Chapter 32 Blood Sacrifice to Lichen: He Holds a Grudge
32
Miao Jue was taken aback upon hearing this.
As Chen Jinshi finished speaking, many odd details suddenly came to light.
How could she possibly have fallen right into the correct stone path leading to Tai Sui?
Even the male and female protagonists, who are both chosen ones by fate, don't have such good luck—that can only mean that this is not good luck at all.
In the past, from her perspective as a single tree, she only knew that the male and female protagonists had intense conflicts when they were taking the Tai Sui, but she did not know that there were hidden thorns in the process.
Surprisingly, once the dust settled, the damp, cold air seemed to be dispersed by a light, drifting breeze, and visibility began to clear—
It turns out that the underground is full of eroded cliffs of varying depths, with an extremely complex topography. If you are not careful, you will fall into a bottomless cave.
If you look closely, the slippery ground under your feet is not covered with moisture, but with layers of strangely colored lichen, a thin, soft fungus that grows tightly in this damp place.
It's not hard to imagine that the Tai Sui that forms in such a place also carries extremely strong evil.
Once she calmed down, Miaojue turned her head again, only to find that the faint light that had been so clearly visible before had drifted away again.
A subtle, alluring attraction, with a captivating illusion, draws people closer to pluck it.
This attraction seems familiar, like...
The young man in white calmly helped her up, a slight smile playing on his lips. "Scared?"
It seems that he has been in a good mood ever since he reappeared.
Miao Jue was certainly not afraid; in a sense, she was invincible. She simply looked up at him and asked, "What does 'Tai Sui Blood Sacrifice' mean?"
The man's steady voice rang in my ears, like a gentle rain falling on bamboo leaves, refreshingly dispelling the surrounding gloom.
"Tai Sui is a living creature. As a living creature, it naturally needs to be fed."
Miao Jue secretly clicked her tongue in amazement. If she had just walked straight past like that, she would probably be nourishment by now.
Looking back now, Sun Mi's reaction was indeed very strange. From beginning to end, she never paid attention to herself, a stranger, beside the male and female protagonists. She probably saw that her spiritual bones were mediocre and had already figured out how to use her.
But Miaojue always felt that the purpose of the coastal city was not just to help the male and female protagonists.
What are the consequences of going to great lengths to activate the Tai Sui (Grand Duke Jupiter)?
Dongfang Yaotian's anxious voice swirled down from above, seemingly from a great distance.
"Qianqian, where are you?!"
"Princess Dongfang, are you alright?"
Sun Mi slowly woke up, her anxious and guilty voice coming through the air: "It's all my fault, I had to lose consciousness at this time, Miss—Miss, can you still hear me?"
Miaojue looked up, wanting to inform Dongfang Yaotian to prevent them from starting a torturous romance on the spot, but suddenly, a cool hand lightly covered her mouth.
"Follow me, and you'll find it."
Miao Jue was startled and subconsciously pursed her lips, but still gently brushed her hand across his palm.
Chen Jinshi lowered his eyes and looked at the face that was mostly covered by his palm. The clear almond eyes seemed even rounder and larger, like bright and colorful lamp beads.
She stared at him intently.
She glared at him, yet believed him, and truly didn't answer.
Chen Jinshi couldn't help but smile, his palms growing warm from her breath.
If he had spread his wings, he would have completely concealed her now. It would be even better if he were some colossal, earth-shattering beast…
The world-destroying villain sighed and looked up. Ashes rose and passed through the dark, winding stone path. He squinted to see who was trying to harm him.
After calling out a few times, Sun Mi saw that there was indeed no response from below, and she secretly smiled knowingly.
That woman must have already headed towards Tai Sui. Ordinary people with spiritual bones simply cannot resist the allure of Tai Sui, after all, it is...
After being nourished by human blood, Tai Sui can release the true "catalyst." These two chosen ones absolutely cannot withstand that strong addiction, but she can.
