‘That about covers the outside, now should I call it a day or try to get in…’

Zhang Dong looked was sticking to a large tower that was situated on the outskirts of this Demon City. There were six others just like it and together they created a hexagram formation. These towers looked more like occult monoliths and in each one, a nascent soul demonic creature resided. For him that could mask his presence, it didn’t pose a problem as the guardians were still unaware of his presence.

Even though these monsters were quite strong they were not actually meant for battle. This was quite the occult protective measure that would use their life force to protect the outer city. If a problem arose then the hexagram would activate to defend the city with evil soul-draining energies. However, now that Zhang Dong was here it would not pose a problem. Thanks to his knowledge he had rigged this protective measure that would surprise his enemies.

It took a few days of sneaking around but he managed to go unnoticed while jerry-rigging the six spires. None of the nascent soul masters were aware of his presence as they had other things to worry about. While he was being secretive more people continued to arrive. They were all around the level of the Immolation Demon that he had met before. The assembly was soon going to take place which made things more complicated yet also gave him a better chance to infiltrate.

With so many nascent soul masters arriving it was impossible to check for everything. There was just not enough manpower to go around. This Chaos Sect was still new and these masters that arrived would probably be given a choice soon. Either they joined the sect or they would be eradicated.

‘I wonder if they know what is going to happen there or if they don’t think that Wang Long is capable of dominating everyone?’

There were some old monsters that didn’t enter the city and remained at the outskirts and outside the formation range. Some of them were weary of going inside the city as they were suspecting some foul play. Even though the war for supremacy was supposedly over some were not convinced.

‘It wouldn’t be strange if he created some kind of occult ritual to suppress everyone, it wouldn’t be hard to get with the system…’

The people that lived in this world still tended to underestimate system holders. Zhang Dong knew that immortal grade techniques were almost nonexistent. To everyone’s knowledge, there wouldn’t be anything that would be able to dominate multiple nascent soul masters at once. This would require a huge amount of spiritual energy and preparation. The city was a mish-mash of renegade cultivators that didn’t like each other. It would probably not be possible to hide such a formation without everyone knowing.

‘No one would suspect an ancient technique to pop up that didn’t require preparation but if it’s the system we are talking about, then it’s possible. If Wang Long had gathered enough points then it’s a possibility…’

From his investigation, he knew that Wang Long went on a large killing spree. Many masters of demonic arts had fallen to him and also huge sects both here and back in the empire. Even though he was getting fewer and fewer points from weaker enemies, he was killing people in the millions which could make up for it.

Yet this was just a theory, for all he knew Wang Long could have nothing planned out at all. It was possible that they were just throwing a giant party to announce the rise of the new demon king. Perhaps they would just give them an ultimatum which could potentially make things easier for his forces. If during the announcement the nascent soul masters began causing trouble, then it would be the right time to attack.

‘I won’t really know unless I sneak into the city and listen to the rumors or go further in…’

It seemed that Wang Long was taking the whole Demon King persona quite literally. The whole city was built around an active volcano that was being held back from exploding by several contraptions. Yet even then the owner of this city decided to place a huge castle inside of the huge basin of molten lava that was inside. Even from outside, he could see the tip of the castle which had a large number of black towers. It looked like it was created from an assortment of swords that were somehow glued together.

This reminded him of the past when he went through some of the system store options. There he remembered finding large structures that could be purchased with points. This thing was probably one of them, perhaps it was similar to the golden bastion that also generated some passive resources. It wouldn’t be strange if he decided to get it due to his new faction and was using it as the main headquarters. Perhaps it also had a teleportation feature as the golden fortress that he had.

‘Shit, if that thing can help him escape then it complicates things… Bob, can you block that thing from teleporting?’

‘Not enough information to make a statement, the user will need to examine the object to make a proper estimation.’

‘I thought as much…’

During his last battle with Wang Long, his system Ai had enough time to examine him. Through that, he was able to counter the teleportation feature. Yet the castle was a separate object, it could perhaps be able to escape if he had enough points.

