Chapter 599: Hope Extinguished

Following Wuming's shout, a rumbling sound echoed, and these twelve giant pillars flipped over in unison; bound to each pillar was, shockingly, a child.

These children were all in a deep sleep, their ages ranging from one to twelve, corresponding to the Twelve Zodiacs.

A red shadow flashed, and Liu Suiyue, her face covered in blood, walked over; her face had been slashed, and she could no longer use illusions to maintain her beautiful appearance.

She stepped forward and bowed to Wuming: "Venerable One, everything is prepared. Once these children are bled, we can use this as a sacrifice to open the Longevity Bureau."

"Liu Suiyue, I found several children injected with mercury in your lair. At first, I didn't understand the reason, but now I do. You are using these children as a sacrifice to open the Longevity Bureau?" Chen Yu's expression was cold.

"That's right." Liu Suiyue's terrifying face was filled with grimness: "Because children who meet the requirements are too hard to find, the previous ones could only be bled and then injected with mercury."

"But that effect is greatly discounted, and if it's serious, it will affect the operation of the Longevity Bureau. Fortunately, Li Meng found people for me later, so the children who met the criteria were gathered quickly. If it weren't for you, you brat, interfering with our plans, the Longevity Bureau would have been opened long ago."

"You are ruthless enough," Chen Yu said coldly, "but I still want to see what you do next. You should know that the Longevity Bureau requires a life for a life. To extend his life by thirty years, you must trade the lives of three normal people."

"Then I will let you open your eyes. I want you to know that in order to revitalize the Witch Clan, we can pay any price." Wuming's muffled laughter rang out, and he waved his right hand.

He saw the three San Daming behind him walk to the very center of the Altar.

Suddenly, they drew three Dagger from under their witch robes and then stabbed them into their own hearts without hesitation.

The three knelt on one knee in unison and shouted in a deep voice: "The Heavenly Dao is eternal, the Witch Dao shall flourish. I am willing to use my broken body to help my Witch Clan lineage reappear. Our clan shall rise above all living beings. The witch fire shall not be extinguished; it shall continue forever."

The three heads hung heavily, and their lives ended there. Their fresh blood flowed along the grooves on the Altar, forming a blood-colored Talisman around the statue of the Gu ancestor.

Rumble, the twelve giant pillars moved again. The Ancient Beast Head atop the stone pillars suddenly revealed red light in their eyes. They stretched out their long arms, or extended their long, long tongues, reaching toward the children bound below the stone pillars.

Jiwu Lingtai's expression was excited. He didn't know where a burst of strength came from, but he stood up abruptly and shouted excitedly: "The Longevity Bureau is about to open."

"Really?" Chen Yu suddenly smiled. He stood straight and released Original Power from both hands.

The chains locked on his hands suddenly sparked with fire. The chains were engraved with Witch Curse; once they sensed the locked person trying to break free, the chains would immediately turn into molten iron, melting the hands and feet of the person locked.

But Chen Yu had feigned weakness for so long just to figure out Wuming's conspiracy. How could a mere Witch Curse compare to the full explosion of his strength?

With a boom, accompanied by a crisp sound, the Witch Curse on his hand chains didn't have time to activate before being forcibly broken by Chen Yu. Chen Yu grabbed with his right hand, Lichen in hand, and slashed out with one sword. With a clink, the iron chains on his feet were severed by the Lichen Slash.

Chen Yu let out a violent shout and leaped up. The Lichen in his hand burst with a sword glow over a zhang long, slashing toward the stone pillar nearest to him.

Boom, the Ancient Beast Head on the stone pillar nearest to him was slashed by his sword, leaving a deep sword mark.

The Ancient Beast Head let out a miserable shriek, and a burst of fire erupted from its eyes.

The twelve beasts on the Longevity Bureau were all ancient giant beasts. This Great Array had twelve beast heads connected; if one was severed, the Great Array could no longer operate.

Following Chen Yu's sword strike, the giant beasts on the remaining eleven stone pillars all stopped moving. The red light in their eyes gradually disappeared, and the Great Array stopped.

"Chen Yu." Wuming was furious.

He had spent countless efforts to barely open the Longevity Bureau. Opening the Longevity Bureau was not just for Jiwu Lingtai; he had more important matters that required opening this bureau.

But he never expected that the Longevity Bureau would be destroyed by Chen Yu just as it began to operate, and he had also sacrificed the lives of his three San Daming. How could he not be angry?

The Scepter in his hand slammed heavily onto the ground. With a snap, his long hair flew in all directions, and at the same time, a stream of light formed on his Scepter.

Chi chi, the entire cave flashed with electricity. Wuming, in his rage, was going to fight Chen Yu to the death.

Chen Yu gave a deep shout, held Lichen in reverse, and rushed toward Wuming violently. He slashed out with one sword; Lichen was unleashed with hatred, and a Sword Radiance rolled toward Wuming.

Wuming's Witchcraft had almost no power to resist under Chen Yu's indestructible sword momentum. Chen Yu's Sword Qi moved like a hot knife through butter, heading straight for Wuming's face.

With no other choice, he had to hold the Scepter in his hand in reverse, hoping to block Chen Yu's offensive.

Unfortunately, the Scepter in his hand was like an ordinary wooden stick against Chen Yu's Lichen.

Crack, the Scepter in Wuming's hand snapped, and a Sword Qi headed straight for his face.

Wuming hurriedly retreated. With a slap, a fierce sword momentum struck the Golden Mask on his face.

Pa... with a crisp sound, the Golden Mask that had been covering his face shattered.

"Go, let's go quickly." Seeing the situation was wrong, Jiwu Lingtai hurriedly urged the man behind him to push him away.

"Father-in-law, someone has already rushed into the cave entrance." The man was so scared his face turned pale.

"Bastard, go inside! This cave leads in all directions," Jiwu Lingtai cursed angrily.

Immediately, the man pushed Jiwu Lingtai, ducked into a passageway, and disappeared.

Wuming slowly raised his head, and only then did Chen Yu see clearly that this guy's face was covered in knife scars.

Moreover, there were dense scars on the knife marks where something had been gnawed by some kind of insect. Putting this face together with Liu Suiyue's was a perfect match, because both of them were so ugly.

"Chen Yu, you ruined my grand plan. I will kill you." Wuming hissed at Chen Yu.

"Ruined your grand plan? It seems you have even more secrets," Chen Yu smiled. He slowly walked to the center of the Altar and looked at the Gu ancestor statue that was over a zhang tall: "If I'm not mistaken, your purpose in setting up the Longevity Bureau—extending Jiwu Lingtai's life is fake, but wanting to awaken your Gu ancestor is real, right?"

"How do you know?" Wuming's expression changed wildly. How did Chen Yu know his plan?

"It's simple. In ancient times, the Nine Li Clan had a very high reputation. Your witch ancestor Chiyou was one of the major forces at the time."

Chen Yu sneered: "It's a pity that after you Nine Li were defeated, the Witch Clan was imprisoned in this bitter, cold place, and each year was worse than the last. In modern times, even fewer people in your Witch Clan can awaken Witch Power and practice Gu Technique."

"In a few more years, I'm afraid your Witch Clan will disappear forever. I don't know what Jiwu Lingtai has provided you, but for his sake, you could sacrifice the three San Daming under your command to extend his life? I don't think that's realistic."

"So your true purpose is to resurrect the Gu ancestor you worship. This Longevity Bureau is a resurrection bureau set up for him. Once he is resurrected, he can glorify your Witch Clan, right?"