Ding Yun's earlier speculation and complaints were not wrong.
Zhao Xiaoyao was indeed ill.
And severely so.
According to the elders of the Demonic Sect, their highest martial art, the "Myriad Transformation Demonic Art," could only be cultivated by the Sect Master.
This martial art had extremely high aptitude requirements and an incredibly fast cultivation speed. Even without taking shortcuts, one could reach the peak of the Houtian realm within ten years, and aspire to Xiantian within twenty years. Its cultivation speed far surpassed all other techniques.
If this was still too slow for accumulating internal energy.
One could even resort to the art's rapid advancement methods.
Absorbing the internal energy of others for one's own use.
Of course, being a rapid advancement method, it naturally had drawbacks and side effects. For instance, the absorbed internal energy had mixed attributes that needed to be reconciled. Extremely potent external energies, if not digested, could injure the meridians.
But these side effects were generally manageable.
With a little care, the Demonic Art could reconcile them.
However, there was one most serious side effect that could not be reconciled and had to be endured by oneself: the spiritual essence within the external internal energy could not be reconciled.
The world believed internal energy was just internal energy, apart from its inherent attributes due to the cultivation method, it contained nothing else. But this was not true. The internal energy of all martial artists was driven by their spiritual essence.
This spiritual essence could be called mental power, willpower, or even consciousness and soul.
It was invisible and imperceptible on the surface, but internal energy was indeed propelled by the spiritual essence, circulating the Great and Small Heavenly Cycles within the body. Over time, it was difficult for internal energy not to be tainted by one's spiritual essence. When internal energy was absorbed by another, the spiritual essence attached to it was naturally absorbed as well.
The Myriad Transformation Demonic Art could absorb internal energy.
But it could not absorb the spiritual essence attached to it.
And to break through to the Xiantian realm.
The most crucial aspect was for one's own spiritual essence to meld with the internal energy.
Not the unintentional contamination of the past, but the conscious integration of spiritual essence into one's own internal energy.
This allowed for direct command of the internal energy as if it were one's own limb, further enhancing its mystical properties and promoting the perfection of essence, qi, and spirit.
During his cultivation, Zhao Xiaoyao had absorbed the internal energy of many people. Sometimes, he didn't even do it for cultivation, but merely as a form of punishment, a way to intimidate the disciples and elders of the Moon Worship Demonic Sect.
Therefore, the amount of other people's spiritual essence mixed into his internal energy was imaginable.
The result of this situation was that although he succeeded in breaking through to Xiantian, he also absorbed a lot of spiritual essence and willpower from others. Simultaneously, he could not utilize those spiritual essences for himself.
Consequently, his mental state naturally became somewhat abnormal.
On the day of his breakthrough, he went mad, left the Moon Worship Demonic Sect, and disappeared. When he returned, he brought back a girl, who was Li Yaoyue.
The elders of the Demonic Sect did not know what happened during that period. They only knew that after some time, their Sect Master Zhao Xiaoyao suddenly acted ruthlessly towards Li Yaoyue, draining her to a husk. After she died, he went on a rampage, venting his internal energy everywhere, weeping, and even using the sect's supreme treasure, the Thousand-Year Mysterious Ice, to craft a coffin for her.
He was more attentive than when mourning the previous Sect Master.
Sometimes, he even fed his own blood to the desiccated corpse.
Originally, the Sect Master was already prone to fits of temper. After that incident, he was no longer merely moody but became someone that normal people found difficult to understand. Unless absolutely necessary, the people of the Demonic Sect basically dared not see him.
Later, he broke through to the peak of the Xiantian realm through some unknown means, overpowering other Demonic Way leaders.
He unified the Demonic Way and annihilated the Divine Physician Valley.
Furthermore, he continued to target all orthodox sects, intending to eradicate the righteous path.
As for Li Yaoyue's true identity, Zhao Xiaoyao had believed her words implicitly and did not investigate. However, the elders of the Moon Worship Demonic Sect were concerned that Li Yaoyue might be a lure specially set by people of the orthodox path for their Sect Master. Therefore, they specifically sent people to investigate.
How to describe the result?
Her mother was a registered disciple of the Divine Physician Valley. She herself had never entered the Divine Physician Valley, only learning some medical skills from her mother. Hence, she considered herself a disciple of the Divine Physician Valley, but she was never officially recognized.
The Divine Physician Valley was unaware of her existence.
And Zhao Xiaoyao's so-called life-saving grace, under Ding Yun's meticulous hypnosis, also yielded results. In reality, Li Yaoyue found him after he broke through to Xiantian, suffered a qi deviation, and fell off a cliff. She then bandaged him and gave him a common healing medicine.
The level of medical skill displayed by Li Yaoyue was something any knowledgeable physician could achieve.
Her claim of being from the Divine Physician Valley was likely an attempt to inflate her own prestige. Who knew that Zhao Xiaoyao's mind was somewhat abnormal at the time, and he actually believed her.
Then followed a supposed tale of twisted love and deep affection.
Li Yaoyue initially had some good feelings for Zhao Xiaoyao. After all, he was young and handsome, had a six-pack, and seemed quite wealthy. In short, he looked like a rich and handsome man, a good prospect.
But as he revealed his unpredictable temperament, his unstable mental state, his identity as the Sect Master of a Demonic Sect, and his penchant for desiccating people, any normal person would be frightened and want to stay away from him.
Li Yaoyue was, naturally, normal.
However, in a relationship, being normal alone was not enough. To signal that they were not suited for each other, Li Yaoyue painstakingly found excuses, citing the irreconcilable conflict between good and evil, her parents' disapproval, and the certain disapproval of her elders in the Divine Physician Valley.
In short, she made up stories, wanting to extricate herself quickly.
But she was dealing with someone who was far from normal.
Her words directly provoked Zhao Xiaoyao, whose mental state was already unstable, causing him to enter a state of acute illness on the spot.
Then followed the incident where she was drained to a husk. Zhao Xiaoyao, upon regaining his senses, was filled with remorse. Simultaneously, he developed a split personality. One personality accepted Li Yaoyue's death and meticulously preserved her corpse. Another personality refused to accept her death, believing he had hidden her away, and that they would be able to meet and marry once all those who opposed their union were eliminated.
What followed was what everyone knows: his actions against the Divine Physician Valley and the entire orthodox path.
"The Divine Physician Valley truly had terrible luck, eighteen lifetimes' worth.
What is called disaster falling from the sky, this is disaster falling from the sky. This fellow is too much of a scoundrel. Li Yaoyue was also quite unlucky. Forget it, I don't want to complain anymore.
In any case, the main culprit is this guy.
Along with the other people of the Demonic Way!"
After understanding the complete cause and effect, Ding Yun no longer wished to delve into the further bloodshed behind them.
Therefore, Ding Yun quickly eliminated all the Demonic Way individuals present, whether they were conscious, semi-crippled, or unconscious. He left none alive.
Then, he departed with his accomplishments hidden, his sleeves flicking as he left.