Chapter 116: There Are Always Those Seeking Death

“Night Nine Demon, are you still refusing to come out? Are you trying to defy the Hall of Rewards and Punishments?!”

The disciple immediately branded Night Nine Demon with the charge of defying the Hall of Rewards and Punishments. According to the sect’s rules, the offense could be treated as either serious or minor—but at this moment, it was clearly a grave one.

After all, today was unlike any other day.

Today marked the investiture and promotion of a major sect’s disciples. If the proceedings were delayed because of one person, the consequences would be severe.

“Do you know that disturbing someone’s sleep is as vile as murdering his wife and children?!”

A bone-chilling aura suddenly erupted. It lingered around everyone’s ears before rising from the soles of their feet and surging straight toward the crown of their heads.

A suffocating pressure gathered above the sky. Everyone fell silent, not even daring to breathe too loudly for fear of disturbing the person inside.

Night Nine Demon would never dare kill me. I am a disciple of the Hall of Rewards and Punishments. If he killed me, someone would certainly intervene. He could not possibly have the courage to do it.

With that thought, the disciple shouted again, “Night Nine Demon, do you dare defy the Hall of Rewards and Punishments?!”

“How noisy.”

A long staff shot out from inside the room. The wind howled around it, accompanied by the crash of thunder. In the blink of an eye, it had arrived before the disciple—then came to an abrupt stop.

“Ah… it stopped… It actually stopped…”

Cold sweat poured down the disciple’s face. The Astral Staff, pressed against his vital point, drew his gaze upward despite himself, and his eyes filled with terror.

All he could see was the staff wrapped in swirling stars, stopping less than a hair’s breadth from piercing through his skull. Relief spread across his face, but it was accompanied by unmistakable smugness.

“Hmph. At least you know your place. If I die, no one will be able to save you!”

The disciple threatened him once more.

“Sigh. Why are there always so many people in this world who insist on courting death? If you don’t go looking for trouble, how could you possibly die? Since you’re so eager to die, then I’ll grant your wish.”

The instant Night Nine Demon finished speaking, the Astral Staff once again unleashed its full power. It pierced straight through the disciple’s skull, splattering blood across the ground.

“This…”

“He just killed him?”

“Is he not afraid of the Hall of Rewards and Punishments?”

“…”

The disciples stared at the man Night Nine Demon had killed, their faces filled with shock. The sight was simply too stimulating.

A disciple of the Hall of Rewards and Punishments had just died—and at the hands of a newcomer. They were astonished, and even Ning Ling was no exception.

After all, slaughtering one’s fellow disciples was a grave crime.

“Who killed a disciple of my Hall of Rewards and Punishments?!”

After only a few breaths, a divine will descended. A figure appeared in the sky, tall and imposing, radiating an absolute and overwhelming pressure.

This man was Thousand Currents, Sect Master of the Thousand Leaves Sect.

He was also the master of the Thousand Leaves Sect’s Hall of Rewards and Punishments.

“Three old men, are you still not coming out?”

Night Nine Demon ignored him and instead called toward the void. Three old men immediately appeared at the entrance to his room.

“Your Eminence, please calm your anger. They are merely a few blind dogs. Cao Zheng, go explain everything to the Sect Master. I’ll set the examination question.”

“This… but…”

“What do you mean, ‘this’ and ‘but’? I can handle it. Go.”

“All right.”

After hearing Whitebrow’s words, Cao Zheng flew away at once. The figure in the sky had yet to disperse, but after seeing the three men, he seemed to understand what had happened, and the anger faded from his face.

His eyes nevertheless remained fixed below. Only when a voice came from beside him did the figure finally vanish.

“Ning Ling, take them to the Hall of Rewards and Punishments. Don’t play any tricks, or I’ll kill you.”

Ning Ling wore a long-suffering expression, his face full of helplessness. How had he happened to encounter this scene—and, by an even greater misfortune, crossed paths with these three shameless old men?

Ning Ling felt as though the sky had turned dark today. He could not sense even the slightest trace of light.

