Chapter 142: Chapter 4 Then, look up some information.
 

Kunlun Scripture Pavilion.

Qiu Changtian sat beside the desk, focusing intently as he flipped through the scripture scrolls.

The light streaming in from the window lattice fell on his peerlessly handsome profile, as if adding an exquisite golden rim.

A few Kunlun female disciples hid by the bookshelves, ogling Chief Qiu with either infatuation or zeal.

If this were modern times, girls would have been unable to restrain themselves from striking up a conversation.

But after all, this was ancient times; even though cultivators generally did not adhere strictly to propriety, the notion of proactively flirting with strange men was non-existent.

Xu Yinglian watched for a moment and felt a sudden sense of crisis in her heart, as if her senior brother was about to be stolen away.

That’s not right! It wasn’t worry about her senior brother being snatched away, but rather that these senior and junior sisters didn’t understand his true nature!

Senior brother might seem perfect, but in reality, he is arrogantly conceited. If one doesn’t have a certain breadth of mind, one would soon be driven crazy by his various words and actions.

These sect members are only covetous of his external splendor, yet unaware of his inner despicability. How can I sit idly by?

So she marched over assertively, sat down opposite Qiu Changtian, and along the way, threw a sharp glance toward the direction of the bookshelves.

The Kunlun female disciples who were sneaking peeks at Qiu Changtian immediately scattered like caught mistresses, flying away in a flurry.

“Eh, Junior Sister Xu, why have you come?” Qiu Changtian looked up, first asking in surprise, and then as if he suddenly understood, he smiled with a “So that’s why” expression, “Have you encountered some issues with Marrow Cleansing and want to ask me about it?”

Seeing his “Here to seek my advice again, aren’t you?” smile, Xu Yinglian felt a nameless anger rise within her, and it took quite an effort to suppress it before she calmly said:

“I heard that senior brother has been researching the Intercepting Cult for several days?”

“Hmm,” Qiu Changtian nodded calmly.

“Whatever you need to research, I can help,” Xu Yinglian offered directly.

“Mainly some history about the Demon Cult’s Six Paths, as well as their current situation,” Qiu Changtian said with a hint of surprise.

Why is Junior Sister Xu suddenly offering to help?

Perhaps she’s worried about me, her senior brother?

After Xu Yinglian listened calmly, she went deeper into the Scriptural Repository, took a book from the shelf, opened it in front of Qiu Changtian, and began to explain:

“The Demon Cult’s Six Paths, claiming to have inherited from the ancient Intercepting Cult, is not entirely accurate.”

“Hell Path, Heavenly Demon Path, Nether Ghost Path—only these three paths have inherited the Intercepting Cult’s teachings. Among them, the Hell Path, inherited from the Immaculate Mother, should have the most complete teachings, but they generally do not appear in the mortal world, resulting in scant information.”

“The Heavenly Demon Path inherited from the Three Immortal Islands, the Nether Ghost Path from Skull Mountain; their teachings have become somewhat defective and warped. Overall, they exhibit an attitude of seeking quick success, undervaluing the foundation of cultivation and favoring aggressive magical attacks.”

“The Mortal Life Path, descended from former external disciples of the Intercepting Cult, itself encompasses numerous factions and a complex system, and it indiscriminately recruits all sorts of loose cultivators, resulting in a bloated and uneven state.”

“The Eastern Emperor Path was once a peripheral force of the Beast Taming Path. After completely destroying the Beast Taming Path and plundering its teachings, they claimed to continue the legacy of the Intercepting Cult. However, compared to the former grandeur of the Beast Taming Path, they are vastly inferior. There are also suspicions that the Eastern Emperor Path is actually a vanguard force planted in the mortal world by the Demon Realm, but there is no evidence to prove this yet.”

“As for the Asura Path, it is a doctrine that hails entirely from the West, arriving in Central Plains around the same time as Buddhism. They generally do not partake in the affairs of Central Plains but are known for their bravery and ferocity, accustomed to being the vanguard enforcers of the Demon Cult.”

