Chapter 83: A Place Drowned in Crimson

After several hours of waiting, the elders finally began to move.

Sitting on the ground, An felt them fly directly over him.

"Everyone, prepare yourselves!" A loud, commanding male voice immediately rang out.

All the disciples from both groups dropped what they were doing and began to prepare.

"Brothers! Sisters! We're moving toward the altar! Try not to fall behind and stay close together!" A young voice called out from the front of the crowd.

Hearing the shouts, An was surprised, as the voice was familiar to him. Looking up and confirming his suspicions, he regarded the people around him with pity, 'He's taken the leadership role again... Don't tell me he's going to lose half the disciples again?'

Shaking his head, he rose from the ground, dusted himself off, and began following the crowd.

"Who gave you the right to command us? Huh?"

"What makes him think he's in charge?"

"Shh! Better not stick your neck out..."

"He's right. Better to keep your head down, as they say..."

The disciples around him, upon hearing someone giving them orders, immediately became indignant. But remembering where they were and recently realizing their role in this venture, many slumped even further, understanding that the inevitable was drawing closer and closer, and there was nothing they could do about it.

Realizing they had no way out, the disciples slowly walked forward.

Walking through the crowd, An suddenly heard several disciples ahead of him talking among themselves.

"Sigh... If it weren't for the Sacred Land's restrictions, I would have asked my senior sister for her spirit beast..." One of them, with a long nose and a gaunt face, suddenly sighed.

"You mean the Mountain Wolf? I heard it recently broke through to the mid-second rank. Is that true?" The second, short in stature with a protruding belly.

"Mhm! Exactly..." Long-nose nodded several times.

"Well, it makes sense that the restrictions would apply equally to everyone. If spirit beasts weren't restricted, anyone could bring a creature, or their master, or their clan patriarch. Can you imagine the chaos if a Qi Condensation cultivator ran around the Sacred Land with a fourth-rank beast?" The third, with a slightly hunched back and graying hair, twirled his finger near his temple, looking at his friends.

"Heh, at least it doesn't work in reverse!" The pot-bellied one grinned and cast a knowing look at both of them.

"Ho? What do you mean?"

"Spit it out! Don't keep us waiting!"

Both immediately moved closer, urging him on.

Looking around, the third gestured for them to come closer. "Hehe. When I was on a mission over fifteen years ago, I ended up in the territory of the Red Dawn Empire..."

"Ha? That's Blood Moon Sect territory!" The pot-bellied one immediately interrupted.

"Quiet! I'm telling the story!" Giving him a light smack on the back of the head, the hunched-back one continued. "When I stopped at an inn in a small village, I overheard an interesting story from the next table." Having said that, he fell silent and looked at his friends.

"Ugh! Fine! If we survive, drinks are on me! Continue!" Immediately understanding the reason for his silence, Long-nose couldn't hold back.

"Hehe! I knew you were a good brother!" Scratching his chin, the third continued with a wide smile.

"The group at the next table, drunk, was telling stories among themselves. And one of them told a very interesting thing. According to him, twenty years ago, during the last opening of the Sacred Land, a disciple from the Free Night Sect managed to tame a third-rank demonic beast. And after successfully putting it into his beast pouch, he brought it out without any problems." With a proud expression, he patted his chest, as if he himself had tamed a third-rank beast.

"Wait... Are you sure that's true?" The first, with the large nose, frowned, struggling to believe the tale. The pot-bellied one also began nodding, supporting his friend's question.

"You think my reaction was any different from yours? I didn't believe it either, took it for some drunken story. But for some reason, it piqued my interest. When I reached the nearest city, I visited a branch of the Experts' Guild. Fortunately, the information only cost gold, not spirit stones. Ugh... After buying the information, I realized it actually happened. Heh! You can't imagine the look on my face at that moment..." Shaking his head, he looked at his two friends' faces.

"Oh! That's about the same face I had! Hahaha!" Pointing at their wide-open mouths and eyes, he laughed.

"Oh. He must have caused a massacre inside..." The pot-bellied one, coming to his senses, suddenly pondered.

"No. He spent all his time taming that beast. He was very lucky to make it out before the Sacred Land closed." The third shook his head.

