"I never said I was joining," John said calmly as the two strode down the dark streets, seemingly back towards the mysterious artifact as far as John could tell.
"Are you an enemy of humanity?" the woman asked.
"No," John confirmed.
"And are you good at killing?"
"You could say that," John shrugged.
"And do you desire riches, profound battle arts, and secretive information?" the woman asked, emphasizing the last part, as she had information on how hard John had searched for such a thing over the past few days. It was obvious he desired it more than the other things he searched for, and the woman knew what.
"You already know the answer to that," John replied, not giving the woman the satisfaction of confirming directly.
The shrouded woman laughed lightly.
"Then there is no reason not for you to join," she said. "I can guarantee you three things should you join. One, you will have the opportunity to access battle arts and cultivation techniques beyond your wildest imaginations."
'I doubt that,' John thought. He had seen too many heaven-defying battle arts already, and was in possession of a few of them, but kept his remark to himself.
"Two, you will be able to obtain resources, such as spirit crystals, pills, artifacts, and more that would only be possible to obtain by joining a Tier One Sect."
John glanced sideways at her, slightly surprised to hear such a claim. He could tell the woman was not embellishing at all. If in fact her guild had access to things only the Tier One Sects had, then the guild was not as simple as it currently appeared.
"And third," the woman said, turing to look at him, her face still shrouded in her shadowed hood. "You will have access to the number one information network on the continent. Not even the Tier One Sects can claim to have a better information network."
The third claim truly surprised John.
'Better than the Tier One Sects? This guild really isn't simple at all.'
That third part was what he needed the most. Information to find Lilian. If he was going to find her, learning of her location was the first step. Only by having access to the most up to date information would he be able to accomplish this.
John remained silent, keeping his desire for information as best he could. The women already knew he wanted access to an information network, but he wouldn't let her know just how much he desired that access.
"How can you be certain that I'm not a spy?" John asked her, changing the subject.
The woman had been quick to accept his answers, and he wanted to probe her answers, and determine if he was walking into some sort of trap.
The woman laughed lightly, as if his question was quite silly.
"You are far too naive to be a spy," the woman said, "I've met quite a few Phantom spies, and they all are quite convincing, but you beat them by a mile. If you are a spy, then I have failed as an assassin, and deserve to be tricked. Also, I have good reasons to believe your story."
'Good reasons?' John raised an eyebrow at her answer, but remained silent.
The two walked through the city, the streets lit brightly by formation lights of differing colors, bathing the city in a multi-colored glow. It was quite beautiful to look at, and before long, John found himself standing before the wall where he had discovered the artifact.
"I still find it incredible that you were able to find this on your own," the woman said softly, placing her hand against the wall. The wall parted away, revealing the red room with the statue in the middle. "You are the very first to ever accomplish such a thing," she said as she stepped into the room.
John followed behind and looked around for any traps or dangers, but noticed nothing. The wall closed behind them as they entered, and the woman placed her hand on the artifact in the statue's hand, the one that looked like an altered rune of death.
She reached out with her other hand and grabbed John's wrist. His vision went dark for an instant before returning. John quickly looked around, and found himself standing in an enclosed room, one that was different from the one they had just been in.
"Welcome back," a man to their side said.
John looked at him, and noticed the man holding a statue in his hands, one that looked the same as the one he had just been near. The woman nodded to the man and then strode forward towards the door on the opposite side of the room.
John followed, his guard raised, and walked through the door. A large chamber came into view, one that glowed a soft red. A bar, several lounges, and other furnishings came into view, making it look like a comfortable tavern.
There were many doors on the edges of the large chamber, leading to rooms unseen. Within the large chamber were quite a few other cultivators, who instantly took notice of John's arrival. There were eight cultivators in total, and each wore the exact same robe as the woman who had led him here. About half of the cultivators had their hoods up, obscuring their faces, while the other half had them down.
Three men and a woman, all appearing to be in their late twenties or early thirties stared at him with wide eyes, as if his presence was completely unexpected. The others had their faces shrouded, but John was sure they had similar expressions.
"What is going on here?" one of the men with his face revealed asked, frowning at John with a cautious gaze. "You said you were going to kill him. Why have you brought him here?"
The others remained silent, but their expressions revealed they had the same questions as the man.
The woman stepped forward and gestured to John. She quickly explained the situation, from their encounter, to their conversations afterwards. The expressions of the others changed from shock, to doubt, to skepticism as they listened. Her story finally ended, returning the room to silence.
"You want us to believe such obvious lies?" one of the shrouded cultivators asked, the voice feminine.
"Right! There's no way anyone can detect the Mark without attuning to it first," another said. "He's obviously lying, and is a spy and this location had been leaked."
"Are you doubting my judgment?" the woman who had led John here said firmly, her voice growing cold. The room fell silent.
"Of course not," one said, "it's just…a hard story to believe."
"An impossible story, more like it," another chimed in, but quickly averted his gaze as he felt a chill coming from the woman. Just based on the reactions of the others, John could tell that the woman who had led him here was in charge.
John remained silent the entire time, allowing them to figure it all out. His gaze suddenly narrowed, and an angered scowl appeared on his face as he felt a lethal threat approaching from behind, a faint killing intent leaking from the source that held the dagger piercing towards his back.
