai was cultivating in the demonic way.

Zhou Xuchuan\'s reaction was almost immediate, so Dan Libai\'s demonic cultivation art had to be quite strong.

Even without getting too close, disgust welled up in Zhou Xuchuan\'s throat, and he felt like throwing up as if countless bugs were crawling all over his skin.

He\'s gone completely insane!

The Violet Haze Divine Art was Mount Hua\'s peerless cultivation art. It wouldn\'t react like this toward any ordinary demonic qi unless the demonic qi was on the level of the Heavenly Demon Divine Art.

Despite this realization, Zhou Xuchuan couldn\'t stay "unaffected." To avoid suspicion, he acted as if he were in great agony.

And that was when the mysterious shadow broke his silence and persuaded Dan Libai, saying, "Elder, please calm down. We won\'t get to hear his answer at this rate."

"…Hmph!"

Dan Libai withdrew the demonic qi squeezing Zhou Xuchuan from all directions.

The flowers from the shattered vase had already withered by then.

Zhou Xuchuan panted and wheezed heavily as if he could finally breathe. For his acting alone, he deserved a spot among the Ten Empyrean Overlords!

"O-of course, sir! This insignificant one was merely shocked that an elder such as yourself would even consider someone like me.

"To think I\'d get to serve the future Master of the Evil Valley… As a denizen of the Black Hand, my heart overflowed with emotions, and I forgot to breathe properly, sir. I beg of you to quell your anger."

"Say what now? Ku-hahahaha!" Dan Libai\'s expression brightened instantly, and he guffawed madly at Zhou Xuchuan\'s ingratiating flattery that rolled off the latter\'s tongue like a well-oiled snake.

"Seriously, now, you sure know how to run your mouth, don\'t you?! Then again, how will weaklings like the Xia Wu Sect members survive in Gangho without their ability to kiss ass? Ehehehe…! Very good. I like you, so I shall graciously forgive you."

Dan Libai, looks like it\'s too late to save you.

Clearly, he was beyond the point of fixing the error of his ways or stopping his cultivation. The demonic cultivation art had corrupted him to the point that he had become incapable of logical thinking.

Besides all that. That man in the veil? He\'s definitely no ordinary person, either.

Earlier, Dan Libai was on the verge of exploding in anger, and it appeared like he was not going to calm down until he saw blood spilling on the floor. However, the mysterious man had put an end to that with mere words.

"This insignificant one would love nothing more than to swear his loyalty to you right away, sir, but it\'s difficult for me to remain standing in your presence due to my poor cultivation. I beg of you to grant me your permission to rest my weak body."

Zhou Xuchuan spoke like a retainer addressing a king, and his decision proved wise.

Dan Libai\'s lips spread wide in a huge grin.

"Kekekeke! Very well, this distinguished self will graciously grant it. I don\'t get how a bastard like you is an elder of the Xia Wu Sect. Still! Stay loyal to me and do your job well, and I\'ll turn you into the Xia Wu Sect\'s next boss!"

"Thank you very much, sir!"

"Good. You\'re dismissed."

Forget libertine; Dan Libai was a madman!

The interview with Dan Libai didn\'t go well at all.

Zhou Xuchuan had no idea until now that the man was already beyond saving.

To make matters worse, the Dark Heavens Association had to be behind this, as the Eight Gates of the Evil Dao was sticking so close to a madman, and they had done it so quickly, too!

Assassinating him… No, wait. That won\'t be necessary. I have a better idea. Zhou Xuchuan\'s narrowed eyes sharply flickered. Those symptoms definitely belong to the Crimson-Eyed Vampiric Art.

If someone was asked to pick a few demonic cultivation arts that best represented the Blood Cult, the Crimson-Eyed Vampiric Art would always come up. It was one of the highest-ranking demonic cultivation arts out there, after all.

The cultivation method was simple yet cruel. One just had to drink human blood to increase their qi reserve and make breakthroughs in their cultivation realms.

