The Red Moon Cult

Seeing the three carriages about to pass, one of the twenty soldiers with a hawk-like nose leveled his long saber across the road.

"Halt the carriages at once."

The first carriage was driven by a grandfather and grandson; the old hunter cupped his hands and asked, "I wonder what business the military gentlemen have with us?"

As he spoke, a few silver ingots slipped from the old hunter's sleeve.

The hawk-nosed soldier took the silver with a calm expression, pointed his saber at the two carriages behind, and said indifferently, "This doesn't concern you! These people behind look familiar; I seem to have seen their portraits on the wanted list for bandits."

The old hunter hurriedly said, "The military gentleman is mistaken. They are new servants recently hired by my masters."

"Oh? New servants hired by your masters? Your masters wouldn't happen to be bandit leaders, would they!"

"The military gentleman is joking."

The hawk-nosed soldier narrowed his eyes. Several other soldiers approached, ready to use their blades to lift the animal-hide curtains.

Before their blades could reach, the curtain was lifted from within.

The scene inside the carriage was revealed: four people—three young men and one hunchbacked middle-aged man—were, naturally, Liu Feng and his party.

The eyes of the soldiers standing before the carriage were instantly drawn to Liu Feng inside.

Liu Feng's palms glowed with a faint golden light, and he was pressing one hand onto a Falcon Spirit Monster, refining its essence and blood.

"A Buddhist cultivator?" The hawk-nosed soldier's brows furrowed deeply.

Before he could look further, Shen Yushu said indifferently, "Are you gentlemen busy slaying demons? You must have a mission. We also have urgent business; how about we grant each other a convenience?"

As he spoke, a surge of true energy rippled from Li Si beside him, nearly causing the soldiers in front of the carriage to lose their footing.

With true energy manifesting outside the body, Li Si's strength needed no further explanation.

The twenty-odd soldiers present were all martial artists, and their expressions turned grave in an instant.

"We are indeed busy slaying the evil ones of the Red Moon Cult, and we have no desire to invite extra trouble. Sir, please keep your servants in check," the hawk-nosed soldier said in a deep voice.

"Many thanks for the reminder; I shall certainly keep them in check." Shen Yushu cupped his hands and smiled.

Keep them in check? He would use these fourteen people if they were useful, dispose of them if they weren't, or use them as cannon fodder to block disaster if needed.

Seeing the three carriages about to depart, the soldiers said nothing more, but the cloaked figures kneeling on the ground became agitated.

These youths pulled back their hoods, revealing, without exception, the faces of half-demons transformed after being ravaged by the Red Moon Cult.

They prostrated themselves on the ground, kowtowing toward the first carriage.

"My Lord, save us..."

"My Lord, My Lord..."

"Cut them down."

The soldiers assumed these demons were begging the "Lord" in the carriage for their lives because they saw the soldiers were wary of him. Too lazy to waste more words, they raised their blades to strike.

On the main road, the three carriages gradually drifted into the distance.

Inside the first carriage, the three men's expressions were grim.

"That Corpse Refiner is connected to the Red Moon Cult!" Shen Yushu said with a dark face.

The soldiers hadn't thought much of the demonized youths calling out to their "Lord," but the three of them knew exactly what it meant.

At this moment, Zhu Li spoke up: "Demons that feed on blood, like Corpse Refiners, are extremely sensitive to vital energy. They must have sensed that Blood Crystal and mistaken us for high-ranking figures of the Red Moon Cult."

If even mere lackeys of the Red Moon Cult could sense it, it would be disastrous if a true high-ranking figure of the cult were to arrive!

Liu Feng, sitting to the side, remained silent. He tossed the Falcon Spirit Monster, now drained of its essence, out the window and pondered.

Shen Yushu originally intended to sell the Blood Crystal at the prefecture city in a day and a half. Changing the plan to sell it nearby has altered the causality.

I only hope this does not entangle us with that Red Cloud again.

