txolops Chapter 83 Blood Feast
Chapter 83 Blood Feast
There was no wind in the dry well underground palace.
Only a sliver of sunlight leaked through the well, like a thin, cold needle piercing the damp, dark stone. The surroundings still carried the lingering smell of rotten wood and well mud from years past, mixed with a faint stench of blood, making one's chest feel heavy and constricted.
Huang Chen sat with his back against the stone wall. The wounds on his chest and abdomen had scabbed over again, but his robes were not yet dry, and the edges were stiff.
The fighting at Penglingfang that night was too fierce, and the fire was too intense.
When he broke out of the brothel, he relied on his karmic fire, his ruthlessness, and his unstoppable spirit. Now that he has truly stopped, the tingling and numbness deep within his muscles and bones slowly rises up, like someone slowly scraping the seams between his bones with a dull knife.
Not far away, a dozen or so rescued humans huddled around a campfire.
The fire was started with a broken chair leg and some rotten wood from the well. The smoke was a bit choking, but the flame was steady.
Several older people surrounded the child, their eyes still blank with shock, as if they couldn't quite believe that they had escaped.
Huang Chen lowered his head and took out several coarse cloth bags from his storage.
The bag contained dry rations, as well as some previously prepared fasting pills, rejuvenation pills, and common wound medicines. He didn't throw them all away at once, but arranged them one by one on the stone slab according to the severity of the injuries.
"If you can still walk on your own, eat half a piece first."
Huang Chen's voice wasn't loud, but it commanded the room.
"The wound is festering, so don't eat anything hard, drink water, and apply the medicine later."
The group of people fell silent for a moment.
Immediately, a woman holding a child, her eyes red and her hands trembling, took two steps forward, but didn't dare to actually take it.
Huang Chen looked up at her.
"take."
The woman nodded vigorously, hurriedly grabbed half a piece of dry food, and gave it to the child in her arms.
The child was so thin he was practically skin and bones. He took the first bite too quickly and choked, his eyes rolling back in his head. An old man nearby quickly patted his back and fed him water, and chaos erupted around the fire.
Huang Chen didn't go over to help.
In situations like this, eating first and catching your breath is more helpful than offering comfort.
He then distributed the medicine to two middle-aged men who were still able to stand up, gesturing for them to bandage the seriously injured person.
Several people's hands were trembling, and the bandages were crooked and unevenly tied. Huang Chen glanced at them, then simply got up, walked over, squatted down, and reached out to take the bandages.
"It's not that complicated."
'
As he spoke, he pressed his five fingers on a boy's shoulder, first tearing off the old cloth, then rinsing the festering wound with clean water.
The boy convulsed in pain, his teeth grinding together, but he didn't cry out.
Huang Chen sprinkled the medicinal powder on it.
"Endure it."
'
As soon as the powder fell, the flesh and blood immediately contracted, and beads of sweat rolled down the boy's forehead. His ten fingers gripped the pebbles on the ground with a cracking sound.
The other rescued people watching this scene gradually calmed down after their previously chaotic breathing.
People started talking quietly.
Some people lowered their heads and wolfed down their food.
Some people were crying while clutching the half-eaten pancake in their hands, as if they were holding onto a lifeline.
Outside the underground palace, the sky gradually brightened.
The ray of light at the wellhead turned from grayish-white to a ghastly blue, then slowly took on a hint of dawn. Huang Chen leaned against the well wall, swallowed two Qi-replenishing pills, and closed his eyes to regulate his breathing for half an hour before the surging blood and qi in his body finally subsided somewhat.
He wasn't dead asleep.
He only dozed off briefly, his mind still tense.
With such a major incident at Wan Yao City, the outer patrols and all the neighborhood entrances will inevitably have to dig deep into the ground sooner or later. The Dry Well Palace is well-hidden, but it's not absolutely safe.
He must wait until these people are able to move before sending them away as soon as possible.
By the time the sun had fully risen, the light shining through the well had become warm.
Huang Chen opened his eyes and got up.
Pack your things and get ready to leave.
'
A commotion arose around the campfire.
A middle-aged man with two missing fingers asked in a hoarse voice, "My benefactor... are there still demon soldiers outside?"
'
Huang Chen glanced at him.
"have.
'
The man's face turned pale instantly.
Huang Chen stored the Xuanhuang Armor into his body, raised his hand and pressed the edge of the Mountain and River Boots, his tone still flat.
So stick close to me. If you fall behind, I won't look back.
'
That's inhumane.
But after hearing this, the group of people all nodded vigorously.
They'd seen too many people who claimed they'd save lives, only to turn around and use those people as shields. Huang Chen, by speaking frankly about life and death, made them feel more at ease.
Half an hour later, Huang Chen led his men out of the dry well underground palace in batches.
He didn't take the right path.
With a single step, the Mountain and River Boots stomped down, and spiritual energy seeped along the earth's veins, slowly creating a narrow, dark passage between the rocks and withered vines ahead. The passage was narrow, only wide enough for two people to walk side by side, and the overhead vines completely obscured its view, making it appear from the outside as nothing more than an ordinary, desolate hillside in shadow.
Huang Chen walked at the front.
He would stop from time to time, listen to the wind, or raise his hand to signal everyone to bend down.
