Chapter 624: Arrival

"No—" Fuhu Master hurriedly denied upon hearing this:

"I was only making an analogy; how did you arrive at the conclusion that Lord Wangliang is injured? That is far too disrespectful, isn't it? We are still on Wangliang Mountain, and you all are already jumping to conclusions?"

"Besides, how could Lord Wangliang possibly..."

Thinking of this, he suddenly shuddered, his heart skipping a beat:

"Could something actually be wrong with Lord Wangliang?"

He was a man of experience; the liquid clinging to the viewing platform was thick and pitch-black, a hundred times deeper than Yingze, and even if it were not the true body of Wangliang, it came from the legendary Yingyuan.

Moreover, these slave owners who had participated in sacrifices were extremely sensitive to the aura of Wangliang. The aura on this Altar was as thick as it was whenever Wangliang descended after each past sacrifice, and sometimes it was not even as dense as it was here, which was why they were so agitated, calling out "Lord Wangliang" with every breath.

However, thinking about it carefully, Yingyuan was ten thousand fathoms below; why would it overflow onto the surface?

Had some change occurred down there?

Huangquan flowing backward—could this be a good omen?

If these were not the waters of Yingyuan, but a part of Wangliang's own body, then...

That was even more ominous!

Previously, Wangliang had been sleeping soundly, whole and complete; now that a part had suddenly been severed and flowed onto the ground, no matter how one heard it, it sounded like an injury. If one imagined Wangliang as a snowman, had a portion of it melted?

It seemed there had been an unprecedented Ghost Disaster a few days ago; could it be that Wangliang had suffered damage from overexertion while quelling the Ghost Disaster?

If even Lord Wangliang had been injured, then the group's hope for revenge was even further out of reach.

A casual, mocking remark from Weise had caused Fuhu Master to suffer internal mental exhaustion.

But no matter how anxious Fuhu Master was, or how the other slave owners wailed and lamented, the sacrifice had to proceed. Soon, the procession set off once more. Weise urged everyone on, walking toward the Altar.

Finally, the Altar appeared before their eyes.

The surface of the Altar was covered in viscous fluid, so black it was reduced to a mere silhouette, while above it, thick, dark clouds loomed.

The dark clouds obscured the already dim light, turning the "black, white, and gray" three-colored world of Wangliang Mountain into an even more oppressive world of only black and gray.

This was not an unexpected turn of events, but normal. The aura of Wangliang Mountain changed every moment, and every three years, it reached the highest peak where the yin energy was heaviest; this was the reason the sacrifice was held at this time. In those moments, one could feel that Wangliang had already descended without even needing to open the Altar.

It was just that this year seemed more oppressive than in previous years?

Fuhu Master also discovered that this year's dark clouds were more chaotic than in previous years. In past years, although the dark clouds were gloomy, they swirled slowly around a central point like a vortex, resembling a "heretical" work of art crafted by ghosts and gods, which one could even become addicted to watching for a while. Today, however, they were scattered here and there, as chaotic as an old trunk stuffed with things before moving house.

If the dark clouds of the past were like layers of magnificent, exquisite cloaks, then the current dark clouds were like tufts of shredded rags.

It was as if a good tailor who could cut and sew was missing.

This was yet another ominous sign.

With doubts in his heart, everything he looked at seemed disagreeable. Fuhu Master had already begun to be suspicious of everything.

"Hmm?" Weise said in surprise, "Someone has actually arrived already."

A high Altar had already been erected on the sacrificial platform, decorated in the "Wangliang Mountain style," making it clear at a glance that a grand ceremony was to take place here. This had all been urgently arranged by the manpower of Huanri Manor over the past few days, and it had taken quite some effort. Fuhu Master and several other veteran manor owners had provided "technical guidance."

On this sacrificial platform, they were the first, and possibly the only, group of sacrificers, but this massive Altar connected three tiers. Looking down, the Third Tier also had an Altar set up, with a group of people gathered; there was no need to ask, they were inevitably those surviving manor owners who had not participated in the Sword Fighting and had inadvertently reached the peak of their lives.

Looking up, the high and mighty First Tier also had an Altar set up. And there were people gathered there as well; although there were only a few, it was clear they were also there to sacrifice.

"That is... that bitch!" Tu Fei was the first to recognize her, his teeth chattering with rage.

The crowd suddenly realized; if one were to speak of the greatest losses on Wangliang Mountain this time, it should be the Second Tier. Originally ten manors, only three remained, and following the destruction of Anxing Manor by a cannon blast, and the confirmed death of the Xianglong Master of Xianglong Manor—who had gone up the mountain first to quell internal strife—only one manor remained among the ten: Huanri Manor. Nine out of ten families perished; it could be called tragic.

At the same time, the losses on the First Tier were also great. Of the five manors, three had confirmed deaths of their manor owners. There was also one that had remained outside of the events from beginning to end, arguably the luckiest manor among the First and Second Tier manors besides Huanri Manor—High Crown Manor.

It was said that the owner of High Crown Manor was in poor health and never participated in any external affairs, not even attending several sessions of the Deep Shadow Society, nor buying slaves; the last sacrificial offerings were prepared at the bare minimum. If not for the high rank left by their ancestors, they would have long been excluded from the other manor owners. Jianghu rumors claimed that the manor owner was already dead, and several White-haired Swordsmen were holding the power, pretending that nothing had happened.