But he did not dare say so. After all, he had witnessed the shamelessness of these three old men countless times. He had seen it even back when he himself had not yet distinguished himself.

Therefore, he had to endure it.

…

“Disciple, your master has come to set you a question.”

“I specialize in artifact refining, so I’ll test you on that first.”

How shameless, Night Nine Demon thought inwardly.

He had only made an offhand remark, saying they could set whatever questions they wished in order to make things difficult for him. Yet now the three old men were truly setting questions as they pleased. If his guess was correct, the other two would each test him in their own areas of expertise, taking turns one after another.

How shameless!

“Ask.”

Night Nine Demon was not afraid in the slightest. After all, influenced by the countless figures within the Azure Waves Diagram, he truly had no idea what fear meant.

If anyone was going to be afraid, it would be the three old men.

“Why do Iron Ruthless and Pure Wood Lotus each collapse after being used once when forging the Mandarin-Duck Hidden Weapons?”

“Hmm…”

Night Nine Demon suddenly adopted a thoughtful tone.

“Haha, I knew he wouldn’t know. I read about this in an ancient text…”

“Such a simple question, and you don’t know the answer?”

Night Nine Demon suddenly interrupted Whitebrow and directly threw the question back at him.

“Disciple, one should always be humble. Although your master does know…”

Whitebrow abruptly fell silent. He seemed to realize that Night Nine Demon had been asking him the question—not claiming that he did not know the answer.

“Iron Ruthless and Pure Wood Lotus are two kinds of metal. The first is iron melted into molten metal under extremely high temperatures. Because flowing water is merciless, it is commonly called Iron Ruthless.”

“Pure Wood Lotus, meanwhile, comes from a tree known as the wood lotus. From the seedling stage onward, it grows within metallic materials, absorbing their metallic properties. Since it contains numerous metallic elements, it was given the convenient name Pure Wood Lotus.”

Night Nine Demon spoke aloud, explaining everything in an unhurried manner.

Whitebrow nodded after hearing this, showing that he agreed with Night Nine Demon’s explanation. Yu Xiu, standing nearby, looked somewhat confused. This was outside his field of expertise, and he could not understand a word.

“The Mandarin-Duck Hidden Weapons require one part yin and one part yang. Molten metal is a purely yang substance—extremely yang, extremely hard, and violently powerful—so it will naturally suffer damage during use.”

“Pure Wood Lotus, on the other hand, happens to be able to temper the ferocity of Iron Ruthless. However…”

Night Nine Demon reached the crucial point and suddenly stopped. Whitebrow felt an unbearable itch in his heart. The ancient text had said exactly the same thing—and had also ended at this point.

That was why Whitebrow was suffering so badly.

“Go on! Why did you stop?!”

“You must first admit that you can’t stump me. Then I’ll continue.”

Night Nine Demon remained wary. These three old men were far too shameless. He had to make them admit defeat first; otherwise, if they went back on their word later, would he not be the one to suffer?

So Night Nine Demon insisted that Whitebrow acknowledge it first.

“Fine, I admit defeat. Continue.”

“However, Pure Wood Lotus has absorbed countless metals and already contains a fierce, unyielding force within it. Although it possesses a fusing effect, that force is also extremely lethal.”

“Do you understand now?”

“I see!”

After hearing the explanation, Whitebrow’s face lit up with sudden understanding. He had always overlooked this tiny detail. No wonder he had researched the matter for so long without making the slightest progress.

Now that Night Nine Demon had explained it, everything became clear. Yet one point still puzzled him, so he asked another question.

“When I tested the Pure Wood Lotus, I found no trace of that fierce force. How do you explain that?”

“That’s because you failed to fight poison with poison!”

“Fight poison with poison?”

“Exactly. You should choose an even more powerful fusion metal and allow the two materials to merge. Then you’ll be able to test it properly.”

“I understand.”

With Night Nine Demon’s guidance, Whitebrow immediately grasped the principle. The logic was simple.

As long as the other metal was stronger, it would force the first metal out—just as iron displaces copper from copper sulfate. The reasoning was quite straightforward.