Immortality Starts With Ignorant Heart Sword Art

Chapter 158: Great Demon, Natural Disaster

The only conscience of the dynasty, Elder Yu Yong once said that the annihilation of the city's aristocrats by Zhong Cang would provoke public anger in the Xuan Yuan realm, where the gatekeepers hold power.

And indeed, it happened just as he said.

The six major aristocratic families of the Xuan Yuan realm immediately contacted each other through magical artifacts and held a meeting.

"Ah, it's such a pity that Lin Yuan City was completely annihilated."

"Who would've thought? Although they struck first, it's possible that they were forced by the Demon Sect."

"Even if they weren't forced, they shouldn't have killed them all. There are so many aristocratic families in Lin Yuan City, and most of them are gentlemen and good people. You should discuss and find a few scapegoats to kill. Killing them all is too cruel..."

"They call themselves righteous sects, but I spit on them. I think they are even more cruel than the Demon Sect. At least the Demon Sect follows rules and won't harm us. They only eliminate some lowly foot soldiers..."

The meeting was not only attended by the six major aristocratic families, but also some prominent families were summoned as well.

As a result, as soon as the meeting began, everyone started arguing and accusing Zhong Cang.

Hearing the accusations and curses from the crowd, the corner of the mouth of the head of the Yi family showed a smile. But soon, he spoke up.

"Alright, stop arguing. We should discuss a plan on how to deal with the cruel Cloud Firmament Sect."

"How else can we deal with them? We must counterattack decisively. We cannot let this kind of trend continue."

"I agree with Brother Xie's statement. If we don't counter, they can annihilate a city today, a clan tomorrow, and kill us all the day after tomorrow... This trend must not spread."

"Yes, we must make them understand that while conflict is acceptable, we cannot harm the aristocratic families!"

"Counterattack, counterattack, counterattack..."

The heads of the six major families in the Xuan Yuan realm had held meetings before. However, in the past, they always had different opinions and constant disputes.

Today, for the first time, they reached a unanimous decision.

And this decision was also supported by the prominent families.

The reason for this was twofold. First, in the eyes of these prominent families, the power of the aristocratic families in the Xuan Yuan realm was still strong. They dared not oppose it when the six major families jointly supported something.

The other reason was that as prominent families, they felt a sense of sorrow for the death of Lin Yuan City. They didn't want to end up in such a situation. As people who let their interests guide their actions, they naturally wanted to protect the interests of the aristocratic families and let the Cloud Firmament Sect experience the consequences of offending them.

...

With the unanimous agreement, the meeting of the aristocratic families quickly concluded.

However, after the prominent families left, the six major families did not leave.

They looked at each other and the head of the Yi family spoke first.

"We need to counterattack the Cloud Firmament Sect, but we can't all join the Demon Sect. The Demon Sect is not a good group. If the Cloud Firmament Sect is expelled, we will be tortured and skinned. So, let's discuss who is willing to join them first and who is willing to wait and see."

"I'll go first."

"No, no, no, Brother Xie, there is a risk of retaliation from the Daoist sect if we join the Demon Sect. Let me handle this matter."

"Cough, cough, as the eldest among you, I should be the one to bear this responsibility."

"This doesn't seem right. You are close to that mad butcher. If you declare allegiance, aren't you afraid that he will bring people to attack?"

"There is a possibility, but as the saying goes, 'If I don't go to hell, who will...'"

"Hehe."

Looking at the righteous and dignified head of the Yang family, the leaders of the other clans couldn't help but curse the old man.

They naturally knew why the head of the Yang family wanted to join the Demon Sect - the Round Infant Pill. The Yang family had many elderly people who needed the Round Infant Pill to prolong their lives.

The others who joined also had the same reason.

After some dispute, in the end, the stubborn leaders of several clans, who refused to give in to each other, made a decision... to share the elixir.

And the Yang family, which was close to Zhong Cang and in urgent need of the Round Infant Pill, became the first group to join, with some conditions.

In addition, another family also joined the Demon Sect, while the other four families remained ambiguous in their stance in order to gain more benefits.

