Chapter 11: Look, Senior Brother Xu Gu Is About To Start Operating

“This…”

Ping Wuqi and the other elders were all slightly stunned as they watched Illusion Colored Clothes leading the Demon Cavern army out of the encirclement, only to be surrounded and wiped out by the righteous army not long after.

Wasn’t Illusion Colored Clothes’ plan supposed to be close to the optimal solution, a perfect score?

How did she still fail?

“Ahem.” Han Changsheng coughed lightly and said as if it were only natural, “It is the best plan, not a solution.”

“So this trial is still impossible to clear?” Ping Wuqi’s lips twitched, a black line appearing on his forehead as he asked in disbelief.

“Of course.” Han Changsheng didn’t know where his confidence came from, but he even sounded proud. “I simulated it countless times. The gap in strength between righteous and demonic paths is too great. As long as the righteous path decides to cleanse us, even if we flee to the ends of the earth, the demonic path will still be erased.”

As his words fell, the expressions of the surrounding elders all grew heavy, with a faint hint of despair in their eyes.

It was the truth.

Han Changsheng said meaningfully, “Therefore, this trial only checks whether they can lead people out of the Demon Cavern. As for being wiped out afterward by the righteous path, that’s outside the scope of the test.

“Because no one can do anything about that.”

As he spoke, the other four righteous spies also finished their trials.

Just like in the first trial, each displayed their respective strengths and ended up choosing plans similar to Illusion Colored Clothes’.

This was no coincidence. It was because that was the best possible answer.

The demon cultivators were very satisfied.

“You’re sure no one can do it?” Ping Wuqi asked after a moment of silence, his gaze landing on Xu Gu inside the illusion.

“I’m sure,” Han Changsheng said confidently. “He took advantage of a loophole in the first trial. He won’t be so lucky on this one.”

The difficulty between the two trials was like the difference between heaven and earth.

The first trial concerned a creditor collecting debts. There was still room for negotiation and flexibility.

But this second trial was a righteous siege.

The righteous path’s strength was vast, and they were irreconcilable enemies of the demonic path.

Even an immortal wouldn’t be able to save the Demon Cavern.

The elders had originally placed their hopes on Xu Gu, but after hearing Han Changsheng, they shook their heads and laughed at themselves.

They were getting old and muddled.

To think they believed a junior like Xu Gu could accomplish something so defiant of the heavens.

Just then, Illusion Colored Clothes’ small voice sounded, pulling their thoughts back.

“Look, Senior Brother Xu Gu is about to start operating.”

…

“I’m supposed to resist the siege of the righteous path?”

After learning the content of the trial, Xu Gu first looked at himself, then at the pile of shrimp soldiers and crab generals at his side. His expression changed several times.

“If the righteous army comes, Demon Lord, you will surely have a way to save us, right?” his trusted subordinate asked expectantly.

“You bunch of useless trash—what’s the point of keeping you?” Xu Gu’s eyes turned cold as demonic flames surged around him, the pressure of a Combined Body cultivator sweeping in all directions. “I alone am the Demon Cavern.”

All the demonic cultivators trembled in their hearts.

Not just those inside the illusion—even the elders outside felt physically uncomfortable.

But no one said anything.

Was this not a kind of solution?

The Demon Lord’s cultivation was sky-reaching; one person could equal ten thousand. His mind held all of the Cavern’s secret arts, and his storage bag was filled with its treasures. As long as he lived, he could establish another Demon Cavern at any time.

In a righteous siege, it was much easier if only the Demon Lord fled alone.

For a moment, the atmosphere became strangely silent.

The good news was that after these words, no one in the Demon Cavern felt Xu Gu acted like the righteous path anymore.

The bad news was that because Xu Gu’s behavior was too demonic, he was rejected by the demonic cultivators as a whole.

They were scared.

“So it could be done like this!” Han Changsheng’s eyes lit up, as if a window had been opened inside him.

All the elders immediately turned to look at Han Changsheng, their expressions gloomy.

They were afraid Han Changsheng might copy the idea and sell them out.

“Ahem, we demonic cultivators never abandon or give up on our own,” Han Changsheng said, trying to reassure them.

The elders all treated that as nothing more than hot air.

Meanwhile—

The righteous spies who had already stepped out of the illusion watched this scene with deep emotion and intense admiration.

“Oh my heavens, Senior Brother is so righteous!”

“Inside the illusion, with all memories gone, he still thinks of eradicating demons for the common people!”

