Rise of The Demon General-Chapter 681. Meeting the Secret Backer

Dagger Valley was a secluded location flanked by high cliffs. Forests inhabited by fierce spirit beasts blocked the valley’s entrances. Hence, only those who could fly were more likely to enter the valley. The valley itself was barren without resources. The difficulty of entry and the lack of incentive made the place unattractive to visit, except for those who wished to hide or avoid public prying.

Led by Sima Fang, the twelve entered the valley from the sky. Before they landed, they used their cultivation sense to scan the surroundings. There were very few arts that could conceal one’s presence from a Lord Stage cultivator. With three Lord Stage cultivators scanning the place, they quickly verified that the valley was deserted except for one stranger. This stranger was already inside the valley before they arrived.

Sima Fang landed before this stranger, whose body was covered by a hooded cloak. Even though Sima Fang couldn’t see the stranger’s face under the hood, she was certain this was the person they had come to meet.

The others landed behind Sima Fang. They used their cultivation senses to gauge the hooded stranger. Their senses told them that the stranger was at the Peak Spirit Stage.

They started approaching the stranger, but Hou Huang stepped forward and stopped them.

"What’s wrong, Your Majesty?" Hou Bang asked her.

Hou Huang didn’t answer his follower. Her eyes remained on the hooded stranger. She said, "This feeling... You are using a concealment art, aren’t you? Who are you?"

The stranger chuckled. "Well, we did cross swords before, so I’m not surprised that my concealment art can’t fully fool you."

"This voice...," Hou Huang uttered, as the stranger pulled his hood and revealed his face.

The second his face was revealed, almost everyone turned tense.

"You–You are Hierophant Zhang Daofeng?!"

Hou Huang, Dim Loog, and Huang Ti took combat stances, while everyone else retreated behind the three.

Sima Fang, who stood beside Zhang Daofeng, put up her hands and called, "Everyone, please relax! I know this is surprising, but please stand down. The Hierophant doesn’t come here to fight. He is here to speak."

"Sima Fang, are you saying that the person you invited us to meet is him?" Dim Loog asked.

"It is indeed him," Sima Fang confirmed.

"You mentioned that we will be meeting the Sima Clan’s secret backer. Are you telling us the Hierophant of the Temple of Divinity is your clan’s backer...?" Amon asked.

"It is indeed so," Sima Fang replied.

"What is the meaning of this?" Gu Wen asked. "The Hierophant is the leader of the enemy we want to defeat. Why are we having a secret meeting with the enemy? Sima Fang! Did you lead us to a trap?!"

Everyone began looking around with worried expressions. All the leaders of the forces who oppose the Temple of Divinity were here. If this were a trap, it would be a golden opportunity to eradicate all the top brass of the temple’s enemies. Yet, they detected nothing from their surroundings.

"Don’t worry," Zhang Daofeng began speaking. He also released his aura. Everyone could sense his true cultivation now. "I mean you no harm. I come in peace."

"Peace? You are our main enemy," Dim Loog said. "Peace will only come with your surrender. Are you telling us that you plan to surrender?"

"I’m not here to surrender. I’m also not your main enemy," Zhang Daofeng responded.

"How can the leader of our enemy not be our main enemy?" Hou Huang asked.

"In the eyes of the public, the Hierophant is indeed the leader of the Temple of Divinity, but that is not the truth," Zhang Daofeng said. "I’m just a figurehead. The true leader is someone else."

"The Holy Mother?" Amon asked.

Zhang Daofeng nodded. "Throughout the temple’s existence, the role of Hierophant has changed multiple times. However, there is only one Holy Mother."

"What do you mean?" Huang San asked. "The temple is millennia old. The Holy Mother can’t have lived that long."

"I know it is hard to believe, but that is the truth," Zhang Daofeng said.

"The lifespan of a Peak Lord Stage is only eight hundred years. Are you telling us that the Holy Mother’s true cultivation level is higher than that?"

"If that is true, that explains how she defeated Hou Buxu in only a few clashes," Hou Huang said.

