Shi Feiyang then filled the One Light Master's four Divine Demon Incarnations into the lamp, adding the Five Elements Essence Qi and the Void Dust, and repeated the previous steps, subjecting the One Light Master to the grinding process for another eighty-one days.
After the Demon Lamp was fully refined, the One Light Master had forgotten who he was, recognizing only Shi Feiyang as his master. He was bound to be utterly loyal to his master, doing whatever he was commanded to, without the slightest defiance. This point was not merely about actions but about thoughts. The moment he entertained any doubt, resistance, or revulsion against Shi Feiyang, he would torment himself using the cruelest means available to him.
The Heavenly Secret Demon God Lamp, from this point on, could be considered to be in its early stages of completion. Future sacrificial refinement would continue, but that would have to wait until Shi Feiyang's Daoist power had made significant progress.
A small world had formed within the lamp, to which Shi Feiyang gave the name Taixu World. In this world, his will was the supreme authority. He decreed the separation of heaven and earth: the pure Qi rose and the turbid Qi descended, constituting heaven and earth. He called for the existence of the sun and the moon, so the Qian and Kun Qi converged, giving birth to the sun, moon, wind, thunder, mountains, and lakes, which then evolved into mountains, rivers, lakes, and oceans.
All of these were insubstantial, and a follower of Buddhism upon seeing this would surely remark that it was all but a dream, an illusion.
Yet, reality and illusion are relative, not absolute.
Shi Feiyang sent over two hundred thousand demons into this world.
Within this world, the demons wildly scattered about. The weaker ones hid in dark corners, while the stronger fought and devoured each other. Shi Feiyang had the old demon of the One Light lead the Four Great Divine Demons in rewarding the good and punishing the evil. If the killing was excessive, they would summon Heavenly Thunder to shatter the transgressor, then gather the remaining souls from their bellies to have them "reincarnate" within this world.
By this method, they gradually wore away their inherent malice, slowly returning to a normal state.
According to his projections, after repeatedly experiencing life and death, the majority of the demons would revert to "normal people," although there would still be some whose malice would grow, becoming increasingly ruthless, eventually emerging as kings among demons. When that time came, Shi Feiyang would capture them for the crafting of various Demon Path Magical Treasures.
Transforming a wrongdoer into a good person was no easy feat, and to change a demon into a normal person required even more tremendous effort. For an Immortal or a Monk to convert someone with whom they shared close ties or significant karma, they would often have to go through several lifetimes. Shi Feiyang was incapable of incarnating into countless billions to convert each one individually.
He could only use this method, to let them "naturally evolve." Surprisingly, this approach quickly sorted the two hundred thousand demons into "good" and "evil" on their own, with "evil" always declining and "good" always increasing under the enactment of "heavenly punishment" by the One Light Master, who was executing Shi Feiyang's will.
Otherwise, not only would it have been impossible for him, but even if he were to summon all of the Heavenly Immortals and Divine Nuns of the right path from the Shushan World, it would have been in vain; and they wouldn't agree to come, only to say, "Buddha does not save those without karma." Because these demons had no karmic ties to them, and even if they were preached to, the demons would not listen.
Shi Feiyang spent nearly a year refining this lamp while residing at the Buddha Light Mountain's Zhuanlun Temple.
The Western Demon Cult still had many Demon Monks, and the Himalayas were their stronghold, yet after he had eliminated the One Light Master and then taken over his abode, not a single person from the Western Demon Cult had come to disturb him, let alone seek vengeance for the old demon of the One Light.
Even those who passed by did not dare to fly overhead; instead, they made detours, and whenever they encountered Xiong Man or Huo Wuhai coming and going, they kept their distance, not daring to provoke any conflict with them.
The news of Shi Feiyang defeating the One Light Master, once spread, shocked every Cultivator who heard of it, regardless of whether they were from the righteous or the evil path, and in their hearts, they elevated Shi Feiyang's status by a great margin.
This battle was indeed "awe-inspiring amongst the evil," and to say so was no exaggeration.
As the Sect Hierarch of the Western Demon Cult, Poison Dragon Venerable also trembled with fear. On the surface, he seemed indifferent, but behind closed doors, he was quite anxious, scared that Shi Feiyang might go to Red Ghost Valley and exterminate him as well.
