Chapter 31

Huo Lao slowly lifted his head, his squinted eyes radiating a light that could see through one's heart. He said calmly, "Child, why have you come here?"

Zheng Shi Yi clasped his hands in a respectful gesture and replied, "Senior, I was framed."

"Framed?" There was little change on Huo Lao's face as he smiled lightly, "Everyone who comes here says the same thing. Tell me, how were you framed?"

Zheng Shi Yi nodded and recounted the entire story.

Huo Lao's brows furrowed slightly, his eyes gleaming with a hint of intrigue, "Little one, that's quite a black hand. You injured over twenty people?"

"Since you've injured people, punishment is inevitable."

"Given your cultivation, you haven't broken through to the Qi Spring Realm, so you will go to the Qi Wheel Cave to slay the monsters."

Zheng Shi Yi looked at Huo Lao with confusion, "Monsters?"

Huo Lao nodded and explained, "Our sect is established beside the Immortal Spirit Mountain Range. Initially, we didn't pay much attention to this cave. Later, we discovered that monsters often emerge from it, attacking the disciples."

"Upon investigation, it was found that beneath the cave lies a vast sea of blood, from which an endless stream of monsters emerges. According to the elders, this sea of blood may have been formed from the body of an ancient demon king after his death."

"Therefore, the cave is named the Demon Blood Cave."

"To prevent the monsters from attacking the disciples, the sect leader and the elders set up an array above it."

"We thought the monsters wouldn't be able to come out, but they kept emerging, unable to find an exit. The more they accumulated, the more they attacked the array, causing it to tear open in a few days."

"The array was set up by the sect leader and the elders, so only they can repair it. They can do it once or twice, but if this continues, it would be a problem."

"Later, the elders and the sect leader came up with a solution. They created several openings in the array, allowing the monsters to find an exit, so they wouldn't attack the array."

"Monsters from different exits have different strengths and are led to different caves, each with its own array to deal with them."

"Once they enter the cave, they are attacked by the array and die."

"This is a good solution, but the array requires soul stones to function. To save soul stones, the sect sends disciples who have committed serious offenses here."

"Based on their strength, they are sent to different caves. They must slay a certain number of monsters before they can be released."

Zheng Shi Yi looked at Huo Lao thoughtfully and asked, "How does the sect know if the disciples have slain the required number of monsters?"

The cave is so large; the sect wouldn't specifically assign someone to count the number of monsters slain, right?

Huo Lao stroked his beard and pointed to a transparent stone tablet in front of him, smiling, "This stone tablet is connected to each cave. Whenever a monster is slain in a cave, the corresponding number on the tablet increases."

Huo Lao pointed to the row labeled "Qi Wheel Cave" and said, "The number of monsters you slay will be displayed here. When the number reaches five thousand, you can leave."

"I've said all I need to. If you have no questions, let's go to the Qi Wheel Cave."

Zheng Shi Yi shook his head and followed Huo Lao to the Qi Wheel Cave.

Inside the Qi Wheel Cave, the boundless sea of blood filled the space with a pungent and putrid smell. Ugly monsters with red eyes and covered in sticky substances emerged from the bubbling sea of blood, slowly approaching the rotating array.

The array's rotation slowed, and the light it emitted decreased. After slaying a monster resembling a Qingfeng Wolf, the array stopped.

"Screech."

The stone door behind the array opened and then closed.

Zheng Shi Yi entered, carrying a large sword, four feet long and one and a half feet wide.

"Swish, swish!"

The sticky substances on the monsters dripped to the ground as they, like predators spotting prey, roared and charged at Zheng Shi Yi.

They had the strength of Qi Wheel Realm five to six, some resembling soldiers with war knives, others like the Qingfeng Wolves, Flame Leopards, Fire Lions, and Poison Horned Lizards he had encountered in the Immortal Spirit Mountain Range.

They emerged endlessly from the sea of blood, converging on Zheng Shi Yi from all directions.

Zheng Shi Yi, holding the Shadowless Blade, quickly observed the surroundings. Without the array to clear the monsters, the number of monsters emerging from the sea of blood would increase over time. He had to slay the monsters charging at him as quickly as possible.

Otherwise, he would be overwhelmed by the sea of monsters! Huo Lao had said no one would come to save him.

Dying here meant death!

"Come on!"

On the brink of life and death, Zheng Shi Yi's fighting spirit surged! He turned the blade handle and exerted force with his legs, using the "Eight Directions Step" and the Shadowless Blade to instantly decapitate the heads of the five leading monsters.

