Night settled over the Bloodfiend Sect, bathing it in its usual ominous darkness. In a forest near a cliffside, a lone person was leaning against a tree while casually looking into the distance.
In the distance, a large group of people were walking towards the cliffside. Most were dirty, chained, and had looks of despair on their faces, as they were led to the base of the cliff. The leading person chanted a few words while placing his hand on the door, at which point the glowing formation lines appeared upon the cliff.
After a short moment, the formation lines outlined a doorway, which parted aside, revealing a glowing tunnel within.
"Enter, now!"
A loud shout commanded the group, which quickly disappeared into the tunnel. After all had entered, the tunnel closed, once again returning the base of the cliff to normal.
'Seems like they're at it again,' John mused while watching the proceedings from within the forest.
Just like the previous night, another large group of mortals had been escorted into the mysterious tunnel.
'I have no idea what they're planning, but that's four hundred mortals already gathered in just two nights. Just what are they planning that requires that many mortals?'
John knew that no matter how much he speculated on the subject, he would most likely never be able to guess the truth. The only way he would uncover the truth was to enter the mysterious place, and see whatever was inside with his own eyes.
Hours passed by, as John continued to lean against one of the trees in the forest. His eyes were closed in a meditative trance, but they slowly opened as sound filled his ears. His eyes turned to the source of the sound, which was the parting of the doorway on the base of the cliff. He made sure the coast was clear other than the two Elders in the distance, before he silently moved closer.
The door fully parted, and two Elders stepped outside. Both had their cultivations shrouded.
"Our work is almost complete," one of the Elders said to the other.
"That it is. Hopefully this is all worth it in the end," the other replied.
The two exchanged a few more words, before they both parted and walked in opposite directions. As the two Elder's left, a head poked out from behind a large boulder some thirty yards away.
After a brief inspection of both Elder's, John made up his mind.
'That one. His body size and demeanor is most like mine.'
John slipped back behind the boulder, and focused his mind on the face of the Elder. He felt a tug on his soul, as a small portion of it was siphoned from his soul to the mask he was wearing. The feeling sent a shiver down John's spine, as well as a tinge of pain.
'No matter how many times I do this, I'll never get used to the feeling.'
John felt as if a small part of himself had been lost, but ignored the feeling.
'I'll be able to restore this soul damage later on. The important part is to focus on the mission.'
At the same time, the circular band on John's wrist glowed for a moment before disappearing. As this happened, his cultivation, which was at the Core Formation Realm, disappeared, making it so that others could not detect his cultivation.
He used his divine sense to inspect himself, and nodded his head in approval.
'I look just like that Elder. This should work.'
John waited fifteen more minutes to make sure that the coast was clear, and that the Elder would not return like the one did last night. After waiting for fifteen minutes, the nearby area remained empty.
'Now's the time.'
John stepped out from behind the boulder, and did one last check to make sure the area was empty. After one final confirmation, he walked up to the base of the cliff.
'Even standing just feet away, I still can't detect the formation. They really went all out on it.'
John placed his hand on the cliffside where he had seen the Elder's do so, and chanted the words he had heard.
"All blood belongs to the Bloodfiend!"
Boom!
A muffled boom echoed out, as the formation lines on the cliffside began to part. John took a step back as the stone doorway moved aside, before a glowing tunnel entered his vision.
The tunnel stretched down into the earth at a steep angle, and was only illuminated by torches that hung on the side of the walls. The tunnel seemed to stretch down for hundreds of yards, and a bright glow appeared at the base of it.
John took a deep breath before taking a step forward and stepping into the tunnel. He began to walk down it, and as soon as he entered, the doorway behind him began to close. On the side of the tunnel, a small formation disk, no larger than a hand, glowed as well while the door closed.
When the door closed, the disk faded.
'I hope that formation disk on the wall is used to exit this tunnel, or I might be stuck.'
John shook his head at himself for a moment before looking back before him. The only way forward was to descend down the stairwell, and so John did just that. As he moved forward, the glow emanating from the bottom of the tunnel began to glow brighter and brighter.
At the same time, agonized screams and loud shouts also began to fill John's ears, just like they had the previous night. John steeled his nerves, as well as his mind, for whatever was at the base of the tunnel.
'I'm here to uncover the truth, and nothing more. No matter what I see down there, I have to maintain my composure and not to anything stupid.'
He took one last deep breath, before continuing down the tunnel. After nearly eight hundred yards, he finally reached the bottom step. There were two Elders standing there, both with their cultivations shrouded. They looked towards John as he arrived, and seemed to be acting as guards.
"Elder Koza, you just left. Why have you returned already?"