CHAPTER 553: THE MERIT HALL

The path toward the Merit Hall wound like a crimson vein through the mountainous landscape of the sect.

Han Yu followed it silently, his boots crunching lightly over the stone steps slick with the faint moisture of the ever-present red mist. The Blood Moon hung above as always, bleeding its ghastly light upon everything below. It painted the world in shades of scarlet and black, giving every shadow a sinister weight.

The Merit Hall came into view before long and it was immense.

Unlike the other pavilions Han Yu had seen, which were carved directly into the mountainsides, this one sprawled across several connecting ridges between the First and Sixth Rib Peaks.

Dozens of tall pagoda-like structures were joined together by elevated walkways and covered corridors, each glowing faintly with runic red light. The entire complex looked less like a hall and more like a fortress.

At the base of the entrance stood enormous stone pillars engraved with countless names and symbols. Between them stretched a great open plaza filled with disciples moving in constant streams.

Han Yu took in the sight with quiet awe.

There had to be thousands of people here, coming and going through the archways, talking, arguing, and waiting in lines. It was chaotic and yet orderly. Some were carrying documents and storage pouches, others were holding jade slips or blood-imbued tokens that glimmered faintly with Qi.

"This place is massive," Han Yu muttered to himself, trying not to let his amazement show.

He estimated this place was at least ten times as bigger than the one in Twin Leaf Peak Sect.

Han Yu stepped forward into the crowd, doing his best to look as though he belonged there. Most disciples wore expressions of fatigue or impatience, though a few carried themselves with arrogant confidence. The higher-ranked ones, Han Yu noticed, were marked by the richer red or even violet embroidery on their robes.

They moved differently, speaking curtly and never waiting in line for long.

He also noticed something else... Elders.

At first, he thought they were statues, but the moment one of them moved, he realized they were very much alive. Their presence was suffocating. Each of them radiated an aura that pressed against the air like heavy iron.

Han Yu’s heart tightened when, just ahead, one of those Elders suddenly lashed out.

KACHA

The sound was like a whip cracking through stone.

A Core Condensation disciple had apparently made a mistake while delivering some documents. Before the poor man could even apologize, the Elder struck him with a backhand that sent him crashing into a wall.

CRACK

BOOM

The blow shattered the stone around him, and the disciple slumped to the ground, coughing blood.

"You dare bring incorrect reports into my hall?" the Elder roared. His voice thundered across the plaza, silencing hundreds of conversations at once. "If I see your face again, I will tear it off myself and use it as a mask for my slaves!"

Han Yu quickly averted his eyes and walked in the opposite direction.

His expression stayed neutral, but inwardly he cursed his luck. "Alright, note to self," he thought grimly. "Avoid any Elder in a bad mood. Which, judging from that display, is probably all of them."

Thankfully, there were multiple entrances to the Merit Hall.

He took a side path leading around one of the smaller adjoining buildings, following a corridor that wrapped around the outer walls before leading into a secondary hall. The detour took a few extra minutes, but at least it spared him from walking into a blood-soaked disaster.

Once inside, the atmosphere changed completely.

Compared to the rowdy noise of the courtyard, the interior of the Merit Hall was subdued. The great chamber stretched deep into the mountain itself, illuminated by floating crimson lanterns that swayed gently in the air.

The ceiling was covered in carvings of the Blood Moon and runic inscriptions that pulsed faintly with light.

Hundreds of disciples filled the hall, their voices blending into a steady murmur. Rows of counters lined both sides of the chamber, where clerks processed requests, recorded merit transactions, and handed out materials.

Behind them were Formation walls covered in everchanging plaques listing rewards, prices, and available tasks.

"This is... almost like the Twin Leaf Peak’s Merit Hall," Han Yu thought, taking it all in. "Just ten times larger and ten times more terrifying."

He noticed that everyone behaved differently here. Even the most aggressive disciples, the ones who probably fought and killed without hesitation outside, moved quietly and kept their expressions neutral.

The reason became clear soon enough.

Standing throughout the hall, perfectly still like sentinels, were the guards.

At first, Han Yu thought they were armored cultivators, but something about them was off. Their armor was full black, forged with dark plates that reflected almost no light. Strange sigils were engraved into the surface, glowing faintly red in time with some unseen rhythm.

But what disturbed Han Yu most was their stillness.

None of them shifted. None of them breathed. They simply stood there, hands clasped on the hilts of their curved halberds, spears and sword, their faces hidden behind smooth metal helmets.

He extended his spiritual sense subtly, brushing against the nearest one.

Immediately, his blood ran cold.

There was Qi there sure, strong, potent Qi but it did not feel alive. It was heavy, stagnant, unmoving, as if sealed within a corpse. There was no flow of aura, no flicker of consciousness.

"Wait..." Han Yu’s eyes widened slightly as a memory from the books surfaced.

He remembered the symbol he had seen etched onto the armor—the crescent moon with a skull on top. He had read about it in the sect’s records.

The Jiangshi Guard Corps, the book had said.

Puppets forged from the preserved bodies of loyal disciples and other corpses obtained from various missions. Their Qi lingers after death, bound by the sect’s curse techniques to serve for eternity. They are neither alive nor dead, unyielding and fearless.

Han Yu swallowed hard.