Chapter 43 "Illusion" "So what will you do?"...

However, that was just Ying Bu Ran's own guess. After all, there is no evidence to prove it now.

Maybe she was overthinking it? How could there be so many coincidences?

"Maybe it was an accident," Ying Bu Ran shook his head, thinking for a long time, but in the end he said nothing, "Let's keep going."

Zhao Chaoan stopped thinking about it. He would know when he needed to know. "Okay, let's go."

After that, there were no more accidents. I walked smoothly all the way to the end. When I turned around, I found four holes behind me.

Zhao Chaoan touched his chin, put his hands on his hips and shook his head: "So all four paths are possible."

"Maybe there are different traps on every road?" Ying Bu Ran walked to the second-to-last cave entrance and looked inside. It was still dark and he could not see anything.

She released a little more ghost energy, but was still blocked by something.

Is this all there is in this secret realm? Ying Bu Ran turned and looked towards the empty room at the end. After a quick glance, he saw the incomplete magic circle on the ground.

There is no other way. Is the secret treasure here, or does one of the other three roads lead to other places?

"Let's take a look at the magic circle first," Ying Bu Ran came to the front of the magic circle, squatted down to examine its patterns, "If we don't find anything here, we will go and look at the other three paths. What do you think?" She turned to look at Zhao Chaoan and asked.

Zhao Chaoan nodded and squatted down as well. "Let me take a look... It's incomplete, but miraculously it works. I just don't know what the conditions are for it to work."

Ying Bu Ran was a little confused and curious. He tried to touch the lines, but there was no reaction. He withdrew his hand and asked, "How do you know it works?"

Zhao Chaoan drew a circle to simulate the circuit running and explained, "It's very simple. After injecting power, the power can pass through every corner completely, even the damaged areas, but the effect will be reduced. I have already made a few strokes on the lines. After filling them in, it should be able to exert its full effect."

She stood up and clapped her hands, still somewhat amazed. "The person who drew this magic circle must have achieved great accomplishments. To be able to achieve a state of incomplete operation requires at least a Grand Master. This is the highest realm of magic circle practice. A normal magic circle wouldn't function if even one symbol was missing."

At this point, she sighed: "Now comes the problem."

Ying Bu Ran subconsciously looked up at her and asked, "What's the problem?"

"This magic circle is drawn with blood," Zhao Chaoan pointed at the magic circle, then pointed at himself and then at Ying Bu Ran, "but the two of us can't gather even a drop of blood."

One is now a puppet, and the other is half human and half ghost, but the ghost part inside is higher, and he simply can't muster up any blood.

Ying Bu Ran was silent for a while before she asked, "Can it be replaced with something else? Like cinnabar or something like that?"

Zhao Chaoan squatted down and touched the broken part, thought for a moment and said, "Give it a try. If it doesn't work, I'll have to ask someone else to fix it."

She took out cinnabar from her storage ring and tried to draw, while Ying Buyan began to rummage through the storage ring that Zhao Qingxun had given her.

It is indeed the one I bought a long time ago. Nothing has changed at all. I just don’t know if the things inside are broken. After all, a long time has passed.

Surprisingly, not only were the things inside not damaged, but there were also some extra things, one of which exuded blood.

Ying Bu Ran took out the white jade bottle with a sudden thought and opened it. It was indeed blood, Zhao Qingxun's blood.

Zhao Chaoan was standing with his hands on his hips, looking at the magic circle and pondering what to do. Cinnabar was completely useless. Before he could think for a moment, he smelled blood. "Huh? Blood? Where did the blood come from?"

When he turned around, he saw Ying Bu Ran holding a white jade bottle in a daze, and the smell of blood was emanating from it.

???

Ying Bu Ran came back to his senses, raised the bottle and said, "This belongs to Zhao Qingxun, I took it out from here." Then he handed it to Zhao Chaoan.

"Huh?" Zhao Chaoan's eyes widened. Why was there still something about that person?

Ying Bu Ran explained, "This is the storage ring she gave me a long time ago. I found it here."

Zhao Chaoan looked at the storage ring, then at the bottle of blood, his expression complicated.

This blood was put in not long ago. Calculating the time, it should be the time when they went to Zhuifeng City.

How did she know they could use this? There was only one answer.

Zhao Qingxun is still in contact with Qi Yiwen.

But this time she really helped them, well, she would find a chance to repay them later. She didn't like owing favors to others, especially that person.

"I'll try again." Zhao Chaoan shook the bottle, feeling a little annoyed. Finally, he squatted in front of the magic circle again with his head down.

This time it was much smoother, smoother than she had expected, as if the blood in her hands was the raw material.

How could it be possible? With such a long time difference, it must be that there is some similarity between Zhao Qingxun's blood and the master of the formation. Doesn't she know if this blood has any special features?

After adding the final stroke, Zhao Chaoan stood up and, with a stern face, returned the vial with half its blood remaining to Ying Bu Ran: "It's done."

Ying Bu Ran poked his head over and saw that the completed magic circle was emitting a faint light, which brightened up the originally dim space. However, it was a blood-colored light, which made the space seem even more eerie.

