Chapter 135: The Blood Sacrifice Ceremony

Ye Hua followed the sound and looked back, only to see a bare-chested, emaciated figure slowly stepping out from behind. Across his chest was tattooed a blood-red crescent moon! On his head he wore a soaring, dual-horned spiritual crown, between his brows lay a trace of crimson blood, and his lower body was wrapped in a blood-stained animal hide. He was staring straight at Ye Hua with a fierce and malicious glint in his eyes!

Ye Hua’s heart sank. Forcing a deep breath, he demanded, "Who are you?! What blood sacrifice ceremony is this?!"

The emaciated, bare-chested man let out a dry, cackling laugh and said, "Who am I?! Hehehe! Our Sage Path has enjoyed great renown for over a century, yet you, an ignorant brat, actually fail to recognize it!" With that, he waved his hand forward lightly.

Instantly, the surrounding scenery blurred and shifted, revealing a wide, open courtyard. Ye Hua looked around and realized he was standing upon a square stone platform. In the center of the platform stood two stone pillars, exactly where the iron chains were anchored.

Beneath the stone platform blazed over a hundred bonfires. Next to each fire sat three or four individuals wrapped in gray cloth turbans, their hands clasped together as they gazed up at the stone platform with deeply pious expressions.

"Haha! Fellow Daoist Qingque! Is the sacrificial offering I brought to your liking?"

A clear voice rang out with a laugh. Immediately, a few more figures stepped out from behind Ye Hua. They were none of the others, but Zhao Sanduo of the Shaliu Village Plum Blossom Boxing sect, followed by Old Black Du and the two young men who had previously fought against him.

The emaciated, bare-chested man was known as Qingque, and he was the patriarch of a branch hall of the Heyi Sect's Sage Path. Hearing the words, he smiled and replied, "I must truly thank Fellow Daoist Zhao for this! This offering is far superior to any I could have prepared myself! Haha!"

Zhao Sanduo waved his hand with a smile and said, "You and I are both branch altar patriarchs of the Heyi Sect! What is such a small courtesy between us!"

With that, he turned his head to look at Ye Hua, sneering, "You are a cultivator of the Mount Wutai lineage, yet you ran all the way to Jiujin City to cause trouble and ruin the grand plans of our Heyi Sect! You sought your own death, so do not blame anyone else!"

Ye Hua merely stared at Zhao Sanduo without uttering a single word. Internally, however, he was frantically circulating his inner breath. To his shock, the moment his internal energy rose from the elixir field in his lower dantian, a sudden flash of black light erupted from the iron rings on his wrists. This was immediately followed by a surge of red light that slowly faded away.

Ye Hua abruptly felt two strange, eerie flows of energy surge through his Hand Taiyin Lung Meridian and Hand Shaoyin Heart Meridian straight down to the lower dantian. The internal breath he had just begun to circulate was forcefully and abruptly suppressed by them!

A wave of churning blood rushed up through Ye Hua's chest, and he could not help letting out a soft cough.

Zhao Sanduo merely cast a slight, sideways glance at him with a faint smile, paced back and forth a few steps, scanned the surroundings, and continued, "Ever since the Sage Path traveled tens of thousands of miles from Liangguang and Yungui to the imperial capital and swore allegiance to the Heyi Sect, a full hundred years have passed! Now that our momentum is rising once again, it will likely not be long before we reach the majestic might of those past years. Perhaps we will even recreate the glorious era of the Red Moon! As your brother, I must offer my congratulations here."

Qingque’s gaze flickered as he awkwardly said, "The Red Moon Divine Cult! Fellow Daoist Zhao jests! Ever since the Red Moon Great Cult was besieged by the Four Heavenly Kings of the Tatianshan Sect two hundred years ago, the Red Moon Cult shattered into several branches. I led a group of disciples and managed to escape from Liangguang by sheer luck, changing our name to the Sage Path! Right now, we merely wish to preserve our lives."

