Chapter 1196: Sacrifice

Only the chains shot out from the mesh, stabbing straight at the ghost ape's waist. The latter had long been prepared, grabbing the tip of the chain with one hand in a posture exactly like catching a snake. The black-armored leader let out a loud shout, trying to break free, but Zhu Erniang's hand-woven net—how fragile could it be? The spiderweb was pulled taut, yet it endured this violent surge. The black-armored leader raised his folding and drawing knife, sawing hard several times, only severing a dozen or so spider silk threads.

Know that Zhu Erniang's spiderweb, each strand is composed of several hundred spider silks bundled together.

The soul-capturing mirror in his bosom shrieked: "Beware it vanishes again right there!"

That skill is simply impossible to defend against, and the black-armored leader's movements are excessively agile. Recalling how he had just nearly been decapitated by him, the ghost ape felt a chill in its neck and couldn't help but also howl twice in urging.

He Lingchuan judged that the black-armored leader's vanishing technique had a time limit, based on the fact that he had never flashed consecutively in the Yao army, but always with at least ten or so seconds in between.

Otherwise, this net pouch could never trap him.

He Lingchuan immediately blew a whistle, calling for the bats to come out, intending to personally deliver a finishing blow—who would have thought the black-armored leader's movements suddenly froze, his strength drained, and he collapsed sitting down—

The bat demon puppet seized the opportunity, biting through his heart pulse in one final mouthful.

With this, all his vital energy drained away, the black-armored leader became like a golden-armored bronze warrior without mystic crystal power—from vigorous and lively to unable to lift his wrist.

However, the ghost ape still clung tightly to him, unwilling to let go, for this thing is far too dangerous.

It and He Lingchuan were fighting two against one, yet still felt lingering fear.

He Lingchuan observed that the red light in the black-armored leader's eyes had already faded, black blood trickled from the corner of his mouth, and he began to cough, whereupon he said to the ghost ape: "Alright, let him sit up."

At this moment, Dong Rui emerged from somewhere unknown, rushing over alongside Fu Liushan, one before and one after.

Fu Liushan carefully scrutinized the black-armored leader before him, maintaining a cautious distance of one zhang, always ready to leap back and dodge.

This is the Luo Sheng Jia that they have guarded generation after generation, and moreover...

The black-armored leader suddenly lifted his gaze, his eyes filled with bloodshot veins, but his gaze gradually regained clarity.

"He is beyond saving." Dong Rui stated a fact, "He can still open his eyes, but that is merely the last flicker before death."

Even wearing the Luo Sheng Jia, this black-armored leader is still fundamentally human in body; having his heart pulse severed, he will die just the same.

Fu Liushan asked softly: "Fu Tianlin, do you still remember this name?"

"I remember." The muscles on the black-armored leader's face were still somewhat stiff, yet he opened his mouth to reply, "I am Fu Tianlin, and also A Xun."

Memories sealed for over one hundred and sixty years finally surged upon him like a tide.

￥￥￥￥In the Tian Gang Great Array, Fu Tianlin and Yingren were pressing the clan chief toward the center of the formation.

Everything seemed to be going smoothly.

But just then, a servant came running from afar, urgently saying: "Young master, one of the platforms cannot be activated!"

He had tried every possible method, to no avail.

The Tian Gang Thirty-Six had now become Tian Gang Thirty-Five, no longer complete. According to the records of the Heavenly Master, this would cause the sealing power to greatly diminish.

At this very moment, the sound of cracking ice blocks came from the black armor, one piece of solid ice after another falling down.

No wonder it is the Luo Sheng Jia—so many cold-ice talismans could only freeze it temporarily.

Moreover, the ice talismans failed at an accelerating speed; after merely a few breaths, the clan chief could already move, lifting his leg to kick the nearest clansman flying.

Fortunately, his axe had already been taken away, otherwise this moment would have cost several more lives.

Several burly men hung from his body, together weighing at least seven hundred jin, yet he could still stride boldly toward the nearest platform.

Destroy a few more platform talisman arrays, and this place would not be able to trap him! The clan chief walked on, meanwhile punching two men flying.

These two were like broken kites, still spitting a mouthful of blood in midair, and after falling to the ground, they remained motionless for half a day.

A Xun hung on the clan chief's back, having been flung several times yet never shaken off.

From behind, someone unknown shouted loudly: "Kill him, young master, kill him!"

Indeed, the folding and drawing knife was in A Xun's hand; if he seized the moment to thrust forward and swipe, Yingren's clan's greatest trouble might just be resolved.

But this is his father! To make him commit patricide—how could he bring himself to do it?

A Xun's hesitation allowed the clan chief to fling two more people away, then immediately thrust his elbow backward.

The son hung on his back, employing the Yingren people's expert grappling technique, making it hard for the clan chief to break free or to grab hold of him.

Theoretically, this elbow strike should not have hit A Xun, for he dodged with great agility.

But who would have known that when the clan chief thrust thus, a two-chi-long spike suddenly protruded from the black armor's elbow, viciously piercing into A Xun's ribs!

Onlookers, seeing this, all gasped in alarm.

A Xun also shuddered all over from the pain.

Sensing their fear, the clan chief seemed invigorated in spirit, again seizing a Yingren burly man who had rushed forward to help A Xun, and coldly said: "A Di, you also betray me!"

A Di shouted loudly: "It is you who betrayed our clan! It is you who drove our clan to the brink of extinction!"

The clan chief let out a cold laugh, grabbed his arm, and yanked him down forcefully.

This burly man weighing nearly two hundred jin had strong tendons and bones; even if one were to chop him hard with a blade, it would take some time to sever his arm—but who would have thought the clan chief tore him apart like tearing a rag doll! A Di cried out in pain.

