Li Tianming simply decided to stop looking at the horrifying sights inside the ancient temple.
He leaped up onto the roof of the structure.
The surroundings were eerie and gloomy.
The phosphorescent glow rising from the corpses below had become the only source of light in the night of the Mountain of Esoteric Stratagems.
A chilly, yin wind blew past, carrying nothing but the heavy scent of blood.
It had been more than two hundred years. He was born timid—he knew that well enough. Yet, for some reason, he just liked following Big Brother and Tianqi as they roamed the world.
The things they did on a daily basis were truly terrifying.
Ancient corpses in tombs, the spirits of old seniors that suddenly popped out, powerful demon beasts... these things often scared him until he was shivering uncontrollably.
Especially since Big Brother and Tianqi were both unhinged.
Those two had nerves of steel and always loved dragging him to places of extreme danger—there was no stopping them.
Big Brother loved digging up graves and usually loved slacking off.
Tianqi was the most diligent, yet he also loved courting death.
He didn't quite understand it. With a personality like his, why was he messing around with them? Wouldn't it be so much better to just stay home?
Li Tianming glanced at the spirit tablet in his hand.
Whenever he asked the Old Ancestor about this matter, the Old Ancestor always hesitated, looking as if he wished to speak but ultimately held back.
"Perhaps it is because Big Brother and Tianqi are too reckless. Maybe I'm here to talk some sense into them when they start causing trouble."
Li Tianming closed his eyes and murmured to the night sky, "Is that really it?"
A voice, originating from nowhere, replied, "Yes."
Under normal circumstances, a disembodied voice like this would have made him jump out of his skin, but right now, Li Tianming only gave a slight nod.
He knew this was the "other self" living inside his body—an entity that shared his very roots. It often gave him ideas and protected him from the shadows.
He believed it must be an extremely gentle and kind being; whenever this voice spoke, he felt exceptionally at peace.
"The Mountain of Esoteric Stratagems is too terrifying. If anything happens, you have to help me. I'm scared," Li Tianming whispered.
Sensing a ripple of fluctuation in the depths of his soul, Li Tianming felt a great sense of relief.
During the battle in the Immortal Domain years ago, the family gradually came to realize the insufficiency of their own strength compared to the true hidden factions of the world.
Even against an Integration Realm cultivator who was incredibly weak, it required a death-defying siege and extensive, multifaceted planning to trap him.
It took months to fully suppress him, and with just a single moment of carelessness, that Integration Realm cultivator could have escaped.
There were still many hidden factions in this world.
Over the years, the family had been constantly searching for an opportunity to advance to the Integration Realm in order to prepare for the "Great Calamity" mentioned by that girl, Nangong Qingya.
The appearance of the "Ling Tian Three Corpses" brought sudden clarity to the family.
In truth, everyone had secretly set their designs on the Ling Tian Three Corpses.
The three of them had also been tracking the Mountain of Esoteric Stratagems for many years.
Eight years ago, Su Chen finally discovered the true location of the Mountain of Esoteric Stratagems, and so they came here to go undercover.
"Big Brother and those old seniors really do have some real skill."
Li Tianming gazed at the group of old men and old women.
The reason they could traverse the world with such ease was precisely because of these seniors who had existed for so long.
Every single one of them was a rare treasure of this world.
While their individual combat strength might not be high, each possessed unique skills and held vast knowledge of worldly affairs.
...
"The Mountain of Esoteric Stratagems... I encountered it back in the day."
Inside the ancient temple, an elder with a sinister expression floated in mid-air.
Staring at the bizarre demon beast, he spoke in a gloomy, chilling voice:
"Back then, I walked the Demonic Path. I was based in a Region city. Even demons have their own code of honor—I only cultivated by absorbing the resentment of the entire Region.
But damn their ancestors! Someone started sneaking around, stealing people from the very city where I was cultivating. Naturally, I couldn't let them snatch my people!"
"Later, I destroyed that branch of theirs and obtained their Scripture. Only a Purple-Robed Elder is qualified to master this scripture.
And because of that incident, their branches in the secular world became extremely cautious from then on. You can't get your hands on their techniques from the outside at all anymore."
The old man's face was brimming with pride as he boasted to the crowd of old seniors,
"Being able to sneak in here as a Purple-Robed Elder is all thanks to me. You lot should be counting your lucky stars!"
To the side, Li Tianyi raised an eyebrow slightly.
"The Mountain of Esoteric Stratagems is truly bizarre. That scripture sounds dignified enough by name, but the contents are nothing but crooked, heretical paths."
Even though he had spent years robbing tombs, the eeriness within the Mountain of Esoteric Stratagems still went beyond his expectations.
"Just look at that stitched-together demon beast before us. It is a product of the techniques taught in the scripture.
It works on the same principle as puppetry, but whereas puppets are crafted from various materials found in heaven and earth, the Mountain of Esoteric Stratagems uses living beings."
The most common cultivators within the Mountain of Esoteric Stratagems are divided into two categories.
The first are the Purple-Robes.
They have mastered the Scripture and use formations and secret arts to fuse the bodies of various living creatures, creating new combat forces.
These Purple-Robed cultivators range in strength from the Golden Core to the Divinity Transformation stage.
Their status is derived from the "stitched" creatures they control, which often possess strength far exceeding their own.
The second category consists of the Black-Robes, like the one Tianqi is currently wearing.
They are subservient to the Purple-Robes; their very lives are held in the Purple-Robes' hands, and restrictive seals are placed upon their souls.
They are frequently sent out to capture living beings and transport them back to the Mountain.
Some of these Black-Robes have even had their bodies physically modified by the Purple-Robed cultivators.
During his eight years in the Mountain of Esoteric Stratagems, Li Tianyi had seen the strongest Black-Robes reaching even the Void Refinement Realm.
Above the Purple-Robes, there were the White-Robes.
There were four of them in total, representing the true high-level leadership of the Mountain of Esoteric Stratagems.
And above them all was the "True God," who was also the Mountain Master of the Mountain of Esoteric Stratagems.