Sun Mi quietly turned around and carefully stared through the crack in the stone at the fork in the road he had come from. The thing was extremely inconspicuous, but it was cast with a fragment of Nether Bone and could be used once—it would quietly shatter when a real Nether Race member approached.
Now, that withered coral has disappeared without a trace.
The tenth person has indeed appeared!
He must have come here to intercept Tai Sui and find the Fire Qilin.
There are so many people in this world who covet and exploit the flesh and blood of the Netherworld Clan. Once he discovers that there are people who are unwilling to follow the crowd, who are willing to get close to the Netherworld Clan, and who can even understand them from the perspective of these forbidden races... how could they not look at him differently?
They gathered a wealth of anecdotes about the Netherworld Clan from the city near the sea. It is said that... the Netherworld Fire Qilin of yesteryear once fell in love with someone because of this.
Sun Mi's heart stirred slightly. He pressed down on the anxious Dongfang Yaotian and Gong Yuqiu, forced himself to stand up, and said weakly, "The path where Miss Dongfang fell is blocked. I came down here once when I was a child. I will take you to find her through another path."
Dongfang Yaotian, unsuspecting, quickly helped her up, his bloodshot eyes filled with emotion: "Your condition is already so bad, it's really... I'm so sorry to trouble you."
"Don't say that, it's what I should do, let's go..."
…
Sun Mi's voice faded into the distance, and Miao Jue withdrew his gaze.
Incidentally, he pulled the hand that Chen Jinshi was using to cover her mouth off.
The two locked eyes, and the damp, cold ground fell silent for a moment.
Miaojue felt she should ask something, but after pondering it for a while, she didn't say it—because that would seem too much like showing concern for him.
Miao Jue twirled the red string on her wrist and asked in a normal tone, "Then can you take me to find Tai Sui now?"
With a hint of lingering satisfaction, Chen Jinshi withdrew his hand, blinked his peach blossom eyes, and then turned his head, "—This way."
The structure below resembles a three-dimensional cave, with a complex interplay of directions. As she followed Chen Jinshi, she turned onto the stone path to the upper left. One second she could no longer see the faint glow of the Tai Sui, but the next second it reappeared even closer.
The ashes beneath the white robes swirled around like thin clouds. Miao Jue watched as the broad-shouldered man led the way, seemingly knowing everything, which only deepened her curiosity.
"But how do you know that the Tai Sui needs a blood sacrifice?" she couldn't help but ask.
Chen Jinshi turned his head slightly, revealing the contours of his bones in the interplay of light and shadow, as if he had remembered something. Finally, he simply smiled warmly and said, "Of course, it's because—"
"I have performed the ritual."
Miaojue paused for a second.
The cold, eerie atmosphere of the underground was nothing compared to his naturally wicked, villainous aura.
Just imagine, this person escaped unscathed from the tenfold punishment of the gods of wind, thunder, and rain simultaneously; the Immortal Envoy of Langhuan must have suffered heavy casualties.
—Openly murdering an immortal is not just a simple violation of the Langhuan Covenant; he has essentially trampled the Langhuan Immortal Court underfoot, causing a huge uproar.
Miaojue couldn't help but ask him, "How did you manage to survive?"
Chen Jinshi stopped walking, a hint of joy appearing in his eyes.
She still cares about him.
He quietly covered the scalding wound on his back with ashes, preventing the smell of blood from showing, and then said with a smile, "I survived because of you."
Miaojue looked up at him in surprise and saw that his eyes were very serious, but she didn't believe it at all—how could that sword, even if it was made of Nether Bone, reverse the situation?
Chen Jinshi led her away from the ridged stone sill, his palm protecting the top of her head. "It's true."
The moment the giant mountain fell, the Nether Bone returned to its place, as if it were an object from outer space, instantly breaking the balance of the Ten Great Seals from within.
