Chapter 22 - MOUNT HUA SECT ARC(CHAPTER 3: SHADOWStir—the blood cult’s siege)

Huayin buzzed panic, stalls barricaded against dread's fog. Blood Cult slithered near—grotesque horde clawing forests, shamans invoking crimson ichor poisoning springs. Strategy venomous: peripheral feints thinned defenses; toxins twisted qi, flesh bloating grotesque. Abraham's nostrils flared metallic rot—omen. Decay from roots, he pondered, relic warning-pulse. Not blades—corruption. �Halls thrummed urgency. Disciples drilled Plum Blossoms, petals blooming barriers, eyes paranoid. Elders schemed shadows; Elder Han—gaunt, ambition-eyed—slipped cult missives, bartering trails for ascension vows. Rot festers unseen, Abraham noted, patrols overhearing. Michael's terror amplified: outer ranks scattered; Jang Mun sweat-slicked briefings: "Shadow bolsters, terrifies."Sparring honed edge: Twenty-Four Blossoms illusion-thrusts hid probes. Sovereign starves leashed. Nights: tainted reservoirs foamed red; Abraham sealed with Violet renewal, qi purging filth. Han's feints deepened siege—cult vanguard infiltrated caves. Paranoia bloomed: accusations flew.Michael pulped scout ambush, fist crunching armor thunderous, blood-mist spraying. Disciples gaped; Jang Mun paled: "Mercy tempers." Abraham nodded. Net tightens. Hologram visions haunted: maze, worlds, guardian. Hua preps greater falls. Horns wailed dawn: crimson tide crashed gates. Han's whispers summoned commander—thorned behemoth, greatsword soul-thirsting.Trust frayed gossamer. Abraham's forms adapted—subtlety straining Sovereign urge. Hold. Michael's gaze vowed ruin. Mountain quaked, betrayal's dagger honed. War's petals unfurled bloodied.