Chapter 958: How Can This Be Acceptable?

Seeing Mo Wentian being so cooperative, the demonic Cultivator's attitude became increasingly enthusiastic as he made a gesture of invitation:

"Let's go, I'll take you to see Senior Brother Zhuo right now."

The two pushed open the door and entered, immediately seeing a thin middle-aged man with a sinister expression sitting cross-legged on a futon in the courtyard.

The man wore a black robe, and a faint, lingering scent of blood emanated from him, giving off an indescribable evil aura; clearly, he was not of a Righteous Path.

Sensing someone entering the courtyard, the man's eyelids lifted slightly. His viper-like gaze bypassed the leading demonic Cultivator and swept back and forth over Mo Wentian.

"Senior Brother Zhuo, this is Junior Brother Mo Nan, a new Outer Sect Disciple from Blood Refining Peak. He has had many doubts in his cultivation recently and has come specifically to ask for your guidance."

The demonic Cultivator beside Mo Wentian bowed slightly and introduced him respectfully to the man in the courtyard.

A Blood Dao Cultivator!

With just one look at the middle-aged man, Mo Wentian immediately figured out his cultivation path and had a good idea of what the fellow was planning to do.

In cultivating the Blood Dao, the most important thing was to extract blood from living beings and use the energy essence within to strengthen oneself.

He could already foresee that if he were truly an ignorant newcomer to the demonic Sect, falling into this person's hands would likely result in him being sucked dry and dying silently…

There was nothing new under the sun; Mo Wentian himself had lost count of how many times he had used such vicious methods of treating fellow Disciples as nourishment, so it wasn't particularly noteworthy.

Before he could reveal his hand, the True Disciple surnamed Zhuo smiled faintly and said in a gentle tone:

"Junior Brother, according to the rules, for every half-hour I guide you, you must offer five catties of fresh blood. It's a voluntary trade, fair to all. Have you thought it through?"

Hearing the man's words, Mo Wentian was stunned, momentarily at a loss for words.

What's going on?

Facing a Blood Dao Cultivator at the Nascent Soul Peak, his "Early Stage Foundation Establishment" self should have no power to resist at all. Why would the other party proactively propose a fair trade? What did this mean?

Mo Wentian really couldn't understand. The other party could clearly just drain all his blood and then destroy the evidence, leaving no trace behind. Why go through all this trouble…

"What, are you unwilling?"

Seeing Mo Wentian's "hesitant" appearance, the True Disciple surnamed Zhuo frowned, showing some dissatisfaction, but he still suggested seriously:

"If you feel it's a loss, I can accept only three catties of blood. I can't go any lower. What do you think?"

Something is wrong!

At this moment, Mo Wentian's confusion had reached its peak. To find out what the other party was up to, he suppressed the urge to drop the facade and nodded in agreement:

"Let's go by Senior Brother's rules."

Having received the desired answer, the Blood Cultivator surnamed Zhuo's expression softened considerably. He took out a written contract from his storage bracelet and placed it before Mo Wentian:

"In that case, sign this contract first to avoid any unnecessary trouble later."

Watching what should have been a murderous blood sacrifice turn into a formal transaction—complete with a prepared contract—Mo Wentian could no longer keep his composure. He felt the whole situation was utterly absurd, completely beyond his understanding.

The strong should ruthlessly exploit the weak; when did they start following rules like this?

A quick scan showed the transaction details clearly marked: as long as he was willing to offer three catties of blood, he would receive half an hour of guidance from a True Disciple…

For some reason, looking at the black and white text on the contract, an inexplicable wave of irritation surged in Mo Wentian's heart, and he shouted in a low voice:

"Enough!"

The voice exploded like a demonic sound, instantly leaving the two people in the courtyard dazed, their gazes becoming unfocused.

Mo Wentian took a deep breath and asked the True Disciple surnamed Zhuo with a dark expression:

"Let me ask you, I am but an Outer Sect Disciple with low cultivation. Even if I were killed, no one would care. Why don't you just drain my blood instead of going through all this trouble to make a deal with me?"

Under the influence of a soul-snaring technique, the True Disciple surnamed Zhuo hid nothing and answered honestly:

"If I killed you directly, I would have to pay a massive fine afterward—one so large I couldn't afford it even if I sold myself."

"Because everything in the Holy Sect, including its Disciples, is the private property of the Holy Son. To slaughter fellow Disciples without authorization or to damage even a single blade of grass within the Sect's territory is to harm the Holy Son's interests."

"Whether in the Inner Sect or the Outer Sect, once a Disciple is murdered or goes missing, the Law Enforcement Hall will investigate to the end, scouring every inch of ground to find the culprit."

"If the culprit cannot afford the fine, their soul will be extracted and refined, and they will be sent to the Saint's talisman factory to work day and night until the debt is repaid…"

As he spoke, a hint of fear remained on the True Disciple surnamed Zhuo's face; clearly, this regulation was highly deterrent.

Hearing this, Mo Wentian's expression changed slightly, feeling as if his eyes had been opened.

Good grief… automatically becoming someone's private property just by joining a demonic Sect is way too overbearing, isn't it?

He thought he was greedy and brutal enough, but it turned out there were even greater experts…

After a brief moment of shock, he gathered his thoughts and continued to question:

"Since you aren't allowed to act within the Sect, why don't you go to the territory of the Righteous Path to slaughter and gather some blood for nourishment?"

"Of course I can't do that!"

The Blood Cultivator surnamed Zhuo shook his head with dim eyes and replied:

"Currently, the entire Cultivation World is the territory of the Heaven and Earth Society. Even the Holy Son is a member of the Heaven and Earth Society. Theoretically, every city—and even the Mortals living within—belongs to the Heaven and Earth Society."

"If one kills and sucks blood outside, the punishment upon being caught would only be even more severe."

"Because of this, as a Blood Dao Cultivator, I can usually only catch inconspicuous small animals like snakes, insects, rats, and ants for blood sacrifices. To obtain human blood for cultivation, I can only do so through fair trade."

"In the process, I also have to be careful not to overdo it, to prevent the trading partner from dying of excessive blood loss…"

Seeing the Blood Cultivator surnamed Zhuo sound more and more miserable, the doubts in Mo Wentian's heart were finally resolved. Aside from his astonishment, he felt an uncontrollable surge of anger.

How abominable!

If he, the Demonic Ancestor, didn't do something about it, this grand demonic Sect would soon become a charity house, completely forgetting the philosophy of the Demonic Path. How could this be acceptable?