Chapter 500: The Sacrifice

Are you feeding me to the diagram, or feeding the diagram to me?

Mo Hua licked his lips, and under the flickering candlelight, the visualization diagram seemed to quiver.

The coffin was cool and chilly, quite comfortable to lie in.

Mo Hua waited inside and waited...

But after waiting a long while, there was still no movement at all.

Mo Hua frowned.

What's going on?

You said you'd use me as a sacrifice—so why isn't anyone coming to "eat" me?

After waiting a while longer, there was still no reaction inside the coffin.

"Is the coffin broken?"

"Or is the incantation Lu Chengyun recited wrong?"

"Or maybe this visualization diagram only recognizes its own, and only disciples of the Zhang family can feed it?"

That doesn't seem right either...

A bunch of zombies—whichever one eats, who'd care who feeds it?

"Then... could it be my problem?"

Mo Hua started, then focused his senses and indeed detected something abnormal inside the coffin.

There was a voice within the coffin.

The voice was very faint, drifting and elusive, sometimes near, sometimes far...

Mo Hua listened intently and finally made out an old man speaking, his voice broken and halting, full of beguilement:

"You... have extraordinary bones..."

"... a special constitution, with a top-grade spiritual root hidden within your meridians..."

"You and I are fated; I shall pass on to you the Great Dao... and help you ascend to immortality..."

Mo Hua curled his lip.

If you could really ascend to immortality, why wouldn't you do it yourself instead of passing it on to someone else?

This voice was clearly the voice of the Zhang family's Old Ancestor.

Mo Hua had heard it many times before.

He thought it over carefully, then suddenly gave a small start.

Could this voice be the key to the sacrifice?

Only by believing its words can one enter the sacrifice?

His divine sense was deep and his Dao heart steadfast, so he didn't believe its lies—therefore it couldn't enter the coffin, and had no way to "eat" him?

Mo Hua thought it was possible...

So he convinced himself, pretending to "believe" the old man's nonsense.

Sure enough, after a moment, the voice grew clearer and clearer, as if sounding directly within Mo Hua's sea of consciousness.

"You and I are fated; I shall help you become an immortal..."

"Help you become an immortal..."

The voice was aged, kindly, and compassionate.

At the same time, Mo Hua's vision blurred, and faintly, a picture emerged.

The picture was very familiar to Mo Hua—it was precisely the Zhang family's Patriarch Diagram that he had long coveted!

Unlike the diagram in reality, this Patriarch Diagram now had clouds and mist swirling around it, incense smoke curling upward, and amid the fleeting lights and shadows, a golden glow shimmered, with the figures above all edged in gold.

The successive ancestors of the Zhang family stood like immortals amid the clouds, each one outstanding and otherworldly, radiating immortal grace.

Mo Hua's little face filled with longing at the sight, but inwardly he muttered:

"Go fool someone else—in front of your family's 'Little Ancestor,' stop putting on an act..."

"It's not like I don't know you're all a bunch of undying old zombies..."

As Mo Hua grumbled inwardly, he suddenly gave a start at the sight of the Zhang family's Patriarch Diagram.

Among this group of "people," he spotted a familiar face.

That familiar face was none other than Zhang Quan!

He stood at the very end, his expression reverent, looking at Mo Hua, yet his gaze held surprise, resentment, and greed.

Mo Hua was somewhat astonished.

Zhang Quan wasn't dead?

No, or rather...

His physical body had died, but his divine sense had not—and like the Zhang family's successive ancestors, his divine sense had transformed into an evil spirit, parasitizing the visualization diagram...

Mo Hua gradually figured it out.

No wonder Zhang Quan wanted to see his family's Patriarch Diagram one last time before dying.

It wasn't really, as he had said, that he felt guilty toward his ancestors and wanted to kowtow and apologize or anything like that.

Rather, he wanted his divine sense to enter the diagram after death, becoming a ghost within the visualization diagram, eking out an existence.

Whether Lu Chengyun opened the diagram or not didn't really matter—as long as he took the visualization diagram out of his storage bag, he had already given Zhang Quan his chance.

Mo Hua had to admit it.

He had indeed underestimated Zhang Quan.

Zhang Quan wasn't as stupid as he had thought either.

Lu Chengyun clearly hadn't expected Zhang Quan to have such cunning, or the Zhang family to possess such secretive and unfathomable methods.

Mo Hua frowned again.

"But… surely not every cultivator who dies receives such 'treatment,' right…?"

Death means the Dao dissolves—there is great terror in it.

Many cultivators, when their lifespan nears its end, spare no effort to cling to life.

The Qian family's Laozu forged a Life-Span Elixir from human flesh; the Lu family's Laozu transformed himself into a corpse—all out of fear of death, wanting to survive.

If this map truly can parasitize evil spirits…

Even without a physical body, wicked old devils like the Qian family's Laozu and the Lu family's Laozu would surely gladly become ghost familiars, taking refuge within the map…

Mo Hua didn't know much about Dao cultivation, but he suspected it couldn't possibly be this simple…

"Is it the Zhang family's bloodline that's special, or is this contemplation map… inherently unusual?"

