Liang looked at the five Devil Kings and sneered inwardly.
With a casual wave of his hand, five old sheets of paper appeared in the air before them.
"These are the contracts I promised you. With them, you'll be able to replace the souls of the five cultivators I've chosen."
A faint crimson glow covered each contract, carrying the unmistakable aura of blood essence. These belonged to the five cultivators Liang had selected for his plan.
The Devil Kings' eyes lit up. They each took a contract and examined it carefully, sensing the blood essence contained within.
For a devil soul to manifest in this world without a physical body, it needed a binding contract containing the summoner's blood essence. Once the contract was established, it could not be undone.
Under normal circumstances, the summoner would fall under the devil's control. However, things were different when the difference in cultivation was so vast.
The five Devil Kings were far stronger than the cultivators Liang had chosen. Through the contracts, they could replace their hosts' souls and take control of their bodies without resistance.
There was, however, a serious drawback.
The five cultivators' bodies could not withstand the power of a Devil King's soul for long. Their bodies would gradually deteriorate until they eventually died.
That was why Liang had warned Li Gang that granting his wish would most likely cost him his life.
From the beginning, this had been a suicide mission. Driven by hatred and a desire for revenge, none of the five cultivators had cared about the consequences.
Liang had spent an extraordinary amount of time preparing everything. Each Devil King continued examining his contract as he spoke.
"You don't need to worry. All five of them possess a True Devil Innate Body. It took me more than two hundred years to find suitable candidates."
He spoke casually, but his eyes remained cold.
"I also made sure they developed irreconcilable grudges against the ten great sects."
He said it as though it were nothing more than a simple task.
In reality, Liang had secretly arranged the tragedies that had ruined their lives.
He had been the one who informed an elder of the Divine Phoenix Sect about Li Gang's dao companion and her rare physique.
As for Guan Wei, Liang had personally killed several Core Formation elders of the Heavenly Conqueror Sect and framed him for their deaths. This had provoked the sect into hunting him down.
What Liang hadn't expected was that one of the elders he killed had been the direct disciple of a Spirit Severing Realm ancestor.
Unable to find Guan Wei, the furious ancestor had taken his anger out on Guan Wei's entire sect, wiping it out completely.
Zhang Lie had been even easier to deal with.
Liang had spread a false rumor to the Heavenly Thunder Palace, claiming that the Hidden Moon Sect had discovered a Heavenly Thunder Dao Stone. The artifact was of immense importance to one of the palace's most respected ancestors.
The rumor had been enough to bring about the sect's destruction.
For Han Zhi, Liang had bribed a Nascent Soul elder of the Dragon Terrace Sect to steal a sacred artifact and secretly plant it among Han Zhi's belongings.
The accusation had been accepted without question.
Li Xin's case had required even less effort. Liang had simply spread rumors that he was secretly involved with a female disciple of the Immortal Jade Sect.
Since the sect strictly prohibited its female disciples from forming relationships with men, the consequences had been inevitable.
The Devil Kings listened without interrupting. As they pieced together what Liang had done, they gradually understood how carefully he had arranged everything.
They nodded in approval, impressed by his patience and ruthlessness.
"Everything is ready, then," the crimson Devil King said, his eyes burning with anticipation. "Let's begin."
One after another, the Devil Kings absorbed their contracts. Their figures gradually faded, turning into streams of dark energy that flowed back into the mirror.
Soon, all five had disappeared.
The devil qi lingering in the room slowly dissipated.
Liang remained still until the last trace of energy was gone. Then, a cold sneer appeared on his face.
"I just hope those fools don't disappoint me."
His tone was filled with disdain. To him, the five cultivators were nothing more than disposable tools, and their deaths were already part of the plan.
After a moment, he began thinking about what would happen next. A faint smile appeared on his face as he considered the future he had spent so long preparing for.
"If everything goes according to plan, no one will be able to stop me."
His expression gradually darkened.
"As for those so-called Devil Kings and the ten great powers that have stood in my way for so long..."
A sinister smile spread across his face.
"They'll all cease to exist."
He spoke as though their destruction were already a foregone conclusion.
With that, Liang turned and left the room.
His attention had already shifted to his next move. Once his scheme came to light, the ten great sects would undoubtedly begin searching for him.
But he wasn't concerned.
If this was what it took to obtain true power and change his fate, he was willing to take the risk.
As he walked down the corridor, a faint sense of excitement rose within him. He was finally approaching the path that would change his life forever.
He had sacrificed too much to reach this point.
There was no turning back now.
At the entrance, Liang paused and glanced at the Free Heart Inn one last time.
Then he stepped into the night without looking back, ready for whatever came next.