“I just can’t relax, what is that maniac up to? Should I just run and leave a body double instead? No… they would figure it out instantly…”

‘This guy is quite talkative…’

Zhang Dong was keeping himself hidden while looking at an old-looking cultivator. From a quick scan, he could see that the person was a middle stage nascent soul cultivator. His Dao was a mix of the people that he already faced and not something that he couldn’t emulate at this point. It seemed the man had gotten nervous and decided to take a pee in the forest.

He arrived on a large ship that looked like it was filled with ghosts. It radiated faint spirit energy and was filled with multiple decrepit souls. This was actually a good fit for Zhang Dong as ghosts and spirits were aligned with his Dao of the Souls. The man also had some treasures that utilized phantom energies which were right up his alley.

‘Doesn’t feel right to attack a man that is taking a piss… but oh well, the guy has probably murdered countless people, the stench of evil is quite noticeable.’

Within a flash, he found himself behind the unsuspecting man. Right when the demonic cultivator noticed his head was already flying. Zhang Dong surrounded the area with a bubble that wouldn’t allow any screams to escape. The man’s corrupted nascent divinity that looked more like an evil spirit couldn’t even react as it was quickly taken into his seed along with the techniques he studied.

Dao:

Percentage gained

Phantoms

0 %

Demon Summoning

2 %

Curse

1 %

‘Dao of the phantoms was it? Not really that useful at this point…’

The Dao of Phantoms was lower on the totem pole than his Dao of Souls. Due to this, he was unable to gain anything on that particular path. The Demon Summoning one was a first and as the name stated he would be able to summon evil creatures to do his bidding. This was more of a ritualistic summoning and not the kind seen in RPG games that were instantaneous.

‘Good, no one noticed… Let’s check the loot…’

He looked at the dead body that was being dissolved before him. The robe that the man was wearing was quickly put through a cleaning spell that he learned from the other world. Without using it he would need to contend with a smell akin to mothballs. The man had a lot of rings and talismans which didn’t really do much for his safety. Some of them had even cracked as they were unable to defend against the powerful killing slice.

‘I hope this guy didn’t have any intimate relationship with his people… let’s see, his name was, Fang Jingguo?’

Luckily Zhang Dong was able to read the man’s limited status screen before he kicked the bucket. He belonged to the Phantom Devil Cult and was its leader. There were a few secret techniques in the man’s spatial ring along with some personal letters that let him figure out a few things. It didn’t seem that he had any relatives in the sect and mostly spent his time cultivating but there was only so much he could learn after absorbing the knowledge from the notes here.

‘I guess I should head out… how did the guy walk?’

After turning into the old pale man he assumed a slouched position. In his right hand, he had what looked to be an old walking cane. While holding it the attention was drawn to the colorful golden and platinum rings on his fingers. Thus for the time being he tried mimicking the old man’s walking style that he examined before the beheading.

‘Zhi, I’ll be infiltrating the enemy city and won’t be able to contact you for a while.’

‘Be careful, Sir.’

‘I always am.’

Stolen novel; please report.

Zhang Dong was sure to send a message to his people, even if he didn’t come back he was sure that they would continue with the mission. He wasn’t quite sure what he would do inside, if luck was on his side then he would take the chance to take out his nemesis. It was always easier to defeat an enemy that wasn’t expecting a confrontation.

‘This would be a lot easier if that chucklehead of an older brother helped me, but he might be part of this system like that other demon king…’

Long Qing the Azure Emperor wasn’t willing to help and at this point, Zhang Dong had become weary of his existence. The man was the first on the list of being part of the administrative gang that could destroy the world on a whim. Yet without him reaching a power level above the limits of the setting, he didn’t think that the hidden overlords would act.

“Cult leader!”

“Mmm…”

When he arrived back he was greeted by hooded cult members. No one dared to look him in the eye and just waited for him to slowly board the ship. Thanks to the rules in this world Zhang Dong was somewhat confident in his disguise. Even if he acted a bit differently than the old cult leader no one would be able to call him out on it. Demonic cultivators were prone to violent outbursts so no one in their right mind would pester them without having a good reason for it.

“Why is the cult reader so silent? Is he mad?”

