Chapter 170: Chapter 75: 9-Illusion Mirage-Demon Scripture

“Are you trying to stall for time, my dear junior brother?” Wu Siming sneered contemptuously. “To hear you talk, you’ve suspected me for a long time.”

“The truth is, aside from Meng Sima, I haven’t trusted a single person in the Governor’s Mansion,” Yang Jing said nonchalantly.

Meng Sima was the third most powerful man in the Northern Army Governor’s Mansion. If even he couldn’t be trusted, the entire mansion would have long been in a state of precarious collapse.

But Yang Jing had carefully studied the intelligence before coming to the Northern Domain. The Northern Army Governor’s Mansion still held the upper hand in its war against the Four Demon Sects.

Battle reports could be forged, but the captured Demon Sect Flying Boats, the resource consumption of the War Flying Boats, the promotions and casualties among the Demon Suppression Army’s officers, and the losses of transport Flying Boats journeying to the Central Continent could not.

Thanks to his sect’s connections, Yang Jing could easily obtain all this information.

The Northern Army Governor’s Mansion had well and truly beaten back the Demon Sect’s Flying Boats, ensuring they didn’t dare venture south.

“Especially you, Senior Brother Wu. As the Minister responsible for the Demon Cultivators of the Six Sects, you claimed victory after victory in the Outer Domain, yet the Seven Kingdoms are plagued by a scourge of Demon Cultivators. Under these circumstances, either you are utterly incompetent, or you’re deliberately letting them run rampant.”

Wu Siming’s expression darkened. Yang Jing’s mind was far more meticulous than he had imagined.

“The culture of incompetence among the Demon Patrol Envoys—you intentionally cultivated that, didn’t you?”

Yang Jing said. “In fact, I was suspicious of you even before I arrived at the Northern Army Governor’s Mansion. But upon meeting you in person, that suspicion was shaken.”

“When I first reported for duty, I deliberately dumped that pile of Demon Cultivator heads from my Storage Bag. I wanted to use the opportunity to test you.”

“Because under the observation of my Grotto Dark Dharma Eye, the instant you saw that pile of heads, there was no abnormality in your expression or Magical Power fluctuations.”

“I found it hard to believe a Demon Sect spy could control their emotions to such a degree, to instantly feign a look of shock and delight so perfectly, without the slightest hint of artificiality.”

“After that test, I dismissed my suspicions. I simply wrote you off as an incompetent fool who had climbed to the position of Minister by relying on his family’s status.”

Wu Siming’s face went black. He never imagined that while Yang Jing was so warmly calling him “Senior Brother Wu” to his face, he was secretly thinking of him as a worthless fool.

“Such a duplicitous man. I think you’d be more in your element in my Illusion Demon Sect than you are in the Five Elements True Spirit Sect.”

“But the moment I found the Five Aggregates Demon on Zhang Lu, you immediately became my prime suspect.”

Yang Jing took out the Name List Jade Scroll for the Northern Army Governor’s Mansion.

“Take Pei Jizhen. He’s from the Profound Pure Sect, same as you, and serves as an Inspector. That position is responsible for reviewing and correcting official case files, giving him access to a large number of the Governor’s Mansion’s classified documents. It’s a low-ranking post with significant power—a crucial role. He’s subject to periodic examinations, so if you had planted a Five Aggregates Demon in his Divine Soul, it would have been discovered before long.”

“Besides, Pei Jizhen can control numerous Puppets at once, which clearly means he has an Innately powerful Divine Soul. Combined with his background from the Profound Pure Sect, an ordinary Five Aggregates Demon could never have controlled him.”

“Zhang Lu was different. As a disciple of the Alchemy Cauldron Sect, she was just a minor Craftsman Official responsible for Refining a few Elixirs for the Governor’s Mansion. The oversight on her would be far more lax.”

Yang Jing watched as Wu Siming’s expression changed.

“You planted the Five Aggregates Demon in Zhang Lu before she ever met Pei Jizhen. The fact that they became Daoist partners was your arrangement as well, wasn’t it?”

Wu Siming’s eyes shot open. His gaze, now fixed on Yang Jing, held a trace of fear. Yang Jing had been right about everything.

