Lord Decay was a man of aloof and indifferent temperament, his movements mysterious and unpredictable. He rarely appeared before others; whenever he did, it was only for the purpose of killing.
Even his most trusted subordinates had seldom seen him in person.
However, when Wu Hui suddenly ordered the Candle-Cutters to massacre the Tara Sect's Lotus-Born Temple, such a major incident was something Lord Decay could not ignore.
He immediately summoned Wu Hui back. Wu Hui, thinking his master had called him merely to report on the situation, explained in detail everything Gu Fangchen had ordered him to do earlier.
He even added a few words of flattery, praising his master's wisdom.
Lord Decay was not angry after hearing it all.
He only thought that this fake heir apparent was truly a master of concealment, his composure surpassed those so-called prodigies by countless measures.
For so many years, he had lived under everyone's nose like a fool, muddled and harmless, and only now did they realize that they themselves had been the fools all along.
This man's courage was astounding, his abilities beyond comprehension, he dared to impersonate Lord Decay himself and directly issue commands to Wu Hui.
According to Wu Hui's account, the man's cultivation was at most Rank Seven.
Wu Hui, on the other hand, was a genuine Rank Three. If the impersonator had revealed even the slightest flaw, he would have been killed on the spot.
Such boldness was far from what any ordinary person could possess.
What Lord Decay found even more incomprehensible was this: if Gu Fangchen could deceive Wu Hui so completely, then it meant that he was not merely playing a role.
There was only one way Gu Fangchen's aura could be identical to his own, he must have mastered the Demon Refinement Method.
Moreover, the body he had used to communicate with Wu Hui had already been a puppet under his control.
Even for Lord Decay, this was something that defied all understanding.
If Gu Fangchen had mastered the Demon Refinement Method, then he must also know Lord Decay's true identity, that he himself was nothing more than another man's puppet.
But Lord Decay knew with absolute certainty that he had never revealed his identity as a puppet master to anyone.
That was one of his few weaknesses, how could he possibly let it be known?
Even if someone could glimpse that secret, it would have to be a being of the fabled Eternal Realm, existing within the river of time itself.
And Gu Fangchen was clearly not one of those.
This made the matter all the more interesting.
"Interesting... truly interesting," he murmured.
"Such a fascinating man ought to become one more puppet for me."
The gaze beneath Lord Decay's iron hat was icy and devoid of even a trace of amusement.
The other party had not only impersonated him, but had also directly commanded the Candle-Cutters to exterminate the Lotus-Born Temple.
This act had destroyed the transaction between them and Gu Yuye, and severed the channel Tara Sect had been nurturing for years, a channel intended for the Dao of Emotion to break through.
The Dao of Emotion had spent decades seducing and corrupting the Lotus-Born Temple to achieve this degree of infiltration.
And in a single night, all of them were slaughtered.
The loss from this was even greater than losing Gu Yuye's trust.
This grand scheme had taken them a very, very long time to set up.
And just when it was about to bear fruit, someone destroyed it in such a manner, so easily, this was something neither Lord Decay nor the entire Tenfold Dao could tolerate.
Therefore, Gu Fangchen had to die.
Fortunately, he already possessed a puppet body. When the time came, he could be taken and refined, allowing Lord Decay's own strength to rise another level.
The Demon Refinement Method did not have a high success rate, and the materials it required were so rare that even a Dao Lord found them difficult to obtain.
A ready-made puppet like this, was it not practically prepared for him?
Lord Decay raised his head and narrowed his eyes at the projected forms of the other Dao Lords surrounding him.
There were six Dao Lords attending this meeting, representing more than half of the Tenfold Dao's total strength.
These six were the Daos of Life, Death, Revelation, Righteousness, Measurement, and Causality.
The Dao Lord of Death needed no introduction, it was Lord Decay himself.
The Dao Lord of Life was an extraordinarily tall woman, clad in a blood-red bridal gown. She stood over eight feet tall, with a voluptuous figure. Her crimson veil hung like a curtain down to the floor, concealing her face. Only her long, dark, lustrous hair coiled and twisted about her.
