I Can Upgrade My Talent Infinitely

In truth, they were skeptical about it.

But the orders had come down from on high. Even if they didn’t believe it, they had to brace themselves and follow through.

「Several days passed.」

They had been lying in ambush here for a long time, but no one had shown up.

"It’s about time. If we haven’t caught them, it means they aren’t coming back."

"Or maybe they didn’t return this way," the Foundation Establishment Demon surnamed Yang added.

"Mm, let’s go."

"Alright."

Just like that, the two Foundation Establishment Demons departed. Upon returning to the Demon Spirit Sect’s Earth Realm, they went their separate ways, back to their respective influences.

The Foundation Establishment Demon surnamed Yang came from the Mountain Demon Sect, a Foundation Establishment Influence subordinate to the Demon Spirit Sect.

Before he even reached the Mountain Demon Sect’s headquarters, the Foundation Establishment Demon surnamed Yang sensed that something was amiss.

’It’s a little too quiet!’

Realizing this, he immediately picked up his pace.

When he finally arrived at the Mountain Demon Sect’s headquarters...

He was stunned.

Not a single sect Elder or disciple could be seen.

There were bloodstains everywhere, but not a single body. The metallic scent from the stains was extremely faint, which meant they had been dead for some time.

Everything he saw told the Foundation Establishment Demon surnamed Yang one thing.

’The Mountain Demon Sect has been annihilated!’

His sect had been destroyed, yet he, a Supreme Elder, hadn’t received even a whisper of warning.

This could only mean one thing: the mysterious Spirit Refiner had come.

They had all died at the hands of the mysterious Spirit Refiner.

It didn’t require much thought. Among the Cultivators of the Celestial Cloud Sect, only the mysterious Spirit Refiner possessed such power.

"Mysterious Spirit Refiner!"

The Demon surnamed Yang cried out, his voice filled with helplessness.

The fate of the Celestial Demon Sect’s subordinate Foundation Establishment Influences was a clear lesson. Even if he had remained at the Mountain Demon Sect, he would have only become another victim of the mysterious Spirit Refiner. His presence would not have given him any chance to fight back.

Now, aside from the disciples and Elders who were away, he was all that was left of the Mountain Demon Sect.

In terms of Foundation Establishment combat strength, he was the only one remaining.

’Demon Spirit Sect...’

The Foundation Establishment Demon surnamed Yang took a deep breath. If he had to pinpoint the cause of the Mountain Demon Sect’s destruction, it all came back to the Demon Spirit Sect.

If the Demon Spirit Sect hadn’t issued the order, if they hadn’t decided to help the Celestial Demon Sect, none of this would have happened.

Worse, the Demon Spirit Sect had lied to them, claiming the mysterious Spirit Refiner had already moved on to another region.

After collecting his thoughts, the Foundation Establishment Demon surnamed Yang could only send a message to report what had happened.

As long as he, a Foundation Establishment Cultivator, was still alive, the Mountain Demon Sect was not completely finished.

He had never imagined becoming the sect’s supreme leader like this. It was not what he wanted.

If the Mountain Demon Sect was to recover with any speed, its only option was to absorb the surrounding Qi Refining Demon factions that were subordinate to it.

With him as a Foundation Establishment Demon, he needed at least fifty Qi Refining Demons under his command.

Only then could it be called a Foundation Establishment Influence.

What the Mountain Demon Sect’s Foundation Establishment Demon surnamed Yang didn’t realize was that the other Foundation Establishment Demon who had parted ways with him had returned to a nearly identical scene.

This broke the mysterious Spirit Refiner’s previous pattern of activity.

...

「The Demon Spirit Sect Headquarters.」

In the private chambers where the Sect Leader rested and cultivated.

News regarding the subordinate Foundation Establishment Influences usually came to him.

When a message arrived, the Demon Spirit Sect Leader had assumed it was good news, but its contents made his expression change drastically.

’The mysterious Spirit Refiner has struck!’

The sect’s high command had predicted this. They knew that once they moved to help the Celestial Demon Sect shoulder the pressure from the Celestial Cloud Sect, the mysterious Spirit Refiner would begin to operate within their Earth Realm.

They had desperately hoped this would not happen.

But in the end, it happened anyway.

There was no time to delay.

For a matter this important, he had to see the Supreme Elder.

Although Supreme Elder Pang Feng was on the verge of retirement, he remained the most powerful figure in the sect’s leadership. Therefore, the Demon Spirit Sect Leader still had to see him to report the news.

He was the newly appointed Demon Spirit Sect Leader, and he would be the last one Supreme Elder Pang Feng would see in his lifetime.

"Supreme Elder."

