Chapter 382: Busy

It's getting better, everything is getting better!

The sacrificial temple is open, and the Holy Dynasty is here!

The sacrificial temple is here, won't the revival be successful?

After experiencing long setbacks and hardships, Lord Wuyou stood on the deck with people, gazing at the scenery inside the rift realm.

In the wind blowing toward his face, his clothes fluttered, and he had a sense of pleasure like "the spring breeze is proud and the horse's hooves are fast."

It's a pity that there is no Chang'an or flowers before his eyes.

Only a world that seems to be frozen in the apocalypse...

In the huge rift realm where infinite clouds rise and fall, massive amounts of floating earth and fragments float in the void. Amidst the sweeping of the vast wild wind, the fragments remain motionless.

Paths of lightning crisscross through the void, and it seems as if they are frozen forever at that moment, frozen in mid-air, as if cast in iron.

Wisps of sparks burst from the lightning, hovering in the air, bringing scattered light.

Heaven and earth are inverted.

At this moment, above the sky, is a strange surging deep sea, like a phantom, looming. But it emits an aura that makes people shudder, making people subconsciously want to stay away.

And in the deepest part of the sea of dark clouds disturbing below, there are countless phosphorus fire rains rising from the abyss, passing through countless ruins, and falling toward the deep sea above their heads.

Dreamlike, so gorgeous.

Lord Wuyou looked behind him. Among the subordinates, someone immediately opened the cage and released a batch of birds caught from the sea.

Inst

The moment they flew off the deck and entered the Rift Realm, all the birds scattered like headless flies, flying crookedly or plummeting downward.

Some inexplicably exploded into a mass of blood and meat, while others accidentally charged into the thunder, instantly reduced to ash by the solidified lightning.

Others collided with the eerie phosphorus fire rising from the abyss; those wisps of light, resembling sparks, danced instantly, hungrily surrounding them, drilling into the birds' bodies, and then, with a loud boom, exploded into even more phosphorus fire, pouncing on every other living thing.

Some even headed straight for the deck.

*Snap. *

Lord Wuyou flicked his finger, and the phosphorus fire exploded out of thin air, then split into countless smaller specks of light, drifting down like snow, permeating everywhere.

They were blocked outside by Tian Yuan's repulsive force.

Only a hissing sound echoed continuously; on the deck, everyone's expression changed slightly, including Xie He, and they all took a step back.

Even Tian Yuan's repulsive field was being corroded, as if burning; some specks of light writhed, constantly pushing inward, but soon, they all extinguished one by one.

For a moment, no one could make a sound, holding their breath.

Even though they were safe and sound.

But at this moment, inside the Rift Realm, the number of phosphorus fires was far more than thousands.

It was simply endless!

If one were to provoke them...

"Go around, don't clash head-on with these ghostly things." Lord Wuyou's expression darkened slightly; although he had suffered a minor setback, he was not discouraged.

After all, it was once the Imperial Sacrificial Temple; how could there be no danger at all?

At this moment, the giant ship above the sea of clouds shrank further, and under his command, it carefully avoided the phosphorus fire and detoured.

But even with a detour, they could not escape the crises hidden in the dark.

In some places, there was nothing, but as the ship passed, a large opening would silently split open, as if it had collided with an invisible blade.

Others, while sailing along perfectly well, would be hit by a breeze blowing from afar; the unlucky ones swept by the breeze would instantly freeze in place and turn into ash.

The threat of tangible things was secondary, already causing enough trouble, but this kind of crisis without any warning was truly hair-raising.

Furthermore, among the countless massive ruins and building fragments, it was completely like a maze; there was simply no way to find the path out.

The only thing they could rely on was the ancient document in Lord Wuyou's hand.

The moment the document, stamped with the former Imperial Seal, entered the Rift Realm, it slipped from his hand, rose up, and turned into a wisp of phantom light, leading the way ahead without caring if they could keep up.

They could only follow with all their might; several times, they were almost shaken off and completely lost due to avoiding danger.

And when the giant ship finally passed through the maze of thunder, phosphorus fire, and countless fragments, and 'docked' on the largest island, everyone was drenched in sweat, feeling as if they had lived through a lifetime.

Lord Wuyou's expression grew increasingly solemn.

Just by entering the gate, the treasure ship, built with the painstaking efforts of countless generations of ancestors, was already on the verge of being scrapped, covered in cracks.

Fortunately, they had finally landed!

After repeatedly confirming there was no danger, they finally boarded the 'great mountain' that seemed to rise from the sea of clouds, right in the center of the Rift Realm, at a place resembling a port!

It was vaguely discernible how magnificent and spectacular the entire 'great mountain' must have been when this Rift Realm was once whole; it was likely enough to occupy the entire Rift Realm.

