Ling Xiao felt slightly embarrassed, a feeling he was foreign to, after receiving so much from Ancestor Qi Mo. "Please. Tell me, master."
"My whereabouts were leaked by a member of my Seven Devils Cult. I can't tell you who it was, I do not know. But whoever becomes the next leader of the Seven Devils Cult is the culprit. Kill them and become the leader!" Ancestor Qi Mo exclaimed, a cold glint flashing through his eyes.
As he listened to his new master, Ling Xiao felt a shiver run down his spine.
Ancestor Qi Mo continued. "As for the second matter you have to take care of. After you've become strong enough, annihilate the seven sects of the Celestial Soul Masters, the Seven Grand Holy Lands!"
Both of these matters were far out of the current Ling Xiao's reach.
Before today, Ling Xiao didn't even know about the existence of the Seven Devils Cult, nor about the Seven Grand Holy Lands. Yet now he was thrown into the middle of them. Celestial Soul Masters numbered in the tens of thousands were outside, each and every single one of them capable of crushing him like he could an ant, effortlessly.
Ling Xiao wasn't so stupid as to go after the Seven Grand Holy Lands. However, if he didn't promise Ancestor Qi Mo these things, there was no future for him. Ancestor Qi Mo would kill him, then take the chain from his still warm corpse, all without batting an eye.
Although Ancestor Qi Mo had taken him in as his disciple, Ling Xiao wasn't so foolish as to think the old devil would really treat him as such. At most, he was but a tool used for revenge.
After considering these matters at lightning speed, Ling Xiao nodded affirmatively. "Master, your enemy is my enemy. I will avenge you!"
But in his heart, Ling Xiao gave a different speech. Be at ease, master. I will stand by your side, if I have the ability to do so. However, what I can not do, there's no helping it. You can't blame me. I'll consider everything in the Demonic Seven Souls Chain as payment for all my troubles. Hehe.
Ancestor Qi Mo's face suddenly sank. "You expect me to just take you at your word? Dream on, boy! You will make a poison oath with your soul. If you fail my two tasks, your offspring will bear the brunt. The men will become slaves, the women prostitutes!"
Aargghhhhhh! Why me?! Fine! I'll take that damned poison oath! Ling Xiao howled in his heart.
Ancestor Qi Mo pointed his finger at Ling Xiao's ophryon. A red wisp emerged from Ling Xiao's head as it was drawn out by Ancestor Qi Mo.
Ling Xiao understood that if he didn't take this poison oath, the old demon standing before him would kill him without any hesitation.
"I, Ling Xiao, swear on my soul. If I do not complete the two tasks master set, my offspring will bear the brunt. The men will become slaves, the women prostitutes."
After Ling Xiao took the poison oath, a strange wisp of green smoke emerged from his head. It flew over to Ancestor Qi Mo's finger, where it combined with the red strand.
Ancestor Qi Mo was pleased with himself. He placed his finger back on Ling Xiao's ophryon, and the red wisp flew back into Ling Xiao's mind.
"As you become stronger, you'll understand just what binding power a soul oath has. I won't be there to remind you. Before we part, there's another thing I need to tell you. Your soul is an oddity comprising of two elements, a celestial part and a demonic one. Train both. As long as you don't reveal your demonic soulforce in front of others, no one will know of our connection. For now, you'll be safe. Comprehend the cultivation technique in the Demonic Seven Souls Chain and wait until you're strong enough before you avenge… Huh? Everyone has already left the city?" Ancestor Qi Mo frowned. "It seems like those guys will be here any moment now!"
When he heard Ancestor Qi Mo mention he had a special soul, Ling Xiao's face twitched unexpectedly.
…
After the last citizen had left Northern Jade City, the tens of thousands of Celestial Soul Masters floating in the air immediately stopped what they were doing and descended.
The large eyeball lost its brilliance as the dry, wrinkly protective layer that looked like a tree bark enclosed it. Its former boulder-like appearance was restored once more.
Almost all Celestial Soul Masters had descended, but there were still seven floating high above Northern Jade City. Each one of them wore a different style of clothing. But even though they looked so different from one another, they shared a certain characteristic. All of them disdainfully looked down on the world, as if the people here were below them.
They were the kind of people Ling Xiao hoped to become, the superheroes of his dreams!
"I warned you guys. We don't need to be afraid of that old demon escaping if we just exterminate the entire city! Now we had to waste so many of our disciples' soulforce to take out the Devil's Eye. And it was all for nothing!" A middle-aged man amongst the group of seven angrily said, a malicious air hanging around him.
"Royal Hall Master Wang's remark is poor. We're the Celestial Soul Masters. How could we stoop to the level of a demon?" an old man dressed in green garments asked. "Valley Master Shen Nanfeng is right. If we were to lay waste to this piece of land for just a single demon, what must our disciples think of us? Perhaps they have relatives living within these city walls!"
Royal Hall Master Wang sneered, "Enlightened Wu Jing, don't be fooled. Valley Master Shen's opinion is sweet, but I just feel sorry about Northern Jade City being his territory and all. If we can exterminate Ancestor Qi Mo, it's worth it even if we were to sacrifice 100 cities! The civilians of this city won't die in vain!"
"Bullshit!" a middle-aged man exclaimed. He wore a short sleeved gray robe and had a sinister glint on his face, anger flashing in his widened eyes. "Master Wang Zeyuan of the Royal Hall, don't stand up and talk, you'll just hurt your waist!"