Mo Hua pondered silently again.

After a moment of thought, he remembered—he wasn't meant to be thinking about this now. He still had to set up a "Hongmen Banquet" to entertain his "guests."

And right now, Zhang family members had already entered Mo Hua's consciousness.

Five in total.

Two elders, three disciples, one of whom was Zhang Quan.

Zhang Quan held the lowest rank, yet his cultivation was high—he had reached Foundation Establishment, making him the most distinguished disciple.

But since he faced his own Liezulie Sect ancestors, his posture was humble, his tone reverent.

After entering Mo Hua's consciousness, Zhang Quan hesitated and asked:

"Elder Song, Elder Si, may we enter first? Shouldn't the Laozu be served first?"

"No need."

The iron corpse elder known as Elder Song spoke calmly, "The Laozu relies on the spiritual resonance from our bloodline offerings. The stronger we descendants are, the stronger the Laozu becomes. Such consumption and replenishment need not trouble the elder himself…"

Zhang Quan said admiringly, "No wonder you're the Laozu!"

Elder Song nodded: "The Laozu's methods are beyond the comprehension of us juniors."

He glanced at Zhang Quan and praised him: "To reach Foundation Establishment and further the Corpse Dao—even if you ultimately died—you've rendered great merit…"

"In talent, character, and skill, you rank among the top of Zhang family disciples."

"Most importantly, your sincere filial devotion to the Laozu is admirable."

"The Laozu holds you in high regard."

"Therefore, this offering will be given to you first."

"After you devour this spiritual essence, heal your injuries, and surge forward in strength, you must serve the Laozu and the Zhang family even better!"

Zhang Quan's expression thrilled with excitement; he bowed deeply:

"Disciple Zhang Quan will not fail the expectations of you elders, nor of the Laozu!"

Elder Song nodded with satisfaction.

Zhang Quan raised his head—his face had become that of a corpse.

He glanced at Mo Hua's consciousness, saliva dripping from his fangs, eyes greedy as he murmured:

"Little ghost, never thought you'd come to this?"

The silent Elder Si asked upon hearing this:

"Do you know this offering?"

Zhang Quan nodded, spitting venom:

"To be honest, I've suffered countless humiliations at this little ghost's hands! I've wanted to kill him a thousand times—but I could never succeed!"

Elder Si frowned: "Just a minor cultivator? You couldn't kill him?"

Zhang Quan immediately explained:

"His cultivation is low, his strength average—in direct combat, I could crush him with one hand!"

"But this little ghost excels in arrays, is inwardly cunning, full of deceit, skilled at concealment, and adept at playing both sides—I've never been able to strike him down…"

Zhang Quan gnashed his teeth.

Elder Song frowned—he couldn't imagine what kind of little ghost could master arrays, excel at concealment, be inwardly deceitful, and full of trickery…

Was this even a human—or a demon?

But he didn't care—no matter what kind of being, before them, it was merely meat on the chopping block.

Elder Song comforted Zhang Quan:

"Now it's fine. You've entered his consciousness—he can't escape. In the consciousness realm, we always hold the power. No matter how great his abilities, he can't stir up any waves…"

Zhang Quan felt greatly reassured and smiled:

"Elder's words are wise."

He paused, as if remembering something, then sighed:

"But no matter how cunning this little ghost was, in the end, he was still discarded by Lu Chengyun—cut loose like an ox after the millstone, turned into an offering, his Dao dissolving with death…"

Zhang Quan's expression turned wary:

"Lu Chengyun's cunning and methods are truly terrifying."

Elder Song sneered lightly:

"Don't inflate your enemy's strength and diminish our Zhang family's prestige!"

"To the Laozu, this means nothing."

"Lu Chengyun is merely a pawn of the Laozu."

"Once he offers to the Laozu, contemplates the Laozu's Dao, and borrows the Laozu's spiritual resonance to strengthen his own spiritual awareness, one day he will become a corpse-dao puppet of our Zhang family."

"Becoming neither man nor corpse…"

"He is not one of our Zhang family. Once his body turns corpse-like, his divine sense cannot enter this formation. He'll either lose all his wits, or end up as bait."

Elder Song looked at Zhang Quan and said calmly:

"Though you have died, you are still alive."

"Though he is alive, he cannot escape death!"

"The juniors of the Zhang family shall not be bullied by outsiders. This justice of yours—we elders and ancestors will seek it on your behalf!"

Zhang Quan was overjoyed and kowtowed at once, saying:

"Thank you, Elder, thank you, Laozu Sect!"

Elder Song helped him to his feet and said gently:

"You are a junior of our Zhang family, favored by the Laozu. There's no need for such formality. The pressing matter now is to nourish yourself in time and recover from your injuries…"

Elder Song looked around, then glanced at the "people," his gaze hungry as he said:

"It's time to eat…"

Hidden to one side, having listened to them talk for a long while, Mo Hua also nodded.

He thought so too!

(End of chapter)