At the same time, during this meeting, the heads of the six major clans not only decided who would join the Demon Sect, but also discussed what conditions they would demand if the Cloud Firmament Sect surrendered.

"The nobles shall not be subjected to punishment. This must be included."

"We should ask for more things. We need to let them know that if they want to control the Xuan Yuan Realm, they have to rely on us and not offend us!"

"If only the Cloud Firmament Sect could kill that madman..."

...

With the six major clans reaching an agreement and the meeting coming to an end, the old head of the Yang family in Yangcheng showed a happy expression on his face, while the young heir revealed a hint of resentment, but quickly concealed it.

Then, he expressed some concerns, "Father, we are so close to Lin Yuan City. Is it really a good idea to join the Demon Sect?"

"Of course, normally, after learning about the decision of the six major clans, they shouldn't dare to make a move. But that butcher is abnormal enough to massacre the nobles of a city. I'm afraid he will really lead a large army to attack."

This statement made the head of the Yang family laugh.

"Hehe, Xiao Jiu, have some confidence in the strength of our Yang family. Even if we don't mention top combat power, we have several times the number of Martial Artists in the mortal world compared to the other side. They are no match for us. What's more important is... the Demon Sect won't just sit idly by."

"I don't want us to surrender to the other side out of fear. Next, the Demon Sect will gather a large amount of power. The sooner we become their target, the safer we will be."

"Moreover, it was the result of negotiations with the Demon Sect that we, who are closest to them, joined first."

"?!!"

The last sentence confused the Yang family's heir.

He didn't understand why the Demon Sect would make such a decision.

Fortunately, as an educated heir of a large family, he quickly understood some things.

"The Demon Sect is using us as bait to lure that mad butcher over!"

...

As the young master of the Yang family had expected, the Demon Sect did indeed have this idea.

And the reason that led them to make this decision can be glimpsed from the thoughts of the Blood Bone Perfected Being at that time.

Since they were already hostile, the Demon Sect naturally did not want the Cloud Firmament Sect to produce an unrivaled genius, especially one that could restrain them.

Therefore, they were very eager to eliminate this kind of Dao lineage.

The information collected from various sources made them understand that Zhong Cang had extraordinary strength and had already comprehended the true meaning of thunder at such a young age. If he was not quickly eliminated, he would undoubtedly become a great enemy to them.

In order to eliminate future troubles, they persuaded the Yang family, which was closest to the Abyss City, to surrender in order to attract Zhong Cang.

As for Zhong Cang's formidable strength, is it really unbeatable?

After observing and inquiring afterwards, the people of the Demon Sect knew that Zhong Cang was not truly invincible.

"That Zhong Cang's strength is indeed top-notch, but it has not reached the point of being unbeatable. A few days ago, the reason he was able to destroy a city was because he took advantage of the right timing."

"When he arrived near the Abyss City, instead of immediately attacking, he stationed his troops and waited until dark clouds covered the sky and heavy rain was about to pour down before launching his attack. This behavior confirms this point. So, as long as we don't give him time to set up formations, his strength is only at the level of an Apex Level genius, and he may not even be as strong as our backup Saint Child."

"We can kill him!"

"Hehe, besides launching a surprise attack with our army, we can also attempt assassination. Formation masters are the most afraid of close combat."

"This idea is not bad, we can give it a try..."

...

As news of Zhong Cang's annihilation of a city spread, the situation in the Profound Yuan Realm became turbulent, and conspiracies closed in on Zhong Cang like a web.

In just a few days, dozens of powerful families pledged allegiance to the Demon Sect, and even two major clans surrendered.

Their defection was extremely detrimental to the Cloud Firmament Sect.

And Zhong Cang's reputation became extremely evil under their propaganda.

Madman, butcher, demon, evil spirit... Various negative titles were bestowed upon Zhong Cang by those families and sects who controlled resources and channels of communication.

There were even people who wrote poems and articles to curse him.

Disasters descended, evil spirits appeared, turning a province into a wasteland... In short, under their propaganda, Zhong Cang had become an extremely evil person, and even the evil and terror of the Demon Sect did not compare to one percent of Zhong Cang's.

Upon hearing these rumors, Yue Qianqian and the others became somewhat anxious.

