Chapter Twelve: The Sect's Bad Luck

  As soon as they arrived at the secret cave, Ding Hao immediately sat down cross-legged, and the Infinite Magic Skill was fully activated. Both of them were in the later stage of opening their spiritual aperture. Although Ding Hao had only absorbed one-tenth of the true essence of the two people, he already felt that the true essence of the two people was boundless and unparalleled, and couldn't help but sigh in his heart, originally at the same level due to different levels, the gap was actually so huge.

  The feeling is slightly different from when he swallowed the Eight-winged Purple Python's inner dan before. Although the energy of the Eight-winged Purple Python's inner dan was also very powerful, it was still a foreign object cultivated and had a big difference with the true yuan of the cultivator, so swallowing it not only slowed down but also had a smaller effect, yet it still benefited Ding Hao greatly.

  The two were both cultivators of the demonic path, and although their techniques differed from those of the Wuji Demon Cultivation Method, their true essence was the same. As a result, when Ding Hao absorbed them, he only needed to go through a purification process, which naturally made things much faster and more beneficial.

  It only took half a month to refine and absorb the true yuan of both people, and at this time, Ding Hao had also reached the late stage of opening his spiritual aperture.

  Only then did he begin to examine the spoils of war, turning over the storage rings and pouches of all three people, and felt even more emotional about the Mirror of the Wuji Demon Sect.

  Although the three of them were only third-generation disciples of their respective sects, they had a rich array of cultivation materials on their bodies. Not to mention that each of them had several pieces of mid-grade crystal stones for cultivation use. This was not all - just looking at the magical treasures they carried on their bodies was impressive. It's true that wealth and status can be overwhelming. To think about it, even the third-generation disciples of the Wuji Demon Sect didn't have many low-grade spirit stones for cultivation use, let alone magical treasures to equip themselves with. A single ordinary flying sword in hand was already the entirety of their equipment.

  These few sects are still like this, and it's not hard to imagine how rich the strongest Refining Hell Sect is. The people of the Wujimozong sect were slow in their cultivation because they mistakenly cultivated the Wujimogong, so it's even more unbearable. It's no surprise that they've fallen to such a state today!

  Ding Hao lacked a few basic materials, which the three of them happened to have on hand. With Ding Hao's current cultivation level, he could also refine several more items. Fa jue also inspected several practical cultivation methods.

  After doing all these things, more than half a year had passed unknowingly. At this time, Ding Hao's kung fu had made great progress, and he believed that among the third-generation disciples of Wuji Demon Sect, there was no one who could defeat him. Even if Zhang Li made great progress, Ding Hao still had the confidence to kill him with certainty!

  After leaving the customs, Ding Hao first went to Chen Ling's residence to pay his respects. He found that Chen Ling was not there and must have been closed off without coming out. At this time, Ding Hao was very interested in what the three people said about the Soul Refining Sect's conference. This grand meeting was full of danger, but it was also full of opportunities. If he could capture a few people and swallow them, he would be able to break through again soon. However, he had not yet reached the fusion period and did not have the qualifications to participate.

  It seems that opportunities don't wait for people, although I think my cultivation realm has improved quickly enough, but after all, I started too late and missed this opportunity, I'll have to wait another 50 years. Still need to work hard, can't help it, might as well take a risk and find a few more people to devour.

  The third generation disciple of Wuji Demon Sect, even if they were to swallow it, wouldn't be of much use. It seems that it can only be placed on the body of a weaker second-generation cultivator. However, if this were to happen within the sect itself, one's own progress would be so great that it would inevitably raise suspicions, and the chances of being discovered would also be quite high. Swallowing this tempting idea, let's first figure out the specific situation with Hunlian Sect before making a decision!

  Apart from Master Chen Ling, Ding Hao only knew that senior brother in the Wuji Demon Sect who was in charge of the library. When he arrived at the library, that senior brother was indeed still there, dozing off with his eyes half-closed.

  Seeing Ding Hao come in, he looked up and was extremely surprised: "Junior brother, it's been just a few years since we last met! The last time I saw you, you had just entered the sect, I didn't expect that now I can no longer tell what realm you are at, could your cultivation be advancing by leaps and bounds?! It's truly unimaginable! This...that...I seem to have helped you resolve many doubts last time, junior brother said he would give me a good reward back then, don't forget about it!"

  Ding Hao couldn't help but secretly laugh to himself. Earlier, he had said that he didn't want any benefits after just two good words from him, and now that he was prospering, he was bringing it up again. Ding Hao wasn't a petty person, so he casually took out a few mid-grade crystal stones and handed them over. "How could Junior Brother forget the favor of Senior Brother's promotion back then? These are a few crystal stones that Junior Brother happened to obtain, please accept them with a smile. To be honest, after talking several times, Ding Hao still doesn't know what Senior Brother's title is, so please tell him at the same time!"

  This person was just casually saying it, and didn't really expect Ding Hao to take out anything for him. The people of the Demon Gate Sect are all selfish and self-benefiting, if there's no benefit entanglement, they won't easily give such a valuable item to others. Although he had explained some situations about the Duan Soul Mountain sects to Ding Hao before, it was just common sense that everyone knew.