Countless buildings stood in rows, rising layer by layer, guarding the solemn temple at the peak, enough to make any visitor feel awe while looking up.

Compared to this spectacular sight, the existence of humans was so small they didn't even count as dust.

However, after encountering the earth-shattering changes, the former scale was long gone, with buildings broken and aged everywhere, not to mention the lack of human presence.

Only an eerie empty city remained.

"Rest assured, this is where visitors once entered the city; with the document, it will not trigger any danger."

Lord Wuyou beckoned, retrieved the document hovering before the massive archway, and was the first to step onto the ground, safe and sound.

On the plaza, which now only had half its length remaining, all the outsiders looked up at the magnificent archway hundreds of meters high, and even the many decorations that remained breathtakingly luxurious after the vicissitudes of time, unable to help but hold their breath.

It was as if they had arrived in the homeland of giants.

Big, too big, big enough to be unsettling.

But everything they saw, whether it was the floor tiles under their feet, the stone carvings on the plaza, or every building, was incredibly exquisite.

Even the seams of the stone bricks were filled with brilliant gold, and the stones under their feet were carved with complex floral patterns; after four or five hundred years, they were long covered in dust, yet still carried a breathtaking beauty.

Who knows how many people, over how much time, poured all their heart and energy into it, tirelessly beautifying every detail, taking this as a great work to persist in for a lifetime and continue for dozens of generations, giving everything.

In the end, it only created a few bricks at the entrance of this sacrificial temple...

They had never witnessed the scene during the heyday of the Eternal Empire, but this extravagance and material wealth alone were enough to make one tremble instinctively.

Just being able to restrain oneself from prying off two bricks was already commendable.

Mainly because they were afraid of dying...

Who knew what consequences would be triggered after prying them off?

Moreover, the countless buildings before them were already in a mess, like a Rubik's cube that had been twisted, topsy-turvy, pieced together in a chaotic manner, and even changing at a speed visible to the naked eye in the eyes of the outsiders...

The chaotic and distorted power of Tian Yuan had already permeated every

corner; if one were careless and got swept in, heaven knows what they would turn into.

After all, there was already a glaring precedent placed before everyone...

The 'indigenous people' of this place!

Just between those broken and twisted buildings, on the roads, and even behind cracks and windows, one could vaguely see faint, blurry human figures.

Just like shadows that had detached from the ground and replaced the original owners.

Flickering and twitching, appearing and disappearing.

Some sat in place, motionless; some twisted and crawled everywhere as if dancing; some appeared and disappeared without warning.

As if they were silhouettes left behind by the scenes that once took place here.

Others... were like people hanging themselves, detached from the ground, suspended by black threads, rising into the sky, falling toward the eerie, dark deep sea above their heads.

As they swayed in the wind, laughter and praise would faintly come from the wind, echoing continuously.

"This... what is this..."

In the crowd, a Sin-Tainted one dressed as a monk, with one arm bare, felt a sharp pain in his eyes just by glancing at the scene here.

That pair of pale golden pupils involuntarily shed blood

tears, and then, it went pitch black, and he couldn't see anything.

He wailed in vain, hunching into a ball.

He wanted to reach out for help, but the people around him scattered vigilantly; even if his companions wanted to assist, they were blocked by Lord Wuyou.

Until the wailing stopped abruptly, his body had already withered into a ball, as if drained of life and blood by an invisible force; at the moment of death, he actually assumed a posture of kowtowing in worship.

*Snap! *

With a crisp sound, something writhed under his bare back, tearing through the corpse; the deceased's face, wearing an eerie smile, actually rose from the crack in his back.

And then, in the astonished eyes of everyone, under the face, tentacles began to stretch out...

A strange human face like a jellyfish, with a happy smile, slowly rose into the sky, not even looking at its former shell, laughing devoutly, and merged into the hymns and praises in the sky.

"Lord Wuyou, what is going on!" The monk's leader frowned: "Didn't you say it was safe here?"

"Seeking your own death!"

Lord Wuyou glanced expressionlessly at the Sin-Tainted ones behind him who were not his subordinates: "I warned you, don't look around, don't touch anything!

Do you think you're the only ones with the Ether Eye?"

He warned finally: "The weight of the sacrificial temple's domain is equivalent to the Imperial Palace; there must be no presumption, understand!"

For a moment, in the silence, no one had any further objections.

Even if they did, there was no way; the Tower Contract had already been signed, and besides, without Lord Wuyou's leadership, they would probably all die here and never find their way out.

Even Lord Wuyou, walking at the very front, seemed to be facing a formidable enemy.

Detouring around many phantoms, identifying the text and markings on the road, he would occasionally fall into hesitation, and even after walking a stretch of road, he would turn back without warning.

After a long while, they had only walked through a few streets.

