Chapter 348: Seeing the Spirit Mother

Du En seemed somewhat concerned about the conversation that had just ceased.

Because the people here were not actually lifeless, nor were they entirely ignorant fanatics; depending on their personalities, some would even worry about the future.

——That was truly not the kind of thinking a genuine, devout fanatic should have.

"……Let's first take a look at the situation of the main figure."

Thinking this, he narrowed his gaze.

Walking along the main thoroughfare, what came to meet him was a welcoming procession holding high various banners.

The banners were patterned with things like strange trees, blazing suns, and smeared grease.

One by one, the priests held the banners high, with soldiers surrounding and guarding them; the central area of the encampment was already visible.

The wealthy people living nearby were all surprised by this; they walked out of their homes, bowed, and watched, seemingly thinking of something, their eyes filled with uncontrollable excitement.

A priest wearing a solid crimson robe with a taller, pointier crown stepped out from the crowd at this moment and shouted loudly: "The sacrificial rite is about to be held! The Sect Leader grants grace, the Spirit Mother shows mercy; all faithful men and women may enter to observe the ceremony!"

"Long live the Sect Leader!"

"Ten thousand virtues to the Spirit Mother!"

The faithful men and women shouted in unison, bowing and lining up, not daring to overstep, which made the High Priest nod secretly as he shouted again: "Ceremonially welcome the Immaculate Holy Infant!"

The demon horses knelt at the sound, and the priests all raised their hands high, as if carrying a sedan chair.

The sealed carriage dismantled itself, and an infant, fast asleep, was held high in the air to be welcomed.

He was ordinary, exceptionally plain.

With no cultivation base, no other abnormalities, he was just the most ordinary, most innocent kind of newborn infant!

The faithful men and women looked even more fanatical, unable to stop themselves from whispering; some even couldn't help but lick their lips and swallow saliva, which made Du En frown slightly, and then, following the pace of the priests, he also followed along, entering that central area, the base camp of the Queguang Sect.

Covered by cloth curtains, layer upon layer, stepping into it was like stepping into some kind of alien space; the Seeking Void Jade Cicada even emitted a strange sound, clearly not a good place.

Bada~

Drip~

Something seemed to be dripping and falling from the fanatical crowd; their slow pace did not seem sluggish due to pious devotion, but because there was something viscous on the ground, becoming a weight that dragged at their footsteps.

"Rather than a central sect encampment wrapped in cloth curtains, it is more like the inside of some strange, twisted thing; of course, in reality, it is just that something has seeped out from the back of the surface space. Judging by this degree, there is no need to be overly worried……"

Du En calmly weighed the situation, not fooled by this trick which, to him now, seemed like mere posturing.

Then, still mixed in the crowd, he arrived at the center of the sect's center: the sacrificial grounds.

Surrounded by dense crowds of priests bowing to welcome the Immaculate Infant, the arrival of this top-tier sacrifice was filled with a uniform fanaticism that merged into a single mass, revealing a greasy, lard-like sensation that was truly nauseating.

Du En, however, only looked at the key person.

Within this Queguang Sect, the leader of the sect, whose status was second only to that whatever Spirit Mother lewd sacrifice, was Sect Leader Luo Heng.

He wore multiple layers of ornate robes, red in color, bloated like a ball; his width was at least equal to three people, but judging from his middle-aged face, which—like the other priests—seemed to be wearing a mask, he himself should not have been overly fat; it was the clothing that caused this appearance.

This was likely meant to signify that he was extremely favored, placed above everyone else, even the High Priest could not compare! He moved his steps, appearing equally sluggish, making one wonder if it was due to the burden of his clothes, or perhaps he might even slip and fall to the ground, making a fool of himself in public.

The High Priest coming toward him had a strange look flash in his eyes, but his pace quickened slightly as he went to welcome him.

"Sect Leader, the Holy Infant has been welcomed; the sacrificial rite can begin."

He bowed and bent his waist, appearing humble, but his tall crown almost hit Luo Heng.

Such small details left Du En thoughtful.

Luo Heng did not care; he simply passed him by, walking slowly and sluggishly, meeting the fervent, admiring gazes of everyone as he reached the middle of the sacrificial grounds.

Soldiers carried firewood inside.

Those soldiers wore ornate light armor and walked carefully and quietly, without the sound of armor rubbing; they were clearly ceremonial soldiers specifically tasked with this duty. The firewood they carried was also no ordinary thing; it looked as if it had been soaked through with blood, yet it would not drip, feeling dry to the touch instead.

"Not human blood, and no evil aura……"

Du En silently withdrew his hand, appearing thoughtful.

