Chapter 57: Cruelty, Crimson Intent Lang

"Impossible!" Wen Daoyu's eyes widened, his expression shifting rapidly as he nervously fluttered his wings. "How could he have found this place?"

The monk Dayou's eyelids twitched violently—he had heard a silent thunderclap in those words.

Why would Wen Daoyu of Craneview be on guard against the people of Four Sorrows Cloud Monastery? The only answer seemed to lie with the "Celestial," or perhaps in the sordid affairs between the two great subaltars.

Whichever the case, it was not something outsiders ought to know.

The Golden Lion Ape suddenly understood, casting a surprised glance at Ji Ming before scratching his furry head. "Daoist Wen, so you're not on the same side as Four Sorrows Cloud Monastery after all. I thought you and the Taiping Mountain subaltar were helping each other, coming to this Mountain of Perilous Birds to eliminate the obstructing Celestial together!"

Wen Daoyu looked at the Golden Lion Ape, then at Dayou, and finally at the centipede spirit. His mind was utterly muddled.

After a long pause, he murmured, "Are you... Daoist Wu, are you deceiving me?!"

For a moment, Wen Daoyu seemed quite dazed, still not fully recovered from the shock of having been tricked by a spirit into revealing information.

He fell silent, composed himself, and decided not to pursue the matter further. He earnestly pleaded once more, "Now that you all know the inside story and have likewise come for the Celestial, why not join forces to resist the external threat at Panhu, and then explore the secret cave together to find the Celestial?"

"Agreed!" Golden Lion Ape replied immediately. "We'll go with you."

"Truly?"

Wen Daoyu exclaimed with joy.

"I know Craneview's reputation in Heping Prefecture is decent—not like Four Sorrows Cloud Monastery, who do nothing but extort our Seven-Treasure Buddhist offerings to support the heterodox Buddhist sect in their attempts to defy fate and extend life."

"Ahem!" Dayou coughed abruptly.

He too belonged to the heterodox Buddhist sect and often gathered Seven-Treasure offerings; Golden Lion Ape's words implicated him as an accomplice.

Wen Daoyu looked awkward; though there was some truth in the Golden Lion Ape's words, as a junior of that very person, he couldn't agree openly. He could only say, "Friends, if we're to save someone, we'd best hurry!"

"I must say this in advance: we'll only draw the Crimson Lord away from the cave entrance. If we are outmatched, we certainly won't waste our lives there," Dayou stated firmly.

Wen Daoyu had no objections, immediately spreading his wings and flying ahead to lead the way.

Ji Ming did not follow at once; he was pondering something else.

Since Craneview and Four Sorrows Cloud Monastery were not allies, could it be that their aim was the same—to abduct the Celestial and secretly nurture him themselves? This had yet to be verified; it might be the key to the Celestial's survival when he emerged in the future.

"Brother Centipede!" Golden Lion Ape, seeing Ji Ming lagging behind, thought he was afraid and offered comfort. "We're only going to lure the Crimson Lord away; we don't have to fight him head-on. Don't worry too much."

"Golden Lion Ape, tell me honestly: why is it that with just a few words from Daoist Wen, we're ready to take such a risk for someone we've never met?" Ji Ming asked quietly.

Hearing this, Golden Lion Ape, rarely enough, grew serious. "Don't let my carefree manner fool you. Though I say I'm ready to oppose Four Sorrows Cloud Monastery, I still brought Monk Dayou along for cover. Now with Craneview's Daoist Wen leading the charge, we'll help them out first and then watch as they fight among themselves—wouldn't that be even more delightful?"

Ji Ming nodded, somewhat convinced, though in his heart he disapproved of this hasty, reckless action—especially when they knew the dangers ahead.

He discreetly observed the monk Dayou, the Blood Jade Centipede ahead, and Wen Daoyu behind—all of whom he had been the first to spot and alert the group about.

Now that even Dayou had agreed to form this alliance with Craneview's Wen Daoyu, why should he be the one to play the disagreeable spirit?

They soon reached the third peak. Ji Ming still lingered at the rear.

Here, they had passed the mountain's dividing line of light and shadow. Beyond lay the shadowed side, where the cave was; the acrid smoke was already noticeable.

Wen Daoyu descended, no longer daring to fly high, crouching in the woods with Dayou and Golden Lion Ape, forming a triangle and slowly approaching the cave.

"The illusory formation ahead has been broken, but the flags of the outer array remain. So, be aware—you may see hallucinations projected from your mind. But they won't attack; no need for alarm."

Even as he finished speaking, wisps of smoke rose from the earth, swirling away in the wind, strangely beautiful.

Within the drifting smoke, vague and shifting figures stood motionless.

These were the hallucinations Wen Daoyu had mentioned, projections from the mind.

In the smoke, Ji Ming saw Yu Xiao, the headless child grinding medicines, the ominous giant owl, and more—all motionless, merely staring.

Other figures were indistinct, presumably the Golden Lion Ape's, Dayou's, and Wen Daoyu's own hallucinations.

Suddenly, in the curling smoke, a striking, tall figure appeared, clad in vivid red, standing there with interest, observing them.

"Is he... a hallucination too?" Ji Ming wondered.

He looked again, but the striking figure had vanished, and soon the other hallucinations faded too, along with the smoke.

"We're nearly there," Wen Daoyu reminded them.

In truth, there was no need; Ji Ming and the others could already see the smoke-blackened mouth of the cave.

"Inside the cave is a Candle Python—it breathes fire and smoke and is a close cousin of the mountain ghosts," Wen Daoyu explained. "Were it not for fear of the mountain ghosts, my brothers and I would have slain that monster long ago and thoroughly explored the cave."

As he spoke, Wen Daoyu glanced at the centipede spirit who lingered far behind, looking as though he might as well have the words "unwilling to help" written on his face.

Ji Ming hovered at the back—or rather, not just at the back, but even retreating, slipping into the broken, incomplete illusionary formation.

Wen Daoyu had said this shattered formation would only occasionally project illusions from the heart.

So Ji Ming lingered on the formation's edge, stepping in and out. Within its ruined confines, the hallucinations always appeared.

"This isn't a chance occurrence—it's a certainty; the formation's been altered," the thought flashed through Ji Ming's mind, and the next instant, his whole body tensed.

Sss!

Almost as soon as he activated his shrinking art, a jet of crimson flame burst from beneath his feet, blooming like a flower bud in an instant.

The fiery blossom flared and vanished in a blink.

Then a massive serpent's head emerged from the earth, gazing blankly at the sky, flicking its black tongue.

"Ah—!" Golden Lion Ape was the first to notice the commotion, letting out a roar.

For all his usual boisterousness, he was loyal to those he called brothers, always keeping an eye out for Ji Ming.

His toes dug into the ground; with a sudden lunge, he shot forward, hugging the earth in a headlong charge.

Even as he left his spot, several snake scales embedded in the earth instantly sprouted blood-jade spikes, crossing and extending to form a cage of thorns.

Dayou had no chance to escape. As he hurriedly pressed his palms together to activate his secret art, several spikes pierced his flesh, skewering him through and hoisting him aloft.

Wen Daoyu beat his wings to take flight, but before reaching the air, the spikes clamped tightly onto his legs below the knee.

Even so, he frantically beat his crane wings, struggling in midair, wrenching his trapped legs until the bones snapped at the knees.

The truly brutal side of the cultivator’s world was now opening before Ji Ming, just a crack.