Chapter 18

All at once, a swarm of swords point at my throat. Nine other disciples wearing the same uniform death glare at me. Looking around, the other disciples of the various sects have all pulled out their weapons and started pointing them at each other. I let go of the man’s wrist, holding up my hands in surrender. I stare down a young woman with her sword only an inch from piercing my neck. Past her, Yijun and the older man are both exuding a massive amount of Qi in our direction. Calmly, Yijun walks over as frost forms at her feet and her breath becomes visible. The man on the ground whimpers a bit before getting up and scurrying away, holding his limp wrist against his chest.

“I think it would be best if we all calmed down a bit for now. We are all on edge but violence will get us nowhere.” Yijun’s voice drips with power and authority. The other disciples begin sheathing their weapons, still eyeing each other wearily. The circle of swords pointed at me begins to shrink one by one. The only one left is the young woman in front of me. She has dark purple hair and deep sapphire-like eyes that burn with passion. The sword twitches in her hand before she swiftly sheaths her’s as well. I finally let down my arms and walked back over to the [Core Disciples]. Yijun and the girl talk for a good bit of time before they both return.

“What did you say?”

“I simply asked her if she was really willing to go to war with our sect here. If she did, then that would only serve to benefit the demons of the [Orange Cloud Sect].”

“Sorry for that, I’m not exactly in a clear state of mind right now.” I rub the back of my neck in embarrassment. The number one thing all psychics must keep is a clear and calm state of mind or our powers will activate without us wanting to. Losing that control and calmness is one of the greatest shame we can commit. Yijun smiles softly and turns to address the group as a whole.

“This was bound to happen eventually, we have all been weary of each other since the attack. If it was not Peter it would have been someone else. So, I and Dai Bi of the [Righteous Lotus Sect] are going to hold a war council with all who join us.”

“What happens if they don’t?” All heads turn to me, some looking at me as if I spoke out of turn.

“Then, we will proceed without them.” It sounds simple to say, but actually pulling it off is another story. Considering how paranoid everyone is right now, anything we do could be perceived as the work of spies.

“Very well, we will be hard-pressed to convince the others to join us though. Do you have any suggestions to get them to come around?” Liu Jun speaks his agreement, causing another two to nod their agreement as well. One of them is the [Core Disciple] of the [Spear Hall], Kang Chun also called the ‘Thousand Wolves Spear’. As he is from the [Spear Hall], he wields a long spear with a specially shaped blade that splits and reconnects from the base up to the tip. It may seem impractical but the blade itself is said to be forged with a special metal he recovered on a mission that makes it very hard and durable. He stands almost as tall as me with a lean muscular build that can be seen from his tight-fit uniform. He wears armor on his arms and legs that weigh about a hundred pounds each, apparently it’s strength training. The other disciple is stout with short hair. Instead of a weapon, he carries a large pot with pans and other cooking utensils on his back. Food he must have gathered is bursting out of a bag next to him. The symbol for the [Earthly Meal Hall] sits on the left side of his uniform which seems to just barely fit him.

“Peter,” Yijun turns to face me as the others glance my way. “Zemin said he found you being chased by a demonic cultivator. Why were you being attacked? Have they attacked the camps of the sects?”

“No, I was out on a walk when I came across a couple of people walking into a strange stone formation. I followed them and came across some kind of gathering, somehow they found me and I ran away and tried to return to camp. That’s when Zemin showed up and saved me.” Even though they are [Core Disciples] I can’t be sure I can trust them all with the full truth yet. They all seem to accept this at face value, except Yijun, Zemin, and Liu Jun who eye me knowingly. Zemin was there so it would be obvious to him that there is more to the story, and Yijun has always seemed to have an intuition when I’m not telling the whole truth. I only found that out because of the way she would act after I told a half-truth of my past. The fact that Liu Jun also senses something proves that he is the smartest person here, at least smarter than anyone here currently.

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We discuss a bit more before we follow Yijun to the center where Dai Bi stands with her fellow disciples of the [Righteous Lotus Sect]. The man who tried to attack me stands in the very back, still nursing his broken wrist. Dai Bi and Yijun greet each other fairly coldly, they begin a discussion of their own. I take the time to eye the other sects around us. They are silent for now, only watching us with suspicion. Yijun and Dai Bi finish their talk before both turn to face the others.

