Chapter 627: The Newcomer

The Altar.

The people of Huanri Manor watched as the team of Turtle Bandits arrived before them.

Weise still had not received any instructions and could not make a decision for the moment, so he had no choice but to let them reach the front.

The other side did not face the Manor Lords directly; instead, they took another path on the opposite side and arrived at the other side of the Altar. The two sides were separated by the great Altar, as if separated by a wide river, looking at each other across the river, as if there were a sense of looking at flowers through a mist.

However, for those with the eyesight of a Sword Guest, this distance was enough to see exactly how many eyelashes the other side had.

Weise glanced over and could tell that the leader, An Wang, was not quite right; he was a bit like...

Like the state of Feng Zhenshou.

So, it was a dead Spirit Official.

Also, there was a woman in that team who was also very formidable.

Although she was not yet a Sword Guest, Weise had an instinct for judging danger cultivated since childhood, so he could see at a glance that the woman, dressed in plain clothes and appearing unremarkable, was actually quite powerful; however, she did not give him the feeling of exceeding that Gui Rong. In other words, she was merely a Sword Hero.

But since everyone thought so, no fool would ask. Everyone watched as the youth climbed the steps, arrived at a platform on the second tier of the Altar, and then sat cross-legged beside them, his gaze fixed on them through his Mask, just like an audience member taking their seat to watch a performance.

Anyone wearing this Mask would become eerie and fierce; this was not a mask children would play with, but rather more like the masks worn by ghost-catching shamans during certain exorcism rituals to intimidate demons and monsters.

Before he could even see the person's appearance clearly, the Fuhu Lord was already furious and shouted, "That lowly sword slave dares to come and disturb at a time like this? Quickly, take him for the Sacrifice!"

Weise took a look and realized why the Fuhu Lord immediately assumed it was a sword slave. That figure was not only short, but his walking posture was very peculiar; his feet clung to the ground without lifting, as if he were wading through water.

He saw that those litters of sacrificial offerings, though slightly fewer than theirs, were also quite impressive; most notably, a person was sitting on top of each offering.

The second incense stick was lit, the smoke rising like a crown.

Xing Wu was representing Huanri Manor to go up to the stage; the YoungMaster that Weise was playing had to hold down the fort, and since he himself was not a Sword Guest, he feared that going up and coming into contact with the power of Wangliang Mountain would expose him, so he sent Xing Wu, who was more familiar with this process and had the best self-preservation ability, to go up. As for Tu Fei, he wanted to go up himself; his home was lost, and he was waiting to pray to Wangliang Mountain to help him find it, so he was willing to do these miscellaneous tasks.

At this moment, heads were moving on both sides, each group huddling together; it was the most solemn moment of the atmosphere. This lonely figure appeared so glaring. It was like a lone canoe drifting down a great river between two erupting volcanoes.

Just as they were speaking, they saw a figure walking up the steps on the sides of the Altar.

In the past, the positions of these two holding the ritual vessels had to be fixed Second-tier Manor Lords, but now they were both gone, so they had to choose two Sword Guests to go up. One of them was Xing Wu, and the other was Tu Fei.

Before the words had even faded, they saw the Turtle Bandits had already carried up the litters of sacrificial offerings from behind.

That person was a young man, at most twenty years old, his brows and eyes having a sense of rugged sharpness; sitting cross-legged now with his eyes closed, he appeared a bit gentler.

The Fuhu Lord's expression was ugly; the opposite side was full of enemies, and below was the suddenly appearing eerie youth, so he truly did not want to go up. But as the only remaining Manor Lord of the traditional four ritual official manors, he had no choice but to shake his ritual robes and walk toward the steps. Two Sword Guests beside him held the ritual vessels and followed.

However, on the face of that sword slave was a Mask; the Mask was golden, carved very finely, with distinct features and exposed teeth, looking somewhat fierce, but the corners of the mouth were curved, as if smiling, which was very strange.

