Radiant Blade of the Wilderness

Chapter 216: Collaborators

Ding Songyan looked at Sun Feiyang’s eyes-wide-open corpse in the chamber, which was neither spacious nor cramped. His gaze swept the room and settled on a wall riddled with sword cuts and punctures. It was on the verge of collapse.

It was the wall beside the passage.

To Ding Songyan, his finest achievement in the fight, the one that had pushed his ability to its limit, was using the Unified Way Sword to keep Evil Beyond Measure Sun Feiyang completely restrained. He had given him no chance to break through the wall and escape, or even to do much damage to the chamber.

A clash at the perfected Dharma Realm that barely damaged its surroundings was almost unimaginable!

Everything else had gone as planned: the Dream Sword planting a mental weakness and laying a deception; Candlelight Sword Intent resisting evil thoughts and the Eight Winds; Establishing the Six Directions briefly trapping Sun Feiyang’s invisible wings, leaving him suspended as a target; Bringing All Things Into Unity dissolving the illusory evil deeds; the Celestial Heart state mimicking a Supreme Master to awaken his fear; the Sword Intent of Winter deceiving him, followed by the Sword Intent of Summer resonating with the Sun-Shooting arrow qi and turning slowness into speed. All of it had demanded his full knowledge, ingenuity, and effort, but it had remained relatively well within his grasp.

The Unified Way Sword alone had been different. Even with the Chaos Realm letting him read force from a distance and the Celestial Heart state sensing the qi in the void, what he had just accomplished was extraordinarily difficult at his current level. He even wondered whether the pressure of a fight to the death had pushed his swordsmanship a little further.

Phew... Ding Songyan exhaled. Fatigue suddenly washed over him.

He and Sun Feiyang had exchanged only a few dozen moves, but mentally, it felt like a full day and night of continuous combat.

He had known beforehand that Sun Feiyang excelled at the Faith-Slaying Sword and Malicious Words Piercer, and would turn to the Metal-Melting Finger when his life was in danger. He had worked out how to respond and keep his swordplay clear of their effects, with some guidance from Twelfth Madam Luo. Without that preparation, defeating a wounded Sun Feiyang, whose arts were countered by the Brightnight Sect’s, would not have been difficult. But restraining him completely and killing him was another matter.

Leaving aside the advantages between arts and how well each side knows the other, I should be about as strong as Sun Feiyang at his best. Good enough for the top ten of Malevolent God Prison, but not the top three. On the Orchid Fresh List, apart from whoever ranks first, those in the top three might be evenly matched with me. Victory would depend on how we fought on the day. I haven’t faced them, though, so I could be wrong... Ding Songyan did not channel Sun Feiyang’s spirit immediately. He first returned to the surface through the secret passage.

The Orchid Fresh List included only martial talents under thirty. Its current number one was a twenty-eight-year-old Kuafu whose unique art let him briefly wield genuine Heaven-Man power.

A century might produce a handful of Supreme Masters under thirty, but none had appeared in this generation. No, there was one: Nine-Evils Demoness Ji Hanyi. Heretics were excluded from the Orchid Fresh List, however, and hardly anyone knew she had broken through.

World-Enchanting True Phoenix Feng Yining had been removed from the Orchid Fresh List after three years without emerging from life-or-death seclusion. Until then, she had always held first place. Ren Youyang was currently ranked fourteenth.

Back in the main house, Ding Songyan killed the two unconscious Accumulated Evil Way disciples with two casual sword strokes. He lingered a while to ensure their ghosts were utterly destroyed.

Now no one knew what the intruder had worn or how he had looked. Any later witnesses would see only what Ding Songyan wanted them to see.

After dealing with the other Accumulated Evil Way disciple in the same way, he left the guard in the rear building alone and returned to the underground chamber. Opening his yin eyes, he looked at Sun Feiyang’s ghost. Fear showed on his face, though a trace of defiance remained in his eyes.

"Did you, Evil Spirit Fei Biru, and the others come to the Flame Capital for the Orchid Grace Examination or the consort selection?"

"The consort selection," Sun Feiyang’s ghost answered tersely.

Looking at the ghost of that savage, gaunt old tiger, Ding Songyan felt a wave of revulsion.

He had learned about Sun Feiyang’s atrocities beforehand. That was how the Dream Sword had awakened some of his real memories and drawn him into them. Witnessing the evil in those memories had left Ding Songyan sickened and deeply unsettled.

Even calling the foremost Malevolent Envoy inhuman was not enough.

I thought my moral limits were fairly flexible, but I still can’t stomach this... Ding Songyan asked another question, his voice chilling, "Who are you trying to send into the palace?"

"I don’t know. The arrangements won’t be made until the Way Master reaches the Flame Capital." Sun Feiyang’s ghost shook his head.

The Demon Sovereign doesn’t trust you disloyal, dishonorable, heartless, faithless subordinates. He keeps the crucial information to himself... No wonder he developed the Demon Seed method. It’s the only way to ensure your loyalty and obedience... Though even that can’t stop some smart alecs from having a sudden inspiration... During the fight, Ding Songyan had examined Sun Feiyang with the Candle-Star Pupils and confirmed that he carried no Demon Seed.

That made him suspect Tan Guanchan could create only a very limited number of Demon Seeds.

Otherwise, in his shoes, Ding Songyan would have planted one in every member of the Accumulated Evil Way.

His thoughts took another turn, and he asked, "Which factions are you working with on the consort selection?"

"The Returning Abyss Order..." Sun Feiyang’s ghost said hesitantly.

It was one of the Upper Nine among the Twenty-One Heretical Ways.

Ding Songyan was not especially surprised. At last, he might have a chance to obtain Returning Abyss True Qi and condense his external aperture, sparing him the risk of his undeserved sister forcing her own true qi on him.

