This place was called the Kongtong Sect, and it shared an irreconcilable blood feud with the Qingyun Sect.
The story behind this was quite simple. Back then, the leader of the Kongtong Sect had been away from home when he was actually humiliated by an obscure, ordinary outer disciple of the Qingyun Sect. That disciple had looked down at him from on high, demanding that he hand over the treasures on his person with an expression of absolute entitlement.
"I am from the Qingyun Sect, and our sect leader is a Great Emperor!"
Furious, the Kongtong Sect leader had laughed in rage and slapped him hard across the face.
Then the disciple had screamed, "You just wait!"
Upon returning, the Qingyun Sect naturally refused to swallow this insult. They sent people over to negotiate, brazenly demanding ten billion Spirit Stones as compensation!
Thus, the two sides fell out, quarreling until it escalated into blows, eventually turning into all-out war between the two factions. However, the ancestor on this side was also a Great Emperor, so in the end, neither could do anything to the other. Things devolved into the same state as the Tianmo Sect, with both sides constantly playing petty tricks behind the scenes.
One day, someone from the Kongtong Sect would quietly turn up dead in a ditch, and the next day, someone from the Qingyun Sect would meet the same fate.
Right now, the Kongtong Sect leader was holding a meeting with numerous elders when a voice transmission suddenly reached him, causing him to pause in surprise.
After reading the transmission, the Kongtong Sect leader's expression changed, instantly turning into overwhelming joy!
"Sect Leader, what great news has occurred?" an elder below asked with a puzzled look.
"No rush, let me catch my breath first," the Kongtong Sect leader said, his face glowing with radiance.
This news was simply earth-shattering to him; for a moment, he was so excited that he was almost reluctant to share it with anyone else!
The Qingyun Sect had finally fucking replaced that Demon Suppressor who never let anything go wrong! The Divine Son was temporarily taking charge now. Hah, as if the Divine Son could suppress the Demon-Suppressing Pagoda!
After a long while, the Kongtong Sect leader finally reined in his excitement and said, "Good news! Hahahaha, a major disaster is about to befall the Qingyun Sect! The only person they had who was capable of suppressing the Demon-Suppressing Pagoda has been removed from his post and confined to the Cliff of Reflection!"
"What?!"
The entire hall erupted in uproar!
No one had expected that such a formidable young man would suddenly be relieved of his duties. Wasn't he doing a fantastic job as the Demon Suppressor?
Presumably, some internal conflict had broken out within the Qingyun Sect.
For all these years, the Kongtong Sect had heard that Ye Qingtao guarded the Demon-Suppressing Pagoda, keeping those fiends peaceful and quiet with zero incidents. Now that Ye Qingtao had been suddenly locked away, what would happen to the Demon-Suppressing Pagoda?
Without Ye Qingtao, the Qingyun Sect was definitely headed for a catastrophe!
"Sect Leader! This subordinate suggests we immediately arrange for informants to infiltrate the Qingyun Sect. Once those demons slaughter their way out, we will instantly muster our forces, strike from within and without, and storm their gates!"
An elder laughed heartily and happily!
"Right, that's exactly what we must do! All of the Qingyun Sect's past Demon Suppressors were mediocre; only after Ye Qingtao took office did everything stay quiet. With this change of personnel, the countless fiends inside the tower will inevitably break out like ten thousand ghosts escaping their cages. Let's see how they handle that then, hahaha!"
The Kongtong Sect leader laughed loudly.
A moment later, the Kongtong Sect arranged for numerous spies to secretly infiltrate the Qingyun Sect, keeping a constant watch on every little movement there.
They all unanimously agreed that the Qingyun Sect would descend into chaos before long!
……
Meanwhile, other sects and rogue cultivators also received news of what had happened at the Qingyun Sect. Instantly, it felt as though good fortune had fallen from the skies; one after another, they turned their gazes toward the Qingyun Sect in secret, waiting at any moment for chaos to erupt!
For a time, undercurrents surged and winds swept through the clouds!
…………
Meanwhile, inside the Qingyun Sect.
An elder who had a good relationship with Ye Qingtao turned pale upon receiving the news, nearly collapsing to the ground.
His name was Jin Dajian, and he frequently visited Ye Qingtao to play chess. Upon suddenly learning that Ye Qingtao had actually been stripped of his position and exiled to the Cliff of Reflection, he was utterly shocked!
In an instant, he understood that someone must have plotted against Ye Qingtao, scheming to seize the Demon-Suppressing Pagoda from his hands in order to take the treasures possessed by the fiends inside!
The problem, however, was that back in the day, even when their Founding Patriarch tried to take those very fiends in, they refused to offer up their own treasures to beg for their lives under those circumstances. How could they possibly hand them over to some junior of later generations?
If that wasn't wishful thinking, what was?
Jin Dajian's heart was currently a tangled mess of mixed emotions, and he was nearly jumping with anxiety.