The ceremonial soldiers placed such firewood beside Sect Leader Luo Heng, and amidst the onlookers, he appeared to struggle to pick them up bit by bit, personally building a bonfire platform.

He let no one approach, let no one help, and no one had any objections.

This was the glory and power that belonged solely to him! A moment later, the bonfire platform was built.

"The Spirit Mother grants us fire, allowing us to obtain light in the darkness."

Following Luo Heng's words, flames ignited on the bonfire platform, without any precursor, and even less sign of Dharma power circulation.

"The Spirit Mother grants us grease, allowing us to obtain fullness in the darkness."

Luo Heng continued to speak as if chanting, and raised his hand to catch the Immaculate Infant, who flew and landed in his arms. Perhaps it was too uncomfortable, so the infant woke up, appearing startled and uncertain.

"Praise the Spirit Mother, bow to the Spirit Mother, ten thousand virtues to the Spirit Mother!"

"Praise the Spirit Mother, bow to the Spirit Mother, ten thousand virtues to the Spirit Mother!"

"Waa! Waa! Waa!"

The people chanted in unison, following the song; the infant was frightened and immediately burst into tears.

"Praise the Spirit Mother, bow to the Spirit Mother, ten thousand virtues to the Spirit Mother!!!"

"Praise the Spirit Mother, bow to the Spirit Mother, ten thousand virtues to the Spirit Mother!!!"

The crying of the innocent sacrificial victim was like lighting a powder keg; everyone watching shouted fanatically, raising their hands high and shaking their bodies, like flames swaying.

The firelight became even brighter, casting twisting, shadowy figures on the surrounding cloth curtains, like the revelry of madmen and the dance of evil beings.

The surroundings became evil; an evil nature began to breed and spread. If not for Du En wearing the Sin Dragon Robe and using the sin to disguise himself, he would likely have been detected and discovered in an instant for being too out of place, too normal and calm.

He only looked through the ghost-like swaying crowd at the actions of Sect Leader Luo Heng.

He also raised his hands high, lifting the naked, crying infant above his head, while saying words that were quite inconspicuous amidst the fanatical shouting—the content was different, yet it was embedded within, invisibly becoming the dominant voice.

"Sing of the Spirit Mother's greatness, praise the eternal burning of the Spirit Fire, pray for the granted Spirit Grease; come, high and mighty Spirit Mother, enjoy this immaculate, holy infant!"

As the words fell, countless eyeballs suddenly opened from the burning bonfire. They were slick and blinking; they were not limited to lurking in the dark, as the flames also provided a carrier for them to roam. At this moment, those hundreds and thousands of eyes turned to stare at the crying infant held high, immediately revealing a look of satisfaction.

Immediately after, from within the fire, a strange hand covered in eyes stretched straight out, winding like a snake, swaying as it prepared to grab the newborn child.

Then, he grabbed nothing but air!

"!!!"

A formless screech suddenly erupted.

The weeping and wailing came to an abrupt halt.

The singing and dancing suddenly ended.

Everyone turned their heads in astonishment; some even dislocated their necks, only to see Du En calmly revealing his form, holding the infant that had already stopped crying upon reaching his hands.

Who is it...

Including the Sect Leader Luo Heng, everyone was shocked and furious, but no one's voice came out; everything seemed frozen, with only a formless rage rushing in like a tsunami or a collapsing mountain.

Du En cast a glance, unleashing his Primordial Spirit pressure!

Boom! The formless pressures collided, and this space, like a curtain, was violently ripped open; the figures of the others quietly flipped away like pages, and Du En stepped into the back side of this surface space, which was soaked in evil.

The front and back of the space were like a mirror reflecting both sides.

It was largely a mirror world, though the details could differ, depending mainly on how the dominator of the sector decorated, rendered, and reinforced their territory.

Thus, at this very moment, Du En arrived inside a palace.

Mournful weeping echoed, and countless infant corpses were piled up; a foul, bloody stench permeated everywhere, with only terror and horror suppressing the hearts of normal people.

Du En looked up and stared straight ahead, only to see a high throne built from piles of pure white infant bones, upon which sat a figure wearing a bright red robe, their face completely covered by a hood, with only their long stature being a notable feature.

A hoarse voice, like bones rubbing together, rang out.

"Having seen the Spirit Mother, why do you not bow?"

It questioned and scolded Du En, but Du En had no intention of wasting words.

Since the main culprit had surfaced, then, let's test its quality first!

And so, the wind rose! Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh...

A wild gale suddenly whipped up, and the perfected Sandstorm Art was unleashed, finally revealing its full power; the bone palace was instantly plunged into darkness, covered by an all-encompassing sandstorm, from the inside out, everything was blanketed!

