Time slipped away like sand through fingers.

Since Chen Changsheng came to the Cultivation World, it had already been twelve years.

In the years after waking, Chen Changsheng was always busy rushing around, walking in this Cultivation World, asking for news and searching for Evil Spirits.

Cloudtop Manor, he only went back there near the time of his death, sealing all those captured Evil Spirits on trees.

“These Evil Spirits are really hiding deeper and deeper.”

Chen Changsheng glanced down at his sleeve; altogether, this time after waking, he had caught about ten Evil Spirits, not too many nor too few.

He thought that three years had already passed.

Before that, he had searched for Master Zhong, then found Fox Lord, and also Ying En and Yingyuan, and after that, the dragon descendants from the Desolate Sea.

Perhaps, it was almost enough.

“First, let’s see how many there are.”

Chen Changsheng flew off through the air; the first place he headed to was the Demon Realm.

Hu Junhan had been busy for three years, inside and out, catching quite a few Evil Spirits, so many that the demon prison was almost full.

It was only later, when the Evil Spirits’ traces became fewer, that he returned.

Hu Junhan opened the prison door and said, “They are all here.”

Chen Changsheng looked around; there were many Evil Spirits in the prison.

There were about fifty or sixty.

Hu Junhan said, “Besides that, there are two special Evil Spirits.”

Saying this, he led Chen Changsheng into the dungeon, opening a hidden door and going inside.

On a platform, there was a Chain, sealing one arm, and there was also one leg.

Hu Junhan said, “This arm and leg are very unusual; their Devil Qi would not fade, not even True Flame could burn them away. They seem dead but also alive.”

Chen Changsheng snapped out of his thoughts and said, “The owner of these things is not ordinary.”

“Mr. Chen knows?”

“Yes.”

Chen Changsheng then asked, “Fox Lord, have you ever heard of the Summoning Demon Divine Monarch?”

Hu Junhan thought for a moment and shook his head.

Chen Changsheng said, “This arm and leg were once part of a Demon Sovereign’s Mortal Body. Back in that time, his will was gone, but the body was left behind, and like those Evil Spirits, it was sealed below the Great Wall.”

“Demon?”

Hu Junhan said, “We haven’t heard of that in ages.”

In these times, the Demon Path was almost gone.

Hu Junhan said, “In the past, someone powerful in the Cultivation World moved to destroy the Demon Path’s methods, its statues. Earlier, you could see a few Demon Cultivators, but later they became fewer and fewer, and now they have faded away.”

“Destroy methods and statues?”

Chen Changsheng said, “Is that how they ended the legacy?”

Hu Junhan was a bit confused; didn’t Mr. Chen know that?

He explained, “Cultivators need methods for Cultivation. You should know, a newly created method must be accepted by Heaven and Earth, going through a Lightning Tribulation before you can practice it. A method accepted by Heaven and Earth only stays on the original paper where it was first written, and that paper is hard to burn or erase. Only one copy can exist; even if someone tries to copy it, the writing quickly vanishes.”

“That powerful person back then first took the methods that Demon Path Cultivators left behind, then used some unknown way to destroy them!”

“After that, people practicing that method could no longer progress and suffered backlash, sometimes vanishing on death. The only way out was to remake the method.”

“But those Heavenly Tribulations, Demon Path Cultivators simply could not withstand them.”

“Demon Path methods differ from righteous ones; creating a method like that is to steal from Heaven’s Creation, and since Demon Path methods are disliked by Heaven and Earth, the Lightning Tribulation was not something ordinary Demon Cultivators could endure.”

“Countless Demon Cultivators died under that Lightning Tribulation.”

“After a long time, the Demon Path disappeared.”

Hu Junhan said, “Actually, the hardest part was how to destroy those methods. I have read many old books, and only this one event is ever talked about.”

He thought for a bit and looked at Mr. Chen, saying, “The Demon Path vanishing might even have been heaven’s doing.”

After all, in the beliefs of everyone or demon who knew Cultivation methods, methods were impossible to destroy.

Anything strange must have a reason behind it.

Chen Changsheng, though, was not thinking about that destroyed method business, and instead asked, “Fox Lord, did you just say that methods cannot be copied?”

Hu Junhan nodded hard and said, “Exactly. There is a saying that methods are not shared lightly, and the original method paper holds Dao Rhyme and insights. Many Immortal Sects pass them orally, and only key disciples can look at the original.”

Chen Changsheng felt dizzy and froze where he stood.

Seeing Mr. Chen stay silent for a long time, Hu Junhan asked, “What is wrong, sir?”

Chen Changsheng snapped back to reality; he paused and said, “It made me think of an event many years ago.”

He looked at Fox Lord and asked, “In past records, has anyone ever successfully copied a method?”

Hu Junhan shook his head and said, “No.”

It just was not possible.

“That so…”

Chen Changsheng murmured softly; he opened his mouth, remembering what had happened back in Autumn Moon Market time.

At that time, for the Decree Art, he had truly copied it down.

And now, that Decree Art was still kept in the book archives within Flowing Cloud Temple, tucked into a book.

‘If it is this way, then how did I copy it back then?’

Chen Changsheng felt dizzy.

Suddenly, he understood why the Old City God had given him that look all those years ago.

Since there were no examples of it happening.

Then, how come he copied it?

Chen Changsheng thought hard but could not figure it out; later, he would have to find out why.

After that, Chen Changsheng asked no more about method things. After gathering up all the Evil Spirits in the prison, he said a quick goodbye to Fox Lord.

“Mr. Chen, are you off to Tongtian River next?”

“Yes, I also asked for help from the Dragon Palace’s Second Prince and the Dragon Princess.”

Hu Junhan nodded and said, “They probably caught not too many; the ones catching the most should be the Water Demons in the Desolate Sea.”

“I will also go to the Desolate Sea a bit later.” Chen Changsheng said.

“If you go to the Desolate Sea, Mr. Chen, be careful there.”

“Thank you for that advice, Fox Lord; I will be careful.”

“Okay.”

After leaving the Demon Realm, Chen Changsheng headed south into the Mortal World.

He hurried towards the Tongtian River route.

But along the way, when he passed Shangjing, Chen Changsheng stopped.

“Huh?”

Something felt off here…

He peered towards the Imperial Palace within Shangjing City, his gaze piercing walls to look at the person on the Dragon Throne.

The person on the Dragon Throne seemed to feel a stare; he looked up towards the sky above the great hall. That feeling of being watched made him frown.

When that person looked up, Chen Changsheng also saw his face clearly.

Chen Changsheng froze right then, murmuring, “How… could it be him…”

He had only been gone for not much more than ten years; what all had happened in the Mortal World?