19: Chapter 19 The Spirit Pool Reaches its Bottom

Blood dripped onto the charred stone steps, steaming as it splattered.

The fragment of the red sword that Sect Master Di Kun had pulled out was clenched in his palm, its edge still biting into his flesh. As the mountain wind blew, the wound on his shoulder immediately bled anew.

Half of the Ancestral Hall had collapsed, with broken beams slanted into the dark pit. Corpse oil burned along the stone crevices, and tongues of fire licked over the shattered armor of the Red Snake Sect Cultivators inch by inch.

"Sect Master, let me bandage your wound first!"

Life-Skill Player raised his head from the edge of the pit, his face covered in ash, his sleeves stained with the blood of the enemy Cultivators.

He had just pressed a Red Snake Sect Cultivator into the mud to deliver the finishing blow, his short blade still dripping with blood. Seeing the gash on Sect Master Di Kun's shoulder, he immediately ran over, carrying half a jar of healing ointment.

Sect Master Di Kun did not take it immediately. His gaze drifted past the ruined courtyard toward the shadows beneath the withered pines at the foot of the mountain path.

The white talisman light had already vanished, leaving only a broken trail of blood smeared across the jagged rocks. If the escaping Inner Sect Disciple lived, the Red Snake Sect would receive news very soon.

The Sect Protection Elder retreated from the broken beam, his blade chipped from striking the stone. The scent of old herbs on him was soured by the smoke and fire; there was no relief on his face after the victory, only a heavy thud as he planted his blade into the ground.

"One got away." The Sect Protection Elder looked at the mountain path. "This one is more trouble than all those who died here."

Tower Defense Youth stood up, leaning against a beam, his hair singed at the ends. He reached up to touch it, his fingertips coming away with scorched ash. He grinned, wanting to curse, but his chest tightened, and he coughed until tears squeezed out.

"Forget about the trouble for now. Someone tell me, can we even call this mountain gate a mountain gate anymore?"

No one laughed.

Figures were everywhere in and around the ruined courtyard. Servants dragged wooden planks to extinguish the fires, and several Disciples sat at the base of the wall, their fingers trembling so much they couldn't even wrap their bandages. Those who had been shouting to charge earlier now sat down, their legs feeling as if the bones had been pulled out, unable to stand again.

Sect Master Di Kun tossed the red sword fragment into the fire at his feet; the iron piece was enveloped by tongues of flame, emitting a soft sound.

"Tally the losses."

Life-Skill Player shoved the healing ointment into his hand and turned around, shouting: "Bring all the medicine kits! Don't hide them! If anyone says they're fine again, drag them directly to me."

He squatted on a broken Formation Plate, using a piece of burnt charcoal as a pen to list the items on half a door panel. With every line he wrote, his brows furrowed deeper.

"We have less than twenty percent of the healing ointment left; we can only keep the severely injured alive for now. We're out of oil, not a drop left. Seventy percent of the beast tendons are broken; we have to pick through what can be salvaged. For wood and stone, we have to rely on tearing down the ruins. To repair the mountain gate enough to keep people out, it will take at least three days."

When Tower Defense Youth heard "three days," the rope knot in his hand dropped to the ground with a clatter.

"Three days? Is the Red Snake Sect giving us three days to hold our own funeral?"

Life-Skill Player looked up and glared at him: "Do you want to turn into wood yourself?"

Tower Defense Youth shut his mouth, bent down to pick up the rope knot, and wrapped the end of the rope around his fingers until it left red marks before stopping.

Sect Master Di Kun started walking toward the Spirit Pool. The movement tugged at the wound on his shoulder, and blood seeped from beneath the makeshift cloth. He patted a layer of healing ointment on, the medicinal scent stinging his nostrils. With every step, his boots crushed the charred remains.

The Spirit Pool was in a depression behind the Ancestral Hall. The originally light green pool water was now reduced to a shallow layer, so thin it looked washed away by rain. The original water line on the pool wall was exposed by half a foot, the white stone cracked and dry, with unspent spiritual light trapped in the fissures.

