After fifteen years of cultivation, he finally reached the pinnacle of the first rank!

Chapter 373 Demon Sect
Just as the demonic experts from the three sects gathered, a shout suddenly interrupted their discussion:
"The patriarch has arrived!"

Upon hearing this, the experts from the three major demonic sects all looked in that direction. A gust of foul wind rushed over and landed on the stone seat in the center of the underground space in the blink of an eye, revealing a white-haired old man with a ruddy complexion and wearing a magnificent robe.

Upon seeing this, the experts of the Blood River Demon Sect immediately knelt down and shouted in unison:

"Greetings, Ancestor Blood River!"

The experts from the other two major demonic sects also bowed in respect. No one in the demonic path would dare to be negligent towards the leaders of the three major demonic sects.

"No gift."

Blood River Ancestor's eyes flashed with a blood-red light as he glanced at the group of demonic experts in the underground space, then stroked his beard and said:
"I'm the first one here. When will the leaders of your two sects arrive?"

Upon hearing this, the experts from the Sun Moon Demonic Sect and the Myriad Demonic Sect exchanged glances.

Just as the demonic cult protector who had spoken earlier was about to open his mouth, a mournful wail, seemingly coming from afar, drifted over.

When the sound disappeared, the figure of the Sect Master of the Myriad Demon Sect had already appeared on the stone seat next to the Blood River Ancestor.

The leader of the Myriad Demon Sect was dressed in a black robe, his entire face hidden under a black hood, making it impossible to see his true appearance.

However, the Blood River Ancestor turned his head and glanced at him, then squinted and said:
"Old ghost, it's been so many years, and your Myriad Demonic Arts have indeed broken through to the tenth level."

The sect leader of the Myriad Demon Sect slowly turned his head to look at the Blood River Ancestor, and then a faint voice rang out, saying:

"You're not bad either. The Heart-Devouring Blood Fiend on your body is completely different from when we last met."

Upon hearing this, the Blood River Ancestor stroked his beard and laughed a few times, his eyes flashing with an uncertain blood-red light. In the blink of an eye, he looked at another empty stone seat next to him.

"As the host country, arriving so late, they certainly have quite the grand entrance."

The smile on the face of the Blood River Ancestor gradually faded, and as soon as he finished speaking, a violent coughing sound came from the tunnel outside the underground space.

The group of demonic experts immediately turned around and saw a hunched old woman in white robes leaning on a dragon-headed cane, slowly walking towards the central stone seat.

"Greetings, Master! May you enjoy eternal bliss and live as long as the heavens!"

The demonic masters of the Sun Moon Demonic Sect knelt down in unison, shouting and kowtowing in unison.

The old woman, dressed in a white robe embroidered with the heavens, earth, sun, and moon, gently waved her hand. Then, while slowly walking forward, she looked at the two Demon Sect Masters seated on the stone throne and said:

"Please forgive me, both of you. I was seriously injured last night and have difficulty moving around, which is why I am so late."

Upon hearing this, both the Blood River Ancestor and the Sect Master of the Myriad Demon Sect, who were seated on the stone throne, frowned and exchanged a barely perceptible glance.

Blood River Ancestor's eyes suddenly blazed with intense crimson light. He carefully examined the approaching white-robed old woman, then stood up and said:
"Sun and Moon Demon Queen, you are injured? What happened? Who could possibly hurt you?"

The old woman in white gently shook her head and, under the watchful eyes of the group of demonic experts, slowly walked to the stone seat next to the Blood River Ancestor and sat down.

As the leader of the Sun Moon Demonic Sect, the old woman in white had a wrinkled face and pale skin, and looked somewhat weak.

Then, with her withered hands supporting her dragon-headed cane, she looked at the Blood River Ancestor and the other man beside her and said:

"I presume that you two have heard the news from the Great Xuan Imperial Palace today."

Upon hearing this, the Sect Master of the Myriad Demon Sect slightly raised his face beneath his hood and asked:

"You mean the death of the Great Xuan Emperor?"

The old woman in white nodded slowly, then sighed and said:
"In fact, I was present when the Great Xuan Emperor was killed, and I witnessed it with my own eyes."

Upon hearing this, the Blood River Ancestor and his companion, along with the surrounding group of demonic experts, all showed unusual expressions.

"The emperor was murdered? How is that possible?"

"The Great Xuan Imperial Palace is heavily guarded, with numerous experts and traps, making its defenses unparalleled. Who could possibly enter the palace and kill the emperor?"

……

The surrounding elders and protectors of the demonic path all exclaimed in surprise. When they heard the news of the death of the Great Xuan Emperor, the imperial palace announced to the world that he had died of illness.

Although the sudden death of the Great Xuan Emperor while Tai Xuan City was under lockdown was indeed somewhat abrupt, the emperor was already quite old, and it was not impossible for him to have died of illness, so it did not arouse any suspicion.

