Chapter 57: Worshipping the Demon Cult

"Get out of my way!"
Almost without hesitation, Song Qi immediately activated the Life Sanctuary skill.
A pale yellow shield fell around him, repelling the woman in red.
In the next instant, Song Qi vanished, reappearing far away.
He summoned Lü Bu and Ying Zheng back to his side as well.
"Hehehe..."
"Handsome boy, why so tense? I won't bite you."
Seeing Song Qi's nervous expression, the woman in red grew even more excited.
She stood atop the mountain, laughter fluttering like blossoms.
Only now did Song Qi finally see her face clearly.
She was the same voluptuous beauty who had shared the bus ride with him before, the one who had invited him to join her team.
Her attire was unchanged: a red, low-cut mage's robe enveloped her figure, the plum blossom mark on her chest faintly visible, seductive and alluring.
"How did she catch up with me?"
Ignoring her taunts, Song Qi calmed himself and began to think.
"If I didn't mistake it, she just appeared on me suddenly."
"No warning, no sign of movement—she appeared on my back in an instant."
"That means she used some skill akin to Targeted Teleportation?"
"But my route was completely random, even I didn't know where I'd end up. She couldn't have predicted it."
"So... she must have left some mark on me beforehand."
"And her only chance to do so was that brief moment on the bus!"
Song Qi hurriedly raised his right arm, examining it carefully.
Sure enough, on the inside of his elbow was a highly concealed plum blossom mark!
The placement was cunning, completely transparent, invisible to the naked eye, with only the faintest spiritual fluctuation.
Without deliberate scrutiny, it would be impossible to notice.
"Tsk, careless!"
Song Qi summoned his spiritual power and washed the mark away.
The woman in red descended from the heights, walking toward him with a teasing smile.
"Handsome boy, you're clever—found it right away."
"But, it's too late..."
"It's amusing, really. If I use my hand to leave a mark, it's usually discovered quickly."

"But if only my chest makes contact, you men always unconsciously overlook that touch."
Song Qi sneered, refusing to engage her banter, and instead asked directly,
"Then may I ask, why did you deliberately leave a mark on me?"
"I'm just a novice who has barely left the city, without any valuable items. Even if you rob me, you won't make much."
From her words, it wasn't her first time doing this.
Was this her means of livelihood?
A wilderness bandit?
Specializing in robbing rookie professionals just out of the city?
Or was there another purpose?
"Or perhaps... Sister, are you so desperate for a man that you want something to happen between us?"
"If that's the case, you could just say so—I might not refuse."
Song Qi smiled, intentionally provoking her.
Yet she seemed unfazed by such teasing, not angered, but rather approached with a bright smile.
"No need to hurry, handsome. If you're willing to join us, not just me, but every woman in our sect except the Holy Maiden is yours to enjoy."
"Even if you change one every day, you could play for a year or more."
"And if you insist on picking me... Sister will happily keep you company for a month."
Her eyes smoldered, her breath sweet as orchids, as she deliberately lowered her collar to reveal her alluring figure, hoping to ensnare him.
"Your sect?"
Song Qi frowned, his mood growing heavier.
"What do you mean by 'your sect'? Which one are you?"
He had assumed it was just a random bandit, which would be manageable—likely only one person.
But if it involved a cult, the situation became instantly more complex.
In an age when supernatural powers had become widespread, there remained sects active within human society, boasting formidable strength and legions of followers.
Only one fit that description.
And its nature... was utterly twisted.
"Which sect?"
"I'm sure you've heard of us."
The woman in red did not answer directly. She raised her right hand, and a swirl of black mist drifted from her sleeve.
A strange aura permeated the air.
This was power utterly different from the path of human professions.

Soon, the black mist dissipated.
In her hand appeared an eerie statue made entirely of wood.
Song Qi sensed no trace of supernatural energy within the idol.
Yet for some reason, merely gazing at it from afar filled him with intense discomfort.
It was a strange idol, polished to a glossy black sheen.
Its shape resembled a human, but with ram's horns sprouting from its head and limbs covered in fine scales.
Its lower body was bound by a coil of tentacles.
The tentacles, though carved from wood, exuded a bizarre dampness, as if water might drip from them at any moment.
Upon seeing the idol's form, Song Qi's heart sank, his sense of foreboding intensifying.
"As expected... the Demon Worship Sect!"
The Demon Worship Sect—a cult of humans devoted to extra-dimensional demons.
It was written into the human textbooks as a heretical cult!
According to records, it was founded eighty years ago, at humanity's darkest hour, by several traitors.
At first, the sect was weak, with its strongest at merely level seventy.
And at that time, traitors among humanity were commonplace.
Thus, its creation drew little attention.
But who could have imagined that such a neglected sect would actually find a way to contact high-tier extra-dimensional demons!
With genuine gifts and power, it attracted countless professionals craving strength, rising swiftly in just thirty years!
By now, it had become a terrifying cult with tens of thousands of followers.
Even the founding of the Tenth and Twelfth Cities had nearly failed because of the Demon Worship Sect!
Yet what baffled Song Qi most was why the Demon Worship Sect had come for him.
Had someone tipped them off, deliberately setting him up?
"But... other than the city lord, my parents, and my sister, no one knows where I'm going."
"My family? Impossible!"
Song Qi immediately dismissed the thought.
"The city lord? Even less likely."
"Someone of the city lord's status wouldn't need to go to such lengths if he wanted to harm me."
"So the only explanation is... just bad luck?"