Chapter 558 - 505: Destined Fate

Chapter 558: Chapter 505: Destined Fate

South City, the Nine Heavens Sect’s encampment.

Faced with a life-or-death threat, several sects and schools had banded together for warmth. The Profound Nether Alliance, the Nine Heavens Sect, and the Longevity Sect—three major powers—had gathered.

Just a moment ago, the Golden Core Cultivators of these three factions were still discussing how to win over more Loose Cultivators to prevent another blood sacrifice to the Grand Array, which would pose an even greater threat to their own Ancestors.

But now, under the sudden barrage of Decrees from the Nascent Soul Ancestors, the Golden Core Cultivators stared at each other in bewilderment. If they hadn’t confirmed it repeatedly, they would have thought they had fallen into some powerful Illusion Realm, or that someone was impersonating their Ancestors to issue these Decrees.

"Fellow Daoist Extreme Yin, what... should we do now?"

After a long moment of stunned silence, Li Huatian of the Profound Nether Alliance finally managed to speak, his expression still clouded with doubt. He clearly didn’t understand.

"Since the Ancestors have issued their Decrees, there must be a profound reason behind it. We need only follow their orders."

Extreme Yin True Master was far calmer. It was just a blood sacrifice, after all. For a Ghost Cultivator, such an act was perfectly ordinary.

Li Huatian turned to Chen Guangwu, the Inner Sect Elder of the Longevity Sect, and asked, "Fellow Daoist Chen, what are your thoughts?"

Chen Guangwu nodded. "The blood sacrifice must begin at once!"

Seeing this, Li Huatian flicked his sleeve, and a sand table projection of Bazhou City materialized before them. He looked at the Golden Core Cultivators present.

"There are twelve positions. Each one requires a sufficient surge of Blood Qi."

"My Profound Nether Alliance will be responsible for these two positions. Fellow Daoist Chen, you will lead the disciples of the Longevity Sect and handle these two. Fellow Daoist Extreme Yin, you will take these two."

As he spoke, Li Huatian pointed, and points of light corresponding to the twelve celestial positions appeared on the projection, surrounding the Twelve Blood Evil Array.

"As for the remaining positions, I will contact the Celestial Demon Sect and the Righteous Alliance. What do you all think?"

"Fine."

"Agreed."

The others agreed one by one, their expressions unreadable.

As the orders were given, the Cultivators from the various factions, who had gathered together for protection, began to disperse.

Time passed. The standoff between the Nascent Soul Ancestors in the city center continued, showing no signs of changing any time soon.

But in Bazhou City, the fates of the hundreds of thousands of Cultivators who had gathered from all over the world for the millennial celebration were once again quietly sealed.

Once seen as fodder for the Chen Family’s blood sacrifice, they were now viewed as fodder for the other factions’ array-breaking blood sacrifice. The silent transition was stunning, but the butcher’s knife had already fallen once more.

A bloody storm engulfed the city. Only this time, the ones wielding the knives were not the Chen Family or the Overlord Saber Alliance, but the very factions that had been trying to win over Loose Cultivators for their own protection just moments before.

As for the once-aggressive Cultivators of the Chen Family and the Overlord Saber Alliance, they were caught completely off guard by this stunning turn of events, trapped in a dilemma.

If they advanced, it would mean inevitable slaughter.

If they retreated, it would mean standing by and watching the other factions slaughter indiscriminately, build up Blood Qi, and then... break the Grand Array, rendering all their efforts futile!

Faced with this impossible choice, the Chen Family’s decision was remarkably decisive.

The wave of killing, which had briefly paused, surged forward once again.

This time, however, their spearhead was aimed directly at the Golden Core True Masters of the various factions.

Their intention was crystal clear.

To catch the bandits, first catch the king!

They would cut off the factions’ support at its very source!

Without Golden Core Cultivators to rely on, it would be sheer fantasy for the factions to complete a large-scale blood sacrifice!

After all, no one would simply allow themselves to be slaughtered. If the factions lost the intimidating presence of their Golden Core Cultivators, the blood sacrifice would be nothing but a pipe dream.

In the city center, a great battle raged as the Nascent Soul Ancestors remained locked in a stalemate!

With this sudden shift in the situation, Bazhou City, already awash in blood, descended into absolute chaos.

Before, it was the Chen Family who had torn off their mask of hypocrisy and raised the butcher’s knife against the city’s Cultivators. Now, it was the various factions of Vast Sea Great Chu who had suddenly raised their knives...

For the hundreds of thousands of Cultivators who had gathered from all over the world, whether it was the Chen Family or the factions like the Longevity Sect and the Nine Heavens Sect, none of them could be trusted in this bizarre and shifting situation!

They were all... masterminds pulling the strings, the true culprits!

Even an ant clings to life, to say nothing of a human. And these were Cultivators, beings who wielded great power themselves; they would never allow themselves to be slaughtered like cattle!

There were those who banded together to resist, countless more who fled in panic, and even more who took advantage of the chaos to loot and plunder!

BOOM!

BOOM! BOOM!

The city center remained relatively calm, but the deafening roar of battles and clashing Magic Techniques throughout the rest of the city was endless.

Golden Core Cultivators fought, other Cultivators slaughtered each other—amid the city-wide chaos, a storm of blood and gore raged on, unstoppable!

Chu Mu had already moved, hiding in a shop on a street in South City.

The shop had been ransacked. The Shopkeeper and a few apprentices had been killed on the spot, leaving behind a trashed, empty store and lingering spatters of blood not yet consumed, proof of the atrocities that had occurred here.