Each time he paused, the people behind him were so nervous that they held their breath until he took another step before they dared to follow.
They bypassed two patrolling demon soldiers on the way.
On one occasion, they were so close they could hear the crisp sound of the demon soldiers' armor clashing together and smell the pungent, alcoholic stench emanating from them. A child was so frightened he wanted to cry, but an old woman beside him tightly covered his mouth, his face turning purple from holding it in.
Huang Chen stood at the front, holding a concealment talisman in his palm, without even lifting his eyelids.
He continued on his way only after the group of demon soldiers had walked away cursing and swearing.
This journey felt like walking on the back of a knife.
As night fell, the group finally left the most heavily searched area outside the City of Ten Thousand Demons.
Huang Chen didn't let them light a fire. Instead, he chose a sheltered crevice in the rocks to rest, share water and food, and then take turns keeping watch at night.
After a day and a night, everyone's feet were blistered and their calves were trembling.
Huang Chen himself was also exhausted.
But when the mountain slopes turned in the distance and those familiar hidden sentry markers emerged from the depths of the forest ahead, he quickened his pace by a fraction.
We've arrived at the outer perimeter of the torch relay.
The forest was quiet for a moment.
Immediately afterwards, three extremely faint whooshing sounds swept down from the treetops on the left, bowstrings snapped, and cold light pointed straight ahead.
Stop!
'
A low shout came from the shadows.
Huang Chen raised his hand, revealing the token at his waist.
"it's me."
With a sway of the tree shadows, a young man carrying a short bow jumped down first; he was the newly recruited guard.
He landed with a hint of overly tense fierceness, but his eyes lit up when he saw Huang Chen clearly.
"Brother Chen!"
'
He had just shouted it out when, as if remembering the rules, he quickly stopped and hurried forward.
In the woods behind, Lao Tie also pushed aside the branches and came out, with a bundle of whittled wooden gun barrels slung over his shoulder. His stubble was heavier, but his eyes had regained their color.
"You're back?"
Huang Chen nodded.
The old man glanced around and saw the large group of emaciated people behind him. His face immediately darkened, and he cursed under his breath.
"That damned brat, he doesn't treat people like human beings at all."
'
Without saying another word, he turned around and yelled.
"open circuit!
Bring in those who can walk first! Carry the seriously injured on stretchers!
quick!"
Seven or eight people immediately sprang out of the woods.
The old man from the prison cell also arrived, leaning on a wooden cane. His legs were not yet nimble, but he was steady in his work. Behind him followed the rescued miner B. The two of them worked together, one counting the wounded and the other assigning living quarters. Their movements were slow but orderly.
The newly recruited guard, Miao Zi, was so busy that he barely had time to breathe, helping people up while calling out to them loudly.
"Over here!"
Don't push! Let the children go first!
'
"The water is in the stone shed ahead. Take a sip each first, don't gulp it down too quickly!"
"Your leg is torn, don't try to be brave, someone come and lend a hand!"
'
The atmosphere that had been suppressed in the forest for so long seemed to come alive with this flurry of activity.
Huang Chen stood to the side and watched for a while, and the coldness that had been pressing on his chest finally eased a little.
Old Tie walked over, slammed the wooden gun barrel on his shoulder onto the ground, and exhaled.
"Ashi was originally going to personally bring people to pick them up."
'
"I managed to hold it in."
Huang Chen looked at him.
Lao Tie twitched the corner of his mouth.
"That kid kept calling you 'sir.' I heard you rescued so many people from the City of Ten Thousand Demons, and I almost rushed out with my newly formed guard to pick them up."
I kicked him back and told him to stay in the valley and train his troops.
Huang Chen's eyes twitched slightly upon hearing this.
"How has he been lately?"
"They can be quite resourceful."
'
Lao Tie grinned, but there was a hint of weariness in his smile.
"In the morning, we conduct drills; in the afternoon, we reorganize; and in the evening, we lead men to patrol the outer perimeter."
He actually managed to learn the three-stage training method you gave him and make some progress. The newly rescued young men were made to run mountain roads, carry logs and stones, and practice standing in stance with guns. They were all exhausted like dead dogs, cursing him behind his back, but still calling him "boss" respectfully when they saw him.
'
The old man paused for a moment, then added a sentence.
"When that kid mentioned you, he said the same thing again."
"The valley must not be in disarray until the master returns."
Huang Chen didn't say anything, but simply reached out and took the water bag from Lao Tie, tilted his head back and took a swig.
The water is from a mountain spring, and it's extremely cold.
It slid down my throat, pressing down on my lungs and making my lungs shudder.
By the time this group of people had been settled, it was already getting dark.
Huang Chen followed Lao Tie into the outer stone house.
Two oil lamps were lit inside, their yellowish flames casting an old glow on the maps, ledgers, and simple wooden bowls on the stone table. The old man from the prison cell followed him in, while the rescued miner B stood guard outside the door. The newly appointed guard, Miao Zi, had gone to his night watch and did not enter the room.
The old man plopped down, rubbing his aching wrists, and got straight to the point.
There are too many people.
'
"In the past two months, the number of people rescued, including those originally in the valley, has exceeded seven hundred."
"There are fewer than two hundred people who can wield a knife and draw a bow."
The majority of them were elderly people, women, and children.