"Those bastards, although Brother Cang's killing intent is indeed heavy, he didn't turn a whole province into a wasteland."

"In their eyes, the powerful families and sects are equivalent to the entire province, and the rest of the people are not considered."

"Hey, look at this, someone actually said that Senior Brother Zhong Cang captured the wives and daughters of the powerful families and indulged in debauchery during the day and revelry at night..."

Various slanderous rumors were infuriating.

On the other hand, Zhong Cang didn't really care.

He was well aware that only the losers would be angrily cursed, and once he succeeded, there would be so-called Confucian sages finding reasons to defend him and write praises.

"However, although I don't care, I can't let myself be slandered for no reason. Since you all say I am an evil spirit, a demon, then I will become the evil spirit, disaster, and terrifying demon of your powerful families and sects, just as you wish!"

On one side, Zhong Cang was thinking about how to solidify the reputation of evil spirits and demons.

On the other side, Jing Ming, the Perfected Being, also showed a murderous intent.

Although he had anticipated the rebellion of dozens of powerful families and had ordered his disciples to be careful, their losses during this period were still not insignificant.

This also made him look in the direction of the imperial palace with a hostile expression.

Just as he revealed a fierce light in his eyes, Yu Yong walked in.

Due to the significant losses, Jing Ming, the Perfected Being, also had a bad expression when facing him.

"Hehe, what does that old ghost on the throne say?"

The disrespectful address made the old man furrow his brows, but he sighed and did not defend himself. Instead, he spoke:

"The Emperor said that this was not his order, but the joint action of the noble families."

After saying this, he noticed that Jing Ming, the Perfected Being, was still angry, so he explained further.

"This matter is really not the Emperor's doing, and he cannot stop it. Although His Majesty is the ruler of the Xuan Yuan Realm, he cannot decide everything with just one word. When the noble families unite, even he has to step back."

"In the past, such things have happened several times."

Such an explanation left Jing Ming, the Perfected Being, unable to refute.

Not only in the Xuan Yuan Realm, even in the Cloud Firmament Sect, the Sect Master cannot decide everything.

While he remained silent, Yu Yong quickly said, "Perfected Being, it's better to let Zhong Cang go back. His actions will only make the Xuan Yuan Realm more chaotic and more disadvantageous for you."

"Moreover, his current situation is not good. The Yang family has already joined forces with the Demon Sect. They are so close, yet they chose to join the Demon Sect first. In the past, the noble families would not have made such an unwise move. When things go against the norm, there must be something fishy."

"The Yang City is very likely a trap set by the Yang family and the Demon Sect for him."

The old man indeed leaned towards the Daoist sect and had the ability to deduce Zhong Cang's situation and the Demon Sect's plan from some information.

However, Jing Ming, the Perfected Being, did not intend to listen to him. Just as Zhong Cang had asked before, although the old man had the Xuan Yuan Realm's people in mind and supported the Daoist sect, he was not the emperor and could not restrain everyone.

Listening to him would only prevent the situation from deteriorating, but it would not allow the Cloud Firmament Sect to achieve victory.

On the contrary, there was a possibility of a breakthrough on Zhong Cang's side.

However, all of this was premised on Zhong Cang being strong enough to overpower everything.

Thinking of this, after the old man left, Jing Ming, the Perfected Being, contacted Zhong Cang again and informed him that the Yang family was a trap. Then, Jing Ming, the Perfected Being, asked about his thoughts.

"This time, they won't give you time to set up formations. Do you have the confidence to break the situation?"

Upon hearing this question, Zhong Cang did not immediately answer. Instead, he closed his eyes and felt the situation in his sea of consciousness.

At this moment, in his sea of consciousness, most of the endless blood color had dissipated, and his divine soul had transformed into the shape of a sword, shining brightly.

Feeling the Ignorant Heart Sword Art about to break through, and thinking about the tremendous increase in his combat power brought about by the advancement of this technique before.

And now, this technique would advance from the mastery of the third realm to the mastery of the fourth realm. A hint of a smile appeared at the corner of Zhong Cang's mouth.

"Perfected Being, I want to give it a try."

(End of this chapter)