The Alliance Leader let out a smile of unknown meaning.“I do not know. Whether those people entered targeting Young Lady Tang, or entered targeting you and then took Young Lady Tang along the way, I cannot say. Young Lady Tang told me nothing. I was the only one talking by myself.”Soon the Alliance Leader stopped walking. Tang Hak froze in place, but the Alliance Leader focused only on what he was doing. He brushed the empty air in the middle of the barren field. Before long, the empty space split apart, and as before, a crack formed.“This is no time for leisure, so do not let your thoughts wander.”Saying that, the Alliance Leader crossed the formation at once. He had said the gate would close in half a gak. The party did not delay and ran after the Alliance Leader.They crossed through the Passage several times like that.And when the Alliance Leader opened the final Passage, everyone lost their words at the sight of the sun pouring down over a sand dune.The Alliance Leader turned and looked at those who had followed him. Unable to ignore the dark faces of the Tang Clan, the Alliance Leader spoke.“If Young Lady Tang is as clever as Heukcheon Amgui said, then she must know that she herself is not the Blood Cult’s target. However, when one is seized by fear, one cannot see what lies around them. Only the temptation before their eyes will feel like their sole chance.”The Alliance Leader crossed the formation first.“Let us stop her before the fear-stricken Young Lady Tang crosses the line. She might burn through even the Blood Demon’s patience and end up torn limb from limb.”While the Alliance Leader was finishing his words, the Tang Clan had already entered the formation. The others followed after. The last one in, a young warrior of the Zhuge family, leapt up and screamed.“Ugh, hot!”The sun-baked sand felt like burning embers.The Alliance Leader spoke in a stern voice. “From here on, you must not make a fuss. Walk carefully, without a trace, like ants.”“Huh?”The Zhuge warriors, who would rather have run quickly to escape the sand, wore vacant expressions.The Alliance Leader began to move first. His calloused feet did not feel much of the heat. Moreover, he was so lost in thought that he had no room to feel pain.The Tang Sohwa he faced now was different from the Master of Ten Thousand Poisons and Cures in his memory. The woman of the past had been so devoid of emotion that she seemed incapable of compassion and used others without hesitation.She had been selfish and venomous, and the Alliance Leader had disliked that Master of Ten Thousand Poisons and Cures. Though she bore the Tang name, he had considered Tang Sohwa to be of the Blood Demon’s bloodline. That woman had always resonated more with the Blood Cult—in thought and in action both.A fine line formed between the Alliance Leader’s brows.That Tang Sohwa, who had once been so rational, now losing her composure and acting so recklessly, was his own fault. It seemed that the truth had stirred her anxiety.The Alliance Leader regretted having revealed the truth to her so easily.If the Tang Sohwa of this life were to die inside the Blood Cult’s lair, she would die in the most agonizing way possible.He had told her the truth so she would not waste dozens of lives trying to find it through suffering, yet he had never imagined that goodwill would return as such a result.'I should never have interfered from the start.'But now regret was useless.Suppressing his guilt, the Alliance Leader stepped painfully across the burning sand.After a long while, when even their groans had dried up and vanished, the Alliance Leader stopped walking atop a sand dune.There was a massive shadow in the sandy basin below, like the shadow of a fortress wall.Heukcheon Amgui broke the silence and asked, “Is that the Blood Demon’s dwelling?”The Alliance Leader nodded. “It’s better that we came to the Golden Mountain. Though the soles of our feet are hot, at least if we fall or roll off a cliff we won’t be injured. If we had come to the Silver Mountain instead, the ice might have torn our skin.”Making a joke no one could understand, the Alliance Leader took something out of his robe. It was an extremely thin cloth pouch, as delicate as a dragonfly’s wing, and three rings.He stuffed the pouch into a tiny ring small enough to fit only a baby’s finger. The pouch, tied tight around the ring’s edge, looked ridiculous, like it had a waistband around its middle.“What are you doing?”“My nature is kind. I am preparing so that you all can keep proper track of time.”Answering Heukcheon Amgui’s question, the Alliance Leader scooped sand into the pouch.Because the middle was tightly sealed, only half of it filled.Ssshh.No, the sand from the upper chamber began to trickle slowly down into the lower.“It takes about one quarter of an hour for all the sand to fall.”The Alliance Leader tied off the top of the pouch and sealed it completely.He fastened one pouch to his own belt and handed the other two to Zhuge Inhwi and Zhuge Cheonyu.“The Zhuge family is famous for keeping time like a blade, so the two of you will share them.”“Is this really necessary?”At Zhuge Inhwi’s question, the Alliance Leader gave a small °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° laugh. “Inside there, time is life. I am entrusting my life to you right now.”Hearing that, Zhuge Inhwi had no choice but to fasten that absurd sand pouch to his belt. Zhuge Cheonyu, needless to say, did the same, checking several times with a tense face to make sure it was secured properly.