After a moment of eerie silence, Weise cleared his throat and turned back, saying, "Fuhu Lord, we may begin."

Weise pursed his lips, thinking: What the hell is the difference between this and a shaman dance? No wonder Tang Xiansheng said Wangliang Mountain is the primary stage of cults and lewd sacrifices; even their bluffing methods are so low-level.

"Eh? Isn't this Daoist Pure Wind?" At this time, Liu Hu, who was mixed in the team "observing," suddenly spoke, his tone very surprised.

Weise was not a person from the Land Inspection Division after all, and he had no camaraderie; unless Tang Xiansheng had a clear order to take action and save people, he would naturally prioritize his own mission. If the other party ended up in trouble, he could only say "what a pity."

Those sword slaves all walked like that; only in this way could they get close to Wangliang Mountain and be spared a portion of the pain.

It looked like he had been controlled by some method, unable to move, and it was unknown if he still had consciousness.

Although the eye signal was very vague, Weise still received his meaning: "There is one of our own among the sacrifices; it is the third one in the row."

Weise thought, and said to the several Manor Lords beside him, "I see there are hidden dragons and crouching tigers in their team, you all be careful..."

Weise asked, "Since it is an acquaintance of Brother Liu, should we save him?"

"Heh." The Fuhu Lord slapped his thigh upon seeing this, "They actually respect the ancient rites, having prepared sacrifices, and they are not just those filler sword slaves, but proper Sword Guests to start with. This makes us look insincere." After saying this, he shook his head and sighed.

The Heavenly Dao has perished, the Human Dao does not flourish.

Weise's gaze shifted, looking at the person on the third litter.

"Jade Cong—"

Weise's gaze jumped, thinking: As expected of the Turtle Bandits, they don't learn the good, only the bad. No, they were already this bad to begin with; what wouldn't they do?

Seeing both sides standing still and remaining silent, Weise deliberately pretended not to see and turned to the Fuhu Lord, saying, "Has the auspicious time arrived? If it has, let us begin the sacrifice."

As a ritual official, the Fuhu Lord was very familiar with all the procedures and said, "We can begin. I will first..."

Liu Hu said, "It is Daoist Pure Wind from the Nine Heavens Dao Palace in Jingcheng; he is a Sword Guest Daoist under the State Preceptor, and he is quite well-regarded. In Jingcheng, even if he went to the Wangfu, he would be an honored guest. What is the background of these people? They actually dare to tie up the State Preceptor's man for sacrifice."

At once, the Fuhu Lord first lit a specially made incense stick, held it in his hand, and gave it a slight shake; flames shot into the sky, resembling a torch. To the naked eye, the flame was actually pure black, and it was unknown if it was truly black or if it looked black because of the filter's influence.

Seeing that the masked youth had already reached the bottom of the Altar, everyone was silent for a moment. The Fuhu Lord opened his mouth, wanting to ask about his background, but he was not a fool after all; seeing this situation, he felt it shouldn't be him who spoke, and it was best to let someone else ask.

It certainly wasn't one of their own people...

Weise tilted his head slightly and asked him, "Who is Daoist Pure?"

Weise did not recognize this person, but judging by his appearance, he should be a steadfast warrior; it was a pity he had fallen into the hands of the Turtle Bandits, and it was unknown if there would be time to save him.

It actually ignored the black-and-white filter of Wangliang Mountain and emitted a golden light all on its own!

The last time Weise saw this color was the "Ghost Sea Sunset" statue at the entrance of his own manor; that touch of gold was exactly what the sun emitted!

It was fortunate that Tu Fei had kept this Black Jade Staff by his side; if it had been left in Changyi Manor, they would not even have the authority to perform the sacrifice now.

Then, where was that woman who was said to be unimaginably powerful?

Without needing Weise to remind him, Liu Hu beside him already said, "Fuhu Lord, wait a moment; that someone would come at this time, I fear there is something suspicious."

