Chapter 140
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Chapter 140: Exiting the Cave Heaven
Li Hui realized that the Hongmo Sect’s Cave Heaven was not just the Blood Phantasm Maze and certainly not only a sea of blood; otherwise, the demon cultivators pouring into the Blood Phantasm Maze would number in the hundreds or thousands. Even Hongmo Zhengfang couldn’t say how many outer disciples the Hongmo Sect truly had, given the numerous branches and sects.
As the largest sect in the sea region, controlling over seven thousand islands, even if each island produced a single Concentrating Spirit Stage Demon Cultivator every year, that would mean more than seven thousand cultivators annually. They didn’t even know where the sect was; it was merely a strategic reserve, ready to sacrifice at any moment.
A practitioner must become a Condensed Essence Stage cultivator before the age of thirty to join the inner sect, which meant there were many who had endured for years to reach that stage. This time, the Hongmo Sect was ruthless, capturing more practitioners and mandating that all sect disciples must participate—no exceptions, even for second-generation nobles like Hongmo Zhengfang. At most, they could get slight benefits, but all other privileges were revoked.
As no one knew how long it would be until Wan Nest Island emerged again, the Hongmo Sect began to spare no effort and resources to promote this matter.
“Buzz, buzz, buzz…”
With a humming sound, countless water droplets rose into the air above the sea.
Blood light danced among the clouds, slowing down as it approached its destination.
As far as the eye could see, hundreds of massive Corpse Islands hovered in the sky, while many others floated toward them, with dark red cascades falling from these islands, quickly staining the surrounding sea.
As night fell, even the full moon turned blood-red, and deep below the surface, endless demonic energy surged, causing the sea’s surface to bubble up like blood plasma, with many areas slowly forming hardened blood scabs…
The brutal moment had arrived. In the Blood Phantasm Maze, Li Hui and Qian Qiu Yue declared their intention to leave and asked everyone to choose: either follow them or stay and live within the maze.
Even if Hongmo Zhengfang had many Slave Seals, managing over six thousand participants would be impossible for him. To him, branding a Slave Seal on these Spirit Motion Stage practitioners was a disgrace. After a tense standoff of gazes, he finally agreed to allow Qian Qiu Yue and Li Hui to bring two thousand people, with no more than that.
This meant that with the Slave Seals on the Hongmo Sect disciples, they could leave with two thousand people, but leaving might mean quicker death.
In reality, fewer than two thousand practitioners wanted to follow Li Hui. They preferred to stay in the maze and survive until they could escape rather than risk venturing out, which amused Hongmo Zhengfang greatly.
Five days passed in the blink of an eye. Li Hui and Qian Qiu Yue disguised themselves as outer disciples of the Hongmo Sect, feeling no pressure in their ever-changing roles. Additionally, Hongmo Zhengfang, harboring resentment, captured the Stoic Man again, delivering hundreds of slaps before branding him with a Slave Seal to keep him as a loyal pet by his side.
In the Hongmo Sect, only inner sect disciples could carry the surname Hongmo. Only after competing fiercely for true disciple status could one receive a waist token.
For example, Hongmo Zhengfang, Hongmo Zhenglun, and Hongmo Zhenghong—only one true disciple could emerge from this lineage, named Hongmo Zheng.
Li Hui was shocked by the immense structure of the Hongmo Sect. Compared to it, the Jade Symbol Sect felt unimaginably small. According to Qian Qiu Yue, the Great Xia Sect was similarly vast. While the Hongmo Sect was not minor compared to the top sects of Great Xia, it also wouldn’t be termed astonishing—just more difficult to handle and comprising more disciples.
“Hurry, time’s up! Go to the teleportation array!” Hongmo Zhengfang’s voice echoed, and then his presence floated away.
Li Hui’s spirit lifted, quickly changing into a stand-up collar purple robe, letting his hair flow down. He toyed with a demon flag while mounting the Yin Yang beast. Turning to Qian Qiu Yue, he saw her disguised as a hunched old woman, supporting herself with a nine-pronged cold night wand, a blood pin adorning her hair, and a necklace of one hundred and eight miniature skulls jingling as she walked, completely unrecognizable.