Zhao Chaoan stopped Ying Bu Ran who wanted to take a look and said, "Let me give it a try. You stand back a little. If I can't start it, you try again."

"Will it fail again?" Ying Bu Ran was a little surprised. Didn't Zhao Chaoan try it once before? She thought it was successful that time but was interrupted by her. Otherwise, how did Zhao Chaoan know that this magic circle could be used?

Zhao Chaoan explained: "It's just to confirm that the power can flow. Flowing means it can be used, but I'm not sure whether my power can be fully functional after it flows."

So that's how it is. It's a bit troublesome. Ying Bu Ran took two steps back, watching Zhao Chaoan slowly injecting power into the magic circle, feeling a little worried.

With the infusion of ghost energy, the light emitted by the magic circle became more and more dazzling, but just when it was bright for a moment, it suddenly dimmed completely as if it had gone out.

Zhao Chaoan retracted his hand, took a step back, and shook his head regretfully: "Tsk, my strength is not good enough. Instead, after running to a certain extent, it triggered the countermeasure and bounced me out."

"Maybe it is the repulsion of ghost energy? After all, it was left behind by the first generation, so it might require spiritual power, or it was left behind by another person, so it requires demonic energy? If it is the latter..." Ying Bu Ran looked at the magic circle and fell into thought.

She recalled the demon soldiers she had encountered before. If it was the latter, maybe she could try to transform it.

Ying Bu Ran also arrived in front of the magic circle. Zhao Chao An stood behind her, watching her squat and place her hand on the magic circle. After Ying Bu Ran's power was injected into the magic circle, the magic circle began to emit light, but it was a completely different pure white light from the one under the influence of Zhao Chao An's power.

Furthermore, the magic circle slowly turned white. When the last trace of blood disappeared, light filled the entire space. When the light disappeared, Ying Bu Ran's figure disappeared.

Zhao Chaoan was panicked for a moment, but quickly calmed down and thought that he must have been taken to another place by the magic circle. The magic circle was still emitting a faint light and was still running.

Wait a moment, until the light of the magic circle disappears, then she will take some coercive measures.

.

Ying Bu Ran was also blinded by the light and closed his eyes, followed by a strong smell of blood, murderous aura, and a familiar sense of oppression from the sky.

She immediately stood up, opened her eyes, and found herself back at the scene of the heavenly sacrifice.

The fear and despair she'd experienced before came back to her, and Ying Bu Ran's breathing quickened a little before she forced herself to calm down. She needed to first understand what was happening.

None of the people presiding over this heavenly sacrifice had ever seen one before, and the face of the tied person on the stage could not be seen clearly, but her intuition told her that it was the first generation.

"This is the scene of the first Heavenly Sacrifice. Those standing here were once our comrades, relatives and friends, but now, they have betrayed us."

A familiar voice came from behind him. Ying Bu Ran turned around abruptly and saw Zhao Qingxun in black. She was staring at the stage with bloodshot eyes and demonic energy surging from her body.

No, this is another first generation, the one who fell into the evil path after the successful heavenly sacrifice.

"Zhao Qingxun" shifted his gaze from the stage to Ying Bu Ran, tilted his head, and said with a half-smile: "In this situation, what would you choose?"

"No one can stop the wrath of heaven now. Countless lives are being taken at the foot of this mountain. The only way now is to sacrifice the heavenly spirit."

Ying Bu Ran shook his head and retorted, "It doesn't have to be a destiny body. Those people can also do it. If they want to save the people, why don't they sacrifice themselves?"

Zhao Qingxun spread his hands and sneered, "They? They have no other abilities besides moral blackmail. They can't even walk up to the Heavenly Sacrifice Formation when it's in operation. Saving her will cause great suffering to the people. If you don't save her, you can save the people, but you will have to sacrifice all the future Destiny Bodies. You and I both know this is a lie, but what can we do? We can't stop it now, right?"

"So what would you do?"

Ying Bu Ran didn't answer her, instead charging directly toward the platform. The pressure of the Heavenly Spirit descended upon her, so real. Yet, she seemed to feel nothing. Spiritual energy and ghostly aura merged, transforming into the purest form of power, slashing at the chains on the platform.

The illusion collapses.

Ying Bu Ran withdrew her power, and the surroundings became pitch black, leaving them alone. "This is my answer," she said with a lowered brow. "Only by staying alive can I save more people from now on."

"But that wasn't her answer, was it?"

Zhao Qingxun was silent for a moment, then nodded. "Well, at the last moment, she chose to bow her head. Even though she knew we might find a solution with more time, we are truly powerless right now."

"Do you agree with her point of view?" Ying Bu Ran asked.

"I don't agree. Just like what you're thinking now, only by living can there be more possibilities. But she carries the responsibility of saving all living beings. She has no choice. I'm also wondering, what exactly does it mean to save all living beings? Are such beings worthy of her saving?"

Ying Bu Ran understood that this was the ultimate test.

“Not worth it, that’s my answer.”