Chapter 45: Demon Sealing Conference

Chen Yuan and Thirteen Lang Luo thoroughly enjoyed their meal.

Thirteen Lang Luo was honest, straightforward, and loyal; he was a friend worth making.

Although the Sun Exchange Alliance was destined to fall in the future, that was a long time away; at the very least, Chen Yuan didn’t need to worry about it now.

After they had eaten and drunk their fill, Chen Yuan gave Thirteen Lang Luo some money since he had none, and they stayed at the inn to wait for the Demon Sealing Conference to begin.

Thirteen Lang Luo was naturally incredibly grateful to Chen Yuan, feeling that Brother Chen was truly generous, righteous, exceptionally strong, and pleasant to talk to.

He had originally been somewhat dejected on this trip; he hadn’t managed to recruit Zuo Xinglie, making it a wasted journey where he even lost his money.

But having made a friend like Chen Yuan, he felt the trip had been worthwhile.

During the remaining time waiting for the Demon Sealing Conference to start, Chen Yuan and Thirteen Lang Luo spent their time chatting in the inn.

It was mostly Chen Yuan asking Thirteen Lang Luo about matters within the Jianghu.

Although Chen Yuan understood the plot, there were things the story hadn’t shown that were still happening in the actual timeline.

For instance, the matter of Thirteen Lang Luo going to invite Zuo Xinglie to join the Sun Exchange Alliance.

Thirteen Lang Luo was Zhi Shilang’s foster son; although he wasn’t good with words, he had heard many things while following Zhi Shilang, and he actually managed to provide Chen Yuan with a lot of unknown Jianghu gossip.

Chen Yuan also learned that the reason Thirteen Lang Luo was called Thirteen Lang Luo was not only because of his brave record of charging through enemy lines thirteen times, but also because he was the thirteenth child in his family.

However, his parents and his twelve older brothers and sisters were all dead, having perished during the Dynasty’s corvée labor.

Of the Nineteen Provinces in the world, the Daxia Dynasty could only actually control the Central Nine Provinces, and Yan Province was one of those nine.

In terms of geographical location, Yan Province was actually toward the northeast, not in the Central Plains, and it had a harsh environment with a freezing winter climate.

However, Yan Province was rich in resources, with everything from grain and mineral veins to forests; naturally, the Daxia Dynasty wanted to keep Yan Province in its grasp.

Thirteen Lang Luo’s parents and siblings had died in the mines or in the river canals.

His last brother had been taken to the forest in the dead of winter to log because the Prince of Yan, who presided over Yan Province, needed century-old giant trees to build his palace; he froze to death right there.

In a fit of indignant rage, Thirteen Lang Luo forged a blade himself and killed the supervisor, which was witnessed by the passing Zhi Shilang, who took him in as a foster son.

After hearing Thirteen Lang Luo’s story, Chen Yuan couldn’t help but sigh, thinking that Daxia was truly doomed sooner or later.

The Nineteen Provinces of the world had been whittled down to only nine, yet they still didn’t treat the common people like human beings.

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Currently, half of Yan Province was occupied by the Sun Exchange Alliance; if not for some internal conflicts within the alliance, Yan Province might have already changed hands.

Chen Yuan and Thirteen Lang Luo waited in Wangbei Town for half a month, and when the day the Demon Sealing Conference was to begin arrived, the two finally set off for the Demon Sealing Valley.

The Demon Sealing Conference required an invitation to enter, but these invitations had no names on them; anyone holding one could get in.

Chen Yuan’s invitation had been snatched from the Zhu Family, while Thirteen Lang Luo’s invitation had been given to him by a member of the Jianghu People he helped after he spoke out for justice and killed some people from the Iron Clad Gate on the road.

The Three Demon Clans could not leave the Demon Sealing Valley, so every time they issued invitations, they would invite the local Wind Media organizations to the Demon Sealing Valley, hand the invitations over to them, and let them distribute a certain number of invitations according to the strength of the surrounding factions.

The strong factions would get more, while the weak ones would get fewer.

The remaining invitations would be given to some famous Loose Cultivators at The border between You and Ning.

Because the invitations were anonymous, people would even come to blows over them on the eve of every Demon Sealing Conference.

The Demon Sealing Valley was located in the uninhabited deep mountains where the roads were remote and difficult to travel; it only became lively when the Demon Sealing Conference was held.

Along the way, Chen Yuan and Thirteen Lang Luo encountered many fellow Martial Artists; they were all quite strong, with even the weakest having a cultivation in the Blood Moving Realm.

The Demon Sealing Valley also had strength requirements for issuing invitations; after all, the Demon Sealing Conference was held to suppress Devilish Qi eruptions and required killing Corpse Monsters.

If weak Martial Artists came, far from killing Corpse Monsters, they would likely be killed by them and corrupted by the Devilish Qi into new Corpse Monsters, which would be completely counterproductive.

After walking along the mountain path for about an hour, Chen Yuan finally saw the full view of the Demon Sealing Valley.

It was a massive rift valley hidden deep in the mountains, its top covered by a Formation that emitted a dark gray mist.

The valley entrance was blocked by a huge manor with an extremely ancient architectural style that didn’t look like the Daxia style.

At the entrance of the manor, a Martial Artist in the Foundation Establishment Realm was checking invitations; anyone holding an invitation could enter.

Chen Yuan and Thirteen Lang Luo walked over, and just as they handed over their invitations, a sudden roar came from nearby.

“Sect Leader! It’s these two who killed Senior Brother and the others in Wangbei Town!”

Chen Yuan and Thirteen Lang Luo turned around to see over ten Martial Artists from the Iron Clad Gate wearing Iron Bamboo Hats, walking toward them with murderous intent.

