Master of Strange Dao

"""

"Why is Old Emperor Zhen involved again?"

"I have reliable information that Old Emperor Zhen's seal has been broken in four places, yet there's no news of it outside. Dazhen also remains silent, which is quite suspicious. You wouldn't want to see a Ninth Tier Peak, or possibly even a Tenth Tier body cultivator appear, would you?"

"He won't be coming back," came a hoarse, cold voice from the corner, belonging to someone who hadn't spoken before. Hearing this person speak, everyone immediately dropped the discussion about Old Emperor Zhen.

"What next?"

"The momentum has started, so continue. Pay attention to the changes that will occur once the Dadui seal is broken."

The people in the secret chamber quietly disappeared one by one until only the person leading the meeting remained. The individual who had spoken only one sentence from the corner also stayed behind.

"Why can't Old Emperor Zhen return?"

"Heh heh..." The man in the corner chuckled softly, "Because they can't find Old Emperor Zhen's head, nor can they find the Suppression Land."

"Were you the one who went to suppress Old Emperor Zhen's head?"

"It wasn't me."

"Then how do you know that Old Emperor Zhen's seal has been removed in four places?"

"By the rules, you shouldn't ask this question."

"Fine, I won't ask then, but you must know where the fifth one is?"

"I don't know either, but you can keep an eye on the two families with the seals."

"What about over at Jinlan Mountain?"

"Just send someone to watch. If that Mountain Goat Demon appears, or Qing Ziyu shows up, just grab them and question them. Jinlan Mountain has always been involved in Dadui's matters; they must know something."

The shadowy figure in the corner disappeared quietly.

The person leading the meeting frowned slightly, looking at the corner.

"Those guys really make people uncomfortable..."

...

The Shi family's once-prominent second son lay in bed recuperating. He felt uncomfortable all over but was unaware that a mix of black and red flames had already quietly merged into his bloodstream, waiting silently to grow stronger and erupt completely.

A black-robed figure approached Shi Laoer again, continuing to question him about some things. In addition, he passed a trace of energy through Shi Laoer's entire body, helping him to recover and laying a foundation for his future healing.

However, when he retrieved that energy, an imperceptible trace of black and red flame, devoid of any energy fluctuation, had already infiltrated his power, taking root in the deepest part of his Qi Sea.

In theory, such a weak power should have been instantly obliterated when facing a Ninth Tier's power.

Unfortunately, that trace of black and red flame had already silently merged into his strength. As it traveled throughout his body, it took root in the deepest part of his Qi Sea, like a small, dimly-lit flame in a sea.

It was an extinguishable fire.

Yu Ziqing only intended to test slightly but never expected that, following Shi Laoer's downfall, the world was so cold and indifferent.

He also didn't anticipate that after a Shi family Ninth Tier passed away, it would take several days for anyone to investigate whether Shi Laoer could be found.

Hence, that little seed was given ample time to fully integrate into Shi Laoer's body.

The fusion of rage and black flame had already caused a mutation.

It seemed nonexistent, yet it could use the intent of rage as guidance to start infecting others.

The Shi family had lost a Ninth Tier pillar, yet they still had to keep it secret and dared not hold a funeral.

On one hand, someone didn't allow them to hold a funeral; on the other, they feared that without their pillar, they would attract covetous eyes.

They didn't dare to invite an outside physician to examine Shi Laoer.

When everyone else left, Shi Laoer lay alone on the bed, his eyes glaring with anger.

He didn't expect that after struggling desperately to crawl back from those mountains, he would end up being treated like this.

His heart was full of desolation, and anger surged up continuously.

However, he could no longer sense that his anger was fuel, incessantly adding to the fire within him, allowing it to continually grow.

In just a few days, that formless flame that had merged throughout his body had burrowed into his Heart Field.

With a soft puff, it turned into a small flame, burning quietly.

Within his Heart Field, the Devil Thought, not yet fully formed, huddled in the corner shivering.

Just at a glance, the Devil Thought seemed to sense the rage of thousands, feeling the anger burn.

At the center of that rage was a pair of tightly shut eyes, which brought greater pressure to the Devil Thought than the flames themselves.

Shi Laoer was full of rage, unsure whether it was the seed taking effect or the previous powerful figure's energy alignment that played a role.

In his empty Qi Veins, new strength began to emerge, slowly repairing the damage to his Qi Veins.

At this moment, he finally felt all of this, and sensed the new power appearing.

However, the rage in his heart burned even more fiercely, and resentment spread like poison, inexhaustibly.

He didn't scream or shout, nor did he inform anyone.

It wasn't that he didn't want to tell others, but even the maidservant attending to him hadn't come in for an entire day.

Now he only had one maidservant to serve him.

By the time he saw others again, it was the next day, and he had already completely calmed down.

"""