I'll Slaughter My Way to Immortality on the Bones of Betrayers - Chapter 44:

Chapter 44: A Difficult Choice

A storm was brewing within the Three Thousand Dao Sect.

On the surface, the sect was the leader of the Immortal Path, with unmatched strength and a powerhouse at the peak of the Divine Ascension Realm sitting at its helm. But in reality, the foundation of the sect had already rotted away.

That was exactly why the demon race dared to make a move at this point.

From elders to disciples, everyone in the Three Thousand Dao Sect was consumed by selfishness. They prioritized personal interest over the sect’s survival. A sect like this wouldn’t last. Even without outside interference, it would collapse in a few decades.

“Let me think,” Lu Hengge muttered to himself. “In my last life, not long after I was locked in the Sword Prison, a major incident occurred within the Three Thousand Dao Sect.”

“The demon race launched a surprise invasion. They almost wiped the sect out. If the sect master hadn’t ended his closed-door cultivation early and stepped in, the Three Thousand Dao Sect would have become history.”

Lu Hengge didn’t dwell on the matter too deeply. After all, he was only in the Foundation Establishment Realm right now. The outer sword wind didn’t affect him at all, but to forge Sword Bone Copper Skin, he would have to willingly walk into the raging sword energy and temper his body.

In his previous life, many changes had occurred within the sect during those hundred years. The first was the demon invasion.

While Lu Hengge had been imprisoned in the Sword Prison, he didn’t know the full details. Even after his release, he hadn’t paid it much attention. After all, by the time he came out, the invasion had already ended decades ago.

The sect had survived. That was proof that the demon race had ultimately failed.

However, Lu Hengge had clearly noticed that many people were missing when he left the prison. The peaks and halls, once lively and full, had become eerily empty and silent.

And another major blow—the sect master had died.

That was the deadliest blow to the Three Thousand Dao Sect.

Two top powerhouses died within a century. Yao Fan’s death had come suddenly, catching everyone off guard. The sect master’s death, however, was somewhat expected—he had been forced to end his secluded cultivation to respond to the crisis. Interrupting such a life-or-death seclusion was almost always fatal, unless one ascended and became immortal.

But this world’s Heavenly Dao would never allow anyone other than Ye Feng to achieve immortality.

After the sect master’s death, the sect lost its title as the leader of the Immortal Path.

The strength of a sect isn’t measured by how many disciples it has, but by how strong its top experts are—and how many of them exist. Weaklings could be produced in bulk. Powerhouses could not.

Before his death, the sect master had been the only cultivator at the peak of the Divine Ascension Realm among all the immortal sects. He alone had widened the gap between the Three Thousand Dao Sect and its rivals. Without him, the sect was no more than a first-rate force.

Although the demon invasion hadn’t physically destroyed the sect, it had left it crippled. In that sense, the invasion had succeeded.

Still, none of this had much to do with Lu Hengge. His only task now was to cultivate in peace.

In his past life, while the outside world burned in chaos, none of it had touched him within the Sword Prison. In fact, he only learned about the demon invasion a hundred years later after being released.

“Judging by the timeline… it should be happening soon.”

Suddenly, a thought struck him.

No! This time, he had to interfere.

If he remembered correctly, the last time this happened, the Three Thousand Dao Sect lost countless lives, yet Ye Feng alone came out of the crisis thriving. His cultivation soared, no doubt thanks to seizing countless treasures during the chaos.

Those were all fortuitous encounters.

Lu Hengge couldn’t let him have them.

Now that he had become a demonic cultivator, many of the demon race’s treasures were also great boons for him. Not only could he rob Ye Feng of those opportunities, he could use them to strengthen himself. Two birds with one stone.

Lu Hengge sat down cross-legged and began to cultivate.

There was no shortcut to forging Sword Bone Copper Skin. In essence, it was a form of body refinement. And like all body tempering techniques, it was accompanied by unimaginable pain.

The sword energy scraped across his skin, peeling off bits of flesh. Some strands even gouged into his bones, chipping off bone fragments.

Lu Hengge merely furrowed his brows—he didn’t flinch or cry out.

This level of pain? Barely worth mentioning.

…

Inside a cave.

“Young Master Mo He, you and I are close friends—we’ve hunted together, shared tea, drunk wine, and even shared women!” Ye Feng chattered non-stop.

Hovering midair, a shadowy figure looked helpless.

“Brother Ye, she’s my second stepmother.”

“Even though my father swore off women years ago, she holds that title. It’s hard for me to say anything,” Mo He said with a sigh.

This shadow was none other than Mo He, a young master of the demon race.

Ye Feng had come crying after the demonic heart he’d received was stolen by the demon fox. Mo He couldn’t do much for him. If anyone else had stolen it, Mo He could’ve ordered it returned. But it had been taken by the demon fox—his unreliable stepmother, who was married to his emperor father.

No matter how bold he was, Mo He didn’t dare ask her to return it.

Ye Feng was losing his mind. He had been relying on that demonic heart to cultivate. Now that it was gone, how was he supposed to advance?

Seeing this, Mo He tried to reassure him. “When the time is right, leave the Three Thousand Dao Sect. I’ll have someone deliver you another demonic heart.”

To most demon cultivators, a demonic heart was priceless.

But for Mo He, it was just a matter of picking one up from the demon clan’s treasury.

Hearing this, Ye Feng finally calmed down.

“I contacted you today because I have a favor to ask,” Mo He said.

Ye Feng didn’t hesitate. “I’ll do my best.”

“To be honest, the demon race has already begun infiltrating the Three Thousand Dao Sect. We’re planning a surprise assault soon. But the sect’s protective formation is troublesome. We need someone to disable it.”

Originally, this job wasn’t meant for Ye Feng.

The demon clan had already planted pawns within the sect’s upper ranks—there were other options.

But unexpectedly, one of those agents had sneaked off to the nearby Chuan Dao Town and was ignoring the Demon Emperor’s summons, throwing all their plans into disarray.

Left with no choice, Mo He decided to activate Ye Feng.

He avoided using the higher-ups mainly because if reinforcements from other immortal sects arrived and the sect wasn’t destroyed in one strike, they’d still need their spies to stay behind and continue monitoring.

To Mo He, Ye Feng was never one of them.

The demon race didn’t befriend the human race.

Ye Feng was only useful—nothing more. That’s why Mo He lowered himself to speak politely with him.

Ye Feng frowned.

“If I investigate the formation, won’t that risk exposure?”

If the demon race succeeded in destroying the sect, there would be no problem. But if they failed, the sect would surely start investigating. If they traced it back to him…

“It won’t happen.”

“This attack will wipe out the sect for sure. And even if it doesn’t, I’ve arranged a scapegoat for you. No one will trace anything back to you,” Mo He assured.

But there was no scapegoat.

Ye Feng was the fall guy.

He hesitated.

No matter what, this wasn’t good news for him.

If the sect was destroyed, his dream of becoming Holy Son would be over before it even began, and all his system missions would vanish. If the sect survived, he risked being discovered. The lightest punishment would be a stint in the Sword Prison. The worst… total obliteration.

Damn it!

Ye Feng’s face twisted in frustration.

No matter what choice he made… it was bad.