Poison Dragon Venerable initially had a feud with the Sect Hierarch of the Southern Demon Cult, Green Robe Ancestor, but took the initiative to send disciples to seek an alliance. He also invited the Sect Hierarch of the Eastern Demon Cult, who had newly refined the Demon Fire Golden Banner and White Bone Heart-locking Hammer in the Alpine Mountains, Five Ghosts Heavenly King Shang Heyang. The three Sect Hierarchs from the East, West, and South gathered specifically to discuss how to deal with Shi Feiyang.
The three of them knew what level One Light Master was at, and after their study, they concluded that if Shi Feiyang did not come to attack them, they would remain peaceful. However, if Shi Feiyang attacked any one of them, the other two would provide assistance.
Green Robe Ancestor pointed out, "Poison Dragon fellow Daoist, that Shi fellow is closest to you and is most likely to come attack you."
Poison Dragon Venerable laughed heartily, knowing what he meant, and had his disciple bring out the prepared gifts, all were treasures rarely seen in a thousand years, to be given to the two guests.
Meanwhile, Shi Feiyang, having refined the Secret Demon God Lamp, came out of seclusion to test his disciples' Daoist skills and mana. He found that everyone had made significant progress. Although Jiang Shu was not his disciple and practiced his own familial Daoist books, Shi Feiyang had read it too and taught him many things outside of that book. The two referred to each other as brothers, but in reality, they were also like teacher and friend.
Shi Feiyang noticed that Jiang Shu made the quickest progress. As he grew older, the seal his past life left on himself loosened more and more. He was beginning to slowly remember things from his past life, but so far, not much – some things were just vague memories.
He said to Shi Feiyang, "I remember that my masters were Tian Dou and Ming He, two great ancestors. Before they ascended, I volunteered to create the Qingcheng Sect to continue their Daoist lineage."
Shi Feiyang asked him, "Do you know that you had a senior brother, Zhu Mei?"
Jiang Shu nodded and then showed a look of disdain, "He's entwined with the Emei Sect, inseparable from them. Besides our two masters, he's often favored by the three seniors of Emei as well as True Master Changmei and has done much for them. He even said that our two sects were branches of the same tree, originally one family, and there was no need to create a separate sect.
After our masters ascended, he went to discuss the creation of a sect with Qi Shuming. Taking advantage of his strong mana and the weight of Emei Sect's name, he came back and rebuked me for overestimating myself. He claimed that with my Immortal Path unfinished and making empty vows, how could I have the capability to lead a sect? He feared that even if the sect was successfully founded, it would ultimately be dragged down by incompetent disciples, leading to irreversible doom."
In his past life, Jiang Shu, brimming with enthusiasm, wanted to continue his masters' Daoist lineage. He hadn't planned to become the Sect Hierarch himself but intended for his senior brother Zhu Mei to take the lead. However, he was belittled by Zhu Mei, so Jiang Shu returned to his cave dwelling feeling frustrated, aware that his Immortal Foundation was not stable and that it was difficult to pursue superior immortal achievements.
Angered, he went to Jiufeng Mountain in Fujian to cultivate alone, and later decided to undergo Soldier Disintegration to reincarnate, refusing to be outdone. He was determined to succeed and show his senior brother!
Shi Feiyang, finding his spirited demeanor amusing, thought that since Zhu Mei had reincarnated and was purifying his temperament and settling his karmic ties, and had yet to return to the mountain, he should take this opportunity to help Jiang Shu establish the orthodox Qingcheng Sect. When Zhu Mei returned from his tribulations, he could stay wherever he pleased.
He then said to Jiang Shu, "Your senior brother has gone too far. What Dao Level does he have to belittle you like that? He doesn't even care for the brotherhood of the same sect! But you don't have to dwell on it too much. Isn't he backed by Emei Sect? You've got me on your side. Brother will help you establish Qingcheng Sect. When that shorty Zhu comes back from his tribulations, let's give him a good slap in the face.
Since he loves Emei Sect so much, let him go and become Qi Shuming's disciple, be a prominent third-generation disciple of Emei Sect. In the future, after Qi Shuming ascends, he can become the Sect Leader of Emei Sect. At that time, with you leading Qingcheng and him leading Emei, you two brothers can compete and see whose leadership is better!"
Jiang Shu, who hadn't fully awakened his past life memories and only remembered fragments of events, still had the ambitious heart of a young man. After hearing this, he felt both thankful and overjoyed. He couldn't help clapping and cheering, "That's right, he should go be a disciple to Qi Shuming!"
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