"You are also from the Demon Path," a single word "also" exposed her identity.

She didn't care anymore, having used the Demon Skill, such intense Demonic Qi, even a fool could tell she was from the Demon Path.

Shi Chun, who had been silently enduring pain, was startled. What the hell, the first thing I do after getting out of prison is to nab someone from the Demon Path?

But the knife embedded in Xiang Laner's body stopped in time; the other party had conceded, and he didn't want to crash into a dead end.

In fact, he was the "fool" in Feng Chi's mind—he truly didn't know what Demonic Qi looked like.

If Feng Chi hadn't spelled it out, he would have had no clue that she was from the Demon Path.

This revelation irritated Shi Chun massively, and in a really bad way.

Feng Chi's conclusion was based on the fact that those with a lower cultivation than hers would generally not withstand her "Demon Chant", the Demon Skill she had used.

To withstand her Demon Chant, one either had to have a higher cultivation than her or had cultivated some extremely yang and righteous Cultivation Technique, possessing restraining properties.

But even if they had cultivated such a technique, if their cultivation were much weaker than hers, they would still be somewhat affected. It was impossible not to show any hint of mental disturbance under her "Demon Chant", as some basic resistance is expected.

From her experience, the only possibility for someone not to be affected at all would be if that person also cultivated a Demon Skill, specifically one that was fundamentally similar and not just any mixed-brand Demon Skill.

If it was not some random, assorted Demon Path Skill, then it could only be one of the original three sects originating from the Demon Path.

If that possibility was excluded, only one remained: this person had hidden their true power and their cultivation was much higher than her own. She dismissed that possibility.

Upon hearing this, Xiang Laner's face, filled with bitterness, also flashed a look of surprise. She felt humiliated, especially due to the competitive nature among the Three Sects, and she was the Holy Daughter of one of them.

As for Shi Chun, he was somewhat at a loss for how to respond.

If pretending to agree could save his life, his ethical standards were quite low; he wouldn't mind impersonating someone from the Demon Path and even dragging Wu Jinliang along for the act. The main objective was to survive first, and worry about future issues later.

The problem was, he barely knew anything about the Demon Path, not even the basic outline. If the topic were to be brought up, he would immediately give himself away. He essentially lacked even the qualifications to pretend to be from the Demon Path.

However, he had heard about "Lianshan" and "Gui Cang". It was said that, after the Demon Ancestor established the Demon Path and branched into three sects: Lianshan, Gui Cang, and Tianyi, the Demon Path fractured and fell apart. Under the relentless assault of the Righteous Path, the Three Sects had long since vanished.

As for the current state of the Demon Path, he was completely clueless.

The real question was, how could he be so unlucky as to stumble upon this?

He really wanted to tell the other party, "If I let this person go, can you spare us?"

But he knew that was wishful thinking. That group was the target of severe crackdowns by the Heavenly Court. Having pierced through their disguise, they would most certainly seek to kill you, perhaps even to the ends of the earth.

In the Land of Exile, commanding East Nine Plain and facing challenges from all sides was done through deceit and scheming. He knew some of the tricks of the trade and was aware that the truly dangerous folks are those who lurk in the shadows.

And also, what exactly was that faint black fog that had drifted to the fringes, why did being near it inexplicably excite him?

It was a natural affinity.

Still fearing a trick, he cast a spell to hold his breath.

However, every pore on his body began to pop open on its own, greedily inhaling the surrounding air.

He was shocked, thinking he had been ensnared by a covert move from the Demon Path, and was about to intimidate the other party when suddenly an anomaly erupted within him.

Something within his Mana had been activated and was operating on its own.

Upon closer inspection, it wasn't operating by itself; rather, the inexplicable excitement had triggered his subconscious to cycle through his Cultivation Technique.

The black fog absorbed into his body dispersed with the movement of his Mana. It greatly stimulated his body and mind, granting him a comfort so profound he wanted to groan with pleasure, an elation that stirred the soul, soothing the suffering brought by his right eye's abilities.

What shocked him the most was that, having overdosed on medicine the night before—three pills—the leftover medicinal power in his body allowed him to feel effects he had not been able to perceive the previous night.

His cultivation, which had always been stable as still water, now felt like it was beginning to shake, fueling his impulsive desire to release Xiang Laner and thoroughly feel out what exactly was going on.

However, with a formidable enemy before him and his life at stake, how could he afford to lower his guard?

Feng Chi waited for a while, but seeing that Shi Chun was not answering and that his expression continued to change bizarrely, she frowned.

She could wait, but the Holy Daughter couldn't, her wound was still bleeding. Did she really intend to torture the Holy Daughter with such despicable tactics?

But then again, it wasn't unlikely for her to do something like that, considering she had even been involved in redeeming people from brothels and reselling them—methods so vile even those on the Demon Path would scorn. What couldn't she do? She was a disgrace to the Demon Path!

She immediately shouted, "Answer me!"

Alright, Shi Chun still had to gamble for a slim chance of survival and tried asking, "Are you from the 'Tianyi' sect?"