“Stop spouting nonsense, if he hears you then you’re a goner, just shut up and let’s go.”

It wasn’t that difficult to find the man’s personal cabin that was radiating quite the strange energy. While walking he spread out his senses in all directions and overheated people whispering between each other. It was not something he would pick up without the system’s help which probably gave them the guts to gossip about their boss.

“I see, so he is a cranky old man that is easily irritated?”

After sitting down in this gloomy cabin he looked out through the window. There he could see the ship gaining altitude and heading towards one of the main gates. There they would probably be inspected and then let into the city.

‘Did this guy bring slaves as gifts to the new sect? I can also sense some demonic beasts…’

This ship was quite large and in some rooms there were ravenous bests chained up. Even now he could feel their animosity not dying down. Besides them he could feel a group of young women, they weren’t strong in any way, probably just offerings to the perverted Demon King.

Normally he would be glad to rescue these people and even let the creatures out. Yet this was a mission that he couldn’t fail. His resolve needed to be steeled as on the inside he expected to see far worse things than slaves. The city was huge and a place where one's life was worth less than a grain of rice. With millions of citizens everywhere it was hard to remember that life was actually precious.

“Halt!”

‘So it has begun…’

While remaining in place he watched the outside. There his new cult members were handing out some identification papers along with a few barrels of blood crystals. It was clear that the new sect was on the rise and all the other ones in high positions were trying to weasel into their good graces. To many, this was a chance to make some good connections that might allow them to prosper in the future.

“Phantom Devil Cult? Where is your leader?”

“H-he is in his private quarters, the cult leader is very old and frail so we…”

“Silence, bring him out.”

“A-as you wish…”

‘What is this about? Did they realize that I replaced the guy? Was someone watching when I killed him?’

The person that gave the command was only at the core formation level. There were a few nascent soul elders nearby but they were keeping their presence hidden. Normally if there was a problem they would call for more help so it didn’t look that he was in trouble just yet. If something went wrong he could still just escape as long as he wasn’t in Wang Long’s main faction zone he would be able to teleport out normally.

‘No, perhaps they just want to flex a bit…’

He had been paying attention to other ships that were at other entrance points. There he could see the gatekeepers going overboard as well. Some of them were even making the demons bow. In front of the massive sect there was nothing but death if they didn’t bow their heads.

This was similar to the old days where his Zhang Clan had to do the biddings of the Dark Palm Sect. The ones with backing could bully even the strong. If he went out of line he could expect those hidden masters to appear. It was better to just step out and be nice, this new persona that he was using didn’t mean anything to him. If he could avoid conflict by bowing his head, then it would be fine.

“What is this commotion about? You wanted to see this Phantom Demon?”

“Master, we were about to…”

“Be quiet, I heard it all.”

He at least needed to seem like a nascent soul master. It wouldn’t be hard for any of them to overhear the conversation. The core formation guard flinched a bit the moment he saw the master appearing out of the blue. Even though he was trying to keep it together it was clear that this man wasn’t used to this position of power.

“You are, Fang Jingguo?”

“Yes, that's what seems to be the problem, we have come just as the Demon King ordered.”

“You dare?”

“Ah my apologies.”

During the conversation, he made a blunder, for this reason, he decided to perform a little bow towards where the Demon Castle was.

“I should have not mentioned the great Demon King’s name without an honorific. Was that all, can we proceed into the city? I’m sure the Great and wise Demon King doesn’t like to wait. ”

While bowing he made sure to use some of his spiritual energy to envelop the guard. The difference in spiritual energies was just too vast and the man would quickly start to feel uneasy. It wasn’t truly an attack, it was only meant to instill fear into this core formation guard. Luckily it worked and they were quickly accepted into the city after getting some disgraceful looks.

“Ah yes… let them through, everything checks out.”

The man quickly accepted all bribes while also quickly letting the cult into the city. After the old man with the came appeared he started feeling anxious. It was this fear that forced him to hasten the process from which he was hoping to get some more bribes.

‘So this is the City of Demons… looks like a great place to spend your retirement in…’

Zhang Dong wanted to give out a sigh while going through the gate. What he saw behind it was more than he had expected.