Relying on this self-seclusion, High Crown Manor had stabilized the survival rate of the First Tier manors at twenty percent.

And another manor that should have survived was Changyi Manor, which was Tu Fei's manor.

But immediately after, Tu Fei was overthrown by internal strife, and his partner Jin Jiu also died; he could only run back to Huanri Manor, crying and begging for help, and to this day had not been able to wait for his dream savior Tang Zhao to return, so the survival rate of the First Tier manors decreased by one.

Seeing people on the First Tier, everyone naturally assumed it was the people from High Crown Manor who had come; they did not expect that the person who had usurped the position of Manor Head of Changyi Manor had actually arrived to sacrifice so brazenly?

Tu Fei shouted: "It is her, that bitch Xing Ruo, and that external helper of hers, daring to come to the sacrifice; I will tear them into ten thousand pieces!"

Someone in the group sneered: "How interesting, Changyi Manor has actually changed three groups of people to sacrifice in these three years; this is an unprecedented wonder."

His words also mocked Tu Fei, causing several people nearby to glare at him: at a time like this, do not say things that undermine unity.

Weise was also slightly surprised: Chi Mingjing had actually come too?

Chi Mingjing had already left the group. The two sides had once traveled together for a time and gotten along quite pleasantly, but in the end, they had separated due to different goals. Everyone parted on good terms, and Chi Mingjing being able to seize the opportunity to take over Changyi Manor was also partly due to the opportunities created by Tang Zhao and his side.

Logically, Chi Mingjing's business was already settled; why did she still have to come? Was it to return a favor and see if there was anything she could help with, or did she have another purpose to fulfill at the sacrifice? Or was she simply here to watch the excitement and find some fun?

Weise raised his head, looking at the blurry yet vaguely familiar figure on the tier above, and asked in his heart:

"You should be on our side, right?"

"Mingjing?"

"Woo—"

A long, drawn-out horn sounded once more; this time, it was not blown by their group, but came from further away.

Someone was coming!

Weise turned his head abruptly, only to see flags fluttering in the distance, horns blaring in unison, and a dark, oppressive mass like a great cloud approaching—a funeral... no, a sacrificial procession.

The number of people in this group was not small; at a rough glance, it was no fewer than the people on the Huanri Manor side, and in terms of momentum, it was even superior.

This time it was Fuhu Master's turn to exclaim: "Anxing Manor! The people from Anxing Manor have come!"

Weise's heart sank, and the various manor owners also exploded, shouting: "What? Anxing Manor still has so many people coming? Weren't they wiped out?"

Regarding the outcome of the battle where the Abyss Envoy was dispatched to destroy Anxing Manor, everyone had heard it from Xin Ying. Although Xin Ying was distraught over the Disappearance of Manying, he had also emphasized that Anxing Manor had been destroyed, annihilated by the power of Wangliang, leaving not even a scrap behind.

Xin Ying was not a person who would lie, so everyone believed it, and at the same time, it felt reasonable: so many Abyss Envoys had gone on an expedition, and to perish together with the enemy was already shameful enough; could it be that they were wiped out while the other side remained unscathed?

Because they believed it, everyone could not believe their eyes at this moment.

"It really is Anxing Manor! I see Xingzi and Xinglao, and that young manor owner... his state is a bit off, why is he so ethereal? But it is definitely him, I have seen him before, he is indeed the Anxing Master. Eh, they really haven't lost much, it seems there are even more people than before?"

Fuhu Master shouted and hollered, and the crowd was filled with worry: they were in league with the Abyss Envoy and were enemies with the Long Life Society; now they were just a group of remnants, while Anxing Manor was on the side of the Long Life Society, and now they were strong and well-equipped, with the glorious record of slaughtering several Abyss Envoys. If they met and clashed in front of the arena later, could there be any good outcome?

Is it too late to surrender now?

But their worries were far outweighed by the worries of Weise.

When the main force of Anxing Manor appeared in his field of vision, Weise felt a massive shock in his heart.

To think... there were still so many people!

This... is different from the plan!

As an intelligence hub, Weise knew Tang Zhao's plan. According to the previous plan, Manying, acting as the Inner agent, should have detonated the Thunder Symbol the moment the Turtle Bandits left, blowing Danyue Base, people and buildings alike, into the sky.

In this way, even if it couldn't hurt those truly big shots, it should have caused heavy losses to those lackeys, while incidentally destroying their base camp, leaving them in a chaotic scramble with no time to attend to anything else.

But now, the Turtle Bandits were not only organized, but also looked full of Spirit, not at all like they had been struck by five thunders just before leaving.

Could it be that the plan had changed?

Or was it that... Manying, who was lurking in Danyue Base, had run into some trouble and failed to activate that Thunder Symbol in the end?

If that were the case, could it be that the Turtle Bandits not only suffered no losses but also obtained some intelligence from this side, and thus came prepared?

In an instant, Weise wanted to touch a device behind his ear; that was the Instant Communication Art-Device developed by Tang Zhao, and if there were new orders, they would be transmitted directly into his ear from the Art-Device.

But now, there was only Silence.

Perhaps it was because his strength was insufficient and he was not important, so no one had assigned him a task?

However, the other side had already arrived before his eyes; no matter what his role was, he should take the stage now. This opening act had to be performed by him.

Since there was no script, he would just have to improvise.