Others must have heard the scream too for Ming Yue came into contact with three other groups. Furthermore, the Six Pillars and Xuan Yin had also come. A total of 22 cultivators moved together. Some looked quite shady while other were amicable but all of them were a bit curious as to where that scream originated from. Their combined power made it easier to traverse the crimson land.
Twenty minutes of running led them to a dead body, bloody and mutilated. It was like a pack of animals feasted on this poor soul's body.
"What could've done this?" some of them looked away, others paled at the sight.
It was a sight beyond sickening.
As they continued on, they spotted another body mutilated in the same fashion.
Ming Yue recognized him, it was the servant of that haughty young master!
This time, his face was untouched and it showed an expression of great fear and shock, his eyes wide open and mouth gaping wide.
What exactly could have caused this?
Was there some sort of internal strife or a powerful creature?
Deeper into the Bloody Plains, they heard another shriek different from before but equally terrifying.
More and more people joined the group, searching around. Everyone here had come to train in peace, if there was trouble at hand, then it must be dealt with swiftly. If not, then the next to die could be one of them.
In mere minutes, they had caught up with Lei Jiang's group who were resting and recovering.
Noticing the group of people, he looked at them with a bit of confusion, his group followed his actions, looking confused.
"Is something the matter?" he asked.
"Did you not hear the screams?" one of the cultivators said, "Loud enough to hear from even outside the plains."
"Screams? What screams? We've heard nothing", one of Lei Jiang's members, Hai Tian answered.
"But that's impossible! We even found two dead bodies not far from here. Surely you must have noticed something?"
"What? How could this be? We have seen nothing."
Lei Jiang's group made a quick decision to join them, searching around. By then, the sun was setting and the night came along. After walking for several hours, some were beginning to doubt even themselves. Perhaps they had stayed in the Bloody Plains for too long and their mental state had been compromised.
"Look! Over there!" one of them shouted out, pointing off into a distance.
They quickly ran up and found another body but this person was still alive! Everyone recognized her as one of the disciples from Clear Spring Mountain. Her eyes slowly opened and looked around in confusion before desperation began to settle.
"Please help me! Save my senior sisters! They've been attacked by a revenant!" she spoke quickly, attempting to stand up and run back.
"Hold on girl, tell us what happened first!"
She took in a deep breath and began to recount the events. She and her fellow disciples were on a mission to temper themselves but they were also given the task of refining the blood energy within this domain. The night before, the haughty young master from before had run towards them, nearly pissing his pants. Only then did we realize that we were being followed by something. That thing was a revenant but it was not a normal one, her senior sister had called it a "Violet Revenant".
Their group tried to fend off the revenant but were being suppressed. She was instructed to flee and find help. Exhausted and mentally strained, she collapsed here.
Hearing her story, the more experienced cultivators sucked in a cold breath.
"A Violet Revenant. This is both a good thing and a bad thing."
Ming Yue along with several others were confused. What good thing can come out of a creature this vicious.
Seeing their confusion, it was quickly explained.
"A Revenant is another monster born from the Bloody Plains but they were on another level. If fiends and wraiths were made from the lingering resentment of warriors. Revenants were born from the dead bodies of heroes, powerful cultivators who once roamed the world. Very few have ever seen them but those who have say that these revenants are the key to a secret realm within the plains. A hidden tempering ground filled with the marks of many fearsome battles, one could learn numerous insights from such things. This is a risk but the opportunities outweigh such things. A violet one is a sign that it is an existence that has been around for hundreds of years."
At this point, Hai Tian spoke up.
"In the past, the Bloody Plains was where many battles from the Warlord Age took place. It was both a chaotic time as well as an era where power and strength towered over everything else. Everyone sought ways to strengthen themselves, a time of great bloodshed but a time where powerful fighters emerged. Examining the ways they fight would be an opportunity of a lifetime."
"Still for you to have not heard a sound is strange", someone quickly pointed out.
"Not necessarily, with revenants, they may have some sort special ability. In this case, this one may be capable of silencing themselves. All of you must have been outside of its effective range."
"That is certainly plausible. Now that we know what has happened, who wants to return and who wants to march forward?"
Everyone came to a consensus after discussing among themselves. Some chose to return while others stayed and continued to move through the night, searching for the remaining disciples of Clear Spring Mountain.
Under the bright moon, they spotted tracks, following them into a small cave. It was obscure and well hidden, covered by brush and branches.
"This might be where they escaped too!"
They entered it, holding some treasures that lighted the way.
The deeper they entered, the cleaner it began to look. The wall slowly became smooth and pristine, as if carved and sanded.
"Wait, this is no mere cave. This is... an entrance!" one of them exclaimed.
Excitement began to grow within them, at the same time there was a sense of dread. They walked and walked, an hour or so passed but there was no end in sight.
Suddenly, Xuan Yin slowly moved towards Ming Yue and the Six Pillars, leaning closer to their ears.
"Be careful, we're reaching the end", she whispered, gripping her bow tightly.
The rest of them found her behavior strange but chose to trust her, readying their weapons.
The sounds of battle began to grow louder, everyone started to get tense. The entrance grew closer and closer until they reached the end, exiting this seemingly endless hallway.
What they saw was nothing short of incredible, a great hall filled with statues and stone steles. They marveled at the sight, it was enormous hundreds upon hundreds covered the land. After admiring the sight, one of the cultivators broke from his stupor and pointed outwards.
"Look its the revenant and those disciples, that young master is also there! But they aren't fighting!" he shouted.
Everyone else followed his fingers, staring at the group. Rather than fighting the revenant, it was as if the revenant was guarding them!
The revenant must have heard them for it turned its head and stared at them. At this moment, all of them felt chills. They all understood why a violet revenant was so special. It was the eyes, a bright violet color glowed from its eyes. It carried an invisible power, like a bottomless ocean, calm yet ready to explode.
It scanned them, looking at everyone of them. Its eyes seemed to have looked into the very mind and soul. Minutes later, it pointed out several times, picking Xuan Yin, Lei Jiang, and Ming Yue.
"You may enter."