Chapter 213: Living Sacrifice Gully

Deep in the canyon, a small river bent, forming a pool three mu in size.

On the pebble beach beside the pool stood three huge bronze cauldrons, each one person tall.

Fires burned beneath them; the cauldrons boiled, steam swirling and gurgling, cooking something unknown.

Three dog-yan crouched beside the ancient cauldrons, front paws on the ground, bodies lowered, drool streaming from their mouths as if craving what boiled inside.

Wei Huchen's face changed; such objects appearing suddenly here must be evil spirits!

He glanced back, picked out the tallest one, and said, "Go check what's boiling inside."

The captain cursed inwardly but helplessly moved forward.

The ancient cauldron was one person tall; an ordinary captain approaching couldn't easily see inside.

The tall captain approached cautiously, examining each step carefully; only after walking for a while did he reach the cauldron, stretching his neck to peer inside.

Thick white steam rose from the cauldron's rim, carrying an enticing scent of meat.

Unable to see clearly what was inside, the tall captain puffed his cheeks and blew a breath.

The steam at the rim blew away, revealing thick broth with bones and large chunks of meat rolling within.

Suddenly, a round object floated up in the soup; the tall captain saw it, stumbled back several steps in shock, and fell onto the pebbles with a thud!

He scrambled back, lips trembling as he said, "My lord, what's boiling inside is... people!"

That round object was a human head!

Most of the skin and flesh had boiled away, but one eyeball still hung in its socket, half detached!

The group erupted into chaos.

"Silence!" Wei Huchen roared.

Lady Fu Shuanghui had already arrived with her people behind them.

Wei Huchen immediately retreated to report the situation to the Law Master.

No sooner had he spoken than the three dog-yan, unable to hold back, leaped up and lunged at the great cauldrons.

Suddenly, a wooden staff appeared out of thin air above the cauldron rim.

With a crack, it swept through the air and struck all three dog-yan mid-leap.

The blow was devastating, shattering most of the bones in all three dog-yan's bodies.

They crashed dozens of feet away, howling miserably, unable to move.

Lady Fu Shuanghui's eyes narrowed as she scanned the thousand-ren cliff to one side.

The rock paintings on that cliff had come alive!

That wooden staff was precisely one line from the rock painting.

Wei Huchen had previously been unable to discern what those rock paintings depicted, but now that they were alive, he immediately recognized them:

In the center stood a priest.

He seemed covered in various feathers, adorned with many beaded chains.

Surrounding him were likely assistant priests and some warriors.

The wooden staff just now had come from the hand of an assistant priest.

The dog-yan stealing sacrificial offerings was a grave desecration; the assistant priest struck in fury.

Warriors stepped down from the rock wall, wielding bronze swords and bronze spears, dancing a strange dance around the three great cauldrons!

Everyone from Shanhe was surrounded in the center.

"Ah—"

The captains cried out in shock, instinctively huddling together.

Lady Fu Shuanghui sneered, "Human sacrifice? Truly barbaric and corrupt!"

She tapped her carriage.

With a crash, the carriage scattered, revealing a tiger-head guillotine inside!

These three types of guillotines were originally forged by Shanhe.

Even now, only Shanhe possessed the dragon-head guillotine!

"Get out of the way!" Lady Fu Shuanghui leaped onto the carriage, grabbed a short halberd in one hand, pressed down on the guillotine handle with the other, and shouted.

After trekking for two hours, Xu Yuan's group suddenly saw a cliff ahead.

"A dead end," everyone said helplessly, "Let's go down the side and find another path."

Suddenly, from below the cliff ahead, a sharp voice cried out, "Get out of the way!"

Everyone froze, exchanging glances: Had they intruded upon some evil spirit's territory and been warned?

Xu Yuan's expression grew strange, "That sounds like..."

Xu Yuan made a gesture; everyone immediately crouched low, carefully making no sound.

Xu Yuan beckoned Fu Jingyu and whispered, "Projective gaze method."

Fu Jingyu looked; far away, a hawk soared.

He cast the spell.

The hawk soared high, flying over the cliff below.

Fu Jingyu saw the situation below and quietly told Xu Yuan.

Xu Yuan gestured; both quietly approached the cliff edge, peering down.

The rock-painting warriors had stopped, still surrounding everyone from Shanhe.

But the priests each raised their staffs.

Xu Yuan's eyes lit up, "Excellent! Let them fight..."

Yet unexpectedly, the Grand Priest in the center waved the staff in his hand, spun it three times above his head, and then stopped.

One warrior stepped out and drew three figures on the ground with the bronze sword in his hand.

One circle represented the head, and thin lines represented the body and limbs respectively.

Fu Shuanghui frowned: "They are..."

"They want three living people!" Wei Huchen suddenly cried out with a flash of inspiration.

But before the warrior finished drawing, he drew three more.

Fu Shuanghui shot Wei Huchen a look and asked: "Why didn't he draw a small figure and add five vertical bars behind it?"

Wei Huchen:?

Perhaps these evil spirits are... stupid?

The valley was vast; although the voices below were not loud, Xu Yuan and Fu Jingyu atop the cliffs still heard every word clearly.

A person suddenly appeared beside each of them.

Di Youzhi and Qin Ze also followed over.

Seeing the Tiger-Head Guillotine, Qin Ze said in a low voice: "It's bad; these evil spirits want to back down."

They will just demand a toll from the people of Shanhe and then let them pass.

My lord, think of a plan quickly to stir them up and make them really fight."

Qin Jianxiao instinctively felt that such a vicious, wicked scheme was exactly what my lord excelled at!

Xu Yuan gave him a look full of meaning: "Never mind; this fellow is a fool, so I, my lord, cannot hold it against him."

"Let's watch first."

In the very nature of all evil spirits lies intense madness.

Xu Yuan was able to negotiate with that dragon because that creature could not be counted as an evil spirit back then.

But for Fu Shuanghui to use the Tiger-Head Guillotine to suppress the evil spirits here?

Highly unlikely.

Young Master Fu saw more clearly and shook his head, saying in a low voice: "I don't think so. The small figures the warrior drew are arranged in two rows."

The warriors walked down from the cliffs; they had no true form, so they were merely those lines.

Standing on the riverbed of the valley, they didn't even count as paper figures.

The bronze sword in the hands of the leading warrior was actually quite abstract as well.

This sword drew these crude small figures on the ground, yet every stroke and every line burned deep marks into the pebble riverbed!

There was a special power on its sword.

The small figures were arranged three per row, with a blank space between the two rows.

Then, the warrior drew an "X" in that blank space.

Qin Ze was confused: "What does this mean?"

Xu Yuan raised his eyebrows and smiled: "We don't need to stir them up; they are about to fight."

Qin Ze did not understand, and neither did the people of Shanhe in the valley below.

At this moment, Wei Huchen also felt that he seemed to have guessed wrong before.

If they only wanted six living people, they could just pick any six from the villagers behind them.

If these people died, Wei Huchen would not feel the slightest bit of heartache.

But what does this mean now?

Fu Shuanghui was thinking when she saw those six "small figures" on the ground suddenly come to life!

(End of this chapter)