Deep inside the fog-covered forest, a small group of Crimson Hall cultivators moved with extreme caution, their footsteps deliberately light as they passed between the towering trees. The dense fog clung to everything like a living thing, swallowing sound, distorting distance, and making even the nearest tree trunks appear like vague shadows until they were almost close enough to touch.
Their divine sense, which should have allowed them to scan their surroundings easily, was being suppressed so heavily that most of them could barely sense anything beyond a few meters. Every rustle of leaves, every faint crack of a branch, and every shifting shadow made their bodies tense instinctively. None of them dared to speak loudly, because everyone understood the same thing. In this forest, attracting attention was the fastest way to die.
Lu Gang walked at the front of the group with his sword held low in one hand, his expression stern and focused. Unlike the others, he didn't show much nervousness on the surface, but his eyes moved constantly, scanning the fog and the branches above them.
Behind him, the other Crimson Hall members followed closely, relying on him more than they wanted to admit. They had entered the Violet Heaven Secret Realm with confidence, but the deeper they moved into this forest, the more that confidence began to crack.
The restrictions here were unlike anything they had encountered before. Their vision was nearly useless, their divine sense was crippled, and the monsters lurking in the fog were far more dangerous than ordinary beasts.
A woman walking near the middle of the group suddenly slowed down as she heard something shift above her. She barely had time to look up before a thin black snake shot down from the branch of a nearby tree, its body almost invisible against the dark bark and fog.
Its mouth opened wide, revealing needle-like fangs dripping with green venom, the attack was too sudden. The woman's eyes widened in horror, and she instinctively raised both arms to protect her face, but she didn't have enough time to summon a proper shield or activate a defensive talisman.
"Watch out!" one of the men shouted, his voice breaking through the tense silence.
But before the snake could sink its fangs into her, Lu Gang appeared in front of her like a blur. His sword flashed in a clean and precise manner, cutting the snake in half midair. The two halves of the creature fell to the ground, twitching violently for a few seconds before going still.
A faint hiss escaped from its severed head, and the venom dripping from its fangs burned small holes into the soil. Everyone stared at the dead creature for a moment before releasing the breaths they had been holding.
The woman's face was pale, but her eyes shone with admiration as she looked at Lu Gang's back. "Thank you, Boss Lu," she said softly, her voice filled with obvious gratitude and something close to worship.
Lu Gang only gave her a curt nod without turning fully toward her. "Stay focused, this place won't forgive carelessness."
The woman quickly nodded, while the others tightened their formation and continued following him. To them, Lu Gang's calmness looked like confidence, and his confidence became their anchor in this suffocating forest.
None of them knew that his mind was not as calm as his face suggested. He was constantly checking the stone plate hidden inside his robe, waiting for the right moment to use it. The deeper they went, the heavier the suppression of the forest became, and after another stretch of silent movement, Lu Gang finally felt it clearly, his cultivation was being sealed.
His steps slowed slightly, and the others also noticed it almost immediately. A moment later, their expressions changed one after another as they felt the same thing. The spiritual energy inside their bodies became sluggish, then almost completely unreachable, as if invisible chains had wrapped around their cores. The woman who had nearly been bitten earlier staggered slightly, her face turning even paler.
One of the Crimson Hall members leaned closer to Lu Gang and whispered anxiously, "Boss… what now? Our cultivation has been sealed, and the stealth talismans are almost used up. If a monster finds us like this, we won't even be able to run."
Another man swallowed hard and glanced into the fog. "We should retreat while we still can, this place isn't normal."
Lu Gang's eyes remained fixed ahead. "Don't panic," he whispered back. "I have a way to unseal our cultivation."
The others looked at him in surprise, but before they could ask anything, Lu Gang reached into his robe and took out a dark stone plate. It was roughly the size of his palm, circular in shape, and covered in strange patterns that looked older than any formation marks they recognized.
The plate looked dull at first glance, almost like an ordinary piece of carved rock, but the moment Lu Gang held it out, faint ripples spread across its surface. He bit his finger without hesitation, drawing a bead of blood, then pressed it into the center of the plate.
The stone plate trembled violently, a low hum spread outward, and a dome-shaped barrier rose around the group, enclosing them within it. The moment the barrier formed, everyone felt the invisible chains around their cultivation loosen. Spiritual energy surged back into their bodies, and the suffocating weakness disappeared. The group stared at Lu Gang in stunned silence, their eyes filled with awe and disbelief.
"It worked…" one of them whispered.
Another man looked at Lu Gang with open admiration. "Boss Lu, you actually had something like this?"
Lu Gang placed the stone plate carefully in his hand and spoke as if it was nothing. "Let's go, the barrier won't last forever."
The others immediately followed, their fear easing slightly now that their cultivation had returned. In their eyes, Lu Gang had become even more mysterious and reliable. They never imagined their leader possessed something capable of bypassing the forest's restrictions, something no one had reportedly managed to overcome in the last forty-nine thousand years.
To them, this meant Lu Gang had come prepared, it meant he knew more about this place than anyone else. And because they trusted him, none of them questioned where the stone plate came from.
What Lu Gang didn't tell them was that he hadn't obtained the plate through the Crimson Hall. A few days before the Violet Heaven Secret Realm opened, a strange man had approached him in secret. The man had concealed his face and aura so thoroughly that even Lu Gang couldn't determine his cultivation.
At first, Lu Gang had nearly attacked him, but the stranger easily subdued him and told him there was an immensely powerful artifact sealed inside the secret realm. According to him, the artifact was strong enough to kill even an Immortal King if used properly.