He stretched out his rough finger and poked it on the map.
"The original Hidden Valley could accommodate 300 people. Now, with over 700 mouths to feed, eating, drinking, relieving themselves, patrolling, guarding, and cutting wood to expand the cave, everything is piled up together, and the smell can't be contained."
If we shrink any further, even without the Demon King, a decent demon market brokerage would be enough to track us down here.
The old man in the prison cell nodded slowly to the side.
"The old grain reserves in the valley are enough for forty days."
"If two more groups of people come, we will have to go out and search for grain on a large scale in at most twenty days."
Every movement leaves a trace.
Huang Chen sat at the stone table and spread out the Penglingfang account book and the complete Blood Banquet roster together.
The pages were stained with old blood, and in some places, the edges were charred and curled from smoke. The light from the oil lamp illuminated the words, making them appear as if they had been carved from dead flesh.
He first looked through the account books.
The Spirit Cooking Workshop is just one of the preparatory stations for the Blood Feast in the City of Ten Thousand Demons, responsible for temporary imprisonment, meat screening, oil refining, and distribution.
Yet, in this one workshop alone, more than four hundred human goods have been handled in the past three months.
Four hundred.
Huang Chen's knuckles tightened little by little, making the edges of the paper crack.
Let's look at the list of names for the blood banquet.
The above is not just a simple list of attendees, but also includes the timelines for troop deployment, escorting goods, clearing out areas, and sending out hunting teams. After the blood banquet, several private armies of demon generals outside the City of Ten Thousand Demons will take the opportunity to head south, using the guise of searching for escaped slaves and replenishing their blood offerings to clear out scattered human strongholds in the surrounding area.
The grains that grow in the mountain crevices, like firewood, are exactly within the cleaning area.
Looking at his expression, Lao Tie couldn't help but mutter a curse under his breath.
"These beasts, one meal wasn't enough, they wanted to turn the surrounding area upside down as well."
Huang Chen pushed the roster to him.
"It wasn't just a casual thing to do."
"It was arranged in advance."
'
The old man looked down and his brows furrowed even more deeply.
The stone house fell silent, with only the occasional crackling of the oil lamp.
After a moment, Lao Tie seemed to suddenly remember something, took out a bone fragment bound with animal tendons from his pocket, and handed it to Huang Chen.
"There's one more thing."
'
"At noon today, Li Chenshuo sent a message. It wasn't from him personally, but was relayed through Xin He, a runaway slave from the Gonggong tribe."
The woman left a message saying that there was an abandoned battlefield of witches and demons on the outskirts of Buzhou Mountain, and that recently the spiritual veins had revived, causing the earth fire and remnants of the array to resurface.
Huang Chen looked up.
Lao Tie lowered his voice and said, word by word, "The ruins of the ancient city of Chiwu."
The lights in the room flickered.
The old man in the prison cell's expression changed slightly, clearly having heard of this name before.
Lao Tie continued, "Xin He said that after that place was destroyed back then, it was regarded as a dead end by various tribes, and no one has ever truly held it for hundreds of years."
Recent unusual activity has attracted the attention of many external forces. Whoever seizes the base and controls the main entrance first can rebuild their power base from the old city.
'
"Her exact words were—if that place falls into the hands of the demon race, it will become another man-eating city. If it falls into the hands of humans, it can provide shelter from the wind, store grain, and train troops, enough to support the first true main city."
'
The true main city.
As those four words fell, the air in the stone house seemed to sink a layer.
What is the Valley of Fire?
It's a hole, a crack, a place where life is hidden.
But the main city isn't.
The main city must have walls, roads, waterways, and a base that can accommodate ten thousand people to breathe.
Huang Chen looked down at the roster, ledgers, and map on the table.
The City of Ten Thousand Demons is sharpening its knives.
The flame is still shrinking back, trying to avoid the blood.
If it shrinks any further, it will be swallowed whole.
He suddenly remembered the people he had saved along the way, the woman in the underground palace holding a child and eating dry rations, the rows of dominoes hanging on hooks in the cooking workshop, and the numbers recorded in the accounts.
It's not a name.
It's a number.
The fire in his chest slowly rose again, making his temples throb.
Just then, the system's cold notification sound suddenly rang in my mind.
"bite!
'
"The second phase of the main quest [Stepping into the Core of the Primordial World] has begun."
"Task 1: Disrupt the Blood Feast of All Races"
'
"Mission Two: Seize the initiative in the Chiwu Ancient City Ruins."
"Task 3: Lay the foundation for the main city of the Flame of Life."
'
"Mission Reward: Unknown"
The stone house remains unchanged inside and out.
The oil lamp burned, Lao Tie waited for him to speak, and the old man in the prison cell still rested his hand on the edge of the table. Only a cold glint flashed in Huang Chen's eyes, as if someone had gently placed a quenched blade against the depths of his pupils.
Seeing that he remained silent for a long time, Lao Tie frowned and asked a question.
"How so?"
'
Huang Chen closed the blood banquet register with a soft "snap".
"The valley will continue to operate as usual for now."
'
"Add three more layers of hidden sentries on the outer perimeter, and change the password for entering and exiting. Newly arrived wounded soldiers will be assigned to the outer ring stone shelters and are not allowed to huddle together."
