Immortality Through Array Formations Chapter 2063 Chapter 984: Great Demon Hall

Great Demon Hall?

Mo Hua felt a momentary daze, then nodded gradually.

During the time when the Demon Sect faced destruction, he had delved into the records from the Taoist Court and Taixu Gate regarding the roots of the Demon Sect, so he recognized those three words: "Great Demon Hall."

The pinnacle of evil cultivation manifests as demon cultivators who pass down skills.

The peak of demon cultivators forms the demon sects that transmit the path.

And the ultimate stage of the demon sect, under the command of the Demon Monarch with forces exceeding millions, nurturing vast numbers of "blood slaves" and "spirit slaves," devouring humans down to their marrow, controlling all resources, is none other than the "Great Demon Hall"...

Yet the Great Demon Hall feels so remote these days, with many having let it fade from memory.

Elder Zheng spoke with grave seriousness, "Over twenty thousand years ago, prior to the first year of the Taoist Calendar, the Taoist Court hadn't yet brought unity, the Cultivation World lay in turmoil, shrouded in utter darkness."

"In that era, the "Great Demon Hall" reigned supreme over the entire Cultivation World, commanding thousands of demon sects."

"The Great Demon Hall gripped the heavens in its grasp, allowing the Demon Path to flourish wildly, with innumerable demon sects rising high and demon cultivators scattering far and wide across the lands."

"Corpse cultivators forged dead bodies, blood cultivators drained vital fluids, monster cultivators feasted on meat, evil cultivators drew strength from others, demon cultivators forged souls,... it embodied a savage 'survival of the fittest' drenched in gore."

"Demonic Qi blotted out the skies, while rivers of blood soaked the ground... endless low-level cultivators suffered slaughter, robbery, enslavement as slaves, refinement into human cauldrons, live consumption, and the ripping out of souls for spirit forging..."

"On top of rampant natural calamities and surging evil spirits, cultivators perished in droves by the thousands."

"The numbers of cultivators plummeted sharply, the might of the human race weakened dramatically, vast stretches of land lay desolate for miles without a soul in sight, pushing humanity perilously close to annihilation."

"Amid this dire peril, upright cultivators steeled their resolve amid hardships, ignited their ambitions with the Grand Dao, ardently chased the righteous way, harnessing their powers to purge the world's fiends, villains, and corpse fiends, forging a steadfast path of justice through the world's brambles."

"Following that, righteous sects sprang up successively, and the influence of the Righteous Dao expanded steadily."

"Every righteous cultivator clung tightly to their Taoist heart, embracing the mission to eliminate demons and protect the Dao."

"Across millennia, uncountable righteous forebears sacrificed their lives and poured out their scorching blood, braving dangers to hack through obstacles, ultimately wiping out the demon cultivators from this realm."

"Even those demonic leaders and ancestors, whose malevolent might pierced the heavens and whose pride reached the stars, were compelled to retreat and conceal themselves in the shadows."

"The surviving scraps of the demon path could merely lurk in hidden nooks, barely clinging to existence."

"The world gained clarity and light, leading to the founding of the Taoist Court, which united the Nine States, enforced Taoist Law, advanced righteous methods, scorched and banned every demonic cultivation art and scripture, granting the Cultivation World more than twenty thousand years of tranquility, growth, teeming with cultivators, and the thriving Nine States we see now..."

"Regarding the Great Demon Hall, mired in immeasurable atrocities, and the myriad cultivators from that era of heartbreaking, mournful, blood-soaked history, over twenty thousand years have slowly erased it from the Cultivation World's historical currents, with scarce few recalling it and almost none speaking of it..."

As Elder Zheng recounted these tales of cultivation and the Dao, his voice brimmed with fervor and deep feeling.

Mo Hua absorbed it all, his thoughts swelling with intensity.

However, a thread of confusion crept in, leaving him unsure why Elder Zheng had abruptly shared these insights with him.

Elder Zheng fixed his gaze on Mo Hua and posed a query:

"Mo Hua, in your view, can the 'demons' of this world ever be utterly eliminated?"

Mo Hua furrowed his brow, reflected briefly, and shook his head:

"So long as human hearts harbor greed, rage, delusion, lust, and hindrances, 'demons' will emerge."

"Demons spring from humanity, and where there are people, demons will follow. Among cultivators, demon cultivators will inevitably appear."

Hearing this, Elder Zheng nodded approvingly: "The human heart breeds demons, and without tempering the Taoist heart, demonic notions will eventually surface."

"Should the Taoist heart waver and demonic thoughts take root, one will inevitably stray, succumb to demons, and turn into a practitioner of demonic skills who slays and destroys lives."

"That's from the angle of individuals, but consider it from the standpoint of powers?"

Elder Zheng observed Mo Hua and inquired gently, "What sets demon sects apart from righteous groups?"

Mo Hua creased his forehead, mulling it over, "The human way discards the lesser to bolster the greater..."

"Demon sects practice wicked demonic arts, butchering and subjugating the weak, guzzling blood, devouring flesh, seizing spirits, and wrenching souls from the feeble... this amounts to 'exploitation' at the cost of cultivators' lives and the roots of the Great Dao, marking the grave sin against 'Human Dao.'"

Elder Zheng nodded and let out a sigh: "Spoken wisely."

Then his eyes sharpened, and he pressed further, "And what of the righteous factions, the mighty clans, and grand sects—do they adhere to Heavenly Dao or Human Dao?"

Mo Hua jolted in surprise, grasping Elder Zheng's intent at once, as a chill sweat began to bead secretly in his core.

Elder Zheng spoke measuredly: "The mighty clans and grand sects plunder resources from independent cultivators, wring labor from them, strip away their sustenance, and cast them aside like worn rags—isn't this 'exploitation' too? Merely executed with a softer touch..."

"Yet this softness will erode bit by bit in time."

"You must... know about the Shen Family's dealings, yes?" Elder Zheng regarded Mo Hua with layered intent and continued slowly.

Mo Hua gave a nod.

"It's the prime illustration," Elder Zheng stated, "lower-tier cultivators, robbed of their spirit stones, toil, time, and vitality, reduced to mere worthless 'scraps.'"

"As useless scraps, they get naturally thrown away, slaughtered in pits."

"But the Shen Family's actions, ultimately, lacked true ferocity..."

Elder Zheng's voice held a hint of detached chill and severity:

"For they, in the end, clung to some 'morality,' merely pit-killing those 'useless' miners they'd fully drained."

"But are those useless mining cultivators truly without value?"

Elder Zheng shook his head, "No, they hold further use. Their hides can still be flayed, their blood drained for drinking, their meat consumed, their souls forged, and post-mortem, their bodies serve for raising corpses..."