The Demon with Holy Radiance

"Are you all okay?"

Once he was safe and had confirmed that Non-Birth was gone, Yang An finally activated the Copper Ring on his hand to contact the members of the Scripture Defector Association.

In that situation, he had no way to protect them. Thankfully, he had told them to run beforehand. Otherwise, even if he had escaped, they wouldn’t have been able to.

The Copper Ring was equivalent to a neutered version of the Tree of Flesh and Blood. As long as the distance between the rings didn’t exceed three State Territories, they could all receive each other’s messages. Obviously, they couldn’t have crossed three State Territories in such a short time.

Soon, Heart and the others sent a message. They were all safe, and there had been no further incidents.

"Where are you?"

Just then, Broken Hand’s voice suddenly came through the Copper Ring.

Broken Hand was not among those captured by Xuan You. He had somehow managed to escape Xuan You’s pursuit and was now finally able to contact the others.

Through the Tree of Flesh and Blood, he had already learned that Xuan You had used the Scripture Defector Association members to threaten Yang An. That’s why he hadn’t shown himself while their safety was still uncertain.

Now that he had received word that everyone was safe, he finally made contact.

At the same time, he was also shocked. He never expected that Yang An actually had a way to rescue them from Xuan You’s grasp.

He had thought their final fate would be just as the Workshop Master had said—that they would be incredibly fortunate just to have their souls preserved to cultivate anew.

He still clearly remembered when Yang An first joined the Scripture Defector Association. For his first mission from the Workshop Master, he had still needed their guidance and help.

So little time had passed, yet he already possessed such terrifying strength.

If Broken Hand had ever entertained the thought of competing with Yang An before, he now completely abandoned the idea.

’How could I compete? What could I possibly compare to that?’

The group told Broken Hand their general location, but after some thought, Yang An told him not to come. He also instructed the members of the Scripture Defector Association to lie low for the time being.

As things stood, he was the only one who could be of any real use. The others were all too weak. If a situation where everyone was captured happened again, Yang An feared he would get dragged down with them trying to save them.

After clashing with Non-Birth, he understood how powerful Non-Birth was. Jishan and Xuan You had both been slaughtered by him. The next one to make a move wouldn’t be some mere Elder. If Non-Birth himself took action and the Workshop Master didn’t intervene, Yang An truly didn’t know how he could save anyone.

Rather than let them drag him down, it was better for them to lie low and cultivate. The main priority was to increase their strength as quickly as possible.

Everyone understood what Yang An meant. Indeed, in this incident, they had been a liability. If it weren’t for Yang An, it was hard to say what would have become of them now.

Therefore, everyone complied with Yang An’s command.

They were Innate Flesh Mushrooms, after all. Although they couldn’t compare to a freak like Yang An, they were still beings of exceptional talent compared to other Cultivators.

As long as they were given time and things went smoothly, they would definitely be able to develop their strength.

In a word, their future was promising.

"Any news about Wen Yin?"

After giving his instructions, Yang An asked about Wen Yin.

If Broken Hand managing to escape Xuan You’s capture was somewhat unexpected, then the fact that Wen Yin hadn’t been caught was genuinely surprising to him.

Wen Yin was the weakest among the Scripture Defector Association members. Logically, if anyone was going to be captured, the odds should have been highest for her.

But in the end, while everyone else was caught, there was no word from Wen Yin. Not only was Yang An surprised, but the other members of the Scripture Defector Association were also quite taken aback, and even felt a hint of frustration.

’It was one thing not to be able to compare to Yang An; he was a freak, beyond their league. But for even them to be captured while the weakest member, Wen Yin, had not been—that just didn’t make any sense.’

"No news,"

they all replied.

Wen Yin was not an Innate Flesh Mushroom, so she couldn’t use the Tree of Flesh and Blood to send messages regardless of distance. She could only use the Copper Ring.

There was no news from Wen Yin through the Copper Ring. Ruling out the possibility that she didn’t want to contact them, the most likely scenario was that her location was already beyond the ring’s communication range.

Yang An couldn’t help but worry. Besides her safety, there was another point: Wen Yin had a terrible sense of direction.

’She ran that far? Does she even know the way?’

"All of you lie low for now. While you’re at it, try to contact her as soon as possible, but on the condition that you aren’t discovered by the Golden Soul Sect."

With that one last instruction, Yang An put down the Copper Ring in his hand.

...

「Tens of thousands of miles away, at the Central Sect of the Golden Soul Sect.」

Inside a magnificent palace, more than a dozen people stood in rows below. Each person’s aura was incredibly powerful; everyone present was an Insect Dao Level expert of the Golden Soul Sect. But at this moment, they all waited silently for a response from their Sect Leader.

The Sect Leader had been silent for some time. The incident had been sudden, and no one dared to leave or chat idly, lest they incur his wrath. They could only wait obediently.

After nearly half an hour, amidst the flickering lamplight and the tense, ominous atmosphere, a cold laugh suddenly echoed from the high seat within the hall.

The people below immediately bowed their heads slightly. You could have heard a pin drop in the hall.

Non-Birth suddenly called out a name: Ya Zhong.

"From this day forward, you are the new Grand Elder of my Golden Soul Sect!"

Personally appointed by the Sect Leader, the man named Ya Zhong immediately prostrated himself on the ground, trembling with fear and awe. Although he was ecstatic inside, he dared not show a hint of it.

His sudden appointment as the Grand Elder of the Golden Soul Sect was a good thing for him personally, but everyone present knew what it truly meant.