Ah Shi continued to reorganize the guards; training never stopped.
The old man nodded.
"OK."
Huang Chen then looked at the old man in the prison cell.
"Re-inventory the grain, medicinal herbs, and timber. Categorize what can be moved first, so we don't end up in a panic when we actually set off."
'
The old man in the prison cell leaned on his wooden cane and responded in a deep voice.
"I understand."
'
After saying this, Huang Chen stood up.
After traveling for a day and a night and sitting in the stone house for so long, his shoulder and back muscles tensed, and his wounds immediately started to ache.
Looking at his face, Lao Tie couldn't help but say, "You should rest for half a day. The old man and I can handle things in the valley."
'
Huang Chen hummed in agreement.
He didn't try to be strong during that half-day.
After eating and washing away the blood and grime, he sat cross-legged in the inner cave for two hours to regulate his breathing until his internal energy and blood returned to normal and the burning pain in his meridians subsided. Only then did he open his eyes again.
It was already late at night outside the cave.
The wind blew in from the valley entrance, carrying the dampness of the grass and trees and the chill of the distant mountains, causing the torches to sway from side to side. The night watchman's footsteps moved back and forth, occasionally punctuated by hushed commands.
Huang Chen stood up, put on the black wind cloak, and carefully put away the Xuan Tian Sect's standard flying sword, Soul-Binding Banner, Nine Nether Soul-Slaying Talisman (advanced), and several other commonly used items.
Outside the door, Lao Tie was still awake, squatting on the stone steps sharpening his knife.
Hearing the noise, he looked up, but didn't try to stop him; he simply tossed the whetstone aside.
"Leave now?"
'
"Let's go now."
Old Tie smacked his lips, stood up, pulled a small bag of dried meat from behind his waist, and tossed it over.
"Eat on the way."
Huang Chen caught it and casually stuffed it into his arms.
Lao Tie stared at him and muttered a curse in a low voice.
"Those bastards from Ten Thousand Demon City are probably going to be in big trouble this time."
'
Huang Chen didn't respond to that, but instead raised his hand and pulled down the hood of the black hood, covering half of his face.
The night was heavy at the valley entrance, the trees swayed gently in the wind, and the sentry fires flickered on and off.
Behind the distant mountain shadows, the direction of the City of Ten Thousand Demons resembled a crouching beast, with lights flickering and even the sky glowing red.
Huang Chen took a step off the stone steps.
His boots trembled slightly as he treaded mountains and rivers, and the stones beneath his feet cracked silently. The night wind swept past the hem of his clothes.
Old Tie stood at the back and whispered:
"Don't burn the city down completely; leave me something to scavenge."
The forest was low and still, the treetops rustling overhead, and the fires of several hidden sentry posts were pressed blue by the wind. With a tremor and a thud in his Mountain and River Boots, he cut forward along the mountainside, the black wind shrouding his face, revealing only his eyes, which were cold and deep in the night.
Behind him, Lao Tie didn't shout anymore.
The few voices at the valley entrance were quickly swallowed by the wind, leaving only the distant sky of the City of Ten Thousand Demons, a dark red, like blood bubbles slowly swelling at the bottom of the clouds.
Huang Chen slowed his pace slightly after running for more than ten miles.
He raised his hand and pressed his left rib. The wound had stopped bleeding, but a dull pain still lingered deep in his muscles, twitching with each breath.
Two hours of breathing exercises are only enough to bring the erratic blood pressure back down; to say it's fully recovered, it's at most 70%.
enough.
A blood feast doesn't need to be complete.
As the mountain path descended, the smell of damp earth mixed with the stench of decaying leaves wafted up.
Further ahead, the muffled thud of demon chariot wheels grinding the ground could be faintly heard, mixed with horn whistles, laughter and curses, bone bells and the neighing of livestock, spreading from several trade routes outside the City of Ten Thousand Demons into the night.
Huang Chen stopped and hid behind a half-cracked rock. He first covered his body with the Human Dao Concealing Veil, and then took out the Ash Bone Mask and put it on his face.
Immediately afterwards, he took out the tokens of the Ten Thousand Demon City, the patrol soldier's token, and the Blood Banquet register that he had already read many times.
The corners of the roster were stained with old blood, the pages were stiff, and they made a soft, brittle sound when turned.
The record shows the seating arrangement outside the blood banquet tonight, the order of offering pulses, the time of changing of the guard, and even the quirks and seating customs of several demon generals.
This thing, those bastards at the Cooking Spirit Workshop risked their lives to hide it, and they really didn't hide it for nothing.
Huang Chen glanced down at the list, memorized the most crucial pages, and then stuffed it back into his pocket.
He then took out a low-level causal mist talisman and flicked it with his finger.
The talisman crumbled without fire, and a pale gray mist slowly spread along his sleeves, hem, and hair, as if covering his entire body with another layer of dirty, old human skin. The originally sharp aura immediately subsided, mingling with the mountain wind and the demonic energy coming and going in the night, making it difficult to distinguish the real from the fake.
Huang Chen then got up and went around to the west side gate.
The road over there wasn't the main road for carts, but a narrow slope for night patrols, guards, and other soldiers.
Three bone pillars stand at the foot of the city wall, with green flames burning atop them. The flames are low, illuminating the animal-face reliefs on the wall, making them appear to flicker as if they were alive and breathing.