The grotesque heads rolled in the air, and streams of blood rained down like spring rain.

"Thud!"

The bodies that fell into the sea of blood stirred up waves of blood.

The monsters charging from other directions seemed oblivious to the death of their companions and continued to charge at Zheng Shi Yi.

"Shadowless Blade!"

Using the "Eight Directions Step," Zheng Shi Yi left a trail of afterimages in the space, and his "Shadowless Blade" technique sliced the monsters passing by into two halves.

Huo Lao, sitting in front of the transparent stone tablet, watched the numbers for the Qi Wheel Cave increase, a smile appearing on his face. "This kid is not bad, he's already killed twenty-five monsters."

"I wonder how many he can kill in one go."

A genius once killed fifty monsters in one go in the Qi Wheel Cave, setting a record for the most monsters killed by a disciple entering the Demon Blood Cave without rest.

The numbers on the stone tablet increased rapidly, reaching forty-eight.

Staring at the number, Huo Lao's hands trembled slightly. "Could it be that another genius is about to emerge in the sect?"

The monsters emerging from the sea of blood are extremely difficult to deal with. Disciples usually escape the cave after slaying the thirtieth monster, either due to exhaustion or injuries.

Therefore, killing forty monsters without rest is already impressive. Killing forty-five or more in one go is something only a genius can do!

It's said that the genius who set the record received focused cultivation from the sect and dominated the arena in the Ten Sect Martial Arts Competition!

Killing forty-eight monsters, even if he doesn't reach forty-nine, will certainly earn him focused cultivation from the sect.

Because, killing forty-eight monsters without rest is extremely rare.

"Thud!"

A sound of the number increasing came from the stone tablet.

Huo Lao immediately focused on the row for the Qi Wheel Cave, "Sixty-five!"

Huo Lao was stunned. This was fifteen more than the record set by the genius!

In his view, whether Zheng Shi Yi killed one more or not, he would receive focused cultivation from the sect.

But he never expected that this seemingly polite young man would kill fifteen more monsters than the record.

And... from the trend of the numbers on the stone tablet, the number was still increasing!

"Seventy!"

"Eighty-five!"

"One hundred!"

"..."

"Three hundred!"

The numbers on the stone tablet finally stopped.

Huo Lao stood there, petrified, staring at the final number.

Killing fifty monsters in one go is considered genius, so what does killing three hundred in one go make him?

The monsters emerging from the sea of blood range from Qi Wheel Realm four to nine. Even with the best luck, out of fifty monsters, there would be two to three at Qi Wheel Realm nine.

The genius who set the record had reached Qi Wheel Realm nine.

The young man who just entered was only at Qi Wheel Realm seven. How did he manage to kill three hundred monsters in one go without rest?

"It doesn't make sense. The speed at which monsters appear in the Qi Wheel Cave is constant. How could so many monsters appear in such a short time?"

Huo Lao's brows furrowed. He had been guarding this place for a long time and had already calculated the speed at which monsters appeared based on the array's performance.

The speed at which the monsters appeared this time was truly baffling.

Afterimages left trails in the Qi Wheel Cave, and heads floated in the air.

The bodies that splashed into the sea of blood sent blood droplets into the air, and the entire space was filled with a crimson mist.

"Shadowless Blade!"

Another slash, and the head of the last emerging monster was decapitated.

Zheng Shi Yi, covered in blood, leaned on his sword, panting heavily.

"Thud!"

The row of heads in the air fell, and the splashing blood drenched him. Wiping the blood from his face, he finally breathed a sigh of relief.

In the frenzy of slaughter, Zheng Shi Yi didn't know how many monsters he had killed, only that the number kept increasing, and he kept swinging his sword, slaying the monsters one by one.

The air was filled with a thick scent of blood and the endless malevolence of the dying monsters.

"Gurgle!"

The calm sea of blood suddenly bubbled, and the surrounding blood began to churn.

In the air filled with malevolence, a series of piercing cries echoed.

"What's happening?" Zheng Shi Yi's heart raced, and the Shadowless Blade he was leaning on slowly floated up, vibrating in the air.

The images of the monsters he had slain appeared one by one in the air.

"Could it be... Could it be that I killed too many monsters, and a more powerful one is coming to seek revenge?"

Zheng Shi Yi stood still, staring at the rising blood, where something seemed to be emerging.