Chapter 74: The Gathering of the Demonic Alliance
In a grim and dark cave, masses of a dark red substance dripped from the walls. Only dim light breaking through the cracks at the entrance illuminated this gloomy chamber.
Suddenly, a thud sounded, and the huge stone doors screeched open. A girl entered, covering her mouth and squinting her eyes from the strong and heavy metallic residue around.
As she slowly walked forward, the doors shut behind her on their own.
She adjusted her black hair with one hand and straightened her black-red robes with the other. Surveying the cave with her red eyes, she kept a calm expression, resisting the metallic atmosphere around herself.
She walked toward the center of the cave, toward the altar, where a shallow pool filled with thick red liquid was installed, inside of which sat a naked man with his back to her.
His back was covered in deep scars which were partially covered by his long white hair.
"Greetings, Master! The representatives of the Sects have already arrived and are only waiting for your appearance!" Approaching within fifty meters of the altar, she could not go any closer due to the intense pressure around it.
She stopped and bowed.
A strong vibration began to spread throughout the cave. The liquid inside the pool began to boil, but the man didn't even move. Only a deep and heavy voice began to resonate around, echoing off the cave walls.
"I am at a decisive stage of my technique... Mo Uer, as my disciple, you will represent my will! And don't forget: we, the Blood Moon Sect, have never lost our superiority! Do everything to not disgrace our name! My name!" His voice grew louder and more ferocious.
The masses on the walls began to explode, and the walls themselves began to howl and crack. Even the muscles on the man's back began to tense, and his hair rose upward.
Lowering her head even further, Mo Uer did not feel the pressure, because her master had redirected it away from her position.
"I obey and submit to the Master's will!" Bowing once more, she turned and quickly walked toward the exit.
"This time, this Alliance of Four decided to invade our Sacred Lands and dictate terms to us?! Just wait! As soon as the tomb closes and I take the next, main step in my technique, you will become the Alliance of Three! Ha! Ha! Ha!"
Leaving the cave, Mo Uer noticed not far from her stood a woman no older than thirty-five, with light hair and burning red eyes. Her figure, her curves, were clearly visible through her tight and revealing black robes.
Mo Uer sighed and approached her, catching the smile of this woman, behind which hid fangs protruding like a vampire's.
Looking at this bloodthirsty smile, she shuddered internally.
"Well, what did our Sect Leader say, dear Mo?" Opening her mouth, the woman asked in a gentle voice, staring intently into Mo Uer's eyes.
Seeing this hungry gaze directed at her, she shuddered again. "The Sect Leader has transferred his authority for today's meeting to me!" Gathering herself, she straightened her chest forward and slightly raised her chin.
In response, the woman threw a thoughtful glance at the cave, and her throat moved, as if she had said something without any sounds.
A moment later, she smiled and slowly began to walk away from the cave. "Hmm... Don't be afraid, dear Mo, as the vice-leader, I'll be shoulder to shoulder with you! Haha…"
Whoosh!
Before Mo Uer could say anything, the woman, with a loud crack of air dissolved before her eyes in an instant.
"Hmph!" Stomping her foot in irritation, she waved her hand and a hovering sword appeared before her.
Jumping onto the artifact, she sped through the tall, gloomy black forest that separated the cave from a massive dark cliff. Atop it sat an active volcano, its slopes oozing red masses similar to those in the cave.
Flying up to the cliff, she headed upward, right under the volcano's mouth, where a huge palace was situated, right in the fissure.
She landed at the main gates, on both sides of which stood two statues of creatures resembling a hybrid of a bat and a human. They were posed as if they were holding a mountain on their shoulders, to prevent it from crushing the palace built inside it.
"Young Master of the Sect!"
"Young Master of the Sect!"
Seeing her, the cultivators standing guard on both sides of the gates bowed and greeted her.
Whoosh!
"Faster, my dear Mo. I'll be waiting in the hall." Suddenly, a shadow flashed past her shoulder, and the woman's gentle voice sounded next to her.
Wrinkling her nose, Mo Uer snorted almost silently and slowly entered through the gates, which opened by themselves.
….
BOOM!
"Those damn righteous bastards have completely lost their minds!" A muscular woman with a bald head and white eyes began to loudly protest and hit the table with her fist.
"They're not only starting to pressure us from the Beast Lands, but they're also attacking our forts established on the outer ring!" She clenched her fists so hard that even the air around her seemed to groan.
"Calm down, Abbess Nu. Yelling and spraying your saliva won't change the situation." In another part of the room, a man in black robes with a low hood that covered almost his entire face said in a slow and calm voice.
Just hearing the reproach from this man, Abbess Nu immediately changed her expression and calmed down. Even fear flashed in her eyes.
"Tu-tu! White Hand, don't be so rude to the younger generation. How will they learn to make the right decisions if they're not given the right to an opinion..." Slightly behind Abbess Nu, a bald old man with blue eyes sat on a chair. His orange robes were very similar to Abbess Nu's, only a few differences in the patterns.
Sitting on the chair, he smiled at the cultivator in black robes and spun wooden prayer beads in his hands, constantly touching them chaotically.
Just as the cultivator in black was about to respond to this old man, he felt something. Raising an eyebrow, he looked at the main doors. "Hmm?"
As soon as he turned, everyone present in the room did the same.
The door slowly opened, and two people entered: a young girl in front, and a woman with a smirk and tight robes behind her.
“Shameless!” Seeing the woman in revealing attire, Abbess Nu snorted loudly and turned away in a show of defiance.
