Chapter 59 Tide Sacrifice to a Thousand Souls, Waves Burning Incense, Yan Chao exclaimed in surprise: "These..."
Yan Chao exclaimed in surprise, "What are these?!" She quickly took a few steps back, but instead of sinking deeper, she sank deeper and deeper.
Feng Xi grabbed her arm and said, "Chao Chao, be careful."
Mi Qing looked around and found that there was nothing but bones in all directions, and they were in a corner surrounded by bones: "Are we in another space again?"
Feng Xi said, "No, the space has already disappeared."
Yao Xu picked up a skull, its surface white and flawless. He picked up another, and it was the same. He said in confusion, "Something's not right! This is in the sea. Bones should be corroded by seawater, but all the bones here are perfectly normal. Could they have just died?! There are so many human bones here. It's a bit horrifying."
Yan Chao seemed to sense something, raised her hand and grabbed, the seawater flowing through her palm. She then took a few steps, as if walking on flat ground, and said, "If we're not in this space, then what kind of place is this? Although the Water-Repelling Pearl allows us to breathe freely underwater, we still have buoyancy when walking. But here, although we're in the water, walking is no different from walking on land. It's really strange."
Mi Qing said, "In that case, these people must have been dead for a long time. So many people... what exactly happened here?"
As soon as he finished speaking, Yao Xu suddenly felt a chill behind him. As soon as he turned around, he saw a silver fish with sword bones suddenly attacking him.
Yao Xu quickly dodged and struck out with his palm, saying, "You can't eat me just because I'm good-looking!"
Feng Xi replied, "I've heard this fish is extremely delicious. I'll give it to you and see if you eat it or it eats you. If you're the one who gets eaten, I won't save you."
Sure enough, as soon as he said "I'll save you," the second one leaped up, followed by the third and then the fourth. This time, they attacked the other three people respectively.
These four fish seemed intent on defeating the four of them one by one. The four were far apart, and the sword-bone silver fish leaped into the air and swung its tail, lifting countless white bones high into the air and forming four whirlpools of white bones, trapping the four of them firmly in the whirlpools.
Unusually, Yao Xu drew a precious sword but did not draw it. He only used the scabbard to attack the big fish, saying, "Today it's either you die or I live. I'll fry, stir-fry, boil, and cook you!"
These four large fish, though enormous, were as slippery as loaches, impossible to catch with bare hands. They seemed to be deliberately toying with the creatures, not in a hurry to release their venom, but simply moving through the whirlpool. Because their bodies were almost transparent, they appeared and disappeared among the white bones in the whirlpool, dazzling the eyes.
Yan Chao said loudly, "How about we have a competition to see who finishes their fish first! The loser has to do the cooking, how about that?"
Feng Xi laughed and said, "That's exactly what I was thinking. I'm sure to win!"
As soon as he finished speaking, Feng Xi smiled slightly, raised his hand and snapped his fingers, instantly freezing the sword-bone silver fish in place.
It was a colossal creature, yet it was held firmly in place by one person and three fingers, frozen in place, unable to take another step forward. Its two bloodshot eyes darted around anxiously, but its body remained completely immobile. The vortex disappeared, and the sword-bone silver fish crashed heavily to the ground, creating a large crater.
Feng Xi clapped his hands and said, "It's up to you now."
Upon seeing this, the other three immediately released their toxins. Countless pores opened on their bodies, and the toxins released from their spikes poured out through these pores like a dreamlike, dazzling fluorescent light cascading down from above the vortex.
Unfortunately, it was too late.
Yan Chao took a pill from her bag and picked up a few skulls from the ground. Just before the fish hovered above the whirlpool, preparing to release its venom, she leaped forward and plunged the pill and skulls into its mouth. The pill went straight into the fish's belly, and its stomata instantly closed. A string of skulls lay across the middle, and the fish's lips gaped open. She grabbed its upper jaw with one hand, used the momentum to flip it over, and sat on the fish's back. She clenched her fist and gently tapped its head, and the sword-bone silver fish immediately deflated and collapsed to the ground.
Yan Chao said, "If you insist on waiting even though it's poisonous, then I have no choice but to fight poison with poison."
