Chapter Seventy: The Blood Sacrifice of Hangdu

A faint mist spread slowly between heaven and earth, heralding an event so astonishing it left all who witnessed it dumbfounded.

Shops and houses throughout the entire city of Hangdu gradually faded from sight within the encroaching fog, leaving only the terrified cityfolk standing frozen in place. Even the geography of the plains shifted; wind and sand began to swirl, and though Yangzhou's air was usually moist, it now grew arid and dry.

Soon, Zhou Bai surveyed his surroundings. All he could see was a desolate, endless wasteland, with only the county office standing at its center, shrouded in a thin veil of mist that made it seem strangely out of place.

Gritty yellow sand lashed his face. He reached up to wipe it away, finding it indistinguishable from real sand. An uneasy chill ran through Zhou Bai's heart, and he couldn't help but ask, "What is this? Is it a ghost domain...?"

Yu Jun took a deep breath and shook his head. "You know of ghost domains? If we truly were in one, we would be beset by endless spirits, and what we're standing on would be a formation."

"A ghost domain is not something at our level to meddle with—only those who have reached the True Soul or higher could even survive such a place," Hou Bocheng said, his tone filled with dread.

"I know what this is. It’s the Ghost Valley Earth-Locking Formation," Daoist Hou said, as if recalling something from memory, each word squeezed out between clenched teeth.

Seeing the others waiting for an explanation, he continued in a grave voice, "This formation is painstaking to create. To lay a spiritual array large enough to cover the entire Hangdu City would take at least five years."

"Five years..." Yu Jun's eyes flickered. If the game had been set in motion five years ago, then this was a long-planned conspiracy.

"What is the purpose of this Ghost Valley Earth-Locking Formation? Does it merely trap this region?" Zhou Bai pressed on, feeling as if a heavy stone weighed on his heart amid such an inexplicable and eerie situation.

"In truth, the Ghost Valley Earth-Locking Formation is an extremely rare spiritual array, effective only against mortals. Those trapped within have no awareness at all, so it is often used for..." Daoist Hou’s voice faltered, his own heart skipping a beat. After a long pause, he forced out two words: "Blood sacrifice!"

Zhou Bai's pupils contracted, and his heart seemed to stop for a beat. To use hundreds of thousands as sacrifices—what a grand and ruthless scheme.

At that moment, the formation’s true power erupted.

All the citizens within the city, along with the refugees outside, stood motionless, frozen where they were.

Then, from beneath the wasteland, pitch-black coffins emerged, their lids absent.

The paralyzed people, their bodies no longer theirs to control, suddenly began to move and climbed straight into the coffins.

Immediately, a dense rain of black coffin lids fell from the sky, each one sealing a coffin shut.

The sight caused Zhou Bai and his companions to gasp. If anything could be called shocking, it was this: hundreds of thousands of coffins laid out together—a scene to chill the soul.

Yu Jun gritted her teeth, eyes locked on the county office at the center of the wasteland. "When the nest is overturned, not one egg will remain intact. We have no choice but to step into this trap."

Daoist Hou drew a deep breath. Since they had already boarded the ship of the Nether Registry, there was no sense in abandoning it halfway. "Don't worry. The Ghost Valley Earth-Locking Formation can only seal an area. Unless a blood sacrifice is enacted, our lives are not in immediate danger."

"Can it be broken?" Yu Jun pressed.

Daoist Hou rubbed his temples in frustration. "Are you joking? Do you understand the magnitude of this array?!"

Zhou Bai had calmed down by now and nodded. "Our only option is to seek out and slay the one who laid the formation. That’s the only way to cut the problem off at its root."

"Indeed, we must make our way there as quickly as possible," Hou Bocheng agreed, his gaze fixed on the distant county office, now obscured by the mist so that nothing inside could be seen.

"I suppose we should just prepare to die," Daoist Hou said, his voice nearly breaking. "At what cultivation realm must one be to accomplish this? Crushing us would be as easy as squashing an ant."

"No," Yu Jun said firmly. "We have the Nether Registry on our side, and the authorities as well." She looked toward the county office, her eyes filled with meaning. "No such being would dare appear in Hangdu. Don't forget, Prefect Zhao is inside the county office. The authorities possess methods to deal with demons and spirits."

"What methods?" Zhou Bai asked, his eyes wary. Daoist Hou and Hou Bocheng had never heard of such things.

"I'm not sure, but it's certainly not something conventional. It can only be used in dire emergencies. The one behind this must have their reasons for not starting the blood sacrifice right away," Yu Jun said with a shake of her head, but her tone was resolute.

Seeing this, Zhou Bai wasted no more time and strode forward. "If there are no beings beyond the True Form realm, then whether it's a dragon's lair or a tiger's den, we must break through."

As for breaking through to True Form, Zhou Bai had no clue. He only knew that, as the first step on the path of cultivation within the Nether Registry, everyone's epiphany was different. Some might gain it in a single flash of inspiration.

But even achieving True Form was no guarantee of safety; one could just as easily lose control and become a demon or spirit.

Given the urgency, they hurried toward the county office, but before they had gone far, the corpse of the green zombie nearby suddenly changed.

A torrent of yin energy surged toward it, and a huge lump swelled at the severed neck where its head had been lost.

With a wet pop, a fist-sized head burst forth, rapidly growing in a matter of heartbeats to nearly its original size.

Zhou Bai acted at once, closing the distance with supernatural speed and bringing his blade down in a savage arc, severing the head again.

Yet another lump formed on the zombie's neck, and this time the head grew even faster. Its limbs began to twitch with life.

At this, Hou Bocheng stepped forward, hands pressed to the ground as chains erupted from his supernatural power, binding the green zombie tight.

"You two go on. It seems this green zombie can't be killed."

Hou Bocheng had clearly thought this through. Of all those present, only he had the strength to restrain the creature alone.

"Thank you," Yu Jun said without hesitation, nodding before hurrying toward the county office.

Zhou Bai quickly followed, deeply grateful he had saved his Death Curse art for this moment—his hidden card gave him some reassurance.

Seeing the two growing distant, Daoist Hou glanced back at the regenerating green zombie, hesitated, and then hurried after them. Breaking this Ghost Valley Earth-Locking Formation would not be easy, and he might be able to help. Besides, if the blood sacrifice began before the formation was destroyed, he would have no escape either.

But before he had gone far, the resurrected green zombie fixed its newly grown head on Daoist Hou, intent on destroying him and nothing else.

"Damn it!"

Daoist Hou cursed bitterly and had no choice but to stay behind.