All Lu Gang needed to do was retrieve it and bring it out. In exchange, the stranger promised riches, resources, and opportunities beyond anything Lu Gang could gain through normal service.
Lu Gang had been tempted. Of course he had, anyone would be. An artifact capable of killing an Immortal King was not just some random treasure, it was a ladder to the sky. But Lu Gang was greedy, not stupid. He knew better than to trust a stranger who appeared from nowhere and handed him a mysterious tool right before the secret realm opened. So he did the safest thing, he reported everything to the Crimson Hall.
To his immense joy, the Crimson Hall didn't punish him or order him to abandon the matter. Instead, they instructed him to continue searching for the artifact, only now he would not be retrieving it for the strange man, he would be retrieving it for the Crimson Hall.
And if the artifact truly possessed the value the stranger claimed, then Lu Gang would be rewarded heavily. More cultivation resources, higher status, access to restricted techniques, maybe even a chance to leave this low-level world and serve in a greater branch of the Crimson Hall. That possibility alone was enough to make his heart burn with ambition.
…
With the barrier protecting them, the group moved much faster through the dangerous forest. Monsters still lurked in the fog, and Lu Gang could occasionally sense massive shadows moving nearby, but none of them approached.
The barrier not only resisted the cultivation-sealing restriction, it also concealed their presence from most creatures. This allowed them to pass through areas that would have otherwise been death traps. However, Lu Gang knew the danger had not disappeared.
The deeper region of the forest still contained monsters, even though cultivation was sealed there. The reason was simple, their physical strength remained untouched. Monsters with powerful bodies could still dominate this place, while human cultivators became helpless once their energy was sealed.
Nearly an hour later, the fog began to thin slightly, revealing a strange structure standing silently among the trees. It was a pyramid-shaped building made of dark stone, only about ten meters tall, which made it look strangely modest compared to the massive trees surrounding it. There were no decorations on its surface, no obvious doors, or formations. Yet the moment Lu Gang saw it, his grip tightened around the stone plate.
"This is it," he whispered.
The others looked around nervously. One of them frowned. "What is this pyramid doing here in this godforsaken forest?"
Lu Gang didn't answer, he walked around the pyramid slowly until he found a narrow tunnel hidden behind a curtain of hanging roots. The tunnel sloped downward into darkness, and cold air flowed out from within, carrying a faint metallic smell that made several members of the group uneasy. Still, none of them refused to enter. With Lu Gang leading them, they stepped into the tunnel one by one.
The passage was short, but the air grew thinner with every step. When they finally exited the tunnel, they found themselves inside a modest chamber. The room was not large, and its walls were bare except for faint grooves carved into the stone.
At the center stood an ominous altar, black and red in color, with strange channels running across its surface like dried veins. The altar gave off no obvious energy fluctuation, but everyone felt uncomfortable the moment they saw it.
One of the men accompanying Lu Gang looked around and asked quietly, "What is this place?"
Another whispered, "Maybe Boss Lu knows something?"
Lu Gang heard them, but he didn't respond. His eyes were fixed entirely on the altar. The stranger's words echoed in his mind. To unseal the artifact, the altar needs sacrifice. At the time, Lu Gang had asked what kind of sacrifice was needed, but the man had only smiled and said the altar would accept what was suitable.
Lu Gang understood what that meant now, the moment he entered the chamber, the stone plate he had with him started vibrating faintly, and the channels around the altar were giving off energy signatures as if recognizing the living beings around it.
For a brief moment, Lu Gang hesitated. These people had followed him for years. Some respected him, some feared him, and some genuinely trusted him. They had fought together before, shared missions, and survived dangerous assignments.
But that hesitation lasted only a moment. Compared to the opportunity before him, their lives were cheap. If he succeeded, he would rise far beyond them. If he failed, he might die here with them anyway.
Lu Gang sighed softly, then hardened his heart. "Don't blame me," he muttered under his breath.
He adjusted the stone plate with a thought, shrinking the protective barrier until it covered only his body. The dome around the group vanished instantly, leaving everyone else exposed to the chamber's restrictions.
One of the men stiffened. "W… What happened? My cultivation is sealed again. B… Boss, is the barrier not working anymore?"
Another woman gasped and clutched her chest. "I… I can't breathe…"
The mysterious force inside the chamber descended on them immediately. Their cultivation was sealed, and something far worse began draining their lifeforce. One by one, they collapsed to the ground, their faces turning pale as their bodies weakened rapidly. Their fingers clawed at the stone floor, and their mouths opened as if they were drowning on dry land.
The woman who had thanked Lu Gang earlier looked up at him with trembling eyes, confusion slowly turning into fear. "B… Boss Lu… please help…"
Lu Gang walked toward them calmly, his sword already in hand.
One of the men struggled to lift his head. His veins stood out against his neck as he forced out broken words. "H… Help us… B… Boss Lu…"
Lu Gang stopped in front of him. For a moment, their eyes met. The man still didn't understand. Even now, even with Lu Gang standing over him with a sword, some part of him still believed his leader would save him.
Then Lu Gang raised his sword and slashed downward. Blood splashed across the altar room.
The man's eyes widened in disbelief and horror as his body twitched. He stared at Lu Gang, lips trembling, before forcing out one final word. "W… why…?"
Lu Gang didn't answer. The others also watched in horror as the man died in front of them. Their fear deepened into despair as they finally understood the truth. The person they had followed into this place had never brought them here as comrades. He had brought them as offerings.
***
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