Chapter 41: The Forty-First Day of Becoming Cult Leader (Part 1)

Ever since becoming the Demonic Cult’s Cult Leader, Qin Ming had long since grown used to being praised by the disciples inside the cult. Because of that, whenever someone praised him for something he had never done, he always felt it had to be because they had been misled by his appearance and misunderstood him.

And Chen Lue, who was following behind him, was a genuine acting talent. He had kept up a calm expression the whole time, looking as though the matter had nothing to do with him, so Qin Ming did not suspect him at all.

Since he could not understand what the other party was praising him for, Qin Ming habitually chose to ignore it. He looked the old man in the alchemy room up and down, then said coldly, “Who are you?”

The old man finally met his eyes. His tone remained as calm and unruffled as ever. “This old man is an elder of Yantian Sect, named Danyangzi. You must be the legendary new Cult Leader of the Demonic Cult. I have long admired your reputation.”

Qin Ming was not in the mood to chat with him about long admiration. After all, the other party did not even know his name. What reputation could he have long admired?

“Danyangzi? It seems your reputation in Yantian Sect is quite great. I wonder whether everyone knows that in private, you kidnapped innocent commoners and used their blood to refine pills?” Qin Ming’s tone was filled with unconcealed mockery.

“Since my deeds have already been exposed, this old man has nothing to say.” Danyangzi showed not the slightest guilt. He merely answered openly, “This old man has only ever done one thing wrong in his life, and that was letting one person leave back then. Had I executed him on the spot that day, there would be no danger today.”

“What?” Qin Ming frowned, unable to understand what he meant at all. Behind him, however, the corners of Chen Lue’s mouth curved slightly, and a mocking glint appeared in his eyes. He remained silent from beginning to end.

Seeing that Danyangzi was unwilling to say more, Qin Ming sneered again. “In other words, you don’t think using human flesh and blood to refine pills is wrong?”

Danyangzi replied calmly, “In pursuit of the ultimate pill, some people must be used for experimentation. This is a good deed that benefits all people. Someone must make a sacrifice.”

Qin Ming only felt that he had already fallen into obsession beyond saving. Even if his idea had been correct, he still could not forcibly disregard the commoners’ wishes, abduct them, torture them, and use them for alchemy. How was that benefiting all people? It was clearly harming all living beings. And what about those innocent commoners? Who would dispel the suffering of their bodies and minds?

“Is that your last word?” Qin Ming was burning with fury, and killing intent had clearly risen in his heart.

“This old man has always fulfilled his duties for Yantian Sect and does not regret it.” From start to finish, Danyangzi only had those words. “Now that you have discovered it, it merely means your schemes were one level higher than ours. This old man has nothing to say. However…”

Danyangzi looked deeply at the silent Chen Lue. Suddenly, the corner of his mouth curved, and a vicious thought surfaced in his heart. “This old man does have one thing he wishes to say to you, Cult Leader… I wonder whether the Cult Leader knows that he is currently standing in danger?”

That eerie smile made Chen Lue’s eyelid twitch. He sensed that something was wrong, while Qin Ming frowned in confusion, a trace of wariness rising in his heart.

Could this old bastard have some poisonous scheme he wanted to use to excuse himself?

He immediately tensed all over, not believing the other party’s words from the bottom of his heart. He only spat out one cold word. “Speak.”

“It seems to me that not everyone at the Cult Leader’s side is loyal and devoted.” Danyangzi said mockingly, “If you are not careful, this old man’s fate will be the Cult Leader’s fate in the future… The taste of being betrayed is not something the Cult Leader would wish to experience, is it?”

This could practically be considered an open hint. Danyangzi looked at Chen Lue with hatred, feeling incomparably delighted for a moment.

Back then, Chen Lue had also been considered a genius in the sect. But this man had a meticulous mind. When they first attempted to use human blood to refine pills, Chen Lue accidentally discovered them. They had originally planned to bribe Chen Lue into keeping his mouth shut, but who would have thought that on the surface, the other party humored them, while in reality he secretly reported the matter to the sect master?

The sect master was furious and punished his direct disciple with three years of secluded cultivation. From then on, Danyangzi hated this meddlesome disciple. Openly and secretly, he disrupted Chen Lue’s cultivation everywhere. But unexpectedly, just as he had been about to deal Chen Lue a ruthless blow, Chen Lue took the initiative to go to the Demonic Cult and became a spy.