His power, which had been suppressed by countless Immortal-Binding Stones, surged to an extraordinary level.
Dust settled in his eyes, as if he could see the surging, violent ashes colliding fiercely with three powerful spiritual energies. The flying ashes transformed into endless feathers, and a clear whistle, silent for a hundred years, pierced the sky.
When those two black-gold wings unfurled, Langhuan finally understood what the Tenth Clan of the Underworld truly was. But it was too late.
After the darkness and chaos, only his white-clad figure remained amidst the ruins.
The three True Immortals fared better than he remembered, and this time, he didn't end the battle by disemboweling them.
It was all because of a momentary moment of weakness on the part of the person in front of me.
Dust settled as he looked at the ingenious technique, quietly pressing his own ribs.
He rushed over, actually wanting to ask... if she, being so soft-hearted, could forgive him for the ten years of harm he was unaware of.
But looking into her clear, innocent eyes, he found it difficult to speak.
…and it's hard to forgive.
Miao Jue had no idea what the villain was thinking, but she didn't ask any further.
She doesn't need to pay too much attention to this person; she needs to always remember that this person is a world-destroying villain who caused her to be killed and is still ready to cause trouble at any time.
Miaojue moved a little further away from him, and continued walking forward while holding onto the stone wall. Suddenly, he felt something wet and sticky in his palm, with a faint smell of damp rust.
It looked like old bloodstains.
Just then, Sun Mi and Dongfang Yaotian's voices drifted over from afar, rising and falling like will-o'-the-wisps.
"It should be this way. The place where Miss Dongfang landed should be around here."
"Qianqian! Qianqian?—"
"Can you hear me, Qianqian!"
Miao Jue, clinging to the edge of the rock, noticed that as their voices rang out, the flickering fluorescent light also rippled, as if releasing a halo of light towards them in response to the sound.
Sun Mi followed behind the male and female protagonists, sketching something on the stone wall out of their sight. Her attention seemed to be elsewhere, not on the protagonists, but on something she was searching for.
They're definitely not looking for a magic formula.
But saying it's about finding Tai Sui... doesn't quite seem like it.
What exactly is the coastal city trying to do?
Chen Jinshi regained his composure, his gaze sweeping lightly over Sun Mi, a cold smile playing on his lips.
Just as the three were about to turn around, he grabbed the girl in front of him and slipped into a crevice in the cliff beside him, whispering, "The Crimson Cloud Sect and Jade Void Sect have been destroyed one after another. Some people have sensed that the world has changed and want to switch sides..."
Do you think it's okay?
Miao Jue understood his metaphor, but didn't quite grasp it—did this mean that the Qian Yuan Sect in the coastal city intended to surrender to the Netherworld Clan? It was indeed a very insightful observation, but if that were the case, shouldn't they go outside the city to find Silver Fox and the others to kowtow to, or fight against the Chosen One to protect the Fire Qilin?
Who is this performance for?
He picked up the dust and curled the corners of his lips indifferently.
Ashes slowly emerged from the white sleeves, enveloping her palm and gently burning away the dampness she had rubbed against, before whispering in her ear.
“Actually, people come here every year, and once they come, they can’t get out. The amount that Tai Sui can digest is limited… so those people who are half or half can only drag themselves around crawling.”
"..." Miao Jue's palms tightened, and he gritted his teeth, lowering his voice, "You might as well not have told me."
Wouldn't that mean blood and intestines would be dragged everywhere?
She secretly rubbed the sticky feeling from her palm onto his white clothes.
Dust settles: "You touched me again."
"I don't."
Miao Jue withdrew his hand expressionlessly, then asked, "What do you mean by 'again'?"
Chen Jinshi smiled silently, letting the wisp of ash patiently wipe along her fingertips to her fingertips, slowly moving between her fingers and palm.
Miaojue suddenly felt very uncomfortable. She tried to pull her hand away, but found that there was no room to do so.