“Fellow cultivators! The plague of demons has begun again! They hope to use our weariness and confusion to kill us one by one! But we shall not fall for their tricks or falter in our strength! For we have driven them out before and we shall do so again, join us now to help stop them before another age of blood descends!” Dai Bi speaks in a powerful and loud voice, drawing the attention of everyone. Some begin to shout their support.

“That’s right we destroyed them a hundred years ago and we can do it again!”

“Yeah, we are the successors of the righteous path! It is our duty to destroy them!”

“I should have known it was just a demon’s tricks to divide us before! No truly righteous person would side with them.” More and more voices join the others in agreement. One sect joins our group and then another and another. Like a chain of dominos, they all eventually join us. With passion and determination in their eyes, they all stand expectantly around Dai Bi and Yijun.

“Before we can destroy them, we need to plan and prepare. Our best bet for now is to try and warn our sects as soon as possible. But we also can’t let the demons run rampant in this [Secret Realm]. Should they get even stronger, then even with our members at camp, we won’t be able to beat them.” Dai Bi’s eyes flick to me and beckons me over.

“Peter has witnessed the demonic cultivators gathering in a hidden location, he managed to escape with his life thanks to Martial Brother Chen Zemin.” A collective of gasps and whispers erupt.

“Yijun!” I whisper harshly to her. “What are you doing!?”

“Sorry Peter, but we need your first-hand account. I’ll try to make it up to you” She gives an apologetic smile.

“Peter, yes?” I nod. “How many demonic cultivators did you see at this gathering?”

“At least fifty excluding the hall master.”

“What did you hear them discuss at this meeting?”

“They were talking about something called the [Great Cleansing] and mentioned someone called the [Blood Demon].” Horrified gasps and whispers erupt again, panic engulfing everyone again. A dark shadow has passed over the more stoic ones gathered while Yijun has gone completely pale and Dai Bi’s eyes have gone wild.

“To think the [Blood demon] would return, everyone was sure he was killed seventy years ago.” Liu Jun has gone into deep thought, worry creasing his face. I look confused at Yijun for her to explain. This seems to draw her back from her thoughts.

“The [Blood Demon] was a demonic cultivator that practiced the [Sanguine Monarch Demon Art] seventy years ago. The [Sanguine Monarch Demon Art] requires the practitioner to consume the blood of cultivators to raise their own. The [Blood Demon] also didn’t use martial arts like anything seen before, by the [Blood Demon’s] own words it was [Blood Magic] that they wielded. The [Blood Demon] always claimed to be the successor to the [Heavnly Demon], but ended up being defeated seventy years ago by the…. [Orange Cloud Sect]!” Yijun’s eyes widen as she makes the connection, a flash of anger overtaking Dai Bi’s face at the same time. It seems none of them made the connection until now.

“So they never really defeated the [Blood Demon] but made everyone think they did. How did they get away with it for so long?”

“It could be they simply didn’t have the manpower before to carry out any of their plans. Using the [Orange Cloud Sect], the [Blood Demon] was able to go into hiding while bolstering their forces using a righteous sect as their cover. Seventy years have passed, which means they have had plenty of time to learn everything about us and grow an army.” Liu Jun has joined the three of us in the center as well.

“Was the [Secret Realm] just a cover then?”

“More than likely, it was simply the greatest opportunity they got. A [Secret Realm] are rare so they used this chance when all the sects would gather together to launch a surprise attack.” If they’ve been waiting this long to strike, there's no telling what traps and secrets they have and have found. I may have bit off more than I could chew, though I know Deng Jian wouldn’t have sent me here if he had already known it was this serious. Though maybe he did, I’ll have to ask him when I get back. Splinter conversations have started up with everyone discussing the bleakness of our situation.

“In that case, I’ll help track down the demonic cultivators in here. My senses are pretty sharp and can pick up their [Demonic Qi] fairly easily.”

“Very well, everyone else we shall divide ourselves into two groups. Those going to the campsite on the right and those staying on the left.” At that roughly half split on either side, with only a few more on the staying behind side. The leaving group takes whatever supplies and treasures they gathered with them and heads back to the entrance.

“Alright everyone, let's hunt demons!”