Feng Xi waved to her and said with a smile, "Chao Chao, how about we steam one fish and make soup with the other?"
Yan Chao let out a breath, leaned against the sword-bone silver fish to rest, and said, "Then let's make sashimi and grilled fish with the other two!" Looking at Yao Xu and Mi Qing, who were still working, he added, "Mi Qing, give it your all! These four fish are all for Yao Xu!"
"Don't worry! He'll definitely be the last one!"
"Yan Chao! How can you be just as immoral as Feng Xi?!"
The two spoke at the same time, and finished at the same time. Mi Qing had tied the fish into a pretzel shape, while Yao Xu had beaten the fish until it foamed at the mouth. To be precise, he had knocked the fish unconscious with his sword sheath.
Feng Xi raised an eyebrow and said, "You two really have great chemistry."
Yan Chao said, "Since you two finish at the same time, let's do as we just said and leave it all to Yao Xu!"
Yaoxu: "..."
"Miqing, do you really agree with what they're saying?"
Mi Qing said, "What's wrong with that? It's because you cook so well."
Yao Xu rolled his eyes at them, plopped down on the ground, turned his head away, and said, "Heavens have no eyes! I consider you my best friends and lovers, but you treat me like a cook! Eat, eat, eat! Such a big fish, aren't you full?"
Feng Xi said, "Then you don't find it uncomfortable to sit in a pile of bones?"
Just then, Yao Xu suddenly felt his buttocks soften, as if he were sitting on a ball of cotton, and he was slowly moving backward. Before he could react, something suddenly yanked his collar back, and he instantly plunged into a dark hole.
"Eh...!!!"
"Yao Xu——!!!"
The group followed closely into the black hole. Icy, bone-chilling seawater rushed in from all directions. The water was so dense and dark that they couldn't see the others. They could only struggle to swim upwards. However, the water here was truly strange. Yan Chao was an excellent swimmer, and she possessed a water-repelling pearl, but in this water, no matter how she swam, she seemed to remain stuck in the same spot. Worse still, she felt the water-repelling pearl's effect weakening, and she grew increasingly exhausted. She choked on some water, her body began to sink, and a feeling of suffocation washed over her. Just as she was about to lose consciousness, it felt as if a solid force was lifting her up. Yan Chao's eyes lit up, and the next moment, someone grabbed her waist, quickly pulling her upwards until they broke the surface. When Yan Chao came to her senses, she saw that the person who had brought her up was none other than Feng Xi.
Feng Xi looked down at her: "Are you alright?"
Yan Chao came to a strange conclusion: "You were able to float up so quickly, is it because you have magic power and I don't?"
Feng Xi paused for a moment, then pulled her into his arms with one hand and swam leisurely through the water with the other, saying, "Zhao Chao is not bad either. Those who went to great lengths to catch fish would never have imagined that you could subdue it with just a small pill. Your medicine is much more effective than those magical treasures and powers."
Yan Chao nodded, unable to contain his pride, and said, "Just as I said, our Chunshan Tower doesn't keep idle people."
Just then, a patch of land appeared in the distance, pitch black. Feng Xi led Yan Chao ashore. As soon as they reached the shore, a row of torches suddenly lit up on either side, instantly reflecting a dark gray light onto the ground, making it shimmer and feel slightly crunchy underfoot. Yan Chao squatted down, dipped his finger in the mixture, and tasted it: "Salty, is it salt?"
By the firelight, Feng Xi scanned his surroundings but found no trace of the other two. However, he noticed that all the torches were suddenly pointing in one direction, as if guiding them. He looked in that direction and said, "Chao Chao, let's go check that out."
The two followed the fire into the distance, and soon saw several people approaching. They were in a hurry, dressed in short black and blue clothes, with their hair styled in three topknots, and carrying fishbone knives or long spears. Judging from their attire, they seemed to be Xi Zheren.