Zhao Sanduo laughed heartily and said, "I am dull-witted by nature! Fellow Daoist Qingque, do not mock me! Why is it that over the past few days I have heard that you have long been secretly recruiting numerous cultivators, and your influence is now twice as great as before? At this rate of progress, haha, I imagine that in just a few years, your might will shake all of Jiujin! Hehe, perhaps you might even fight your way back to Liangguang and Yungui—that would be formidable indeed!"

Qingque finished speaking and cast a deep look at Zhao Sanduo. "Could it be that Fellow Daoist Zhao came today specifically to test me? I suppose someone within the sect has been whispering malicious slander about me to the Twelve Ancestral Patriarchs of the main altar! I trust Fellow Daoist Zhao can tell right from wrong."

Zhao Sanduo laughed out loud, then fell silent for a moment before saying, "Fellow Daoist Qingque is indeed as meticulous as a hair. Someone at the main altar did indeed speak a few harsh words about you! However, you guessed wrong; the one who submitted the report was not one of the Twelve Ancestral Patriarchs!"

Upon hearing this, Qingque seemed to realize something. His expression changed drastically, and he asked with a trembling voice, "C-Could it be... could it be... the... the Old Patriarch himself?!"

Zhao Sanduo nodded and replied with a soft "Mn": "Indeed, it is he. Just the day before yesterday, I received an order from a special envoy of the main altar to come and have a talk with Fellow Daoist Qingque."

A chill ran through Qingque's heart. He forced himself to steady his mind, though his teeth still seemed somewhat beyond his control, chattering slightly as he said, "B-Brother Zhao, please speak! Has the Red Lantern Ancestral Lord... has he not grown angry?"

Zhao Sanduo had initially harbored quite a few doubts regarding this summons. Being on the other's territory with hundreds of cult members seated all around, if the host were to turn hostile, he would certainly suffer greatly. He had not dared to press too hard; after all, even a cornered dog would leap over a wall, and a cornered rabbit would bite, let alone a human being!

Seeing Qingque in such a state now, however, most of his anxiety dissipated. Zhao Sanduo smiled faintly and said, "Recently, the momentum of the White Lotus Divine Cult in the Yungui region has been growing stronger by the day. Has Fellow Daoist Qingque heard anything of this?"

Hearing these words, Qingque’s expression shifted, but his look of terror faded slightly. He gravely replied, "The White Lotus Divine Cult is merely a lingering remnant of the old Red Moon Great Cult! This seems to have nothing to do with me."

Zhao Sanduo chuckled softly and said, "The main altar would naturally not fabricate groundless accusations. But on the ninth of last month, did not a Fellow Daoist named Li Long, who came from Liangguang, engage in prolonged and intimate discussions with Fellow Daoist Qingque?"

Qingque’s expression relaxed. He shook his head and said, "So that is it. It seems the main altar has misunderstood! That Li Long was indeed an envoy dispatched by the White Lotus Divine Cult to invite me to rebuild the Red Moon Great Cult. He claimed that Zhang Shitian, the great-grandson of the former Red Moon Cult Master, the Phantom Moon True Man, has now grown to adulthood and might be able to shoulder this grand undertaking. However, I flatly refused."

Zhao Sanduo chuckled darkly. "When you swore your oath to the Heyi Sect back then, I suppose I need not remind you what you said! Which of the Twelve Ancestral Patriarchs at the main altar lacks profound strategy and peerless intellect? Since they harbor suspicions regarding you, I hope you will demonstrate your loyalty!" With that, he cast a few glances at Ye Hua, who was restrained upon the stone platform.

Qingque seemed to have a sudden epiphany, repeatedly murmuring, "No wonder! No wonder! Thank you, Brother Zhao, for pointing this out!"

At this moment, Ye Hua was exerting his utmost strength to circulate his internal breath, yet he found it entirely impossible to break through the strange force emanating from the iron chains. While consumed by anxiety, he inadvertently overheard the conversation between the two men. When he heard the name Zhang Shitian, his heart gave an involuntary jolt:

"Is there not a disciple under the Wutai Cifu Temple named Zhang Shitian?! During the competitions at the Dharma Assembly in the Wutai Dafu Lingjiu Temple, I seem to recall hearing several senior martial brothers discussing him, mentioning something about him being the great-grandson of the Phantom Moon True Man of the Red Moon Cult! Back then, I even specifically asked, 'What about those three major cults?!' Could it be that he is the one?!"

