Xue Yanluo looked around and said, "Are you sure you want to talk about it here?"
General Huo did the same and let out a long, slow sigh as he looked at his soldiers. He stood up from the ground and dusted off his clothes. "Let's talk when I'm done organizing the soldiers."
Xue Yanluo nodded and stepped aside. General Huo went to his junior generals to discuss their current state and assign them to keep the soldiers in order.
After giving each general a task, they said their goodbyes and went to handle their matters.
General Huo watched them go and then walked toward Xue Yanluo, who had moved to a far corner to talk.
"Have you finished everything?" asked Xue Yanluo, watching the junior generals among the soldiers.
"… Yes," General Huo finally said after a few seconds. He felt a strange sensation when looking at Xue Yanluo, and although he should have felt annoyed at the way he spoke to him, that feeling disappeared the moment it began to form.
"You've already figured it out—you're no longer human, but a vampire. And from what I can see, a fully transformed one."
General Huo took in Xue Yanluo's words and spent a few seconds thinking before asking, "How strong is a vampire?"
Xue Yanluo was somewhat surprised by the question, his mind turning over why this was his only question. "That you'll have to discover yourself, but the physical strength gained surpasses that of a talented body cultivator, and you can keep evolving," he said after thinking it over.
"Good. Since I woke, I feel like I can… evolve? But the wall won't move no matter how hard I hit it."
Xue Yanluo frowned and nodded. I expected as much—it was impossible for someone of his level to simply become a vampire… Am I the one limiting him? I already confirmed it with those two, but I can't create vampires stronger than myself… Can they not grow stronger than me either? No… How would that even work…?
Bao Qingcao suddenly said, "This time it's my turn to do the explaining."
Xue Yanluo pulled himself from his thoughts and turned to Bao Qingcao. "As you like. Though I have one last question. General Huo, what happened to you during the trap?"
"I was fighting a red beast in my mind that wanted to take over my body."
"And the wounds on your body?"
"I cut my arm when it got destroyed in the fight. The beast nearly took my leg."
"It must have been quite enjoyable, judging by the smile on your face."
General Huo's smile deepened as he closed his eyes. "It was—though it didn't last long."
With that, Xue Yanluo laughed and left the three of them to talk. He went to join the junior generals and soldiers to explain what had happened during the trap.
In the vampire group, Bao Qingcao and Huo Yanming had sat down to talk more comfortably.
"You're a vampire now. There are two important things if you don't want to die: the sun burns us, and your food from now on is human blood," said Bao Qingcao, pointing at the sky and then at her neck.
Huo Yanming nodded and asked immediately, "How do I cultivate?"
"Your meridians have changed, and your old techniques no longer work. You also have another energy that comes from your heart—I named it vampire energy."
"Mm, fine. HOW do I cultivate?"
Bao Qingcao wrinkled her nose in irritation and said, "With the blood of cultivators."
Huo Yanming was about to ask something else when Bao Qingcao lost her patience and left.
Hua Zhenfeng opened and closed his hands while looking at General Huo, who was watching Bao Qingcao's back as she walked away. The general then turned to him and asked, "Is there anything else I should know?"
Hua Zhenfeng glanced toward Bao Qingcao for a moment before quickly sighing and answering. "Yes — at your level, you can most likely turn two people of a lower realm than yours into vampires."
"I turn them by biting their neck?"
"Yes. The lord said we are his kin and that vampires are only fully loyal to whoever turned them."
"Good, I understand. You may go," said Huo Yanming, dismissing him with a wave of his hand.
In little time, the junior generals had carried out Huo Yanming's orders with great precision, and the soldiers were ready.
Among the generals, it was decided to collect the remains of the fallen soldiers and return them to their families after one suggested burying them here—an idea immediately criticized and unanimously rejected.
General Huo took his position and ordered the march toward the core—it was time to leave this place.
An hour later they reached the entrance to the core chamber without encountering any more traps along the way.
Doors that required you to stand back to take in their full height, with large fittings of black and grey metal reinforcing the wood.
Even with General Huo present, it took ten people at the high peak of the second realm to drag the door open.
From inside, a smell of damp that threatened to destroy everyone's sense of smell if they weren't careful erupted suddenly.
The generals raised a wall of energy to block the smell from reaching them and descended the stairs.
In keeping with the door, the steps were as tall as half a grown man, with lamps every few meters, grease spilling from them.
Every step was tedious, especially for the many soldiers who were only in the first realm.
Finally they finished descending, and before them stretched a long corridor ending in a door made of the same material as the walls.
Very different from the stairs, the corridor was in poor condition, with vegetation growing through holes in the walls and drops of water falling from the ceiling.
A soldier walked carefully, eyeing the ground where he was about to place his foot. His foot landed, and a whistling sound cut through the air.
The soldier dropped to the ground, clutching his leg and howling in pain. The soldiers beside him were the first to reach him and pull him back to inspect what had happened.
His leg was bleeding from a deep wound that passed cleanly through it from one side to the other.
The soldiers tending to the wounded man shouted, "There are traps!"
Everyone stopped and looked toward General Huo.
Huo Yanming inspected his surroundings and, after a few seconds, was about to open his mouth to give orders when the ground began to glow in thousands of different colors. His mouth opened immediately, and he ordered, "Take cover."