Chapter 52: Selling for a Good Price

The Village Chief raised his eyebrows and said, “If we fight to the death, the Heavenly Devil Cult will surely suffer countless casualties, won't it? Why press so hard? If your esteemed Cult incurs heavy losses because of us old cripples, the Imperial Preceptor of Eternal Peace will certainly be pleased, and seize the opportunity to absorb the Heavenly Devil Cult into his fold. What do you think?”

The young Cult Ancestor nodded and said, “The Imperial Preceptor of Eternal Peace has indeed been looking for an opportunity to subdue our Cult and make us submit to the imperial court. However, with our sacred scripture lost and our Holy Cult Master killed, our Cult is almost wiped out already. If you insist on going your own way, Brother Dao, the small village you protect will likely clash with my Holy Cult. Unfurl the banners!”

The Law Enforcement Elder beside him bowed and said, “Yes, Ancestor. Unfurl the banners!”

The masters of the 360 halls each took out a large banner, and with a whoosh, unfurled the flags. The large banners fluttered and unfurled in the wind.

Qin Mu looked out, and saw the 360 large banners growing wider and larger, each banner covering an area of about an acre.

“Retract the banners,” the young man said.

The Law Enforcement Elder called out loudly, “Retract the banners!”

The large banners were retracted, their surfaces disappearing. Then Qin Mu saw tens of thousands of practitioners of divine arts behind where the banners had been, each one imposing and standing straight as a spear, making no sound, giving off an extremely chilling and solemn aura!

The Village Chief sighed, “The Heavenly Devil Cult’s teleportation banners truly live up to their reputation. With one unfurling and one retracting, tens of thousands of practitioners of divine arts can directly enter the Great Ruins. No wonder the Imperial Preceptor of Eternal Peace is so eager to subdue the Heavenly Devil Cult. If he acquires this divine art of the Heavenly Devil Cult, the armies of Eternal Peace will sweep across the world and unify all nations!”

The young Cult Ancestor sighed, “Without a Cult Master, my Holy Cult is now like a pile of loose sand. Over the past forty years, the situation of my Heavenly Devil Cult has become increasingly difficult. I estimate the Imperial Preceptor of Eternal Peace will soon be unable to resist making a move against our Cult. Like you, I am old, with not many days left to look forward to. Now I only hope to be able to select a new Cult Master of astonishing talent and brilliance.”

The Village Chief’s eyes flickered, and he said, “So, the Cult Master's wife who killed the old Cult Master on their wedding night, is your best candidate?”

The young Cult Ancestor nodded, smiling wryly, “Brother Dao, you also know how rare it is to choose a Cult Master of astonishing talent, brilliance, and wisdom. Although our Heavenly Devil Cult has many members, only a handful possess the ability to be Cult Master, and those who can compare to the Cult Master’s wife are simply nonexistent. In desperation, we had no choice but to find the Cult Master’s wife, welcome her back to the Cult, and have her take on the role of Cult Master.”

The Village Chief looked at Granny Si, a bit of a headache, and said, “I heard that this Cult Master’s wife killed your esteemed Cult’s Cult Master Li Tianxing. Why do you still want her to be the new Cult Master instead of avenging the old Cult Master? Isn’t the killing of a Cult Master a great humiliation for your esteemed Cult?”

The young Cult Ancestor’s eyes sparkled as he smiled, “Brother Dao, you forget, we are a devil cult; we cannot be judged by common sense. The new Cult Master killed the old Cult Master, which proves the new Cult Master is more capable. Naturally, she should be enthroned!”

The Village Chief’s expression was strange. Qin Mu and the Apothecary, who were standing by, also looked extremely peculiar. Does the Heavenly Devil Cult actually have such a rule?

“Granny, is there such a rule?” the Apothecary asked.

Granny Si nodded blankly.

The Apothecary couldn’t help but ask, “Since there’s such a rule, why didn’t you stay in the Heavenly Devil Cult and become the new Cult Master after killing the old one?”

Granny Si said with a choked voice, “I killed him; I had no face to remain in the Heavenly Devil Cult. Staying there would only worsen my inner demons.”

The Apothecary still couldn’t quite understand. From his perspective, the Heavenly Devil Cult’s forty years of painstaking searching for the Cult Master’s killer to be their new Cult Master was already difficult to comprehend. And Granny Si actually hiding and avoiding them made it even harder to grasp.

The Village Chief smiled slightly, and said to the young Cult Ancestor, “If Granny is unwilling to go with you, you cannot take her.”

The young Cult Ancestor frowned and said, “I must take both the Cult Master’s wife and the Grand Creation Devil Sutra.”

The two looked at each other.

The Village Chief offered tea to see his guest off, saying, “If the guest does not leave, we will simply eliminate the guest. There are too many people in the Heavenly Devil Cult, so we won't bother with coffins. Those from our era are becoming fewer and fewer. I truly cannot bear it.”

The young Cult Ancestor drained his tea in one gulp, set down the cup, and stood up, saying, “Me too. However, there are very few people in your village, so I can arrange for coffins.”

“Wait!”

Granny Si suddenly spoke, smiling, “Village Chief, Apothecary, please return to the village with Mu'er first. I will talk with the Ancestor! If we can't agree, then we'll fight to the death. If we can reach an agreement, everyone will be happy, wouldn't that be wonderful?”

The Village Chief glanced at her. Granny Si smiled and said, “Don’t worry, at worst, they’ll just abduct me.”

