Hu Mazi was furious after hearing this, “That Youyue is utterly despicable! We must find a way to expose her true colours!”
“Calm down.”
Chen Ping placed a hand on his shoulder, “We don’t yet know the full extent of the Black Demon Palace’s secrets. Acting rashly will only alert her.
Our priority is to increase our strength and find evidence of the truth behind the clan’s annihilation.”
“But, where do we start?”
Hu Mazi frowned, “We’ve already gone through the palace’s ancient texts, and there’s nothing detailed about the annihilation.”
“Perhaps we can start with the factions around Jiupan Mountain.”
Chen Ping mused, “Youyue mentioned that several factions there are getting restless. They might know something about what happened back then.
Since she wants them to test us, we can turn the tables and use this opportunity to investigate.”
Hu Mazi’s eyes lit up, “Great idea! We can pretend to deal with those factions while gathering information.”
“No time to waste, let’s move now.”
Chen Ping stood up, “But first, we need to do something.”
The two quietly made their way to the palace’s archive library, where the Black Demon Palace stored its historical texts and records.
Chen Ping used his spiritual energy to unlock the library’s door, and they slipped inside.
The library was filled with shelves stacked with ancient texts and scrolls.
Chen Ping and Hu Mazi split up, meticulously searching for records about the Hu clan’s annihilation.
After what felt like an eternity, Hu Mazi let out a gasp, “Found it! Come look!”
Chen Ping hurried over to see Hu Mazi holding a yellowed scroll, detailing a war from 2,800 years ago.
The warring parties were the Black Demon Palace and the Hu clan, and the cause of the conflict was the Hu clan’s discovery of the Black Demon Palace’s plan to release the Demon General from the Demon Burial Abyss!
“So that’s it!”
Hu Mazi stared at the scroll, his eyes filled with rage and sorrow, “It was the Black Demon Palace that annihilated my Hu clan! They massacred us to cover up their plan to free the Demon General!”
Chen Ping’s face darkened, “Youyue has been deceiving us all along. Not only does she know the truth about the annihilation, she might even have been a participant in that war!”
“Let’s confront her now!”
Hu Mazi, seething with anger, was about to storm out.
“Wait!”
Chen Ping grabbed him, “We don’t have solid evidence yet. Even with this scroll, she’ll just deny it.
Besides, this is the Black Demon Palace, surrounded by her people. We’re no match for them.”
“Then what do we do? Just let it go?”
Hu Mazi said, unwilling to back down.
“Of course not.”
Chen Ping’s gaze was icy, “We leave the Black Demon Palace first, then plan our revenge. This scroll is evidence, we must keep it safe.”
They secured the scroll and slipped out of the library, leaving the Black Demon Palace under the cover of night.
After leaving, the two headed east towards the territories of the factions around Jiupan Mountain.
They knew a new challenge awaited, facing not only the factions but also the constant threat of pursuit from the Black Demon Palace.
Three days after leaving the Black Demon Palace, Chen Ping and Hu Mazi continued east, avoiding several demon clan patrols along the way.
While the demonic energy around Jiupan Mountain’s outskirts was less dense than its core, an eerie silence pervaded, with barely any signs of birds or beasts.
“Chen Ping, up ahead is the Mist Forest.”
Hu Mazi pointed to an area shrouded in white fog, marked on the beast-skin map as the territory of Black Wind Stronghold.
