631 No Rest For The Wicked
"Can we at least have time to rest," I complained as I walked up to the chair and sat there slumping, "We just got away from an old foggy who didn't seem too keen on letting us leave. I've yet to take a break man…"
"No need to worry, the lands of the Red Sun are protected by his might, no one would dare take a step further. And the man that was hunting you… he was driven away, although he didn't seem too keen on the method," said the Herald.
"Anyway, what do you want?" I asked.
"Who might you be?" asked the Herald.
"Does that really matter? Who I am and where I come from?"
"In fact it matters not, but we of the Slaughter Sect want to have you join us, officially that is." Said the herald.
"I'll have to think about that," I replied.
"The offer stands, his lordship requested it," said the herald.
"You mean the Red Sun?" I asked.
"Indeed, it seems that you piqued their interest, they won't force you however, it is by your will and choice that you may join us," said the herald.
"I'm not ready to settle down, I still have much to do," I replied shrugging.
The herald sighed and handed me a token, "This is a valued guest token, you can bring it to the Slaughter Sect, and you will be treated as a valued guest of the sect. Come and see how we do things back at our sect, you might like it. As for the painting, I believe lady Hwei Ye will tell you all about it."
The herald then excused himself as he left, leaving me and old Fu with the ant Queen, who now I know what her name is.
"So…"
"Yes, yes, please, sit let's talk business," she said.
As I sat down, "I guess the paining has a meaning?" I asked.
"Indeed, it portrays the laws of Slaughter. This painting… as much as I would like to show you, by opening it, the entirety of the ant cave might shatter. This was painted by Du Jhin, one of the greatest painters of the beyond. A man that would encompass the laws of the world itself by the tip of his brush," she said and her eyes almost sparkled.
She looked and sounded like a fangirl.
"And?" I questioned.
"And??! Do you know what this means? The paintings that Du Jhin had made and are public can be counter on one hand. Also, this one wasn't that of a natural scene, but that of a single strike by the Red Sun himself, a painting that encompasses all that can be learned and taught by the Dao of Slaughter one of the deadliest Daos, and it can be learned without needed to physically be in a battlefield," she said.
"What does that have to do with anything?" I asked.
Hwei Ye sighed but old Fu explained in her stead.
"The Dao of slaughter is one of the hardest and most difficult Daos to master. It requires a bloody life, where one kills and kills some more. And that comes with great challenges and difficulties. Mainly, one may lose their lives in perusing that Dao, or themselves. The idea is, if one were to have this painting, they could learn the Dao of Slaughter without having to tide through a bloodletting life. They could see it and seek the knowledge of Slaughter without risking themselves in the process, granted it is not without risk, if someone weak were to stare and look at the painting, they could lose themselves to the bloodlust, but this is the perfect learning tool for disciples and geniuses," he said.
"So… basically a shortcut," I said.
"Calling it a shortcut is disrespectful," she said.
"But it is still true, one who learns and seeks the Dao must pay an equivalent price for their greed. Anyway, enough of that, what's the point of all of this then?" I asked.
"Tournament," she replied. "The Eight Sun tournament, will be upheld soon. In it all, the eight sects will send in their disciples to vie for the strongest under the Sun title. And this is one of the rewards," she said.
"…"
"What? I thought you'd be more interested," she said.
"There are too many people who are far stronger than me in the beyond, going in there and risking my life is utterly pointless," I shrugged.
"The laws of the tournament allow anyone capable to join, however, everyone will be limited to the void stage cultivation level." She said.
I shrugged, "It doesn't mean anything to me, perhaps you'd want to enter Old Fu," I said.
"I might consider joining, however, I'm still not strong enough, especially if all Eight suns will be there."
I immediately understood what he meant by that. Because the Darkest Sun will probably realize who Old Fu is the moment he shows his face in the tournament. Although I did a good job at changing his facial structure. For a cultivator at the level of a Sun, they can easily remember and deduce from a person's breathing, heartbeat, walking and even the general air about them, no matter how many years had went by, they'd still be able to pick up on old fu's change of appearance.
"Well, it is fine if you only wish to watch. I thought you'd be interested in one of the rewards," she said.
I looked at her waiting for her explanation.
"The ability to take pointers directly from any of the eight suns," she said with an air as if she was waiting for applauses or me to react in a way shape or form.
However, my lack of reaction was even more muffled. I couldn't even care less at this point in time.
She sighed, "You're no fun. Anyway, that is no longer needed, the token given to you by the herald supersedes the fake stamp. You can freely move about in the lands of the Red Sun. Also I would recommend you go to the Slaughter Sect." she said.
"Why so?" I asked.
"Because as much as you think you're safe here, the guy who was chasing after you has no issues with sending people to find you. I have no idea what sort of troubles you caused in the Sea of Demons to have one at the early stage of the Origin Stage to come hunt you down. You'll be safer at the Slaughter Sect, especially since you have the valued guest token," she said.
"We'll need to move then," I said as I stood up.
"That was fast, I thought you'd be more of a macho guy and say that you'd take on whatever they send your way," she said.
"Do I look like an idiot? I already told you I need some rest. And if the Slaughter Sect is willing to take us as valued guests, then I'll take them up on the offer, I'd rather rest there than here in the borders of the Red Sun's territory."
"Then so be it, the Herald already anticipated this, he is waiting for you two at the secret teleportation gate leading to the slaughter sect." she said.
"Teleportation gate? I didn't see that when I got here," I said.
"Because it's a secret teleportation gate," she grinned.
"Then why did he have to come riding out, instead of using the gate?" I asked as I was surprised that the Herald had arrived with a ride the first time.
"Because it is a one way gate…"
"Suspicious…"
She sighed, "It's a Very very very important person gate, and can only be used as an escape method to the main sect," she said.
"I see… so you're saying that the Red sun is your dad?"
She looked at me with eyes wide open, "How did you come to that… realization," she asked.
"Am I wrong?" I asked.
"Yes, and… no," she said.
"Huh, bastard child?" I asked.
"No, nothing like that, he's my adoptive father…" she said.
"I see. No wonder the entire Ant cave has that formation," I said.
"Formation?"
"In case you didn't notice, the map you've given me, the tunnels, the way they're carved and how they worm their way underground. Those are formations, protective ones that encompass the entierety of the Ant Cave. However, I don't know what the trigger for them is," I shrugged.
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