Archean Eon Art
chapter-43

Chapter 43: Black Metal Sutra Fragment

Inside the hall, the hunchbacked man and Tu looked at the branch master.

“Brother.” Tu couldn’t help but ask, “Is this really a fragment of the Black Metal Sutra?”

The white-browed man nodded. “In the history of the human race, portions of the Black Metal Sutra had gone missing. It was confirmed to have shattered into eight fragments. The demons have also recorded the appearances of the eight fragments. Back when I flipped through their records, I deliberately recorded it when I saw it.”

“When I cultivate on the mountain, I can enter the library once a month,” said Tu with a smile. “But I usually read cultivation manuals. I don’t even bother to spend time on those useless books. Brother, you’re the best. You actually keep it in mind to memorize such stuff. Otherwise, we wouldn’t be able to recognize the fragment of the Black Metal Sutra.”

“These intelligence reports are confidential to humans, but the demons do not pay much attention to them. Even if they obtain the Black Metal Sutra… the demons are unable to cultivate it. They are only used for reference,” the white-browed man said. “I’ve identified the fragment that the Blood Cloud Bandits wanted to sell to us is the Lightning Devastator Saber legacy. The complete Black Metal Sutra’s Lightning Devastator Saber legacy is split into twenty-six pieces.”

“According to the reward set by the demons, a complete Black Metal Sutra can be exchanged for a million credits,” said the white-browed man.

“A million credits.” The hunchbacked man and Tu’s eyes lit up.

“It’s impossible to gather all the fragments since some of them have long been collected by Archean Mountain, Black Sand Grotto-Heaven, and Two World Island. Some have fallen into the hands of the demons, while some have been scattered all over the world. How can they be gathered? As we are unable to gather all of them, a fragment will give us ten thousand credits,” said the white-browed man. “Ten thousand credits… For just ten thousand credits, the demon monarchs will not be willing to risk their lives to enter human cities. But for us, it’s worth the risk.”

“Let’s risk it.” Tu’s eyes turned red.

“I’ve been in the Skydemon Sect for thirty years. I’ve only accumulated 1200 credits.” The hunchbacked man gritted his teeth. “Let’s take the risk.”

“Same old rules. After we succeed, I’ll get sixty percent. The two of you will each get twenty percent,” said the white-browed man. “Any objections?”

“No.”

“It’s your call,” replied Tu, and the hunchbacked man immediately.

In Skydemon Sect, the strong were supreme. Even if they joined forces, they were no match for the branch master. They were satisfied getting twenty percent each while the branch master took sixty percent.

“If you didn’t tell us, we wouldn’t be certain that it’s the Black Metal Sutra fragment,” said the hunchbacked man immediately.

“In all my years at the Skydemon Sect, I have only accumulated 5000 credits. If I were to receive 6000 credits this time… I would have a chance of entering the Demon Transformation Pool and becoming a Skydemon,” said the white-browed man.

“Brother, you have already condensed a demon core for over a decade. You will definitely become a Skydemon once you enter the Demon Transformation Pool,” said Tu.

Skydemon was the cultivation path the demons created for human traitors. It was equivalent to demon monarchs and human Godfiends.

“Since we have decided to take the risk,” the white-browed man swept the area with his gaze, then said calmly, “you have to understand that this operation is extremely dangerous.”

“Yes.” The hunchbacked man and Tu were extremely solemn.

“Eastcalm Prefecture is a human city. There’s a Godfiend from Jadesun Palace presiding over it! The five Godfiend clans should have two or three Godfiends present. If any Godfiend discovers us, we’ll definitely die,” the white-browed man said. “In fact, if we are held back by human experts, we’ll still die once the human experts swarm us.”

“Understood.” The two vice branch masters nodded.

The Skydemon Sect… could only hide in the shadows.

After all, it was only a sect formed by human traitors. Although the demons had created a unique Skydemon cultivation system for these traitors, the Skydemon Sect’s overall strength was far inferior to humans. Their only advantage was that they were humans. Furthermore, the Skydemon system was adept at concealing their auras, allowing them to hide in human cities. However, once they were exposed, humans could easily kill them.

The hunchbacked man said, “Branch Master, your strength is nearly invincible under Godfiends. As long as we act fast enough, we can quickly escape. It would be too late by the time those Godfiends arrive.”

