In those years when I was a mortal and a demon

Chapter 636 Presbyterian Church

In a mysterious hall in the City of Beginning Seal, seven or eight demon lords were gathered together, discussing an extremely confidential matter.

"So, the Poison Dragon Ancestor is determined to leave?" a handsome man with a short, spiraling horn on his head said, his brows furrowed.

"The Poison Dragon Saint Ancestor had already expressed his intention to leave before, and now that the Celestial Phenomenon Saint Ancestor has been injured by the self-destruction of the moth, he is even less willing to stay here any longer," another withered old man in a green robe with a full head of yellow hair replied with a sigh.

“But if that’s the case, who will repair the damaged formations in the underground palace? We can’t just have to solve it ourselves, can we?” Another burly man in purple armor with a face full of black spots looked worried.

"Brother Ban, you can go to the underground palace if you want, I won't accompany you." Another demon man with a face that seemed to be transparent suddenly spoke coldly.

"Elder Xuan, what do you mean by that? If the formation inside the underground palace isn't repaired, those locusts will soon emerge again. We suffered such heavy losses this time just to barely reclaim Li Huo City. Do we really want to go through that again?" The short-horned man retorted without any politeness.

"It is precisely because of the heavy losses suffered in the battle of Lihuo City that we should not go to the underground palace."

The two Holy Ancestors led the team, followed by more than ten Venerables, plus the support of several elite legions in the city.

But what was the result? The Celestial Ancestor was wounded, two elders perished, and four elders were seriously injured and went into seclusion. Even the ordinary legions that were used to hold the perimeter suffered losses of 70-80%, most of them were practically extinct, and only a few commanders and officers managed to escape.

Compared to Li Huo City, the underground palace is even more dangerous. Elder Jiao, do you think your supernatural powers are stronger than those of the two Holy Ancestors? Can you really protect everyone and ensure they can come and go freely in the underground palace? The demon man with the transparent face said with a hint of sarcasm, his eyes flashing with a sinister light.

In just a few words, the tension between the two suddenly escalated.

The other demon lords who witnessed this scene reacted in various ways. Some remained expressionless, as if they hadn't seen anything; some sighed softly, but their brows furrowed; others crossed their arms and smiled.

Of course, several venerable ones also spoke up to help one side, and for a time the hall became quite chaotic.

"Enough, all of you shut up!" At this moment, an old man with disheveled hair, dressed in a black robe and holding a Qilin cane, suddenly slammed his cane down and shouted expressionlessly.

The commotion in the hall subsided, and the demons who had been arguing about it all turned serious and carefully fell silent.

"I called you here today to discuss the future plans for the Land of Beginning Seals, not to listen to your arguments," the disheveled old man said coldly.

"Elder, isn't the matter of the underground palace also related to the future defense of the Land of Beginning Seals, and it's urgent..." the short-horned man muttered somewhat unconvinced.

"I have my own considerations regarding the underground palace, but there are two things that must be done immediately."

"First, due to the losses of several members of our Elder Council in the battle of Li Huo City, we are now somewhat short-handed. In addition, the two Holy Ancestors are also leaving, so our Elder Council must recruit some more like-minded people. I previously asked you all to find suitable candidates to join the Elder Council, I wonder how that is going?" The disheveled old man stroked his beard and asked with narrowed eyes.

Upon hearing this, the expressions of the people in the hall varied. Some whispered among themselves, while others silently pondered.

A moment later, an old man with several long golden feathers in his hair suddenly spoke up: "I once sought out the Water Venerable of the Wind Control Army, and he was quite interested in joining the Elders Council."

"It's him? I remember when he came to the City of Beginnings, we tried to recruit him, but we were turned down. And after he became the commander of the Wind Guard, he often acted against our elders' orders. Now he has suddenly changed his mind. Is there some hidden reason behind this?" A burly man with a pale gold complexion and wearing a black leather robe said coldly.

“Indeed, Venerable Water has made a condition: if we want him to join the Elders Council, we must hand over someone,” the old man with the golden feather continued.

"Who is it?" The long-haired elder's gaze sharpened.

"He is the former commander of the Demon Flame Army, a late-stage Demon Sect cultivator named Lu Yuan." As he spoke, the old man with the golden feathers suddenly turned to look at a woman in a yellow robe opposite him.

"Could this person have a grudge against Venerable Water?" the burly man in the black leather robe asked with interest.

“Let me explain,” said the woman in yellow robes opposite the old man with the golden feathers.

"The original commander of the Demon Flame Army was one of the Water Venerable's grandsons, but before the great battle in Li Huo City, the Water Venerable was worried that his grandson would not be able to handle the job and would desert in the face of battle, so he secretly let this man named Lu Yuan take over the position of commander of the Demon Flame Army."

He had originally planned to shift the blame onto Lu Yuan should anything happen. However, the Demon Flame Army was completely wiped out in that battle, with only Lu Yuan escaping. Therefore, he suspected that Lu Yuan had secretly killed his grandson.