But he had not even uttered two cries when the clan chief kicked him in the leg, on the spot breaking his leg bone.

A Di could no longer stand, collapsing into a seated position on the ground.

The clan chief delivered another upward kick, whereupon everyone heard that crisp, bone-chilling "kaba" sound.

A Di's neck bone bent backward, and as he fell, the back of his head flipped two hundred and seventy degrees, nearly pressing tightly against his spine.

The clan chief, mighty and awe-inspiring, slaughtered in all directions—who still dared to step forward to seek death?

At this moment, the runes on the ground had already flowed into forming a dark red vortex, seemingly about to take shape. But the clan chief had already walked to the platform's front, his fist coiled with swirling black qi.

If he threw this punch, the Tian Gang Thirty-Five would likely become Tian Gang Thirty-Four, and no one knows whether the sealing formation could still function.

This ancient relic from a thousand years ago—being able to activate it already is a miracle, let alone expecting it to be robust and powerful? A Xun knew he had no chance.

It is not that the Yingren people lack opportunity, but that he himself lacks opportunity.

He had originally hoped not to reach this point. He still wanted to return to Chi Gu to see his wife, still wanted to wait for his son's birth, still wanted to lead the clan people to a new land of hope...

But seeing that his father needed no other tools, a single punch could shatter the stone platform, he gritted his teeth and still clung tightly to the black armor, shouting: "Luo Sheng Jia! Come onto me, spare my father!"

He had never hoped so fervently before, that he truly is a royal descendant of the Shining Gold Empire.

If his father is, then so is he.

It is a younger, stronger, more promising bloodline of the Pang clan! Only then would the evil armor consent to transfer to him.

As soon as the words left his mouth, a buzzing sound rang in his ears, as if countless people were weeping, wailing, screaming… endless negative emotions surged like a tidal wave, nearly crushing him.

But among them, one deep, resonant voice rang clearest. It questioned his innermost heart: "Are you certain?"

That voice sounded, to his ears, somewhat familiar.

A Xun gritted his teeth against the searing pain in his ribs and shouted, "Yes!" The bonding ritual of the Luo Sheng Armor required the new master's blood—this step had long been completed.

Then, the clan chief's fist slammed onto the platform.

With a booming crash.

Everyone's heart turned cold—it was over.

Yet the platform did not crack, and even the runes on the ground did not dim.

Before striking the platform, the black smoke on the clan chief's fist had already vanished.

Before everyone's eyes, the ice-cold, hard Luo Sheng Armor suddenly turned into a mercury-like black liquid, flowing over the clan chief's back and directly covering A Xun.

In just a dozen breaths, the Luo Sheng Armor had taken a new master—or, rather, a new host.

As the Luo Sheng Armor just left his body, the clan chief's once-straight posture swayed twice, nearly losing his balance. He pressed one hand against the stone platform, turned in shock, and saw his son entirely encased in black armor, their eyes locking—his son's eyes filled only with pain.

"A Xun!" The clan chief's mind fully returned; at this moment he was horrified and lunged to support him.

He was the previous wearer—of course he knew what his son was enduring now.

The Luo Sheng Armor's talent for breaking hearts still filled him with lingering dread.

"Don't touch me!" A Xun swung his hand, and a gust of gang wind shoved the clan chief back over ten feet.

Immediately after, A Xun gritted his teeth and slowly walked toward the vortex at the center of the rune formation.

With each step, his feet felt as if weighed down by a thousand jin, his mind plunged into darkness and chaos—what the Luo Sheng Armor had done to the old clan chief, it now did to him, yet A Xun's steps remained unusually firm.

A mere two zhang distance felt like he had walked a lifetime.

The clansmen dared not step forward, only daring to restrain the clan chief, preventing him from touching his own son.

"Leave the Flash Gold Plains!" he strained to turn his head, taking one last look at his father and his clansmen, "Take Mengmeng, take my child! Go to Ju Lu Port, go find a new way out!"

As he finished speaking, the vortex of the rune formation beneath his feet fully opened—A Xun sank into it like mire, plummeting downward with great speed.

Strangely, the other Ying people standing on the formation experienced nothing at all.

A Xun could feel the Luo Sheng Armor's rejection and resistance to this formation.

It commanded him, ordered him to leave this place immediately!

But he bit hard on the tip of his tongue, relying on the last sliver of clarity in his mind, and collapsed into a seated cross-legged posture right where he stood!

He would not leave—he would seal the Luo Sheng Armor, never allowing it to harm his father again or bring disaster to his clansmen.

The suffering the Ying people had endured on the Flash Gold Plains was already too great; they must never again be poisoned by the evil armor!

He gazed at his father, restored to his old self, and had thousands of words in his heart—but not a single one could he utter.

He gave the clansmen a final smile, and then his vision plunged into utter darkness.

￥￥￥￥￥

A desolate wasteland, a towering stone platform, a gloomy night sky, and forests in the wind that sobbed like mourners.

A Xun felt as if he had slept for an eternity, yet when he opened his eyes, what he saw was hardly different from before he sank into the earth.

But the Ying clansmen who had surrounded him were gone, replaced by three strangers.

These three stood in a row, gazing at him with strange eyes.

A Xun locked eyes with them for a long while, and one of them asked: "Fu Tianlin, do you still remember who you are?"

"I am a Ying person, a descendant of the imperial family of the Flash Gold Empire." A Xun's gaze gradually cleared as he recalled the past. He lowered his eyes to the bloody hole in his chest, felt no resentment, only a faint bitterness: "How long… how long has it been?"

(End of Chapter)