The Village Chief nodded and said, “Apothecary, Mu'er, let’s go back to the village first.”

Granny Si waited until they returned to the village, then sat down before the young Cult Ancestor, and said, “Law Enforcement Elder, you may withdraw.”

“Yes, Madam.”

The Law Enforcement Elder bowed and slowly retreated.

Granny Si’s eyes were bright as she looked at the young Cult Ancestor opposite her. The young Cult Ancestor sighed, “You were originally our Cult’s Saintess; your talent and grace were peerless. I actually disagreed when Li Tianxing wanted to marry you.”

“But you didn’t stop him.”

Granny Si smiled and said, “Li Tianxing was my master. A master marrying a disciple goes against human ethics. My Holy Cult prides itself on being holy; have we abandoned even human ethics?”

The young Cult Ancestor frowned and said, “When Li Tianxing took you as his disciple, I knew it was wrong. Living with you day and night, I feared he would be completely infatuated with you and lose his sanity. He was indeed infatuated with you, to the point of abandoning his old wife, who had been with him for centuries, to marry you as his new wife.”

Granny Si ground her few remaining teeth and chuckled, “You knew he would be infatuated with me, so why did you let him take me as his disciple? Ancestor, you should have taken me as your disciple! If I had been your disciple, none of this would have happened!”

“I feared that living with you day and night, I would also be infatuated with you.”

The young Cult Ancestor smiled bitterly, “When I first saw you, you were only thirteen, but my heart suddenly pounded a few times. At that moment, I knew I couldn’t take you as my disciple. I am old now and don’t want my lifelong reputation to be ruined by you. A master falling in love with a disciple—I would be ridiculed.”

He sighed and said, “Few people who see your true face are not infatuated by you. The longer they spend with you, the deeper the infatuation.”

Granny Si continued to grind her teeth, smiling ambiguously, “If that’s the case, why do you still want me to be the Cult Master? Aren’t you afraid I’ll ruin the Holy Cult?”

The young Cult Ancestor said, “You are the best candidate. I also feel you are somewhat a femme fatale, and becoming Cult Master might indeed throw our Holy Cult into chaos. However, over these past forty years, we have searched far and wide for some exceptionally talented young men and women. None of them are as good as you. They are always just a step shy of being able to become Cult Master.”

He sighed, dejectedly, “Once you’ve seen the best, when you look at other good ones, they always feel a bit lacking.”

“I won’t be going back.”

Granny Si said with a smile, “However, I can return a Cult Master to you, along with the Grand Creation Devil Sutra, our Cult’s foundational scripture.”

The young Cult Ancestor’s expression shifted slightly, and he said, “Return a Cult Master to us? What do you mean by that?”

In Disabled Elderly Village, Qin Mu, the Village Chief, the Apothecary, and the others watched intently, paying close attention to every move of Granny Si and the Devil Cult Ancestor. The two were conversing happily, laughing and chatting, which came as a great surprise to everyone.

As Granny Si and the Devil Cult Ancestor continued talking, she then turned to look back at the village. The Devil Cult Ancestor also looked over, smiling, and whispered something to Granny Si.

After a moment, Granny Si tiptoed back to the village, and said with a smile, “We’ve reached an agreement.”

“An agreement?”

Everyone’s expressions were strange. The Cripple was deeply skeptical, and asked with a beaming smile, “When will the fighting start?”

“No need to fight.”

Granny Si blinked, “But they will stay here for a while, and leave in a few days.”

A chill ran through everyone’s hearts. The Heavenly Devil Cult said they would leave after a while. What trick were they playing?

Granny Si smiled, “Old Ma, Mu'er said his Tyrant Body vital qi now has Azure Dragon attributes. See if he has made any progress.”

“Tyrant Body vital qi can even imitate Azure Dragon vital qi?”

Ma Ye was greatly surprised, and said, “Mu'er, come over here and let’s spar!”

Qin Mu quickly walked over.

The Apothecary watched the two sparring, then moved closer to Granny Si, and whispered, “Granny, did you sell Mu'er?”

Granny Si blinked, and said seriously, “Why would you say that? How could I possibly sell Mu'er?”

“How much did you sell him for?” The Cripple leaned closer, and asked curiously.

“The Devil Cult’s Young Cult Master.”

Granny Si looked dejected and sighed, “He’ll be named as such for now. I’ll also include the Grand Creation Devil Sutra, our Cult’s foundational devil scripture. We’ll see how he develops after he grows up. If his progress is satisfactory, he will officially become the Holy Cult Master. How does that price sound?”

The Cripple’s eyes lit up, and he breathed rapidly, “Such a good deal? Granny, why didn't you come to me earlier? Sell me!”

Granny Si smiled, “If you want to become the Holy Cult Master of the Heavenly Devil Cult, it’s also very simple. Just take a trip to the next village and meet the masters of the 360 halls of the Heavenly Devil Cult, plus the twelve protective elders, the Left and Right Protectors, the Four Heavenly Kings guarding the Cult, the Eight Inspector Envoys, and also one Devil Cult Ancestor.”

The Cripple’s face turned ashen, and he said, “For Mu'er to become the Young Cult Master, does he also need to take a trip to the next village?”

Granny Si sighed, helplessly saying, “They need to inspect the goods first. Without inspecting, how could they confidently let him become the Heavenly Devil Cult’s Young Cult Master?”