Chapter 177: Wind Listening Pavilion

At that moment, how could the young man not realize that what seemed like a rare opportunity was, in fact, a well-laid trap?

The original owner of the Transcendence Heart had likely cultivated some kind of flesh-rebirth True Law.

Though he hadn’t grasped any Dao Truth, he had clearly attained a high level of mastery over the fleshly path.

His physical body had shattered under the Dao Aura of the Abyss Ancestor, but his heart had fully transcended and preserved his soul.

The moment the young martial artist tried to devour the heart to complete his own Transcendence, the heart would seize the chance to usurp his body—achieving rebirth through possession.

And why the heart chose this young martial artist was obvious: among all those present in the carriage, there was only one visible True Law cultivator, and the youth’s cultivation was the weakest of them all.

A fully-transcended heart combined with a high-level flesh-rebirth True Law would find it effortless to seize the body of a low-grade, pseudo-law cultivator.

But the original owner of that heart hadn’t expected the carriage to also contain Lu Yan, whose depth of power was unfathomable.

With a flick of his finger, Lu Yan released a wisp of soul force that silently erased the remnant soul within the Transcendence Heart.

Only then did Lu Yan speak to the young martial artist:

“This heart’s lingering soul has been wiped out. It can now be safely used to assist your Transcendence.”

The young man immediately understood that Lu Yan had just saved his life. He dropped the heart and fell to his knees, his forehead slamming the carriage floor so hard it made the whole vehicle tremble.

“Bi Jie thanks the lord for his life-saving grace!”

Had this not been a specially-reinforced carriage made for long-distance travel by demon-version caravans, those few kowtows alone would have smashed it to pieces.

Lu Yan didn’t stop him. Instead, he calmly replied:

“You saved yourself.”

If Bi Jie hadn’t offered to share the heart, Lu Yan wouldn’t have bothered with such a minor affair.

Of course, it wasn’t just Bi Jie’s goodwill that moved Lu Yan. He had other reasons in mind as well.

Due to the uncertainty surrounding the so-called Underworld Emissary, Lu Yan was no longer sure whether the Li family could be trusted. He couldn’t put all his hopes on one tree; he needed alternatives.

At the very least, he needed to understand the demon-version world’s situation through a True Law cultivator.

And Bi Jie, who had just narrowly escaped possession, was a perfect candidate.

He was weak and easy to control, had a rare and commendable conscience in the demon-version world, and hadn’t yet undergone full demon-style Transcendence—still counting as a normal human being.

The fact that he could speak fluently about things like the Li family’s emissary or the “Flesh Mountain Method” made him a well-informed individual among low-tier cultivators. He was still of some value to Lu Yan.

Bi Jie realized this from Lu Yan’s tone and immediately felt a wave of gratitude for his own earlier decision.

“Hide the heart quickly. The caravan guards are coming,” Lu Yan said.

Bi Jie swiftly stuffed the heart into his clothes just as footsteps approached.

A True Law martial artist pulled open the curtain, glanced around to see that most of the passengers were still asleep, and only Bi Jie was awake. He gave a curt order:

“Someone failed to Transcend by observing the Ancestor’s Dao Aura. It’s caused considerable damage to the caravan, and a few even mutated into demons and injured others.”

“From now on, observation of the Dao Aura is forbidden. We will resume our journey only after the Ancestor’s chariot has departed.”

Having said this, the guard didn’t even bother checking thoroughly before lowering the curtain and moving on to the next carriage.

Bi Jie let out a long breath of relief, his face brimming with gratitude.

Had Lu Yan not warned him, the guard might have seen the heart and confiscated it in the name of the caravan.

Most organs sold on the market for Transcendence purposes were useless scraps like appendices, kidneys, or placentas. They were not only ineffective but also couldn’t be transplanted.

The heart, however, was different. In the Transcendence Realm, it couldn’t regenerate. Every heart of this kind meant a True Law cultivator had died—it was far more valuable than any other organ. Even a caravan would covet it.

Thinking of this, Bi Jie once again expressed his thanks.

“Thank you, my lord!”

Lu Yan ignored Bi Jie’s petty thoughts and, feeling the tremors of the earth gradually fading, asked calmly:

“Do events like this happen often?”

Bi Jie was stunned for a moment before realizing Lu Yan was referring to the Abyss Ancestor’s outing. He quickly replied:

“Since the Abyss Ancestor has already attained a Dao Body, appearing openly in human territories without restraint would trigger widespread Transcendence events and cause chaos.”

“That’s why the Ancestor always travels with a ceremonial carriage. Only once outside of human territory will he reveal his true form. This is also why such outings are rare.”

“However, ever since the Underworld revealed itself six months ago, Abyss Ancestors have been appearing far more frequently. There are even rumors that a Misguided Realm expert—someone above the Abyss—once visited Hezhou. But no one knows if it’s true.”

