79 Altemuller
[Scattering Smoke Steps!]
Van's body flickered. He appeared only a metre away from the flying crystal.
The burning object collided with Van's palm and immediately sank into his flesh. Immense pain radiated from his palm. Van's blood turned molten and his skin began to sizzle.
Van screamed. He was cooking from the inside out!
Time slowed.
Van's hair slowly started to turn red at the tips. A moment later, his black locks had turned a crimson shade reminiscent of a bloody sunset.
The fire within his blood enveloped the red crystal. The power from the crystal melted into Van's bloodstream. His pain lessened.
Van circulated his qi. His spiritual power had doubled in quantity just like that!
[Congratulations on absorbing your first Blood Flame, kid!] Jet said, pleased.
[With the addition of the Blood Flame, my strength is on par with a 7th level Qi Distillation Cultivator! However, this won't be enough. The strange man in front of me is in the 8th level of Qi Distillation…]
A dark red flame appeared in his mindscape. It was the Tri-Divine Blood Flame. It emitted a bloody aura that stung the nose. Jet floated closer to it.
[Not bad. The Tri-Divine Blood Flame seems to be able to increase life essence. Those who are on the verge of dying may be renewed, and those who are being infected by demonic energy may survive if they are sustained by the blood flame… it is much sought after, as it can resurrect a person within three seconds of them dying.]
"What?!"
Van was astonished in the ability of the Tri-Divine Blood Flame.
Due to the removal of the Tri-Divine Blood Flame crystal from the dais, the bloody aura in the air of the chamber diminished by half. Van saw the large red veins criss-crossing the ground start to blacken and shrivel away.
The emaciated man saw the veins blacken and felt hatred sink into his bones. He turned his ice blue eyes to Van, they were filled with a bright, manic hatred.
"How dare you!" The emaciated man shouted. Without the power of the blood ritual, the demonic eggs within the nurseries would die. His demon army would not come to fruition!
His army would not hatch... but he still had soldiers!
The man bellowed, "My children. My little experiments, free yourselves from your human shackles. Come to your Master!"
Rattle.
Horrified screams filled the air.
"What is happening?"
"Cyrus, Cyrus! Snap out of it – ah!"
"Why are they attacking us!?"
"They're being controlled. It's not them anymore. Kill them with no mercy!"
Two bloody figures emerged from the cages around the dais.
Van immediately paled. He recognised two of them.
"Synthia?"
The figure on the left was a slender woman with elegant features. However, now, her eyes were a blood red and her movements eerie and unnatural.
Beside her stood Cyrus. His appearance was thinner than before, but the rest shared similarities with Synthia's state.
Van turned to the emaciated man, "What have you done to them!?"
The emaciated man chuckled, "Don't you like the effect? All I did was plant a little demon inside their brains and look how they've turned out! When I'm not controlling the demon, they appear and behave as if everything were fine. Apart from the occasional dizziness and hallucinations…When I activate the demon inside them they would kill all their friends and loved ones if I ordered them to!"
The emaciated man laughed, "Sadly my little experiment only worked on the stronger cultivators, so I had to use the rest as a blood supply for my demon army."
Alarm bells rang inside Van's head. He thought about the strange things he had experienced and discovered over the past month. The jigsaw pieces began to come together.
[… they experience dizziness and hallucinations…he can control them using a demon they planted in their brains… the original mission was cancelled…]
Van felt his stomach turn cold.
[This is bad. Very bad.]
[The disciples that undertook the original mission also experienced memory loss and hallucinations… If they went back to their sects suspecting nothing…]
[Countless sects have now been infiltrated by demons!]
Van felt cold down to his bones. This was no longer a small issue. He needed to make it out of here alive and inform the Sect Master right away!
"Why are you doing this?" Van demanded.
The emaciated man spread his arms and proclaimed grandly, "What is my purpose? Hahahahahaha! Why, to eliminate humans from the Divine River realm, of course! You have stolen the Tri-Divine Blood Flame from me… If I do not kill you, my name is not Altemuller!"
"Altemuller?" In the distance, Delphine was puzzled, "Why does this name sound so familiar?"
Altemuller spread his pale fingers, "My children! Kill him and retrieve the Tri-Divine Blood Flame for me!"
The two demon-puppets made from Synthia and Cyrus leapt forwards, snarling.
Demon-Synthia arrived first. Her expression was vicious and ugly, black claws extended from her fingertips.
Van flickered several steps away and Synthia followed. Slowly, he pulled her away from Cyrus.
Van coldly instructed his teammates, "You guys must hold Cyrus here. It doesn't matter if he dies. In fact, if you can kill him, that's even better. I will deal with Synthia and Blackie will hold off Altemuller!"
Delphine nodded sharply, "Yes, team leader!"
Ryan tapped his silver mask, "It would be my pleasure to kill this bastard." Ryan still remembered his humiliation the other day when he was kicked off the back of the great snowy transport beast.
Cyrus attacked.
Blackie howled and rushed towards the white-haired Altemuller.
Van continued to dance around the silent Synthia. She pursued him doggedly despite his constant use of 'Scattering Smoke Steps."
Synthia was someone Van didn't hold a grudge against. She had been instrumental to them being able to enter the Ice Caves in the first place.
As he watched her, her expressions flickered rapidly. Sometimes she looked confused and lost, at other moments vicious and bloodthirsty.
Van was suddenly reminded of Elder Lang.
[The symptoms are the same. He must have participated in this mission in the past… the Cedar Sect has also been corrupted!]
[I must return to the sect and inform the Sect Master. All of Cloud River is in danger!]
Synthia lifted her flute to her lips and blew a devilish melody.
Van immediately felt his mind grow blurry. Very quickly, his movements became jerky and unnatural.
Synthia changed her tune and barbs of spiritual power stabbed at Van.
[Fuck!]
He stumbled, unable to dodge the barbs with his movement skill compromised.
Van felt a sharp pain in his abdomen and spat blood. The dark red liquid splattered against the cold blue ice floor.
Synthia's vicious expression turned bewildered. She looked at the blood on the ground.
Van saw a chance and shouted, "Synthia. Wake up! Don't let the demon control you!"
He grabbed her by the shoulders and shook her.
Synthia looked at him with her blood-red eyes. Her facial muscles spasmed. She was clearly warring with herself.
"You must fight against its control. The man who planted it within your mind killed your fellow disciples and fed them to grow his demon army. Do not let yourself become a puppet!"
Synthia emitted a tortured growl. At the same time, her hands flashed outwards and grabbed Van by the throat. A killing intent leaked out from her. However, her hands did not apply pressure.
Van bit his lip and grabbed her wrist.
[I must shock her into reacting!]
He channelled his fleshly power and snapped her wrist. Synthia howled piteously. As her screaming died down, Van saw a spark of clarity return to her eyes.
"V-Van?" Synthia said weakly, "What is happening? What am I doing here?"
Van shook his head, "There is no time to explain. You were being controlled by Altemuller to kill your fellow disciples. If we don't kill him now more will die – I need your assistance."
Synthia's eyes flashed.
'Very well," she said, "but how will we kill him? His cultivation is higher than ours and his skills have not been fully displayed yet."
Van turned back to the fight. He saw that Cyrus was slowly being weakened and whittled down by troop. Blackie was injured, but still viciously attacking Altemuller, who was unable to kill the wolf due to Blackie's regenerative ability.
"We only have one chance for this plan to work. If we fail, we will be first to die."
Synthia looked carefully at Van.
"Tell me."