They then realized that their current location was extremely awkward—it was a narrow cliff face that could barely allow one person to pass through, but now there were two people squeezed in.
She leaned her whole body against him.
Miao Jue immediately tried to move, but Chen Jinshi pressed down on her shoulders and restrained her, saying, "They're here."
Miao Jue didn't want to lean against him or prop herself up against the stone wall, so she gritted her teeth and asked him, "Can't you turn into ashes? Turn into ashes now, and this place will be more spacious."
Chen Jinshi coaxed her, then wrapped her up in his arms, "I'm severely weakened right now and can't turn into that much ash. Maybe next time."
I almost wanted to strangle him, but I was also afraid of making him happy.
In the end, all he could do was grind his teeth in the dark.
Sun Mi's graceful figure passed through the crevice at this moment.
The Heavenly Fire Spirit Bone was indeed not comfortable in this damp place. Her face was as pale as a dead person, but her eyes were gleaming as she looked around.
The earth spirit bone has indeed disappeared. It seems that the Tai Sui has been nourished by the blood and is about to activate its power.
Sun Mi waited with suppressed excitement.
Dust settled and patted the person in his arms soothingly. The handful of ashes on his fingertips, along with the bloodstains from Miao Jue's touch, quietly crossed the stone path and were cast into the hazy light at the end.
"Wait, what's that?" Gong Yuqiu suddenly exclaimed.
Sun Mi paused, a smile quietly appearing on his face.
It has begun. The tenth member of the Underworld Clan has come to Tai Sui, and must be nearby at this moment.
The damp, heavy air underground seemed to pause for a moment, and then began to flow in a certain direction, turning into a wind that moved in the same direction.
The silent attraction is even stronger, like spores scattered in the wind, bringing a hallucinogenic dizziness.
A beam of bright light illuminated the dark end of the stone path, revealing a huge, bloated fleshy Ganoderma lucidum—this was the Tai Sui. It resembled both a plant and an animal, growing alongside strangely colored mycelium and lichen, and was still pulsating.
With each breath, a very peculiar scent wafted through the underground air.
Miaojue suddenly realized something.
She quickly peered out and, sure enough, heard a clanging sound. Dongfang Yaotian lost his grip on the Nether Bone Blade and dropped it to the ground, his entire body seemingly moving uncontrollably toward Tai Sui.
She suddenly grabbed Chen Jinshi's clothes, "You sacrificed it with blood before, using ghost blood?"
Chen Jinshi smiled and nodded, "That's right."
The brilliant remark: "You??" Truly the most despicable person in the world!
The Tai Sui, formed by absorbing the blood of the Netherworld, is inherently hallucinogenic. For those who have come into contact with the flesh and blood of the Netherworld race, it is like a poison with a thousandfold attraction. This is the first time the male and female protagonists have faced that bone-deep hunger and desire after being injected with the Netherworld blood, making it a perfect opportunity for them to torment each other.
Dongfang Yaotian had already knelt down on one knee before Tai Sui, his hand trembling as he reached out to it. The warmth of his fingertips was rapidly absorbed by Tai Sui, making the shape of the fleshy Ganoderma even clearer.
Miaojue suddenly felt that it looked somewhat familiar, as if there had been something similar in their small village many years ago—back then, her second brother had taken them to the mountains to pick mushrooms and they had seen a fleshy Ganoderma that resembled this Tai Sui. Her second brother said that this thing couldn't be eaten, but it could be kept as a pet, but Chen Jinshi ruthlessly refused.
The Tai Sui in front of me looks like a distorted version of something from my childhood memories.
Chen Jinshi looked down at her, his fingertips curling slightly.
He pointed to the breathing thing and whispered, "Actually, this Tai Sui (a type of rare fungus) drifted here from the sea, covered in blood. When it stopped, it was already soaked in blood."
Miaojue paused, then understood what he meant.
What blood could stain an entire sea red...? The answer is self-evident.