Just like any other demonic cultivation art, the side effects were extreme. The demonic cultivation art would corrupt one\'s mind until it had completely taken over the cultivator. One\'s personality would become cruel and violent, and one would have issues controlling one\'s emotions.

Any minor inconvenience could infuriate them, and their mood would not improve until they spilled blood. However, what was more terrifying about that was that a demonic cultivator\'s emotions would spiral even more out of control every time they spilled blood, which would slowly worsen their demonic nature.

Eventually, their patience would cease to exist, and they\'d need a constant supply of fresh human blood, even if they hadn\'t lost their temper yet. In the end, the cultivator\'s pupils, corneas, and the whites of their eyes would turn completely crimson in color.

That was the Crimson-Eyed Vampiric Art…

If it were only the light in Dan Libai\'s glowing red, Zhou Xuchuan wouldn\'t be this confident. However, Dan Libai\'s pupils had actually turned crimson. Throughout the Central Plains, only the Crimson-Eyed Vampiric Art could do that.

In the previous timeline, Zhou Xuchuan could vaguely remember hearing about how Dan Libai had received a demonic cultivation art from the Dark Heavens Association. He couldn\'t remember which demonic art that was, but he was certain of his conjecture.

Assassinating Dan Libai without any proof will only burn the bridges with the Evil Valley. Even if the Evil Valley Sect Master\'s relationship with his son has soured recently, he was not yet estranged from his son to the point of wanting to kill his own flesh and blood.

No, wait. Even if he hates his son\'s guts, he must be worried about saving face. He\'d do something about the assassination if it were to happen.

The assassination would be taking place within the Evil Valley\'s headquarters, after all, not in some random place. If that were to happen, it wouldn\'t merely end up as the Evil Valley Sect Master\'s personal problem. The fact that it happened in the first place was the same as trampling on the Evil Valley\'s pride.

That was why Zhou Xuchuan chose a different method…

And that is to expose Dan Libai for cultivating that demonic cultivation art!

The Evil Valley usually couldn\'t care less about the business of its members, but there were some things that they couldn\'t accept. One of them was the Demonic Path. The members of the Evil Faction were cowardly and savage, but there was one line they dared not cross—the line between the Heretical Path and the Demonic Path.

Besides, mastering demonic cultivation arts led to the paralysis of one\'s rational mind, and their emotions would go completely out of whack. Thus, as soon as the Evil Valley learned of Dan Libai\'s decision to cultivate demonic cultivation art, they wouldn\'t leave him alone for fear of what he could do.

Regardless of his progression in the Crimson-Eyed Vampiric Art, he\'ll need a constant supply of fresh human blood. There must be a hidden source of that nearby.

Bringing fresh victims in whenever blood was needed would be too eye-catching, but this didn\'t mean that Dan Libai could prey on his allies.

He\'d need time to satiate his heightened lust and agitated demonic nature. Since cultivators\' olfactory senses were sharp, he\'d also need time to get rid of the scent of blood clinging to him.

In other words, Dan Libai had to have constructed a private space where he could do whatever he wanted. Zhou Xuchuan was planning on using that private space as evidence.

Not just the Crimson-Eyed Vampiric Art, but this applies to all demonic cultivation arts in general. Unless you\'ve reached the peak of any demonic cultivation art, it\'ll be impossible to control yourself.

Without a doubt, lust for blood or desire to murder had to be constantly on Dan Libai\'s mind. It would also come in sudden waves. Since that was the case, the odds of his secret stash being somewhere far away were extremely low.

This was the Evil Valley\'s headquarters, so powerful experts were often seen. These factors allowed Zhou Xuchuan to narrow his search area quite considerably.

Somewhere close but inconspicuous… Zhou Xuchuan picked a few places in mind.

The next day, Zhou Xuchuan went around the headquarters under the pretext of sightseeing and selected several suspicious-looking places. Then, he waited patiently for an opening to present itself.

