182 Corrupted Crimson

"Gong Lan!" Cha Ming yelled as his group approached the two women. "It looks like you didn't even need our help to get through the labyrinth. We're starting to feel a little useless."

Gong Lan raised her eyebrow. "If summoning four variant tribulations in the middle of the labyrinth and destroying it counts as useless, I'm not sure what to say."

Dongfang Hao and the remaining Alabaster Group members caught up. The three remaining monks were slightly slower, their orange kasayas torn, their bodies bleeding from several places. Seeing their bedraggled appearance, Gong Lan sent out a wisp of green energy to the protectors, whose pale complexions immediately flushed with a healthy glow.

Cha Ming and the three demon beasts led their group through the maze's exit. The walls were black and covered in golden runes that suppressed an intense crimson glow in the distance. They passed by several dozen broken jade slabs. The corpses that used to lay on them had disappeared without a trace.

Finally, they entered a black room covered in crimson lines. The golden runes that had once adorned the walls were shattered, and only small pieces remained of them.

"Why weren't these corrupted like the rest?" he said while motioning to twelve sarcophaguses surrounding a broken dais holding up a small jade seal. He noticed a golden formation was built into these coffins and joined together with them to suppress the corruption. He frowned when he noticed a crimson formation containing runes he couldn't identify that overlaid the original gold one. The corruption found in the labyrinth clearly originated from it.

"I don't know," Gong Lan said. "Regardless, we must activate the Spirit-Banishing Pagoda and neutralize the corruption as quickly as possible. Unfortunately, six of our monks have perished, and the pagoda won't be nearly as effective."

"Can we help in any way?" Cha Ming asked.

Gong Lan shook her head. "You can only act as protectors for us. Only Buddhist soul energy can be used to activate this holy treasure."

She led the three other monks to the seal and immediately began chanting. Golden characters imbued themselves into the small glowing pagoda in Gong Lan's hands, one after the other. Before long, a beautiful golden sphere covered in holy Buddhist scriptures appeared and locked them off from the outside world.

"Let us begin," Gong Lan said.

The pagoda's glow intensified and resonated with the three monks who began chanting incessantly. As they chanted, Cha Ming activated his Eyes of Pure Jade and inspected ochre formations that overlaid the crimson ones. He only stopped once his vision blurred and his eyes began to bleed.

***

A light formation thrummed to life, greedily absorbing a hundred thousand spirit stones in the process. A golden mist filled the room as the spirit stones evaporated. The formation was a peak formation called Evil-Sealing Circle, one of the five formations gifted to him by the Church of Justice. He had used the gray flags gifted by Wang Bing to erect the formation and spirit stones he'd borrowed from Luo Xuehua and the Alabaster Group.

"The voices are finally gone," the blind Luo Xuehua said as she walked up beside him.

"The voices?" Cha Ming asked.

"The humming of the souls of the dead," Luo Xuehua said. "They were calling out to us, warning us. They said we were too late and that we should run away."

"What else did they say?" Cha Ming said. He hadn't known that Luo Xuehua possessed such a strange ability. If so, it explained her quiet and reserved demeanor.

"Their voices changed an hour ago," she said softly. "At first, they were warning us. Then they began saying murderous words. They told us to kill and fight. They told us to slaughter our friends and slay our family members. We're strong, so it didn't affect us. But what would it do to weaker souls?"

A cold shiver ran through Cha Ming's spine as he glanced to the formation on the floor. He activated his Eyes of Pure Jade once more and inspected the hidden characters under the light of the Evil-Sealing Circle. The golden light of the formation revealed several hidden characters that Cha Ming hadn't seen before. "Kill," "betray," and "slay" formed twisted lines that weaved in with the formation. Furthermore, he detected twelve more hidden formations he hadn't seen before. They were written in sinister runes that he couldn't understand, but they resembled several formations that Cha Ming was very familiar with: energy-gathering formations.

Suddenly, Cha Ming saw a flash of gray spatial light, and a pile of ochre crystals appeared out of nowhere and fell onto the formations. They roared to life as soon as the crystals landed and instantly began feeding the crimson formation on the floor. Its runes shifted and weaved chaotically as it drank in the negativity. The twelve sarcophaguses vibrated. As a last-ditch effort, Cha Ming summoned the Clear Sky Pillar and smashed down with every once of strength he could muster. He aimed for the weakest point in the newly revealed formation.