The surrounding area was open, with only a few low stone pillars, leaving no room for avoidance; it was a direct confrontation. Yan Chao reached out to take out his sleeping incense, but the group simply glanced at them and ignored them, quickly walking off in one direction. It wasn't that they hadn't seen them; rather, it was as if they had, yet remained unperturbed, though their gazes were rather unfriendly. Yan Chao looked at Feng Xi, and standing beside her was nowhere to be seen—not the handsome, dashing young man in blue. He was clearly just like the others, except his short jacket was black and red. Looking at himself, he saw the same thing.
Sometime later, they had changed their outfits.
Yan Chao asked, "Did you change this?"
Feng Xi glanced at the outfit he was wearing and joked, "They gave it to me."
Yan Chao asked, "Are they really the Xi Zhe people? Wasn't it said that the Xi Zhe tribe had disappeared?"
Feng Xi said, "Whether it is or not, we'll find out by going to see."
The two followed the group through a grove of trees to a very open area. In the center was a long staircase leading to a circular platform, five zhang high, constructed of rock. At the center of the platform stood a huge white sail, its mast made from the spine of a silverfish. On either side of the platform stood two fish-skin drums, their surfaces engraved with patterns of swirling waves.
Before long, the long steps were filled with people, all dressed identically except for the color of their clothes. From top to bottom, they were blue-black, red-black, and cyan-black.
There's one more.
He stood alone on the long steps, his back turned, wearing a feathered crown and holding a fishbone staff. His clothes were purplish-black, but they seemed different from the others. Upon closer inspection, it was discovered that his clothes were made of fish skin, which shimmered in the moonlight.
The two mingled with a crowd of people dressed in the same color as themselves. Everyone had their heads slightly bowed, their expressions cold and solemn, and they remained silent. The atmosphere was even more oppressive in the darkness, and Yan Chao suddenly felt a bit suffocated. Suddenly, the sky brightened, and she was momentarily disoriented, instinctively raising her hand to shield her eyes, only to be glared at fiercely by the person next to her.
He whispered sternly, "Behave yourselves, the Tide Festival is about to begin."
No sooner had the words left his mouth than the man on the long steps suddenly shouted, "Bring them up!" Soon, a group of people escorted a group of people dressed in short white and black clothes to the platform where they knelt. They were all bound and gagged, and among them were many elderly, weak, women, and children; a quick glance revealed no fewer than a hundred people.
The man raised his hand and said in a deep voice, "Throw them in."
Upon hearing this, the bound men began to struggle and stir, their eyes filled with tears of terror. Unfortunately, their mouths were gagged, preventing them from making any sound other than muffled whimpers. But everyone ignored them. One by one, they were thrown into the giant circular pit, landing silently.
Yan Chao was shocked. Could it be that the so-called Tide Festival was actually a human sacrifice?
She glanced up and was surprised to find Yao Xu and Mi Qing among them. She tugged at Feng Xi's sleeve, and Feng Xi understood; he had also seen them. He whispered, "Don't rush."
With a loud "thump," the fish-skin drum sounded, and the man turned around, raising his hands high and chanting incantations. At that moment, everyone else also raised their heads, raising their hands high, and mirroring the man's actions.
Yan Chao then noticed that the person at the head of the group had double pupils. It was rumored that the Xi Zhe clan always considered double pupils to be an auspicious sign, and if a person with double pupils was born into the clan, they would definitely possess extraordinary talent and be the only candidate for clan leader. The person on the platform was undoubtedly the clan leader of the Xi Zhe clan.
As the voices grew louder, a six-zhang-high wall of water rose from behind the platform. The clan chief prostrated himself on the ground, crying out in a mournful voice, "I beseech the gods: The red tide obscures the sun, and dead shells fill the beach. Humans have committed evil, and the sea has suffered. Now we offer a living person to be sunk into the abyss. With blood as a sacrifice, we atone for our sins! We pray that the gods' anger will subside, that the defilement will be cleansed and the bright pearl of the sea restored! May the souls of the sea return! We weep and bow again!" As soon as he finished speaking, the wall of water was about to pour down and flood the giant pit, and the white sail instantly turned blood red.
Just as Feng Xi was about to cast a spell, a pungent cloud of smoke suddenly appeared, choking people and making it impossible to open their eyes. But it only lasted a moment before the smoke dissipated. The people around him also disappeared.
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