Chương 77: Book 1 Epilogue - The Hidden Depths of the Gangho

Senior Acolyte Bae Seulgi of the Blood Cult steeled her will and knocked thrice on the imposing stone door. A moment later, it creaked open without any force or resistance, sliding smoothly open like a corpse into a grave. The young woman demurely strode into the room, making sure to keep her multi-irised eyes downcast. She just barely kept the six obsidian arms that jutted from her sides – which had earned her the dao-name 'Black Stone Spider of Kongtong' – from wrapping protectively around her torso.

"Lady Moon." Seulgi adjusted her red robes out as she got down on her knees and placed her head on the ground in kowtow. She shivered, not just from the cold of the Blood Cult's underground mausoleum, but from the aura of the woman before her.

"This one brings news of your pet." The room was small, but opulent. Black walls etched with screaming faces contorted in agony were contrasted by smooth golden pillars which flanked a long crimson carpet that ran up to a raised dais with a throne atop it. A translucent blood-coloured curtain hung before the throne, obscuring the person behind it from view. A pale red light emanating from behind the curtain left long shadows in its wake, while faint torchlight painted the wailing walls in ghostly ripples.

The shadowy figure sitting on the throne ran long-nailed fingers in a smooth scraping motion over the arm of her seat. A sweet, sultry voice said, "Speak, Acolyte."

"The grasswolf has been recovered. She's been severely injured, but is still alive." The kneeling woman's heart beat like a drum. While all she could see was a silhouette behind the curtain, she could still feel the Lady's gaze upon her. It stripped her bare and flensed her to the bones, laying her open to the Great Ones like one of the cult's sacrifices.

"Injured? Who would dare?"

"It was poison. Something new."

"Hmm…" The woman behind the curtain continued to scratch at the arm of her throne. The faint scritch of claws on wood echoing in the small space.

"Where did we set my little pet loose?" You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

"In western Nakjo. We suspect the Tangs, but our spies haven't reported anything."

"The Tangs…" Lady Moon mused.

"Is that old monster Tang Feng still alive?"

"Yes. Though he's entered closed-door cultivation."

"Trying to reach Nascent Soul again is he? I wish him luck!" Lady Moon let out a high-pitched, yet graceful trill of laughter.

"He's no Heavenly Demon!" The claws on wood sound gave away her irritation even as she laughed. Seulgi's head pounded as the vibrations washed against her dantian like waves breaking on the beach.

"Will my pet recover?" Lady Moon asked after a moment, a blade hidden in her words.

"The demonologists say yes, but she'll be greatly diminished." The nails on wood grew in pitch, and the gaze upon the young acolyte became a pick hammering into the back of her spine. There was a physical force to it now, an instrument of the Lady's displeasure. Blood began to seep out of Seulgi's eyes and ears from the shattering vibrations against her dantian.

"They say that if she ascends to Core level, the grasswolf matriarch may be able to recover and reach new heights through the Verdant Mother's grace," Seulgi gasped with the last of her strength.

"We've already prepared a thousand sacrifices, Lady Moon. They need only your approval to move forward and feed your pet the still-beating hearts." The fingernails on wood stopped, and Seulgi barely managed to keep from collapsing to the ground from the release of pressure. Lady Moon's tone was blessedly calm.

"Such exquisite pain, isn't it, Acolyte?"

"Thank you for blessing this unworthy one with a taste of the Dark Dreamer's power, Lady Moon," Seulgi said with utmost respect, prostrating herself upon the carpet.

"Tell the demonologists I will come soon to see their progress. Perhaps when they're done, I'll release my pet back into Nakjo," Lady Moon mused.

"Let her wreck vengeance on jagged stones, dirty horse herders, and wild beasts until she's satisfied. There isn't anything in those empty hills that can deal with a Core level demon."

"Yes Lady Moon," Seulgi slowly crawled backwards out of the room, never leaving kowtow. As she exited the door, she raised her head, catching just a glimpse of the silhouette behind the curtain. And of the bloody moon that hung in the air above the throne, filling the space with a red, eldritch light.