The floor crumbled beneath it, but the formation continued as though nothing had happened. A crimson glow left the twelve golden sarcophaguses, taking the form of twelve howling ghosts that shot into the previously inactive formation. Cha Ming rapidly summoned a peak lightning-based combat formation. The crimson lines distorted under the iridescent lightning but were ultimately unaffected.

"It won't work," a voice said from the hallway.

It was a familiar voice that Cha Ming loathed. Zhou Li walked out from the labyrinth; Protector Song and a dozen core-formation devils marched in behind him while an army of hundreds of foundation-establishment devils followed.

"The formation uses the corruption in the imperial seal to bewitch those in the kingdom and turn them against one another. The fighting causes the corruption to deepen and increase the bewitchment. It's an ingenious plan if I do say so myself. Before long, the kingdom will be in shambles and ripe for the taking.

"But do you know what the best part about all this is? The World Tree Master is here, and you delivered her right to us."

He flicked out a small needle, which shattered Cha Ming's Evil-Sealing Circle and struck the Spirit-Sealing Pagoda's barrier. The bright-red needle slipped through the shield without breaking it, and a crimson gas transformed into a red-clothed monk.

"Sibi!" Gong Lan shouted.

"Do you think you brought enough men?" Cha Ming asked as he summoned the massive Clear Sky Pillar and a peak Icy Hell Grand Formation. His Stormchaser Boots dissipated into storm clouds beneath his feet, and an armor of light and darkness covered him. The tomb's rocky floor crumbled under his bare feet as he increased his weight to ten times his fist strength.

Huxian's, Lei Jiang's, and Silverwing's forms increased in size. Huxian grew to 160 feet long while Silverwing expanded to 160 feet wide. Only Lei Jiang remained small, his height only reaching Cha Ming's. They too summoned their black-and-white battle armor. Meanwhile, the Alabaster Group duo each summoned an array of flying swords—one earth aligned and one wind aligned. Luo Xuehua summoned hundreds of talismans, and Dongfang Hao brandished a heavy blade while nine metal pillars floated around him.

"I brought everyone I could spare," Zhou Li said. "How's your foundation doing, by the way? Is this second life all that you imagined it would be? Will it be filled with choices like you imagined? Even if we don't gain anything out of this exchange, I've already crippled a game-changing piece like you."

He then looked to Huxian. "Little fox, did you know that your brother's core is crippled and can't reach rune carving? How do you feel, knowing that you'll die young and never reach the peak like your father?"

As he spoke, the core-formation and foundation-establishment devils drew their weapons and unleashed their devilish forms. Even Protector Song transformed. They let out a communal roar; their ochre auras combined into a cloud of malevolence that rushed out toward their tight-knit group. Their emotions became chaotic as their bodies lost strength, their souls felt drained, their weapons dulled, and their movements faltered. Even their defenses didn't feel as strong as before. Although Cha Ming had fought against a few scattered devils before, he had never faced so many at once; their combined auras were a truly frightening phenomenon.

Cha Ming's expression turned cold. He widened his combat formation until it encapsulated the crowd of devils. He imbued it with his Devil-Sealing Intent, which rapidly eroded the malevolent aura around them. Meanwhile, Huxian's aura of purification and devouring superimposed with a new aura released from the three stars shining on each of his three tails. The stars summoned a domain of Judgmental Lightning and Smothering Swamp, which was mediated by a gentle wind.

As the domains clashed, the devils charged as they used their consumption abilities. The core-formation devils activated black tattoos that burned and propelled their cultivations up to early core formation. They clashed with the demon beasts and the Alabaster Group's forces. Silverwing, Huxian, and Lei Jiang tied up several core-formation devils each while Luo Xuehua and the Alabaster Group's forces clashed against the lesser devils.

Blades of wind and iridescent lightning fought against devouring vortexes and ice lotuses. Earthen spikes assaulted Huxian as he batted away scores of devilish minions. Meanwhile, the Alabaster Group was a flurry of wind, earth, ice, and metal. Their superior strength evenly matched the veritable salvo of devilish attacks.

