The delivering disciple quickly told Ye Qingtao about the Divine Son. Ye Qingtao said nothing, simply nodding calmly, his expression entirely serene.
He understood now; it was the Divine Son.
He had heard that the Divine Son possessed the Blazing Fire Physique, which, once unleashed, could emit extremely high-temperature flames from his fingertips, capable of melting even diamond directly into ashes.
So what? There was still nothing anyone could do about the Demon-Suppressing Pagoda.
Ye Qingtao was in no rush; he would just let the Divine Son play around for a bit.
"Oh right, Tower-Guarding Senior Brother, Elder Jin asked me to pass along a message to you: the Divine Son might be after the treasures held by those demons," the delivering disciple said, lowering his voice.
Ye Qingtao had naturally figured this out as well, and replied indifferently, "No rush. I've been dealing with those fiends for a hundred years. Even if they guard their belongings to the death, smashing them to pieces right before they die, they would never let outsiders benefit from them—especially righteous practitioners like us. The Divine Son will figure that out after dealing with them for a while."
Back when Ye Qingtao killed that demon, he had originally thought the demon would beg for his life in desperation and offer up the treasures on his body, at least that was how it was always portrayed in the television dramas of his past life.
Yet in the end, the demon took out his possessions and smashed them to powder with a single slap, declaring, "Better to be shattered as jade than remain intact as tile! I'd rather smash my things than give them to someone else!"
At the time, that fiend had even assumed Ye Qingtao was only after the treasures on him.
Ye Qingtao pulled his thoughts back and shook his head.
With nothing else to discuss, the delivering disciple took his leave.
…………
In a gloomy corner of the sect, a bloodied man climbed up from the ground, looked around, and glared bitterly at a group of people standing before him, gritting his teeth in hatred!
His name was Ye Chen. The group before him were his fellow senior apprentices, who routinely bullied and oppressed him. Whenever he acquired anything decent, these senior apprentices would immediately snatch it away. His spirit stones met the same fate—in short, nothing of his was ever left unplundered.
His life was filled with despair, oppression, and stifling misery.
He had even reached the point of contemplating suicide.
Had the sect not forbidden disciples from defecting on pain of death, he would have left long ago!
He hated this place! He hated every single person here!
This mob had repeatedly bullied him, yet the sect's leadership turned a blind eye to it all. As an outer disciple, he couldn't even catch a glimpse of the sect master, leaving him with nowhere to voice his grievances. His hatred for the sect had reached its absolute peak.
"What are you staring at? Believe it or not, I'll smash your two front teeth in!" the ringleader of the senior apprentices roared with laughter.
Ye Chen clenched his teeth tight and said nothing!
From the idle chatter of these senior apprentices while they were beating him just moments ago, he learned that shortly before, Ye Qingtao had been stripped of his position, and the Demon-Suppressing Pagoda in his possession had fallen into the hands of the Divine Son!
He was instantly ecstatic, nearly jumping for joy!
He had naturally heard tales of the events a century ago. Before Ye Qingtao took charge of the Demon-Suppressing Pagoda, the pagoda would rumble incessantly day and night; at the slightest hint of trouble, the entire sect would be thrown into upheaval with no peace for man or beast, and everyone lived in mortal terror.
Yet once Ye Qingtao took over, all sound from inside the tower ceased instantly. Those demons acted as if they were dead, and nothing else ever happened.
This situation could only mean one thing: Ye Qingtao was capable of suppressing the Demon-Suppressing Pagoda!
Yet now, the pagoda had been confiscated from him, and the Divine Son had acquired it!
It seemed likely that before long, the sect would descend into internal chaos!
"Hahaha! When that happens, I'll defect straight to the Demonic Path and slaughter the lot of you, leaving neither chicken nor dog alive!"
"All of you deserve to die!"
Ye Chen roared furiously in his heart!
"Still daring to look at us like that, huh? Brothers, hit him! Beat him to a pulp!"
Thud, thud, thud, thud!
Ye Chen was subjected to yet another round of punches and kicks.
…………
Another disciple dispatched by Jin Dajian had already arrived at the back mountain. After speaking with the gate-guarding disciples stationed at the outer perimeter, he crossed the barrier and went in.
He approached the Divine Son, cupped his fists, and said, "Greetings, Divine Son."
Li Bashan raised his head, glanced at him, and demanded, "What are you here for?"
Li Bashan naturally recognized this as one of Jin Dajian's men. Jin Dajian and Ye Qingtao were close, so why would he send someone to find him?
A gloomy expression had already surfaced on Li Bashan's face. He sensed that his intentions might have been seen through!
It didn't matter, though. He had simply told the sect master that he was temporarily guarding the Demon-Suppressing Pagoda. If the sect master asked, he would stick firmly to that story; what good would anyone's suspicions do?
The disciple said, "Your Highness, my master sent me to pass along a message: the Demon-Suppressing Pagoda is not something you can suppress. Only the Tower-Guarding Senior Brother can do that. It is suggested that you return the tower to him as soon as possible, lest you provoke major turmoil within the sect."