That was fine as well. The Demonic Cult was full of danger, and Danyangzi would not have to dirty his own hands. After that, he never paid attention to Chen Lue again.

But who could have known that when Yantian Sect was in crisis, when he took the initiative to offer pills and fought for absolute authority before beginning to abduct commoners on a large scale to refine pills, this man would silently expose all their conspiracies and thoroughly checkmate Yantian Sect?

It could be said that all of Danyangzi’s hatred was concentrated on Chen Lue. If he could provoke the Demonic Cult’s Cult Leader into attacking Chen Lue, even if a few doubts remained in his heart, Danyangzi would still feel incomparably pleased.

When he saw Chen Lue press his lips together for the first time, revealing a somewhat uneasy expression, the smile on his face nearly overflowed.

Until the man in blue before him furrowed his brows and said disdainfully, “That’s it?”

“That’s what you wanted to say?”

Danyangzi: ?

Seeing his utterly dismissive appearance, Danyangzi froze for a moment before reminding him, “This old man means that there is a spy from a prestigious Righteous Path sect at your side!”

“This Cult Leader’s ears are not deaf. There is no need to say it a second time.” Qin Ming gave him a look as if he were an idiot. “Isn’t it just that there is a spy in this Cult Leader’s cult? This Cult Leader knew that long ago.”

It had been written in the System-given Absolute Confidentiality. He had seen it too. What kind of secret was that? Such fuss over nothing.

Rather, because of the spy’s existence, Qin Ming actually felt happy.

But his reaction shocked both people present without exception.

Danyangzi: …There is a spy in your Demonic Cult, and you are still this calm???

Even Chen Lue’s eyes flashed with astonishment as he looked at the side of the young man’s face before him.

Yet he saw the young man standing tall and upright with his hands behind his back, calmly speaking words that came from the bottom of his heart. “As the saying goes, trust those you employ, and do not employ those you distrust. You need not sow discord. His existence is not a calamity for my cult. On the contrary, this Cult Leader should thank him for existing. Perhaps even he does not know how much meaning he holds for me.”

He was the only light within the Demonic Cult. He was Qin Ming’s like-minded companion!

Qin Ming had to protect him well.

“Of course.” As Qin Ming sighed emotionally, he did not forget to mock Danyangzi. “For someone like you, this matter should be very difficult to understand.”

Danyangzi remained silent for a long time. In the end, he sighed and shook his head helplessly. “I concede defeat. This old man has nothing to say.”

Even revealing Chen Lue’s identity as a spy had failed to shake the Demonic Cult’s Cult Leader’s will. What else could he say?

He could only say that Chen Lue was truly fortunate to have chosen to come to the side of such a Cult Leader!

Finally, he glanced at Chen Lue and found that the other party was staring at the side of Qin Ming’s face with a rather complicated expression. Danyangzi mocked himself inwardly for a moment and finally made his preparations. “Kill this old man.”

Looking at his carefree words, as well as his expression as though he had been freed from a heavy burden, Qin Ming’s heart was full of anger, but in the end, he endured it. “Do you think this Cult Leader does not want to kill you?”

“So many innocent lives died miserably by your hand, including disciples of my cult. Even if only to offer sacrifice to their wandering souls, this Cult Leader wants to slaughter you with his own hands!”

In an instant, killing intent appeared abruptly like sharp barbs. It pressed down on Danyangzi so heavily that he could barely move, and cold sweat flowed out.

The danger in Qin Ming’s eyes was even more like a pair of large hands strangling his throat, leaving him with no possibility of escape at all.

At that moment, Danyangzi seemed to age tenfold. His back instantly hunched, and pain appeared on his face.

However, that killing intent slowly calmed in the end. “But this Cult Leader will not kill you. Killing you would be far too cheap for you.”

“This Cult Leader will make you atone while you are still alive. I will make you taste what it means to be condemned by thousands and spat on by tens of thousands, and you will spend the rest of your life in prison!” This was the best method of revenge Qin Ming could think of.

Danyangzi’s expression shifted slightly. Sure enough, wariness and hatred appeared in his eyes. He was not afraid of death. He only feared that his name would stink for ten thousand years. Almost viciously, he berated, “…What a poisonous scheme! Condemned by thousands, just like you, the Demonic Cult’s Cult Leader?”