"Do you think you can hurt me as you are now?" Zhou Li said as he walked toward Cha Ming. His aura surged, and Cha Ming's eyes narrowed as he realized that Zhou Li was a middle-core-formation cultivator. In addition, he didn't reek of evil like the devils did; his Eyes of Pure Jade detected not a trace of merit or sin on the mysterious man's body.

Zhou Li suddenly summoned black flames, which formed two black dragons that dove toward Cha Ming. He sent out six flying swords that slashed at Cha Ming as he dodged using his superior speed.

Cha Ming used his battle armor to avoid the multiple attacks and shrank the Clear Sky Staff as he attacked with his Swift Staff Art. He became a blur of black and white as he struck at Zhou Li with dozens of staff strikes per second. These blows were deflected by seven black flame shields that easily predicted his movements. Before long, Cha Ming was forced to withdraw from the two black flame dragons and the six black flying swords.

"You're nothing but a cripple, and you'll never amount to anything in life," Zhou Li said. "It's too bad you didn't take my advice to heart."

He held his hands out and summoned another four black flame dragons. They charged at Cha Ming, who was already breathing heavily.

***

"Sibi, you dare to throw yourself into the Spirit-Sealing Pagoda?" Gong Lan said as she slashed at the crimson-robed monk with a saber of light.

Sibi snorted and whispered a distorted mantra. Crimson characters shot out from his lips and instantly destroyed the saber. "I'm honored that the new World Tree Master knows my name," Sibi said.

He took out a small rosary filled with crimson beads. He muttered in a distorted voice, causing the prayer beads to shoot out and surround Gong Lan, suppressing her Buddhist powers.

Gong Lan summoned her own rosary. Ten thousand and eighty blessed pearls burst apart and quickly fought back against Sibi's attack.

The distracting shower of crimson and gold caused Sibi to disappear. Gong Lan frowned as a shiver ran down her spine. She summoned three blades of light behind her, which warded off a sharp crimson claw that was headed her way. Seeing that his attack was rebuffed, Sibi summoned a long scroll covered in cryptic crimson characters. Gong Lan decisively summoned back the 10,080-pearl rosary, which orbited around her like an impenetrable shield and fought back the crimson scripture.

"I am indeed no match for you in the outside world," Sibi said, calling back his vestment. "But our true battlefield is different. Our true battlefield is the place where I was born. Do you dare to follow?"

His figure turned into a crimson mist, which surged toward the jade seal. Although ten percent of the seal had previously been unfettered by the three monks, the ground they had gained began rapidly receding.

"It's your move now, World Tree Master," Sibi's voice said from inside the seal. "You can't save the Song Kingdom without fighting the corruption. Will you run, like your master wanted to, or will you do what I did and face the corruption head on?"

Gong Lan gritted her teeth and stepped forward.

"You can't!" the bodhi seed said as it appeared in front of her. "It's exactly what they want you to do. It's too difficult to kill you in the outside world, but they know I can't protect you inside the seal."

"Even if it's what they want me to do, how can I possibly back down?" Gong Lan argued. She looked over to the three monks, who were doing their best to restrain the expanding corruption. She knew they wouldn't last long. They had already staked their lives on this mission—shouldn't she do the same?

"As this plane's guardian, you're much more important than the mortals in this kingdom," the bodhi seed said. "It's better that ten Song Kingdoms fall instead of you."

"And why did you choose me in the first place?" Gong Lan shot back.

"I chose you because of the purity of your soul," the bodhi seed said. "It's too difficult to find someone with your spirit and character. If you fall, I won't be able to find anyone else to take your place."

Gong Lan shook her head. "If I can't even defend the Song Kingdom, how can I possibly protect the plane? This is part of who I am. Don't try and stop me."

She walked over to the crimson-colored seal and whispered the Mantra of Faith. Beautiful golden characters shot out from her mouth and floated in midair. She continued speaking until 108 characters came together like a small rosary. Then she sent out the 10,080 pearls. They joined together with the 108 characters and danced around the seal, whose rate of corruption rapidly slowed.

Sighing, Gong Lan sat down before the seal. Her golden soul left her body and followed Sibi's.

"It's your move," she whispered. She was surrounded by an endless field of crimson and millions of vengeful souls. They licked their lips and pounced toward her.

***

"Do you know why I do what I do?" Zhou Li said as he threw tendrils of black flame over to Cha Ming. They bypassed his defenses and assaulted the resplendent jade vestment on his soul, which was protected by a white barrier.