"No, the Holy Mother’s cultivation level is indeed at the Peak Lord Stage," Zhang Daofeng informed. "However, it is also true that she has existed since the beginning of our temple’s history."

"Great, another immortal," Amon remarked.

The others were not sure why Amon used the word, another.

"Everyone, I know this is confusing," Sima Fang interjected. "To clear things up, maybe it’s better if you let me explain from the beginning."

Everyone turned to her. Zhang Daofeng also didn’t seem to object. He gestured for her to proceed.

"First of all, I think all of you should have known that it was the Sima Clan who informed everyone about the calamity, which instigated this war," Sima Fang said.

"I only found out recently," Dim Loog said. "The Sima Clan members who informed me about the calamity were using a different name when he approached me."

"Same with me," Hou Huang said. "The one I am in contact with only comes clean about their real identity recently."

"Well, we don’t have a choice," Sima Fang laughed. "Our cover has been blown, and we are chased out of Echos."

"You are chased out because you have played us and cost us tremendous loss of lives," Huang Er said.

"Princess, please believe me when I say that I didn’t mean it to be so. The stake is just too high for us to take any chances. We are fighting for the survival of the world itself, and the one you must thank, who let us know about this calamity, is none other than the Hierophant himself."

"You...? But, isn’t the source of the calamity the temple itself?" Hou Huang asked.

"As I said, I’m just a figurehead," Zhang Daofeng took over the explanation. "I was curious about the Holy Mother, so I looked through the temple’s hidden records to find more information about her. Coincidentally, that was when I stumbled on the information about the calamity. Despite my high station, I know the temple’s followers will choose her side if a conflict happens between us. Even if I am a Peak Lord Stage, I know I won’t win against the Holy Mother if I must fight her one-on-one. That’s why I began devising a method to even the odds.

"That method is the Sima Clan, which was founded four hundred years ago. The Sima Clan began with a woman named Sima Zin, who was once a loyal follower of mine. Together, we built Sima Clan with our offspring."

"Our offspring?" Huang Er asked.

"The Hierophant is my great-great-grandfather," Sima Fang pointed out.

"I secretly supplied resources and knowledge for the clan to grow," Zhang Daofeng continued. "Armed with the knowledge about the calamity, the Sima Clan sent agents all over the world to scour the ancient ruins, looking for evidence that could persuade others into our cause."

"Did you not learn about the calamity from inside the temple’s vault?" Huang San asked. "Why not just get the evidence from inside there?"

"The vault has multiple layers of secrecy," Zhang Daofeng explained. "Only the Holy Mother has access to all layers. I only have access to a few. But thanks to my Formation Sage expertise, I managed to sneak into one of the secret layers. That was where I learned about the calamity. I might be able to browse through the records inside, but I dare not take anything out. She will know if something is missing."

"What exactly is this calamity?" Amon asked. "We fight under the assumption that defeating the Temple of Divinity can stop it. Is that true?"

"To be honest, I have no idea what or how the calamity is brought about. The records I read don’t give out much detail. I have been trying to infiltrate the other secret layers inside the temple’s vault, but with no luck so far. Just so you know, no one inside the temple knows about the calamity. Only the Holy Mother truly knows the nature of this calamity."

"Do you mean, she is the one who causes it?" Dim Loog asked. 𝚏𝕣𝐞𝗲𝐰𝕖𝐛𝐧𝕠𝕧𝚎𝚕.𝐜𝚘𝗺

"I don’t know. But from the records I find, they depict her as someone who had lived through the previous epochs. She was the one who built the Temple of Divinity and was the one who built similar organizations during previous epochs. When everyone and everything met their demise during the calamity, she lived on. If we are to prevent the calamity, defeating her would be the key.

"My original plan is to gather all the countries and strip her of her followers, then have all the Spirit and Lord Stage cultivators gang up on her. During the battle, I plan to approach her as an ally and strike her from behind. Unfortunately, the force we have gathered is still not enough for the task."

Zhang Daofeng turned to Sima Fang. "I came here and revealed my identity because you said you have a way to defeat the Holy Mother?"

"Yes," Sima Fang nodded. She pointed at Amon and said, "General Amon here has learned something that will help us achieve just that."