Han Yu’s breath caught. ’Enter the tomb?’
The elder’s eyes glead faintly red under the eerie light of the beacon, reflecting the glow like pools of blood.
"Those who pass," the elder said slowly, drawing the words out, "shall receive the ancestor’s favor. They may inherit his techniques, his skills, and the fortune he once left behind."
A dark smile touched his lips.
"And those found unworthy... will perish."
Han Yu’s fingers tightened around the shaft of his halberd.
His body felt cold despite the burning light of the beacon nearby. He rembered the tomb. He rembered the illusion of that grotesque palace of the bleeding moon and the endless wailing that had bled into the air around it.
Even standing far away, his soul had quivered. To step into that place willingly was madness.
Yet, looking around, he saw not fear but fervor in the eyes of the disciples. Their expressions were filled with feverish anticipation. So even smiled as if eager to prove their worth to that terrifying ancestor.
It was clear that if the gates of the tomb opened at that mont, they would hurl themselves into it without hesitation.
Han Yu forced himself to breathe evenly. The elder’s words had, at least, revealed one thing of importance. The tomb, or rather the "ancestral land," was not yet ready. There was sothing still missing, sothing that prevented them from accessing it.
Whatever that was, it bought him ti... precious ti he could use to plan, to survive, and perhaps to escape.
The elder lifted his arm and pointed at the crowd with a motion so precise that every disciple straightened at once.
"All those who participated in this mission shall have their sect credits duly recorded," he said. "Your efforts have not gone unnoticed. You will be rewarded according to your rit and the blood you have spilled in our na."
Several disciples murmured in satisfaction. Han Yu, blending among them, maintained a calm expression.
"Those who have stood out in their contributions," the elder added, his tone rising, "shall be summoned for further rewards by the Elders. Your achievents will not fade into obscurity."
Han Yu kept his head slightly bowed, pretending reverence while his mind raced. He needed to stay invisible, to avoid being noticed as soone whose face might not fit among the rest.
The elder paused. His expression darkened slightly, and his voice dropped an octave.
"One more matter remains."
The disciples quieted instantly, their excitent turning into a kind of tense stillness.
"Those among you," the elder began, his tone deliberate, "who have obtained certain... ’pets’ during this operation, are required to submit them for assessnt by the sect before keeping them. Rember, everything acquired here... whether treasure, spirit beast, or prisoner, is property of the Slaughtered Moon Divine Blood Sect."
A chill ran through the gathered crowd.
Han Yu noticed several disciples flinch subtly, their expressions tightening. One man near him glanced at the ground, his knuckles whitening as he gripped his spirit weapon.
’They an... People?’ It clicked instantly in Han Yu’s mind.
The elder was not talking about animals. "Pets" referred to captives, cultivators from other sects, people who had been spared for whatever twisted reason.
’Wait, doesn’t this an... I can...’ Han Yu’s heart stirred with a faint flicker of hope.
If the sect’s mbers had taken captives, then perhaps so of his fellow disciples were still alive. Wu Shuan, Senior Sister Xuan Qing, ng Jueyan, even so from the allied sects who had entered the inner realm, they might have been taken instead of slain.
That ant there was still a chance.
But he could not act recklessly. The slightest misstep now could expose him, and he would be slaughtered before he could take a single breath.
For now, patience was his only weapon.
The elder’s gaze swept over the crowd one last ti. The oppressive weight of his aura rolled over them like a wave, forcing many to bow instinctively.
"Rember," he said coldly, "everything in these lands belongs to the sect. Every drop of blood spilled, every treasure unearthed, every living being claid. Defiance will not be forgiven."
No one dared speak. The silence stretched until even the wind seed to stop moving.
Then, just as suddenly, the elder’s expression eased, and he turned toward the towering red beacon that illuminated the entire hillside.
"Now," he said, his voice once again calm, "enter the beacon. The moon awaits."
Without another word, he rose into the air, his robe fluttering like a shadow. A pulse of red light washed over him, and then his body vanished into the beacon’s core. It was not just a light, it was a portal.
Han Yu’s eyes widened slightly. He had suspected that the beacon served a greater function, but seeing it transport soone so effortlessly was still shocking.
The remaining disciples did not hesitate. In groups of tens and twenties, they flew up and plunged into the scarlet glow. The air shimred with energy, and each group disappeared like droplets vanishing into the sea.
Minutes passed.
The crowd thinned.
Finally, it was Han Yu’s turn.
He kept his expression blank, his heart steady. His disguise had held so far, and no one had questioned him. There was no reason to draw suspicion now.
He rose from the ground, his halberd carrying him upward. The heat of the beacon pressed against his face like an open furnace. For a brief mont, his vision was flooded with crimson light, and his entire body felt weightless.
SHUA
The sensation of falling and rising at the sa ti gripped him. Space folded. Ti blurred.
Then, everything shifted.
Han Yu found himself standing on solid ground once again. Cold air brushed against his face, carrying with it a faint tallic tang.
"This place..." He looked around... and froze.
Before him stretched an imnse plateau of black stone, slick with traces of dried blood.
All around, the land rose into towering mountains, their jagged peaks like the ribs of ancient beasts piercing the heavens. Mist swirled around their bases, glowing faintly under a dim crimson light.
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