"You know of our Holy Realm?" A trace of alarm flashed past the scholar's face, glancing at Wei Wuya in surprise.
Within the green mist that shrouded him, Wei Wuya icily said, "Although I don't know much of the Elder Devil realm, I do know that you Elder Devils were incapable of coexistence with the ancient cultivators. In times of antiquity, you even attempted to rule over our mortal realm."
The Ghost Spirit Sect Master and Wang Tiangu's expression changed upon hearing this and black light flickered from their bodies. Yin Qi emerged from them and enveloped them in a sphere. When they turned their gaze towards the Confucian scholar once more, they unconsciously took two steps back.
Although the two haven't heard of the Elder Devil Realm or Elder Devils, Wei Wuya's intimidated appearance and the scholar's confident calm had made them to be vigilant.
With a deliberate tone, the scholar calmly said, "You don't need to know what I am. I simply wish to make an exchange with you. If you agree, your cultivation will be vastly increased and you may even ascend to the realm of Deity Transformation. Would you three be interested in listening?"
The Ghost Spirit Sect Master exchanged a glance with Wang Tiangu and calmly said, "Oh, we might as well hear this grand offer for the time being!"
"It's quite simple. Do you see the Elder Devil corpse behind me? Assist me in removing its seals and I will use its body to open a tear into the Holy Realm. As a reward, I will use the True Devil Qi of the Divine Ancestors to turn your constitution as that of a supreme devil, becoming a member of our Holy Realm. Would you three be willing? With your talents, your cultivation will make massive leaps once the infusion of devilish Qi is finished. Entering Deity Transformation stage would only be a matter of time." The scholar's voice was smooth and alluring.
"Dissolve the seal and infuse devilish Qi?" The Ghost Spirit Sect Master felt his heart stir. An instant and massive increase in cultivation and the ability to enter Deity Transformation stage were truly tempting. He turned to look at Wang Tiangu and saw that he was tempted as well.
Having lived for so long, Wei Wuya was beyond cunning and was able to see their intents at a glance, so he called out to them, "Snap out of your foolishness! Do you truly believe you will still be yourselves after being infused with devilish Qi? You could lose your intelligence and become a puppet of that Elder Devil."
"Brother Wei, what do you mean?" Wang Tiangu was immediately sobered as if cold water was dumped on his head.
Wei Wuya spoke without the slightest restraint, "What do I mean? You dare to trust a devil from another world? Although I don't know exactly what this devilish Qi will do to you, do you truly believe that forcefully raising your cultivation with strange Qi from another world will be good?"
The Ghost Spirit Sect Master and Wang Tiangu's expression grew unsightly when they heard him. Then their gazes turned icy as they looked at the scholar.
When the scholar heard this, he frowned and thought to say something when Wei Wuya's face had a strange change.
There was a sudden whistle that shrieked three meters from a rock pile behind them and a black blur shot out of it, penetrating the scholar's abdomen in an instant. Then it shot thirty meters away and spiralled in the air.
It was a small, jet-black snake. It had a small snow-white, thumb-sized horn that appeared incredibly sharp and a glossy black scaleless body.
A bowl-sized hole burst in the scholar's abdomen. Because he didn't have a body of flesh, there was no blood, but the hole had revealed a shattered walnut-sized crystal remaining in the body.
The scholar stared at the shattered gem with an expression of disbelief. "How did you know where my soul stone was?"
From the green mist, Wei Wuya emotionlessly said, "I do not cultivate the Ghost Dao so I don't know what a soul stone is. However, my soul devouring snake is rather adept in dealing with Yin ghosts and demon souls. Killing a materialized soul remnant was an easy task."
When the scholar heard this, he wryly smiled and his body burst into a cloud of grey-white Qi that roiled throughout the air.
The Ghost Spirit Sect Master and Wang Tiangu appeared surprised when they saw this, but when they glanced at the huge demonic statue in the distance, they sighed with relief.
As Wang Tiangu looked at the devil corpse, he couldn't help but ask, "Fellow Daoist Wei, shall we destroy the Elder Devil Corpse?"
After some silence, Wei Wuya shook his head and said, "If it could be destroyed, don't you think the ancient cultivators would've done so already? It'd be best if we left this place."