Boom!
The surrounding pressure instantly intensified, and the disciple felt his knees buckle as if they no longer obeyed his will, threatening to force him to the ground.
He couldn't help but gasp sharply, his heart trembling with fear.
Merely with a single thought from Li Bashan, this pressure was more than he could bear.
"Did you just say that this Divine Son is unable to suppress the Demon-Suppressing Pagoda?" Li Bashan asked in a deep voice.
"Dis... disciple wouldn't dare, but that is indeed the fact," the disciple stammered, his legs trembling.
Li Bashan sneered, dropping the subject and instead beginning to find fault with Ye Qingtao.
"Look at that! The tower body is wreathed in all this dark mist. What has that Ye Qingtao been doing all these years? Why hasn't the demonic energy diminished at all? With results like that, how does he even have the face to guard the tower? If I weren't concerned for the safety of the sect, I wouldn't bother with this broken tower at all!"
His words sounded high-sounding and righteous, as if he truly had the sect's best interests at heart.
In truth, however, he had little confidence deep down as to whether he could actually suppress the Demon-Suppressing Pagoda.
He figured that when Ye Qingtao took over the Demon-Suppressing Pagoda back then, the demons inside must have just happened to fall into a deep slumber; why else would there have been no movement ever since?
After all, Ye Qingtao's cultivation was so low.
As for the possibility that Ye Qingtao possessed some special physique? Come on, was his physique as noble as his own as the Divine Son?
For top-tier cultivators, slumbering for a hundred years, a thousand years, or even ten thousand years was completely normal. These demons were naturally no exception, which was why there had never been any riots seen ever since—it had to be that.
So now that he had taken over, could it possibly riot?
Above all, Li Bashan believed in his own capability to suppress it.
What Li Bashan did not know, however, was that the demons inside had not fallen asleep at all.
The reason there was still so much demonic energy was simply because there were too many demons; a mere century was far from enough to dissipate much of that demonic energy. It would take at least three hundred years to diminish even a tiny, infinitesimal fraction of it.
For previous Demon Suppressors, it took every few generations before any visible reduction in demonic energy could be seen. Now, with only a century having passed, it would take several more generations of Demon Suppressors before any tangible results of reduction could become visible.
Not to mention that demonic energy was constantly increasing, as those fiends continuously radiated demonic qi from their entire bodies.
Of course, part of it was also anger on Li Bashan's part: why could Ye Qingtao do it, but he couldn't? He was a dignified Divine Son, so on what grounds did they say he wasn't up to the task?
He felt looked down upon and deeply humiliated.
Before the disciple could speak, Li Bashan continued, "Look at the top of this tower as well—the bricks and tiles are broken, and Ye Qingtao didn't even bother to repair them. How is this supposed to keep the demons out? Are his eyes completely blind?"
The disciple wanted to speak, but Li Bashan waved a hand to cut him off. "I am not finding fault with him; rather, as a Divine Son, one should hold the sect in their heart and worry for the safety of everyone. He simply disappointed me too much. Not only has the demonic energy failed to diminish all these years, but the tower body has also become this dilapidated. Would fixing it have worked him to death? I simply cannot bear to watch this anymore!"
"Understood... understood. We are deeply moved that you, Divine Son, hold everyone in your heart, but the sect cannot afford to take this gamble. Senior Brother Ye guarded it safely for a century—if someone changes places all of a sudden, who will take responsibility if something goes wrong?" the disciple ventured to say.
Li Bashan was highly displeased. With a cold snort, he snapped, "Bah! You're looking down on me! You think this Divine Son can't handle this tower, don't you? Fine, why don't you take my place then—here, take it!"
With that, he made a motion to thrust the tower toward the disciple.
The disciple flinched and hurriedly waved his hands. "No, no, that's not what I meant. Please return it to the Tower-Guarding Senior Brother; he is the one who gives everyone peace of mind."
Driven to fury by embarrassment, Li Bashan shouted angrily, "When all is said and done, you still think I can't handle this tower, don't you? Absolute nonsense! I refuse to believe it! I, this Divine Son, solemnly tell you this right now: if I fail to guard this Demon-Suppressing Pagoda and let the demons break out, may I suffer a deviation in my cultivation and die with blood pouring from my seven orifices!"
Realizing it was impossible to reason with him, the disciple sighed helplessly, shook his head, and said, "Your Highness, if the demons pour out en masse and the sect descends into chaos, you won't be able to bear this responsibility. The sect will plunge into an abyss with no hope of redemption. This disciple humbly begs you to return the Demon-Suppressing Pagoda to Senior Brother Ye!"
"Go play in traffic! This Divine Son rarely gets angry—are you looking to die?!"
Li Bashan's patience had reached its absolute limit!
"Divine Son, you can't do this. If something—"
Crack!
Li Bashan directly raised his hand and delivered a fierce, heavy backhand slap across the disciple's face. With a loud crash, the disciple shrieked like a kite with a broken string and went flying backward on the spot, vanishing into the distant horizon.