"Oh... Damn... What if someone tries to repeat that and succeeds? We're screwed..." Suddenly turning pale, the first with the large nose slowed down slightly and looked at his friends.

"Even if one of the Demonic cultivators tames a second-rank beast, that would already be a huge problem..." The third's face immediately turned serious. Nodding, he continued. "We absolutely need to stay together. No heroics, just try to survive. Stay away from the core disciples and their lackeys, but don't stray to the edges of the groups either. If we follow this tactic, everything will be fine. As the eldest, I guarantee it!"

All three exchanged glances and, seeing the seriousness in each other's eyes, they nodded and continued walking in the group, but now in silence.

….

'So teleportation has no restrictions on the way out. That's great. It would have been a disaster if I managed to break through to a new realm and then found out at the closing that I couldn't leave this Sacred Land. That would have been awkward.' Walking near the three friends, An listened carefully to everything they said. He didn't miss the part about the disciple who tamed a third-rank demonic beast either.

'Hmm? The concentration of demonic energy is getting too high...' Feeling the ratio of different energies in the environment shift critically, An raised his head and looked at the source of the pillar of light, specifically the teleportation altar.

'They've already begun activation. Apparently, they were waiting for this moment, when the concentration of demonic energy would reach its peak.' Slowly walking in the crowd, he watched as four elders, each hovering near their pillar, began manipulating the runes on the massive spheres.

Whooosh!

Suddenly, all the spheres lit up, and a wild wave of energy washed over everyone on the ground.

'The altar is ready for teleportation.' Seeing how the energy above the altar had changed, how the Qi had become chaotic and unstable, he understood that everything was ready. All that remained was to step onto the platform, and he would be inside.

"Everyone, move forward now! The altar will only be active for five minutes. You must all get through in time!" Li Deng, holding her hands near the sphere, turned her head and shouted toward the disciples.

"Miss Li is right. Don't get distracted and coordinate quickly. Once you're on the other side, be alert and careful! Trust only the Four Alliance Sects! Good luck!" Beside her, Golden Blade swept his gaze across both groups. After urging everyone on in a loud voice, he continued stabilizing the sphere.

"Follow me!"

"Follow me!"

Commands were given simultaneously from both groups. Immediately, upon hearing someone interrupt them, the ones at the head of each group looked at each other.

A disciple from the Primordial Purity Sect group, a young man in white robes with red accents.

The disciple who had given the command from the other group, Mo Fan.

Looking at each other, the disciple in white robes simply smiled and nodded, then gestured with his hand and headed toward the altar. Seeing this, Mo Fan frowned but also gestured and walked forward.

'Another pointless conflict? Sigh... The life of a protagonist is hard.' Though he was closer to the edge of the group, due to the terrain and his height, An could see everything clearly.

'Who would have thought, on the other side of the altar, we'd have the drama of who becomes the leader of this massive united group? The answer to this question of the century will be revealed in just a few minutes.' Walking with a smile on his face, his thoughts drifted away again.

….

Approaching the altar, Mo Fan stopped and looked back. Directly behind him walked his friends. Seeing that he had stopped and was looking at them, they smiled back and nodded.

Seeing the determination in their eyes, Mo Fan smiled sincerely, fully ready to face whatever awaited him on the other side, because with him were his loyal friends, ready to support him at any moment.

Turning back toward the altar, he exhaled and took a step forward.

Whoosh! Woosh! Woosh!

….

Moving along with everyone, An felt people disappear the moment they stepped onto the altar. The closer he got to the altar, the more chaotic the Qi became.

From the moment the elders activated the altar, he was essentially blind. He could barely see anything ahead of him, due to the overload of chaotic Qi around him, the billions of collisions, the unpredictable reactions, the clash of opposing energies. As if in a white haze, he walked forward with the group.

Finally, standing at the very edge of the altar, he lowered his foot onto the glowing runes. The moment he felt the surface beneath his foot, pain shot through his entire body, as if he had been grabbed and shaken like a bottle of ketchup.

The next moment, he felt the atmosphere change: heavy and filthy.

Opening his eyes, he found himself on a massive platform overgrown with grass and vines, identical to the one outside. The only difference was the absence of pillars with spheres.