Countless grains of sand danced in the gale, and all the expected effects—weathering, grinding, piercing, dehydration, and obstruction—were fully realized, directly grinding the bone palace into pieces and weathering the evil nature into dust; in the blink of an eye, it was riddled with holes.

That infant bone throne and the Spirit Mother upon it were the primary targets, with the sandstorm pouring directly into the bright red robe, forcibly and violently flooding in to destroy!

Caught off guard, the Spirit Mother seemed stunned; it took a good while, even with its voluminous robe tattered, for it to react.

"Ah!!!!!"

It was furious and shrieked, its evil nature erupting like greasy fat, temporarily driving away and blocking the sandstorm, and then, from beneath the tattered robe, six snake-like, winding monster arms emerged, covered in eyeballs, all glaring at Du En.

A seventh arm suddenly flipped back the hood and extended from the neck, holding a Spirit Fire Evil Sword; the blade was made of white bone, the hilt was made of brains, and it burned with raging flames.

"Die!"

It shouted and leaped out, actually intending to engage in close-quarters combat!

Du En couldn't help but shake his head slightly to himself, then began to exert his power in earnest.

Consequently, the sandstorm that had covered hundreds of miles suddenly contracted, shrinking to one-tenth of its original range, and the intensity of the gale and the density of the sand naturally surged without a doubt!

The gale howled shrilly, directly ripping the palace dome away and tearing it into fragments in the blink of an eye, while countless sand grains mixed in, grinding them further into similar particles, continuing to increase the density of the sand.

This then poured down, directly shattering the evil nature the Spirit Mother had unleashed and enveloping it once more; at the same time, the entire sandstorm began to rotate like a vortex, surging violently toward this single point.

"Ah ah ah ah!!!"

The Spirit Mother screamed in a frenzy, its six eyes-covered arms glaring and emitting evil light, but it was easily weathered and worn down, unable to penetrate the light-blocking, airtight, enveloping sandstorm.

Instead, it was worn down by the sheer volume, speed, and violent posture of the storm, its eyes blinded, skin torn, flesh vanishing in the blink of an eye, and even its bones were being ground into sand.

Only that flaming evil sword remained somewhat powerful; as it swung, it erupted with evil fire, temporarily clearing the sandstorm in the direction of the swing, but this was utterly meaningless—even if it cleared dozens of feet, it was filled again in the blink of an eye, and the wind would become even more crazed and chaotic due to the infilling, further increasing the power of the sandstorm.

In the end, it realized that this hateful guy who had snatched its offering was incredibly strong!

What kind of shoddy Fifth-Rank evil creature is this? Du En only had this thought, because although the Spirit Mother had a body full of evil nature and strangeness, it hadn't actually utilized it at all; for one thing, even now, it hadn't retracted the tentacles it had extended to the front of the surface space.

Perhaps it had been invincible underground for too long?

Or perhaps, this was just a failed experiment?

—The situation was clear; such an evil creature was the handiwork of some True Monarch of this sect.

It looked quite clumsy, lacking the unfathomable ferocity of a Grudge-Spawn or a Sin Dragon.

Of course, Du En did not let his guard down and immediately prepared to employ further measures.

"Ah!!!"

Seeing that the sandstorm could not be dispelled and that it was about to be ground to pieces, the Spirit Mother chose to plunge the evil sword into the ground beneath its feet; a violent explosion of flames erupted like a vortex, spreading out and temporarily pushing back the sandstorm.

It ignited the temple, then suddenly retracted the flames, bringing a dimness that lacked light, constructing a great door; with a thunderous slam, it sealed itself into the inner space.

But in the midst of this action, Du En had already reacted; his Natal Dharma Treasure appeared, having been fully upgraded to Fifth-Rank strength, and it forcefully broke through even this rendered, reinforced back-side space.

Thus, with a slicing sound, half of its body was severed by the crimson, space-piercing guandao, and the sandstorm surged forward again, directly swallowing and grinding it; by the time everything returned to calm, nothing remained of that half of its body.

Du En stepped onto the sealed door on the ground, looking at the gap beneath his feet, which looked like a keyhole—a result he had achieved through his own obstruction.

"Running away when unable to win and sealing itself in the inner space seems quite logical on the surface, but it also feels subtly deliberate; after all, it is the handiwork of a True Monarch, so no matter how much of a failure it is, it shouldn't be this pathetic..."

He naturally did not take it lightly, feeling that this might be a trap.

Regardless, it seemed he would have to find a way to open this door, pull the Spirit Mother evil entity out of the inner space, and then kill it.

(End of chapter)