novelbin Chapter 353 - 230: The Truth of the Mythical Era, The Strong Prey on the Weak, I am the Demon Venerable, Yun Qinghe of the Second Life
Chapter 353 - 230: The Truth of the Mythical Era, The Strong Prey on the Weak, I am the Demon Venerable, Yun Qinghe of the Second Life
"N-no..."
The two Nether Race Cultivators didn’t dare to object and could only lower their heads.
"And you?"
The Corpse Race man looked toward Lu Mingyuan, his eyes filled with mocking amusement.
’As long as I collect enough battle-corpses, my power will grow immense. This entrance challenge is practically tailor-made for me.’
"Me?"
Lu Mingyuan pointed to himself and asked in surprise.
"You’ve taken all the corpses. How am I supposed to get into the Great Nether Divine Institute?"
The Corpse Race man burst out laughing, his tone laced with scorn. "Hahaha, that’s simple—just don’t. The weak don’t deserve to enter the Divine Institute and study the Divine Prayer Skill."
Hearing this, Lu Mingyuan couldn’t help but sigh.
Seeing him react this way, the Corpse Race man laughed. "Scared?"
Lu Mingyuan shook his head. "No. I was just marveling at my good fortune. How lucky am I to run into a self-righteous idiot like you? You’ll make a perfect appetizer."
"You!"
Hearing this, the Corpse Race man flew into a rage.
SHING!
The next second.
A cold light flashed.
The Corpse Race man’s expression froze.
The next instant.
His head separated from his body, and a spray of green blood shot ten feet into the air.
Lu Mingyuan slowly sheathed his Bone Saber, his face still devoid of expression.
The onlookers were utterly stunned, rubbing their eyes in disbelief.
They hadn’t even seen the blur of the draw.
’How did this Witch Race guy do it?’
’That technique... it didn’t look like a Divine Prayer Skill...’
"Are you cultivating..."
Another man, this one from the Stone Race, looked shocked and was about to say something.
SWISH!
SWISH!
...
Several flashes of saber light flickered past.
Several bodies slumped lifelessly to the ground.
"It seems only the dead can keep secrets." Lu Mingyuan slowly sheathed his saber, his movements incomparably elegant, like a seasoned executioner.
Lu Mingyuan surveyed the corpses on the ground.
He cut off the heads of the Sect disciples, shouldering them to turn in as proof of his work.
As for the remaining bodies, he set them ablaze and chanted the Transmigration Scripture, offering the complete service: flesh incinerated, Divine Soul annihilated, and ashes scattered to the winds.
"You’re back?"
By the time Lu Mingyuan returned to the entrance of the Divine Institute’s grand hall, the Demon Race man was already waiting. Besides him were the prodigies from the other teams.
The Demon Race man made no mention of those who hadn’t returned, as if it wasn’t necessary.
He smiled faintly. "Good. From this day forward, you are disciples of the Divine Institute. You will begin your Cultivation from the very basics. Remember, you must be completely devout and faithful to the will of the Divine Venerables."
"In the Central Domain, there are a total of five Divine Venerables. Among them, Middle Saint Liu Venerable is one whose word is absolute law. If you can earn his favor, you can become a Divine Envoy and receive the boon of the Lord Heavenly God!"
’Middle Saint Liu Venerable?’
Lu Mingyuan’s brow furrowed.
He and this Liu Venerable had an irreconcilable blood feud. In his past life, it was this very man who had backstabbed him.
’In this life, I can’t let him get away with it.’
’A Divine Venerable... When will I ever be able to cultivate to the Upper Three Grades?’
「Three years in the institute」
Lu Mingyuan maintained an extremely low profile, taking care not to reveal his progress in the Martial Dao. He successfully rose from a mere disciple of the Divine Institute to the rank of Night Patrol Envoy.
The so-called Night Patrol Envoys were the guardians of the Imperial City’s nights, responsible for sending anyone who lingered outside after dark back into the city.
However, his Cultivation of the Great Prayer Divine Technique had hit a bottleneck.
After some research, Lu Mingyuan discovered his problem.
He had killed too few people; his sacrifices to the Divine Beings were insufficient.
The so-called Great Prayer Divine Technique was, in essence, a method of exchanging worship for power, similar to making sacrifices.
But since he couldn’t give a damn about any Celestial God, his Cultivation of it had basically reached its limit.
If he wanted to break through, he would have to make sacrifices.
Sacrifice, in this case, meant killing people. Through such offerings, one could increase their Divine Power.
Just as Lu Mingyuan was wondering where he could find some heads...
「Seven days later」
A massive auction was held in the Great Nether Emperor City. It was so widely publicized that almost everyone knew about it.
"I hear they’ve got a Human Race woman at this auction. A top prodigy from the Human Domain. They say she’s fair-skinned and beautiful, with delicate skin and tender flesh—perfect material for Alchemy."
"On top of that, there are a bunch of slaves from the Human Domain who were sent to the Imperial City. They’re the Lord Heavenly God’s favorite kind of offering!"
Lu Mingyuan’s curiosity was piqued by the auction, so he decided to go check it out.
The auction was held on a massive stage. The venue was packed, with Underworld Cultivators from all the major races forming a tight circle around it.
A Blood Race elder chuckled. "Welcome, everyone, to the Celestial Demon Association’s grand auction. I’m sure you’ve all been eagerly awaiting our first item."
Three skeleton soldiers escorted a prisoner’s cage onto the stage, a red cloth draped over it.
"This Human Race woman has an exceptionally special constitution. For those of you looking to use her as an ingredient for Pills, you must not miss this opportunity."
All eyes followed the Blood Race elder’s gesture. He then yanked away the red cloth, revealing the person within.
A murmur ran through the crowd, and many let out gasps of amazement.
Inside the cage sat an exceptionally beautiful woman in a simple white dress. She was quite tall, with a full bust and hips. Her long, slender legs were both fair and perfectly shaped.
Her face was even more exquisite, without a single flaw. Even bound in iron chains, she seemed remarkably serene, like a goddess from a scroll painting, exuding a faint trace of Immortal Qi.
As Lu Mingyuan looked at the stunning woman before him, he felt a sense of familiarity.
His pupils constricted as it suddenly came back to him.
’Miss Yun?’
...
I’ll probably write this until the third life is more or less over, and then I’ll skip the rest. I didn’t expect the arc to be this long. The goal wasn’t just to write about Lu Yunqing’s Heart Inquiry Bureau, but also to lay out the plot, flesh out the Demon Country which was completely ignored in the Early Stage, and set up all the foreshadowing for what comes next. I didn’t want to have to explain this, but too many people are complaining that it’s filler. Since you all don’t enjoy the reincarnation arcs, I’ll just end it quickly.