Chapter 594: 547 The Sacrifice Begins

When Gui Rong launched his final charge, the people in the stands could not see the result.

In the eyes of most, they only saw a cold, black light piercing toward the bright radiance. The black light grew thinner the further it went, but it maintained its advance, finally stopping within the light.

The light was like a huge, bright black box, blocking their vision and leaving the result in an "unknowable" state.

Of course, based on experience and clues, everyone had their own guesses in their hearts.

"It's over?"

Liu Shusheng was also a Sword Guest; he narrowed his eyes to observe and quickly made a judgment: "Tang Zhao should have won. Gui Rong's final desperate charge did not take effect. Looking at his state, he likely threw his own life away."

The Master of Fuhu snorted twice; he had also sensed it. And because of his Sword Intent, he was very sensitive to such shifts in the situation and had already guessed the outcome more clearly than the others.

Although he was a bit annoyed, the Master of Fuhu had only favored Gui Rong before; he wasn't a true fanatic, nor was he even a gambler who had placed bets on anyone. What did Gui Rong's win or loss have to do with him?

Therefore, he consoled himself: "This is fine too. Changfa Manor has swept through everything, settling the battle in two matches; there won't be a third. I can just happen to go back early..."

Suddenly, his expression changed slightly. He glanced at his wrist, where there was a Bracelet with a symbol flickering on it, and he said urgently: "Not good, I must go back."

Liu Shusheng looked at him with curiosity, but seeing that he seemed to have encountered something bad, it was not convenient to ask in detail. He heard the Master of Fuhu curse in a low voice: "These dog slaves, they are bold enough to defy the heavens! It is I who have been too merciful to them..."

As he spoke, he stood up hurriedly. Liu Shusheng's gaze flashed, and he said: "I shall go with you, sir." Having said that, he caught up.

This request was truly presumptuous. The Master of Fuhu glanced at him and, while walking out, said unceremoniously: "This is my own private affair, what are you going for?"

Liu Shusheng walked side by side with him and whispered: "Judging by your appearance, it seems your sword slaves are restless. Have they started a rebellion? I just heard that a sword slave rebellion also occurred over at the Jianglong Master's side?"

The Master of Fuhu said offhandedly: "That's right."

With that one "that's right," there was no follow-up; clearly, he hadn't thought it through.

Liu Shusheng thought to himself that these slave owners were used to being supreme and were truly dull-witted. He, however, came from a major power in Jingcheng and had a very keen sense of smell for these matters. He said: "For such things to happen one after another in a short period of time, while it could be a coincidence, one must also consider the possibility of a connection, or even a mastermind stirring things up behind the scenes. And I can think of some masterminds who are definitely troublemakers with influence, such as the Long Life Society..."

The Master of Fuhu was stunned: "No way? Why would they..."

He truly had never considered these things. While his mind was wandering, he walked down the stairs. Liu Shusheng followed behind.

At this moment, there were already several people at the exit. Because the exit was built narrowly, it appeared somewhat crowded. The Master of Fuhu took a glance and was shocked to find that they were all manor owners like himself. His heart skipped a beat. He looked outside the exit and saw several people standing far away, among whom was the Master of Chunmi from next door. As he squeezed his way out, he raised his voice and said: "Master of Chunmi, you wouldn't also..."

Suddenly, a feeling of extreme danger surged into his heart.

The Master of Fuhu did not have time to think; he used all his strength to charge forward, instantly sending himself and the few people in front of him flying.

Halfway through the air, he felt a suction force pulling him back toward the stands behind him. Subconsciously, he knew he could not be sucked in by that great force, so he let out a roar and once again used all his remaining strength to lunge outward.

Lunging into mid-air, he felt a wave of weakness, as if something was being extracted from his body. He didn't even have the strength to leap and could only fly forward by inertia.

The moment he landed on the ground, he heard a loud "Boom!" and the earth shook behind him.

