Chapter 179: Correction from the Demon-Heaven Dao

In the depths of the Northern Mang Forbidden Zone, Li Hao respectfully held out the gray storage pouch with both hands.

“My lord, this was retrieved from that demon.”

It had been Li Hao himself who obliterated Listening Wind Tower with a single strike and executed the squid demon. Now, chaos stirred across all factions within Luocheng over this sudden destruction.

After all, the number of known Moruo Realm experts in Luocheng could be counted on one hand. And as the city’s strongest cultivator, Li Hao’s identity was instantly recognized—he hadn’t even bothered to conceal it.

Listening Wind Tower was no small-time establishment. It spanned across multiple provinces and, while it couldn’t rival a millennia-old clan, it still stood a notch above the current Li Clan.

For such an organization, using demons as servants was hardly surprising. In many situations, the innate comprehension of Daoist True Intents by demons far surpassed that of human True Law martial artists. However, such knowledge was a tacitly held secret among top factions—never something to be spoken aloud.

On the surface, Li Hao had eradicated Listening Wind Tower for colluding with demons, a crime against the human race. After all, humans and demons were eternally opposed—this had been the norm since ancient times.

But no matter how just it appeared, this act had undoubtedly placed Li Hao at odds with Listening Wind Tower. As a major intelligence broker, they would not allow themselves to be humiliated so easily—unless they retaliated, their authority would collapse overnight.

Thus, from a familial interest standpoint, Li Hao had nothing to gain from this.

The various factions began analyzing his motives in detail, some even speculating whether Listening Wind Tower had colluded with the Li Clan’s second and third branches, provoking Li Hao’s wrath.

None of them would ever guess that the entire affair had been set in motion by a single word from Lu Yan.

Lu Yan didn’t take the pouch. Instead, he calmly observed Li Hao for the first time at such close range.

In the urban version, Li Hao had always appeared as a middle-aged man.

But in this demon-infested version, though his cultivation had reached the peak of the Moruo Realm, his appearance seemed older rather than younger.

Lu Yan understood the reason—most likely the result of the True Law Li Hao cultivated.

Not every transcendent system granted eternal life as in the immortal cultivation version. In this demon version, martial artists of the True Law system could attain immense power, but their lifespan was limited—Moruo Realm cultivators had just over a century to live.

Only by breaking into the Nether Abyss Realm could one escape the constraints of the human lifespan, gaining five hundred years and standing watch over the rise and fall of dynasties.

That was why Nether Abyss Realm cultivators were known as Ancestors of the human race.

Glancing at the storage pouch in Li Hao’s hands, Lu Yan narrowed his eyes and waved nonchalantly.

“It’s just a storage pouch. I tossed it to that petty thief earlier. If you’ve retrieved it, then it’s yours.”

This visit to the Northern Mang Forbidden Zone was a calculated risk. Lu Yan had no way of knowing Li Hao’s true intentions. Ordering him to kill the squid demon served not only to erase any traces but also to probe Li Hao’s loyalty.

Though all evidence indicated that Li Hao had no intention of betraying the Netherworld, Lu Yan didn’t trust mere intelligence.

A man who had immediately pledged loyalty to the Blood God the moment he appeared clearly couldn’t be considered stable. Only benefits and threats could keep such a man in line.

Given the internal strife within the Li Clan, Li Hao had every reason to lean on the Netherworld’s might. That explained his humility.

“Many thanks for your gift, my lord!”

Li Hao’s delighted expression caught Lu Yan slightly off guard.

Pointing at the storage pouch, Lu Yan asked curiously, “It’s just a low-grade item. Why would a Moruo Realm expert like yourself care for such a thing?”

Lu Yan didn’t bother pretending to be a native of this version of the world—his knowledge was too lacking. He might as well be straightforward. After all, it was widely known that the Netherworld Lord had crossed over with the Forbidden Zone.

So his identity as a Netherworld envoy from another world wasn’t suspicious.

Li Hao gave a bitter smile. “My lord hails from the Netherworld, which spans across worlds and holds countless treasures. Naturally, you wouldn’t understand our world’s limitations.”