Wang Tiangu grew hesitant. The Ghost Spirit Sect Master then broke the silence and said, "Brother Wei's words are reasonable. This place is quite strange. It'd be best for us to leave sooner."
When Wang Tiangu heard this, he raised no further objections and took to the air. But suddenly, a voice spoke out from behind them, "Who allowed you to leave? Since you've arrived at the place where my devil body was sealed, do you believe that you'll be able to leave alive? Forfeit your lives while you still can!"
When they heard this familiar voice, the cultivators quickly turned around in disbelief and saw that the white Yin Qi that previously scattered from the scholar had condensed once more into a ball.
In the blink of an eye, it took the form of a grey, single-horned ghost head that malevolently stared at the three cultivators.
Having seen this, the Ghost Spirit Sect Master was the first amongst them to attack. He quickly raised his hand and released a black flying dagger. It sliced through the center of the ghost head, but the split halves of the ghost head condensed back into one as if nothing had happened.
When the three saw this, they felt their breaths turn cold and their expressions revealed shock. The Ghost Spirit Sect Master in particular felt his heart drop.
The Ghost Spirit Sect were specialized in secret techniques that controlled and destroyed ghosts. The sect master's own flying dagger was refined with this powerful effect in mind. But then it had no effect on the ghost head, leaving a faint feeling of dread appeared in his heart.
When Wei Wuya saw this, he sharply whistled and the horned snake spiralling in the air swept down in a black streak. At that same time, his green mist roiled and a large dark-green arm appeared from within it. In a faint tremble, it charged towards the ghost head in a fierce streak.
When the other two saw this, they had no intention of having Wei Wuya dealt with it on his own. One of them spun around and released a cloud of Yin Qi towards the ghost head and the other took a deep breath and spat out a sparkling gold skull that charged forward in a howl.
In an instant, the three joined hands against the grey ghost head.
But at that time, the ghost head soared from the grey mist and shrieks began to hiss from around it. These strange shrieks were sharp and soon the huge sealed devil corpse began to shine with black radiance. It suddenly opened its eyes and two streaks of crimson light shot out from their eyes and enveloping the ghost head in a layer of light.
A dense bloody scent filled the air. At that same moment, the various attacks landed and unceasing rumbles shook the air as black Qi and green light enveloped the crimson barrier. But soon, the three cultivators ceased their attacks in alarm, and the crimson barrier was visible once more.
Regardless of the black devilish Qi or the giant hand formed from poison mist, when their attacks contacted the barrier, they were immediately absorbed and caused the barrier to grow thicker. As for the black snake and golden skull, their attacks had little effect on the light barrier.
The three looked at each other in dismay. During this delay, an astonishing change appeared in the sealed devil corpse. Black light disappeared from it and it instead pulsed with crimson light. Threads of crimson light began to shine from its body, thoroughly enveloping the huge devil corpse in blinding red radiance.
Complimenting it, the horned ghost head's barrier also began to surge with crimson radiance and it closed its eyes. Then it began to grow countless slim tentacles of dark-red light from underneath it, eventually condensing together to form a body.
With radiance continuing to shine, the body began to grow flesh and bones with layers upon layers of light threads. This monstrous sight caused the cultivators to feel their backs turn numb.
Not only the Elder Devil Corpse, but the horned ghost also began to glow with light as flesh grew on him.
When Wang Tiangu saw the body take form from within the crimson barrier, he also noticed that the light from the sealed devil corpse quickly dimmed as it passed through the light that emitted from its eyes. In that moment, he suddenly recalled the name of a secret technique from legend. He couldn't help but shout, "Decay Transformation! This is the supreme devilish technique, Decay Transformation!"
He then raised his arms and shot out streaks of black light from his hands, striking the beams of light that connected the ghost head and the devil corpse with two palm-sized copper disks. The disks had black talisman characters that roamed across their surface.
When the other two heard Wang Tiangu name the technique, they felt their hearts jump in fright and they unconsciously focused their sights on his attack.
When the two copper disks pierced into the crimson beams of light, they brightly shined with black light and severed the connection.
At that moment, the ghost head already had a mostly complete devil body in its possession. It opened its eyes, one purple and one black, both shining with a demonic light. It then wore a savage grin.