“He’s so… I’m going to cry!”

Illusion Colored Clothes in particular felt her heart burning. Her respect for Xu Gu grew even deeper.

However, the righteous spies soon became anxious again, terribly worried. Only now did they remember that Xu Gu was still inside the trial. If he was discovered to be of the righteous path, then…

They even instinctively sensed that the expressions of the Demon Cavern elders and true disciples as they watched Xu Gu had turned unfriendly.

Just when everyone thought Xu Gu was done with his “operation”—

“What are you still standing around for?”

“Do you really want to be useless trash?”

“Go. Execute my orders.”

Xu Gu waved his hand, sending out golden command tokens that landed before his dazed subordinates.

The Demon Cavern’s trusted aides were overjoyed. So the Demon Lord was only joking. They excitedly picked up the command tokens.

But after reading the contents, they all looked utterly confused, their faces full of question marks.

“Demon Lord, you mean… to change the name? From now on, our Great Cool Demon Cavern will no longer be called the Great Cool Demon Cavern, but the Great Love Immortal Sect?” the first subordinate asked hesitantly.

“What?” Xu Gu’s voice was icy.

He had long planned to change the name.

What kind of demonic sect openly called itself a demonic sect?

“N-no objections. It’s just… the destiny of this era is that the demonic path must rise. If we remove the word ‘demon,’ won’t we lose the benefits of that fortune?” the subordinate asked carefully.

“Are you blind? Look properly at the command token I gave you,” Xu Gu said with natural authority.

The subordinate’s heart shook as he examined the contents more closely.

Beyond the detailed regulations, there was also an emblem to be carved onto the sect’s main stone stele.

On it, in a bold and flowing script, were written four large characters: Great Love Immortal Sect.

No—that was five characters.

Between “Love” and “Immortal,” there was a very small, extremely small character for “Demon,” almost invisible to the naked eye.

The full name was not Great Love Immortal Sect, but Great Love Demon Immortal Sect.

“A single character for ‘demon’—how much destiny could it really carry? We are not just a demonic sect, but a Demon Immortal Sect. Our vision is that all demonic cultivators become immortals,” Xu Gu said, wicked and unrestrained, demonic energy soaring, overwhelmingly domineering.

“Yes!” The subordinate was completely subdued, filled with reverence.

Then the second subordinate with a command token spoke hesitantly:

“Demon Lord, your order is… from now on, we’re to give eggs to all the elderly within a radius of ten li? Invite them to join our Cavern—no, join our Great Love Demon Immortal Sect—as external protectors?”

As he spoke, the other subordinates couldn’t help but speak out too:

“And… we’re not allowed to let the brothers burn, kill, rob, and oppress the common people within ten li? We can understand that. But we also have to protect them? Give them meticulous care?”

“We have to save lives? Ensure good weather? Teach them to read and write, even help them cultivate immortality?”

“Even the Demon Cavern itself has to be renovated—to be full of sunlight, feel friendly, and lift people’s spirits when they see it?”

All the trusted aides’ hearts churned with questions as they gritted their teeth and voiced their doubts.

If they really carried all this out, would they still be demonic cultivators?

What difference would there be between them and the righteous path?

If it came to that, why not just join a righteous immortal sect instead?

Oh, right—they had tried to join an immortal sect once. The sect didn’t want them.

Still, even the righteous path probably didn’t do things to this extent.

“What?” Xu Gu’s terrifying pressure rolled out. “You have objections to my orders?”

If they were in an immortal sect, you needed to persuade people with reason and emotion to push through a decision.

In the Demon Cavern, to push through a decision, you only needed a bigger fist. No reasoning required.

As Demon Lord, his fist was of course the biggest.

That was exactly why he liked being a demonic cultivator.

“We wouldn’t dare! It’s just that the people below might resist. It could be difficult to implement,” all the trusted aides said, their faces changing drastically as they trembled on the ground.

“Then do it anyway. Resistance? Whoever dares to resist me—if I see anyone violate my commands, I’ll make him wish he were dead,” Xu Gu said coldly, his pressure blanketing the entire Demon Cavern. “Remember this—demonic cultivators’ lives don’t count as lives.”

“Yes!” Every subordinate felt a chill in their hearts, completely shocked by Xu Gu’s last sentence. They no longer dared to have any objections.

Thus—

Inside the illusion, all the demonic cultivators, oppressed by Xu Gu’s tyranny, began to work busily.

Outside the illusion, everyone was stunned.

(End of this chapter)