A blue robed, middle-aged man interrupted their argument. With an apathetic face, he said, "Alright. We've found Ancestor Qi Mo. You guys better concentrate. Don't let that devil land an attack on you. Even if you don't die, your cultivation will be greatly damaged. Don't say that I, Li Xuanyi, didn't warn you guys."
Everyone exclaimed in surprise, "Where's the old devil?"
"Over there!" Li Xuanyi's hands were beautiful like orchids. Countless circular spatial arrays took form and shone with blue light, scattering from his fingers at his command. They headed toward a remote corner within Northern Jade City and pressed down against a low and tattered house.
In the time it took one to snap their fingers, countless spatial arrays attacked the tattered house. A fierce explosion smashed the place into fine powder, but it didn't affect the surrounding houses.
It could be said Li Xuanyi had reached perfection when it came to the control of power.
Whoosh! A black light rocketed into the sky as the seven of them rushed over at once, surrounding this ray of black light at the fastest speed possible.
The seven of them didn't immediately take action because a young man with fear plastered all over his face was detained right in front of the black light that was Ancestor Qi Mo. This youngster's howl, resembling a pig being slaughtered, was loud and clear for all to hear. "Help me!"
"Haha!" Ancestor Qi Mo heartily laughed. "Scumbags from the Seven Grand Holy Lands, don't you guys brag as being the warriors of justice? Didn't you guys say you'll protect every single civilian? I have a small guy in my hands right now. If you guys think you can do it, try and save him! If not, hehe…"
Ancestor Qi Mo suddenly held a dagger in his hand which was covered in a faint green light. Anyone who saw it, knew it was coated in a highly toxic poison.
"I will stab this boy 108 times with this dagger, covering his entire body in poison. Like this, he won't immediately die. What do you guys think will happen to him?"
Once his words fell on their ears, Ancestor Qi Mo made his move and slit the young man's arm.
The youngster in question was none other than Ling Xiao. When Ancestor Qi Mo cut open his arm, a dark green substance which resembled moss quickly spread over his arm in all directions.
Although Ling Xiao and Ancestor Qi Mo were putting up a show in front of the powerhouses of the Seven Grand Holy Lands, the expression of horror on Ling Xiao's face was anything but fake.
Since this was the first time Ling Xiao was flying hundreds of meters high in the air, Ancestor Qi Mo double checked his Flying Apsara. If it malfunctioned and he was forced to let go of Ling Xiao, the young boy would fall to his death, becoming a meat patty.
Besides, Ling Xiao was in no state to worry about such matters himself. The faintly discernable pressurising aura emitting from the seven powerhouses was already strong enough to cause a sudden surge in Ling Xiao's demonic soulforce, leaving him dizzy.
Thankfully, they didn't notice the demonic soulforce in Ling Xiao's body since he had the Demonic Seven Souls Chain keeping it under wraps. On top of that, the seven were focused on Ancestor Qi Mo, not Ling Xiao.
At this moment, Ancestor Qi Mo brutally stabbed Ling Xiao's arm once more, making him feel as though he was the most unfortunate person in the entire universe.
This damned bastard is really hacking away! Didn't we agree to just fool them? Why are you acting it out so damned realistically? Ling Xiao violently howled in his heart. The pain caused by the wounds pierced his bones as it bore its way to his heart, materializing the internal violent howls into an extremely tragic pig's wail.
The seven Celestial Soul Masters all had different expressions on their faces as they carefully surrounded Ancestor Qi Mo.
The guy with a malicious look on his face, Wang Zeyuan, was about to make a move when Enlightened Wu Jing's voice transmitted into his brain, "Stop! Our disciples are looking at us from below! That boy is screaming so loudly, they definitely know the demon has taken a civilian hostage! If we can't save this boy, as the masters of the Seven Grand Holy Lands, we will lose all face!"
"What do you suggest we do?" Wang Zeyuan countered.
"Negotiate." A woman's voice suddenly floated over. "Li Xuanyi already locked down the surrounding area. This old demon can't escape. We'll pretend to negotiate and feign civility, killing him when he's caught off-guard!"
Wang Zeyuan looked toward the source of the voice—a middle-aged woman dressed in a long purple robe—and nodded. "Master of the Supreme Sect, we'll abide by your wishes."
The middle-aged woman looked like she conformed with the norms of society. She wasn't ugly, per se. But if Ling Xiao had to describe her, he would say her face was as ugly as a toad's!
Ancestor Qi Mo raised the dagger up high, a menacing laugh slipping from his lips. "If you don't give way, this old ancestor will…"
"Stop!" Li Xuanyi shouted out. "Speak up! What do you want?"
Ancestor Qi Mo put his raised hand down and placed the dagger against Ling Xiao's throat. "Open the spatial lock. The boy is all yours after I've left!"
Li Xuanyi immediately barked, "No! We can't trust a demon like you! Once you release this boy, I swear on my reputation as the mayor of Heavenly River City, I will undo the spatial lock and let you leave safely!"
"Humph! I don't believe you guys. Agree to my terms, or the boy dies with me! And with so many people here, the entire Clear Sky Continent will know of your incompetence, unable to save even a single boy!"
Li Xuanyi's expression froze over as he shook his head. "You actually dared to look down on my, Li Xuanyi's, reputation! It looks like I really can't deal with you without resorting to some tricks!"
The six gems on Li Xuanyi's chain flashed with a blue light and two light pentagram arrays formed in his eyes that were as clear as water.
Standing right in front of him, Ling Xiao suddenly trembled as a wave of pain washed over his eyes, causing him to instinctively close them. This is bad! This fellow is going to flip out!