Dance Of The Dragons
Chapter 430 : Threat (2)

Chapter 430: Chapter 430 : Threat (2)

Huang Taichen!

Qiao Wei was about to say something in his defense, but Bai Siyang squeezed his left wrist, gesturing for him to not say anything.

"Huang Taichen? I heard this name before."

Qiao Wei’s gaze swept through the renowned cultivators’ face. Of course, they knew about him. Huang Taichen’s story already spread in the cultivation world, but people did not speak of him in front of those from Tian’an Shang Sect.

"Ah, now I remember," a sect leader’s eyebrows shot up in exaggerated surprise, but his lips barely twitched. "Huang Taichen. Wasn’t he the young man who tried to cause a ruckus during the night of the Discussion Conference banquet?"

"Right. Now I remember."

"It was that guest disciple from Wushan Temple Sect who apprehended him."

"Exactly, that was Huang Taichen," Shang Zihan confirmed. "Back then, he was just a defenseless pup who used all kinds of tricks to wreak havoc. Now, he is a terrifying demonic cultivator."

The heavy word, "demonic cultivator," hissed through the air, a venomous serpent coiling around each listener’s heart. The faces of those who had borne witness to their bloodlust blanched to the bone, their eyes haunted by echoes of heart-wrenching screams from years back.

Those who had only heard whispers of their savagery narrowed their eyes, causing their fingers to twitch uncontrollably in response.

But the truly ignorant ones met the Shang Zichen’s gaze with a defiant tilt of their chin, their bravado a fragile shield against the rising tide of fear.

"We should not speak too hastily about so-called ’demonic cultivators’," Bai Siyang remarked thoughtfully. "My right-hand disciple, Qiao Wei, told me that he was just a disobedient, undisciplined child who tried to get into Tian’an Shang Sect repeatedly to no avail.

The late Sect Leader Shang himself spoke about his non-existing spiritual roots.

Even if demons are searching for followers, they most likely will not touch someone as untalented as Huang Taichen."

"Sect Leader Bai is not wrong," Shang Zihan countered. "But does Sect Leader Bai know that Huang Taichen’s father was one of the leaders of Crescent Mayhem Sect?"

"Crescent Mayhem Sect???"

At the mere mention of the Crescent Mayhem Sect, faces drained of color, betraying a terror etched into their very souls. The name, a venomous serpent slithering into their ears, conjured vivid nightmares of blood-soaked harvests and cities razed to smoldering husks. This was no mere forgotten legend; theirs was a reign of unbridled terror that still sent shivers down spines and ignited cold sweat on brows.

"Yes, Crescent Mayhem Sect. No one knows how he escaped death when the sect was destroyed more than seven years ago."

"It was indeed more than seven years ago," Qiao Wei pointed out. "Second Young Master Shang, the history might be blurry at times. How did you find out about Huang Taichen’s connection to Crescent Mayhem Sect?"

"I saw it," Shang Zichen spoke up. "I saw the Crescent Mayhem Sect’s sigil -- a burning black crescent -- branded on his back. It marks Huang Taichen as a previous member of the sect."

Qiao Wei gritted his teeth.

"If what you said is true, Second Young Master Shang, why did he keep trying to enter the Tian’an Shang Sect? Why not start cultivating the demonic path from the beginning?"

Shang Zichen broke into a nervous chuckle.

"Master Qiao Wei, with all due respect, you are asking me questions that only Huang Taichen can answer."

"Master Qiao Wei, we all know that Huang Taichen was the one who smuggled the three-headed lion into Mount E’ling during the last Spiritual Mountain Competition," a cultivator claimed. "Sect Leader Meng’s barrier is known to be formidable. Only those who cultivate the crook paths can infiltrate his barrier."

"All I heard are rumors," Qiao Wei said. "Rumors do not constitute truths. I see no evidence backing up these rumors."

"Enough," Bai Siyang shot Qiao Wei a look. "Young Masters, you both claimed that Huang Taichen murdered your father. We all saw his coffin today. He did not emit traces of demonic aura. Can you explain the reason for your suspicion?"

"Yes, we can," both Shang brothers answered in unison. "May we please invite you to take a look at something?"

Shang Zihan clapped with his hands once, and four disciples came in with black masks covering their faces. They were carrying a big black box on top of a bamboo stretcher.

The stretcher along with the big black box was lowered in the middle of the pavilion.

A thick, concentrated demonic aura spilled from within, causing those with lesser cultivation levels to wrinkle their noses and step backward.

Qiao Wei took out a talisman from his sleeves and spoke, "Come forth, Holy Fire."

The ball of fire hovered over his extended palm. As it consumed the demonic energy, its color changed from red to yellow, before it settled to dark green in the end.

"Thank you, Master Qiao Wei," Shang Zihan rolled his sleeves and approached the big black box.

"If you can assist me a little. Everyone else, please step back."

Zhang Zihan pointed two fingers at the box. A bright yellow beam shot from his fingers and struck the box. The lid immediately flew open, spewing forth a black fog that rolled across the parched earth like a tide of pestilence.

The demonic aura reeked of sulfur and decay, its wispy tendrils reaching for the cultivators with silent malice. The onlookers stumbled back, their faces etched with dread.

The black fog thinned, then parted like a curtain, revealing a blackened human heart, its once-proud chambers collapsed, its veins withered like dry rivers.

"This is..."

"Young Masters Shang, pray tell, whose heart is that?" Bai Siyang asked, while praying fervently that his worst prediction did not come true.

Shang Zihan answered with a shaky voice, "It was my father’s, Sect Leader Shang Daoming’s heart. Huang Taichen dropped it at the palace gate before he ran away."

"We found our father’s corpse hanging from a tree in a forest just outside of Tian’an City, his face blue and his chest empty," Shang Zichen added.