Wang Yang hadn't had such a good sleep in a while. Thanks to his master's need to train him for survival, he had learned how to sleep with one eye open for weeks now. Although uncomfortable, he made considerable progress.

But that all failed him because of the formation in the Cave of Eons. The rapid wave of sleepiness drowned him before he could even adjust. He had landed in such a deep sleep that he couldn't even wake up; that's why someone had to do it for him.

And the one who did it was the most violent one among the people surrounding him.

"Wake up, you stupid dog!" Chang Lu drove her elbow into Wang Yang's abdomen.

"gAHHHH!" Almost folded in half, Wang Yang rolled on the ground like a worm sprinkled with salt. Swallowing the bile rising from his stomach, he wiped the crust off his eyes.

"You could've been gentler with that." He complained to the woman staring him down.

"You are asking the impossible out of my sister; she can be anything but gentle," Wu said, standing beside others from Azure Sky Sect.

"What do you expect me to do with someone who is this clueless?" Lu scoffed.

Wang Yang got to his feet, the cold, stale air hitting the back of his throat and stinging his eyes.

The surrounding wasn't any better; the cobblestone floor stretched into black mist hanging on the horizon. Around them were other disciples who passed the river test, all searching for answers.

"What is happening?" His question went unanswered.

Everyone here wanted to know the same. The tension was so thick he could cut it with a knife. And that tension slowly seeped into Wang Yang, too. Like others, he also touched the steel at his hip to find some comfort.

That's when Chen Liang returned from a meeting with the lead disciples of other sects.

"Found anything?" Sun Lingling asked, her nerves tenser than usual.

"Nothing. We tried to contact the outside several times, but the line is dead." Chen Liang looked at the confused Wang Yang gave him a nod. "This was supposed to be a one-on-one training session with the ancestors, but for some reason, we are all grouped up together. Nothing adds up."

"Our best bet is to stick together and wait for the elders." Chen Liang conveyed the conclusion that the lead disciples had come to.

Clocks didn't function in that space. A second felt like a minute, and a minute an hour. Each passing moment made the disciples huddle closer as the dark mist rocked back and forth like ocean waves. Gentle, but cold to the touch.

Suffocated and disturbed by the increasing density of people around them, Sun Lingling decided to go to the edge of the horde. Curious, Wang Yang followed. His senior sister sat cross-legged a little far away from the hushed whispers and held the sword across her lap.

"You can practice, Senior sister. I'll look around." Wang Yang said.

"You have my thanks." Sun Lingling, ever the cold one, closed her eyes and began to focus.

Her focus is insane. Others can barely calm down in this situation, and she is continuing her practice. Wang Yang tried to close his eyes and practice, too, but it didn't work. His nerves were too tense to concentrate.

The hard floor, plus the chilly wind and worried whispers of the disciples, even the qi around them was a mess because of those heightened emotions. He scratched his head and looked towards the misty horizon, wondering if he should just read a book.

However, his eyes happened to catch a figure blitzing through the mist. Wang Yang rubbed his eyes as the shadow moved too fast, almost making him question if it was there.

"Did you see that?"

"Tell Senior Chen now!"

But the disciples behind him also saw the figure. The whispers grew into panic as words from other disciples rose. The number of shadows grew, entering their view and vanishing in the mist like wolves in a forest.

The lead disciples took the front as one of the shadows stepped out of the dark mist. The shadow morphed into a man as the veil of mist lifted. A face that most disciples knew of from the records of war.

Xi, the last leader of Bone Mountain. Wang Yang had recently seen that face from close by.

However, unlike the hollowed face he had seen at the trial, the current Xi exhibited a ferocious grin akin to a tiger. His sharp, jagged teeth peeked out of the lips that extended into his scarred cheeks. With each of his steps, the rotten stench grew stronger. A stench so strong that it turned the air itself into a stagnant pool of blood.

Even the unshakable Sun Lingling had sweat running down her brow. She was one of the few to feel the entire pressure of Xi's presence; however, it was the others behind him that got her shook.

One after another, figures appeared. Walking forward with smoldering crimson eyes and cold weapons. The disciples stepped back, trembling.

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

"Sword Warrior, Gi Hun from Purple Cloud Sect."

"Spear King, Xiao Li… The mad dog of northern plains."

"Hong Qi, the first crimson moon priestess… This is madness…"

Seniors from the family trees, elders from the anecdotes, and cultivators from folklore. The history of the Eastern Continent and Major Sects stood before them, but not to guide them as intended.

"This…" Wang Yang stammered.

Among the crowd of cultivators, his eyes landed on the one standing in the middle of the enemy line. Not just him, even Sun Lingling saw him.

The pretty face they had finally gotten used to, the kind but stern eyes. However, they couldn't help but gulp at the cold gleam it held now. The unfeeling gaze, sloppy robes, hair unfurled like a lion's mane. He seemed so foreign standing there, like a completely different person.

Staring into the abyss-like eyes that stared at them like they were mere sacks of flesh, Wang Yang and Sun Lingling could only muster a faint murmur as a five-petaled plum flower bloomed in each of his eyes.

"Master?"

***

Far from the Qingliu Mountains, in the heart of Jinxiu plains, a small gathering happened in the now renewed Corpse King's Manor. In a refurbished banquet hall that could host a thousand, seven individuals gathered around an ebony table overflowing with every delicacy known to man.

"To the glory of Demonic Sects!" A short potbellied man with stumpy limbs, leader of the Crimson Cauldron Sect, raised his wine cup high. "To the power of Lord Gu!"