It was impossible to investigate any of those places while Dan Libai was still cooped up within the headquarters. He\'d obviously catch on to what was going on in no time.

Thus, Zhou Xuchuan hunkered down and acted like a typical Black Hand denizen as he spent his time in the headquarters.

Who knew being Murim\'s hero would be this difficult? Despite knowing the history, Zhou Xuchuan still had to go through all sorts of hardships. He couldn\'t have imagined that he\'d one day do something like this.

In the past, he naively believed that he could stay hidden from everyone\'s eyes before appearing on the battlefield to swing his sword around a few times to resolve any issues.

However, it was easier said than done. Of course, one could become a hero through their strength alone, but it wouldn\'t be enough to save Murim perfectly.

If history were to remain unchanging, then the Dark Heavens Association would eventually be defeated. However, the losses during that dark period in Murim\'s history were too great to be estimated, so Zhou Xuchuan\'s goal was to minimize losses.

And just like that, four days passed by…

Just as the sun began to rise, Dan Libai finally left the headquarters.

Since it could be a smokescreen, Zhou Xuchuan made sure to confirm that Dan Libai had truly left the headquarters. After finding out Dan Libai\'s destination, Zhou Xuchuan finally breathed a lengthy sigh of relief and got to work.

The Eight Gates of the Evil Dao\'s Beast Gate? His plan is to lure over people who might become his fangs and claws. According to history, the Eight Gates of the Evil Dao would split into two camps.

However, Zhou Xuchuan was unsure whether that had already happened or not. He dug into his memory banks, recalling that the Beast Gate had taken Dan Libai\'s side to attack the Evil Valley Master.

Then, I shall make my move, too.

The day drew to a close. The Lord Moon hid behind the clouds and disappeared from sight. A night with nary a ray of moonlight? The world seemed to have morphed into the heavenly realm of darkness.

However, Zhou Xuchuan liked the darkness. It was perfect for a man who had to do certain things without being seen. The conditions were ideal for a Phantom. Zhou Xuchuan\'s Phantom Steps, which had reached the fourth level in the meantime, finally demonstrated its true worth.

Light from torches or lamps was useless against him as he melted into the night air and vanished. The noises that he was generating naturally as well as his presence disappeared completely as if he had ceased to exist.

Zhou Xuchuan proceeded to search the suspicious places that he had been eyeing over the past few days. The first three spots were duds, but the fourth place brought him results.

It was a latrine used by the servants. No one had been cleaning it, so the stench was overwhelming. Stacks of straw were all over it, but Zhou Xuchuan eventually discovered a stairwell going underground under one of them.

After confirming that no one was around, Zhou Xuchuan carefully climbed down this mysterious stairwell. Of course, he didn\'t forget to cover the entrance with the straw before doing so.

The stairwell was short, and Zhou Xuchuan didn\'t have to walk for too long to reach his destination.

There wasn\'t a single ray of light down here, but by enhancing his vision with qi, he could see everything as if it were the middle of the day.

Zhou Xuchuan\'s teeth clenched all by themselves. His blood pressure shot up, and his nape tightened. An expert could control their emotions freely, especially those who had mastered the Righteous Faction\'s cultivation arts.

In other words, it was easy for Zhou Xuchuan to control his rage, but his fury was so great that he failed to control his emotions.

Corpses, corpses, corpses…!

There were tiny hills of corpses everywhere. There were corpses of little children all the way to the elderly, and every single one of them looked like mummies. Clearly, their blood had been sucked out of them.

How could Zhou Xuchuan remain calm in the face of such a gruesome sight? A casual glance was enough for anyone to know that these victims weren\'t cultivators but ordinary people with no strength.

He even saw the corpse of a mother holding a little child in her embrace, and her expression was forever distorted in excruciating pain.

1. Dan Libai here isn\'t saying he\'s an Elder of his sect, but more like an elder in terms of standing. He\'s essentially mocking Zhou Xuchuan and elevating his own standing. ☜