“This Cult Leader is different from you.” Qin Ming looked down at him from above and spoke openly and uprightly. “Everything I have done leaves my conscience clear.”

“Every word I have said is worthy of heaven, earth, and my conscience!”

“Even if I am condemned by thousands and spat on by tens of thousands, that is only because of my identity, not because of my actions!”

“…Ha, hahaha!” Danyangzi suddenly burst into laughter, as if he had turned into a demon. “How ironic. The greatest devil in the jianghu actually keeps saying that he has a clear conscience! Who would dare believe that?”

Yet the moment he met Qin Ming’s calm and candid gaze, as though he could see the sincerity hidden within it, his smile instantly disappeared.

He thought Qin Ming was laughable, yet he did not want to laugh. He thought he had a clear conscience, but why… did a trace of sadness suddenly surge up from the bottom of his heart?

After a long stretch of emotion and turmoil, in the end he could only sigh and say, “It is this old man… who has lost.”

Demonic Cult disciples rushed into the alchemy room. Qin Ming could not be bothered to look at Danyangzi’s expression. He merely waved a hand and left this place that disgusted him. “Tie him up. After announcing what he has done to the world, hand him over to the authorities for imprisonment.”

After taking two steps, he suddenly turned his head and looked at Chen Lue, who was still standing blankly in place without moving. He could not help softening his tone as he reminded him, “The matter is over. Let’s go.”

“Yes.” Chen Lue returned to his senses. For some reason, the gaze he directed at Qin Ming was mixed with complexity and a trace of emotion. He actually suddenly bent down and bowed to him, saying in a low voice, “Many thanks, Cult Leader.”

Yet what this thanks was for, no one knew. Was it because the knot in his heart from all these years had been untied? Was it because Qin Ming had eliminated a great scourge from the jianghu? Or was it because of what the Cult Leader had just said about spies?

In any case, today’s Chen Lue seemed to have gained a new life. His heart felt much lighter. At the same time, it seemed he had truly come to know this Demonic Cult Cult Leader before him for the first time.

“Righteous and evil exist in the heart, not in others’ words… I never thought that I would be the one who should understand those words the most.”

Chen Lue laughed helplessly, shook his head, then quickly followed Qin Ming’s steps and took his place behind him.

…

Qin Ming’s mood did not improve until all the Yantian Sect disciples had been arrested and all the captives had been rescued.

“Reporting to the Cult Leader. We found sixteen missing persons, but at present, only twelve survived. In addition, seven Yantian Sect disciples have been captured. Cult Leader, please decide their fate!”

[Mission Objective: Investigate the truth behind Zhao Tong’s death. Completed.]

[Mission Reward: Obtained one hundred thousand merit points. Reputation in the jianghu has risen slightly.]

Although they had arrived somewhat late and had been unable to save all the missing people, Qin Ming still could not help letting out a breath of relief. At the very least, most of them had survived.

Some of these people had been bled, their appearances withered and gaunt. Some had flesh cut from them, their spirits listless and weak. But after they were promptly fed pills found on the Yantian Sect disciples, the pain on their faces lessened somewhat, and their lives were no longer in danger.

After everything had been handled properly, Qin Ming finally looked toward Yin Hongwen, the Yantian Sect disciple who was standing dazed in the middle of the dungeon, swaying as though he had lost all support in an instant. Faced with this sudden change, perhaps only Yin Hongwen, who had wholeheartedly believed that Yantian Sect was innocent, had suffered the deepest blow.

After discovering the truth, the surrounding Righteous Path figures merely sighed with emotion. Once the shock passed, that was all. They could neither empathize with him nor encourage Yin Hongwen, and could only stand awkwardly to one side, helpless and at a loss.

Qin Ming looked at him and felt something was not quite right. He had wanted to do something to restore Yin Hongwen’s faith, but unexpectedly, Chen Lue stepped in front of Yin Hongwen first and said faintly, “There is no time for you to grieve here. Many of those who were kidnapped are still waiting for you to settle them. The innocent souls of the wrongfully dead are also waiting for your appeasement. Even the other Yantian Sect disciples, upon hearing of such a major event, will suffer a heavy blow. As the pillar of support for Yantian Sect’s younger disciples, should you not pull yourself together and guide the other disciples’ direction?”

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