Two teams of demon soldiers patrolling the city were checking the ramp.
The first few lesser demons, who had just entered the city, were carrying wine jars. They were drunk until they were covered in blood and were prostrate on the ground, kowtowing repeatedly. There was also a black-haired demon soldier with fangs who was whipping people with a bone whip, making loud cracking sounds, while cursing incessantly.
"Did you see the time clearly? The blood banquet is held three quarters before midnight. If you miss the lantern offering on the high platform, you won't be able to afford to pay for it even if we skin you alive!"
'
Huang Chen walked up slowly and deliberately.
He wore a patrol officer's token at his waist and a worn-out black armor cloak over it, his steps steady.
The two soldiers checking the demons changed their expressions upon seeing the military token, and then, noticing the lifeless eyes beneath his gray-bone face, they immediately lost some of their arrogance.
Which team?
'
The leading demon soldier, holding his bone spear horizontally, still asked a question as per protocol.
Huang Chen lowered his voice, which was a little hoarse.
"The outer ring is being rotated, and the garrison is being transferred to the southern corner for the sacrificial banquet."
He flipped the military tally over, revealing the mark.
The demon soldier leaned closer for a look, his nose twitching as if he were sniffing Huang Chen's scent. Huang Chen stood still, his right hand hanging inside his robe sleeve, his knuckles already gripping a Spirit Fusion Talisman.
Half a breath later, the demon soldier spat.
"Go in."
Be on high alert around the City Lord's Mansion tonight, and don't wander around. If you hear the bell, no matter what happens, protect the high platform first, then seal the four gates.
'
Huang Chen nodded and stepped over the slope.
The moment we entered the city, the smell in our nasal cavity became several times stronger.
The stench of alcohol, blood, incense ash, roasted meat, corpse oil, and a cloyingly sweet floral fragrance all mingled together, gushing out from the streets and alleys. At night, the City of Ten Thousand Demons resembled a colossal beast with its mouth agape, its buildings stacked high and low, lanterns hanging from the eaves—but these were no ordinary lanterns; most were filled with a ghastly white soul fire, which, when the wind blew, made the blue brick pavement seem to shimmer with a cold light.
Eerie figures roamed the streets.
There were evil cultivators carrying large bone boxes, human rebels wearing robes, and demon servants with scales on their faces, hurrying along carrying sacrificial implements.
The closer they got to the city lord's mansion, the denser the crowds became, and the more palanquins appeared. Several streaks of demonic light even flashed across the sky, leaving trails of crimson flames.
Huang Chen mingled in the group, walking slowly.
As he walked, he scanned the surrounding paths, rooftop sentry posts, and hidden crossbow positions. His bloodlust senses were also quietly spreading out, piercing through the figures like fine needles; the senses deepened the senses of those with heavier karma.
The further you go, the heavier it gets.
Later on, it felt almost like walking into a black mud pit.
When Huang Chen looked up, they had already arrived at the sacrificial banquet square outside the City Lord's Mansion.
At that moment, even he paused for a moment.
The square was more than ten times larger than the blood banquets in other cities. The dark blue-green paving stones stretched for hundreds of feet, and a ring of bone lamp pillars, each over three feet high, stood around the perimeter. Inside each pillar was a soul lamp the size of a human head, hanging in strings from the edge of the platform to the air. When the wind blew, the lamps swayed gently, like countless still-rotten heads swaying in the night.
In the very center of the high platform was a pool of blood.
The surface of the pool was not still; the dark red liquid was constantly churning and bubbling, releasing a hot, fishy odor when the bubbles burst. Various demon generals, evil cultivators, and secret agents from immortal sects sat around the pool. On the table were piles of blood fruits, beast hearts, spirit wine, and neatly sliced human bones, dipped in sauce and arranged on silver platters.
The music was mournful, like someone playing a funeral flute on a bone.
Further up, rows of thin chains hung, with offerings dangling from them.
They were all human. Men, women, young and old, with cloth stuffed in their mouths, talismans pasted on their chests, and drops of blood falling from their feet into the grooves carved into the platform, converging towards the blood pool.
Huang Chen felt a sudden heaviness in his chest.
It wasn't shock, it was fire.
The fire surged from his stomach, making his throat bitter and even causing his knuckles to crack slightly. If it weren't for the black wind cap and gray bone mask covering his face, he would have been unable to suppress the ferocity on his face long ago.
In the south corner of the square, demon soldiers were checking the roster and guiding people to their seats.
Huang Chen leaned closer and glanced at it casually.
Just as recorded in the Blood Banquet register. There are thirty-six seats in the outer area tonight, eight seats in the inner ring, and a main seat on each side of the highest platform. The one from the City Lord's Mansion has not yet appeared, but several great demons have already arrived at seventy or eighty percent of the way.
"Hurry, hurry!"
A demon official, wielding a long bone book, shouted in a shrill voice.
"The three seats on the north side are reserved for guests from the Cold Water Vein, and the eastern corner is reserved for distinguished guests from the Immortal Sect. The drum offering will begin in a quarter of an hour. If you miss the appointed time, you will be dragged to fill the pond!"
'
Huang Chen walked with his head down past a row of bone lamp stands, using the shadows to get close to the base.