“Don’t be careless,” said the white-browed man. “Among the mortals in Eastcalm Prefecture, there are three who can restrain me. The Yun family’s Yun Fucheng, the Zhang family’s Zhang Yong, as well as the Bai family’s Bai Shuwan. The three of them are all experts at the Core Condensation realm. Although they aren’t my match, they can still hold me back for a while. Therefore, I have to avoid the three of them as much as possible.”

“Alright.” The duo nodded.

The branch master was practically invincible under the Godfiend realm in Eastcalm Prefecture.

As for the two vice branch masters, they were weaker. Although they had already comprehended Force and knew many demonic spells, they had yet to reach the Core Condensation realm. In Eastcalm Prefecture, there were more than ten people who could match them.

“According to what the two of you’ve said,” the white-browed man said, “those two Blood Cloud Bandits died at the hands of the Meng family’s Meng Chuan. Then, the fragment of the Black Metal Sutra might be in his hands.”

“This is such an important treasure. Blood Hand Zhao Can would definitely carry it with him out of worry,” said Tu. “I’ve also secretly investigated this matter. When the two Blood Cloud Bandit corpses were handled, many people were present. They didn’t find the Black Metal Sutra fragment. There’s a high chance that it’s in the hands of Meng Chuan.”

The white-browed man nodded. “The Black Metal Sutra is mysterious and unfathomable. Ordinary Godfiends would find it difficult to pry into its secrets. Only some powerful Godfiends and demon monarchs are able to pry into the profundity of the legacy. Meng Chuan is only seventeen-years-old, so he won’t be able to discover any secrets from it. At most, he will treat it as a Godfiend fragment. He likely wouldn’t carry it with him daily.”

“Yes.” The hunchbacked man and Tu’s eyes lit up.

“Brother, you mean…” said the hunchbacked man immediately.

“The Black Metal Sutra might very well be somewhere in the Mirror Lake Meng Manor,” the white-browed man said. “It’s very likely to be hidden in Meng Chuan’s residence.”

“Activate our Skydemon Sect assets in Eastcalm Prefecture. Think of a way to infiltrate the Mirror Lake Meng Manor,” said the white-browed man. “Search through Meng Chuan’s residence. If the black metal piece can be stolen, even better.”

“Yes.” The duo nodded.

If it wasn’t necessary, they wouldn’t want to fight the Meng family.

There were a group of Seamless realm experts in the Meng family. Three of them had comprehended Force! Furthermore, Liu Yebai was an expert who had achieved Force as well. Most importantly, there was also the terrifying Godfiend, Fairy Meng. If Fairy Meng discovered them, none of them could escape.

Therefore, they had no choice but to use their wits.

…

The Skydemon Sect members that were lurking in human cities were best at gathering intelligence.

They used demonic spells to control an old servant and a maidservant who frequently cleaned Meng Chuan’s yard. When Meng Chuan practiced his Saber Drawing Stance in the training grounds, the old servant and maidservant would search the residence while they did their daily cleaning chores. They even found the banknotes hidden by Meng Chuan, but since demonic spells controlled them, they obediently left the banknotes in their original spots to prevent the enemy from being alerted.

However, they couldn’t find the black metal piece.

It was because Meng Chuan had long discovered the black metal piece’s wonders. It was even more precious than the remnant Godfiend legacy page given to him by the Third Elder.

Therefore, he hid both the black metal piece and the Godfiend legacy remnant in his father’s secret underground chamber. It was the safest place, and there were many traps. If anyone dared to infiltrate the secret chamber, the entire Mirror Lake Meng Manor would be notified.

Since it was hidden so well, only Meng Chuan and Meng Dajiang knew how to activate the chamber’s mechanism.

The Skydemon Sect tried all means to find the black metal piece, but it was to no avail.

…

“What do we do? We haven’t been able to find it.” The three leaders of the Skydemon Sect of the Eastcalm branch sat down in a rather oppressive atmosphere.

“We have to obtain that ten thousand credits.” The white-browed man’s eyes were cold as he said, “Since we can’t find it covertly, there’s only one method—capture Meng Chuan alive! We shall interrogate him first and learn where it’s hidden. That way, we might be able to obtain the black metal piece easily. If he has given it to the family clan and is hidden by the Meng family, we can use Meng Chuan to force the Meng family into exchanging. The Meng family has definitely placed great importance on Meng Chuan since he grasped the secret technique at fifteen-years-old. They will be willing to exchange the black metal piece for his life.”