Upon entering, the rich aroma of meat gradually faded, replaced by a heavy scent of blood.
It was the pure smell of human blood.
Before them was another cave, which didn't appear as grotesque and disgusting as the flesh-and-blood cave they had just left; it was just an ordinary mountain cave.
Changqing raised his torch and first looked behind him.
The place he had entered was a wall made of flesh, covered in wrinkles and many protruding, wriggling small tendrils of flesh.
Around the opening he had squeezed through, several cord-like tubes extended, stretching deep into the cave.
Changqing followed those “umbilical cords.”
The umbilical cords eventually led to a massive Blood Pool.
The entire Blood Pool occupied most of the cave's space, almost as large as an entire Caiyun Chamber hall.
Eight pillars stood around the Blood Pool, with hundreds of silk of unknown material extending from each pillar.
These thousands of silk intertwined, weaving into a giant “spider web.”
And in the center of the spider web, a “prey” was trapped.
It was a woman.
To say “trapped” might not be entirely accurate; when Changqing's torch shone on her, the figure in the center of the spider web was almost entirely pierced by thousands of silk, hanging there.
She wore a blood-red robe, now tattered, her arms outstretched, fixed firmly in the posture of a victim.
Those silk not only passed through her limbs and body, but countless silk also pierced her neck, head, and cheeks.
She looked like a paper kite hung on a tree, having endured wind and rain, already riddled with holes.
Changqing leaned closer, and saw that the woman's face seemed to have been cast in molten iron, making her features completely indistinguishable; he could only see the somewhat corroded, decaying cast iron clinging to her face, covering her from her forehead to her eyes, and down to her cheeks.
Only her exposed mouth, with its red lips and white teeth, showed that her features were very delicate.
Her clothing was insufficient, with only a cascade of snow-white silver hair falling to cover her modesty.
Fresh blood continuously seeped from the silk piercing her body, slowly entering the Blood Pool at her feet, which was already deep enough to cover her calves.
The most bizarre thing was that there were no visible wounds on the woman's body; the places where the silk passed through merely had a hole, while the rest of her body was completely unharmed.
Her exposed skin was plump and delicate, as white as congealed fat, and seemed as if it could break with a touch.
The woman was extremely tall; Changqing, in this world, was still a sixteen or seventeen-year-old youth, probably around 1.75 meters tall.
Luo Hongyan was slightly shorter than him, already considered a relatively tall girl, but this woman was half a head taller than his current self, likely around 1.8 meters.
The woman's figure was also extremely perfect. Even though she was currently pierced by countless silk in a bizarre manner, she still inspired endless fantasies.
In this Hundred Flowers Cave, there were beautiful and seductive female demons everywhere, but Changqing had never seen anyone with such a perfect figure.
It was as if an enchanting devil had appeared in the world, every part of her body reaching a point where a bit more would be too much, and a bit less would be too little.
If Changqing were to describe this woman, he would say she seemed unreal, more like a proportion a painter would painstakingly imagine and carefully render, as it was exaggerated to the point of being unrealistic.
However, he knew he couldn't be deceived by her appearance; she was likely the Blood Arts cultivator he was searching for.
“Are you alright? How is it in there?”
Outside the cave, Luo Hongyan's slightly anxious voice could be heard.
“Come in, I found it.”
“Found what….” As soon as Changqing finished speaking, Luo Hongyan had already squeezed in, rushing to his side in a few steps.
Before she could finish her sentence, she stood there stunned, speechless, staring at the woman before them.
Changqing looked at Luo Hongyan with a hint of confusion, seeing her tremble slightly, and quickly placed a hand on her shoulder.
“Are you alright? What's wrong?”
Luo Hongyan finally managed to stop trembling, and pointed a hand at the woman before them, “Venerable… Venerable, there's no mistake, it's the Venerable…”
Changqing was somewhat puzzled, “What is a Venerable?”
“You don't know? Who helped you open your acupoints? I feel like you know nothing about cultivation.”
“I only know that Cultivators are divided into five great Realms: Suddenly, Moment, Qingke, instant, and Xuyu, and each Realm is divided into one to nine turns. I've never heard of any Venerable.”
Changqing was speaking the truth; his knowledge of cultivation in this world was pieced together from explorations over several lifetimes and hearsay from others.
“The pinnacle for Mortal Cultivators is the Xuyu Realm, but above Xuyu, there are three great Realms: Thousand Autumn, Haigu, and Tianhuang.”
“Even a strong Cultivator of the Xuyu Realm is just a Mortal; only upon reaching the Thousand Autumn Realm can one be called a Venerable.”
“Understood, so it's just more powerful than Xuyu, right?”
Changqing had no special regard for the Cultivators of this world; in his eyes, no matter how powerful a Cultivator was, they were merely ordinary people with great power, nothing to be surprised about.
“So, if it's just one Realm higher than Xuyu, why is it called a Venerable? Is there any essential difference between Thousand Autumn and Xuyu?”
Luo Hongyan shook her head.
“I'm not sure, I only know that legends say a Venerable seizes the creation of heaven and earth, possessing power that Mortals cannot rival. In the face of Venerable-level battles, the number of Cultivators becomes meaningless; even Xuyu Cultivators are merely ants.”
Changqing scoffed.
“So, how is this one here imprisoned by ants? Oh right, Liu Lu isn't even Xuyu, she's only instant, even less than an ant.”
“Presumptuous.”
Suddenly, a majestic female voice resonated in their ears.
Instantly, both felt as if they had fallen into an ice cellar.
The voice carried boundless majesty, as if it didn't come from their ears, but vibrated directly from their hearts and lungs, entering their minds. Even Changqing couldn't help but feel his spirit tremble.
“Where do these little brats come from, daring to speak ill of this Venerable.”
The woman's voice carried a biting chill, making Changqing truly feel a shiver down his spine.
If Leng Mei among the Four Guardians was merely outwardly cold, then this woman's coldness permeated to the bone; even when trapped in such a plight, she remained incredibly arrogant, her voice like ten thousand years of cold ice.
Considering the woman's appearance, the term “cold and alluring” suited her best.
“Kneel.”
With just two words from the woman, Luo Hongyan's body collapsed to the ground.
Although Changqing tried his best to resist, he could only barely stand. The pressure the woman exerted on him was immense, a feeling he had never experienced before.
Even if he hadn't fully understood the power of a Venerable before, at this Moment, he finally dared not underestimate her.
At the very least, he had never felt such tangible pressure from the Four Guardians or Liu Lu.
Yet, a Venerable, trapped in a Blood Pool for an unknown number of years, gave him this feeling.
Although the woman had no eyes, she seemed to sense everything around her. Seeing that Changqing hadn't knelt, the woman said with some interest.
“Even the Qingke Realm girl beside you has knelt, yet you, a mere Suddenly Realm, can still stand here. Interesting. It seems you are a person of extraordinary will.”
“You two are from the Human Race, not those evil demons. How did you find this place?”
Changqing helped Luo Hongyan up, wiped the blood from her scraped knee, and stared at the woman with resentment, his voice neither humble nor arrogant.
“You introduce yourself first, then we can talk.”
The woman was not annoyed; it seemed the pressure she had exerted on them earlier was merely a test, and now she was more interested in the two.
“This Venerable's name is Dan Ji, and my title is Beyond, a Thousand Autumn Venerable.”
“You may call me, Beyond Evil Sovereign.”