He didn't act immediately.
The first thing to be moved was the Humanitarian Town Prison Monument.
With a sudden surge of energy, the broken stele in his mind's sea of consciousness trembled violently, and the ancient patterns on its body seemed to slowly glow from the ashes.
Huang Chen silently made a hand seal with his fingers hidden in his sleeve, suppressing the intent into a thin stream, which he then guided little by little along the brick seams under his feet into the main pattern of the altar.
hum.
It was a very soft sound, only he could hear it.
The intertwined blood patterns, soul-binding chain patterns, and vein-offering grooves beneath the platform seemed to be forcibly held down for a moment by something.
The power that was drawing souls upwards from the blood pool suddenly faltered.
The soul lamps on the high platform also swayed slightly.
The two guards who were nearby paused for a moment, then looked up and peered out.
"wind?
'
"Bullshit! Where did that wind come from?"
Huang Chen ignored him.
The next instant, the Wind-Fixing Pearl was activated from within his sleeve.
As soon as the power of the pearl dissipated, the blood smoke that had been churning in the air above the square seemed to be suppressed by an invisible hand, and pushed away by half a foot in all directions.
The smoke of blood lingered, but his vision cleared, making it perfect for him to see the location of the offerings and for him to take action later.
Next up is the Pulsefire Battlefield.
Huang Chen lightly stomped his foot.
boom!
A ring of crimson lines suddenly exploded from beneath his feet, spreading wildly along the plaza's paving stones. At first, they were just a few thin lines, but in the blink of an eye, they connected and covered half of the sacrificial plaza in dark red.
He forcibly awakened the remaining fire veins underground, and a muffled thunderous roar rolled over from under the bricks, causing the table, bone pillar, and wine vessel to shake simultaneously.
The music stopped abruptly.
Dozens of gazes swept over instantly.
Huang Chen has already made a move.
He stepped out of the shadows and headed straight for the three-zhang-tall sacrificial demon drum beside the blood pool. The drumhead was not covered with animal skin, but with a whole piece of human skin that had been peeled off and dried in the sun, the edges of which were studded with bone nails, and black hair was wrapped around the drumsticks.
The ceremonial official screamed first.
"who--"
Before he could finish speaking, Huang Chen's fist had already slammed down.
A deafening roar!
The human skin drumhead exploded, and bone fragments, blood, and drum nails sprayed in all directions.
The two groups of demon cultivators at the last table didn't even have time to react before their faces were pierced by the bone-drum nails, and they rolled on the ground clutching their eye sockets. The explosive shockwave overturned the tables and chairs, and the spirit wine was poured into the brazier, causing the flames to leap half a meter high.
The entire Blood Banquet Square was torn open by this punch.
"presumptuous!
'
"Take him down!"
"The altar!"
'
Angry shouts erupted from all sides.
Huang Chen didn't retreat at all. He drew the Asura Blood Blade with his backhand and leaped up using the fire patterns of the battle domain. With a horizontal slash, he first cut the two guard demons who had pounced on him the closest in half.
The hot blood spilled on the ground, before it could flow far, was roasted by the flames and began to smoke.
System notifications kept ringing in my mind.
Slaying sinful targets grants karma points.
Slaying evil targets grants karma points.
】
Huang Chen didn't even bother to listen carefully and rushed directly towards the skeleton of the sacrificial offering below the high platform.
Nearly a hundred human beings were tied up there, some unconscious, others with their eyes open, their eyes filled with numbness and terror.
As the demon soldiers guarding them were trying to drag them back, Huang Chen raised his hand and flicked the Nine Nether Soul-Slaying Talisman (Advanced), which transformed into a dark purple ray of light and instantly pierced into the demon soldiers' foreheads.
Bang bang bang!
The three heads exploded almost simultaneously.
Huang Chen pressed down with his left hand again, and the flames of the twelfth-grade Karmic Fire Red Lotus imitation rose from his body. Instead of burning outwards, they transformed into a thin curtain of fire that protected the offering, blocking all the blood light and soul fire falling from the high platform.
Those humans who were hanging felt the ropes loosen, and at first they were stunned, then some of them burst into tears.
"Don't shout!"
'
Huang Chen let out a low shout and casually severed several main locks with his bone knife.
"Run towards the west gate!"
"Don't trust anyone you see in black armor. Scatter when you see people. Survive first!"
An elderly woman with gray hair trembled, her lips quivering as she tried to say something, but Huang Chen had already turned away.
Because the real tough nut has been cracked.
On the north side of the square, a dozen heavily armored guards from the city lord's mansion smashed through the chaotic crowd and charged forward like iron hooves.
The one at the front was tall, with bright golden eyes, an old vertical scar on the bridge of his nose, and a long-handled serrated knife in his hand.
It was none other than the Golden-Eyed Demon General.
He stared at Huang Chen with a single glance, his eyes practically burning with anger.
"It's you again, you bastard!"
'
Huang Chen paused, and the corner of his mouth behind the gray bone mask twitched slightly.
"You have a good memory."
'
The Golden-Eyed Demon General roared, his Cracked Tooth Blade unleashing a burst of golden light as it cleaved down from several dozen feet away. Before the blade even arrived, a crack had already appeared in the ground tiles, and several demon soldiers who couldn't dodge in time were sent flying by the residual force, their bones cracking and popping.
