Chapter 59: Blood Sacrifice
That vast and sorrowful divine consciousness, like receding water, quickly retreated from Chu Yun's mind. But his soul, already on the verge of shattering from the burning of his essence, was like a boat crushed by the storm, teetering on the verge of disintegration. "Chu Yun! Chu Yun! How are you?!" Mo Li and Li Ge's calls, filled with extreme anxiety and concern, were like two strong ropes, forcibly pulling his consciousness, threatened to be overwhelmed by the overwhelming information, back to reality. He suddenly regained consciousness, gasping for breath. Although the soul does not need to breathe, it is a life-like instinct to resist extreme pain. He found himself still half-kneeling on the altar, drained of all energy. The touch of the cold stone, transmitted through his soul, was incredibly real. He tightly grasped the Judge's Pen, which had become indistinguishable from an ordinary brush, while his soul was so ethereal that it was almost transparent, as if it could be blown away by the slightest breeze. "I'm... fine." He forced himself to stand, his voice hoarse, as if it didn't belong to him, each word laced with tearing pain. "You still say I'm fine!" Mo Li's eyes instantly reddened as she watched him, looking as if he'd disintegrate at the slightest breeze. "Do you know, you almost... lost your soul just now?" "I'm fine." Chu Yun shook his head. Gazing at the two worried faces, he slowly relayed every ounce of information he'd gleaned from the Judge's tragic final words, word for word, through the "Bridge of Heart." As Chu Yun transmitted the last image, the entire Unending Hell—the eternal darkness where even ancient demons trembled—fell into a silence even more terrifying and frozen than before. Li Ge and Mo Li were completely stunned, their souls frozen like statues. The usual calmness, pride, and intelligence on their faces vanished, replaced by an indescribable blankness, a mixture of shock, absurdity, fear, and disbelief. At the Tianshi Mansion, Elder Xuan Chenzi of the Law Enforcement Hall. That supreme leader, renowned in the cultivation world for his ruthless impartiality and unwavering law enforcement, second only to the Grand Celestial Master and several reclusive elders in status; that legendary being, said to have reached the level of "half-step celestial being," revered as a deity by countless disciples, was actually one of the true masterminds behind all of this—from the fall of the underworld to the bloody sacrifices on earth? While this revelation didn't directly point to the supreme leader, its impact was undiminished, inflicting a chill and a sense of strangeness deep within. Because the Grand Celestial Master was a legendary symbol, while Xuan Chenzi was a living...
That vast and sorrowful divine thought, like the receding tide, quickly withdrew from Chu Yun's mind. However, his soul, already on the verge of shattering due to the burning of his essence, was like a boat completely crushed by the storm, tottering and almost disintegrating in an instant.
"Chu Yun! Chu Yun! How are you?!" Mo Li and Li Ge's calls filled with extreme anxiety and worry were like two tough ropes, forcibly pulling his consciousness, which was about to be overwhelmed by the huge amount of information, back to reality.
He suddenly came to his senses, gasping for breath. Although the soul did not need to breathe, it was the life's instinctive reaction to extreme pain.
He found himself still half-kneeling on the altar, drained of all energy. The touch of the cold stone, transmitted through his soul, felt incredibly real. He tightly grasped the Judge's Pen, which had become no different from an ordinary brush, while his soul felt so ethereal that it was almost transparent, as if it could be blown away by a breeze.
"I... I'm fine." He forced himself to stand up, his voice so hoarse that it seemed as if it didn't belong to him, and every word was filled with tearing pain.
"You still say you're fine!" Mo Li looked at him, who looked like he would be blown away by the wind, and his eyes instantly turned red. "Do you know that you almost... lost your soul just now!"
"I'm fine." Chu Yun shook his head, looking at the two people's worried faces, and slowly passed all the information he got from the judge's tragic last words to them through the "Bridge of Heart" without missing a word.
When Chu Yun finished transmitting the last image, the entire Avici Hell - this eternal dark void where even the ancient demons trembled, fell into a dead silence that was even more terrifying and solidified than before.
Li Ge and Mo Li were completely stunned, their souls frozen like statues. The usual calmness, pride, and intelligence on their faces had completely vanished, replaced by an indescribable, utterly blank expression, a mixture of shock, absurdity, fear, and disbelief.
Tianshi Mansion, the elder of the Law Enforcement Hall, Xuan Chenzi.
That absolute leader in the world of cultivation, known for his ruthlessness and strict law enforcement, whose status is second only to the Grand Heavenly Master and several reclusive elders; that legendary existence whose cultivation level has reached "half-step to heaven" and who is revered as a god by countless disciples, is actually one of the real masterminds behind all of this - from the fall of the underworld to the blood sacrifice on earth?
While this revelation didn't directly point to the Supreme Leader, its impact was undiminished, inflicting a chill and a sense of strangeness deep within. While the Grand Celestial Master was a legendary symbol, Xuan Chenzi was a living, breathing person possessing supreme power and prestige. The fall of a concrete, revered figure evoked a far more tangible fear than the collapse of a distant symbol.
