Chapter 271 – Mu Lin: I'm the Demonic Sect Saint?!

“Lord Seventh Bai, I’m sure you wouldn’t want to be enjoying hotpot and singing songs only to suddenly get robbed by bandits.”

When Mu Lin mentioned the phrase ‘robbed by bandits,’ he used a definitive statement rather than a question.

Clearly, this was an explicit declaration: if Lord Seventh Bai didn’t pay up, banditry would inevitably appear in Ping’an Ancient County, specifically on their Ping’an Ancient Street.

As for whether these ‘bandits’ would be genuine robbers, disciples of the Demonic Sect, or a group of imperial guards wearing ghost masks and iron armor—that was irrelevant.

Such blatant threats made Lord Seventh Bai grit his teeth in frustration.

However, circumstances were stronger than any individual.

Mu Lin had nothing to lose, but Lord Seventh Bai had an entire household to support.

Unwilling to tear off all pretenses, he could only swallow his pride once more, handing over a large sum of spiritual materials and resources for Mu Lin to suppress the bandits.

Outwardly, Lord Seventh Bai showed no unusual expression.

But after Mu Lin left, his demeanor swiftly shifted from calm to sinister.

“Lin Qiu, don’t get too cocky. By doing this, you’ve offended everyone. When the Demonic Sect Saint arrives, it will be your death day!”

…

Lord Seventh Bai anticipated conflict between Mu Lin and the Demonic Sect Prodigy.

He believed that two tigers could not share one mountain—once the Demonic Sect Prodigy arrived, a clash with Mu Lin would be inevitable, requiring no instigation on his part.

In a way, Lord Seventh Bai’s prediction was correct: the Demonic Sect Prodigy and Mu Lin were indeed destined for a confrontation.

But soon, something happened that infuriated him to the point of spitting blood.

Mu Lin was a man of his word. After taking the money, he didn’t just bluff—he actually mobilized troops to suppress the bandits, launching extensive raids against Demonic Cultivators within Ping’an Ancient City.

Of course, such operations had little direct impact on Lord Seventh Bai.

What made him want to spit blood was that Mu Lin, being a man of his word, also loudly proclaimed while suppressing the bandits that Ping’an Ancient Street supported their efforts.

Not only did he say it, but he even posted public notices throughout the city, explicitly stating that Lord Seventh Bai and his people supported the bandit suppression.

Now, the surrounding regions all knew that Ping’an Ancient Street had given the Demon Suppression Division a large sum of money.

As the main force of the banditry, the Demonic Cultivators who had been relentlessly pursued naturally grew furious upon hearing this. How could they not resent Ping’an Ancient Street for it?

“Bastards! How dare you fund raids against us? We may not dare provoke the Demon Suppression Division, but do you think we can’t handle your Ping’an Ancient Street?”

Driven by anger, Ping’an Ancient Street clashed with numerous Demonic Cultivators in recent days, resulting in many casualties.

Such scenes naturally left Lord Seventh Bai seething with rage.

‘We’re supposed to be allies—Lin Qiu is the enemy!’

Unfortunately, even though he knew this was Mu Lin’s scheme, it was an open stratagem—there was nothing he could do about it.

He couldn’t publicly declare that he hadn’t funded the bandit suppression, nor could he openly admit to being in league with the Demonic Cultivators—Ping’an Ancient Street operated in a gray area, not outright black.

After the Grave Lord Inheritance, other Demonic Cultivators could simply pack up and leave, but Ping’an Ancient Street still had to continue operating and maintaining their presence here.

Thus, they couldn’t afford to completely alienate the Demon Suppression Division.

Of course, while they couldn’t act openly, they had considered spreading rumors in the black market, claiming they were at odds with the Demon Suppression Division and that everything was just slander from them.

Unfortunately, Mu Lin, who had honed his skills in the online wars of his previous life, understood public opinion far better. He knew that people preferred conspiracy theories over the truth.

Therefore, before Lord Seventh Bai took action, Mu Lin had already spread a round of rumors.

For instance, “Ping’an Ancient Street is located near the Grave Lord Inheritance and has intricate connections with it. They regard the Grave Lord Inheritance as their own and view outsiders as invaders and thieves.”

“It is said that Ping’an Ancient Street possesses some methods to slightly control the trials within the Grave Lord Inheritance.”

“The conflict between the Demon Suppression Division and the Demonic Cultivators was instigated by Ping’an Ancient Street to reduce their opponents.”