Huang Chen did not flash.
His intermediate-level witch clan battle body suddenly activated, his muscles taut, and the dark gold witch runes under his skin flashed and disappeared.
He slammed his right fist against the blade's edge, the knuckles still wrapped in the crimson patterns of the Pulsefire Battle Domain.
Knives and fists clashed.
clang--
The sound was like a giant bell exploding right next to my ear.
Blood gushed from the tiger's mouth of the Golden-Eyed Demon General on the spot, and he was so shocked that he leaned back, his eyes showing surprise for the first time.
Huang Chen was also struck and felt a heavy weight on his shoulders and back. The brick surface beneath his feet collapsed, creating a half-foot-deep pit with dense cracks spreading out.
The next instant, he used the force of the recoil to pounce directly into the crowd.
kill.
There's not a single fancy detail.
With a single punch, he shattered the chest of a heavily armored demon guard, then grabbed the neck of another leopard-headed demon general, slamming it to the ground and crushing its skull. The Asura Blood Blade swung back from under his arm, slicing away a bone whip that had attacked from the side, along with its owner's arm.
Blood, shards of armor, and bone fragments were splattered everywhere.
The foreign demon generals who had been sitting and watching the show with an air of superiority were now getting anxious as they were drawn into the battle. They began to use their magical artifacts and throw out evil talismans.
Black smoke billowed in mid-air, blood pools churned, and the soul lamps on the high platform exploded one after another, filling the entire night sky with wails.
Huang Chen's eyes caught sight of a large black and red flag at the edge of the platform.
The flagpole was made of a spine, and the flag was bulging, as if it contained a living thing that was constantly thumping and pounding. The moment the Blood Fiend Sensation touched it, the Humanity Prison-Suppressing Stele in the sea of consciousness trembled violently, as if it had encountered something extremely filthy.
The banner for the soul-binding banquet.
Huang Chen twisted his foot and rushed over.
Two evil cultivators blocked his way, chanting incantations as dozens of pale, ghostly hands emerged from beneath the floor tiles. Huang Chen, too lazy to waste time with them, shuddered behind his Soul-Binding Banner, unleashing a gust of yin wind that first tore the ghostly hands apart, then cleaved the man and his magical artifact into four pieces with a single stroke.
He lunged at the flag, grabbed the pole with his left hand, and exerted force with his right.
Click!
The flagpole didn't break.
Huang Chen's eyes darkened, his arm muscles bulged, and the power of his Xuanhuang armor surged up, pulling hard a second time.
boom!
He finally managed to pull the entire Soul-Binding Banquet Banner from the platform, bringing with it a large amount of black blood and broken bricks.
Suddenly, a cacophony of screams erupted from within the flag, like hundreds of throats weeping at once.
Without hesitation, Huang Chen raised his hand and tore it open.
The flag is torn.
The next moment, a chilling, resentful aura soared into the sky.
Blurry figures burst forth from the flag, men, women, and children, their souls broken, their faces filled with the bewilderment of liberation. They had been trapped within the flag for an unknown amount of time, and now, freed, they instinctively flew in all directions.
A series of system notifications suddenly appeared in my mind.
Rescue the trapped vengeful spirits of humans to gain merit points.
】
[Rescue the trapped vengeful spirits of humans to gain merit points.]
Rescue the trapped vengeful spirits of humans and gain a large amount of merit points.
】
The fire in Huang Chen's chest not only didn't subside, but burned even more fiercely.
Because he saw that in the center of the blood pool, there was the skeleton of a child who was less than three years old, with half a sacrificial nail nailed to the skull, which was obviously used to nourish the flag eye.
"brute."
His voice was not loud.
It was colder than any of the explosions that had just occurred.
The Golden-Eyed Demon General has arrived again, roaring wildly, followed by a large group of guards from the city lord's mansion.
Huang Chen turned around and kicked, his Mountain and River Boots stomping heavily on the ground. The entire Pulse Fire Battle Domain roared, and the seven or eight guard demons closest to him were directly overturned by the fire patterns that surged from the ground.
He struck out with another palm, and the suppressive power of the Humanity Prison-Suppressing Monument pressed down on the blood pool along with the force of his palm.
The churning blood pool suddenly crashed into the mountainside, its surface collapsing inwards. The main runes below the platform malfunctioned one after another, the soul-offering chains along the edge of the platform snapped, and the hanging soul lamps shattered in pieces.
Just then.
A voice came from behind the platform.
Just then.
A voice came from behind the platform.
"Even a worthless outer ring sacrificial feast deserves to be made into such a mess."
The sound wasn't loud, but it strangely drowned out the shouts of battle in the arena.
Huang Chen's gaze shifted.
The blood-stained veil that had been hanging behind the platform was slowly lifted from the inside.
The one who came out was a Taoist priest wearing a Taoist robe of the immortal sect. The robe was dark blue with fine star patterns embroidered on the edges. His hair was neatly tied up, and his face was thin and refined. In his right hand, he was holding a string of prayer beads made from infant bones.
His feet were untouched by blood, and even the surging resentment around him seemed to deliberately steer half a foot away.
The moment this person appeared, even the Golden-Eyed Demon General paused for a moment, bowing his head and clasping his hands in greeting.