Then she must have misjudged the Tai Sui, Miao Jue thought, after all, their village wasn't at sea, and the mushrooms from the mountain couldn't possibly have drifted here.
Dongfang Yaotian roared, gripped the hilt of his knife, and forced himself to calm down. At the same time, he grabbed Gong Yuqiu and shook his shoulders violently.
But at that moment, Sun Mi, who was standing behind, suddenly spoke up loudly.
She took a few steps back, her voice filled with surprise and disbelief: "You...you've actually been tainted with the blood of the underworld?"
Dongfang Yaotian gritted his teeth and turned back to explain, "This wasn't our initiative—"
“How could you do this?” Sun Mi interrupted him, her face showing no sign of being bewitched by Tai Sui, standing there clear-headed and sorrowful. “I thought you, like me, hated this cruel way of doing things…”
The ingenious method was astonishing.
It seems that the coastal city is really going to surrender to the underworld, but who is she saying this to?
Sun Mi's face was pale, as if he were empathizing with that pain, and he questioned Dongfang Yaotian and Gong Yuqiu: "The Netherworld Clan are also living beings. Didn't you ever think that the Netherworld Clan felt pain when their blood was drawn and their bones were peeled off?"
Chen Jinshi smiled indifferently.
The ingenious method was utterly astonishing.
But... the male and female protagonists haven't managed to kill any members of the Underworld Clan yet, have they?
Dongfang Yaotian was astonished; he had never imagined that the woman before him would have such insights.
He stared blankly down at the Nether Bone Blade in his palm. He had never thought about the situation of the Nether race, because from birth, and even in his previous life, countless people had told him that the Nether race was a malevolent force of heaven and earth, and that annihilating the Nether race seemed to be the lifelong mission of his surname.
Dongfang Yaotian's mood seemed to waver for a moment, but then he remembered the drought he had seen when he came back—cracked farmland, dried-up streams, and people suffering in misery.
“Sister Deer, you have been in the coastal city for a long time and have never really come into contact with the Netherworld Clan, so naturally you do not know how powerful they are.”
"But all I know is that they have been oppressed for centuries!" Sun Mi said, becoming even more emotional. "It's like... it's like how I, despite having a Heavenly-level Fire Spirit Bone, have been suppressed by the sect because I'm not suited to the sea. But even so, I never thought of using the flesh and blood of the Netherworld Clan to make myself stronger!"
The female cultivator's beautiful figure shone brightly before the light of Tai Sui, completely shocking Dongfang Yaotian.
A series of footsteps appeared unhurriedly from behind.
It was very clear in the pitch-black underground.
clatter.
Ta-da.
Sun Mi's hand trembled slightly, as if he had turned around unintentionally.
Although she had been waiting in the shadows, she was still clearly stunned the moment she saw the man in white.
Legend has it that the Underworld Clan could fight Langhuan to the death and reach the heavens and the earth, yet he had such a refined and elegant appearance, like a banished immortal, with a jade-faced Buddha. His eyes and brows carried a light and leisurely air, and he was as elegant as a light ink landscape painting.
Sun Mi suppressed his trembling teeth and asked with a puzzled expression, "Who...who are you?"
Miao Jue, who was behind her, observed her expression and suddenly realized that Jin Haicheng's actions... seemed to be a performance for Chen Jinshi.
Why?
She stared at the man's tall and slender back, her mind churning. Suddenly, she felt a terrifying message flash through her mind—a century of blood and tears passing in the blink of an eye. She didn't even dare to grasp it for a closer look.
Seeing that the man in front of him remained silent, Sun Mi softened his tone: "Did you accidentally wander in because the stone gate was open? You should leave here quickly, it's very dangerous..."
Show concern for the Underworld Clan, understand the Underworld Clan, and enter their hearts.
Over the past century, these beasts have been so pitiful, they must have been waiting for someone like her to appear.
