"The Samsara Hell Annihilation Formation?" Wiji Yeol mulled over a name he had never heard before. Despite being a Patriarch of the Blood Cult's Eight Great Clans, he had lived his entire life as a blacksmith. He knew little about the various mysterious phenomena the Blood Cult wielded.
Even so, this scene was too elaborate to be a mere illusion. The star-filled night sky. The nauseating smell of sulfur. The suffocating heat, so intense that even he, a master of an ultimate yang art, struggled to breathe. Everything felt terrifyingly real.
How could this be a formation? Isn't this more like being transported to another world?
"Elder, please take this medicine first." Baek Suryong gave Wiji Yeol the internal injury medicine and miracle herbs he had brought.
Still, the medicine barely brought the old man's consciousness into focus. His body was a wreck.
If there was anything good about this, it was that the surroundings were unchanging, giving Baek Suryong time to carefully observe everything.
"Circulate the Flaming Soul Divine Art immediately," he added.
"...Fine. I'll show you."
"But if I do that, you'll..."
"I'm asking you to do this for my own convenience. Hurry."
"...I understand."
Wiji Yeol sat down cross-legged without another word.
Baek Suryong placed his palm on Wiji Yeol's Gate of Life acupoint and infused him with qi. The elder's insides were in disarray, as if he had been poisoned by Qi Dispersing Poison. Fortunately, the Heaven Defying Divine Art quickly burned the toxins away.
I'm glad they didn't destroy his qi center, only suppress his inner arts with the Qi Dispersing Poison.
The Blood Cult had likely spared Wiji Yeol from the worst because of his tremendous value. If the old man's qi center had been destroyed, keeping him alive would have been difficult given his advanced age.
After helping Wiji Yeol begin circulating his energy, Baek Suryong removed his hand, but he did not let his guard down. The area had transformed into a hellscape of lava and bizarre rock formations.
It's just as my masters described.
The Blood Cult's secret weapon, the Samsara Hell Annihilation Formation, was created to capture peerless masters. In the past, even his four masters had failed to break through this formation and were taken prisoner by the Blood Cult.
"I've experienced all sorts of formations in my time, but never one as messed up as that."
"It felt less like an illusion and more like entering another world."
"Everything felt different. My body felt several times heavier than usual, and my senses ran wild. Even circulating my qi was difficult."
"If you ever get trapped in that formation, you must be extremely careful. For someone who hasn't learned demonic arts, every breath you take inside is like inhaling deadly poison."
Baek Suryong recalled his masters' warnings as he quietly spread his fully expanded qi sense in all directions, planning to stay put until Wiji Yeol finished a minor circulation cycle and recovered some vitality.
Suddenly, two men appeared from empty space as if painted into existence. One was a bald giant wearing blood-red monk's robes, and the other was a harsh-looking old man with five swords strapped to his waist and back.
The bald giant clasped his large hands together. "It's an honor to meet the renowned Azure Dragon Hero."
Baek Suryong recognized the man as the Bloody Fighting Monk, a great villain who was also known simply as the Bloody Monk.
He was once a promising talent of Shaolin, but his excessive desire to win led him to dabble in demonic arts. When a senior brother discovered his secret, he had brutally murdered him and fled.
Shaolin naturally excommunicated the Bloody Monk and declared him a public enemy of the murim. Despite the pursuit of the Eighteen Arhats, he managed to evade capture and live in hiding for over twenty years. Today, however, he re-emerged as an Elder of the Blood Cult, living up to his alias.
"This bastard! Didn't they say he was a swordsman? Why did he bring a dao instead of a sword?" the cranky-looking old man grumbled.
He was the Wind Sword Phantom, a demonic master of the previous generation also called the Sword Phantom. He was famous for his extraordinary greed for treasured swords and was known for killing his opponents just to steal their blades.
Like the Bloody Monk, he had been declared a public enemy of the murim and hunted until he vanished more than a decade ago. The five treasured swords he carried at his waist and on his back each possessed an unusually sharp aura.
The Wind Sword Phantom frowned, displeased that the Azure Dragon Hero carried no sword. "I'm not that interested in daos, but I suppose I'll have to collect that one for now."
"Are you both Blood Cult elders?" Baek Suryong asked, eyeing the ferocious, demonic qi billowing from their bodies.
The Bloody Monk guffawed, and the Sword Phantom snorted as if the question was ludicrous.
"As expected of one of the Ten Supremes. You're quite composed, even when facing the two of us while protecting an injured man."
The Bloody Monk stepped forward alone. The Sword Phantom watched with his arms crossed, apparently feeling no need to intervene.
"Did you know? Decades ago, several peerless masters who dominated the world were captured and were unable to break this single formation. Masters who wielded divine power capable of shattering mountains and splitting the sky couldn't overcome simple sorcery. At first, this humble monk didn't believe it either, but seeing it in person... it's incredible, isn't it?"
Baek Suryong snorted. Seriously, why is this ex-Shaolin monk still calling himself 'this humble monk'? What an insult to his former sect.
The Bloody Monk continued his mockery with a benevolent smile. "The Head Elder ordered us not to overdo it and to simply stall for time. We're to capture the Azure Dragon Hero with minimal casualties. Thanks to that, you're able to stand there so leisurely."
"......"
"By now, you must have felt the demonic qi that fills this place. With every breath, inside your body..."
"Shut up and answer my question."
The Bloody Monk remained calm, even though he was cut off mid-sentence. On the surface, he still looked like a kind, benevolent monk. "This humble monk has enjoyed Zen riddles since I was a novice. Let's have a go."
Needless to say, Baek Suryong had no intention of trading Zen riddles with the Bloody Monk. He immediately asked what he was most curious about. "Is an apostle also involved in your plan this time?"
"...!" The Bloody Monk's face hardened for the first time.
The Head Elder said that even a peerless master would be lucky to last an hour. After that, demonic qi would gradually accumulate in their body, eating away at their flesh and spirit.
The Sword Phantom, who had been laughing in the background, also fell silent and glared at Baek Suryong.
"Why are you curious about our Cult's apostle?" the Bloody Monk asked.
"...So one of them came with you."
Baek Suryong bit his lip. If an apostle was here, then the people at the Ak Clan Branch Estate were in danger. He needed to hurry.
"...How surprising. You're right. The Apostle is watching us even now. How about it? Will you surrender?"
Baek Suryong just tilted his head and sneered at the Bloody Monk's attempt to intimidate him. "Why would an Apostle come here? For those who haven't learned demonic arts, the air in here is like poison. There's no reason to deploy an Apostle who hasn't learned a demonic art."