fifth form

Chapter 3354 I am also a Han Chinese
The golden statue used for sacrificial rites was bathed in the blood of prisoners of war.

The ancestral land of Dragon City can be opened by slitting the throat and bleeding the pig as a sacrifice.

This kind of ritual once existed in Jambudvipa (the southern continent), but gradually decreased over time, while it was common in Uttarakuru (the northern continent).

Zhang Xuezhou and Dong Zhongshu discussed the matter at length, and what they said touched on related issues, forcing Shi Zhuguduhou Nidulu to cooperate.

"At night, the yin energy is heavy, so sacrificing nine people can draw the power of two dragons to open the gate to the secret place. The sacrifice can also be successful during the day, it just requires a little more sacrifices!"

Above Dragon City, corpses lay layer upon layer.

Although there weren't thousands of corpses, the sight of hundreds piled together was still quite horrifying.

Corpse-Chasing Bone Marquis took a silver dagger from his waist and slashed the necks of some of the Xiong Kingdom people who had been dragged over and were still panting slightly.

The blood poured onto the golden statue used in the sacrificial ceremony gave the gleaming sculpture a strange hue.

After continuously pouring the blood of two fierce people onto the body of the Jin man, two large, bluish-black snakes appeared on his body, and the blood from the shower was quickly poured into the snakes' mouths.

"It's a variant of the Yin-Yang Formation!"

"It looks somewhat like the 'Two Dragons Emerging from the Water' formation!"

Dong Zhongshu and Zhang Xuezhou exchanged whispers and quickly determined the formation of the ancestral land of Longcheng.

Although formations are adapted to local conditions, the formations in the Southern Continent have become extremely complex, with many formation names involving either eight or nine. For example, the Celestial Court even created the infinite formations of the Great Heavenly Evolution.

The array formations in this ancestral land are rather rudimentary.

Of course, being rudimentary doesn't mean it lacks power; it just means it's easier and less effort to crack.

“That golden statue used for sacrificial rites is a trigger; it allows us to force our way into the secret realm during its closed period using the array,” Zhang Xuezhou whispered. “This blood is the power that activates the array!”

"What a pity," Dong Zhongshu said. "Even if we take away the sacrificial golden statue, they can still enter this secret place at normal times in the future. If the formation is modified, the sacrificial golden statue we obtained will be useless!"

The golden statue used for sacrificial rites is like a key. If the lock of the formation is modified, the original key will no longer work.

Dong Zhongshu felt a bit wistful, thinking that forcibly entering a secret place would not be of much use. After all, the Han Dynasty was too far from Dragon City, and they could only occupy it temporarily, not possess it for a long time, and could not enjoy the long-term benefits of controlling the secret place.

"If the formation has some good material, we can just dismantle it and leave without losing anything," Zhang Xuezhou said.

"Dismantle the formation?"

Dong Zhongshu exclaimed in surprise, feeling that Zhang Xuezhou was also a swindler.

"Take everything you can, and chop up everything you can't!"

He was about to complain about Zhang Xuezhou when he heard the new emperor gritting his teeth, so he quickly swallowed his words back.

"Nine people at night, eighteen people during the day. It turns out that opening it during the day just doubles the number of people participating in the sacrifice!"

One by one, the still-warm corpses were dragged over to bleed, which also caused the giant snake in the sacrificial golden statue to turn blood red.

As if they had eaten and drunk their fill, two large snakes coiled one on the head of the golden statue used for the sacrificial ceremony and the other at its feet. At the same time, a green mountain appeared above the Dragon City, which resembled a hillside, and steps and palaces came into view. Dozens of people knelt down at the entrance to welcome them.

"Welcome, Great Chanyu!"

The crowd knelt down and shouted their respects. Wei Qing was slightly taken aback at first, but then quickly realized what was happening.

He swung his right hand twice in quick succession, without even taking the hard bow from his back, and directly strode forward several feet with his sword and chopped down with it.

The kneeling worshipper at the very front, wearing a ram's horn helmet and a red robe, had just noticed something was wrong and raised his head when Wei Qing's sharp sword came crashing down.

"Damn it!"

The kneeling worshipper roared, and the sword, having already pierced his helmet, became firmly lodged in his skull, stirring up layers of golden light.

"Bah!"

Wei Qing roared, his right hand flashing with blood-red shadows on his sword, his body spinning like a phantom.

A gurgling sound came from the throat of the kneeling high monk as his head, severed by the sword, was cut in two and fell to the ground.

"kill!"

The new emperor's anger had not subsided. Wei Qing's sword was merciless; he struck first, and the new emperor behind him reacted just as quickly, seizing the opportunity to strike swiftly. The secret realm was no ordinary area; it was a gathering place for cultivators. Even the most inconspicuous cultivator was more skilled than some soldiers, and the slightest carelessness could result in casualties.