"Master Xuan Yao.
'
Huang Chen's eyes narrowed slightly.
An unfamiliar face.
An unfamiliar aura.
But that robe, that aloof air, and that tone of voice that seemed to take this blood feast for granted all made one's heart sink.
Master Xuanyao's gaze pierced through the chaotic scene and landed on Huang Chen, as if he were looking at a mud-covered object.
"Human race?"
'
He smiled softly.
"That's interesting."
In recent years, there haven't been many people who dared to barge in and overturn the table.
Huang Chen stared at him without replying.
Master Xuanyao moved the prayer beads in his hand, making a soft clinking sound.
"Killing some watchdogs and releasing a few remnant souls is no skill."
Do you even know whose fault it is that you've ruined it?
Huang Chen raised his hand to wipe away the blood that had spilled from the corner of his mouth, then flipped his palm over, and the Asura Blood Blade pointed diagonally at the ground.
"Come here, I'll tell you slowly."
There was a moment of silence in the room.
Even the few evil cultivators who were retreating were stunned.
Master Xuanyao looked at him for two breaths, then suddenly laughed, as if he had heard some absurd words.
"His madness is outrageous."
With a slight sway of his sleeves, a faint star-patterned magic array appeared beneath his feet.
The magic array wasn't large, but its aura was completely different from the array array of the Ten Thousand Demon City that I had seen before. It was ancient, cold, and hard, carrying a sense of pressure coming down from a higher place.
Alarm bells rang in Huang Chen's mind.
We can't delay any longer.
Most of the offerings have been released, and the main pattern of the Blood Banquet has been almost completely destroyed. Half of the purpose of this chapter has been achieved.
The Xuan Yao Master before us has an illegitimate background. If we continue to confront him head-on, the commotion will only draw out all the real monsters in the entire city.
A thought flashed through his mind, and he suddenly raised his hand.
The Wan Sha Chong Cheng Talisman was useless.
That thing makes too much noise; it's suitable for attacking a city, not for withdrawing now.
He used the Soul Ash Talisman and the Low-Level Causal Mist Talisman that he had prepared in advance.
The two talismans shattered simultaneously, and a cloud of gray mist mixed with lingering resentful spirits and smoke exploded, enveloping the entire platform in a mass.
The wind-stabilizing bead suppressed the rising airflow, preventing the gray fog from rising into the sky. Instead, it rolled horizontally along the square, instantly cutting the line of sight into dozens of pieces.
"Stop him!"
'
The Golden-Eyed Demon General roared in fury.
Huang Chen had already used the fog to rush to the west side of the offerings, grabbed two unconscious children, and then kicked open a side door.
He rushed forward several feet, then threw out several explosive talismans, which blasted the corridor behind him, suppressing the pursuers for a moment.
At the same time, the system's voice finally rang out clearly in my mind.
[Ding! The first condition for the main quest "Stepping into the Core of the Primordial World": Destroy the Blood Feast of All Races, has been completed!]
】
[Rewards being processed...]
Huang Chen didn't even look at it.
He carried two children and leaped onto the outer wall, then jumped into a side alley.
The alley was already in chaos, with demon soldiers running around and bells ringing wildly, shaking the city lord's mansion all the way to the four gates and eight corners.
Boom!
Boom!Boom!
The entire City of Ten Thousand Demons felt as if its lungs had been pierced, and even the night sky trembled.
A furious roar came from the high ground behind, accompanied by an even colder voice. Without turning around, one knew that Venerable Xuanyao had already stepped onto the stage.
Throughout the city, layers of restrictions lit up, with red lights, green flames, bone lamps, and sirens exploding in the night.
Huang Chen darted along the roof ridge.
Each time the Mountain and River Treading Boots landed, they only left a shallow dent on the roof tile. The two children in his arms were still asleep, their breathing weak, and their bodies reeked of the blood sacrifice.
A squad of patrolling demon soldiers rushed out from the street ahead. He immediately raised his hand and unleashed a Nine Nether Soul-Slaying Talisman. With a flash of purple light, all five heads tilted back.
He stepped over the corpses, his clothes fluttering in the wind, almost without stopping.
After climbing over two more high walls, the outline of Black Mountain outside the city could be seen.
Just as he landed on the last corner of the outer city eaves, a very tall blue-white pillar of light suddenly rose from the direction of the city lord's mansion in the distance.
The beam of light was not the bloody light of a demonic formation, but rather resembled some kind of immortal sect's message, forcibly piercing through the night and straight into the clouds.
Huang Chen paused mid-air, glancing back at the ground.
The bells of the City of Ten Thousand Demons are still ringing.
The smoke from the blood was still rising.
The pale blue beam of light illuminated the ruins of the high platform, casting a ghastly glow over half the city and faintly outlining the distant, rolling mountains. In the direction of the Chiwu ancient city ruins, something long dormant seemed to have been awakened by the chaos of this blood feast, a faint glimmer of ancient fire appearing.
Huang Chen withdrew his gaze, climbed off the city wall, and disappeared into the night forest outside the city.
The wind suddenly picked up.
The shadows of the trees swayed, and the sound of the bell chased after them from across the mountains and forests, like unseen waves crashing incessantly in the darkness.