"Xuan Chenzi... How could it be possible..." Mo Li was the first to utter a dreamy, resisting murmur from his extreme shock, his soul trembling violently and uncontrollably. "My father once took me to the Tianshi Mansion to pay him a visit... I've seen him. He clearly had the demeanor of an immortal, full of righteousness! How could it be... How could it be him?!"
"People do change." Li Ge's voice was so cold that it seemed to be devoid of any emotion, but her slightly trembling soul still revealed her inner unrest. "Or perhaps, he wore that 'immortal' mask too well from the beginning, deceiving everyone."
"In order to... 'break through the realm and ascend'..." Chu Yun looked at the Judge's Pen in his hand, his eyes becoming colder and clearer than ever before. "I understand, I understand everything. This is a huge, interconnected 'conspiracy', jointly constructed by the fallen of the Tianshi Mansion, the usurpers of the Underworld, and the ambitious people of the Shadow Pavilion. It is a 'mad dream' that attempts to subvert the existing order of the Three Realms."
"The Shadow Pavilion, a group of assassins and evil cultivators adept at operating in secret, is responsible for collecting the vital energy of countless lives in the mortal realm, providing the most basic 'fuel' for the 'Blood Moon Transforming the Sky' ritual. The new King of Hell, the usurper, is responsible for disrupting the fundamental cycle of reincarnation in the underworld, overthrowing the old master, and utilizing the resentment of the Unending Hell and the divine power of the old gods to provide a higher level of 'energy' for the ritual."
"And Xuan Chenzi..." Chu Yun raised his head, a terrifying cold light flashing in his eyes. "He is the 'core' and 'brains' of this conspiracy. He wants to use this evil ritual constructed by the resentment of countless lives and gods to break through the 'gap between heaven and man' that no one has been able to cross for thousands of years. He wants to ascend in broad daylight and become a true 'immortal'. And the third fragment of the Evil-Suppressing Seal is the most crucial 'key' for him to trigger and control this ritual!"
Chu Yun's analysis, brimming with cold logic and clear reasoning, sent a chill through Li Ge and Mo Li's spines. Facing a madman willing to use the Three Realms as a "cultivating cauldron" in his quest for immortality; a terrifying being whose power reached the level of a "half-step celestial being"; and a conspirator in high rank, possessing the power of righteous law enforcement yet colluding with evil—they stood virtually no chance of success.
"Then what should we do?" Mo Li's voice was filled with helplessness and bewilderment. "We can't even leave the underworld. How can we fight against a powerful 'Half-Step Celestial Being'?"
"No, we can get out." Chu Yun slowly raised the Judge's Pen that had completely lost its divinity. "After the Judge exhausted his last divine power to convey the message, he turned this pen into a 'token' for our departure."
His voice was filled with reverence for the martyred Judge. "It can only be used once, opening a spatial rift from the core of the Infernal Hell directly to the 'Ancient City of Blood Sacrifice.' However, once used, it will be tantamount to a blatant 'declaration of war' on Xuan Chenzi and his accomplices, completely exposing everything we have here. Then, we will not only be hunted down by the Shadow Pavilion and the Underworld, but even more terrifying, the most righteous and deadly encirclement and suppression from the Law Enforcement Hall of the Heavenly Master's Mansion, under the guise of 'cleansing the sect' and 'upholding righteousness.'"
"Even so," he looked at them and asked slowly, "are you still willing to come with me and explore that ancient city that is like hell on earth?"
Li Ge and Mo Li looked at each other, and in each other's eyes, which were filled with shock and fear, they saw the rekindled flame of unyielding spirit. Yes, what could fear and despair change?
"From the moment we decided to travel together in the Mechanical City, trusted each other in Wangyou Village, and decided to enter the underworld..." Mo Li slowly stood up, his trembling hands clenched into fists again, his eyes sharp and proud again. "There's no turning back. Besides, I want to see with my own eyes what the true face of the Law Enforcement Hall elder is like beneath the mask of 'immortal appearance'."
"Let's go." Li Ge's words were concise and to the point, and she had already grasped the gleaming silver needle in her hand. Her "Tao" was redemption, and sometimes, the "destruction" of evil was the "redemption" of good.
"Okay." Chu Yun no longer hesitated and injected the last bit of Taiyi Qi that maintained his soul into the Judge's Pen without reservation.
"Om--" The moment the brush came into contact with the Taiyi Yuanqi, it burst out with a vast white light that shot up into the sky, and turned into an invisible sharp blade filled with the will of "judgment", fiercely slashing at the eternal dark void that imprisoned the devil.
"Crack--" A sound of space tearing was heard, and the indestructible Hell of Hell was torn into a small but stable space crack.
On the other side of the rift, instead of the oppressive underworld sky, lay the all-too-familiar atmosphere of the human world. However, this atmosphere was mingled with a chilling, bloody odor and resentment that seemed to have dyed the sky red.
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