All Heavenly destiny reduced to ashes

Regarding the mysterious voice, An Jing certainly had his doubts. Although the voice had helped him, might it have an ulterior motive?

But at this point, he had no leisure to doubt the other party. Faced with this fork in the road, An Jing either had to trust the voice or comply with the Demon Sect.

The choice was an easy one.

[Hmm... it seems you are quite clear on the matter]

Upon hearing An Jing state his position so frankly, the mysterious voice paused before saying, [Since you realize that you have been discovered, how can you remain so calm? This can't be explained by Innate Wisdom.]

"He wants me to go."

Even though Innate Wisdom had been effortlessly seen through by the mysterious voice, An Jing remained composed and said indifferently, "He has given more than enough hints. During that transmission of the righteous method, he did not hide his identity as part of the 'Heaven's Will Demon Sect' at all."

"In fact, they didn't hide anything from beginning to end, apart from not declaring themselves as the Demon Sect."

"This is also a test—if recognizing the Imperial Heaven Method as directly linked to the Martial Meridian is to pass, and seeing the Houtu Skills as excellent and outstanding, then realizing the Son of Heaven Method means Hanging Fate Manor, or rather, the 'genius' that the Demon Sect truly wants to find."

"Do you think the beast bones that appeared at the gates while I was waiting there were a coincidence?"

"Do you think that me exiting the gates with a potion and heading towards the Pharmacist at Dongtian Manor was also a coincidence?"

"There are no such coincidences…"

"This is the final test. A test of 'standpoint'. There is a truth waiting for me there."

"The Manor Master of the Medicine Manor wants me to go, and indeed, I also wish to go."

[You are not the least bit surprised]

The mysterious voice spoke softly, and An Jing did not know whether to laugh or sigh, only managing to say with a voice tinged with bitterness, "Because I have had my suspicions for a long time."

"Who would truly spend vast sums of money in the Northern Border to buy disaster victims, and even treat their illnesses?"

"Only those who truly need 'lives'."

"They check physical roots and even inquire about astrological birth data because what they need are lives. If the birth data matches, they are naturally willing to pay the price to save and bring them back."

"The brainwashing of the evil teachings at Hanging Fate Manor, the procedures to cultivate obedience, I was already aware of in my Innate Wisdom, so I was extra vigilant—not to mention the strange Ferocious Beast Meat and juices."

[That is demon meat, Monsters/Demons relish in consuming intelligent beings, and beings who consume it will also manifest the ferocity of Monsters/Demons]

The mysterious voice listened calmly to An Jing's narrative, only occasionally clarifying, [Using demon meat to stimulate the ferocity within the bloodline, enhancing the potential of the physical body, combined with 'Merciless Water' to suppress the demonic qi of Monsters/Demons, thus enhancing the resilience of the soul and spirit, they complement each other.]

[The only side effect, subtly changing a person's nature over time, isn't a problem for them.]

[Since you have deduced so much, why haven't you suspected them to be the Demon Sect earlier?]

"As expected."

An Jing nodded slightly, by now he had already crossed the path between his manor and Dongtian Manor: "I was saying, most of the horsemen and instructors have problematic personalities, too cold and heartless."

The torrential rain poured down, and An Jing instinctively wiped the water off his face, then vaulted over the wall to enter a shed within the manor: "As to why I didn't see it..."

He fell silent for a while, then bitterly said, "Maybe it's because, on the surface, they were still quite good to us kids."

"At least to those of us who are still alive, good."

"If I were just an ordinary person, I would certainly have been completely brainwashed by now, they really treated me well."

"But why the Demon Sect is called the Demon Sect, I am still clear on that point."

He let out a breath, An Jing's voice carrying a rare tiredness, along with a sigh that was almost fear, "I just didn't want to know some truths."

"But I must find out."

There were many sheds within Dongtian Manor, sheltering from the rain, and the sheds housed many brownish-gray large water jars, essentially covering the entire courtyard.

"What are all these water jars doing here?"

Calming his emotions, An Jing looked around and noticed at least fifty jars, each one covered with a flat stone, which puzzled him: "To collect rootless water? But why cover them with lids and sheds?"

"Could it be that there are medicines inside that need to ferment?"

But as An Jing approached, he could faintly smell an odd, sweet and fishy medicinal scent.

This scent was very familiar to An Jing, very similar to the strange medicinal scent he had smelled before, emanating from the Medicine Pavilion.

An Jing frowned, looking around at a large water vat.

But as he got closer, An Jing noticed there were slips of paper on the vat.

They contained people's names, along with their birth dates and eight characters of a horoscope.

[Gu Jinghai, Ancient Rock Fate, mixed, talent below average.]

A familiar name.

An Jing remembered the person represented by this name.

He was a somewhat reticent child, not very old, who liked to be alone. An Jing had once talked with him about their hometown. He missed that riverbank filled with fish, and the days of chasing dragonflies with his brother during summer.

The Frost Calamity destroyed everything, took away his brother and parents, and led to his uncle selling him off, bringing him here alone.

The vat was large enough to fit a person inside.

Realizing this, An Jing suddenly understood something.

His hands trembled.

"Impossible…"

An Jing knew it was foolish to mutter to himself like this, he certainly did.

He could use the Imperial Heaven Qi Nurturing Method at any time to enter a state of calm as if looking down from above, he certainly could.

He could face the truth with a detached attitude, with a calm spirit.

But he didn't want to. He understood very well.

If he ran away at this moment, he would inevitably lose something very important to people, to himself.

So, even An Jing, who hadn't even disturbed his breathing when faced with the Manor Master of the Medicine Manor's multiple tests, began to tremble as he searched.

He searched from one vat to another.

[Zhan Feng, Giant Spirit Fate, mixed, talent below average.]

[Ye Xiuyuan, Speaking Master Fate, mixed, talent below average.]

[Zhang Ying, Geng Lang Fate, mixed, talent average.]

In the end, he found those names.

"Ha... I finally found them."

Taking a step forward, An Jing let out a faint, short laugh, "So, you were here..."

He reached out his hand, touching the vat before him, murmuring softly, "Right here."

His voice grew lighter and lighter until it fell silent.

An Jing remained silent for a long time, when a bolt of lightning split the dark rainy night, illuminating his pale face.

An Jing closed his eyes.

When he opened them again, An Jing's eyes were deep. He lifted his hand and exerted force to move the lid off the vat.

The pure stone lid was heavy, and most grown adults would find it difficult to move, but for An Jing who was nearing cultivation of the Inner Breath and had eaten a lot of demon meat, it wasn't much.

Inside the vat was a mass of light pink, viscous paste with faint traces of herbs visible, and it emitted an astonishingly sweet and fishy medicinal scent. That was the weird sweet and fishy smell An Jing had smelled before, one that could shake a person's soul and spirit.

But what truly shook the heart was the skeleton that emerged from the center of the medicinal paste.

A small skull.

Those children who had left and were never seen again, those 'eliminated' children, their fate was now evident.

[Blood Pill Great Medicine]

That mysterious voice coldly stated, [Using those born with fate but yet to awaken as medicine, to nourish flesh and blood, soul and spirit, may prolong life and strengthen the body…]

[Demon Dao, deserving of death!]