“Alas! As handsome as I am, I have to disguise myself as a demon cultivator. No wonder that guy Hongmo Zhengfang is so cocky; most demon cultivators don’t care for appearances! They turn out looking neither human nor ghost, while even an average-looking male cultivator could stand out as a beauty.”
“What are you mumbling about? Have you prepared what you need?” Qian Qiu Yue appeared suddenly, emerging from behind Li Hui.
“I mean, Brother Yue, frightening a person with a frightening look could scare them back once my cultivation improves,” Li Hui replied, fiddling with his ears. “To be a demon cultivator, one must not care about one’s appearance; being too normal raises suspicion,” he half-heartedly exclaimed, “I’m ready—it’s only a few hundred immobilization talismans!”
“Do you possess a talent for talisman-making? I observed closely, and at the beginning, you didn’t succeed at all with a hundred,” Qian Qiu Yue remarked, not to mock but to express doubts and facts.
“Ah! I’m peculiar; my success rate fluctuates wildly!” Li Hui thought to himself: “Can I boldly consume those magical items possessed by demon cultivators with you watching? Unfortunately, I haven’t come across any treasures or fragments of treasures; in the end, the Four Eight Patterns monster-conjuring talismans are still unattainable.”
“Hand it over!” Qian Qiu Yue extended her hand.
Li Hui had been waiting for this! Rubbing his hands, he chuckled, “How can my brother take things from me without giving anything in return? At least reward me with a couple of magical items?”
“Oh? You no longer want the Nine-Nine Scatter Yuan Gourd? You think I wouldn’t recognize it?” A playful glimmer sparkled in Qian Qiu Yue’s eyes, teasing Li Hui had become one of her hobbies. If the situation weren’t special, she would have enjoyed trying out countless tricks.
Li Hui gaped, feeling exceedingly frustrated, pulling out the immobilization talismans. Thankfully, with the silver snake bracelet’s assistance, the success rate had improved to around forty percent, and it remained at the six-pattern level. Before drawing the immobilization talisman, he should have first practiced the immobilization talisman and the deterrent talisman; jumping two critical steps was considerably taxing, and since he wasn’t primarily skilled in talisman-making, it was also quite annoying. With such tight timing, even true disciples of the Jade Symbol Sect might not pull together five hundred talismans.
“If you want it, I’ll give it to you—how embarrassing would that be?” This line was only in Li Hui’s mind. In reality, he wore a wide grin, presenting two hundred fifty talismans as a sincere offering.
“Not enough. At least four hundred!” Qian Qiu Yue perused the spirit talismans, nodding slightly before adding, “If not, I’ll take your Xumi Bamboo basket. With the bamboo being too new, it’s somewhat unsightly; I could use your decayed flags to give it an aged look.”
Li Hui felt cold sweat bead down his temples. That bamboo box was his lifeline. Qian Qiu Yue hit his soft spot, leaving him no choice but to raise the white flag in surrender.
Chef Zhao and Huo Qiniang had already prepared with over one thousand seven hundred people, marching quickly. As they exited the teleportation array, laughter erupted: “Hahaha! Isn’t this Brother Zhengfang? How’s it going? Did you gain anything significant with the old man’s guidance in the Cave Heaven?”
The entrance was crowded. This was a skeletal plaza, and Hongmo Zhengfang’s eye twitched as he shouted angrily, “Cang Jian, you know Zhenglun is messing with me; are you doing this on purpose?”
“Who dares to mess with the noble Brother Zhengfang? Haha, did you not capture even a single slave cultivator? That can’t be true, right?” The green-haired demon cultivator spoke while glancing at those behind Hongmo Zhengfang.
At that moment, Li Hui floated over, his voice raspy as he said, “As soon as I stepped out of the teleportation array, I saw the green-haired crowd; it nearly blinded me! Brother Zhengfang, there’s an army of slave cultivators here; who could compare?”
Many demon cultivators turned to look, only to see a throng of figures pouring out from the entrance. Hongmo Zhengfang covered his face, not wanting to see anyone. Soon, laughter rang out, booming and ridiculing.
“Hahaha! Is this the slave cultivator force of yours, Hongmo Zhengfang? What’s this nonsense? Such low cultivation! By the way, who said I had a green head just now?” Cang Jian said, laughing with anger.
