Ah Wang was even more bewildered and asked, "High Priest, today you saved my life. It makes sense if you want to claim it back, but to die openly and honorably?

How does one die honorably?"

"In the original plan to investigate the God of Nine Snakes, what were you supposed to do?"

"Become the sacrifice offered to the God of Nine Snakes by Liuyun Village," Ah Wang replied honestly.

"Isn't that dying honorably?"

Zhou Xuan gently pressed on Ah Wang's shoulder and said, "When Shi Family Village needs to make a sacrifice, you volunteer to let your flesh and blood be sent to the God Sacrifice Platform..."

Upon hearing this, Ah Wang wanted to ask more questions, but Zhou Xuan had already turned and returned to the "Gangfeng Cave." After walking a few steps, he turned back and said, "Ah Wang, you admitted to me that you have an index finger of the Bone God, right?"

"Yes."

"When your flesh and blood are on the God Sacrifice Platform, remember to use it, don't just naively sacrifice your own life."

Ah Wang suddenly understood that the High Priest was not asking him to really die, but to "fake death."

He immediately agreed enthusiastically, saying, "Understood, High Priest."

"Good that you understand."

Zhou Xuan strode into the cave. He had his own plans. This joint blood sacrifice to kill "Gong Zheng" was a ploy...

...

In the Gangfeng Cave, there was an additional chair beside the Music Master and Painter, reserved for Zhou Xuan.

Zhou Xuan sat on the chair, observing the joint blood sacrifice.

Honestly, this blood sacrifice made Zhou Xuan feel somewhat nauseated. Each of the sixteen Yin Halls had sacrifices that were truly horrifying and bizarre,

like White Crane Village, which offered a platter of human tongues. Each tongue was cut off, wriggling like a lively fish on a dark tray, even emitting beautiful music...

White Tiger Village offered internal organs, packed in a basket meant for cow grass, carried by a young woman. During the sacrifice, the organs seemed to come alive, drilling blood holes into the young woman's body one after another,

as her body grew more tattered, her beauty seemed even brighter. If you ignored her terrifying body, she could rival the most dazzling courtesan in Mingjiang Prefecture... The woman was the true sacrifice...

Every sacrifice was "created" in stone rooms behind each village, covered with drapes. During creation, the incredibly pungent blood stained the drapes with dark hues.

Besides this, Zhou Xuan's powerful perception became increasingly sensitive, detecting that the opened passageways were not only between the Heavenly Dome and the human world but another one was being quietly pried open underground...

"Cough cough!"

The Painter, sipping tea, occasionally coughed, looking quite unwell.

Clearly, he also disliked the primitive violence within these blood sacrifices and Life Temples.

Mingjiang Prefecture is a civilized city, while blood sacrifice rituals are considered barbaric and increasingly incompatible with modernized Mingjiang.

Due to this gap, Mingjiang Prefecture established policies many years ago explicitly banning blood sacrifices, setting a precedent followed and resisted by various state capitals.

"Lord Hua, if you detest the Yin Hall blood sacrifices so much, why not outright ban them, sever the ties between these Mountain Barbarians and the Evil God?"

King Xishan noticed the Painter's embarrassment and spoke with a hint of sarcasm.

"One must not rush things," the Painter replied.

"I think Lord Hua is just reluctant,"

King Xishan sneered, "When it comes to blood sacrifices, no Yin Hall is more brutal than your Bone Elder Association. Your Tangkou's skills in heart-extraction and disembowelment are no less spectacular than the scenery on the God Sacrifice Platform."

The Music Master raised his eyebrows and sneered, "We do it to ourselves, unlike them, who toy with others' lives."

"Harming oneself is worse than toying with others' lives. Our bodies and hair are given by our parents, how can we harm them?" King Xishan spoke in the laziest, most weary voice, uttering the most contentious statements.

Zhou Xuan, hearing this, thought King Xishan was quite a difficult person to deal with.

"Scholar Li, as someone who has studied hard through winters, you must understand the ancient rituals of blood sacrifice. Tell us, is there any reason for your Bone Elder Association to detest these blood sacrifices and Life Temples?"

King Xishan directed the debate towards "Li Chengfeng," even though he suspected Zhou Xuan was inside Li Chengfeng's body, he did not break this façade.

Zhou Xuan furrowed his brows and said, "There is reason for detesting it."

"Oh? I'd like to hear where this reason comes from,"

King Xishan was somewhat looking forward to meeting Zhou Xuan, and now that they were conversing in such a peculiar manner, he was naturally inclined to chat more.

"Today's Mingjiang Prefecture, and even the whole Jing Country, have begun to embrace civilization. The people's lives are so good, no more tobacco rolling, but smoking cigarettes,

traveling with electric cars, bicycles, automobiles, while electric lights and radios gradually spread. Life has transformed and become stable and comfortable, and when faced with sacrifices involving humans and flesh, how can it not be terrifying,

since civilization has become a rolling wheel, the practices of the savage era need not be mentioned or encountered again. Isn't it normal to be disgusted by bloodshed?"

King Xishan snorted coldly upon hearing this, saying, "In my view, that is forgetting one's roots. The Incense Fire Divine Dao of Jing Country comprises blood, flesh, spirit, and Dao. Yet any of these elements are blood sacrifices and Life Temples despised by you so-called civilized people. They have been cultivated through time, passing down and spreading since ancient times."

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.