His mind went blank, but his body reacted automatically. After landing, he naturally rolled forward, rolling toward the distance.

As he rolled, he heard a deafening roar in his ears, along with the screams of various people. Things, large or small, were falling all around him. His body seemed to have been cut in many places, and immediately after, sand and dirt pelted his body. But at this moment, he only had the desire to survive and could not feel the pain at all, only focusing on rolling forward like a cylinder.

After rolling for seven or eight zhang, the Master of Fuhu finally stopped and lay on the ground gasping for air. There was still a buzzing sound in his ears, and he didn't know if it was a real sound or if he was hallucinating from the lingering shock.

He heard Liu Shusheng's voice behind him, hoarse: "Ah, the stands..."

The Master of Fuhu lifted his face from the ground and saw a ruin before his eyes.

The stands had collapsed!

The large stands, which had been nearly ten zhang high just moments ago with clear, layered tiers, had now become a pile of rubble. Between the gaps in the rubble, one could still see severed limbs and blood, and the sounds of screams and groans filled his ears.

It was truly a hellish scene. Especially because there was no color, the blood was gray, which was not only terrifying but also eerie.

Was it an Earth Dragon Turning Over?

A thought flashed through the Master of Fuhu's mind, but he felt it was absurd—he had never heard of any Earth Dragon Turning Over at Wangliang Mountain. He opened his mouth wide, wanting to shout, but could not make a sound. At this moment, he was plunged into a daze of excessive fear in the face of a great disaster, as well as extreme weakness.

Damn it, what is going on?

At this time, Liu Shusheng said from behind: "It is not a Natural Disaster, it is a man-made one!"

The Master of Fuhu heard his voice was very hoarse, sounding almost elderly. He turned his head and said: "Why are you hoarse..."

Just by turning his head, the Master of Fuhu was so scared that his hair stood on end: he saw Liu Shusheng lying on the ground, covered in dust and blood, looking very disheveled. That was not all; his appearance seemed to have aged ten years in an instant, a large patch of his hair had turned white, and the muscles on his face had sagged.

He stammered: "You... how did you..."

He had just said a few words when he suddenly became terrified. He discovered that his own voice was also old and hoarse, and he couldn't help but touch his hair.

Liu Shusheng smiled bitterly: "I have aged, right? Sigh, don't doubt it, you are the same!"

The Master of Fuhu blurted out: "Long Life Society?!"

He realized it.

To age is to lose life, to lose lifespan.

Just before the stands collapsed, he felt some power leaving him; surely that was his lifespan, right?

Extracting lifespan, seizing power—isn't this a Sacrifice?

He had just been leisurely introducing the Long Life Society's methods of obtaining longevity through Sacrifice and life-swapping to Liu Shusheng on the stands. The words were still ringing in his ears; thinking of it now, he couldn't help but feel a chill run through his entire body.

A conspiracy, this is a conspiracy of the Long Life Society.

The entire Sword Fighting was a conspiracy. They organized a Sword Fighting with great fanfare, summoned everyone here, and had them sit shoulder to shoulder, only to sacrifice all these people together.

The Master of Fuhu felt his whole body trembling; he was shocked, terrified, and furious:

Usually, only he sacrificed sword slaves; who would dare to sacrifice him? He was a noble Second-Rank Ten Great Manor Owner! At the Wangliang Great Sacrifice, he was a sacrificial official with a status far higher than others!

Damn it, is this still Wangliang Mountain?

This mastermind deserves to be hacked into a thousand pieces; going to the Eighteen Levels of Hell would not be enough!

So... this hateful mastermind is...

Just then, he heard Tang Zhao's voice from the sky, filled with shock and anger: "Gui Rong, what have you done?"

As the voice entered his ears, the Master of Fuhu was startled, and then he suddenly realized:

That's right! It's Gui Rong!

No, it should be said it is Sunset Manor! It is that old thing Wu Shayu!

