Lord of the Demon Sect

Standing in front of the entrance to the Ghostly Slaughter Sect, Jiang Chen felt an unshakable chill. The massive white characters above the gate read “Ghostly Slaughter Sect.” Although the gate appeared somewhat worn down, with some strokes having chipped away, it still exuded a sense of grandeur, indicating that the Ghostly Slaughter Sect had once been glorious. However, Jiang Chen couldn’t shake off the feeling that these characters were somewhat ominous and gave off a heavy, cold aura.

Upon closer inspection, he noticed that the three large characters were actually carved from white bones. At a glance, they seemed somewhat menacing, and if one stared at them for too long, it felt as if one’s soul might be drawn away.

Lin Yushang couldn’t help but chuckle at Jiang Chen’s stunned expression. She gently patted his shoulder and said sweetly, “Junior brother, newcomers are always a bit startled the first time here. I cried when I first joined the sect as a child, too. But once you get used to it, it’s no big deal… In fact, this is much better than before. When our sect-protecting formation was still in place, those with weaker abilities would lose their wits just from a single glance.”

“The sect-protecting formation was still in place?” Jiang Chen’s ears perked up, sensing something was off. Despite Lin Yushang’s alluring presence leaning closer to him, enveloping him in her fragrance, he found that his mind was no longer wandering.

He remembered reading cultivation novels before his journey, where even the smallest sects had their own sect-protecting formations. But the Ghostly Slaughter Sect had lost its formation, suggesting it had truly fallen from prominence.

What was most disheartening was the fact that he had to join such a sect, which left him feeling quite frustrated. Although he didn’t know the strength of other Demon Sects, he imagined they couldn’t be worse off than the Ghostly Slaughter Sect. Even if he somehow became a sect leader, aspiring to be a Holy Lord would seem nearly impossible. He couldn’t help but lament inwardly.

At the entrance stood two gatekeeping disciples, around seventeen or eighteen years old, dressed in black short shirts. The right arm of their uniforms bore the blood-red characters “Ghostly Slaughter,” while the front displayed the bone-chilling words “Ghostly Slaughter Sect.” It seemed they had crafted their uniforms to appear particularly sinister, as if fearing others might not recognize them as members of a Demon Sect. It was definitely unique, but both looked listless, their faces reflecting a deep sense of hardship, as if they’d incurred substantial debts that they couldn’t recover.

The two disciples glanced at the three of them and blocked their path. After Lin Yushang clarified that Jiang Chen was a newly accepted disciple, they waved their hands and allowed them to enter.

The three of them ascended the mountain together and arrived at the Reception Hall on the main peak, Ghostly Slaughter Mountain. Inside, the steward elder Ye Hong inquired about Jiang Chen’s personal information, registered his name in the roster of the Ghostly Slaughter Sect, and presented him with a waist token signifying his status as a named disciple. He also handed Jiang Chen a storage bag and a set of sect uniforms.

At that moment, Jiang Chen heard the gentle female voice resonating in his mind once more: “Step one of the main quest completed. You accomplished the task on the same day you received it. You may choose one of the following four rewards! First option: a 30% increase in alchemy success rate; second option: a 30% increase in artifact crafting success rate; third option: a 30% increase in talisman crafting success rate; fourth option: a 30% increase in cultivation speed.”

Hearing this made Jiang Chen’s heart leap with joy; he found all these rewards quite impressive. He mentally compared the four options.

While talisman crafting was useful, it was primarily used in combat situations, which could be substituted with spells, so he didn’t consider that further.

Artifact crafting was valuable since it allowed the creation of spiritual artifacts that significantly aided in combat. However, it didn’t seem to enhance his cultivation level. Plus, once an artifact was crafted, it’s hard to change it, and its prospects didn’t seem as promising as alchemy.

As for the cultivation speed increase, while it was beneficial, Jiang Chen’s primary goal wasn’t just to enhance his cultivation level; he wanted to become the sect leader. For a sect, an expert alchemist was naturally more desirable than a cultivator who merely progressed faster. Moreover, both Lin Yushang and Zhang Fei had mentioned that his spiritual roots were rather poor, classified as impure spiritual roots. Even with a 30% increase in cultivation speed, it likely wouldn’t make much difference.

After pondering for a moment, Jiang Chen decided to select the first reward: a 30% increase in alchemy success rate.

Once he made his decision, he felt a “ding” in his mind, as if some change had occurred within him, bringing about an indescribable sensation.

Then, the gentle voice continued, “Step one of the main quest completed. You have become a named disciple of the Demon Sect, Ghostly Slaughter Sect. The reward has been granted; your alchemy success rate will now increase by 30%. Step two of the main quest activated: you must become the sect leader of the Ghostly Slaughter Sect within one hundred years. Otherwise, you will be eradicated by the Holy Lord System! Given that you completed the first step of the task on the day you accepted it, the Holy Lord System provides you with a special reward. You can choose to break down the second step into smaller tasks; each completed task will grant you a small reward. Alternatively, you can choose to complete it all at once, which will grant you a substantial reward. How would you like to proceed?”

Hearing this, Jiang Chen felt a bit confused. He asked in his mind, “I understand what it means to complete it directly, but what does it mean to break it down into smaller tasks?”

The female voice patiently explained, “Currently, the ranking system within the Ghostly Slaughter Sect is as follows: named disciple, outer sect disciple, inner sect disciple, elite disciple, elder, and sect leader-six levels in total. If you choose to break it down into smaller tasks, each time you advance a level, the Holy Lord System will consider it as completing a step task and will grant you a small reward, which will assist in completing the next step. Although the total amount of rewards will nominally be the same as completing the task directly, breaking it down into five rewards is certainly not as beneficial as a single substantial reward. It’s similar to how one medium-grade spirit stone is worth a hundred low-grade spirit stones, yet very few cultivators would exchange a medium-grade spirit stone for low-grade ones, since rarity holds value.”

“Alright, I’ll go ahead and break it down,” Jiang Chen decided after some thought. Although he didn’t know what the rewards would be, he guessed they would be significantly helpful. After all, he was primarily eager to complete the task for his survival rather than coveting some grand reward. He wasn’t willing to gamble his life.

“Great! The second step of the main quest has now been broken down for you. You have now received the first step task: you need to advance from a named disciple to an outer sect disciple within five years. If you complete the task, you will receive a small reward; if you fail, you will be eradicated by the system. Please make sure to act quickly!” the voice instructed.

“Understood! I got it!” Jiang Chen waved his hand, and the voice along with the dialogue box in his mind disappeared instantly.

At that moment, steward elder Ye Hong had completed all the entrance procedures for Jiang Chen.

Ye Hong was an older man in his sixties, and to Jiang Chen, he was the least intimidating person he had encountered on his journey thus far. He appeared to be a kind-hearted old man.

Next came the time for assigning Jiang Chen to one of the peaks. Ye Hong sent Jiang Chen’s age, spiritual root, and other information through a voice-transmitting talisman to the peak masters of the seven peaks, but none of them were willing to take Jiang Chen. According to the rules of the sect, if no one from a peak wanted to take in a disciple that their peak had brought in, that disciple would have to be taken in by the sect directly. Consequently, Jiang Chen was assigned to Ghost Mist Peak, where Lin Yushang and Zhang Fei were based.

Lin Yushang had clearly anticipated this outcome, so she didn’t express any dissatisfaction. Instead, she led Jiang Chen to Ghost Mist Peak.