Even King Yama himself has to take a detour

After clearing out the swarm of centipedes, Han Yang noticed that the red bridal gowns worn by the "brides" all shared the exact same embroidered pattern—a bizarre and ominous black mandala flower.

"Hu Mei'er, do you recognize this pattern?" Han Yang asked.

Hu Mei'er examined it closely, and her expression changed drastically. "This is the emblem of the Black Lotus Cult! They... these are all young women who were captured by the Black Lotus Cult!"

"The Black Lotus Cult?" Han Yang furrowed his brows. "It seems these centipedes and 'brides' are both the evil sorcery of the Black Lotus Cult!"

"The Black Lotus Cult is notorious, specializing in abducting women to practice evil arts through extremely cruel means!" Hu Mei'er said, gritting her teeth.

"Young Master, we must bring them to justice!"

Han Yang paused for a moment and then asked, "Where is the headquarters of this Black Lotus Cult?"

Hu Mei'er pointed straight ahead. "It is just up ahead at the Blood Lotus Peak!"

"Good! Let's go see what this Black Lotus Cult is all about!"

With a sweep of his golden wings, Han Yang took the lead and flew toward Blood Lotus Peak.

He glanced at his system panel.

[Level: Level 8]
[Beast Power: 3.5 million / 50 million]
[Current Cultivation: 10,500 years]
[Cultivation Growth Rate: 0.01 years/s]
[Talents: Truth-Seeing Golden Eyes, Golden Roc Wings, Demon Lord's Body (Enhanced), Taotie's Soul (Enhanced), Miraculous Shadow Clone, Dragon Breath]

The others followed closely behind, rushing forward at full speed.

Blood Lotus Peak lived up to its name; the entire mountain presented a bizarre, blood-red hue.

The peak was shrouded in a thick, eerie, and horrifying layer of blood mist. As soon as they approached the base of the mountain, a foul stench hit them directly in the face.

"Ugh..." Zhu Ganglie couldn't help but retch. "What is this smell? It's damn disgusting!"

"Be careful. There is definitely something fishy about this place," Han Yang said in a deep voice, activating his Truth-Seeing Golden Eyes to scan the surrounding environment.

Suddenly, his expression shifted. He pointed toward a concealed cave ahead and said, "There! It looks like there is something inside!"

Following the direction Han Yang pointed, the group saw a blood-red statue standing prominently at the entrance of the cave.

The statue depicted an enchanting and seductive woman holding a blooming black lotus flower in her hands.

Just then, the statue's eyes suddenly flew open, shooting out two beams of crimson light straight toward Han Yang!

The blood-red beams crashed against Han Yang's protective golden barrier, stirring up ripples like pebbles tossed into a calm lake.

The light dissipated, leaving Han Yang completely unharmed, though his protective golden barrier dimmed slightly.

He narrowed his eyes, studying the seductive female statue. Golden light swirled within his Truth-Seeing Golden Eyes as he tried to pierce through its mysteries.

"Interesting." Han Yang grinned, revealing a flash of white teeth. "It seems this Black Lotus Cult isn't just a bunch of good-for-nothings who only know how to capture women."

"Boss, this woman's statue is freakishly creepy. It's giving me the chills!" Zhu Ganglie hid behind Han Yang, his sturdy body trembling slightly, unsure whether from fear or disgust.

"Shut up, you dead pig!" Bai Suzhen glanced at Zhu Ganglie with utter disdain. "You're the only coward here!"

"Hiss... hiss..." The horned dragon flickered its forked tongue, its massive serpentine pupils locked onto the statue as it sensed an unsettling aura.

"This statue must be some kind of early warning mechanism," Han Yang mused. "Since we triggered it, the people of the Black Lotus Cult will know we're here very soon."

"What are we waiting for, then? Let's smash it to pieces!" Zhu Ganglie declared, raising his muckrake, but Han Yang stopped him with a grab.