Dark Souls Youth leaned against a broken wall by the pool, his broken wooden sword resting across his knees. His knuckles still tightened and relaxed, as if he were still holding onto some invisible Move.

"I can still fight." He looked up, his lips pale and blue. "I made too many mistakes earlier, I hadn't memorized the route well enough, next time—"

Before he could finish, his head tilted to the side, and he slid down from the base of the wall.

The broken wooden sword clattered to the ground.

Life-Skill Player rushed over to check his pulse, his expression changing instantly: "His soul is overdrawn! Don't touch him! No one touch him!"

The two servants froze in place, their outstretched hands hanging in mid-air.

Sect Master Di Kun stood by the Spirit Pool, the pale silver mark on the back of his right hand suddenly heating up. The line of text at the edge of his vision, which had been obscured by smoke, emerged once again, swimming across like silver fish in cold water.

Sect Defense completion rate has increased significantly.

Sect Luck has recovered slightly.

Elementary Contribution Shop opened.

Spirit Pool reserves are insufficient; currently, it can only support one high-quality revival.

Sect Master Di Kun's gaze lingered on the last line.

One time.

These two words were colder than the wound on his shoulder. Dark Souls Youth lay on the ground, his chest rising and falling weakly, his ashen face reflected in the surface of the Spirit Pool. So-called immortals were never a costless joke. Every revival was gnawing at the roots of the Taichu Sect.

"Sect Master?" Life-Skill Player looked up. "He needs to be put into the pool to nourish his soul; otherwise, he'll be useless for half a day even after he wakes up."

Sect Master Di Kun nodded: "Put him in."

The two servants lifted Dark Souls Youth with the door panel, their footsteps very light. The edge of the door panel scraped against the stone steps, making a harsh sound. Dark Souls Youth's hand, which had been holding the sword, twitched but didn't grasp anything.

The Sect Protection Elder squatted beside the corpses of the enemy Cultivators, digging out their waist tokens and lining them up on the ground one by one. Red Snake patterns, Inner Sect bronze patterns, and Deacon seals were mixed in the bloody mud, becoming more jarring the more he lined them up.

"This wasn't an outer Sect harassment." The Sect Protection Elder pinched a cracked waist token, the scent of herbs rising from his sleeves. "The Red Snake Sect's inner Sect line has been compromised. With so many dead, this cannot be settled privately."

Speedrun Youth crawled out from the ruins of the side hall, clutching several talisman papers with burnt corners. He had a scrape on his face, but his eyes were bright.

"That one who ran away, even with those injuries, he used a life-saving talisman, so he definitely ran toward the main mountain. After he goes back, he won't say he came to devour our Sect; he will only say the Taichu Sect slaughtered fellow Cultivators."

Tower Defense Youth immediately chimed in: "Then the Sect Affairs Bureau will step in, the Red Snake Sect will wail in mourning, and we'll have to pay money, pay with our mountain, and pay with our lives."

"There's no need to guess whose Spirit Stones that bunch from the Sect Affairs Bureau eats." The Sect Protection Elder threw the waist tokens back on the ground. "They only recognize documents and witnesses. The survivor went back, and we have nothing but corpses here."

Sect Master Di Kun squatted down and retrieved the black bone nail from beside the Demon Mastiff's corpse. The bone nail was ice-cold to the touch, with tiny holes in the nail body, and a dark, fishy scent remained in the holes. He also dug out a small porcelain bottle from a Red Snake Sect Cultivator's Storage Pouch. Upon opening the bottle, pale yellow powder stained his fingertips; the fishy, sweet scent matched the aura inside the bone nail perfectly.

The Sect Protection Elder leaned in, his brows furrowing. "Beast Taming Powder."

Sect Master Di Kun placed the bone nail next to the porcelain bottle. When the two drew near, a faint black mist emerged from the holes in the bone nail, and the powder inside the porcelain bottle trembled in response.

Life-Skill Player watched this scene, his charcoal pen pausing: "The beast tide wasn't just passing through?"