"Ahaha, it was about time we showed them what we are made of." The sharp-faced old man with a pointy mustache spoke in glee.

Other Demonic sect leaders sitting near him nodded in approval, downing the liquor like water, some even drinking from the jade bottles directly. Today was a joyous day. A day of revenge.

"Leader Xu, please do not forget this was only possible because of Lord Gu." The leader of the Yin-Yang cult poured wine for Gu Changge.

"Ahaha, of course, Lady Hu, we can never forget about our saviour. The shining light of our demonic sects." Leader of Dark Moon gaffed.

"No need to be conscious of me, today is a day of celebration. Do enjoy yourselves."

"Lord Gu truly deserves the praise and reverence; these next drinks are in your honor, Lord Gu!"

Gu Changge smiled at the gleeful sect leaders and raised his cup in toast. However, the smile never reached his eyes. he only watched as they lost themselves in liquor and the serving women.

How vulgar. To think I have to mingle with these low-brow crooks. He clicked his tongue under his breath. It is hilarious how they think they had any hand in making this plan work. I was the one who recruited Han Bo, I was the one who gave information about the Cave of Eons and had that bewitching soul lamp made, I was the one who formalized the entire plan.

Now, the disciples are stuck inside with the entranced spirits of their ancestors. They are as good as dead with the fodder outside distracting the others. He grinned, drunk on the sweet taste of victory, his eyes looking down on others from the head seat. These fools should be genuflecting before me for even letting them have a sliver of my glory.

"My Lord, is the liquor not to your taste?" Lady Hu asked, her charming lilac eyes upturned.

"It is of high purity, but no matter how much of delicacy something is, it becomes average when you have too much of it." Gu Changge placed the cup on the table.

"That is certainly true, Lord Gu, do forgive me for not noticing it earlier." Lady Hu bowed, the robe slipping off her white shoulder. "Is there any way to make up for this mistake?" She leaned forward with pursed pink lips, her ample bosom swaying under the thin silken robe.

This one has some tact. Gu Changge licked his lips at the rosy hue on Lady Hu's face.

"Well, there might be a way." Gu Changge's smile returned as he stood up. "Follow me."

"As you wish, Lord Gu." Lady Hu kept her head and followed him to a room at the back.

However, before he could open the door under the envious gazes of the sect masters, Gu Changge's token rang. Irked as he was, he answered it.

"This better be important, Xiao Qi."

A voice full of panic, laced with restlessness, followed. "Lord Gu, Li Muchen… He just met Fu Yuzhe in the forest south of Jinxiu Plains."

"Li Muchen? How is he outside? Why is he meeting Fu Yuzhe?" Gu Changge's words rang like thunder.

"We have no idea, My Lord."

"Then find the answer, why do you think I've kept you alive?"

"I wi—kztfz…" The connection ended.

He tried to connect with Xiao Qi, the leader of the security around Corpse Manor, but it didn't work. He tried to reach Han Bo, but that didn't work either. No matter which spy or follower he tried, he couldn't reach anyone. Even the demonic cultivators that went to attack Qingliu Mountains didn't respond.

Gu Changge almost threw the token at the marbled wall, but it soon crackled. A hiss came from the token, along with a gust of fierce wind.

"Why'd he run like he saw a ghost?" The mildly annoyed yet cool voice rang out.

"…Li Muchen." Changge muttered.

"Oh, have I become that famous that you recognize me by my voice?"

"Yes, you have been very famous as the most useless disciple of the Sky Mending Saint. Rumor has it that you were only kept because of your face. Is that true?" Changge scoffed.

"There is some truth to that. But I don't know if someone lucky enough to drip out of the Gu family's patriarch's phallus has any business insulting me." Li Muchen laughed. "Were the elixirs and expensive pills you shoved down your throat not enough that you turned to the demonic way? Were you that unwilling to accept that you couldn't even reach your sister's toenails even after everything you did?"

"You sure talk a lot." Changge's face dropped.

"Even a sniveling piece of human garbage like you deserves the truth, so I am just planning on doing what your father should've done years ago. Well, your sister tried, but she is too soft about her methods. A beheading? I'd have ground you to a paste and fed you to the pigs."

"Anyone can talk a big game. I'd love to see you try."

"You will. Corpse King Manor, right? I am coming over." The playfulness in Muchen's voice vanished. "For once in your life, try and not run away like a little bitch."

Changge crushed the token in his hand as soon as the call ended. He sat down on the bed in front of him and started chuckling. The silent shuckle soon turned into full-blown laughter, ringing in the hall.

The party stopped, and Lady Hu stood at the open door, unsure of what to do.

Gu Changge couldn't help but feel pity for Li Muchen. The cheap provocation didn't bother him; however, he knew the plan well. The entire Corpse King Manor was one large artifact. The token in his hand glowed red.

The purple cloud sect's elites. I knew they were snooping around, but to think they were conspiring with Li Muchen. Gu Changge shook his head. This was good, Muchen. You have amused me well.

Seeing him walk deeper into the bedroom, Lady Hu took a step forward.

"Lord Gu?"

"Nothing to worry, I am just getting something to welcome the guests. Please go out and tell others to get ready for a nice show." He peeked from behind the bed. "Can you do that for me?"

"Yes, Lord Gu." Lady Hu ran out of the bedroom.

"Stupid bimbo." Changge shook his head and opened the trap door hidden under the bed. "Well, at least they'd work as good meat shields."

"I won't forget this sacrifice of yours, thank you, my servants." He said before jumping into the hole that collapsed after he passed through.

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