After chopping down more than ten people, many cultivators who had just reacted sprang up, and a rain of arrows fell almost simultaneously.

Arrows pierced their bodies incessantly, and many cultivators turned into corpses in a very short time.

The dull thud and sounds of battle triggered the rapid tolling of bells in the palace behind, which in turn spurred a flurry of footsteps from the same palace.

"Form ranks and take turns firing arrows to seal them out of that palace!"

After swiftly killing dozens of fierce-nation cultivators who came to greet him, Wei Qing quickly adjusted the formation.

The smallest military unit in the Han Dynasty was the "wu" (伍), consisting of five men. Two "wu" formed a "shi" (什), totaling ten men. Five "shi" formed a "dui" (队), totaling fifty men.

The rapid deployment also resulted in alternating shooting. Fifty arrows falling from a distance did not seem impressive, but this method of archery almost completely sealed off the remaining cultivators in the palace.

Few cultivators possessed the technique for rapid leaping. Some cultivators could only leap three to five meters high before being bound by Dong Zhongshu's wind technique and then shot to death by arrows.

Zhang Xuezhou also joined in the fun. He wasn't very good at attacking, but he happened to get Li Tianwang's Three-Zhang-Qing.

While Sanzhangqing was not skilled enough to bind powerful cultivators like Zhujiuyin, he could easily bind cultivators below that level.

All it takes is to unleash the Three-Zhang Green, and this treasure will emerge like a snake to bind the person, and can also be forcibly dragged out by constricting the magic weapon.

"What is this secret place for?"

After the new emperor killed six people with his sword and entered the palace to stabilize the situation, his long sword was now at the neck of Shizhuguduhou Nidulu.

"This is the Great Khan's treasure land, I don't know what it's for!"

Shizhuguduhou Nidulu raised his hands, looking at the corpses scattered on the ground, his face pale as he quickly offered an explanation.

“That…that’s King Zuo Tuqi, he should know everything here!”

Following behind Wei Qing and the others, Nidulu also got a clear view of everything in the palace.

As the priest who succeeds to preside over the high ceremony, Nidulu is only responsible for guiding the opening of the ancestral land; he is not familiar with the interior of the ancestral land.

The new emperor held his sword to his neck, feeling the stinging pain. In his anxiety, he finally spotted another important figure.

"What is Zuo Tuqi Wang?" the new emperor questioned.

"He is the eldest son of our Great Chanyu, equivalent to the crown prince of your Han Dynasty!"

Nidulu gave a bitter reply, and Zhang Xuezhou's gaze swept towards Yu Dan, the crown prince of the Xiong Kingdom, whom he had met once before.

The other party was the leader of Wuchao, and Zhang Xuezhou had exchanged dozens of sentences with him.

More than a decade has passed, and he can only compare his memories with those of the middle-aged man with a full beard, finding a trace of his former self in him.

Zhang Xuezhou did not recognize Yu Dan. It was clear that Yu Dan had long forgotten Zhang Xuezhou and did not recognize him standing in the front row.

After exchanging several sword strikes with Wei Qing, Yu Dan was knocked to the ground by a knee strike from Wei Qing, and the demonic long arm wielding the sword was forced back to its original form.

If Yu Dan hadn't been of such an important status, Wei Qing would have undoubtedly delivered the final blow.

What is this place for?

With one foot on Yu Dan's right wrist, Wei Qing bent down and grabbed Yu Dan's head.

"Please don't kill me! The Great Chanyu bestowed a Han princess upon me for marriage, so I am also half a Han!"

When Wei Qing grabbed her by the hair and lifted her head up, Yu Dan's face did not show resentment or hostility. Instead, she quickly explained her own advantages and even used extremely fluent Mandarin.

During the reign of Emperor Jing, the relationship between the Han Dynasty and the Xiong Kingdom was fraught with difficulties, and there were many policies of marriage alliances, which involved both financial and kinship ties.

Although Emperor Jing was not so heartless as to send his daughter to the Xiong Kingdom to establish relations and improve international relations, the other side did indeed have the practice of conscripting daughters of princes and kings for marriage alliances, which ultimately became the plea for mercy that Yu Dan mentioned.

"I don't care if you're half or one, don't give me that fake smile. Just answer my questions exactly as I ask them!"

Before the new emperor could react, Wei Qing delivered a powerful punch to Yu Dan's face, lifting the bloodied Yu Dan up. Sensing the approaching death, the prince of the Fiend Kingdom quickly recounted the situation of this ancestral land.