Chapter 219: Sacrifice

Lu Fang’s eyelids twitched violently—he understood everything now. The so-called reward of one hundred thousand mid-grade Wanda stones was merely an excuse by Pan and Zheng Xu.

An excuse to send their underlings, the yao-man, to their deaths.

If his guess was correct, they had long anticipated that any yao-man attempting to push open the golden gate would be swallowed by the mist.

Perhaps forcing the yao-man to die was the true key to strengthening the mist and opening the golden gate.

Pan’s face remained expressionless. “The golden gate will be opened—only whose fortune is greater will decide it.” It turned to a nearby snake demon. “You choose who pushes the gate.”

The snake demon was a fourth-rank female yao with serpentine hair and a human form; her relationship with Pan was clearly intimate—they had come together.

The snake-headed female cooed, “Yes,” and extended a finger toward Jiang Yuan. “She’ll do.”

“What do you mean?”

Lu Fang narrowed his eyes—he saw malice in the female’s gaze. Clearly, the Bai Yuying demon and she were enemies.

The snake-headed female laughed merrily. “What? Didn’t you hear me, Xie? She’s just a human woman. If you’re upset, I’ll give you a few more when we return.”

“I disagree!”

Lu Fang frowned tightly.

The snake-headed female offered Pan a helpless smile. “It seems Xie doesn’t like me. I’ll just…”

Pan shot Lu Fang an irritated glance. “Pathetic! Ni, don’t pick his human servant. Choose someone else. Don’t waste time.”

The snake-headed female named Ni nodded dejectedly, then randomly pointed at a yao. Her expression turned cold and sharp. “You. Go into the mist and push open the golden gate.”

At the same time, Lu Fang heard the snake-headed female’s mental whisper: “You’re acting strangely. Didn’t you used to hate humans?”

Lu Fang ignored her. He didn’t know the relationship between the snake-headed female and the Bai Yuying demon. The more he spoke, the more he’d risk saying something wrong. Better to say nothing.

He had thought the two demons were mortal enemies. Now, he suspected they might be lovers.

Otherwise, how would she know so much about Bai Yuying?

He didn’t dwell on it. He had no curiosity about the love and hatred between these three eagle demons. All he wanted now was to delay the sealing’s release.

He had just considered whether to have Mo Xin create a barrier now—under its help, he might kill Pan.

But he quickly dismissed the idea. Even if he killed Pan, he couldn’t stop the yao-man’s plan.

A second yao-man was forced into the mist. The moment he touched the golden gate, he was killed and swallowed.

Under military intimidation, one by one, the chosen yao-man walked into the mist to die.

In this life-or-death situation, one man-beast dared to speak up, trying to unite the yao-man against this method of sending individuals to their deaths.

This chosen man-beast actually had some courage.

Unfortunately, not a single yao-man supported his idea.

After all, he was the one chosen. The others all believed themselves lucky.

“How dare you speak so boldly here!”

The hooded man-beast lunged forward, seized the man-beast’s head, and hurled him toward the golden gate in the mist.

“Ahh!”

The man-beast screamed as the mist swallowed him whole.

After this incident, only those chosen dared to speak of uniting against it—and the outcome was always the same. No yao-man paid attention.

The deaths progressed rapidly. Almost as soon as one was swallowed, the next was already being pushed forward.

By midday, nearly a hundred yao-man had perished in the mist—and the slaughter continued.

Lu Fang felt no emotion. The more yao-man died, the better for him. No matter how they chose, he’d never be picked.

It was convenient—doing nothing, he’d eliminated so many enemies.

Mo Xin, who had remained silent until now, suddenly spoke: “The mist has grown much stronger—likely from consuming all that flesh. If I’m not mistaken, they’re using this method—similar to sacrifice—to strengthen the mist and open the golden gate.”

He paused, then offered advice: “Wait until you enter the sealed area before acting. That way, your move will seem natural. When you kill Pan, you can impersonate it—perhaps you can truly sabotage their plan.”

Lu Fang gave a barely perceptible nod. He’d thought the same. But one concern lingered: “If we enter the sealed area, will we release the ancient races trapped there?”

Mo Xin chuckled. “There’s a chance—perhaps even a high one. But you have no other choice. A few ancient races? What’s there to fear?”

“If we’re counting ancient races, I’m half one myself.”

“Do you think I have the power to influence today’s Great Zhou Dynasty? And even if they’re released, they’ll take ages to regain their strength.”

Lu Fang sighed inwardly—he accepted Mo Xin’s reasoning.

Mo Xin continued: “You have the Bookish Qi. Take some. The air’s toxins have grown stronger again. When the sealed area opens, the toxins may intensify further.”

Lu Fang nodded, walked over to Jiang Yuan and the other two, and handed them a vial of pills. “Here’s your antidote for the next few days.”

What he gave wasn’t an antidote—it was a high-grade detoxifying elixir.

Afterward, he mentally whispered to Jiang Yuan and the others: take one pill at regular intervals, and warned them the air’s toxins might grow stronger.

After over a hundred yao-man had been sent into the mist…

Creak! A sound pierced the soul.

The golden gate finally opened—though only halfway, it was enough to pass through.

“It’s finally open!”

Pan stepped forward eagerly, then suddenly halted, remembering the many yao-man who had died in the mist. It chose one of its own demons and ordered it to enter the gate.

The demon was an eagle yao. It received the command, hesitated, then shuddered at Pan’s icy gaze and reluctantly stepped into the mist.

When the eagle yao touched the golden gate, the mist did not kill it.

Seeing this, the eagle yao eagerly glanced inside—the golden gate glowed with blinding light; nothing within could be seen.

Summoning courage, it tried to step through the half-open gate—but something like a barrier blocked its path.

“What’s going on?”

Zheng Xu stepped forward, urging: “Push harder! Force the gate fully open! How can you not get in?”