Under the eerie power of the sacrificial temple, not only gravity and rules, but even time seemed to be distorted.

Amidst gasps, someone looked up at another intersection, shocked and pale.

Only to see another team walking out of the road over there, completely unaware... their appearance and clothing were clearly themselves from a quarter of an hour ago!

Yet someone, not paying attention, stepped over the boundary, stepped on the steps of a building, and in an instant, half their body was gone, crushed into a mass of rotten meat by an invisible force!

Even the Law of Tian Yuan was entangled within it, making it difficult to recover.

But even so, Lord Wuyou's expression became increasingly excited; as they approached the sacrificial temple on the mountaintop, his eyes gradually became

fanatical.

The sacrificial temple...

The Imperial Temple for Sacrificing to Heaven!

All specifications were modeled after the inner Imperial Palace, and all the structures and equipment were aimed at the Emperor's mausoleum!

It could be said that this was a tomb.

However, the one buried here was not the Emperor, but the enemy that the Eternal Empire had to pour the power of the entire nation to fight against during its heyday!

Mobilizing the power of the whole world, using every possible means to completely annihilate the enemy, even erasing all records, making all traces disappear from the world!

Even if the opponent was so powerful that it was difficult to crush their bones and scatter their ashes even after death, they still had to build a sacrificial temple to suppress them, trampling the enemy's remains forever under the Empire.

Even turning them into one of the fulcrums of the Tower of Tian Yuan...

The Tower of Tian Yuan, which once controlled the entire world, could not have had a single main body; it could even be said that its main body was the Empire that covered the entire Central Land and mastered the world!

If they could have succeeded, then the world today would probably still be under the control of the Empire, truly and genuinely becoming eternal!

It's a pity that after the failure, the Tower of Tian Yuan was broken in half, and even the Emperor, along with the broken high tower, fell outside the present world,

creating the current vortex.

In the ninety years of chaos that followed, the world was once again submerged by destruction.

The glory that claimed to be eternal disappeared without a trace in just over a decade; the heavenly streets were trampled over the bones of officials, the inner treasury was burned to silk ash, and under the counterattacks of various parties, the Emperor's direct bloodline was completely severed.

And many treasures and inheritances were scattered in all directions before they could even be collected.

The collateral branch of the royal family that inherited the title of Wuyou luckily changed their identity, escaped the disaster, and even created a foundation again in the Thousand Islands and the Central Land, relying on the assets of the former Empire, and even that secret capable of reviving the Empire!

Before the Tower of Tian Yuan was completely finished, the Emperor had secretly issued a last will—even if the great cause failed, it left a chance for future generations to revive it.

On the day the Tower of Tian Yuan broke, guards secretly carried the Imperial Seal to the sacrificial temple, completely locking the gate of the temple, waiting for the right time.

It's a pity that with the collapse of the Tower of Tian Yuan, this place, as a fulcrum, was also disturbed and became unrecognizable.

The royal clan withered, and the inheritances of titles like Changle, Anguo, Wuyou, etc., from that year, had all changed hands... the true blood was thin, and they could barely even open the gate.

If we are talking about bloodline, it's not even as pure as those artificial humans in the Southern Land Empire today!

But what does that matter?

These days, who doesn't have some royal blood? Even back then, people with royal blood were probably more numerous than dogs on the street.

The average reign of emperors was three hundred years, with countless concubines; having hundreds of children and thousands of grandchildren could be considered ascetic.

Even the records of the royal clan only recorded within two generations.

Moreover, the succession of the throne was never based on bloodline priority, nor was it passed down by closeness; bloodline was just a threshold, and whether it was thin or not didn't matter at all; as long as one possessed talent, one could obtain the position of the chosen emperor!

As long as one could obtain the recognition of the Imperial Seal, who would dare to say they were not of the direct line?!

Holding the Imperial Seal, one could control the Law of Tian Yuan left behind by the Empire, activate the remaining half of the Heavenly Pillar of the former Empire, control all the fulcrums, and even the opening and closing of the vortex would be just a thought away!

Imagining the scene of himself rebuilding the Empire and ascending the throne, joy slightly overflowed on Lord Wuyou's face, and he could almost not help but hum.

But immediately after, his expression changed drastically!

A shrill scream suddenly rang out.

In the silent march, the flickering phantoms on the streets on both sides changed without warning; an eerie, writhing shadow, while crawling, suddenly leaped in.

It touched the hem of someone's clothes that was fluttering...

In an instant, the crawling shadow seemed to be electrocuted, suddenly retreating, opening its mouth, and screaming loudly; the shrill sound carried an eerie power, making everything go black before their eyes.

In the midst of the screaming, all the phantoms seemed to be awakened, suddenly turning their heads and looking toward them; on their faint faces, pairs of scarlet eyes lit up.

