Chapter 343

Chapter 343: Blood Pool

“A batch of first-rate goods?” Shen Sang Ruo looked up at the huge dome, her gaze turning icy.

How many elites of the Cultivation World had fallen into their hands?

These years, the Devil Cultivators had been restricted to Shadowmist Ravine and could not act against people outside. So most of the Cultivators used to create this Blood Pool had to be from the chaos ten thousand years ago.

The Radical Faction was no better than the Heretic Cultivators.

She followed the Devil Cultivator inside.

Even though she had prepared herself, the sight still froze her in place.

A thick, sticky smell of blood rushed at her and made it hard to breathe.

In her sea of consciousness, Snake Maiden let out a small, shocked cry: “Oh my…”

Only now did Shen Sang Ruo realize it wasn’t a half sphere; it was a full sphere. The other half was underground, and that underground part was the Blood Pool.

Everywhere she looked was red.

The thing was enormous, like a lake, and all of it was the Blood Pool.

She had thought only part of the interior would be liquid, but besides a one meter wide path that circled the edge, everything else was the Blood Pool.

So this was the reason the Radical Faction was so strong.

She didn’t dare imagine how many people’s flesh and blood had been turned into this pool.

A wave of nausea surged up from her churning stomach, and she almost threw up.

It wasn’t the flesh and blood that sickened her. It was the Devil Cultivators who had made and used this Blood Pool.

The Devil Cultivator kept introducing it proudly, like he was showing off a treasure and a trophy. The light from the Blood Pool shone in his eyes with a feverish glow.

“Only some higher-level Devil Cultivators can use the Blood Pool,” he said, “but sometimes they let us ordinary Devil Cultivators use it too. Those are all arrangements by Chief Shi Mu.” His tone was full of gratitude for the chance to use it.

She kept her voice steady and asked: “So everyone in the Radical Faction has used this Blood Pool?”

“Yes,” he answered with a nod.

A flash of cold anger passed through Shen Sang Ruo’s eyes. [Everyone who used this Blood Pool deserves death.]

She had come here only to search for clues. Now she wanted to wipe the Radical Faction out.

“We mostly use it to boost our cultivation,” the Devil Cultivator went on. “They say if you use it longer, it can even extend your life and keep you looking young.”

In truth, it was just sucking out the life force of the flesh and blood in the Blood Pool.

Shen Sang Ruo now understood why Shi Mu, Shang Qing, and Shi Yi, those remnants from ancient times, were still alive. They had stepped on other people’s lives to lengthen their own.

“Devil Lord, please go soak in the Blood Pool,” the Devil Cultivator urged. “You’ve just revived and should really replenish yourself.”

She swept him with a chilly look and said: “Since when do you get to make decisions for me?”

His knees shook. He hurried to bow: “Y-yes, this subordinate was foolish. Please forgive me, Devil Lord.”

After sending him off to be punished again, she felt a little better.

She ordered the others to withdraw from the Blood Pool chamber. Soon, only she remained.

Silently, she walked a full circle along the edge.

Those Cultivators had fought to protect the Cultivation World. Even after death, their bodies had been turned into a Blood Pool.

Returning to where she started, she bent down and drew a glass bottle from her Cosmos Pouch, scooping up a vial of the pool’s thick red liquid.

She had made up her mind: she would destroy this Blood Pool. Taking this bottle of blood and flesh was like taking the fallen Cultivators out of the Shadowmist Ravine, letting them leave this place and return to where they belonged.

She would send this glass bottle to the Hall of Myriad Spirits so the Guest Elder could comfort their spirits.

Shen Sang Ruo bowed to the Blood Pool. When she straightened, her eyes were hard. She turned and left.

[The next time I come here will be the day this Blood Pool is destroyed.]

The next day, using the excuse that she needed to return to the Conservative Faction to continue her undercover work, she had Shi Mu and Wan Quan send her back.

More exactly, they brought her to the border between the two factions.

They covered her with a Concealment Method that made her look like a blood-soaked mess, tortured beyond recognition.

After tossing out a few arrogant lines to complete the act, the two men left.

When Immortal Maiden Azure Luan heard the news, she came at once to pick Shen Sang Ruo up.

Shang Qing and Shi Yi, both undercover, came too, even though they were still injured. They had to cooperate to keep Shen Sang Ruo from being exposed.

Shi Yi pointed toward the Radical Faction and cursed for a long time, yelling that they didn’t take the Conservative Faction seriously at all.

Shen Sang Ruo was surprised to see Ling Hu Min also arrive. When he saw her “injuries,” his face tightened, and he hurried her back to her old residence.

“This Radical Faction is too bold, kidnapping someone from our Conservative Faction and hurting her like this!” Shi Yi ranted. “A bunch of cutthroats!”

The harsher he cursed, the more it scrubbed away any doubt about his ties to the Radical Faction. Of course, some of it was also his real feelings. They had beaten him badly; he still hurt.

Ling Hu Min stayed quiet. When they reached the courtyard, he told Shang Qing and Shi Yi to leave.

The two hesitated, but when Shen Sang Ruo gave them a look, they finally went.

After they left, Ling Hu Min looked at the injuries covering her and drew a breath to speak.

He had thought at least she wouldn’t get hurt.

In the next moment, Shen Sang Ruo lifted the Concealment Method. Ling Hu Min’s words died in his throat. He blurted without thinking: “You…”

“Shi Mu and the others used that Concealment Method,” she said calmly, “so you would believe I was tortured.”

With that, she made it clear she had a connection with Shi Mu and the others, and not a shallow one.

Seeing the surprise in Ling Hu Min’s eyes, as if he had not expected her to be this direct, she added: “I’m saying this up front because I don’t want pointless misunderstandings with you, Leader Ling Hu. I also want you to trust me.”

“I said before that if you gave me ten days, I would tell you everything.”

“Can you tell me now?” Ling Hu Min narrowed his eyes.

“My ties to the Radical Faction, and why I went there.”

“Fine, I’ll lay my cards on the table,” Shen Sang Ruo said in a slow, even voice, “I am the Devil Lord Ya Lan…”

Ling Hu Min froze, Devil Qi gathering in his hand, but then she turned the corner and added: “To be exact, they think I am the Devil Lord Ya Lan. I’m just an ordinary cultivator.”

Ling Hu Min almost choked on a breath. After a long moment, he managed to squeeze out: “Next time, can you not stop halfway when you talk?”