9 Chapter 9: Reed's Plans

As Jason and his master walked down the hallway, Jason's suspicions grew stronger and stronger. He was currently walking in a long corridor. Prior to this, they had already passed through countless such corridors. These corridors did not have a single window. It was mostly dark and was illuminated by faint red orbs placed along the walls of the corridor. They had been walking for about half an hour now, and even though Jason constantly kept looking around, he had yet to see another person.

"Master, why is there no one around? Where have all the people in the sect gone? "asked Jason.

Reed was startled by this sudden question.

"Ah, well, if I remember correctly, there is a Martial Arts tournament going on in the, err, Eternal Darkness sect. They all should have gone there to attend the tournament. Yes, everyone in the sect has gone there. This time our Skull Marked Sect shall definitely take the first place from those imbeciles. Humph!" Reed puffed out his chest in pride, as if satisfied by his answer.

This made Jason even more suspicious. A Martial Arts tournament? Then why is Ralph, the head of the core disciples, still here? Why is this old man not hurrying to guide his disciples? Is he not concerned about the results of the competition?

And again, did a Martial Arts tournament require an entire sect to go there in the first place?

As Jason was thinking about all these things, his attention suddenly turned towards the old man who had apparently stopped in front of a large door.

"What's wrong, Master?" Jason asked.

"Huh, I was just thinking about which room I should give to you. Now that I think about it, all the rooms that are available are really messy as they have been lying vacant and unkempt for a long time. Why don't we do this? You go and take a bath first as I get your room ready for you?"

"Ah, please don't trouble yourself, Master. I can clean up my own room. Please don't worry about such a thing. "Jason said in an animated manner.

"How can this be? Boy, listen to your master. Come, I will show you to the baths. I am sure you would enjoy it." Reed replied in a firm, irrefutable manner as he started walking towards the left of the large door. Jason just shook his head and started following him again.

Soon they arrived at the bath. It was a huge bath that was pretty similar to the hot springs present on Earth. There was also a separate area to soap and wash the body. The water also seemed to be of the perfect temperature.

"Enjoy your bath here. Don't worry about anything else. I shall get your room ready for you as soon as possible. Don't worry about a change of clothing, I shall ask someone to get you some soon and have it left near the entrance." said Reed as he took his leave

Jason kept staring at the old man's back till he took a turn and was out of sight.

'Ah, what should I do?' Jason sighed inwardly as he entered the hot spring. At this point in time, his mind was in a complete mess. For him, initially, it was supposed to be a lifetime dream come true. Now, he was starting to have second thoughts.

'The worst part of this entire thing is that right now, I am completely powerless to do anything against this old man. It is not like if I suddenly tell him that I have no wish to cultivate, he would just take me back to earth. Sigh, just how do I get out of this mess?'

While Jason was lost in his thoughts, Reed was having a meeting with several hooded persons, including the one he had called Ralph. It seemed as if all the hooded men revered Reed greatly and were listening attentively to his words. Reed was explaining to them about Jason's circumstances.

"The boy that I have brought is very important for our plans in taking over the Myosia Continent. Even though he is still a mortal, his soul contains such pure soul energy that it is comparable to a Divine Saint Emperor. With that much soul energy, it would be possible to directly summon the Skull Lord to this plane for one full day. Those damned humans will have absolutely no chance to withstand the Skull Lord's invasion once he arrives. Hahaha," Reed laughed heartily.

"Liaison, just how powerful is a Divine Saint Emperor? I do not have much knowledge about the cultivation stages in the human world." asked one of the hooded monks.

"Number 3, a Divine Saint Emperor is at the peak of Human Cultivation in the lower planes. In terms of battle prowess, a Divine Saint Emperor would be a little stronger than me," replied Reed.

"What? His soul energy is stronger than that of yours? How is this possible, Liaison? Isn't he just a mortal from one of the lowest planes of existence?" exclaimed the hooded man who was referred to as number three.

"Indeed, that seems to be the case. Why else do you think was he able to resist the Skull Lord's invasion into his soul in the first place? Also, if that damn Myosia Continent did not have 3 Divine Saint Emperors, wouldn't we have had already taken over that stupid place?"

"Anyways, once the Skull Lord materializes, it doesn't matter if they have three or thirty, they will all be wiped out. Hahaha. "Reed laughed out again.

"But Master, what if those humans had their own method to call a True God like our Skull Lord. Wouldn't that thwart our plans? We must plan everything carefully. Just in case we are defeated, there would be no second chance." The hooded man whom Reed had previously addressed as Ralph pointed out.

"Number 1, do you think that physically summoning a True God from the Plane of Gods is easy? Apart from extremely pure soul energy in high quantities, they require a lot of sacrifices. After all, True Gods are not allowed on this plane. When we forcefully summon them, we are breaking a lot of Universal Laws, which is only possible through many formations and arrays that require a lot of blood sacrifices. I don't think that those soft-hearted humans would be able to do something like that." Reed explained.

"Ah I understand now," Number 1 nodded.

"Good. Now listen up. Do not let the boy find out anything suspicious. It is fine if he is suspicious in his mind, but do not let him find out any evidence. For the time being, stop all the activities related to the Skull Lord and make it look as if this were a real sect that those humans have. Number 1, I shall leave all the arrangements to you."

"As you command, Liaison" bowed Number 1.

"Liaison?" asked Reed in an annoyed tone.

"Master, I mean Master" cried Number 1 as he bowed repeatedly, admitting his mistake.

"Good, all of you can leave now. Remember, if anything goes out of the plan, that person's cultivation shall be destroyed and he shall be thrown out into the human world. Keep that in mind" Reed said in a very serious manner.

"Yes, Master" Everyone bowed as they silently left the hall, leaving Reed all alone.

'Now I just need to talk to that brat. Hope she won't cause trouble for me.' Reed thought silently.