Chapter 298 - 123: Willing to be Blood Food, Barter, Black Altar

Su Bai’s Divine Thoughts washed over the man, instantly sensing the eight other avatars hidden on his person and discerning the Cultivation Technique he practiced.

The *Supreme Nine Destruction Body*. Su Bai knew of it from the memories of several convicts; it was one of the nine great Evil Techniques that had circulated among the Demon and Evil Daos many years ago.

This Cultivation Technique used the seven passions and six desires as its starting point, then cultivated the twin paths of good and evil as its foundation. The more potent one’s passions and desires, the faster their Cultivation would progress.

In the convicts’ memories, every practitioner of this technique throughout history had begun by torturing mortals, their Cultivation growing ever deeper as a result.

Ning Qingyu violating Zhao Tianming’s wife right before his eyes was actually quite tame compared to the actions of past practitioners.

Legend held that thousands of years ago, an Evil Strongman who practiced the *Supreme Nine Destruction Body* secretly seized control of a city. He used this Evil Technique to sow chaos, inciting fathers to violate their own children and sons to murder their own mothers.

All of these emotions became fuel for his powerful Cultivation.

This showed that while the Buddhist Dao was not necessarily good, the Evil Dao was, nine times out of ten, a path of grievous sin.

AWOO!

The Silver-White Dog Demon let out a roar from time to time, spurring the frantically fleeing Ning Qingyu and making his scalp tingle with terror.

Su Bai, however, followed leisurely behind.

Before long, they had reached the mountains dozens of miles outside Ningjiang City. After a few flickers, Ning Qingyu darted into the dark mountain forest and vanished without a trace.

Su Bai stopped at the edge of the woods, his gaze deep as he peered into the gloom.

Vaguely, he could see billowing miasmas of Yin Sha hidden among the mountains. His gaze even pierced through this layer of Yin Sha miasma, revealing a black altar beyond.

’Interesting.’

A flicker of interest appeared in Su Bai’s eyes.

Without the slightest hesitation, he stepped into the mountains before him.

WHOOSH!

The night wind howled. In this mountain range saturated with Yin Sha miasma, there was not the slightest chirp of bird or insect—only a dead silence, like the domain of Demon Ghosts.

In truth, however, wild beasts still existed within these mountains.

But all the animals were trapped here, the invisible Yin Sha miasma constantly draining their Essence Blood.

As a result, the beasts had just enough energy to hunt for food and nothing more; they had no strength left to make any other sound.

It was clear that the beasts filling these mountains were nothing more than blood bags.

Their only purpose, aside from procreation, was to supply their Essence Blood to the altar below.

WHOOSH!

At a certain moment, Su Bai seemed to sense something. With a flash, he appeared at the entrance to the Earth Palace.

With his current power, he had many ways to enter this Earth Palace.

The reason he had come to this specific spot was that there was a human village here.

Who could have imagined that a human village could exist in mountains so thoroughly suffused with Yin Sha miasma?

This small village was built against the mountainside and looked no different from any ordinary hamlet.

Its houses were neat and orderly, with fertile fields and lovely ponds. The only difference was that this village wasn’t enclosed by a fence.

A village established deep in the mountains, constantly threatened by beasts from all sides, yet it had no walls or even a simple fence.

This was obviously more than a little strange.

Su Bai made no effort to hide his approach, which naturally startled the villagers.

"Someone’s here! An outsider has entered the mountains!"

"Huh? Someone from outside came?"

"An outsider actually came..."

Many of the villagers were stirred by the news and gathered around, their expressions a mix of emotions.

The younger ones were curious, the middle-aged were wary, and the elderly looked on with fear, anxiety, and apprehension.

"The village chief is here! Make way! Make way..."

With a cough, an old man leaning on a cane made his way through the crowd.

"May I ask where you’re from, young friend? And what important business brings you to our village?" the old village chief asked, his eyes clouded, punctuating his words with a cough.

As he spoke, his clouded eyes remained fixed on Su Bai.

The other villagers also turned their gazes to Su Bai.

"I’ve come to these mountains in pursuit of a fugitive and need to pass through your village," Su Bai replied calmly, his expression unchanged.

The Silver-White Dog Demon at his side twitched its nose and suddenly let out a yelp.

Su Bai looked up.

A huge, striped tiger shot out from the woods. It looked at the crowd from a distance, dropped a massive wild boar, then turned and fled.

’Interesting. A tiger delivering food?’

Su Bai looked away from the tiger and back at the villagers.

The expressions on the villagers’ faces changed, and their gazes toward Su Bai grew hostile.

"Ahem! That tiger... we raised it from a cub. It’s like a hunting dog for us; it brings us game every day," the old village chief explained.

"Did you raise that great beast, or has that great beast been raising you?"

Su Bai glanced at the villagers, then slowly shook his head.

"Some people are dead, yet they live on. Others are living, yet they are already dead..."

His Divine Thoughts were now powerful enough to perceive the hearts of men. To him, this village held no secrets.

In short,

this was a group of people who coveted the easy life here. Deep down, they were willing to be raised like livestock. Periodically, they would offer up "sacrifices" to the altar.

TAP... TAP...

Su Bai stepped forward, his gait steady and his voice calm.

"And you? Do you consider yourselves dead or alive?"

"Stop!"

"If you take one more step, we won’t be so courteous!"

The villagers’ faces changed.

Many shouted warnings, brandishing knives, spears, clubs, and other sharp weapons, looking ready to attack at the slightest provocation.

"Stop!"