The Demon Spirit Sect Leader had just met with Supreme Elder Pang Feng and was about to report the news when, at that very moment, another message arrived.

He glanced at Pang Feng.

With a nod from Pang Feng, the Demon Spirit Sect Leader received the message first.

In that instant, the Demon Spirit Sect Leader’s expression changed again.

"What is it?" Pang Feng asked.

"Supreme Elder, I had just received a report that the Mountain Demon Sect was attacked by the mysterious Spirit Refiner. Now, this new message says the Gu Family has met the same fate. In both cases, the news came from their Foundation Establishment cultivators who were away on missions."

Having said this, the Demon Spirit Sect Leader said no more.

He knew that the Supreme Elder understood everything from just that.

While they were taking action, the mysterious Spirit Refiner had also taken action, wiping out two of their subordinate Foundation Establishment Influences in one fell swoop.

Previously, when the mysterious Spirit Refiner was operating against the Celestial Demon Sect, they had only targeted one subordinate Foundation Establishment Influence at a time.

"The Celestial Cloud Sect’s mysterious Spirit Refiner..."

"Supreme Elder, do you think this is a warning from the mysterious Spirit Refiner? No, to be precise, it must be a warning from the Celestial Cloud Sect, telling us not to interfere in their feud with the Celestial Demon Sect."

The Demon Spirit Sect Leader voiced his speculation in front of Supreme Elder Pang Feng.

Something that hadn’t happened in the Celestial Demon Sect’s Earth Realm was now happening in the Demon Spirit Sect’s. The Celestial Cloud Sect’s warning was crystal clear.

"You’re right," Pang Feng said, nodding in agreement with the Demon Spirit Sect Leader.

If they didn’t stop now, the situation with the Demon Spirit Sect’s subordinate influences would eventually devolve into what had happened to the Celestial Demon Sect.

Today, the Celestial Demon Sect no longer had any respectable combat strength from its subordinate Foundation Establishment Influences.

If the Demon Spirit Sect’s subordinate Foundation Establishment Influences were to learn of this, they would likely descend into chaos.

Because they were the ones being targeted by the mysterious Spirit Refiner.

It was impossible for the mysterious Spirit Refiner to come to the Demon Spirit Sect and attack them directly. If the Spirit Refiner actually dared to show up here, it would be a tremendous stroke of luck for them.

That way, they could eliminate the mysterious Spirit Refiner.

But that was just wishful thinking. Given the mysterious Spirit Refiner’s elusive nature, there was no way they would simply appear at the Demon Spirit Sect’s headquarters.

"Sect Leader, do you think the mysterious Spirit Refiner deliberately chose to strike the Mountain Demon Sect and the Gu Family?"

"Supreme Elder, you mean..." The Demon Spirit Sect Leader mulled over the Supreme Elder’s words, and a realization quickly dawned on him. "...that the mysterious Spirit Refiner intentionally spared those two Foundation Establishment cultivators?"

"More or less."

Thinking it over more deeply, the Demon Spirit Sect Leader couldn’t help but take a sharp breath.

’If that’s really the case, it means the Celestial Cloud Sect’s intelligence-gathering capabilities are even more formidable than we imagined.’

’This is not good news.’

’The more accurate their intelligence, the better their decisions will be.’

’Take this situation for example. The mysterious Spirit Refiner specifically targeted our two subordinate Foundation Establishment Influences, choosing the Mountain Demon Sect and the Gu Family. This way, when the Foundation Establishment cultivators from the Mountain Demon Sect and the Gu Family returned, they would find their influences destroyed.’

’Now that the Foundation Establishment cultivators from two subordinate influences have this information, it will be very difficult for us to lock down the news.’

’If the other subordinate Foundation Establishment Influences get this information, it will most likely cause panic among them.’

’Our original plan was to have the subordinate Foundation Establishment Influences test the waters, but under these circumstances, it will be difficult for them to take any meaningful action.’

’If we still want to support the Celestial Demon Sect, we can only dispatch a large number of our own Elders.’

After a long silence, the Demon Spirit Sect Leader finally said slowly, "...If that’s truly the case, then the Celestial Cloud Sect’s planning runs far deeper than we thought."

What the sect did next was not for him, the Demon Spirit Sect Leader, to decide. It was up to the sect’s high command.

Pang Feng was still lost in thought.

His Life Span was nearing its end, and personally, he was not the least bit afraid of the Celestial Cloud Sect.

If he were only considering himself, he would have made a move against the Celestial Cloud Sect long ago.

But as things stood, if he were to act recklessly, the consequences would be borne by the future of the Demon Spirit Sect.

Faced with this warning from the Celestial Cloud Sect, he was torn between the desire to retaliate and the need for restraint.