“What really stirred up all the powerful cultivators was the change in the Heaven and Earth True Law Rankings a few days ago. Seventeen new True Laws made the list, and only one person monopolized a Dao Path. The entire world has been in an uproar.”

“Some say that person once appeared near the border of the demon wilderness beyond Hezhou. Many experts went to investigate, leading to skirmishes between humans and demons. But no one seems to have gained anything from it.”

Lu Yan nodded in satisfaction.

The value of saving Bi Jie had already shown itself.

He continued, “Do you know any secrets regarding the Li family and the Underworld Emissary?”

Bi Jie froze. After a moment, he scratched his head and gave a sheepish smile.

“My lord, you overestimate me. Everything I know is just gossip I picked up from the streets. Nothing worthy of being called a secret.”

“How could someone like me possibly know the inner workings between the Li family and the emissary?”

A fair answer—Bi Jie was only at the early stage of Transcendence. If he knew such secrets, that would be strange.

“However…” Bi Jie added quickly, “if you’re willing to pay a price, I do know where you can find some real information on the Li family.”

Lu Yan raised an eyebrow. “Where?”

“Wind Listening Pavilion.”

After the Abyss Ancestor’s procession, the caravan proceeded smoothly with no further incidents.

Two days later, they finally reached Luocheng.

Although the demon-version society still resembled an ancient world in many ways, Luocheng was even more prosperous than its urban-version counterpart.

A massive city wall fifty meters tall loomed across the land, marred by deep cracks and streaked with black blood—clear signs of many great battles.

Around the wall, Lu Yan even spotted parents bringing their children to touch the demon blood stains, trying to infect them with demonic energy. When patrolling guards arrived, they quickly scattered.

Under the towering city gates, people of all kinds passed in and out. Most weren’t True Law martial artists, but many bore some sort of demonic trait. Lu Yan, looking like a perfectly normal human, was the minority.

“As the core city of Hezhou, Luocheng is filled with powerful individuals,” Bi Jie explained.

“Anyone living here—if not a cultivator themselves—likely descends from someone who was.”

“After one breaks into the Soul Burial Realm and grasps a Dao Truth, they gain a chance to pass their Dao Body to their descendants. Cultivating the same True Law as the ancestor will give their children a natural boost.”

“However, due to the exclusive nature of True Laws, these experts don’t pass on their methods lightly. Only when their path has ended and death is near will they pass the torch.”

“That means many people have Dao Body bloodlines but no access to their family’s True Law.”

“Yet they’re too proud to train in pseudo-laws or the low-tier True Laws that thousands practice. So, they remain as ordinary people.”

As they made their way, Bi Jie explained more of the world’s workings.

During the two-day journey, Lu Yan had spent his free time casting Sleep Incantations on nearby passengers so he could extract more information from Bi Jie about the demon-version world.

One important topic was the structure of power—especially family forces.

Due to the exclusivity of True Laws, nearly all major powers in this world were based on bloodlines. There were no sects to speak of.

Lu Yan had even tried asking Bi Jie, indirectly, about the “Ten Great Sects”—but Bi Jie had no idea what he was talking about.

That made Lu Yan realize: even with supernatural powers present, the rules of each version differed greatly.

After entering Luocheng, Lu Yan and Bi Jie parted ways with the caravan.

It seemed the Li family’s banquet was drawing near. The entire city bustled with festivity, with factions from across the land converging to attend.

Lu Yan and Bi Jie made a point to visit the Li family residence. Even though they stayed a street away, Lu Yan could still sense four powerful auras inside—Mara Realm experts.

In the Immortal Cultivation Version, the Li family only had a few Foundation Establishment cultivators and relied on Li Hao’s cunning to form alliances and create the Wushan Market.

But in the Demon Version, the Li family boasted four Mara Realm experts—equivalent to Golden Core cultivators. Even Lu Yan, with his current power, couldn’t match them.

Of course, the fact that the Li family had more powerful cultivators didn’t mean the demon-version world had a higher overall power level.

The key difference was that the Dao in this world was externally manifested. True Law cultivators didn’t refine themselves, and reaching the Mara Realm was far easier than forming a Golden Core.

They traded the risk of having their bodies harvested by the Dao at any moment for immense power. Whether that was a good deal or not remained up for debate.

After confirming that the Li family held considerable influence in this version, Lu Yan knew that if he could bring them under his control, many problems would be resolved.

But first, he needed to uncover the truth behind what had happened.

With that in mind, he led Bi Jie toward a certain building within Luocheng.

A nine-story tower stood in the city’s most bustling district. Bronze bells hung from the corners of each eave, chiming gently in the wind, whispering like ghosts at one’s ear.

At the front of the building, a plaque bore three bold characters:

Wind Listening Pavilion!

(End of Chapter)