"You—" the white-robed youth did speak, his voice gentle and refined, "You've never used the flesh and blood of the Netherworld Clan?"
Sun Mi's handsome face revealed barely suppressed excitement. He bit his lip and said softly, "Yes, I think people shouldn't be so cruel—"
The young man in white nodded, then his fingertips suddenly twitched.
The ashes sliced through like a knife, and the Tai Sui shuddered violently as if in pain, as if a piece of flesh had been ripped away, and it began to tremble. After its skin broke open, the intense hallucinogenic pull caused the male and female protagonists to immediately lose consciousness.
Dust settled, and the piece of Tai Sui soaked in Netherworld blood flew over.
Without warning, it crushed from above and struck Sun Mi's head.
That was the blood of several members of the Underworld Clan, which was poured into her meridians. In an instant, the five elements were overturned and became chaotic.
Sun Mi knew that the flesh and blood of the Netherworld Clan required cannibalism among those of the same lineage, or fusion with the blood and bones of a tenth person. Thus, she clearly felt her Fire Spirit Bone beginning to backfire inch by inch.
The man in white smiled warmly, "Then try more."
...
Sun Mi coughed up blood from the corner of his mouth, collapsed to the ground in disbelief, and his eyes quickly rolled back.
Dust settled in, and her footsteps swept past her calmly.
He then passed by Dongfang Yaotian and Gong Yuqiu, shook his head, and walked straight to Tai Sui.
As if it were sentient, the thing began to tremble and shrink back.
The dust has settled, but my mood isn't actually that good.
He smirked and muttered to himself, "Don't be afraid, you're still useful. I won't kill you."
You need to find the perfect one.
He naturally extended his forearm, conjuring sharp-edged ash feathers, and skillfully slashed from the base of his palm to the crook of his arm. Dark golden blood dripped into the wound of the Tai Sui, and the lichen beneath his feet trembled violently.
Snap.
A drop of blood mingled with it, and the ashes instantly took control of the entire Tai Sui.
Before the second drop could fall, a pair of hands had already stroked back against the wound on his arm.
Wherever the palm touched, the bloodstains disappeared.
Time flows by quietly.
Miaojue frowned at him: "What are you doing?"
Chen Jinshi blinked, knowing that she probably couldn't tell that it was Nether Blood, so her peach blossom eyes slowly curved again, "Tai Sui hasn't fully woken up yet, and still needs some blood—which is perfect, I don't need any."
Miaojue's eyes were clear: "Are you crazy? Is something broken?"
Chen Jinshi's once bright and captivating peach blossom eyes could no longer curve, and the arc gradually straightened out.
He truly didn't care about this body.
The Forbidden Clan lay dormant for a century, and everyone supported him, sparing his life outside.
All his people suffered endless skinning, blood-sucking, bone-crushing, and marrow-draining over the past century... but he did not.
So he did it himself.
"Moreover," Chen Jinshi looked at the magic technique, and after a long while spoke in a low voice, "I still owe you a lot of knives."
It's finally out in the open.
Ten years later, she found the most important person from her childhood, only to find that he had become her enemy who had harmed her countless times.
“Yes,” the girl nodded seriously, “every cut was important, and I remember them all clearly.”
Chen Jinshi's fingers tightened, and at this moment, fear finally arose in his heart, a mixture of hot and cold sensations rolling through his chest.
She didn't recognize him, and couldn't remember what he had left her.
It seems like I'll never forgive him.
Chen Jinshi lowered his arm, which had been healed by her, and his thin lips parted slightly, "I..."
Miaojue looked into his panicked eyes with her clear almond-shaped eyes, and suddenly sighed: "You, you, you, what do you mean?"
"If I had known you would be like this when you grew up, I wouldn't have played with you when you were little."
Chen Jinshi was stunned for a long time, then his eyes suddenly brightened as if he were a young boy.
Remember me. You remember me.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com