In the future vision Liu Feng had glimpsed, he had seen only the Red Cloud, not the Evil Specter hidden within it.

However, the disparity in strength between the two sides was too great; who exactly was inside the Red Cloud was not something he needed to worry about at the moment.

As for the crimson Gu Fire on his body in the vision, it was likely the second Exotic Gu, "Fire Eater," which was about to hatch. Calculating the time, it should be within these next two days.

It would be best to avoid this causality! If not, and I am truly unlucky enough to encounter that Red Cloud, I trust Fate Eye Insight will present a new vision of the future. Liu Feng temporarily set aside his lingering unease.

He turned to look at Shen Yushu and asked, "Brother, who do you intend to find to sell that Blood Crystal?"

A sinister smile tugged at the corners of Shen Yushu's mouth. His face began to turn green and swell with bumps of various sizes, and his limbs bloated accordingly.

In the blink of an eye, he had transformed into a middle-aged leper with a face full of pus. Only then did he laugh: "Naturally, I shall find a way to reach the notorious magistrate of Lunan County! It can be considered ridding the people of a scourge, can it not!"

Lunan County had a population of several hundred thousand within the city alone; it was not small by any means.

Leaving the fourteen bandits to wait outside the city, Old Huang and Little Fuzi drove the carriages, carrying Liu Feng and the others into the city.

As the carriages turned into an alleyway, Shen Yushu, in his guise as the middle-aged leper, quietly slipped out of the carriage and vanished from sight.

After parting ways with Shen Yushu, the carriages turned onto the main road of the county seat. They planned to find a restaurant and wait quietly for Shen Yushu to dispose of the Blood Crystal.

Inside the carriage, Zhu Li looked at Liu Feng and said, "Once this matter is concluded, barring any accidents, we shall reach Shao Mountain in four more days."

"When the time comes to track down Eldest Senior Brother, we may encounter the demonic daoists of the White Sun Sect. Prepare yourself early, as I may not be able to look after you."

Liu Feng recalled the words Shen Yushu had spoken and said, seemingly offhandedly, "Thank you for the reminder, Senior Brother."

"It is just that I do not know why Eldest Senior Brother would choose to provoke the White Sun Sect right as he is on the verge of his Rebirth of the Second Body. Does Senior Brother know exactly what they are fighting over?"

It was neither a coincidence nor a stroke of luck that Eldest Senior Brother had chosen this critical juncture to contend with others.

He could not help but associate this with his experiences in the Insect Valley Medicine Garden, where the garden was filled with Gu Masters who had failed their Rebirth, meeting the tragic fate of Gu Transformation and ultimately becoming fertilizer.

Before that previous Eldest Senior Brother died, he had mentioned two methods to him, both of which could break the restrictions of the Insect Valley.

The first was to find a King Gu or a Spirit Gu; the second was to contaminate oneself with an evil object. King Gu and Spirit Gu were extremely difficult to find, whereas evil objects, while not common, were not exactly rare either.

Thinking of this, a very ominous conjecture formed in Liu Feng's heart.

"Second Senior Brother and I do not know the specifics, and you need not overthink it. Just follow Master's instructions and bring Eldest Senior Brother back," Zhu Li shook his head and said.

As the two conversed, the carriage arrived at the entrance of a restaurant, and Old Huang's voice drifted over.

"Third Master, we have arrived at the restaurant. My grandson and I will go settle the carriage first."

"Mm."

Zhu Li responded, leaving Li Si in the carriage while he and Liu Feng stepped down. Looking up, they saw a restaurant named "Near-Water Pavilion."

"Please, come in, you two." Before they had even drawn near, a waiter hurried up to greet them.

Just as the two were about to step over the threshold, they suddenly dodged to the left and right, watching as a person flew backward right between them.

The figure was a disheveled Daoist, his eyes as dim as if his parents had just passed away.

He had been kicked out of the restaurant, yet after scrambling up from the ground, he acted as if nothing had happened, turned around, and prepared to leave.