High up in a long mountain range, at the highest point known as Howling Peak, Li Jiong could hear the wind howling in his ears, which is why that place so close to the heavens received its ominous name. Hearing those howls was considered a bad sign by the few and brave peasants who lived around that region. No wonder Meng Fei had settled in that place.

The Peak was steep and treacherous, marking the entrance to the Pass of Endless Night, the darkest place in all of the land, filled with resentful energy accumulated over thousands of years. The Gorge was a veritable outlet for the world's negative qi. What would that Master of the Forbidden Arts have already done with all that power stored there for free? Li Jiong felt a shiver run up his spine. He preferred not to imagine. It was time to put an end to this.

Li Jiong was Wen Liu's first disciple, ranking third in strength and skill in the Cultivation world, second only to his own shizun and the Heavenly Path Sect's zongzhu, Teng Tie. He closed his eyes, breathing deeply in order to move the flow of qi from his spiritual core to his entire body. Behind him, the cultivators were waiting for his next command, among them was Wang Hui, his shidi. The young man watched him in silence, his eyes shining with admiration. His shixiong looked so imposing and graceful in his dark blue turquoise-embroidered robes, the sleeves fluttering in contrast to the man's immobile and firm posture atop the sharp black stones. He was truly worthy of carrying the title of Imperial Crane. Furthermore, his temperament was very good, peaceful and warm towards students, respectful towards seniors.

Despite so many qualities, Li Jiong was extremely modest and never looked down on others. At first, he didn't want Wang Hui to come, but the latter insisted so much that he had no choice but to let him do whatever he wanted. And what Wang Hui wanted was to accompany him at all costs on the battlefield. Li Jiong was the first person he met when he joined the Sect. Wen Siu's first disciple was three years older than him, possessed of a tall and elegant build, but incredibly strong, and always carried a kind and trusting smile on his face. However his expression now was one of fatigue and a little grim.

There were few times he had met with Meng Fei, but it was frustrating for his heart not to be able to rationally dialogue with someone. Meng Fei was that person, who only knew the language of evil and hatred. Nobody knew anything about its origins, but for years on end Meng Fei sought to know all the tactics and techniques of demonic cultivation, stealing books, scrolls and any material on the subject he could find. Finally, not satisfied with what he had, he started to make his own spells, specializing in the design of spiritual matrices.

The entire region of Howl Peak and the Canyon was protected by arrays that were difficult to overcome. Li Jiong with some difficulty worked hard to undo some of the main matrices and reach the entrance of the Gorge. Now, looking at the abyss before him, Li Jiong couldn't even see its bottom. He could be seen only a few faint points of red light, separated by layers of different depths, almost imperceptible in that ocean of darkness. It could only be demon cluster units. In that case, which one would Meng Fei be in?

Few cultivators volunteered to help with the siege, so this attempt needed to be well thought out. At that moment, Wang Hui approached, discreetly peering over his shixiong's broad shoulders.

"Is it the Soul-Eating Flames?", he asked while adding, "No normal fire would have such an ominous red glow, moreover it is said that the qi here is so negative that it consumes any kind of light." Li Jiong nodded, one of the disadvantages of this battle was precisely this negative point, which would consume a large part of their spiritual energy. To prevent this, all party members were equipped with a powerful blocking talisman, to prevent their strength from being sapped so quickly.

"Let's suppress our energy for now and just use the blocking talismans." Li Jiong said. "Our objective is to concentrate all our efforts on Meng Fei. If only we manage to seal him, it's likely that the demons will disperse and it will be easier to fight those who insist on fighting."

Wang Hui nodded, but he was puzzled. "Do you intend to just seal Meng Fei?"

Li Jiong let out a low sigh. "I've faced him before, this isn't a person I'm able to beat so easily. Anyway, I'm not qualified to judge him either. Sealing him and then taking him to the Hall of Elders is the bestsolution."

Wang Hui turned his gaze back to the Gorge. If even Li Jiong found it hard to beat Meng Fei, how strong was this person? It was frustrating not being able to face him as an equal.

This demonic cultivator was tricky and cruel. Even if he was strong, he preferred to always have a trick hidden up his sleeve to insure himself.

"We will not delay any longer." Li Jiong waved at the group of cultivators, and they began to descend the Gorge in silence.

The plan was simple but audacious. They would keep their presence hidden until they found Meng Fei's lair and captured him.

The speech was done exclusively by a communication matrix to prevent the demons with their keen ears from discovering them ahead of time. If anything went wrong, Li Jiong instructed them to flee in groups and head to a meeting point, located near the entrance to Howl Peak. It was a safe hiding place and Meng Fei wouldn't think to look for them even so close to the wolf's den. Single file the group walked the narrow paths of the Pass, each step more slippery and dangerous than the last.

The floor was smooth and looked like it had been burned to that blackened tinge. The miasma formed a mist so dense that the group had to scramble through it as if they were wading through a muddy swamp. Groups of demons were spread out at strategic points, despite the cultivators using talismans to conceal their presence, sometimes they appeared suddenly, some were winged and hovered slightly above their heads, devouring human flesh and throwing the bones into the abyss, others the sometimes stick their hideous heads through cracks in the stone walls so small that worms couldn't even fit!

But those creatures managed to modify their body to fix as thin as a sheet of paper. Wang Hui felt the chill run down his back every time he encountered them, his loathing for these disgusting monsters increasing exponentially with every step he took. The air became heavier and heavier as they descended and looking up the darkness had completely taken over the sky. They didn't know how long they had been on this descent and they didn't even imagine how deep it was.

"After we seal it how are we going to get back?" Someone in the group asked. He was being very optimistic, the right thing would be to say if we fail how are we going to get out with this horde of demons they crossed all the way?

"In that case, if we still have problems with demons, let's summon Feng and Huang birds. They'll be able to quickly take them out." Li Seung replied. He had personally asked the zongzhu for permission to use the Two Phoenix Summoning Stone, in order to ensure the safe return of the group of cultivators. That was a dangerous but not suicidal mission!

Gradually the sides of the Gorge began to narrow and Li Jiong felt as if he had a thorn in his throat. He knew they were getting close. They stopped in front of a seven-story pagoda. Its shape was hexagonal and its corners were all adorned with carvings of monsters.

"I bet there's no Buddha statue in this Pagoda." Wang Hui commented on the communication matrix. A few cultivators chuckled inwardly. Wang Xui always managed to ease the tension, even though he was immersed in several zhang of stale air.

The group took a short walk around the tower, it was in one of the corners of the Canyon, protected by the slope. From the outside there appeared to be only one entrance, although the possibility of a hidden exit could not be ruled out. Entering through the front door was too dangerous, so the cultivators decided to enter through one of the windows on the second floor. They were all so cautious that even controlling their breathing was difficult. Using qigong they easily reached their goal and peered into the interior of the Pagoda.

As Wang Hui could see for himself, there was no statue of the Buddha, but a ghastly pile of hideous human heads piled one on top of the other in hellish agony. The sculpture tapered towards the top but did not reach the top floor, where only the roof of the building was visible. Wang Hui shuddered. That was definitely disgusting. Li Jiong paused for a while looking at that freak and then looked at the floors above.