Huang Yuanling looked at the wounds that kept healing and frowned. “Hurry up and act. If you wait for her to fully fuse with this painting and her body heals completely, none of us will be her match.”
“It’s just a painting. What’s there to fear?” Zhuo Ning snorted lightly and pointed extremely flatteringly at the black-robed person. “We’re not her opponents, but we still have you, milady.”
The black-robed person did not accept her flattery. She stepped forward extremely cautiously to her position. “Begin.”
After her command, everyone moved. They surrounded Yu Li from different positions, and different lights appeared on their bodies. They chanted in unison, “Three Thousand Great Daos, golden light yields to me. Kun Position holds the dao. With my flesh and blood, I build…”
After the long incantation ended, the sacrificial altar began emitting blood-red light. The blood-red light gradually swallowed Yu Li. Golden particles began falling from Yu Li’s body, melting into the lake and slowly dissipating.
“Ah!” Ren Qianjing let out a pained scream. The black iron nails on her body turned into black insects one by one. More and more insects emerged, endlessly gnawing at her body.
Black snakes appeared in the lake one after another. They kept popping their heads out, devouring the living humans’ flesh and blood. Their vertical pupils flickered with eerie light.
Looking up, the ten thousand people received the same treatment. Their flesh and blood became food for the insects and snakes. Their lives were stripped away bit by bit. Their blood melted into the lake, drawn by the sacrificial altar toward Yu Li.
More and more blood dyed the entire sacrificial altar red. Strange changes appeared on Yu Li’s skin. Pale golden veins emerged bit by bit, only to be quickly devoured by red blood threads. The black-robed person furrowed her brow. “Wait.”
She withdrew her hand, but faint light still flowed from her body toward the painting. They used themselves as the array eye and living humans as blood sacrifice. They were step by step turning Yu Li into the state they desired.
After the black-robed person’s order, the others all stopped.
They turned a deaf ear to the wails and sobs. They turned a blind eye to the bloody scene, as if those dying humans were not lives but lambs waiting to be slaughtered. Jin Banwei saw that some had already stopped breathing. Pale red resentful souls floated from their bodies, only to have their soul forms bitten apart by small snakes in an instant. They did not even have time to turn into ghosts.
Mi Kong pressed his hands together and asked Huang Yuanling with extreme humility. “Fellow Daoist Huang, I’m quite curious. How did you steal this painting right under Jun Chan’s nose? This belongs to his master.”
Jun Chan, the painting… So this painting belonged to the Guan Family. Then why did Guan Jiyue not recognize it at all?
Huang Yuanling mockingly pressed his brow bone. “His master has plenty of treasures. This painting is nothing.”
Zhuo Ning looked at Huang Yuanling with great interest and probed, “I’m actually very curious. Just how many good things does the Guan Family have?”
“You’ll know once we wipe out the Guan Family.” Huang Yuanling’s smile grew colder. He looked at the black-robed person almost obsequiously. “Milady, as we agreed. Once this is done, you have to find a way to deal with Jun Chan.”
“Mm, I need a demon core.” The black-robed person nodded lightly. “Jun Chan has cultivation nearing half-god. His demon core will be very useful to me. But don’t be impatient. Raising a ghost king takes time. Even with Yu Li’s blood to help, it will still take decades. Continue lurking in the Guan Family. They never suspect their own. You won’t be exposed for now.”
Zhuo Ning chuckled lightly. “Huang Yuanling, you are truly ruthless. What guardian immortal would be as heartless as you, even plotting to kill your master’s entire family?”
“I’m already three thousand nine hundred and eighty-one years old. The Four-Thousand-Year Thunder Tribulation is coming soon. What’s wrong with not wanting to die? Besides, all the Guan Family Members carry He Ti’s blood. Not only are they extraordinarily talented, but they’re also extremely difficult to deal with. If we don’t cut the grass at the roots and this matter gets exposed, none of us will have a good end.” Huang Yuanling suddenly revealed a hint of mockery. He looked at Zhuo Ning. “In truth, when it comes to ruthlessness, who can compare to you? That Grandma Yin was your foster mother. If we really go by blood, this Yu Li girl even has to call you Auntie.”
Hearing that word “Auntie,” Zhuo Ning seemed to have her sore spot stepped on. She immediately flipped her face. “What Auntie? I don’t recognize that kinship. From the moment she was born, she was destined to become a sacrifice. In my eyes, she’s just an item. How could I be an item’s Auntie?”
