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

The Great Demon Hall?

Mo Hua stood in a brief daze before slowly nodding his head in realization.

During the period when the Demon Sect was being eradicated, he had delved into the archives of both the Taoist Court and Taixu Gate to research their origins. It was there he first encountered those three specific characters: "Great Demon Hall."

The ultimate path of evil cultivation leads to the demon cultivator of skill transmission.

The final evolution of demon cultivators is the demon sect of path transmission.

At the very peak of the demon sect—commanded by the Demon Monarch, ruling over millions, breeding endless "blood slaves" and "spirit slaves," devouring the very marrow of the people, and maintaining a total monopoly—stands the "Great Demon Hall"...

However, the era of the Great Demon Hall is now a distant memory, faded from the minds of the masses.

With a grave expression, Elder Zheng spoke, "More than twenty millennia ago, preceding the first year of the Taoist Calendar, the Taoist Court had not yet achieved unification. The Cultivation World was a chaotic realm of absolute darkness."

"In those days, the entire Cultivation World was under the iron thumb of the 'Great Demon Hall,' which held dominion over thousands of subordinate demon sects."

"The Great Demon Hall blotted out the sun with a single hand. The Demon Path flourished to a terrifying degree; demon sects stood like forests, and demon cultivators were found in every corner of the earth."

"Corpse cultivators animated the dead, blood cultivators drained the living, monster cultivators consumed raw flesh, evil cultivators harvested others to replenish themselves, and demon cultivators refined human souls... it was a truly visceral 'survival of the fittest.'"

"Demonic Qi choked the heavens, while blood dyed the soil crimson... countless low-level cultivators were hunted, butchered, and plundered. They were kept as slaves, utilized as cultivation furnaces, eaten alive, or had their souls ripped out for spirit refining..."

"Combined with various natural calamities and the proliferation of evil spirits, cultivators died in staggering numbers, one after another."

"The population of the Cultivation World plummeted, and the strength of the human race withered away. For thousands of miles, the land was a barren wasteland devoid of life, teetering on the edge of total extinction."

"Amidst this desperate crisis, righteous cultivators tempered their hearts through adversity and aligned their wills with the Great Dao. They pursued the righteous path with burning passion, using their Cultivation to eradicate the world's monsters, evils, and corpse demons, carving a path of rectitude through a world of thorns."

"Following this, righteous sects began to appear in succession, and the influence of the Righteous Dao expanded step by step."

"Every righteous cultivator remained steadfast in their Taoist hearts, embracing the sacred duty of purging demons and protecting the Dao."

"Across several millennia, countless righteous ancestors sacrificed their lives, spilling their warm blood as they fought through the darkness to eventually wipe the demon cultivators from the face of this world."

"Those demon lords and patriarchs, whose wicked power once reached the skies and whose pride was boundless, were finally forced to strike their colors and retreat into the shadows."

"The surviving dregs of the demon path can now only lurk in the dark, barely clinging to existence."

"The world was restored to clarity, leading to the birth of the Taoist Court. It unified the Nine States, enforced Taoist Law, and championed righteous conduct. All demon path manuals and texts were put to the flame and outlawed. This ushered in over twenty thousand years of peace and growth for the Cultivation World, resulting in the thriving Nine States and the abundance of cultivators we see today..."

"As for the Great Demon Hall and its mountain of atrocities, that era of blood-soaked, tragic history has been slowly washed away by the river of time over twenty millennia. Few remember it now, and it is almost never spoken of..."

Elder Zheng’s voice was thick with passion and profound sentiment as he recounted these chronicles of Tao cultivation.

Mo Hua listened intently, his own spirit stirred by the tale.

Yet, a sense of confusion soon followed; he didn't quite grasp why Elder Zheng was suddenly sharing this history with him.

Fixing his gaze on Mo Hua, Elder Zheng posed a question:

"Mo Hua, do you believe that 'demons' can ever be completely wiped from this world?"

Mo Hua knit his brows in thought for a moment before shaking his head:

"As long as the human heart harbors greed, rage, ignorance, desire, and obstacles, 'demons' will inevitably manifest."

"Demons are born from people; as long as humanity exists, so will demons. Wherever there are cultivators, demon cultivators will follow."

Elder Zheng nodded approvingly at the answer. "The human heart births demons. If the Taoist heart is not properly tempered, demonic thoughts will eventually take root."

"Once the Taoist heart wavers and demonic thoughts arise, it is only a matter of time before one loses their way, falls into the demonic path, and becomes a demon cultivator who murders and destroys lives."

"That is the individual perspective, but what if we look at it through the lens of organized forces?"

Elder Zheng watched Mo Hua closely, asking in a low voice, "What truly separates demon sects from righteous factions?"

Mo Hua pondered, his brow furrowed. "The way of man... taking from those who have little to serve those who have too much..."

"Demon sects practice forbidden arts, slaughtering and enslaving the weak. They drink blood, consume flesh, and harvest the spirits and souls of the vulnerable... this is 'exploitation' of the very life and essence of the Great Dao. This is the sin of the 'Human Dao.'"

Elder Zheng sighed and nodded. "Excellently put."

Then, his eyes sharpened as he asked another question: "What then of the righteous factions, the great clans, and the massive sects? Do they follow the Heavenly Dao, or the Human Dao?"

Mo Hua was jolted by the question. He immediately grasped Elder Zheng's implication, and a cold sweat began to bead on his skin.

Elder Zheng spoke slowly: "The great families and sects seize the resources of loose cultivators, exploit their toil, strip them of their livelihoods, and then toss them aside like garbage. Is this not also 'exploitation'? It is simply that their methods are somewhat more refined..."

"However, that refinement will eventually erode, step by step."

"The business involving the Shen Family... you are aware of it, aren't you?" Elder Zheng looked at Mo Hua with a look of deep significance.

Mo Hua gave a nod.

"That is the perfect illustration," Elder Zheng remarked. "The low-level cultivators are bled of their spirit stones, their labor, their time, and their vitality, until they are nothing but a worthless 'husk.'"

"Once they are useless husks, they are naturally discarded or buried in pits."

"But in the end, the Shen Family was still not quite ruthless enough..."

Elder Zheng’s voice took on a tone of detached, cold cruelty:

"Because they still clung to a shred of 'morality,' only killing those 'useless' miners they had already drained dry."

"But are those exhausted miners truly without value?"

Elder Zheng shook his head. "No, they still have uses. Their skin can be flayed, their blood can be consumed, their flesh can be eaten, and their souls can be refined. Even after death, their remains can be used to raise corpses..."