Panyang, where the Iron Clad Gate was located, wasn’t too far from The border between You and Ning, so it was normal for them to be invited.

These ten-plus Martial Artists were all elites of the Iron Clad Gate, each possessing a cultivation in the Foundation Establishment Realm.

The man leading them was in his early forties, his body covered in knotted muscles, standing two meters tall and wearing a mystic gold helm.

He was the Sect Leader of the Iron Clad Gate, Wei Guangming, who possessed a cultivation in the Lunhai Realm.

While in Wangbei Town, Chen Yuan had asked the local Jianghu People for detailed information about the Iron Clad Gate.

The Iron Clad Gate used to be just an inconspicuous small faction, similar to the Heaven Wolf Gang, and the old Sect Leader had only been in the Foundation Establishment Realm.

It wasn’t until Wei Guangming took charge of the Iron Clad Gate that he ignored people’s origins and gathered many bullies and fierce bandits to join; while strengthening the Iron Clad Gate, he also crazily seized and plundered territory.

As a result, the Iron Clad Gate’s power had exploded over the past decade, making them a local tyrant with a domineering and aggressive style that no one dared to provoke.

To some extent, Wei Guangming was also a formidable and ambitious leader whose contributions to the Iron Clad Gate were almost comparable to those of a founding Ancestral Master.

“How dare you kill the Disciples of my Iron Clad Gate! You have a lot of nerve!”

Under the mystic gold helm, Wei Guangming’s gaze was icy cold. “State your names and origins; I, Wei Guangming, do not kill nameless ghosts!”

Chen Yuan raised an eyebrow slightly.

For Wei Guangming to develop the Iron Clad Gate to such a state, while the other Disciples might be domineering and brainless, he was no brute.

His words were clearly a probe into their backgrounds; if they had no backing, it wouldn’t be too late to strike.

Chen Yuan didn’t speak, but Thirteen Lang Luo gave a cold snort. “I am Thirteen Lang Luo of the Yan Province Sun Exchange Alliance! Your grandpa here has even dared to kill the Dynasty’s princes; what’s so hard about killing a few of you Iron Turtles?”

Hearing Thirteen Lang Luo reveal his background, Wei Guangming immediately breathed a sigh of relief, and a flash of killing intent appeared in his eyes.

What he feared most was that the other party came from a major power in Youzhou or Ning Province.

But the Sun Exchange Alliance was just a group of rebels from Yan Province, mostly made up of poor wretches, and they had already been pushed back by the Dynasty.

If they were in Yan Province, Wei Guangming would have at least some reservations, but this was the Iron Clad Gate’s turf; it was no place for these country bumpkins from Yan Province to be arrogant!

It wasn’t surprising that Wei Guangming looked down on the Sun Exchange Alliance.

At the Dynasty level, the Yan Province uprising was naturally a major event, as it concerned the stability of the Daxia Dynasty’s rule over the Central Nine Provinces.

But the Sun Exchange Alliance had only just risen, after all, and even some major powers looked down on them, let alone a local tyrant like the Iron Clad Gate that had no vision and only focused on its own little patch of land.

“A man from Yan Province dares to be so insolent in my You-Ning territory? Crush every bone in their bodies and throw them back to Yan Province!”

Wei Guangming subconsciously assumed Chen Yuan was also with the Sun Exchange Alliance and gave him the same treatment as Thirteen Lang Luo.

Chen Yuan gripped his saber hilt, and Thirteen Lang Luo also removed the cloth cover from his Mystic Flood Dragon Spear.

Neither of them were ordinary Foundation Establishment Realm Martial Artists; even when facing a Lunhai Realm opponent, they had the courage to fight.

Just then, the Martial Artist from the Three Demon Clans who was checking invitations at the entrance said coldly, “Everyone, if you want to fight, please do it outside!

The Demon Sealing Conference is a grand event held to seal demonic creatures and ensure the safety of this You-Ning territory; it is not a place for you to settle private grudges!

If anyone makes another move, their invitation will be revoked, and we will not trouble you to attend any future Demon Sealing Conferences!”

Wei Guangming raised a hand, stopping the Iron Clad Gate Martial Artists behind him who were about to strike.

“Today, I will give the Three Demon Clans some Face and spare your lives for now!”

Wei Guangming swept a sinister gaze over them, his eyes full of piercing killing intent.

Then, he led his men to hand over their invitations and enter the Demon Sealing Valley.

For the surrounding powers, the original purpose of the Demon Sealing Conference was indeed quite pure: to seal demonic creatures and prevent The border between You and Ning from being disturbed by them.

But later on, the nature of the Demon Sealing Conference changed somewhat.

Some Jianghu People came to slay Corpse Monsters to obtain Spirit Pills, while others came to show off their strength at the Demon Sealing Conference.

Whichever family performed best at each Demon Sealing Conference would naturally show its foundation to its fellow Jianghu members.

After the Demon Sealing Conference, that family’s prestige and reputation would also surge.

And if a Loose Cultivator performed exceptionally well, they could also increase their renown, and Sects or aristocratic families would take the initiative to invite them to join as a Consecrated Elder or Guest Elder.

Wei Guangming had performed excellently at the Demon Sealing Conference twenty years ago, which was how he was able to become the successor of the Iron Clad Gate.

Delaying the Demon Sealing Conference for these two wasn’t quite worth it.

But these two also had to die!

His Iron Clad Gate was domineering and aggressive toward outsiders; anyone who dared to kill their people would surely Face endless retaliation afterward.

Only in this way could the Iron Clad Gate deter the surrounding cities so that no one dared to provoke them.

Now that their Disciples had been killed in public, if the Iron Clad Gate didn’t retaliate and demand blood for blood, where would their prestige be? Where would their Face be?

If these two didn’t die, the Iron Clad Gate’s reputation would surely plummet.