However, at this moment, everyone learned from the Sun and Moon Demon Queen that the Great Xuan Emperor had actually been killed, which was obviously hard to believe.

The questions raised by the group of demonic experts were also the same questions raised by the two demonic sect leaders, Blood River Ancestor and Blood River Sect Master.

For a moment, both of them looked at the Sun and Moon Demon Queen, clearly wanting an explanation from her.

The old woman in white remained silent for a moment, her expression gradually becoming solemn. She shook her head and said:

"You may not know this, but yesterday, a martial arts master with extremely high cultivation came to the capital city of Taixuan."

"Master?"

The expressions of the Blood River Ancestor and his companion shifted, a hint of surprise and doubt appearing in their eyes, while the white-robed old woman continued:
"You should have heard before that I have some relationship with the Emperor of Da Xuan, which is why the Sun Moon Demonic Sect was able to establish itself in Tai Xuan City and avoid being wiped out by the imperial court."

Upon hearing this, the two sect leaders of the Demonic Sect and a group of demonic experts all nodded slightly.

The Sun Moon Demonic Cult established its headquarters in Tai Xuan City, partly due to its audacity, but the two demonic sects had previously investigated this matter.

Besides discovering that the Sun Moon Demon Queen had some unknown relationship with the Great Xuan Emperor, this was an important reason why the Sun Moon Demon Sect was tolerated by the court in Tai Xuan City.

"Because of the recent actions taken by the imperial court against the demonic path, I decided last night to risk sneaking into the palace in the hope of pleading with the Great Xuan Emperor to lift the blockade on Tai Xuan City."

The old woman in white, her cloudy eyes unreadable, sighed softly and said:
"However, to my surprise, last night a young master broke into the Great Xuan Imperial Palace. This person's martial arts strength is unfathomable. He not only broke through the nine levels of the Xuanji Palace, but also repelled countless masters in the Imperial Palace."

"Furthermore, he conspired with the Crown Prince to seize the throne of the Great Xuan Emperor. At that time, I was seeking an audience with the Emperor when I witnessed him kill the Great Xuan Emperor."

"Although I tried to stop him, I was no match for him and was seriously injured before I was able to escape."

At this point, the old woman in white suddenly covered her mouth with her hand and coughed violently.

The Blood River Ancestor and the Sect Master of the Myriad Demon Sect, who were standing nearby, could both see him coughing up strands of bright red blood.

The two men immediately frowned. For experts like them, internal organ injury was almost unimaginable.

This shows that the Sun and Moon Demon Queen was indeed seriously injured.

If what the other party said is true, then the martial arts strength of the person who injured her must be extremely powerful, perhaps even greater than that of the two of them.

"Do you know that person's identity? Where did the Crown Prince of Da Xuan find such a master?" The Blood River Ancestor's eyes shifted slightly as he looked at the white-robed old woman and asked.

The other demonic cultivators around also looked over, clearly both shocked and curious about the matter.

The old woman in white covered her mouth and nose, slowly glanced at the people in the underground space, and said:
"The Crown Prince must have paid a great price to be able to invite such a master, and one of those prices is the demonic energy in the hands of our three sects."

Upon hearing this, all the demonic experts, including the Blood River Ancestor and the Sect Master of the Myriad Demonic Sect, changed their expressions.

"Wishful thinking! The Demonic Essence was left to us, the three sects of the Demonic Path, by the patriarch of the Demonic Path. How dare a mere prince lay a finger on it?"

"Besides, all nine demonic essences are currently in the hands of our three sects. What ability does he have to take them from us?"

……

The demonic experts from the three sects all spoke out in anger. The most important purpose of their gathering was to collect the nine demonic essences and unlock the demonic arts and inheritance left behind by the founder of the demonic path.

How could the three sects possibly agree to the Crown Prince of Da Xuan's desire for the Demonic Essence in their hands?
At this moment, the Blood River Ancestor and the Sect Master of the Myriad Demon Sect exchanged a glance, then spoke to the white-robed old woman:

“Now I have three demonic essences, and Old Ghost has two. Adding the four demonic essences in your possession, Demon Queen, we have a total of nine.”

"There's no time to lose. To avoid any unforeseen complications, why don't we gather everyone's demonic energy together now and directly activate the legacy of the Demonic Path Ancestor?"

Upon hearing this, the old woman in white glanced at the two of them, but shook her head and said:

"The Sun Moon Demonic Sect did find four Demonic Essences, but unfortunately, one of them was stolen halfway back to Tai Xuan City."

"Therefore, I only have three demonic essences in my possession at this moment."

Upon hearing this, the Blood River Ancestor frowned, narrowed his eyes, and stared at the white-robed old woman, saying:

"You mean to say that we're still missing one of the nine demonic essences we finally managed to gather?"