  It's only natural to take advantage of a good thing, and not doing so isn't the style of the Mo Men Sect. Putting things away in his storage bag, the man's smile grew even brighter. "Ding Shidi is being polite, my surname is Hu, my name is Shuo, and I'm a disciple of Cheng Yuan. Unfortunately, thirty years ago, when our master went out to search for materials to practice with, he was discovered by the Hei Mo Sect to have owl feathers on him, and was killed! Since then, I've been staying in the Wu Ji Mo Sect, never leaving the mountain gate again! Unlike Shidi, who has such good fortune, not only having many cultivation materials but also learning Chen Ling's exceptionally powerful techniques. Otherwise, Shidi wouldn't have reached this realm at such a young age. As for me, I'm still practicing the most useless Wu Ji Mo technique, and I'm only in the middle of the Bi Gu period! It's really true that people can be envious to death!" Hu Shuo sighed repeatedly as he spoke.

  "Senior brother, why be so pessimistic? The Unbounded Demon Arts are profound and intricate, it's just that you and I are foolish and haven't fully grasped its essence. Let's not talk about this for now, senior brother, do you know what happened at the Soul Refining Sect's gathering? Did our sect have any achievements in these few realms?" Ding Hao asked.

  Hu Shuo thought that Ding Hao's words were just comforting him and did not know that what Ding Hao said was true, nor did he argue with him.

  "Of course, I know that. But my sect has already forfeited the last two conferences in a row. What else can we talk about? In the previous few conferences, we sent out several disciples, but couldn't even gather twenty people, and were used as cannon fodder by other sects to the point of total annihilation! The number of my sect's disciples was originally small, how could they withstand such turmoil? It's fortunate that we forfeited this time, otherwise, without anyone else lifting a finger, the Wuji Demon Sect would have been annihilated!"

  Hu Shuo shook his head repeatedly. Seeing this situation, Ding Hao also felt a chill in his heart. Although he knew that the Wuji Demon Sect would definitely not get any benefits, he didn't expect the situation to be so bad!

  He asked a few more questions and learned that the Soul Refining Sect would only start in three years, so he didn't need to rush out and take risks to devour his senior brothers. He returned to his room and waited for several days before being ordered not to leave the sect temporarily, saying that the sect master was about to come out of seclusion, at which time the Wuji Demon Sect would hold a meeting, and all disciples and elders of the Wuji Demon Sect must attend!

  Several days later, the seniors of the sect came out one after another.

  Chen Ling also left the pass before the meeting. Found Ding Hao, he had already arrived at the opening stage of the middle period and couldn't help but praise him a few words, saying that he was the fastest progressing person in the Wuji Demon Sect since its founding, and even in other sects, he hadn't heard of anyone making progress so quickly!

  Ding Hao smiled and said that it was all thanks to Master's teachings, Chen Ling knew it wasn't true but didn't say anything, the two of them understood each other without needing to say more.

  Ding Hao brought Chen Ling to the room and set up a soundproof illusion array. The array was only used to prevent others from eavesdropping, and its effect was not great. Chen Ling watched with interest as Ding Hao finished setting up the array, then smiled and said: "Good disciple, how could Master forget that he had taught you this array method? It seems that the disciple has hidden many things from Master!"

  "It's just a small trick, how can it enter the master's eyes? The master has been closed for a long time and doesn't know what realm he has reached. Last time, the master told Ding Hao that he was in the initial stage of Yuan Ying, I wonder if there is any progress now?"

  "Haha, I've benefited from being a good apprentice. Now that we're halfway through, the half of the Purple Ink Toxic Yin Decision you gave me has also started to cultivate. I wonder if my good apprentice can also give me the second half of the law decision? Master's cultivation is high and it will bring glory to your face too!" Chen Ling looked at Ding Hao with a hopeful expression!

  "Master, you're being too impatient. Zi Mo's poisonous yin jue is just the beginning of your cultivation, and you already want to move on to the next step? Alright, let's wait until Master finishes cultivating the upper part first. By the way, do you know why the Sect Leader called a meeting? It's even more strange that Master was summoned during his closed-door meditation!" Ding Hao asked!

  "A hundred-year tribute to the Soul-Breaking Mountain Sect is approaching, and we have to take out our old savings to offer to the Refining Hell Sect. Last time, our sect's thousand-year collection was used up just to barely make ends meet. This time, I don't know how to get through this difficulty, even if we take out all of our family's assets, it won't be enough! For a hundred years, our sect members haven't even had crystal stones for their own cultivation, and they don't dare go out to search for mining opportunities. It seems that this time, we really can't escape the calamity!" Chen Ling sighed repeatedly, his eyes fixed on Ding Hao, as if Ding Hao was the hope of the sect!

  "Alas, poor me! I didn't expect to suffer such humiliation as a disciple of the Wuji Demon Sect. Master, why do you look at me like that? Although I have some wealth, it's not even enough for my own use, let alone giving it to others. Driven by desperation, I can only wander the world and no longer cultivate in the Wuji Demon Sect!" Dīnghǎo also sighed, showing sympathy but refusing to budge!

  Chen Ling also knew that Ding Hao would not care about the life and death of the sect, and he secretly wondered if he should also find another way out. At this time, a bell rang in the ears of the two, Sect Master Li Nan Tian had come out, and the conference of Wuji Demon Sect was finally about to begin.