Originally, the cultivators who had been gathered by various means were prepared to witness bloody scenes. To their surprise, what greeted their eyes was such a mundane, everyday setting, leaving everyone stunned.
Liu Bai whispered, "See? I told you, this Heavenly Venerate Society might not be as terrifying as you imagine."
Ye Qing'er nodded. Though still timid, she felt a little more at ease.
Taking in everyone's expressions, the Bronze Demon Guard said, "The Heavenly Venerate happens to be free. Please follow me. Only after you have met the Heavenly Venerate and received his decree will you truly be considered members of the Heavenly Venerate Society."
Having come this far, no one could back out. Following the Bronze Demon Guard, they walked through several streets and finally arrived in front of the tallest palace.
The Bronze Demon Guard paused at the entrance, waiting quietly for a moment.
He didn't have to wait long.
A slender woman walked out. She appeared delicate and frail, yet the small portions of her exposed skin shimmered with silver light, and even her eyes were a silvery-gray color.
Though she also cultivated physical strength, the power contained within this woman surpassed that of the Bronze Demon Guard.
Li Shuang understood that this was likely the Silver Demon Guard.
The Silver Demon Guard glanced at everyone and said calmly, "Come in."
She waved her hand, and the large gate opened completely, revealing a vast courtyard. Beyond the courtyard was another palace.
The palace gate was open, and at the entrance, a man glowing with golden light stood guard calmly.
From within the palace gate, an incredibly majestic voice echoed: "Enter."
The voice was ethereal, seemingly coming from a very distant place.
This was enough to intimidate the cultivators in the Qi Condensation and Foundation Establishment stages. Li Shuang, with her powerful spiritual sense, instantly understood.
This so-called Heavenly Venerate, at most, only had a Nascent Soul cultivation level.
If that were truly the case, then this journey to eliminate evil had already declared victory at this point.
Their opponent... was too weak.
However, thinking about it carefully, this was also normal.
Demonic cultivation methods, due to their rapid progress, constantly resurfaced in waves, even after repeated encirclements by the righteous path.
But if every demonic organization could truly flourish, this world would have long since become a hell.
For mortals, a demonic organization with a Nascent Soul stage as its highest power could already cause immense damage.
Li Shuang and the others exchanged glances.
The arrow was already on the string and had to be fired.
Since this Heavenly Venerate dared to show himself, he must be eliminated here.
Li Shuang's mind raced with these thoughts, but her face showed no emotion. She followed the other cultivators and stood in the courtyard.
The Heavenly Venerate did not speak again.
But Li Shuang always felt as if an eye was suspended in the air, silently scrutinizing them.
Once everyone had entered, suddenly!
With a creak, the massive gate abruptly closed completely.
The power of a barrier emerged. A transparent barrier appeared several meters above their heads, enveloping all of them!
"A barrier?"
"What is this for?"
"Are they afraid we'll run away?"
A murmur of voices rose, and some people's faces showed signs of panic.
The Silver Demon Guard smiled as she watched everyone's reactions for a moment, then said calmly, "No need to worry. We're using a barrier to prevent you from making too much noise and causing unnecessary panic."
Making too much noise? Why would they make too much noise?
The Silver Demon Guard's explanation only made everyone more terrified.
The Silver Demon Guard waved her hand, and the ground in the center of the courtyard suddenly sank. Everyone scattered in a panic.
From the collapsed area, a massive bronze cauldron slowly emerged.
Inside the cauldron, a pot of blood-red liquid was bubbling and hissing.
As soon as the large cauldron appeared, a pungent, bloody smell instantly filled the air.
"Blood! That's human blood!" someone shrieked in terror, his legs giving out, causing him to fall directly to the ground.
If some people had held onto a sliver of hope before, wondering if this Heavenly Venerate Society wasn't as evil as they had imagined, now, at the sight of human blood, all illusions shattered!
This bronze cauldron was enormous, ten meters wide and three meters deep, and now, such a huge pot was completely full!
The number of lives this represented was something no one dared to contemplate.
Someone turned, immediately wanting to escape.
But before they could run a few steps, the barrier shimmered, and they were bounced back to their original positions.
The Silver Demon Guard seemed not to notice their actions. She said calmly, "The bloodline power of mortals is divided into true blood and mixed blood. From a mortal's true blood, even draining all their blood can only yield ten drops. Mixed blood, apart from true blood, is easier to collect. In recent years, to avoid attracting outside attention, we have only extracted a portion of blood from each mortal, without creating large-scale bloodbaths. Now, what's in this cauldron is the mixed mortal blood collected by the Heavenly Venerate Society's family members."
"The Heavenly Venerate himself has passed down a method. These mortal fresh blood, after special refining, can temper our bodies and grant us immense power!"
"Like me. I have four spiritual roots, which are called mixed spiritual roots. Without extraordinary luck, even reaching the Foundation Establishment stage would be a luxury."
"After receiving guidance from the Heavenly Venerate, in just three years, I can fight cultivators in the middle stage of Golden Core cultivation with just my physical body!"
The Silver Demon Guard raised her fist and heavily slammed it into the ground, causing cracks to appear instantly.
"Three years, Golden Core stage." The Silver Demon Guard's voice held a hint of temptation: "We rogue cultivators lack sufficient talent and aptitude, are rejected by those sects, and can only struggle in bitter pursuit! I believe everyone, more or less, has experienced being bullied and oppressed, right? Once you join the Heavenly Venerate Society, your cultivation will experience a rapid increase. When you also reach the Golden Core stage, won't you be able to avenge past grievances? We can truly stand tall!"
The Silver Demon Guard's voice carried a strange rhythm.
Everyone listened intently, and some who had been terrified and panicked now even showed a glimmer of longing in their eyes.
This Silver Demon Guard subtly practiced a form of enchantment. Li Shuang's "Too High Forgetfulness" technique was constantly active within her, naturally rendering her immune to its effects.
However, for these rogue cultivators, the Silver Demon Guard's words struck a chord deep within their hearts.
Large sects had complete inheritances and various secret techniques, but these all required specific aptitudes and foundations.
Since they had become rogue cultivators, most of them were certainly lacking in aptitude, destined to be trapped in the lower ranks for life.
A Golden Core stage cultivator might be considered a low-level disciple in a major sect like the Sword Sect, but for rogue cultivators, they were already a formidable master.
If the qualifier "three years" was added before "Golden Core stage"!
Three years to achieve Golden Core!
The temptation instantly multiplied several times!
"But," the Silver Demon Guard smiled faintly, "the blood is limited. Among so many cultivators present, we can only help fifty of them cultivate the new secret technique. The remaining two hundred-plus people..."