The old woman in white nodded, then flicked her finger, and the dragon head on her cane instantly flipped open, from which three demonic energies flew out and landed in her palm.

"I have no reason to lie to you. Even one less of the nine demonic essences is unacceptable. There's no use for me keeping that one."

The old woman in white showed the demonic energy in her hand to the Blood River Ancestor and the Sect Master of the Myriad Demonic Sect. At this moment, a powerful protector from the Sun Moon Demonic Sect also spoke up:

“What the sect leader said is true. This is a message sent back by my subordinates. The demonic essence was lost in Gaofu City on the border of Daxuan.”

"Although the sect has tried its best to find the Demonic Essence afterward, unfortunately there are still no clues to this day."

Both the Blood River Ancestor and the Sect Master of the Myriad Demon Sect stared at the demonic energy in the white-robed old woman's hand for a while. The Sect Master of the Myriad Demon Sect's face, hidden beneath his hood, was unreadable, but he spoke in a low voice:

"Your Majesty, you are seriously injured. In order to avoid the loss of your demonic essence, it would be safer to temporarily entrust it to me and Ancestor Blood River for safekeeping."

Upon hearing this, the Blood River Ancestor's eyes flashed with blood-red light, and he nodded, saying:
"Old Ghost is right. If the Demon Queen loses any of the three Demon Essences, even if we find the last one, who knows how long it will take to gather all the Demon Essences together?"

Upon hearing this, the demonic experts from the Sun Moon Demonic Sect immediately turned grim and activated their demonic arts to be on guard.

The old woman in white didn't speak, but slowly stuffed the demonic energy in her hand back into the dragon-headed cane, and sneered:

"It's best not to say such things that would break the alliance between the three sects in the future. Although I am seriously injured, I am not without the ability to fight back. Why make things worse and end up with both sides suffering heavy losses?"

The Blood River Ancestor and the Sect Master of the Myriad Demon Sect remained silent, staring at the white-robed old woman for a long time before ultimately doing nothing.

In their view, although the Sun and Moon Demon Queen appeared to be seriously injured, they were not entirely sure of the specifics.

Moreover, the fact that the other party dared to appear in front of them while injured suggests that they might have come prepared, and it would be unwise to attack rashly.

"The Demon Queen has misunderstood. Old Ghost and I meant well. Our most urgent task right now is to find the lost Demon Essence."

Blood River Ancestor broke the deadlock by speaking, and then asked:
"Since the demonic essence was lost in the hands of the Sun Moon Demonic Sect, do you have any way to retrieve it? If you need any help from our two sects, please feel free to speak up, and we will do our utmost to assist you."

Upon hearing this, the sect leader of the Myriad Demon Sect nodded slightly, but the old woman in white did not speak. She only glanced at the Sun Moon Demon Sect protector who had spoken earlier.

Upon seeing this, the protector immediately understood his master's meaning and spoke:
"Although we have not found the demonic essence, an elder of the sect has calculated using divination methods that the lost demonic essence is currently in Tai Xuan City."

"If we search the city, there is a good chance we can find it."

Upon hearing this, the demonic experts from both the Blood River Demon Sect and the Myriad Demon Sect showed expressions of doubt.

"A method of deduction? Is this thing reliable?"

When a powerful figure from the demonic path voiced his doubts, the protector of the Sun Moon Demonic Sect nodded with unwavering certainty and said:

"The four demonic energies we found earlier were all deduced by the elders of the sect, so they are naturally correct."

Upon hearing this, the Blood River Ancestor pondered for a moment, then frowned and said:

"Now that we've confirmed the demonic essence is in the city, there's no problem with the three sects working together to find it. However..."

As he spoke, the Blood River Ancestor looked at the old woman in white and said:

“You just said that the Crown Prince of Da Xuan used the demonic energy in the hands of the three sects as a price to get that expert to kill the Emperor of Da Xuan.”

"Nowadays, it's not just the three sects of the Demonic Path who are eyeing the Demonic Yuan; even the Great Xuan Dynasty itself is targeting us. We must be wary of this."

The old woman in white waved her hand and said:

"After the Crown Prince of Da Xuan murdered the emperor, it is too early for him to secure the throne. Even if he wants to take action against our three demonic sects, he is powerless to do so. He is not a threat in the short term."

"The only person we need to worry about is the expert who killed the Great Xuan Emperor; he is the one who is truly interested in the Demonic Essence."

At this point, the old woman in white's expression suddenly became extremely serious, and she said:
"Whether you believe it or not, I must remind you that this person is not only extremely skilled in martial arts, but also very young."

"After I escaped from him, I investigated his identity and found that he looked a lot like someone else."

Upon hearing this, both the Blood River Ancestor and the Sect Master of the Myriad Demon Sect showed a change in expression and asked:

"Who is that person?"

The old woman in white narrowed her eyes slightly and said:

"The Eighth Prince of Dali".

(End of this chapter)