While he was lost in thought, he heard Zhao Sanduo laugh and say, "Fellow Daoist Qingque is indeed quick-witted! You understood even before I spelled it out. Exactly—is not this disciple of the Wutai Sect a gift delivered right to our doorstep?"

Qingque managed a forced smile and said, "What Brother Zhao says is entirely true! I have heard that Zhang Shitian is indeed cultivating at Wutai, so I suppose I share a shred of fellow-apprentice affection with him. However, I have always heard that the Wutai lineage is divided into five major Zen forests and one hundred and eighteen Zen monasteries. There must be at least eight or ten thousand disciples among them, so I fear he may not necessarily recognize me, and even if he did, there is no guarantee how deep their friendship truly is!"

Zhao Sanduo burst into laughter and said, "Brother Qingque, this is where you are overly pedantic! How could you know whether this brat is even cultivating under the same master with him? Are we not about to offer him as a blood sacrifice right now? Afterward, we can simply announce to the outsiders that this brat and that Zhang Shitian belong to the same lineage and the same monastery! Who on earth would know otherwise? Hahaha! Tell me, is that not so?"

Qingque chuckled dryly a few times. "What Brother Zhao says is extremely right! Very well! I must thank Brother Zhao all the more for his thorough consideration!"

With that, he looked up toward the stone platform, a cold smile forming on his lips as he said, "Brat, do not blame old man me for what happens today!" He pointed a finger, and a flash of silver light swept past. Instantly, the garments across Ye Hua's chest were sliced open, tearing into fluttering fragments that drifted away and baring his chest to the open air.

Ye Hua was deeply alarmed. Watching the silver light slash toward him yet finding himself utterly unable to move the slightest bit, he felt a sudden chill across his chest as his clothes were completely shredded.

Qingque wore a ferocious smile, his low chuckles echoing continuously as he slowly walked up onto the stone platform. When he stopped a few zhang away from Ye Hua, he closed his eyes slightly and began to chant incantations: "Mi—ma—!"

Immediately afterward, he raised both hands toward the sky, looked upward, and chanted aloud:

"When Heaven unleashes a murderous intent, the stars shift and the constellations move. When Earth unleashes a murderous intent, dragons and snakes rise from the land. When Man unleashes a murderous intent, Heaven and Earth are turned upside down. When Heaven and Man unleash their intents in unison, the foundation of all transformations is set... True sovereigns of the ten directions, flying heavenly kings, those who attain longevity and cross the mortal crossing, immeasurable great deities...!"

He slowly turned his palms upward toward the empty air, his ten fingers dancing as he flicked out several strands of bright blue fire that slowly floated up and circled in the air. Once they reached a height of half a foot above Ye Hua's head, they came to a halt.

Under the illumination of the blue radiance, the area several zhang around the stone platform appeared utterly eerie and unnatural. Zhao Sanduo and the others had long since retreated several dozen zhang away, watching the scene with smiles on their faces as if quietly awaiting the good show to follow.

Qingque took another two steps forward and clasped his hands together. A sudden, violent burst occurred between them, generating another ball of brilliant flame that drifted forward slowly. The flame was intensely bright, casting a blinding crimson glare upon the other person.

Qingque let out a cackling laugh and was just about to speak when he noticed that, under the reflection of the firelight, a blood-red rune had faintly appeared upon the other's neck. He paused in surprise and looked closer, only to see the rune gradually growing distinct. In the span of a breath, it manifested as a crimson, blood-dripping wheel of the law. With a flash of red light, it transformed into six bloody demonic crows that slowly revolved around the surface of the body!

Qingque could not help but fall into a daze, his eyes filled with utter bewilderment as he muttered to himself, "This... What is this?!"