All things lose order, only I am Wangliang,

Connecting with Heaven, bordering with Earth.

Five sacrifices held together, ten hearts assisting as one..."

"Ceremonial Pendant—"

The Fuhu Lord took the incense and bowed once toward the Black Jade Staff in the center, then stepped onto the Altar and began to walk; first walking slowly, then quickly, and finally starting to take unusual steps, just like a dance.

The Chumi Lord was an undercover agent sent by the Land Inspection Division; the "our own people" he referred to were naturally the people of the Land Inspection Division.

Weise secretly sneered; at this time, the Chumi Lord touched him lightly, Weise glanced at him, and the Chumi Lord gave him a look, his fingers making a "three" gesture below.

The Fuhu Lord fell silent, and then everyone quieted down; time seemed to stand still, with only that small figure climbing upward.

"High Crown—"

The Master of Fuhu jumped for a while and said, "What are the Five Sacrifices? Changyi—" As he spoke, he used the black flame in his hand to light the incense at the far left of the second row. The incense smoke rose instantly, and the smoke transformed into the shape of a piece of clothing.

These sacrifices totaled twelve people, both male and female, of various ages, but there were no obvious young children, meaning they were not Sword Slaves. Furthermore, they all had black hair, so naturally, they were not the local White-haired Swordsman; where on earth did they come from?

Weise immediately understood that these sacrificial victims were people captured by the Turtle Bandits from elsewhere, all originating from factions hostile to them. As for the idea that the Imperial Preceptor's people were not to be trifled with, the Turtle Bandits were even planning to overthrow the Imperial Court, so what did they have to fear from a mere Imperial Preceptor? Perhaps they intended to use the Imperial Preceptor's people to sacrifice to the banner.

Not until that person stepped onto the Second Tier of the Altar did the crowd see clearly. It was indeed a small child, or to be more precise, a youth, wearing very simple, crude clothing that looked almost like a black cloth sack. It appeared that not only was he a Sword Slave, but he was a Sword Slave from a poor and stingy manor. If the Manor Master had any sense of decency, he would not have let a Sword Slave wear such clothes.

Liu Hu laughed and said, "No need, no need. We are merely nodding acquaintances; do not let it delay the important business."

One could only hear him chanting while dancing: "Heaven and Earth are chaotic, the sun and moon provide no light."

Could it be that this Mask is also...

Someone as insensitive as Weise realized another strange detail a split second late: this Mask was actually gold!

Gold is not rare, but what is rare is being able to see something gold on Wangliang Mountain.

He chanted while dancing, becoming increasingly immersed in the state, and his dance steps grew more and more frantic. The incense in his hand burned brighter and brighter as if fanned by the wind, producing a great deal of thick smoke that filled the Altar with swirling haze.

An incense table had long been placed on the Altar, and sacrificial items were prepared. The incense table was divided into three levels, each holding a different number of incense burners. There were ten on the bottom level, five on the middle level, and only one largest and most magnificent incense burner on the very top. At the very peak was a treasure case resembling a Buddhist shrine, with a Black Jade Staff inserted in the center. At the very top was embedded a black gemstone that looked like a pupil; the gemstone's color was pitch black, and looking closely, it seemed bottomless, with no one daring to meet its gaze. That was the core Dharma Artifact for the Sacrifice, kept in rotation by the five First Rank Manors, and this time it was Changyi Manor's turn to keep it.

"Incense Bead—"

These five names referred to the five First Rank Manors, which he pointed out one by one. Then he began to name the ten Second-tier Manors, lighting the incense in the second row: "Hairi, Dark Star, Jianglong, Fuhu, Lingyuan..."

Even though there were few people left from the fifteen manors present, he still named them one by one. Fifteen sticks of incense smoked together, and the smoke eventually gathered on the incense stick at the very top. The thickest and largest incense stick ignited without wind, transformed into a trail of black smoke, and drifted toward the Altar...

"The hearts of the masses are prepared, my Lord Wangliang, descend!"