"Hahaha! Master Gonto, mind your beloved disciple's manners... Or have you forgotten that you're not on your cozy mountain, surrounded by bald-heads?" Laughing as she walked, the woman behind Mo Uer covered her mouth with her hand and threw a provocative glance at the old man with prayer beads.
Abbess Nu clenched her fists until they turned white but did not dare to retort to this insolent woman, understanding that such behavior would only insult her and her master.
"Tu-tu-tu. Supreme Liya, please calm down. Don't play with my dear disciple's unformed nerves... After all, we are all allies here, and we haven't gathered here for nothing." Touching his beads, Master Gonto looked at the woman with a smile, but undisguised cold could be seen in his eyes toward her.
Seeing this gaze, Supreme Liya only licked her lower lip.
"Ahem, ahem! Welcome, dear guests! On behalf of my master, the Head of the Blood Moon Sect, I welcome you!" Finding the right moment, Mo Uer approached the table in the center of the room and bowed slightly, showing respect to all present.
"Where is Blood Hand? Why are we being faced with a worm unworthy of even being in our presence, let alone opening its mouth?" Immediately, on the opposite side of the table from her, a cultivator who had been sitting in the shadows leaned slightly forward.
Seeing the burning eyes of this cultivator, her legs began to tremble. With her peripheral vision, she could see everyone around looking at her as if they would wipe her off the face of the earth at any moment, if she didn't explain why she had the audacity to speak.
Covering her mouth with her hand, Supreme Liya smiled. Taking a step forward, she waved her hand and, using her Qi, moved Mo Uer slightly to the side.
"Hmm, my friends, I think that's enough... Blood Hand has transferred his authority to his beloved disciple... Ah, I knew it was a bad idea." Standing in the center, in the place where Mo Uer had been standing, the position usually reserved for the Sect Leader during such gatherings, her playful gaze immediately turned serious.
"We all understand why we've gathered here today. Even though I apologize that my Leader cannot be present at this meeting for reasons I am not at liberty to disclose, I can tell you for certain, when you finally learn the reason for his absence today, you will all be unspeakably pleased!" By the end, she smiled sinisterly, looking around.
Realizing that she had been used, Mo Uer lowered her head, trying to hide her anger and fear as she clenched her fists as hard as she could.
The eyes of all those present lit up, for different reasons, but almost everyone showed concern, each realizing that news too good for the Blood Moon Sect would most likely not be very good for them and their Sects.
"Ahem! Very well. I'll forgive your hasty and disrespectful attitude toward us, but only this once! I-" Before Abbess Nu could finish, the hooded cultivator interrupted her.
"There are only six weeks left until the tomb opens... My Free Night Sect has selected more than two hundred people with cultivation above the eighth layer of Qi Condensation. Even though we couldn't supply all the core disciples with talismans and second-rank pills, I and the elders of my Sect are confident that they are ready to face those righteous brats!" With a tired voice, the cultivator with burning eyes in the shadows decided to get straight to the point, understanding that the longer he listened to those around him, the more he began to boil with rage.
"Tu-tu... The Sacred Oaths Sect has also prepared more than two hundred monks, more precisely... What was it, dear disciple?" Sitting in orange robes, Gonto looked at his disciple Abbess Nu.
Seeing her teacher's gaze, she nodded. "236 monks have been selected for this task. They are all ready and know the purpose of their journey!" Straightening up slightly, she announced with pride in her voice.
"Egh... Monks..." Opposite them, the hooded cultivator couldn't help but comment on the pomposity of these shaved ones.
Shaking his head, he decided it was worth speaking up as well. "Our Black Sun Sect has selected 140 worthy sacrifices, ready to lay down their heads for our common cause!" In his voice, in every word, a building killing intent oozed from him.
Having listened to everyone around, Supreme Liya nodded. "The Blood Moon Sect has also prepared more than two hundred disciples, ready to do whatever we command them!"
"By the way, I hope you haven't forgotten that this time, we must give priority to hunting the righteous, and not each other?" Tilting his head slightly, the cultivator in the shadows examined everyone present with a suspicious gaze.
Everyone nodded, agreeing with him, except Master Gonto. He only continued to spin his prayer beads in his hands as if he hadn't heard the question.
"That's not up for discussion..." The hooded cultivator glanced at Master Gonto and decided to answer for all those present. "We all understand what this event means... If we allow these morons to gain any benefit from the Tomb, it will only be the beginning..."
"He's right. If we give them anything this time, they will stop feeling fear and begin to test and probe our territories harder and more often... And this could lead to premature open conflicts. Even though we're not against these conflicts, more deaths, more resources, we all understand that. However." The cultivator in the shadows spoke in a quiet, calm voice and nodded fully agreeing with the hooded cultivator.
Raising his hand with the prayer beads upward, Master Gonto pointed his finger at the ceiling. "But we all answer to them. Eh, a day of meaningless bloodshed is getting closer and closer." Closing his eyes, he lowered his hand.
Everyone noticed his gesture and involuntarily looked upward. Even Mo Uer raised her head and looked up for only a moment.
"Master Gonto is right. They won't allow us or them to start a full-scale war until everything on their side is ready for the official order..." Exhaling heavily, Supreme Liya shook her head.
Looking for a moment at Mo Uer, she turned back to those present. "All we can do is control our territories and not let them start a real war."
BOOM!
The cultivator in the shadows abruptly stood up and struck the table with his fist, splitting it in two.
"Therefore! We must slaughter all their forces that they send into the Tomb! Slaughter them! Down to the last pup! So that these bitches don't dare to raise their noses until the order from above! So that they know their place!" Finally stepping out of the shadows, everyone saw a man with long fangs and red hair that strongly resembled a lion's mane, the muscles on his bare torso tensed, and golden blood ran through his veins.