‘Bob, how long would you need to examine that thing? Would it be possible to do it during the battle?’

‘Can’t make an assumption without examining the target, inadequate data.’

‘Yeah, I thought so…’

Zhang Dong would need to get closer and at least touch the castle for Bob to predict the time needed. It would be a numbers game, the more resources he invested into the blocking system the faster and better it would work. The big question here was if he had more juice than his opponent.

‘He must have spent most of his points on that castle… maybe this announcement is actually about that… but if that’s the case I need to attack before it starts…’

After thinking through the options he decided to risk it. It was important to figure out what was really going on here. Was he hosting this meeting to forcefully recruit the demonic cultivators or to kill them for points. If it was the latter then the best choice would be to announce it and quickly attack before Wang Long has enough spirit points to counter Bob.

‘Before going in, I should probably call in…’

Zhang Dong brought up his system window from which he selected Zhang Kuo that had somewhat turned into a personal secretary.

“Give me a report, how are things progressing?”

“Yes Patriarch, we have started the process of bringing in the large-scale ships. The help that we asked for from the other sects is also on the way, they will arrive later but we should be able to keep everything within the time frame.”

“Good, it will take a bit longer on my side and I might not be able to contact you for a day or two.”

“I understand but Patriarch, shouldn’t you return we could send the spy unit out and…”

“That won’t be possible, they aren’t trained in going against demonic formations yet, I’ll have to do it myself.”

“I understand Patriarch…”

After a quick exchange between the two, he had an idea where he stood. From the exit of the desert, it would take at least one day for his army to arrive at this massive city. This wasn’t the same for his golden bastion that could be teleported in a lot closer. He had already created a location for it to sawn in. Regretfully he did not have enough points for it to emerge within the city, if that was possible then conquering it would be a cakewalk.

‘Maybe if I played more Strategy games this wouldn’t be happening…’

Zhang Dong gave out a sigh while looking out into the distance. He was still the most suited candidate for this espionage mission. Sometimes he wished that he could just relax and send out his minions to do his biddings while he enjoys the good life. Instead, he was stuck going through smelly poison-filled environments for days without end.

In some instances, he had to encase himself in dirt and mud to evade peering eyes. After going through this entire area he needed to switch his clothes three times already. This was not something a leader of the sect should be doing but he didn’t trust anyone to do a good enough job with such an important mission. Perhaps when the danger passed and Wang Long was gone he could relax while his sect members carried out missions against the other empires.

‘How should I do this, sneaking into the formation as I am might be possible but what if I bump into the wrong person…’

There were a few ways of going around this problem, one of them would be just keeping to the shadows and not sticking out. Then there was the second option of staying in plain sight while in a disguise. The second option gave more freedom but more eyes would be on him for the entirety of the infiltration mission. It was also less of a hassle as he would not have to constantly look over his shoulder.

‘But who should I impersonate…’

This was the big question but quickly he had the answer. There were many people entering this city, many demonic cultivators were on their way to pay tribute to the new demon king. He just needed to pick up one that didn’t stick out too much and take their place. With his disguising technique this would be an easy task, the only possible problem was entering Wang Long’s faction territory.

‘Bob, can you hide me from his system or not?’

‘User Wang Long’s faction is at a lesser development stage than of user Zhang Dong’s, hiding presence will be possible.’

‘Nice, finally some good news, I guess building all those lady cafes to keep people happy was not a mistake'

Thanks to faction systems he could analyze and identify anyone that was outside of it. As long as they were in his territory scanning was available and this was his way of finding out potential spies. With the help of his AI he would be able to pose as a regular demonic cultivator he just needed to find a good face to impersonate.

‘Hm… that one looks promising… they also made a stop before entering the city…’

Not far from here he spotted a flying ship from a demonic being. For some reason, they had decided to make a stop here and the person in charge was moving away from the rest. It was the perfect chance to make his move…