Mingzhuo estimated that they should have already gone deep into the mountain.
The caves here were naturally formed, and then they were modified by humans to become the dwelling place of the Saha religion, or the people of the Yemei Kingdom.
Inside the long, deep cave, there was a circular opening overhead, tens of meters in diameter, with the entrance located on a deep cliff face.
Mingzhuo speculated that due to geological changes, this place must have been a volcanic crater or something similar tens of thousands of years ago.
However, the volcano went out and became an extinct volcano, and the area was gradually occupied by the people of the Nightfall Kingdom.
No wonder this group of people were not discovered while hiding deep in the mountains and forests; not only were they distracted by the maze formations, but they also had the advantage of terrain.
The huge cave was now packed with people.
The outermost layer consisted of villagers, all dressed in white, each holding a candle and uttering strange prayer sounds.
Mingzhuo listened carefully and realized it was an ancient saying, but strangely, it felt familiar, as if someone had called her that before.
But that's impossible; these rituals are either sacrifices to external gods or summoning Luo Zhi, and he himself is not dead.
Mingzhuo turned his gaze inward and looked up at the high altar.
The altar was a square platform built of bricks and stones. Moonlight shone through an opening in the ceiling, illuminating one corner of the altar and making it appear sacred and radiant.
But if you shift your gaze slightly toward the edge of the altar, you'll find the steps densely packed with "people".
At first glance, there were over a hundred people.
They were dressed in different clothes and were of different ages. They stood quietly in the darkness where the moonlight could not reach them, and there was no breath in them. If you did not look for them, you would not notice their presence at all.
The scene was extremely eerie, as if... those people had already died.
Mingzhuo felt the warm touch of Gu Xu's palm and realized that Gu Xu was asking her if Liu Shuang's parents were among them.
She nodded.
These people were the ones transported by Huang Laopi's fleet.
They were chosen to be here for some strange and evil ritual.
At this moment, an elderly man with a full head of white hair walked up to the platform and lit several sticks of incense.
Those who had been standing silently suddenly raised their heads in unison, greedily inhaling the smoke rising from the incense.
The smoke seemed to come alive, seeping into the mouths and noses of the group.
Standing at the front, He Wangyao felt a chill run down her spine at the scene before her.
He thought for a moment, then nudged Li Wenhe: "Don't you think this looks like a scene of opium smoking in an old photograph?"
Thinking of this, he wanted to raise his hand to cover his mouth and nose, but their arms were all tied, so he couldn't do it at all.
This smoke is so eerie, it's definitely more terrifying than opium!
These people have all been fooled! They should have stayed far away the first time!
However, to be fair, they are just ordinary people with their own desires, which is why these evil people took advantage of them.
Therefore, the people of the Saha sect and the Yemei Kingdom are especially hateful.
Li Wenhe did not answer him, but instead stared coldly at the baby-faced youth on the altar.
Half an hour ago, after they parted ways with Mingzhuo, he was worried that those people might be planning something against Mingzhuo in secret.
He soon realized that he should be worried about themselves.
Unaware of what had happened, the guards who had previously casually left the twenty or thirty men aside suddenly became tense.
Then he saw a baby-faced young man walk in.
"You're Li Wenhe?" The baby-faced young man scanned the crowd and his gaze fell on him.
Li Wenhe immediately composed himself and deliberately pretended to be dull-witted.
He didn't know what tricks Mingzhuo had played on them, but they were probably very deceptive, which was why the group of people hadn't suspected them.
The guard quickly explained, "Yes, this is Li Wenhe. And this is He Wangyao and Pei Di; they will be the ones to be sacrificed later."
The baby-faced young man smiled and said, "I see."
In that instant, Li Wenhe sensed a sharp and piercing danger.
Suddenly, the baby-faced youth pulled out a dagger and slashed it toward Li Wenhe's eyes!
Li Wenhe almost thought it was just a test.
He quickly realized why the baby-faced youth used the word "you" in his first sentence. It was as if he was talking to himself.
—The other party knows that you are pretending!
Li Wenhe reacted quickly, drawing his magic sword as he swiftly retreated, but the dagger clung to him like a leech, relentlessly pursuing him.
He finally managed to knock down the dagger, but a bloody gash still appeared on his cheek.
Blood dripped out in an instant.
The baby-faced man said with a hint of regret, "What a pity, you managed to dodge it."
The guard was stunned. He stammered, "Your Excellency, the Madam and the Young Master agreed not to attack these people before the ceremony begins..."
He worried that this was not a good thing, as his wife always kept her promises and tried her best to make the young master happy in the final stage of his life.
What if we hurt these people and the young master gets angry?
Arthur suddenly turned around and kicked the guard in the chest, causing him to spit out a mouthful of blood.
"Useless! Didn't you see he was dodging? Quickly go and report to Madam, these people aren't under control at all, they're all faking it!"
The moment those words revealed everything, Li Wenhe thought to himself that he might as well just have a fight.
Before he could even draw his knife, Arthur grabbed someone, and by sheer coincidence, he grabbed Old Man Huang and stabbed him in the thigh.
The excruciating pain pulled Huang Laopi out of the illusion created by the puppet, and he screamed in agony.
Meanwhile, the people Arthur brought had already silently placed knives at the necks of the ordinary people in the production crew.
Tang Zhen and Gu Xu exchanged a quick glance. Fearing the consequences, they had no choice but to surrender.
——
Li Wenhe snapped out of his thoughts; he couldn't worry about whether Mingzhuo was still safe.
All he knew was that Madam Luo eventually sent people to capture Mingzhuo.
Then, everyone was urgently summoned and brought here to prepare for the launch ceremony.
Arthur, on the other hand, kept a close eye on them like a venomous snake.
Seeing Li Wenhe looking over, he smiled smugly: "How about that? Isn't it amazing? The power of the celestial god is boundless. If you kneel down and praise Him now, perhaps He will make an exception, grant you divine incense, and guide you to become servants who can serve the gods, so that you can reach the Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss."
Li Wenhe: "Incense to attract spirits? To me, it looks more like a trick by evil spirits to devour other people's souls."
He Wangyao chimed in, "That's right. What kind of god needs to devour other people's souls? Only a noob would wear a sacred cloak to do petty theft."
Hmph, my boss said that all these extraterrestrial gods are just ugly, pretentious charlatans!
Arthur was furious and slapped Li Wenhe across the face.
Li Wenhe's still unhealed wound on his face burst open again, and blood gushed out instantly.
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