Mo Hua furrowed his brow.
He’d already guessed before—once a demon cultivator in Valley of Ten Thousand Demons formed their core, they were eligible to leave the valley, and after leaving, this Demon Sect was likely one of their gathering points.
But that had only been speculation—now Elder Xun Ziyou’s words had just confirmed his deduction.
So Valley of Ten Thousand Demons really was connected to the Demon Sect.
"Those two Golden Core demon cultivators—?" Xun Zixian asked. "Did you kill them?"
"Killed one," Xun Ziyou answered, "the snake demon’s dead, the bear demon got away—don’t know where he escaped to. Maybe one of the other Elders took him out, maybe not."
Xun Zixian pondered for a moment. "There’s something strange about all this..."
Xun Ziyou nodded. "Indeed."
Mo Hua was thoughtful as well. After a moment, just as he was about to speak, he suddenly sensed something wrong with the atmosphere, and quickly looked up at the sky.
He saw the heavens shrouded in a bloody haze, with Evil Qi swirling secretly along predetermined paths.
Mo Hua was startled and looked immediately to Xun Zixian, "Elder!"
Xun Zixian sensed the anomaly as well, face turning grim: "A Formation!"
He shot to his feet, unleashed his Divine Sense, and seemed to be making calculations in his heart. After a moment, his eyes narrowed sharply, and he addressed Xun Ziyou:
"It’s a Turning Fiend Formation: it feeds on the Blood Qi and resentment of the dead, nourishing something. Spread the word—don’t kill off any more demon cultivators unless absolutely necessary, or this Formation is going to gorge itself."
Xun Ziyou wasn’t very versed in Formations, but he respected Xun Zixian’s skill, and immediately summoned several Inner Sect Disciples to pass down the order.
The Inner Gate Disciples hurried off to relay the command.
Xun Zixian was still deeply worried.
"Not killing isn’t a real solution either—many people already died in the battle just now. Whether we kill now or not, this Evil Formation is still running, absorbing the Blood Fiend Qi."
Mo Hua knew this as well. He said: "Elder Zixian, we’ve got to find a way to break this Formation. We can’t leave such an evil thing here."
Xun Zixian nodded slightly, but looked at Mo Hua with concern.
Mo Hua knew he was worried about his safety, so he said:
"I’ll go with you—I won’t leave your side, I won’t wander off. All the Golden Core Demons are either dead or have fled; there shouldn’t be any real danger left."
Xun Zixian considered a moment, then nodded. "Alright."
He rose, gathering a few Taixu Sect Elders who still had some strength, and headed into the poisonous swamp of Yanluo Mountain.
Once a poison swamp, it had now become a "Blood Swamp."
The mist above was saturated with blood, bright crimson, carried on the lingering Formation power, floating in the air, condensed and undispersed.
Within the Blood Qi, life and death karma flowed faintly.
Xun Zixian took out a Si Nan, flicked it a few times with his fingers, and the Golden Needle spun, pointing the way toward the source of Evil Power.
Xun Zixian followed the direction indicated by the Golden Needle.
Mo Hua obediently followed behind, treading on withered grass, poisonous swamp, and severed corpse-parts of demon cultivators, step by step heading deeper into the marsh.
After half an hour, Xun Zixian stopped, eyes narrowing. He raised two fingers and pointed; a streak of sword light shot forth, flattening a grassy mound in front of them.
Beneath the mound lay a large White Bone Stele, covered in hideous patterns.
The Blood Fiend energy in the air was converging from all directions onto this White Bone Stele.
Nourished by the blood, those patterns on the stele’s face swelled with fresh blood and visibly glowed with evil red light, almost as if they had come alive, writhing bit by bit.