Amid the wreckage, Chu Mu silently made his way to the second floor. ’If the Chen Family had spotted me, hiding like this would be pointless.’

’But since the Chen Family hasn’t noticed me, my hiding is obviously seamless.’

The Chen Family hadn’t detected him, and the main participants in the city’s chaos were just Tier One and Tier Two Low Tier Cultivators. It was even less likely they would notice his presence.

’In this city-wide turmoil, someone like me, staying out of it all, is probably a rare sight.’

’At this rate, I’m afraid they won’t be able to hold them off...’

Chu Mu observed the Golden Core battles across the city, his eyes flickering as he fell into thought.

The Chen Family was clearly well-prepared. They had twelve Tier Four Soldier Puppets, six Nascent Soul Great Powers, and even the Nascent Soul Great Cultivator, Qing Cang Ancestor, had come in person.

All of this was to deal with the Nascent Soul Ancestors of the various factions.

And against the Golden Core Cultivators of those factions, the Chen Family was also exceptionally well-prepared.

From what he could see with his naked eye, there were no fewer than ten Golden Core Cultivators from the Chen Family hunting down the Golden Core True Masters of the other factions.

While the difference in Combat Power between the two sides’ Golden Core Cultivators was difficult to discern, in terms of numbers, the Chen Family undoubtedly held the absolute advantage.

Not to mention, they were bolstered by the city’s Grand Array, giving them an even greater edge.

’If this continues, it’s only a matter of time before the Chen Family suppresses the other factions who are frantically slaughtering people for their array-breaking blood sacrifice...’

’Once they are suppressed, with the power the Chen Family has brought to Bazhou City, quelling the chaos and purging the entire city will be a simple matter.’

’At that point, if the accumulated Blood Qi is still not enough to break this array and turn the tide...’

The sliver of gloom that had just begun to lift because of the Array-Breaking Technique seemed to descend upon him once more.

’I can’t just sit here and wait for death!’

Chu Mu pressed his lips together, his decision made.

’Right now, no matter how perfectly I hide, as long as this situation isn’t resolved, I’ll still be a turtle in a jar!’

After a moment’s thought, he leaped into the air, suppressing his cultivation aura to the Foundation Establishment Realm. In the current Bazhou City, this was a level of cultivation that wasn’t weak, but also didn’t stand out.

With Nascent Soul Ancestors in a stalemate and Golden Core Cultivators battling, Foundation Establishment cultivators could run rampant. Before the situation changed, a Foundation Establishment Realm cultivation was still reasonably safe in this city.

As he sped along, the chaotic state of the city became even clearer.

With order completely broken down, it was as if the law of the jungle from outside the Marketplaces in the Great Chu Cultivation Immortal World had descended upon Bazhou City.

Looting, robbing, killing for treasure!

Most of the shops along the streets had been plundered. Groups of two or three Cultivators were everywhere, either battling each other, hunting lone Cultivators for their treasures, or breaking into shops to loot them.

Even if a lucky, surviving shop activated its protective array, swarms of Cultivators would inevitably gather outside, bombarding it with dazzling Magic Techniques, trying to break the array and plunder it.

He continued to speed along. Fortunately, his displayed cultivation was at the Late Stage of Foundation Establishment. Even amid the city-wide chaos, a cultivator of this level was unlikely to be dragged into conflict without a major clash of interests.

In just a few moments, the South City Wall appeared in his view.

The wall stood tall and imposing. Its surface no longer had the color of ordinary stone but shone with a metallic luster visible to the naked eye. Densely packed Array Prohibition Inscriptions flickered across the walls like scriptures.

And as these Array Prohibition Inscriptions twinkled, the several Grand Arrays enveloping the entire city flickered in unison.

At this moment, a sea of people had already gathered at the base of the South City Wall. Countless Cultivators converged here. Some banded together, bombarding the wall with a sky full of brilliant Magic Techniques. Others studied the Grand Array, trying to find a flaw, desperate for a sliver of hope.

Chu Mu observed for a moment before blending into the crowd. With a few flickering steps, he arrived at the base of the city gate.

Under his Spiritual Radiance Blessing, the Chain Array he had previously glimpsed once again appeared in his perception.

With his profound knowledge of Arrays, it wasn’t difficult for him to see that under the cover of the Chain Array, with its Five Elements Yin and Yang and Nine Palaces and Eight Trigrams, Bazhou City had become a giant, isolated cage.

From within, unless the array was broken, no information and no person could possibly escape this cage.

From without, it was surely impossible to see anything inside.

Given the Chen Family’s meticulous preparations, Chu Mu even felt it was impossible for them to let news of the events in Bazhou City leak out.

’They probably arranged for a large number of Cultivators to block off any information from leaving the city long ago. It’s not even out of the question that they’ve sealed off the entire Bazhou Basin.’

’After all, if news of the disaster in Bazhou were to leak, the major powers would certainly not sit idly by. With such a thorough plan, the Chen Family would obviously not allow such an uncontrollable variable to emerge.’

Chu Mu pondered this for a moment. He then circulated his Divine Sense and began to inspect the Chain Array once more.

He had already done what he could to influence the situation in the city. But not only was the outlook uncertain, he had also brought a great disaster upon himself.

Judging by the Nascent Soul Ancestor’s fury, if this situation wasn’t resolved and he failed to escape Bazhou City...

...his fate would surely be tragic!

With a grave expression, Chu Mu mingled with the crowd, his focus absolute. He scrutinized the Chain Array, determined to find a weakness, to find a way out for himself...

...