The shadows of the corpses, pulled by black threads and suspended in the sky, seemed to be contagious, laughing loudly, dancing and waving their hands.

The Sin-Tainted one whose clothes were touched was a hunched old man; at this moment, his expression changed violently, twitching severely, feeling some kind of eerie power locked onto him, and he could no longer restrain himself.

In terror, ignoring Lord Wuyou's order, he instinctively turned and ran wildly.

"Fool!"

Lord Wuyou was furious, but it was already too late.

Because black threads had already risen from the bricks below, wrapping around the old man and drilling into his soul.

"Heh... heh heh..."

In the astonished eyes of everyone, in just a few seconds, the old man had lost all his color, and both his body and soul turned into a dim shadow, pulled by the black threads, suspended upside down in the sky...

Not just that old man, at this moment all the shadows were like a hornet's nest that had been poked, swarming up, writhing and twisting, searching carefully.

Checking thoroughly.

Any outsider who dared to violate the law without an imperial edict!

And the shadow of the old man who had just been hung in the sky was also screaming, a pair of scarlet eyes lighting up, looking toward them.

Swaying, pointing a finger!

He had defected instantly...

"Everyone, no one is allowed to make a move!"

In the chaos, Lord Wuyou roared decisively: "Gather around me!"

Xie He stuck close without hesitation, and the others also scrambled to surround Lord Wuyou in the middle, wishing he were covered in sweat.

But being covered in sweat was useless; watching the shadows get closer and closer, the crowd began to panic again.

And in the crowding, Lord Wuyou finally opened the brocade box he had taken from his bosom, and with great solemnity, lifted out half of something that looked like a rusty, broken iron rod.

With the infusion of spiritual quality and the transformation of the Law of Tian Yuan, the broken iron rod rapidly extended, and a faint, shimmering light extended from the broken ends at both sides, forming a magnificent and majestic ceremonial staff.

Suddenly, he struck it against the ground!

Instantly, golden ripples spread out, enveloping everyone present; the moment they touched the ripples, all the eerie shadows also froze in place.

Then, without hesitation, they knelt on the ground, kowtowing in worship!

Intimidated by this ceremonial staff once held by the Imperial Guards, they dared not offend.

But unfortunately, the light flickered, struggling to continue.

It was dissipating at a speed visible to the naked eye...

And the dense shadows around were still lying on the ground, kowtowing devoutly, with no intention of dispersing at all.

And as the light of the ceremonial staff dimmed, on the faces of the shadows furthest away, there was already a faint tendency for scarlet colors to re-emerge.

"Lord Wuyou, what should we do?" Someone was hair-raised, "How about... flying over?"

"Are you seeking death?!"

Lord Wuyou was so angry he laughed: "The sacrificial temple is treated as the Emperor's mausoleum!

Within three hundred miles of the Imperial presence, those who dare not bow will have their feet cut off and eyes gouged out; those who dare to peek at the Heavenly Face will be beheaded; those who dare to take off or land without an edict will have their three clans exterminated!"

The proposer stiffened for a moment, then looked blank: "Then what should we do?"

"... Walk!"

Lord Wuyou's expression twitched, and he squeezed a word out from between his teeth, then warned: "Follow me, walk slowly, don't disturb those ghostly things again, understand?!"

After speaking, he rolled up his sleeves and trouser legs, holding the ceremonial staff, and sideways, like a turtle, searched for a place to step between the gaps of the countless kowtowing shadows, scrambling over in a sorry state.

And right behind him, everyone, watching such a scene, had twitching expressions, lowered their heads, lined up, carrying many boxes and supplies, and began to form a winding long dragon, following step by step...

"Hmm? What the hell is that noise."

At this moment, on the mountainside of the sacrificial temple mountain, in a hall that didn't know what it was for, Ji Jue turned his head in confusion, looking toward where the screaming came from, but could see nothing.

Soon, he withdrew his gaze without interest, nimbly flipping the meat skewers on the grill, while his other hand sprinkled cumin and chili, still not forgetting to turn his head and continue the topic just now with his new local friend: "Hey, let me tell you, the gentlemen of our old Empire are the real gentlemen... just this taste, authentic!"

Unfortunately, the shadows beside him, no matter how much he pushed or put his arms around them, had no reaction at all, which could be called noble and cold.

Instead, after hearing the screams, they suddenly jumped up as if they had taken medicine, pouring out of the nest... leaving the enthusiastic tourist aside, ignoring him completely.

It can only be said that the local gangs are too impolite.

"Go ahead and be busy, go ahead and be busy."

Ji Jue sighed, shook his head with regret, and took a bite of the sizzling meat skewer, "Busy, all busy..."

Being busy is good.