“In our world, space-type items are usually crafted from the organs or flesh of demons or True Law martial artists who have comprehended the Dao of Space.”

“While they live, their flesh is imbued with Daoist influence. Once killed, their bodies can be used to make spatial artifacts.”

“The most common source is their stomachs—elastic, spacious, and usable despite their odor.”

“But all such artifacts share one fatal flaw: impermanence.”

“Once a demon or martial artist who has grasped Space Intent dies, their body is likely to be assimilated by the Dao. Even completed artifacts can be consumed, along with everything stored within.”

“Only some millennia-old clans have begun breeding space-attribute martial artists. Once they gain enlightenment, their organs are harvested and their brains preserved in jars using secret arts to ensure survival.”

“So long as there’s no active Dao interference, such martial artists can live fifty years, and their organs are highly prized.”

“Yet this pouch you bestowed upon me wasn’t made from any flesh—there’s no residual Dao aura. It poses no risk of spatial collapse. It’s an invaluable treasure.”

What Li Hao didn’t say was that the pouch clearly came from a systematic and industrialized production process.

If he could reverse-engineer it and replicate the process, it could replace the entire unstable spatial item market—creating a monopoly for space artifacts and a new millennia-old clan!

His initial respect for Lu Yan had come from his Netherworld status and the black robe resembling the Blood God’s.

But this casually bestowed treasure had sparked genuine reverence.

Lu Yan, of course, was unaware of these inner thoughts. Still, he had gained more insight into the warped logic of this demon world.

At that moment, Li Hao suddenly knelt down on one knee and solemnly declared:

“This subordinate is guilty!”

“Oh?” Lu Yan narrowed his eyes with interest. “Guilty of what?”

Li Hao’s voice was sincere. “I failed to discipline my clan. Members colluded with outside factions and fabricated a false Netherworld envoy using our clan’s name.”

“This affront to the Netherworld’s dignity deserves punishment!”

On the surface, it looked like he was admitting fault. But in reality, he was subtly pushing the blame onto the second and third branches, and appealing for the Netherworld’s help.

In Li Hao’s framing, the error lay entirely with the ambitious sub-clans and greedy outsiders—not with him.

Lu Yan remained outwardly calm, but inwardly, he was on alert.

“As I feared, there is a problem after all.”

Previously, Lu Yan had suspected this false envoy might have been part of a plot between Li Hao and some hidden force to test the Netherworld’s strength.

After learning of the clan split, most of that worry had eased.

But now, hearing that local millennia-old clans were involved confirmed that this was no trivial matter.

The Netherworld had built great renown in the urban version, especially the Netherworld Lord, who suppressed an entire world alone.

With such deterrence, it shouldn’t have faced a probe so soon—especially since in this world, top-tier experts often secluded themselves for years.

A mere six months was nothing.

“There’s something wrong here…”

Lu Yan didn’t answer immediately. Instead, he looked around the Northern Mang Forbidden Zone.

From the demon world’s data projections, most of what happened here mirrored the urban version. But one thing stood out—

This world had no spiritual energy revival!

At first, the demon world mirrored the urban version, and Lu Yan had triggered spiritual revival by planting an artificial spirit vein. That was part of the base events.

But later, spiritual revival became a global theme and formed the core progression path of that version.

It was the same with Cyber’s soul ascension, Immortal’s cultivation, and Urban’s tech tree—each a self-contained system unique to its version, and not reflected across worlds.

That meant in the demon world, there was no spiritual energy, no spirit veins—just the Northern Mang Forbidden Zone and a ghost god’s tomb.

These were enough to trigger the ghost god war and the Netherworld Lord’s appearance.

But without spiritual revival as a linchpin, many events became fragmented.

In the urban version, the Li Clan rose by leveraging the spirit revival era’s opportunities—nearly reaching the apex of power.

But in the demon world, all they had was this tomb site, far from enough to match a top-tier faction.

In terms of strength and heritage, this Li Clan’s status was completely disproportionate.

Discrepancies like this inevitably triggered corrections.

And the probing moves from these demon-world factions?

They were the correction enacted by the Demon-Heaven Dao.

(End of Chapter)