“Openly supporting the Demonic Sect while secretly providing resources to the Demon Suppression Division—Ping’an Ancient Street aims to profit from both sides…”

Such conspiracy theories were clearly far more intriguing than Ping’an Ancient Street’s dry explanations, and as a result, more people believed them.

“This must be true. Without the support of Ping’an Ancient Street, a local power, how would Lin Qiu, an outsider, dare to confront the Demonic Cultivators?”

“Think about it: who benefits when we Demonic Cultivators fight the Demon Suppression Division? Ping’an Ancient Street, of course. If they weren’t secretly supporting this, would you believe it?”

“What are you saying? The Demon Suppression Division already clashed with Ping’an Ancient Street? Fool, that was a deliberate act of self-sacrifice…”

In short, Mu Lin’s rumors firmly established Ping’an Ancient Street as the mastermind behind the scenes.

As is well known, spreading rumors requires only a mouth, but refuting them requires exhausting effort.

There is also a saying that rumors stop with the wise.

But who were the people who came to Ping’an Ancient County?

Demonic Cultivators—wicked, selfish Demonic Cultivators. Such individuals always assume the worst in others.

Even without conspiracy rumors circulating, their minds would twist things in several directions.

With conspiracy rumors, they became even more suspicious of everything.

Thus, lacking public relations capabilities, Ping’an Ancient Street was easily divided by Mu Lin.

Now, they were alienated from the Demonic Sect Cultivators, with no one daring to trust them anymore.

In fact, many were more wary of Ping’an Ancient Street than of Mu Lin.

After all, although Mu Lin was hunting Demonic Cultivators, his actions were overt. In contrast, the group from Ping’an Ancient Street, as portrayed in Mu Lin’s propaganda, were like venomous snakes lurking in the shadows.

  It is easy to dodge an open spear but hard to avoid a hidden arrow—especially when the arrow is poisoned. Who wouldn’t fear that?

…

Mu Lin’s maneuvers infuriated Lord Seventh Bai to the point of spitting blood and completely thwarted his plans.

Now, no one dared to engage with them, instead harboring thoughts of eliminating them if possible. This left Lord Seventh Bai helplessly watching as he drifted further and further away from the Demonic Cultivators.

What angered him even more was that, even in this situation, Mu Lin still did not let them off.

He specifically issued a bounty list, openly pricing the heads of Demonic Sect disciples—this was done to provoke their anger to the greatest extent possible.

Naturally, the treasures and resources listed in the bounty all came from Ping’an Ancient Street—Mu Lin had acquired many resources from Ping’an Ancient Street, some of which he could use and others he could not. The latter were repurposed by Mu Lin to wastefully use them, further irritating Ping’an Ancient Street.

…

While Mu Lin was enjoying himself, he was unaware that his actions had stirred unease among the powerful figures of the Demonic Sect.

In a tavern, several powerful Demonic Sect members exchanged bewildered glances.

After staring at each other for a long while, Old Ghost Yu from the Nether Ghost Sect finally spoke first: “Let’s talk. Who does that ‘Lin Qiu’ belong to? Let me make it clear first—he’s not one of ours. My disciples are better at assassination, not frontal combat.”

Li Jingjing from the Yin-Yang Joyous Union Sect giggled: “Hehe, he’s not one of ours either. If he were my child, Ping’an Ancient City wouldn’t have this kind of atmosphere—we’d be holding an open gathering instead.”

Star Moon Sect: “He’s not one of ours either. Only by embracing extreme emotions and nature can one achieve the Dao. Our juniors wouldn’t play these kinds of schemes and tricks.”

Seven Killings Demonic Sect: “Definitely not one of ours. Our juniors do have a strong killing nature, but they’re better at fighting on their own, not hiding behind the scenes and manipulating people.”

At this point, the cold swordsman from the Seven Killings Demonic Sect glanced at the representative of the Six Desires Demonic Sect—a delicate, effeminate man.

Under the pointed gaze, the effeminate man didn’t seem bothered. Instead, he smiled and said, “He’s not one of ours either. My disciples…”

He wanted to refute, but before he could finish, someone sneered coldly: “Are you sure he’s not one of yours? Manipulating people and inciting chaos—that’s the Six Desires Demonic Sect’s specialty.”

Li Jingjing giggled: “Hehe, dear brother, just tell us. Which branch of the Six Desires Demonic Sect does Lin Qiu belong to?”