The Three Sects of the Demon Path, others might inquire about whether they were Lianshan or Gui Cang, but never about Tianyi, which could mean that they were indeed Tianyi.

Feng Chi asked with a mix of surprise and suspicion, "You really don't know our background?"

Shi Chun responded seriously, "If I knew your background, I wouldn't have touched you."

Feng Chi was both shocked and angry, "You dared to act recklessly on us without knowing our background?"

The two clashed in their understanding and principles.

She then pointed at the blood-dripping broken blade in the other's hand, "Bastard, first pull the knife out of my mistress's body and stop the bleeding! The Three Sects have agreed not to kill each other anymore, to gather strength only through fair competition. Otherwise, we'll all face collective punishment. What do you think you're doing?"

Shi Chun countered, "What happened to my brother?"

Feng Chi replied, "Nothing serious, he won't die. He'll be fine when he wakes up. Did you not hear me telling you to remove the knife and stop the bleeding?"

The Demon Path was not to be provoked, and Shi Chun, who truly did not want to offend her, cooperated quite readily. He commanded, "Turn around."

Feng Chi, grinding her teeth in anger but helpless due to the hostage in the opponent's hands, stiffened her neck and turned around.

Shi Chun moved with lightning speed, pulling out the blade and sealing the acupoints to stop the bleeding in one breath. Yet, the short blade ended up still pressed near Xiang Laner's wound. He muttered, "It's done."

At this moment, the two had the faint hint of camaraderie between fellow cultivators.

Turning back around, Feng Chi immediately checked Xiang Laner's wound and, seeing that it was under control, she questioned again, "Which sect do you really belong to?"

Shi Chun truly wanted to pass himself off as a member of the Demon Path. However, he was completely clueless about it, which made any attempt futile and would only backfire. All he could do was sigh, "You see my situation; I've just been released from the Life Prison and was born and raised in the Land of Exile—how could I possibly be from the Demon Path?"

"Scoff," Feng Chi derided. She knew too well the tricks of the Demon Path; creating several clean identities for later use was all too normal. What's so difficult about arranging someone from the Land of Exile? She mocked, "Come on, I'll give you a chance to prove you're not from the Demon Path. As long as you can truly prove it, I promise to let you go."

Shi Chun cautiously asked, "How should I prove it?"

Feng Chi gestured with her chin toward the Black Qi already faintly swirling around her, "Demonic Qi, take a few deep breaths and you'll prove it."

The proposal was too tempting. Before Shi Chun could even respond, he caught sight of the Black Qi drifting before his eyes and couldn't help but grimace, sharply inhaling it into his lungs.

Then he felt amazing, unable to resist, he shook his head from side to side to take several more breaths. The surges within his cultivation became more apparent, clearly aiding the increase of his cultivation.

Was this Demonic Qi? As Shi Chun relished the sensation, he was simultaneously filled with terror. He repeatedly questioned himself, was he really absorbing Demonic Qi?

The problem of his stagnant cultivation for the past two or three years, which had not advanced an inch, seemed to have found a solution. He had some difficulty believing it and didn't know whether to be happy or not.

Despite feeling forlorn, the sight of Black Qi drifting over gave him an irresistible sensation, prompting his nostrils and lips to twitch involuntarily again, and he couldn't help but inhale once more.

"Hmph, hmph," Feng Chi coldly laughed outright, "No matter how high your cultivation is, you couldn't possibly reach a realm where your lungs and viscera could absorb Demonic Qi without any reaction, treating Demonic Qi as air, and yet you dare claim you're not one of the Demon Path? Are you trying to deceive a ghost?

I knew it, how could someone from the Land of Exile just come out and head for Wukang Mountain? Turns out, you're just like us, eyeing Wukang Mountain. What's the point of hiding it any longer? Tell me, which sect are you really from?"

Shi Chun honestly wanted her to stop talking, he couldn't bear the stimulation. He felt numb, both body and soul.

He remembered the cultivation technique he had been practicing, personally passed down to him by Uncle Ba in East Nine Plain. At first, he was asked to memorize the technique, reciting each word without understanding its meaning. He had simply followed Uncle Ba's instructions to practice until he eventually learned to read and understood the technique he had memorized.

The name of the technique carried several "Demon" characters; he had originally thought it was about dispelling demons, like the "Demon Dispel Hand," which he assumed meant eliminating evil demons. Now it seemed that was not the case at all.

So the "Bath Demon Skill" was an authentic Demonic Skill. It appeared he hadn't read enough books; he needed to read more!

Uncle Ba must not have read enough either, teaching him indiscriminately.

In the future, he must not reveal anything about this technique; otherwise, it was tantamount to seeking death.

Through years of fighting and killing, he had just come to the realization of who he was—I was the demon myself!

Subconsciously, he turned to glance at Wu Jinliang lying unconscious on the ground, recalling the days when they had joked about dispelling demons and defending the Righteous Path together. If Wu Jinliang knew he was the demon, wouldn't Wu Jinliang look down on him?

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