However, two weeks ago, due to the complete annihilation of the Demon Flame Army, this Lu Yuan has joined our Night Owl Guard.

"Since you know this person is involved with a Demon Lord, why did you still take him in?" The First Elder asked, somewhat tempted.

"Because this person is one of the candidates I'm preparing to recommend for the Elders' Council," the woman in the yellow robe said with a wry smile.

"What? A late-stage Demon Sect cultivator as an elder? Madam Li, you're not joking, are you?" someone quickly asked in confusion.

“This Lu Yuan is already at the peak of the late stage of the Demonic Sect, just one step away from becoming a Demon Lord. He came to the Land of Beginning Seal for the Nine Netherworld Union Pill. I tested him once, and his current supernatural powers are enough to rival an early-stage Demon Lord. I think that as long as he has the Nine Netherworld Union Pill, his advancement to Demon Lord is a sure thing.” A hint of certainty flashed in Lady Li’s eyes as she wore a yellow robe.

“But the Water Venerable is a mid-stage Demon Lord, and his supernatural powers are above average in our Elder Council. Apart from the Grand Elder, I think no one here can reliably defeat him.” The golden-feathered elder added, “Moreover, the Water Venerable has close ties with the commanders of several other elite legions. If he could join the Elder Council, it would be extremely beneficial for us to consolidate the power of the Land of Beginning Seals.”

The elder with disheveled hair pondered for a moment and said, "But if we hand over the person as he demands, it might weaken our resolve. Let's put this matter aside for now."

Now let's talk about the second matter. Because the city's legions suffered heavy losses in this battle, most are now practically defunct. Therefore, we must seize the opportunity to reorganize them, then disband our Night Owl Guards and let them take over command of the reorganized legions.”

"If we do this, what will happen to the original commanders of the various legions? If there is no compensation, I'm afraid they will have objections," a young woman with hair as purple as flames suddenly said, her brows slightly furrowed.

"Hmph, that's alright, I've already arranged places for them," the elder said slowly, but a cold glint appeared in his eyes.

"Have you arranged a place for us?" The purple-haired woman was slightly taken aback.

"Elder Jiao was just worried about the underground palace, wasn't he? Venerable Lan, why don't you explain it to everyone?" The First Elder turned his head and suddenly said to a Demon Venerable with blue magic patterns on his body.

Venerable Lan nodded, glanced at everyone, and slowly said, "The Grand Elder and I had made preparations for the underground palace long ago. The plan was to send a group of high-level demonic sect members to infiltrate the underground palace with materials to repair the formation."

Because of the arrival of the two Holy Ancestors, we changed our plans and thought of asking them to lead the team into the underground palace for repairs.

But now that the two Holy Ancestors have decided to leave and no longer interfere in the affairs of the Primordial Land, we have no choice but to revert to our original plan.

"Given the current level of danger in the underground palace, even if we go in, we don't have absolute certainty of success. Letting those demonic sects go is pointless. Putting aside whether they'd be willing, even if they did go, wouldn't they just be throwing their lives away?" Venerable Horn's eyes twitched a few times before he said irritably.

"There's no need to worry about that. We specially asked the Hai family of Desolate City to help us refine a batch of magical artifacts that can conceal one's aura. Then, with the help of the method of infusing them with nebulous energy, it will be enough to make beings below the Demon Lord completely conceal the aura of the Holy Race. As long as we don't encounter the direct descendants of those insect queens, the chances of success are quite high."

"Of course, if any of you elders still feel it's inappropriate, then you may as well lead your own team there." Venerable Lan seemed completely unconcerned.

Upon hearing this, everyone in the hall changed their expressions. Some pondered silently, while others looked worried. The few Venerables who had previously been quite wary of the underground palace remained silent. Venerable Horn snorted coldly but did not refute further, as no one was willing to take such a great risk lightly.

The Grand Elder nodded slightly upon seeing this, glanced at everyone, and continued, "Alright, we can't afford to lose any more elders at the Demon Lord level. Let's leave the matter of the underground palace as it is for now. If it fails, we'll find another way."

After the meeting, Elder Li, please stay behind. Everyone else, go find the legion commanders. As long as they are willing to go to the underground palace, you can name your terms.

Furthermore, the reorganization of each legion must be carried out as soon as possible.

Soon, everyone in the hall obeyed the orders and left, leaving only the Grand Elder and Lady Li.

"Elder Li, find that Lu Yuan and tell him that we will provide a Nine Netherworld Union Pill, but on the condition that he must join the Elder Council and not leave the place of the beginning of the seal for a thousand years!"

If he disagrees, then offer him the Nine Netherworld Venerable Pill as a condition to ask if he'd be willing to go to the underground palace. If he truly possesses the supernatural powers to rival an early-stage Demon Lord, he'd be quite suitable to lead a group.”

Lady Li nodded slightly, a thoughtful look flashing in her eyes. "Elder, rest assured, I will go and talk to him now. But what if he still disagrees?"

"If he still doesn't agree, then we can consider the Water Venerable's conditions."

Lady Li was slightly taken aback, then nodded and left.