Meanwhile, Cha Ming's Icy Hell Grand Formation slightly restricted Zhou Li's movements. He tried to capitalize on this and swung out with alternating Swift Strikes and Heavy Quaking Strikes.

The superimposed benefits of his Stormchaser formation, his black-and-white armor, and his natural flight abilities as a core-formation cultivator and marrow-refining cultivator gave him unsurpassed speed within his realm. Despite this enormous advantage, Zhou Li still managed to defend against one blow after another. Cha Ming had sorely underestimated the man's prophetic abilities.

"It's all because of revenge, you see," Zhou Li said. "My people lived happy lives on this plane, doing whatever they pleased and working hard to improve their lot in life. The pursuit of happiness was the maxim of the plane, and despite being ruled by devils, the world was a peaceful place filled with millions of good-aligned cultivators."

His movements were relaxed and exact. Each one of his footsteps carried him out of harm's way as he predicted Cha Ming's movements one after another. Where he couldn't, he swung out a flaming black sword and deflected the Clear Sky Pillar. The half dozen black flame dragons pursued Cha Ming and sealed his movements.

"It was all destroyed overnight by the jade emperor's minions," Zhou Li said. His hands rapidly formed seals, and black flames congregated and assembled into a script Cha Ming's recognized as the fragment of someone's story. It shot out at him and struck his resplendent soul, which fought hard to defend against what he now recognized as a curse. A soothing white light from the Clear Sky Brush burst out and banished the darkness.

Cha Ming used the opening granted by his defense to land a direct blow. Zhou Li coughed up blood as the residual force of Cha Ming's staff bypassed his qi shields and ravaged his internal organs.

"And now I know why the higher-ups put such a large bounty on you," Zhou Li said. "The destiny surrounding you is ridiculous. You even have a soul-bound treasure? How unfair can fate be?"

While Cha Ming grew increasingly surprised by what Zhou Li knew, he didn't speak for fear of getting lured into whatever mental game the man was playing.

How are things going on your end? Cha Ming asked Huxian.

It's going well, Huxian said. Give us an incense time, and we should be able to mop them up. The three-tailed fox and his friend were dominating the battlefield. Huxian's five suppressions, combined with his and Cha Ming's Devil-Sealing Intent, had given them an absolute advantage. Scores of lesser devils had already fallen while a few core-formation devils were severely wounded.

"If you weren't so lukewarm about everything, if you had passion, you'd probably be able to accomplish something in life," Zhou Li said. "It's a pity, really." He formed hand seals again, preparing to send another curse.

Cha Ming ignored his taunts and sent another staff strike at the defenseless Zhou Li.

The man dodged in his usual pattern. He predicted Cha Ming's Swift Staff Art, blocking it with a Black Flame Shield. He narrowly avoided a Quake Staff by pushing himself to the side with a black flame dragon. After half the hand seals were formed, he switched up his movements.

Sensing an opportunity, Cha Ming shrank the Clear Sky Pillar and slashed out with a Rapid Sword Staff. Seven Black Flame Shields superimposed as Zhou Li rushed toward Cha Ming, who was forced to sidestep and bat the pale man toward the crowd of devilish cultivators. Zhou Li grinned as he turned around and unleashed the curse on another target: Huxian.

Cha Ming felt the effects of the curse almost immediately. His bodily strength lowered by a full sub-realm while his qi began leaking out at a rapid rate and his black-and-white armor crumbled to nothing. Meanwhile, Huxian's three stars disappeared along with their corresponding suppressions. The large fox shrank down to half his size while his physical strength was cut in half.

Due to their soul contract, he and Huxian shared karma. He instantly understood that this extended to curses and that Zhou Li had targeted his one weakness—Huxian's soul. Zhou Li didn't stand still after landing the curse, and neither did he keep talking. He instantly lunged at Cha Ming with a sword of black flame and began a fierce counterattack. The six black flame dragons joined in a circle and suppressed Cha Ming's Icy Hell Grand Formation while his Black Flame Shields transformed into chains of black flames.

"You're such a nice guy, Cha Ming," Zhou Li said. "It's a pity you chose the wrong side."

His biting sword attacks rapidly made progress and finally found a crack in Cha Ming's defenses. A large black gash appeared on Cha Ming's chest.