The words Sect Leader Thunderzen said to John echoed in his mind as he looked at the base of the cliff. The spies for the Heavenly Lightning Sect had indicated that the Bloodfiend Sect was up to something, and Thunderzen's intuition made him believe it was nothing good for the Yuan Continent.
John's face became serious as he thought of these words, and looked at the scene before him.
'I'm not sure if what I just witnessed is in relation to these 'movements' Sect Leader Thunderzen mentioned, but I wouldn't be surprised if they were. I need to investigate further.'
His entire purpose for being in the Bloodfiend Sect was to figure out what the sect was up to, and potentially help put a stop to whatever plans the Sect was hoping to carry out.
John's head swiveled in every direction, inspecting to see if the coast was clear. After many minutes of careful inspection, he started to move forward slowly, making sure to stay low to the ground.
The cliff base was several hundred yards away, mostly through open terrain. Only the cover of dark masked his advance, although cultivators had good eyes, and could easily see in the darkness of night. His aura was withdrawn as much as was possible, making him as unnoticeable as possible.
After many minutes of careful advance, he reached a small boulder, roughly thirty yards away from the spot where the cliffside had opened into a doorway. He pressed his body against the small boulder as he peered over it, towards the cliff base.
'I don't see anything at all. It appears to be just like the rest of the cliff. Whatever formation is here, it's quite advanced.'
Normally there were signs of formations, be it formation lines, or faint energy emanating from it. However, John was unable to detect anything at all. Clearly, the Bloodfiend Sect had gone all out when making this formation.
John's divine sense carefully washed over the area of interest, inspecting it as closely as he could. However, he still found nothing of interest.
'How bizarre. I should take a closer look.'
John took a step towards the wall, when a muffled boom echoed out.
'Shit!'
John instantly dashed back behind the boulder, as the cliff began to part once more, revealing the doorway that had appeared before. John, as slow as he possibly could, peered his head just over the boulder, looking towards the doorway.
Light began to flicker out of the doorway as it continued to part, and John could finally see a bit of it with his new position. The doorway led to a large stairwell, which seemed to stretch down for an unknown amount of distance into the earth below.
Fire seemed to glow from deep within, which bathed the stairwell in flickering light. The screams which John had heard before now echoed out slightly louder, sending a chill up his spine. The screams were those of pure pain, despair, and desperation.
Those cries were soon drowned out by a discussion between two Elder's who were leaving the stairwell.
"That's another two hundred and fifty three mortals. Just how many are needed for this thing to work?" one of the Elder's asked in a displeased voice.
"I'm not sure. You'll have to ask Formations Master Yarron about the details, but I believe we are about halfway there by now," the other Elder replied.
"Half way? Just what the hell is Allfiend planning?" the first Elder grumbled out loud.
Behind the boulder, John remained as motionless as possible while he listened to the conversation. His ears perked up as he heard more and more of the conversation.
'Seems like Allfiend is planning something down there. This truly might be what I'm after. How lucky am I to stumble across it already?'
John's mood was lifted quite a bit. Although he didn't know what was going on, he at least knew where to start.
"I'm not sure, but I'm sure he had a reason for us running around collecting mortals like this. You know, I heard this isn't the only big thing he's been working on. Apparently there's another group working on something even more profound," the second Elder said.
"Another project? I just wished Allfiend would let us know what was going on, instead of being kept in the dark," the first Elder grumbled.
"Haha," the second Elder laughed while patting the other on the back. "Just ascend to the Heaven Tribulation Realm, then all the secrets will be divulged to you," the second Elder said with a laughing tone
"Hmph, easier said than done."
By this time, the two Elder's had left the doorway, which had automatically parted shut. The two of them walked deep into the darkness of the night, eventually disappearing out of sight. John was just about to walk away, when a sound down the road caught his attention. He hid back behind the boulder.
"How the hell did you forget your spatial ring?" a voice boomed out mockingly.
"I'm not used to taking it off. I still don't know why they force us to remove our rings before we enter the chambers. Do they think we're stupid enough to steal anything down there?" the first Elder grumbled out, clearly in a foul mood.
"Just grab your ring and let's go," the second Elder said.
The two approached the cliffside, which had returned to normal. The first Elder pressed his hand up against a certain spot on the wall, and uttered a phrase.
"All blood belongs to the Bloodfiend!"
Boom!
A muffled sound echoed from within the cliff, as the formation lines lit up. The door slowly began to part, and the two Elder's quickly slipped into the doorway, disappearing down the stairwell within the earth.
As they disappeared, John's head peeked out from behind the boulder. His face was quite serious, as he learned that he was only just beginning with his mission.
'Two projects? Seems like my time here will be busier than I thought. However, I have already made some good gains regarding intel gathering. Time to leave.'
Deciding staying any longer was too risky, John slipped back into the darkness of the night. The first clue regarding his mission had been uncovered.