"Boundless... bloody Celestial Venerable, why was the resentment here so heavy?"
In the woods west of the city, a skinny Taoist raced between the trees, glancing back from time to time. He wore Taoist robes and cloth shoes.
The strange thing was... he carried a Buddhist staff on his back and wore a string of prayer beads around his neck.
Suddenly, the skinny Taoist stopped and frowned at a compound a short distance ahead.
"Amitabha, goodness, goodness! This humble monk sees blood energy towering to the heavens!"
A fat monk suddenly popped up beside the skinny Taoist. He too looked toward the compound and frowned.
"Careful. There's something strange about this place!" the Taoist said, turning to the monk.
The monk casually pulled out a bronze sword and nodded in agreement...
Looking at the bronze sword the monk had drawn, the Taoist raised his eyebrows. "Zhixuan, isn't this bronze sword of mine much handier than your staff?"
The monk Zhixuan looked helplessly at the bronze sword in his hand, his heart filled with an indescribable sorrow. "This humble monk will win his staff back from you."
"Hey now~" The Taoist narrowed his eyes. "You say that... but do you have anything left to wager with me? Don't forget, your prayer beads are with me too!"
The Taoist rubbed the prayer beads around his neck, his gaze involuntarily drifting toward the Golden Alms Bowl nestled against Zhixuan's chest.
Zhixuan took a step back and eyed the Taoist warily, distrust written all over his face. "This humble monk will not wager the Golden Alms Bowl. The abbot gave it to me to collect alms, and he said it must never leave my person. You can put that thought to rest."
The Taoist gave him a kindly smile. "Don't worry. I don't want your Golden Alms Bowl. What would I do with it? A Taoist carrying a monk's Golden Alms Bowl would look ridiculous."
Zhixuan breathed a sigh of relief, only to hear the Taoist continue.
"Your Golden Alms Bowl is too thick. It must be so awkward to carry. Let's melt it down and make a slightly thinner, smaller one! We can spend the leftover gold on wine!"
At this, Zhixuan immediately covered the Golden Alms Bowl at his chest with his hands and eyed the Taoist defensively.
The Taoist chuckled at the sight.
Suddenly, a piercing scream rang out from the compound ahead.
Their expressions hardened as they looked toward the high-walled compound with its red walls and white roof tiles.
Dim light shone from the compound on this rainy night, making it look eerie and frightening in the secluded woods.
A cold wind blew past, and both men shivered despite themselves.
They exchanged a glance, each seeing a trace of surprise in the other's eyes. With their foundation establishment cultivation, a mere cold breeze should not have made them feel chilly.
Yet the wind that had just blown past had truly raised goosebumps all over their bodies.
"Take a look?" the Taoist asked.
The monk nodded.
Concealing their auras, they swiftly approached the isolated compound.
After that scream, the compound had fallen utterly silent.
The Taoist and the monk crept quietly up to the outside of its wall, then suddenly stopped.
"There's a formation here!" Zhixuan turned to the Taoist and spoke softly.
The Taoist nodded.
"Can you break it quietly? If I make a move, the people inside will definitely notice!" Zhixuan asked.
"A trifle!" The Taoist smiled.
Then he bit his finger, gathered a drop of blood, and swiftly traced through the air. Wherever his finger passed, it left a dark red gleam that flickered in and out of sight.
In the blink of an eye, a small formation appeared in midair.
"Unscrupulous... Celestial Venerable, disperse!" The Taoist tapped the formation he had drawn in the air.
At his light touch, the small dark red formation drifted forward, then vanished as though it had struck something.
In an instant, some barrier separating the compound from the outside world seemed to disappear silently. A bloody stench wafted out, especially chilling in the rain!
The Taoist and the monk exchanged a glance, disbelief flashing in their eyes.
The bloody stench was extraordinarily thick... this was far more than a matter of a few deaths!
"Go!"
Both men vaulted lightly onto the wall.
"Unscrupulous... bloody Celestial Venerable..." The Taoist was so shocked that words failed him.
"Amitabha... what a sin, what a sin..." The monk pressed his palms together, closed his eyes, and murmured.
Both were stunned by the scene inside.
Within the sprawling, high-walled compound, a group of black-robed figures was dragging a dozen or so bodies toward one of the buildings.
The bodies left trails of blood wherever they were dragged, the bright red stains quickly fading beneath the washing rain...
Some of the bodies even twitched from time to time as they were dragged along.
Clearly, these dozen or so people had only just been killed.
"That building..." The monk pointed toward it and said softly, "The blood energy inside towers to the heavens!"
The Taoist studied the dozen or so bodies, then looked at the building the monk had mentioned... the black-robed figures were dragging the bodies inside.
Just then, a black-robed man carrying a longsword emerged from the building and coldly berated the figures in the courtyard. "How are you doing your jobs? Another dozen people escaped! Fortunately, they didn't get out of the courtyard, or I'd be scolded again! Yesterday, someone actually made it onto the street. If it happens again, we'll use your blood for the work!"
"Yes!"
The black-robed figures dragged the dozen or so bodies into the building and disappeared.
The monk and the Taoist exchanged a look, each seeing a trace of grimness in the other's eyes.
"Blood sacrifice!"
"The demonic path!"
After everyone else had entered the building, the sword-bearing man turned to follow them. He had barely taken two steps when he suddenly looked toward the high wall, leaped into the air, and shouted, "Who's there!"
"Foundation establishment middle stage!" the monk said.
"Go! Let's get to the bottom of this! Two early-stage cultivators against one middle-stage cultivator. We fight if we can, and run if we can't!" the Taoist said, charging forward first.
The Taoist hurled the staff at the black-robed swordsman.
The staff hurtled straight toward the man with astonishing force, only to be knocked away by a sweep of his longsword and sent flying back the way it had come.
The monk rushed out, leaped toward the repelled staff, caught it, and landed in the courtyard.
After knocking the staff back, the black-robed man did not attack again. Instead, he drew back and stood in the courtyard, frowning at the Taoist and monk. "Who are you?"
The Taoist walked to the monk's side and stared intently at the black-robed man. "Boundless... bloody Celestial Venerable. This humble Taoist is Mude, a cultivator of Azure Wind Mountain."
"Zhixuan of the Boundless Measure Temple," the monk said.
"What brings you here?" the black-robed man asked coldly, his brow furrowed.
"The blood energy here surges into the sky. Naturally, we've come to right an injustice!" the Taoist said, secretly waving a hand at the monk beside him.
Taking the hint, the monk handed him the bronze sword.
After accepting the bronze sword, the Taoist frantically signaled at the monk with his eyes... he wanted the staff!
The monk pretended not to notice!
"Benefactor, can you explain why this place is steeped in blood energy?" the monk asked the black-robed man, gripping the staff.
The black-robed man glanced around and carefully probed his surroundings, only to discover that the concealment formation had already been broken. He asked in an icy voice.
"You saw everything just now?"
The monk and the Taoist said nothing.
"Then..."
The black-robed man drew his longsword, and the aura of foundation establishment late stage poured out.
"I can't let you leave!"