"You idiot! Do you want to lure the entire Black Lotus Cult over here?" Han Yang scolded irritably. "Let's assess the situation first. There are definitely other traps hidden around Blood Lotus Peak."

As soon as he finished speaking, countless crimson runes suddenly lit up along the stone walls surrounding the cave, and a powerful wave of oppressive force emanated from within.

"Holy crap! What is that?!" Zhu Ganglie jumped in fright, diving behind the horned dragon.

"Young Master..." Bai Suzhen turned pale, tightly gripping Han Yang's sleeve.

Han Yang cursed inwardly; the Black Lotus Cult truly was exceptionally wicked.

Blood Lotus Peak was barren, devoid of a single blade of grass. The bare mountain body looked as though it had been drenched in blood, casting an unsettling dark red glow.

A massive cave loomed before them, its entrance carved with fierce, grinning ghost motifs. Chilling gusts of wind blew from within, making one's hair stand on end.

"Damn, this place is as gloomy as the Underworld. Do you think the King of Hell actually lives here?" Zhu Ganglie rubbed the pigskin on his arm, his tone laced with fear.

"Afraid of nothing! With the Boss here, even the King of Hell would have to take a detour!" the horned dragon boasted loudly, though it unconsciously shifted closer behind Han Yang.

Ignoring the two troublemakers, Han Yang swept his Truth-Seeing Golden Eyes across the cave and discovered a blood-red statue deep inside, glowing with an eerie light.

"Let's go. We're going in to take a look," Han Yang said deeply, stepping into the cave first.

The interior of the cave was even darker and damper.

As they reached the depths of the cave, the group finally got a clear look at the blood-red statue in its entirety.

The statue portrayed a ferocious-looking woman with her hands raised high.

The statue's eyes emitted an alluring, bloody glow, staring unblinkingly at Han Yang and the others.

At that moment, the blood light from the statue's eyes suddenly intensified, and two beams of red light violently shot toward Han Yang.

Prepared in advance, Han Yang instantly lit up the protective golden aura covering his body, blocking the beams of light.

"Just as I thought, there's something weird going on!" Han Yang snorted coldly.

"Boss, that broad doesn't look very friendly!" Zhu Ganglie nervously tightened his grip on his muckrake.

"No duh, this is the Black Lotus Cult's turf. How friendly could it possibly be?" Han Yang glared at him impatiently.

The bloody glow in the statue's eyes grew increasingly intense, and the entire cave began to vibrate violently.

Following that, a massive swarm of blood-red bats poured out from the cave ceiling and surrounding rock walls, emitting piercing screeches as they surged toward Han Yang and his companions like a tide of blood.

"Holy crap, so many bats! How long is it going to take to eat all of these?" Zhu Ganglie shrieked weirdly, brandishing his muckrake and smashing nearby bats into pulp.

Though he talked about eating them, he certainly didn't dare to actually consume such creatures.

Bai Suzhen's poisonous mist proved exceptionally effective against the blood bats, spreading outward as a pale purple fog.

Large swaths of bats were corroded by the toxic miasma, letting out miserable screeches before plummeting to the ground.

Meanwhile, the horned dragon relied on its formidable physical body to charge recklessly, scattering the bat swarm. For a time, bat carcasses and broken limbs flew everywhere inside the cave.

Leveraging the speed advantage of his Golden Roc Wings, Han Yang shuttled continuously through the bat swarm, searching for an opening to attack the statue.

He realized these blood bats seemed to be controlled by the statue; as long as the statue remained intact, the bats would keep emerging endlessly.

"We need to deal with that statue first!" Han Yang roared, driving his Golden Roc Wings to transform into a streak of golden light as he charged straight at the statue.

Channeling his inner primordial Qi into his claws, he viciously swiped at the statue.

*Clang!*

With a crisp sound, the statue was struck by Han Yang's attack, developing a web of cracks across its surface, though it did not shatter completely.