Huang Yuanling smiled without speaking. Zhuo Ning’s emotions had become somewhat extreme at that moment. She almost subconsciously grabbed Ren Qianjing and walked up to Yu Li. She stabbed a knife into Ren Qianjing’s already shattered body and looked down at Yu Li from above. “Although I have no feelings for you, I was indeed raised by your grandmother. Since that’s the case, to repay her, I’ll help you out. I’ll help make your enemy die even more painfully.”
The knife she stabbed into Ren Qianjing’s body twisted forcefully, actually scooping out a lump of flesh and blood belonging to Ren Qianjing.
Ren Qianjing’s blood splashed onto Yu Li’s face. Faint red veins emerged on Yu Li’s pale face. Yu Li was already very weak. Her body hurt terribly, and every bone in her body felt like it was being crushed inch by inch, reshaped, and then crushed again. Although no changes were visible from the outside, she could feel how painful it was.
She took a breath. Her voice, as faint as a silken thread, fell into Zhuo Ning’s ears. “Let her go.”
Zhuo Ning burst into loud laughter, tears actually forming at the corners of her eyes from laughing. “Should I praise you for being kind, or for being foolish? She deceived you for two years, yet you want me to let her go.”
Yu Li took another breath. Her breathing was extremely labored. She had to endure immense pain to utter a complete sentence. Yet her eyes still held a peaceful light. “Most people in the world can’t withstand temptation. They were wrong, but you who lure people to evil with candy are greatly at fault too. She’s about to die. What’s the use of tormenting her further? Do you want to atone to me? But I don’t need such atonement.”
No anger, no fear, only eyes full of compassion.
Zhuo Ning hated such eyes immensely. She lowered her voice. “You’re wrong. It’s not candy; it’s gold. In your friend’s eyes, you’re just gold. Unfortunately, she won’t get that gold. She’s about to die with you. But you two won’t go to the Yellow Springs Road. Her soul will be refined into a puppet ghost by us, and your soul will be refined into a magical artifact.”
Yu Li lifted her eyelids with great difficulty and looked at the knife in Zhuo Ning’s hand, covered in Ren Qianjing’s blood. She watched as she stabbed the knife into the body that was already being gnawed by insects again. “Stop now. It’s not too late.”
Ren Qianjing could no longer piece together a complete sentence due to the pain, but her eyes stared fixedly at Yu Li. She didn’t resent Zhuo Ning, who tormented her. Instead, she placed all her hatred on Yu Li. Clearly, even on the verge of death, Yu Li was still protecting her, yet she didn’t appreciate it at all. She only wanted to inflict all her pain on Yu Li.
Zhuo Ning pushed Ren Qianjing away. She pinched Yu Li’s chin and looked down into her eyes. “As expected of a child raised by Grandma Yin. These eyes are exactly like hers—hypocritically nauseating.”
Zhuo Ning’s hand was suddenly gripped by a pair of slender, pale hands and pulled away.
The owner of those hands was Sheng Changyi.
Zhuo Ning had a terrible temper in front of others, but she showed unusual patience toward Sheng Changyi. She didn’t argue with her and even watched Sheng Changyi’s next actions with interest.
After pulling Zhuo Ning’s hand away, Sheng Changyi stared fixedly at Yu Li. Her lips moved slightly, and crystalline teardrops had already welled up in her eyes. “Yu Li, you don’t seem afraid at all.”
“Why should I be afraid? After Grandma passed away, there’s probably no one in this world who would grieve for my death.”
Yu Li’s grasp of emotions seemed to have a problem. She seemed to think the most terrifying thing in the world was making others feel sad because of her. Since no one cared about her anymore, she could leave without attachments. She was only regretting the lives of these ten thousand people.
She couldn’t save them. That was probably her greatest regret.
“I, I will grieve for you, Yu Li!” Sheng Changyi almost shouted it out.
Her voice echoed across the entire Sacrificial Altar. Sheng Mao frowned in dissatisfaction. “Changyi.”
“Father, let me talk to her. I really only have this one chance.” Sheng Changyi pleaded pitifully. Sheng Mao glanced at the unmoved Black-Robed Person. Seeing no reaction from the Black-Robed Person, he didn’t bother with Sheng Changyi anymore.
Sheng Changyi sniffed. Her crystalline teardrops fell onto Yu Li’s skin. “Yu Li, actually, I’ve always loved you in my heart. Can you not…”