Isn't this obvious? The venue for the Sword Fighting was Sunset Manor, the grounds were set up by them, the stands were built by them, and even that damned Gui Rong was invited by that old thing Wu Shayu. If it isn't him, then who is it?

He had previously told Liu Shusheng that he suspected this old thing with one foot in the grave belonged to the Long Life Society, and didn't that just line up perfectly? It stood to reason that this old thing must have seen his own days were numbered, so he launched a grand Sacrifice to extend his own life!

No wonder he could invite a legendary figure like Gui Rong; it turned out they were in cahoots. Gui Rong was of the Long Life Society—no, perhaps this Long Life Society was even founded by Gui Rong himself. Only he would be so audacious as to secretly undermine Wangliang, and also dare to openly strike at so many slave owners. One could only say he still harbored hatred for the manor lords; compared to sacrificing slaves, he wanted to sacrifice slave owners even more.

Originally, Gui Rong might have been the one presiding over the Sacrifice, and perhaps he wasn't supposed to act until the very end; now that they saw Gui Rong was about to die, they launched it early, and hardly anyone on the viewing platform escaped.

The more the Master of Fuhu thought about it, the more it made sense, and he felt as if everything had suddenly clicked; at the same time, he gritted his teeth, wishing he could eat his flesh raw.

Is there no one left to manage this?

At this moment, he saw a blur before his eyes as over a dozen phantoms lunged toward the sky. Those were the Abyss Envoys!

The Abyss Envoys were originally just neutral spectators, but with such a major incident occurring, they naturally could no longer stand by. Among the buried manor lords, quite a few were their benefactors, and furthermore, this matter had slapped the face of Wangliang Mountain; with Wangliang not appearing, the Abyss Envoys had a responsibility to maintain the order of Wangliang Mountain.

Seeing so many Abyss Envoys ascend to the sky together to surround Gui Rong and Tang Zhao, the Master of Fuhu said joyfully, "Good, the Abyss Envoys have taken action, there will be no problem now! Quickly slaughter this beast and take back our lifespans!"

Liu Shusheng said worriedly, "Hurry, otherwise it will be too late. That side cannot hold on for much longer..."

The Master of Fuhu turned his head and saw that the rubble was already covered by a layer of chaotic halo, appearing to be... in the shape of a Turtle Shell!

The Sacrifice is underway!

After Tang Zhao saw Gui Rong take action, he was startled, then dispersed his Celestial State, regained his ability to speak and act, and took the lead by shouting loudly to make Gui Rong's actions public, while simultaneously observing the situation of his own people.

There were no Arrays buried on the side of the shed, so they were naturally safe and sound. Moreover, most of his own people, including Jiang Shixiong, had gone out to handle tasks and were not in the shed to begin with; the few remaining were all people from Changfa Manor, and except for Xing Cang, Jinwu would take good care of them.

As for the viewing platform, he had arranged for a few of his own people to be inside agents, and because he suspected there was a problem with the platform, he had ordered them to withdraw in advance, so they were also safe now.

If his own people were all safe, then those being harmed on the viewing platform were mainly the various manor slave owners, slave traders, and the slave buyers who had come from afar, right?

Then it doesn't matter.

Tang Zhao's heart was settled, and he stared at Gui Rong again.

Before, Gui Rong had been on the verge of shattering in front of the Celestial, but just as the arena collapsed, it was as if he had eaten an immortal pill; the cracks on his face began to mend, and although he was still teetering, he was at least like a candle in the wind, no longer just cold ash in a furnace.

Behind him, the Fragments of the Life and Death Bell that had just shattered were also slowly gathering, as if there were hope for them to be repaired as well.

Tang Zhao's expression was grave as he said, "So, you really are conducting a Sacrifice? Extracting other people's lives to fill your own. No, at the beginning, you surely wouldn't have known you would fall into such a state, so what was your purpose when you first set up this altar?"

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