Reverend Ecstasy

Hypocrisy wasn't a part of Tieshan's diary. For her dreams and goals, she could do some evil. But there were things that no amount of benefit could entice her to do. Setting the entire world on fire ranked high on her list of no-nos. But as far as the Heart-Wrenching Demon Noble was concerned, if the entire world had to burn for him to bring his plans to fruition, then all would burn. 

"Even for profit and conquest, this all sounds a bit extreme. What drove that demon noble to create such atrocious drugs?" Xinzi could understand a man being willing to go any length to carry out his plans, but of what use was world domination if there was no world to rule?

Unless the Heart-Wrenching Demon Noble was one of those shameful demons that were driven insane by their own Demon Heart, this made no practical sense.

"The Heart-Wrenching Demon Noble has connections to Qiu Meng and aims to use the two drugs to take control of the East and rebuild a stronger Celestial Hall. From what I've gathered, he was once human but cultivated an ancient demonic technique that led to his ascension to Heart Demon Noble. 

That technique can only be practiced by those that have fallen prey to extreme grief. It destroys their fleshly body and seals them underground till they cultivate the technique to the last level. So, while it enabled him to cultivate to the Immortal realm, it's also keeping him shackled. To break free, he needs to reach the last level, after which he will leave the underground as a peak-stage Heavenly Immortal. But as you probably know, the problem with that type of technique is..."

"Shifting to another method is borderline impossible, so the last realm that it enables you to reach is the highest that you will ever step into." Xinzi answered in Tieshan's place, and he was correct. Some cultivation methods had predetermined breakthrough patterns. With each tier, the practitioner climbed some level or realm, but as soon as they reached the peak of the method, they'd never again be able to progress to a higher cultivation level.

Due to these limitations, only desperate heretics relied on such methods. Of course, if the ultimate realm was so high that it far exceeded anything the practitioner could reach through traditional means, then most would be willing to take the bait. 

The Heart-Wrenching Demon Noble's technique enabled him to cultivate all the way to the peak of the Heavenly Immortal Realm, meaning that upon completion, he'd become an expert that even the Taiyang clan would have to treat with the utmost courtesy. There weren't many in the Great Desolation World that wouldn't make the same choice that he did.

A method of that caliber could only come from the Infernal Paradise's eminent Devils. In fact, considering the Heart Demon Noble bloodline at play here, one name appeared in Xinzi's mind—one of the few names that even the begotten son of Yongye had to say with courtesy:

Hell's strongest: Lord Sheitan! 

Not all Heart Demons belonged to the same Infernal Affiliation. Yet, from his prison in Hell, Sheitan could command them all—overriding even the authority of various Infernal Ancestors. This wasn't an entity that Xinzi wanted to mess with at the moment, and so our monk hoped that Sheitan had no direct connection to the Heart-Wrenching Demon Noble. 

"As a demon that feeds on grief, the Heart-Wrenching Noble hopes that, even after his cultivation base plateaus, he can increase his battle prowess by sucking the grief of all across the East. These two drugs are only tools that he uses to build up said grief," Tieshan said, clarifying the demon's nefarious plans. 

"Do you have samples on you?"

"Yes." 

"Good. Give them to me. I will study their structure and come up with countermeasures," Xinzi said, and subsequently, Tieshan presented two pill bottles, with respectively pink and orange containers. After scanning them with his Spiritual Sense, our monk shook his head and stored the pill bottles in his storage ring. 

"After returning to the Dark Moon Cult, you don't have to worry about the Heart Demon Pledge or Heart-Wrenching Demon Noble's reach. By the time you're resting in your personal quarters, the pledge will be gone. Don't try to make any move on the Demon Noble or his acolytes, but within the realms of feasibility, do deny them access to the Dark Moon Cult," Xinzi said, answering a question that lingered in Tieshan's mind. 

While Xinzi suppressed the Heart Demon Pledge, he didn't erase it outright. So while Tieshan maintained a strong exterior, inwardly, she still dreaded the possibility that her former patron could find his way back to the pledge, and regain control over her. Xinzi could have erased the pledge on the spot, but ever a fan of dramatic plays, he wished to let Tieshan's insecurities ferment for a bit longer so that once the pledge vanished, her heart would overflow with relief. 

"The Heart-Wrenching cultists are already entrenched in the Dark Moon Cult—hiding among Sacrificial Knives. So denying them access will be...very difficult. However, I should be able to suppress the moles." 

"Any chance that some of your priestesses got turned into cultists?"

"Impossible. The Heart-Wrenching Demon Noble despises women and is only willing to use them for critical cultivation-related matters. Even his plans for me involved more grief than blessings. His cultists are all men that he sees as brothers. Even the lowest of Heart-Wrenching Cultists will not be discarded at will. Women...can never occupy that role," Tieshan said, making Xinzi blink in disbelief.

"The Golden Lotus be praised. So many women haters. What did women do to you all?" Xinzi seriously asked, referring to both the Heart-Wrenching Demon Noble and Zhenwu Shenquan. 

"What?" Now it was Tieshan's time to get confused, her brows furrowing at Xinzi's odd words. 

"Never mind. It's not important. If that Heart-Wrenching Demon Noble wants to rebuild a new Celestial Hall and has strong enough ties to Qiu Meng to know the existence of Green Leaf Village, then he is likely one of his three personal disciples: Feng Jian, Ren Moxie or Bu Daoyi.

Feng Jian committed suicide after being driven to madness by his betrayal of Qiu Meng. Bu Daoyi was personally killed by Taiyang Yuan, and Ren Moxie by Feng Jian. Qiu Meng's eldest disciple doesn't have the ability to survive Taiyang Yuan's solar flames.

But Ren Moxie surviving Feng Jian...is a lot more likely.

So there is a chance that this Heart-Wrenching Demon Noble is none other than Qiu Meng's second disciple: Ren Moxie."