“That woman, Zhang Lu, is shallow, vain, and utterly worthless aside from her pretty face. If I hadn’t used the Five Aggregates Demon to alter her personality, how could Pei Jizhen possibly have fallen for her, let alone become so utterly subservient to her?” he said with utter contempt.

“My original target was Yang Jingxu. I was even looking forward to having a taste of her myself. Unfortunately, she was too vigilant and never gave me an opening.”

’Damn,’ Yang Jing thought. He’d never expected his ’dear Senior Brother’ to cuckold his own sect-brother. Wu Siming had been plowing the very woman Pei Jizhen cherished so much.

“Yang Jing, do you really think you can oppose me just because you comprehended Five Thunders United?!”

Billowing Demonic Qi erupted from Wu Siming’s body. His Cultivation was actually at Foundation Establishment Perfection, not the Seventh Layer Foundation Establishment he showed on the surface.

“I came here today intending only to kill you and silence you for good. I never expected you to be so perceptive. If I don’t eliminate you today, you will become a grave threat to my Demon Sect in the future!”

The next moment, his form flickered. As the Demonic Qi surged, one Demon Shadow after another materialized around him.

A chill went through Yang Jing’s heart.

’So he really is practicing the Demon Skill, the Nine Illusions Mirage Demon Scripture.’

This scripture was one of the fundamental Demon Skills of the Illusion Demon Sect. To even begin, a practitioner had to perform a Demon Summoning, calling upon a Nine Illusion Mirage Demon from beyond the heavens and absorbing the Demonic Qi it released.

This first step was incredibly perilous. The Nine Illusion Mirage Demon was a Great Demon on par with the Nascent Soul Level. Without a master or elder standing guard, a cultivator’s Divine Soul would be instantly seized, turning them into the Demon’s Puppet.

Afterward, cultivation no longer required direct Demon Summoning. The practitioner only needed to provide an offering of blood and flesh, then open the Heaven and Earth Embryonic Membrane to draw Demonic Qi from across space. However, if the Nine Illusion Mirage Demon was ever displeased with the offering, it would still attack the Cultivator.

Only after forming a Demon Talisman within one’s body could they cease their constant supplication to the Nine Illusion Mirage Demon.

The power of this Cultivation Technique was well worth the difficulty of its practice; even the Inconstant Illusionary Form Technique was based on it.

A Cultivator who mastered the Nine Illusions Mirage Demon Scripture could even use its Demonic Qi to ensnare Celestial Demons, commanding them as if they were mere servants. Unlike other Demon Cultivators who performed Demon Summoning with terror in their hearts, as if treading on thin ice, they could do so with ease.

The technique’s greatest effect was its ability to devour a slain Cultivator’s Divine Soul with one’s own Mirage Demon Qi, preserving most of the soul’s memories. Mirage Demon Qi excelled at imitating all forms of Magical Power and True Qi. The absorbed Divine Soul could then be used in two ways: it could become a clone, using Mirage Demon Qi to wield the deceased’s own Cultivation Techniques and Magical Artifacts, or it could be taken into the body to replace the user’s primary consciousness.

’This Demon Cultivator normally lets Wu Siming’s own consciousness drive his body. The host himself doesn’t even know he’s a Demon Cultivator. Of course it was a flawless, seamless deception. Even I was fooled.’

“It seems the only reason you’ve hidden for so long is the profound nature of the Nine Illusions Mirage Demon Scripture. You yourself are nothing but a pathetic, small-brained waste.”

Yang Jing shook his head, a little disappointed.

His words instantly sent Wu Siming into a fury.

A brilliant Spiritual Light flared from one of the Demon Shadows as it brandished a shimmering Seal that crackled with purple lightning.

“Your Five Elements True Spirit Sect has an impressive Five Elements Thunder Technique. Let’s see how it compares to the Taixiao Thunder of the Supreme Profound Upper Yang Sect! We’ll find out which is superior! As for these four disciples of yours, I’ll start by taking their heads!”

Yang Jing’s expression turned cold.

“Who told you that my greatest skill is a Thunder Technique?”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep