Chapter 401 - Infiltrating the Internal Sect (1/2)

Shen Qing cast a long look down the hall, beholding the view of everyone peering up at him. In a cool voice, he intoned, “It’s fine. Please take a seat, all of you. There will be people coming for the Grudge Cauldrons.”

Everyone sank back into their chairs. But the merry mood was all but stifled with only the palpable angst of tension hanging over the hall like an apparition. But their attentions were diverted when four men, all cloaked in dark, entered the hall. Two of them began counting through the number of Rancorous Qi in the Cauldrons and the two others were holding brush pens and bamboo slips to record their colleagues’ tally.

There was a total of a hundred and thirty year’s worth of Rancorous Qi when the count was finished. A century and thirty years’ worth of malice and grudge that they could inject into any Corpse Puppet to enhance its strength, although this would be an attempt that no one could be ensured of its success.

In most cases, attempts to inject malice and grudge into a Corpse Puppet usually results in less than half that number successfully infused. The probability suffers even more while injecting malice and grudge into a Corpse Puppet with already centuries-old of hatred and enmity.

Xiao Chen’s gaze traveled to the Grudge Cauldrons being tagged and arranged neatly and felt something was amiss. Something within him told him that the grudge and malice these cauldrons were carrying were not intended for common Corpse Puppets. The Divine Corpse from the rumors, perhaps?

The orderlies went about making sure that the Cauldrons were all tightly sealed and store within the sacks known to be used specially by acolytes of the Corpse Refinery Sect. When their work was done, Shen Qing addressed the hall by clearing his throat loudly. “Ah, yes. One more thing. I will select four among your number to deliver the Cauldrons. A few disciples of the Tai Yin Cavity shall not be available.”

The Corpse Refinery Sect has a long litany of rules and protocols that its members adhere to with the strictest obedience. A simple task that Shen Qing alone could have easily handled required four men for the sake of decorum and dignity. Everyone traded quick and hasty looks, their eyes gleaming with excitement. None of them had ever set eyes on the Summit of Mystics, the abode of reserved exclusively mainly for members of the Internal Sect, let alone being bestowed the chance of going there. To be permitted entry was a glory beyond measure for every one of them.

Xiao Chen’s face curdled into a frown. Su Lianyue looked at him and they exchanged a quick look. The Summit of Mystics of the Mountains of Myriad Caves was exactly where, they believed, laid the answers they sought. Before they could even say anything to each other, Shen Qing caught sight of them. “The two of you there. You will come with me.”

They shuddered with surprise but Xiao Chen was quick to the take. With a humble bow, he muttered deeply, “Our deepest thanks Senior Brother Shen Qing.”

Shen Qing’s gaze lingered upon them for several beats, before he peeled off and looked at another two men who looked ordinary, saying, “The two of you too. You’ll come with me as well.”

“T-thank you! Thank you so much, Senior Brother Shen Qing!” The two men breathed tersely, vehement with gratitude and elation. The rest of the acolytes were visibly crestfallen for not being selected.

The crowd dispersed with the haunting mood of disappointment, leaving only Xiao Chen, Su Lianyue and two other selected acolytes to follow Shen Qing to the Summit of Mystics to deliver the Cauldrons. The five departed once their work here was completed. Xiao Chen and his companions followed carefully behind a dour and taciturn Shen Qing with the two other acolytes hardly uttering anything behind.

Xiao Chen did his best to commit to mind their windy route through myriads of strange flora and fauna and misted Cloaking Barriers. The deathly chill in the air only grew thicker and stronger the deeper they traveled; so strong that even the two acolytes behind them were shivering and grimacing in the cold.

Everything around them looked bleaker and ghastlier by the second as the darkness of the dusk fell. Not even the strongest and most powerful man could hardly resist the cold fingers of a shiver up his spine in such a dreadful place. One of the acolytes behind finally squeaked, “Err… Are we not there yet, Senior Brother Shen Qing?”

His colleague beside him quickly gave him a tug on the sleeve and a look, gesturing him to be quiet. “Nearly there,” Shen Qing answered brusquely. A gloomy path appeared just ahead through the opaque veils of mists as soon as he finished, curving into Heaven knows where. All that they could feel from the path overshadowed from even the slightest speck of light was the ominous feel of death and frost.

“We’ll arrive at our destination right after this little track.”

As he spoke, Shen Qing pushed aside the briar vines that hung in his way and the four behind him scurried at his heels. Night descended upon the mountain ranges after a half-hour walk and the mists were beginning to thin, unraveling the mysterious peaks that were shrouded before. The summits of the mountains were hardly precipitously tall, but they were flat plateaus so wide that they stretched off out of sight into the dark of the night.

So stood the stronghold of the Internal Sect of the Corpse Refinery Sect, the Summit of Mystics. Even Xiao Chen was awed by the secrecy of this place; it was so well-hidden amongst the mountains that no one would have been able to come here without a guide.

The Corpse Refinery Sect has always been shrouded by the veil of mystery and its members were known to be formidable enemies despite their best attempts to remain hidden from the eyes of the common folk. Hardly anyone knew anything about this infernal order. More so, since its members have never been actively involved in the ever-perpetual war between Good and Evil. Yet, no one would discount their might; a single century-old Corpse Puppet could easily defeat a mage of the Nascent Soul Realm. As if it could not get any worse, no one could tell for sure if this sect has the hidden strength of any mages of the Nirvana Realm.

A pale sliver of the silvery moon showed a glimpse from behind the plumes of clouds lulling lazily in the sky. The party reached the foot of the mountain and came to a guard post manned by a pair of sentries. They saw the party approaching and boomed, “HALT!”

Their faces were the color of curdled milk with hardly any blushes of life as Chen Qing bowed slightly, reporting himself stiffly, “Shen Qing of the Tai Yin Cavity here to deliver the Grudge Cauldrons.”

This was his third visit here and the sentries could recognize him. But the Sect suffers no shortfall in protocol and rules. He allowed himself to be inspected and one of the sentries led the party up the hill.

Scores of ornately-furnished halls, towers, and staff quarters, aside from the many cavernous chambers hewn from stone, served the use for the members of the Inner Sect. Ghostly-green flames blazed proudly, lighting up the spires of the halls that stood in the grim darkness atop the Summit, although no one knew what the flames were for. Xiao Chen and Su Lianyue pressed on with extreme caution, making sure that their auras were properly concealed.

They came to an open square that took up much of the mid-hill area. It looked nothing different from the magnificent plazas that guarded the front of the strongholds of the orders and sects of the Orthodox Path, with plants and trees to spruce up the environment and richly-constructed halls and quarters which would have been a pretty and tranquil sight if not for the ghastly and dreary atmosphere. At afar stood the shadowy silhouettes of other men, cloaked by the darkness that Xiao Chen could not see what they were doing.