“Now then, let’s go. On the way down, there will be no sound, so you can run fast.”No sooner had he finished speaking than the Alliance Leader ran down the steep dune. His movement was smooth, flowing like water down a stream—only the speed betrayed how fast he truly was.The group had long since given up on demanding explanations from the Alliance Leader. They followed him down the sand path as he grew distant ahead.Fortunately, their footsteps made no sound, buried under the sand.Before long, the shadows of Central Plains warriors infiltrating the Golden and Silver Mountains were all swallowed within the shadow of the fortress wall.***“Is this also some kind of formation?”One of the Zhuge warriors reached out and grasped a leaf. The smooth texture spread across his fingertips. It was not an illusion.A sound of pure admiration escaped, free of fear.“It doesn’t seem to be an illusion, but having trees like this in a desert makes no sense, does it?”The Zhuge warriors were fascinated by the Blood Demon’s mysterious domain.If such a space could be created, then no matter how skilled an enemy might be, they could easily be defeated. Once trapped inside, escape would be impossible.“Alliance Leader.”Heukcheon Amgui called out to the Alliance Leader walking ahead.“That thing you placed against the air earlier—what was it?”Tang Min paid more attention to the Alliance Leader’s object than to the illusions around them.Heukcheon Amgui’s question drew the whole party’s interest.Honestly, it was unsettling. The Alliance Leader knew far too much about the Blood Cult. He even had the key to enter the Blood Cult’s dwelling.“I made it just in case it might be needed. Ah, you are asking something more fundamental? If you mean to ask how I know of this place, I cannot answer.”“I’m beginning to doubt whether you are truly the Alliance Leader or a Blood Cult bastard wearing a human-skin mask.”When Heukcheon Amgui sneered, the Alliance Leader laughed. “Would you believe me if I peeled off my face and showed it to you?”“……”“I do not blame you for not believing. I would doubt too if I were you.”The Alliance Leader turned his head to look at Heukcheon Amgui.“But right now, there is no other way, is there? Seeing how your temperament hasn’t yet made you grab my hair and shout for me to show my true face, I take it you have decided to trust me for now. Keep that trust until the end.”Heukcheon Amgui asked in an even more uneasy voice, “And how do you know my temperament so well? Are you spying on the good members of the Alliance headquarters?”The Taeguk Sword Sovereign clicked his tongue. “Good members, you say? Where did you throw away your conscience, then?”Tang Min was about to retort when the Alliance Leader walking ahead stopped.“I will now explain the plan to retrieve Young Lady Tang. Come here.”The Alliance Leader stood beside a massive tree and untied the scabbard from his waist.He laid the scabbard on the ground and drew a diagram in the dirt.A round fan-shaped triangle appeared on the black soil. The Alliance Leader pressed the tip at the center of the curved line and spoke.“The middle of this arc is the central gate. It connects to the Blood Demon’s pavilion.”He tapped both ends of the fan shape with his sword.“And on the two ends are the east and west gates.”The Alliance Leader lifted his gaze to the group of warriors.“At the east and west gates reside the Blood Demon’s most cherished elite units. Since the leaders of those two elite forces have gone to the Central Plains with their chosen men, behind those gates there will be only small fry—two hundred, at most five hundred. Looking at it again, we are truly fortunate.”Wu So showed his displeasure. “The Blood Demon’s elite are in the Central Plains, and you call that good fortune?”The Alliance Leader smiled. “It may be disaster for the Central Plains, but it increases our chances of returning alive from here, so for now we can call it good fortune, can we not?”A moment of silence followed. It was far from a positive atmosphere. The Alliance Leader, as if unwilling to waste any more time, spoke immediately.“However, it is only half good fortune. My guess is that the West Gate’s leader personally brought Young Lady Tang to the Blood Demon. For someone to have the guts to infiltrate the Martial Alliance headquarters and touch a direct descendant, that person must be at least of Division Head level. So it is likely the West Gate leader has already returned.”“Then you mean this place is dangerous after all?”The Taeguk Sword Sovereign showed concern and glanced at the younger warriors. Wu So also wore a grave expression.The Alliance Leader remained composed despite their worries. Even if things went wrong, these older warriors would risk their lives to protect the younger generation and let them escape. He had already seen them act that way before.With a light tone, he cut through their unease.“Even so, there is no need to worry. I have a way for everyone to return safely without anyone dying.”“What is it?”“While you act as bait and draw their attention, I will enter the Blood Demon’s pavilion myself.”

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