Sun Feiyang’s ghost was trembling violently, seemingly terrified. Recalling his hesitation, Ding Songyan frowned slightly and demanded in a low, stern voice,

"Who else?"

Sun Feiyang’s ghost could no longer hold back.

"The Shamanism Order as well."

You really were hiding something... This was the first time a spirit Ding Songyan channeled had deliberately held back.

Other ghosts tell me everything they know, honestly and without reserve. Yet you can still lie and conceal things?

Is this what the Accumulated Evil Divine Art does to you? Betrayal, disloyalty, and deceit become your very Way. Even death can’t make you forget them...

Good thing I have more than spirit channeling. Banishing Demons and Warding Off Evil can intimidate and suppress him...

"Anyone else?" Ding Songyan pressed on, taking no chances, his bearing stern and imposing.

Meanwhile, what he knew of the Shamanism Order flashed through his mind.

One of the Lower Twelve among the Twenty-One Heretical Ways, it traced its inheritance to Qiangliang.

Qiangliang held a snake in his mouth and another in his hand. He had a tiger’s head, a human body, four hooves, and long elbows. He communed with all spirits, commanded healing incantations, wielded suppressive curses, and stood at the head of all shamans.

The Shamanism Order had two foundational arts: Divine Invocation and Spirit Communion Art, and the Secret Scripture of Shamans. Its members were most active in the Ba Kingdom, where they fought incessantly with the Gu Sorcery Order and Snake Cultivation Sect.

However, unlike those two factions, the Shamanism Order also spread its teachings in other kingdoms. It was not confined to the Ba Kingdom.

Sun Feiyang’s ghost shook his head rapidly.

"No more."

They’re not working with the Sage-Severing Way? Then why was Demoness Ji worried about a misunderstanding? The Shamanism Order’s involvement is troublesome. Shamans have all sorts of bizarre methods, and many of their secret arts are unknown to outsiders... This could be crucial information... Ding Songyan asked for details of their cooperation, but Sun Feiyang’s ghost said they had only made preliminary contact with the Returning Abyss Order and Shamanism Order while awaiting the Demon Sovereign’s arrival. He did not even know where either faction’s people were hiding.

More importantly, Evil Spirit Fei Biru, whose movements were harder to trace, handled contact with the two factions. Sun Feiyang was merely serving as her henchman and knew little of the details. It was he who had tried to assassinate Liu Cheng.

"Apart from you and Fei Biru, which other powerful members of the Accumulated Evil Way are in the Flame Capital?" Ding Songyan asked.

"I’m the only Malevolent Envoy here. I don’t know about the Eight Winds Envoys or Evil Intent Envoys. Kong Wanzhen is in the Flame Capital, though. No one knows exactly where he’s hiding." Under the pressure of Banishing Demons and Warding Off Evil, Sun Feiyang’s ghost had become much more forthcoming. Besides, betraying his fellow disciples was something he enjoyed.

Heretic Immortal Kong Wanzhen... One of the Accumulated Evil Way’s four Heaven-Men is here too. With the Demon Sovereign still to come, half their top leadership will be handling this affair. They clearly take it seriously... Ding Songyan asked about the Heretic Immortal for a while, then changed the subject.

"Just how strong is Tan Guanchan?"

"The Way Master is at the pinnacle of Heaven-Man." Sun Feiyang’s ghost was visibly afraid as he spoke of Tan Guanchan. "But I’ve never seen his second face."

Even the foremost Malevolent Envoy can’t be certain of the Demon Sovereign’s true realm... I’ll have to revise my estimate of him upward... Ding Songyan questioned him thoroughly about everything concerning the Flame Capital.

Seeing Sun Feiyang’s ghost grow thinner and dimmer, he turned to another question.

"Were you the one who gave Bai Zhaolin Heaven and Earth in Calamity and arranged for him to go to Alpine Lake Mountain?"

"Yes." Sun Feiyang’s ghost nodded without shame.

Ding Songyan’s voice deepened without his noticing.

"Who was the Zhourao who infiltrated the Brightnight Sect?"

"In-Palm Kunpeng Jiao Li, the strongest Dharma Realm Grandmaster among the Zhourao." Sun Feiyang betrayed his collaborator without hesitation.

"Why would he help you?" Ding Songyan asked.

Sun Feiyang’s ghost suddenly laughed, the sound full of malice.

"The Gan Kingdom also wants to exploit the consort selection. What they don’t know is that the Way Master intends to move against them too. Demon Seed bearers are already hidden among their three upper species."

The Gan Kingdom’s three upper species were the Giants, Exemplars, and Zhourao.

Does the Demon Sovereign want to plunge the whole world into chaos? That would be an enormous evil... Ding Songyan committed the name In-Palm Kunpeng Jiao Li to memory, then considered his next question.

"Who was the Ghost Yu Way assassin assigned to kill Tao Wenshu?"

Sun Feiyang’s ghost shook his head.

"We paid, and they sent an assassin. I don’t know who they sent."

Phew... Ding Songyan let out a breath, then asked with a trace of curiosity, "Did you break the contract and refuse to pay the Ghost Yu Way the balance?"

"The Ghost Yu Way takes deposits from everyone else, but makes us pay in full upfront. Sooner or later, we’ll kill them all!" Sun Feiyang’s ghost said through gritted teeth.

What a villain... Ding Songyan thought for a moment, then asked, "Why send a genuine Two-Faced like Fu Yangquan to Dingjiang Prefecture? Compared to a Two-Faced made with a Demon Seed, he’s more selfish and treacherous, less obedient, and more likely to cause trouble."

Looking like a savage, gaunt old tiger, Sun Feiyang stared at Ding Songyan and asked in a trembling voice, "Who is Fu Yangquan?"