Chapter 67: We are All Doing It for the Sake of the Demon Sect

As the Branch Master, the cultivator with the highest prowess in the entire branch, who had even received systematic training at the headquarters and studied the true essence of the demonic path, what kind of spectacle had he not witnessed?

Yet this spectacle, he truly had never seen before.

If it were the Deacons showing consideration for his hard work and preparing in advance, he could still understand, and might even feel gratified.

But what was the deal with you three? Which patch of dirt did you crawl out from?

Once the Branch Master figured out the root of the problem, his gaze grew cold enough to kill; these three were impersonating examiners to screen out their competitors in advance.

"What a brilliant tactic!" the Branch Master said through gritted teeth.

The three were still pretending to be examiners as Lu Yang propped his legs up on the table: "Wanting to pass the inspection without bribing us? Next."

The next person respectfully presented spirit stones as a tribute to the three examiners. Meng Jingzhou weighed them, deemed it insufficient, and asked, "Do you have any experience joining demonic cults?"

"No."

"Oh, terribly sorry, we don't take people without experience. Go back."

"..." The man felt the examiners might as well have written the words "we are simply not hiring" across their faces.

Like a phantom, the Branch Master appeared behind the trio, his breath freezing as his Golden Core aura radiated without reserve, sending the three of them flying into the wall with a single slap: "How dare you three, posing as examiners here!"

If he had come any later, everyone would have run off!

Lu Yang pried himself off the wall and hurriedly said, "My lord, we are wronged! We are thinking entirely of the demonic cult's best interests!"

Amused by the sheer audacity, the Branch Master asked with a cold laugh, "Then why don't you explain exactly how you were looking out for the cult?"

"Think about it, my lord. As demonic cultivators, one ought to be suspicious and inquisitive, never trusting others easily. Look at these people; the moment the three of us sat here, they believed we were the examiners. Not a single person questioned it."

"Falling for a trick so easily, wouldn't they be easily deceived by others? If there were clever individuals from the righteous path, they could fool them every single time."

"Furthermore, only righteous cultivators believe whatever anyone says. I even suspect there might be undercover spies from the righteous path among them. You must investigate their identities thoroughly, my lord, and not let any righteous cultivators slip in!"

At this point, Lu Yang even cast a suspicious glare over the crowd participating in the trial, wearing an expression that practically screamed "there is definitely a spy among you."

Lu Yang spoke with such sincerity, looking entirely like he was acting for the Branch Master's sake.

The Branch Master's expression softened slightly.

Meng Jingzhou sounded even more earnest than Lu Yang, speaking straight from the heart: "Moreover, demonic cultivators are selfish and look out only for themselves. With so many people attending the trial this time, we naturally had to find ways to reduce the competition!"

"They were inferior in skill and got tricked; who can they blame? They can only blame their own lack of experience in deceiving others!"

The Branch Master's brow unfurled, feeling that this was indeed the trio's genuine thoughts.

Quite right. Demonic cultivators ought to be lawless and unscrupulous. Back when he joined the cult, he had also used every trick in the book to gain the appreciation of the higher-ups and secure his current position.

The methods of these three excelled even his own back then; the students had surpassed the master.

Man Gu gave the most grounded statement, declaring his stance: "We truly want to join the demonic cult, and we guarantee we won't do a single good deed!"

The Branch Master nodded gently. Perhaps these three could also gain the favor of the higher-ups, raising the headquarters' evaluation of the Yanjiang Branch to a higher level.

The crowd glared furiously at Lu Yang and his companions. They were all notorious scoundrels, rogues, and swindlers in the underworld, yet none were as shameless as these three, cheating people so ruthlessly!

Had the Branch Master not been present, they would have swarmed forward to tear these three bastards to pieces.

The Branch Master cared nothing for the thoughts of the rabble below; how could a crowd of mediocre talents compare to the value of these three?

"What are your cultivation levels?"

Lu Yang replied respectfully, "All at the early Foundation Establishment stage. We three brothers are from out of town and arrived in Yanjiang County a month ago. We happened to hear the demonic cult was recruiting and wanted to try our luck. Seeing too many competitors, we resorted to this strategy."

"Well done." The more the Branch Master looked at the three, the more satisfied he became. Fine prospects indeed, all counting toward his performance review.

With his casual wave just now, an ordinary early Foundation Establishment cultivator would have been injured. Yet these three were completely unharmed, indicating they were outstanding among their peers.

If these three performed reasonably well in the trial, promoting them to Deacons would not be out of the question.

Those who had been eliminated by Lu Yang also returned one after another, summoned by the Branch Master on his way over.

These eliminated individuals resented Lu Yang even more than the rest. Lu Yang felt that if he were to kill them right now, they might transform directly into vengeful spirits.

The Branch Master opened the stone wall once more and said to everyone, "All of you, come in."

Behind the stone wall lay a vast, dark space where giant rocks floated, connected by massive chains—a magnificent sight.

Lu Yang's suspicion was confirmed; the Yanjiang Branch was located within a hidden grotto-heaven.

The Branch Master's attitude toward the trio was distinctly different from how he treated the others: "Your reasoning was good, and your execution in eliminating the competition was commendable. But you were wrong from the very beginning. Eliminating these people, or even if only the three of you took the trial, does not guarantee you would pass."

"What does that mean?" Lu Yang and the others were puzzled.

The Branch Master beneath the mask smiled without answering. Stepping onto the floating rocks, he led the crowd to the largest floating boulder.

This was a platform with intricate and magnificent runes carved into the ground. Four ancient stone pillars stood in the cardinal directions, and eleven black-robed Deacons stood at their posts, guarding the edges of the platform.

"Spread out, sit down, and relax your minds."

Once everyone complied, the Branch Master walked to the center of the platform, where a jade-green stone hovered, its surface densely engraved with mysterious symbols.

The Branch Master channeled spiritual energy into the stone, activating the array beneath their feet. It rotated and expanded, duplicating and multiplying until it covered the entire platform in an instant.

The platform resembled an awakening ancient beast, using a mysterious power from the primordial era to transport everyone into an unknown space.

Within a pure white space, shadowy figures stood around in a daze, completely bewildered by what had happened.

Whenever Lu Yang saw a pure white space, he always half-expected a Tofu Heavenly Venerate to suddenly pop out of the crowd.

Lu Yang realized that neither Meng Jingzhou nor Man Gu was by his side; the surroundings were filled entirely with strangers.

"Brother, where are you from?" Lu Yang asked rather familiarly, though the man did not seem accustomed to Lu Yang's enthusiasm.

Feeling it would be rude to remain silent, the man replied, "From Huangyue City."

Lu Yang questioned several people in a row and discovered they came from different demonic cult outposts, all transported here through the giant array.

Lu Yang roughly understood the Branch Master's meaning. This selection was not conducted independently by each outpost, but was organized by the headquarters, a simultaneous trial for all loose demonic cultivators.

"This feels like an astral projection, yet it's somewhat different," Lu Yang murmured to himself. He sensed that what the platform transported was not their physical bodies, but rather something like their consciousness.

"Interesting. I wonder if Eldest Senior Sister could..." Lu Yang halted his thoughts. If he was currently in a state of pure thought, perhaps the Immortal Cult had a way to detect what he was thinking.

Best to be cautious.

Suddenly, the entire space darkened, and a figure radiating a white aura appeared in midair.

The figure spoke indifferently: "This seat is the Vice Leader of the Immortal Cult. I have set three trials for you all. Those who pass all three trials may enter our cult."