After Qiu Changtian listened patiently, he smiled and said:

“So it seems that the only ones we really need to worry about are the Heavenly Demon Path and the Nether Ghost Path, right?”

“Indeed,” Xu Yinglian thought to herself, “Worthy of brother,” and nodded, “Hell Path does not concern itself with worldly affairs, Asura Path only knows slaughter, Eastern Emperor Path is all bark and no bite, Mortal Life Path is just a mess.”

“Those four sects do not possess the will or capability to unify the Demon Cult. Based on past experiences, the collective actions of the Demon Cult are mostly led by the Heavenly Demon Path or the Nether Ghost Path.”

“I see,” Qiu Changtian murmured, “Currently, the Nether Ghost Path seems to be the most suspicious.”

“Hmm,” Xu Yinglian agreed, “Do you remember the last incident at Long Mountain Vein?”

“If I’m not mistaken, it must be the Nether Ghost Path who realized brother’s enormous potential, and so they planned to eliminate brother ahead of time.”

Qiu Changtian nodded his head, indicating his approval of his junior sister’s speculation.

Suddenly, another thought rose in his mind.

Compared with the Nether Ghost Path, wasn’t Marquis of Mount Tu more suspect?

After all, during the last mission to the Demon Locking Tower, it was Qiu Changtian who single-handedly killed the Eastern Emperor Path’s traitor within the Shushan Sect and alerted the higher-ups of the sect in advance.

So it was possible that Marquis of Mount Tu, using the name of Eastern Emperor Path, had set a hefty bounty on him out of spite…

If he did not figure out who was behind all this, it would be like a fishbone stuck in his throat; it seemed he had to make a move on the fourth small account towards Mount Wutai.

“Junior Sister,” Qiu Changtian spoke gently, “Why not tell me more about Hell Path and Mortal Life Path?”

“If Hell Path does not walk in the mortal world, how can everyone be sure that the teachings of Hell Path are still being passed down?”

“Why is Mortal Life Path such a mess? Do they not have a leader?”

Xu Yinglian pondered for a moment and said:

“Although Hell Path does not show itself, it has special ways to communicate with Heavenly Demon Path, Nether Ghost Path, and Mortal Life Path.”

“Mortal Life Path, rather than a sect, is more like a loose alliance composed of a multitude of sects. The nominal leader is ‘Hunyuan Sect’ of Mount Wutai, but in reality, there are numerous factions within, and their opinions can hardly be unified.”

“Hunyuan Sect? What a bold name,” Qiu Changtian couldn’t help but laugh.

The term “Hunyuan” refers to the state before Chaos, the origin of vital energy, ranking even above “Acquired” and “Innate”; the rank couldn’t be any higher.

The Daoist Magic of the Three Pure Ones from the Orthodox Sect, although long and pretentious in names, is generally chosen with caution. Terms like “Hunyuan,” “Great Void” and other highbrow words are rarely used recklessly.

Other sects don’t care so much, and even for entry-level cultivation techniques, they wish to stack up a super highbrow name.

“Even though it’s called Hunyuan Sect, the disciples under its banner are all rather ordinary, so to maintain the overall strength of Mortal Life Path, they have to accept a large number of loose cultivators,” Xu Yinglian said with a chuckle, “The price being the loss of leadership.”

“If it weren’t for Heavenly Demon Path and Nether Ghost Path acknowledging only Hunyuan Sect as the representative of Mortal Life Path, it might have been overturned by other paths, just like what happened with Beast Taming Path previously.”

“I see,” Qiu Changtian thought to himself.

This Mortal Life Path seems to be a suitable place for infiltration.

The thing spies fear most is a strong leader in the rival sect, who then conducts internal audits and strict investigations periodically…

A sect like Mortal Life Path, with no one in charge and no one minding the store, is simply a spy’s paradise!