Around him stretched a thick, impassable burgundy forest.

Shaking his head slightly, he finally came to his senses. Maneuvering between the disciples, some of whom were still sitting on the ground trying to recover from the teleportation jolt, he descended from the vast platform toward the side closer to the forest.

Examining the trees and bushes around him, he was surprised. Everything was saturated with demonic energy. The leaves, the bushes, even the grass had a burgundy tint. Everything around looked as if viewed through a red filter. The sky was red, completely covered in crimson clouds. Small puddles in the hollows of trees held reddish water, resembling diluted thick blood.

'What a disgusting place...' With a frown, he still couldn't get used to this energy. Every cell in his body screamed in revulsion.

"Ugh! Disgusting..." Standing on the ground, he shuddered violently.

'By the way... Which direction is the central ring?' He began turning his head, trying to sense the energy to determine which way he needed to go.

'Ah, what difference does it make... That way it is!' Unable to decide, he pointed his finger in a random direction.

Looking around and making sure no one was paying attention to his side, he was about to activate his Qi when he suddenly heard a loud shout.

"Disciples of the Heavenly Soul Sect! I am Core Disciple Ray Elion! By order of my master, I have been chosen to lead this heavy and important mission!" Stepping out of the crowd and jumping onto a boulder so everyone could see him, the young man in white robes with red accents immediately began establishing the hierarchy as soon as he entered the Sacred Land.

Before he could get to the point, a massive bald disciple emerged from the other group. "Who gave you the right to open your mouth! You little insect!" A huge axe immediately appeared in his hand.

"Little insect? How dare you..." Seeing this bald mountain, Elion was about to respond when he was interrupted again.

"Hey, you! Pile of stinking meat! Do those extra teeth get in your way?" From the Primordial Purity group stepped a tall girl with an elegant figure, golden eyes, and snow-white wavy hair tied in a braid. Holding a long spear in her hand, she stood before the boulder on which Elion stood.

Casting a cold glance at her, Mighty Horn's eyes widened. "Ho? And I was wondering who would be warming my bed tonight! Haha!" With greed in his eyes, he scanned her from head to toe.

"Bastard! How dare you speak to Senior Sister Hart like that!"

"I'll tear your tongue out, you overgrown mongrel!"

"You bald bastard!"

"Warming your bed? You'll be joining the ranks of eunuchs tonight!"

The disciples behind the spear-wielding girl named Hart Alia, upon hearing the words of this mountain of meat, immediately boiled over, ready to rush forward and tear him apart at any moment.

'I was just about to leave. Sigh, the drama is just beginning... I think I'll stay a few minutes!' Standing in the distance, An jumped up into the branches of a tree and, resting his chin on his hand, began watching the developing show with interest.

….

At the same time, in the center of the crowd, slightly behind Mo Fan, Mi Mili pulled an artifact from her pocket, a clock with green runes on it. She brought it close to her mouth and silently mouthed something.

Click!

The clock immediately opened, and inside, in place of the time indicators, was a small shimmering mirror. On it, one indicator was in the shape of a tiny arrow. The moment she fully opened it, the runes around the rim of the mirror began to flash in a specific sequence, and the arrow began to turn, pointing toward the dense forest.

'He's definitely still in the crowd. Good! That means I still have time to place a mark on him!' Closing her eyes, Mili brought the open clock to her mouth again and moved her lips.

For a full minute, she kept whispering something without making a single sound. By the end, her entire face was covered in sweat, and her hands began to tremble.

'Ah~' When she finished, she barely managed to stay on her feet. The clock immediately snapped shut on its own.

'It worked. Now I just need to wait a few seconds, and it'll be done...' Nearly spent, her hands still trembling, she tucked the clock into the pocket on the chest of her robe, beneath her outer garment.

"Sister Mi, are you alright?" Hua Zhen, standing nearby, seeing her suddenly turn pale and tremble, couldn't help but ask.

"I-I'm fine-" Raising her head, Mili wiped the sweat from her brow and smiled.

"This happens to me after using teleportation. It'll pass soon." After reassuring Sister Hua that everything was fine, she turned toward the spot where the conflict was growing more intense by the second.