In his view, only Ye Qingtao could handle the Demon-Suppressing Pagoda; no one else in the world could do it.
The reason was simple. Under every past Demon Suppressor of the sect—even the very first Demon Suppressor, back when the seals hadn't even loosened yet—the demons still rioted inside the tower every single day. The tower body would shake violently, causing the land within a radius of ten thousand miles to tremor and split open with terrifying, startling cracks.
All subsequent Demon Suppressors—even high-cultivation elders temporarily sent in to fill the post—simply could not suppress the Demon-Suppressing Pagoda at all!
In short, send one person in and it fails, send another in and it still fails. Not a single one of them could do it!
Yet later on, the moment Ye Qingtao appeared, the demons immediately stopped rioting, all was well, and peace returned to the sect.
Why was that?
No one could figure out the reason, but the man truly had no further issues the moment he went up there!
Regardless of anything else, with Ye Qingtao around, those demons had not rioted even once in a hundred years. Now that someone else was suddenly being swapped in, the sect was bound to face disaster!
Jin Dajian was extremely anxious. At the mere thought of the scenes of demonic rebellion from back in the day, his face drained of color in terror.
When the Demon-Suppressing Pagoda had spun out of control back then, the demons had nearly broken out of the tower en masse. The entire sect had been wreathed in demonic flames, turning into a living purgatory, and many disciples had suffered demonic obsession under the erosion of the demonic Qi, bursting apart and dying on the spot!
Even now, he still lingered in fear when he recalled that scene!
Without another word, Jin Dajian hurriedly summoned a disciple and said to him, "Quick! Go find the Divine Son right now and tell him to return the Demon-Suppressing Pagoda to Ye Qingtao immediately! That is not something he can suppress; only Ye Qingtao can do it!"
This disciple also turned pale as a sheet, his heart in complete turmoil. He hastily cupped his fists and said, "Understood, Master!"
…………
Elsewhere.
At a tall building within the sect offering a sweeping view,
This place was known as the Star-Plucking Pavilion, a fine spot to catch the breeze when idling about. Many disciples loved coming here to cool off, chat idly, and boast.
At this moment, a large group of disciples dressed in white, holding folding fans, stood here fluttering their little fans with effortless flair, looking toward the figure of the Divine Son at the back peak and discussing animatedly.
"The Divine Son is so handsome! Especially sitting there holding the Demon-Suppressing Pagoda, looking so unfathomable and profound!"
"Indeed, indeed! Just look at who we're talking about! That is our sect's number one talent, possessed of the Blazing Fire Physique. With a single point of his finger, flames reaching temperatures of tens of thousands of degrees can spew forth—truly terrifying!"
"Still, what do you all think? Can the Divine Son really guard the Demon-Suppressing Pagoda? Strong though his physique may be, the Demon-Suppressing Pagoda imprisons fiends that even the Founding Patriarch couldn't subdue!"
"Bah, your words are mistaken! The Divine Son reached the Great Supreme realm at a young age and possesses a special physique. Guarding some demons should be a piece of cake for him, right? Didn't you see that the Demon-Suppressing Pagoda hasn't shown the slightest reaction to this day?"
The cultivation realms in the Great Wilderness Realm: Postnatal, Body Tempering, Meridian Opening, Qi Condensation, Martial King, Martial King, Martial Emperor, Martial Deity, Great Supreme, Sage, Quasi-Emperor, Great Emperor. *(Note: retaining the progression structure while matching glossary terms)*
The speaker believed that the Divine Son would definitely be able to guard the Demon-Suppressing Pagoda. After all, he had been holding the tower for nearly half an hour, and the demons inside were peaceful and quiet, without even a hint of a riot.
This suggested that those fiends were most likely terrified of the Divine Son.
"What if those demons are just sleeping?" someone worriedly pointed out.
"Piss off with your bullshit! The Divine Son is my idol. Even if the seals have loosened, so what with those fiends imprisoned by the Demon-Suppressing Pagoda? Could it be that our Qingyun Sect has no successors left?"
A die-hard fan of the Divine Son cursed angrily.
The others said nothing more.
Almost everyone present was a brainless worshiper of the Divine Son. Only a handful worried that he might not be able to hold the line, but their concern was merely for his safety.
As for Ye Qingtao? They had long since forgotten about him.
And what they did not know was that the demons inside the tower had not stirred to this day entirely due to another reason.
…………
The Cliff of Reflection.
"Hum~~~"
The barrier produced a slight ripple, and a disciple flew in from afar, landing before Ye Qingtao.
He cupped his fists and said, "Greetings, Tower Guarding Senior Brother."
This person was the messenger disciple sent by Jin Dajian. Fearing that Ye Qingtao might not know who had acquired the Demon-Suppressing Pagoda now, Jin Dajian had deliberately sent someone to inform him.
"Oh? Is something the matter?" Ye Qingtao asked.