It was the old village chief who sensed something was wrong. He immediately shouted to stop them, holding the other villagers back.

Unlike the other villagers who had never left the mountains, he had been to the outside world. He knew very well that the world contained Immortals and Demons, monsters and ghosts.

And he knew that some Immortals took great pleasure in vanquishing demons.

Seeing Su Bai draw steadily closer, the old man suddenly fell to his knees and spoke with a trembling voice.

"Senior, I don’t know what you’ve come here to do, but we are living very well. I beg you, please don’t disturb our lives..."

Seeing their most respected elder on his knees, the other villagers’ faces paled, and they all knelt as well.

"Are you truly living well?"

Su Bai paused and sighed.

"Consider the ultimate fate of livestock. Pigs and sheep share your sentiment."

A life without disaster, without worry for food or clothing—it all seems so wonderful. But such a beautiful facade is what most easily deceives people.

The outside world is chaotic and perilous, a place where one’s life is always at risk. Here, there is only peace. Outside, one must worry about food, clothing, and shelter. Here, one can reap the benefits without sowing. Outside, there are taxes to be paid. Here, there are none...

It goes without saying how an ordinary person would choose.

For them, being raised like cattle by a lecherous Evil God was a fate they gladly endured.

That was why Su Bai sighed. He had rarely seen such a sight.

"People" who were raised as livestock, yet were perfectly content.

If a person has no will to save themselves, then no one else needs to save them either.

WHOOSH!

A moment later, a light breeze swept through.

"Senior?"

The old village chief, after kneeling for some time, looked up to find the space before him empty.

The youth in white was gone.

Many of the villagers breathed a silent sigh of relief.

The village chief calmed himself, then picked up his cane and tapped a few of the younger men.

"Quick! Bring back that wild boar! Get the water boiling and the pots ready! Tonight, everyone eats meat!"

"Haha! Yes!"

The villagers screamed with delight, dancing and cheering in wild abandon.

In that moment, even the younger villagers cast aside their doubts and joined in the celebration.

The leaping firelight danced across their smiling faces.

Yet, the scene was exceptionally sinister and chilling.

...

Within a dark cave, there was not a single speck of light.

Into this gloomy place, Ning Qingyu staggered, finally unable to hold it back any longer. He spat out a mouthful of blood.

"PFFT!"

As the blood hit the ground, the entire cave seemed to come alive. Specks of red light began to rise, illuminating hideous murals on the cavern walls.

The murals seemed to squirm, greedily devouring every last drop of blood that had splattered on the floor.

"Damn it! Damn it all!"

Ning Qingyu’s face was a mask of despair.

’I was so careful!’

His expression turned vicious, killing intent surging within him.

Ever since obtaining the Supreme Nine Destruction Body, he had known he was practicing an ancient Evil Skill and naturally dared not expose it.

He had been so afraid of being discovered by the Daoists of Gui Dao Mansion that he had hidden away in the deep mountains and ancient forests for years.

Only when those Daoists were either dead or had fled did he dare to emerge.

He just never imagined that with the Daoists gone, he would run into a meddling Dog Demon!

’You’re a dog! What business do you have meddling in the affairs of mortals?’

AWOO!

Just as the thought crossed his mind, he heard a faint, distant roar echoing through the mountains.

Ning Qingyu’s expression darkened.

"You’re asking for it!"

WHOOSH!

He flicked his sleeve, and one by one, blood-red candles flared to life throughout the cavern.

The flickering, blood-red candlelight fully illuminated the entire cavern.

It was a vast cavern, large enough to be called an Earth Palace. The candles lined a path that was a hundred yards wide, stretching far into the distance. The blood-red lanterns hanging overhead were more than thirty yards from the ground.

The massive cavern was covered in gruesome, blood-red murals depicting bared fangs and brandished claws, creating a sinister and terrifying atmosphere.

The altar itself was immense, spanning a thousand yards. It was covered in complex, terrifying runes and was a deep, dark red. One could faintly sense the resentful Evil Qi lurking within it.

A reverent expression appeared on Ning Qingyu’s face as he gazed at the altar.

This altar had been left behind by a strongman of unimaginable power. It possessed the might of gods and ghosts; as long as one offered a sacrifice, one could receive anything they desired in return.

Decades ago, he had been the first to discover the altar’s wondrous properties. He had sacrificed the lives of several hundred of his traveling companions to obtain the Evil Cultivation Technique, the Supreme Nine Destruction Body.

He had been a mere Loose Cultivator with no one to rely on, yet he had reached his current level of Cultivation in just a few short decades, all thanks to this altar.

This altar was also the core of the entire Sacrificial Array that encompassed the mountains.

BUZZZ!!

As Ning Qingyu stepped onto the altar, wisps of reddish smoke began to rise around him, and the whispers of a Demon God echoed in his ears.

The whispers made the distracting thoughts in his mind boil over.

He shook his head violently to clear his thoughts, then activated the Array’s power, intending to trap the Dog Demon and kill it.

HISSS!

As Ning Qingyu began, an image appeared within the red smoke.

The image gradually sharpened...

Ning Qingyu stared intently.

It was a dark, damp cave, faintly lit by a red glow. It was filled with hideous murals and a flickering image of an altar.

And on that altar stood a man in green robes.

"Huh? That’s me!?"

Ning Qingyu froze. Then a chill shot through him. As if realizing something, he spun around, his face instantly contorting in absolute terror.

Just a few yards away stood a youth in white, holding the leash of a snarling Silver-White Dog Demon.

He was watching him with a perfectly calm expression.