She was known as Lady Delight, practitioner of the Dao of Vital Mists.
The so-called Vital Mists referred to the mingling of yin and yang within heaven and earth, the source of all creation, including the ecstatic union of bliss.
Yet the path of ecstatic union was, in truth, originally a righteous way. What they practiced, however, had become something far more debased and unrestrained.
The Dao of Life's obsession with the union of yin and yang, with birthing all things, had reached a terrifying extreme.
When one cultivated that method to a certain depth, it even altered the body, granting divine powers that were beyond comprehension. Merely witnessing them could drive an ordinary mind into madness.
She was second only to the Dao of Destruction in insanity.
The Dao Lord of Revelation, the "Millennial Elder" An Qisheng mentioned before, was the most normal-looking among them.
He wore a robe of plain hemp, his hair white but his face youthful. His long white hair was fastened with a jade pin, and he held a peachwood staff in hand, his demeanor that of a serene immortal.
The Dao Lord of Righteousness was a small, thin, elderly man wearing rough work clothes. His skin was dark and coarse, his face filled with wrinkles and sorrow.
Standing among them, he looked entirely out of place, like a weary farmer from the fields.
Only his ten pitch-black fingers revealed his true identity as one of the Charcoal Sellers.
The Dao of Righteousness professed to follow the way of benevolence and justice, but only as they themselves defined it.
Every member of the Righteous Dao was a Charcoal Seller.
Wherever there was snow and wind, there would be Charcoal Sellers.
Folk tales claimed that wherever there was injustice in the world, a Charcoal Seller would come to bring you a burning coal.
If you could hold the coal for ten breaths without releasing it, your grievance was genuine, and the Charcoal Seller would help you seek redress and vengeance.
But by doing so, hatred would never cease.
The Dao of Righteousness provoked strife yet never ended it. Rumor said that even the civil unrest in the Sword Pavilion back then had been their doing.
The Dao Lord of Causality was a figure in a black robe and hood, his face and form unidentifiable.
The Sixth Division Star Lord had cast his own causality into the cycle of reincarnation, he no longer had a true body.
The one present here was merely one-sixth of his existence.
In this lifetime, he had by chance encountered the Tenfold Dao and awakened a portion of his memories, allowing him to stand among them.
Otherwise, his commands were usually conveyed through his believers, who interpreted the information left by his various incarnations.
As for General Qianmo, Duan Qicang, he was a tall man in a ragged long robe, unshaven and hollow-eyed, appearing slovenly and lethargic.
Yet anyone who came near would notice his hands constantly weaving arrays out of spirit energy.
The Millennial Elder, An Qisheng, was the first to speak. His gaze turned stern toward Lord Decay as he struck his peachwood staff against the floor and demanded gravely,
"Lord Decay, why did your Candle-Cutters suddenly attack the Lotus-Born Temple, ruining our arrangement, killing the hidden agents of the Dao of Emotion, and interfering with the Dao of Destruction's mission?"
"Are you declaring war on the rest of us?"
"If you cannot give a satisfactory explanation for this matter, we will not let it rest!"
Lord Decay was about to tell them the truth when Duan Qicang, who outwardly appeared disinterested, suddenly sent him a private voice transmission.
"Hey, you. Last time we met, you told me to remind you of something. I keep my promises, don't forget our deal."
Lord Decay froze for a moment, then instantly understood.
The Duan Qicang he met last time must have encountered not him, but Gu Fangchen disguised as him.
Heh.
So there was still a hidden move?
Truly, the man's audacity and skill were remarkable. But today, no matter what he said, it would not change his fate of death.
Let's see what trick he tries to pull.
Lord Decay's expression did not change; he merely sneered inwardly and replied by voice transmission,
"Oh? What was it I told you to remind me of?"
Duan Qicang answered, "To untie the bell, one must use the one who tied it."
"...What?"
"To untie the bell, one must use the one who tied it."
Lord Decay fell silent at once, a storm raging in his heart.
His daughter's name... was Xuan Ling.