These Demonic Sect powerhouses before them clearly believed that Mu Lin was not a member of the Demon Suppression Division but a hidden agent planted by the Demonic Sect.

Or perhaps, a Demonic Sect had collaborated with the Demon Suppression Division.

It was no wonder they thought this way. After arriving here, they had gathered information about ‘Lin Qiu,’ and the more they collected, the stranger and more familiar it felt.

“Upon arriving, he used the Demon Suppression Division’s influence to intimidate Ping’an Ancient Street. Such behavior of ‘a fox borrowing the tiger’s might’ isn’t unusual. But what followed didn’t seem like the Demon Suppression Division’s style.”

“Exactly. After borrowing the tiger’s might, he resorted to extortion. And throughout this process, he showed no concern for the lives of the common people in Ping’an Ancient County. This doesn’t resemble a Daoist Sect disciple—it’s more like the behavior of our Demonic Sect brats.”

Old Ghost Yu: “The current situation feels even more familiar to us. Spreading rumors, inciting chaos… hehe, it’s starting to smell more and more like us.”

Li Jingjing: “Besides his behavior, I’ve also examined Lin Qiu’s aura. The energy within him is predominantly Yin energy, and the iron cavalry roaming the city are all summoned Malevolent Ghosts… Over these days, aside from deploying the iron cavalry, Lin Qiu has also unleashed vicious curses when encountering strong opponents or sent enslaved Anomalies tainted by eerie energy to act… In short, none of his methods are straightforward.”

The more they investigated, the more surprised they were to discover that Mu Lin was no righteous cultivator—he was a full-fledged Demonic Cultivator.

From his behavior and demeanor to his cultivation aura and even his Spell techniques, everything resembled what Demonic Cultivators were most familiar with.

In fact, many Demonic Cultivators’ conduct wasn’t even as ‘righteous’ as Mu Lin’s.

As for Mu Lin, a Demonic Cultivator, relentlessly targeting other Demonic Cultivators… this didn’t stir the slightest ripple in the hearts of the Demonic Sect powerhouses present.

Who do you think the greatest adversaries of Demonic Cultivators are? Naturally, they are themselves.

Within the Demonic Sect, even fellow disciples share little camaraderie, let alone any shred of pity for other Demonic Cultivators.

In fact, most demonic cultivators would rather befriend members of the Daoist Sect than associate with fellow disciples of the Demonic Sect.

No other reason—they too fear being backstabbed by their own sect.

With such a prevailing atmosphere, Mu Lin’s ruthless slaughter of other demonic sect disciples was hardly considered a flaw.

The powerful figures in the room believed he was eliminating potential rivals, wanting to monopolize the gains… Well, that was just typical demonic behavior.

And what Old Ghost Yu of the Nether Ghost Sect said next further solidified Mu Lin’s identity as the “Demonic Sect Saint” in the eyes of the others.

“I secretly observed that Lin Qiu wasn’t killing demonic cultivators for the sake of justice. He was using the flesh, soul spirits, and immense negative emotions of demonic sect rogue cultivators to cultivate flowers…”

With these words, Mu Lin’s identity as a demonic cultivator was confirmed beyond doubt.

Thus, the earlier scene unfolded.

‘Tell us, which sect does that “Lin Qiu” belong to?’

…

After much discussion, they ultimately concluded that Mu Lin was a member of the Six Desires Demonic Sect.

Although the Elder of the Six Desires Demonic Sect vehemently denied it, deep down… he was actually filled with doubt.

He had caught wind of some rumors, knowing that with the Doomsday Calamity approaching, the Great Spirit Imperial Dynasty intended to ease tensions with the demonic sects to jointly confront the impending disaster—after all, the Daoist Sect, the Demonic Sect, and the Great Spirit Imperial Dynasty were all human. Faced with the threat of racial extinction, it was only natural for them to consider uniting.

In the previous life, when Japan invaded, the Kuomintang and the Communist Party even joined forces to resist.

He also understood that his own sect had already established some cooperation with the Demon Suppression Division.

What troubled him most was that the Six Desires Demonic Sect had seven factions—yes, seven.

Even he only knew the situation within his own faction and couldn’t be certain whether other factions had secretly collaborated with the Demon Suppression Division and sent someone to Ping’an Ancient County.

“Could that Lin Qiu really be a member of our Six Desires Demonic Sect?”

(End of Chapter)