Speedrun Youth cursed under his breath: "First they let the dogs bite the gate, then they come up the mountain to scavenge. This dungeon design by the Red Snake Sect is dirty enough."

Chuunibyou Youth walked from behind the crowd, his hem burnt with several holes, a crooked cloth strip tied around his forehead. He was holding several usable beast tendons in his arms and didn't even blink after hearing this.

"Then don't wait for them to start the second act." He tossed the beast tendons onto the ground. "Let's go chop up the author of the first act."

These words fell into the ruined courtyard, and even the servants who were moving corpses stopped.

Sect Master Di Kun did not reply. He looked down at the bone nail and the Beast Taming Powder, his fingertips tapping lightly on the rim of the porcelain bottle. The Red Snake Sect had a survivor, connections with the Sect Affairs Bureau, and the hidden line of the beast tide. The Taichu Sect had defended against one wave, then another, but the Spirit Pool was nearly drained, the ointment was almost exhausted, and half the mountain gate had collapsed.

If they continued to wait, the other side would come back, pressing down on them with rules, documents, and more people.

He capped the porcelain bottle and tucked it into his robes.

"Everyone rest for two hours." Sect Master Di Kun stood up, his voice rising over the sound of the fire. "Prioritize treating the severely injured. Dismantle all Materials that can be salvaged. Register the Magical Artifacts, Storage Pouches, and waist tokens from the enemy Cultivators separately. For those who won't survive, deliver the finishing blow; don't let them wake up."

Life-Skill Player immediately called people into groups, Tower Defense Youth dragged the scorched ropes to check the remnants of the traps, and Chuunibyou Youth turned around and grabbed two servants who were still trembling, forcing them to Move lumber.

The Sect Protection Elder looked at Sect Master Di Kun: "What are you going to do?"

Sect Master Di Kun picked up the Sect insignia from the corpses of several enemy Cultivators and walked toward the fire that hadn't yet died out in front of the Founders Hall.

He tore off the cloth badges with the Red Snake patterns one by one and threw them into the fire. Tongues of flame swallowed the fabric surface, and the snake patterns curled first, then turned into black ash. The waist tokens were collected separately, and the Magical Artifacts were sealed in bags. He kept what could serve as evidence and burned the traces that could attract official trouble.

The Sect Protection Elder's scabbard knocked against the stone floor. "You are cutting off your own retreat."

Sect Master Di Kun pressed the last Red Snake pattern badge into the fire, his fingertips reddened by the heat. "They cut it off first."

The Sect Protection Elder did not speak again. He looked down at the badge burning into ash, his fingers gripping his blade tightening, the old leather cord on the hilt stretching out of shape.

When night fell, the firelight of the Taichu Sect had not yet gone out.

Only half a door remained on the Sect Master's Hall; the other half had been dismantled to plug the gap in the mountain gate. Inside the hall sat a cracked long table, with a map held down at the four corners by stones, the bloodstains still not wiped clean. Sect Master Di Kun had changed into dry cloth to wrap his shoulder wound, his old sword leaning at his side, the scabbard stained with scorched ash.

The Sect Protection Elder, Life-Skill Player, Tower Defense Youth, Speedrun Youth, and Chuunibyou Youth had all arrived. Dark Souls Youth did not come; he had been placed beside the Spirit Pool to nourish his soul, his broken wooden sword resting by the pool like a post guarding its master.

The sound of the wind outside the hall passed through the broken tiles, making the candles on the table flicker.

Sect Master Di Kun's fingers rested on the edge of the map, tapping lightly twice.

"Tomorrow." He raised his eyes to look at everyone. "We won't defend the mountain anymore; we are going down the mountain to kill."

The Sect Protection Elder's hand stopped on his hilt, Life-Skill Player's charcoal pen tip tore through the door panel, the joke in Tower Defense Youth's mouth got stuck, and Speedrun Youth slowly pushed the waist tokens next to the map. The firelight from outside the hall crossed the threshold, shining at Sect Master Di Kun's feet, and the ashes rolled along the ground, shattering into finer black powder after hitting the tips of his boots.