I have Taoism and can understand other worlds

Chapter 664 Bloodline and Livestock
The sinkhole is bottomless, and the white skeletons are piled up like mountains.

The bones piled up layer upon layer, stretching to the horizon.

Countless hollow skulls lay face up, their mandibles twisted and open, maintaining the posture of a scream in the last moments of life.

Jiang Wen had never seen such a mountain of corpses before, and even with his calm demeanor, he couldn't help but be moved.

"Taixu, look over there." Jiang Su's voice came, and following the slender white finger, he saw another scene that disgusted him.

At the edge of the skeletal hill, nearly a hundred blue bodies were crawling and writhing.

Their skin clung tightly to their jagged skeletons, their joints protruding like withered branches, making a crisp, grinding sound as they walked.

Even though they were dozens of miles apart, Jiang Wen could still clearly see their faces and expressions.

He saw Rui, whose gaunt face was expressionless. Then he saw several familiar undead, who were all residents of the village.

As for the unfamiliar undead, they didn't seem to be residents of the village. They must have come from elsewhere and gathered here today.

These living dead held farm tools in their hands, and many of them looked struggling and agitated. They were shouting something and gesturing wildly.

Jiang Wen listened intently and heard a strange singing voice, as if some kind of ritual was being performed.

As the song reached its climax, dozens of vibrant people were pulled up.

Looking at the clothing on those living people, Jiang Wen recognized them as warriors from the Baixi tribe. Some were Rakshasa, and the other dozen or so came from other tribes.

How did these people end up here? What are those undead doing holding them? Jiang Wen was filled with questions, but he waited patiently.

The living dead dragged several people out from among the living and tied them to the pile of bones.

Those were several Baixi people still struggling, their eyes closed as if they had fallen into a coma. Only their bodies were still moving, allowing the living dead to drag them along.

The undead tied these people to a pile of bones, and one of them, holding a farm tool, knocked one of their heads off.

The head rolled along the pile of bones, and the undead danced and screamed. It resembled some kind of cult ritual, sending chills down one's spine.

Several people's heads were knocked off, and the undead used farm tools to dig a hole in the ground and bury them. Jiang Wen finally understood that the undead's farm tools were used in this kind of place.

The headless corpses lay on the pile of bones, their animal skin garments torn to shreds.

Dozens of undead swarmed forward, their withered claws digging deep into fresh flesh, effortlessly tearing away the muscle fibers.

Their deep-set eyes gleamed with a ghostly light, and their gnarled backs trembled slightly with satiation.

There was no fighting, no talking.

The strong smell of rust and the stench of decay intertwine, enveloping this eternal feast.

The slope piled with bones emitted a faint, clattering sound, like eerie ancient music playing for this grand feast.

Even though Jiang Wen was used to seeing all kinds of storms, he was still deeply shocked.

He never imagined that these seemingly normal undead would commit such a heinous act. They were eating human flesh and blood—and these were their own kind. How could they be at peace with themselves? How could they bring themselves to do it?
Jiang Wen didn't understand, nor did he comprehend.

He watched as the undead buried heads into the ground and then devoured the corpses.

With a furrowed brow, his figure disappeared on the mountaintop.

Several Baixi people were eaten alive, while the undead greedily licked their lips.

Rui stood in the middle of the crowd, his eyes closed and motionless.

Others called him to come and enjoy the food, but Rui ignored them. He stood there quietly, like an old monk. Just as the crowd was about to drag the remaining dozen or so living people onto the pile of bones, a sword light descended from the sky.

The undead, dragging the living person along, had no time to react before its head was severed by the sword light. The remaining body continued to move, its head landing on the ground, looking at the newcomer.

A figure landed in front of the many living dead, his aura sweeping in all directions.

"Hmph." With a cold snort, the living dead all knelt down in despair.

When Rui opened his eyes, he saw the person he thought was long dead.

"It's you!" Rui exclaimed in surprise.

"It's me," the visitor replied calmly. "I went to Fallen Immortal Lake, but I didn't expect to see such a good show when I came back."

"..." Rui looked around; blood and flesh stained the area red. He was speechless and could only sigh.

"You eat the flesh and blood of your own kind, are you truly still considered people of Baixi?" Jiang Wen asked coldly. "If that's the case, why do you still cling to life? I ask you, why do you eat your own kind?!"

The kneeling undead trembled, none daring to speak. Only Rui looked up, his expression filled with loneliness.

"If that's the case, why bother thinking about going back? Even if you return to your clan, you'll just be man-eating ghosts. What difference is there between you and the corpses in the Land of Fallen Immortals?"

Upon hearing Jiang's words, the living dead all gritted their teeth.

But then one person said bitterly, "If we could, who would want to be like this?! We're in this state because of those high and mighty elders!"

“It’s not that we want it to be this way, who wouldn’t want to be alive! But we’ve never had a choice.”

Several people whispered their resentment, their words tinged with sorrow.

"This inhuman, ghostly appearance is not what we want!"

"So you're going to eat human flesh and blood?" Jiang Wen asked sternly.

Hearing this, the group was about to speak again. At this moment, Rui, who was kneeling on the ground, spoke up: "Please, esteemed sir, hear me out."

"Now, let's talk," Jiang Wen said, looking at Rui.

“What you see is only one side of the story. We have no choice but to eat flesh and blood,” Rui sighed. “You should know that anyone who remains in this holy land will turn into our likeness. So, in order to prevent this from happening, we eat them before they turn into the living dead, so that they will not end up like us.”

"What a convenient excuse," Jiang Wen scoffed.

"It's not that we're making excuses, it's just like this," Rui said with a wry smile, shaking his head. "Does Your Excellency know where this group of people came from? And why they've come here?"

"Why?"

"They are sacrifices, flesh and blood feed. They were sent here by the elders of the Azure Sky Tower," Rui said.

"Your Excellency may not know, but every so often the Sky Tower sends a batch of people who cultivate bloodline techniques to this place, offering them as sacrifices to this land. These people are drained of their flesh and blood, eventually turning into living dead like us."

"Sacrifice?" Jiang Wen looked at the dozen or so living people, not understanding why the Cangtian Tower would do such a thing.

“Yes, it is a sacrifice,” Rui sighed. “This is connected to the Baixi tribe; it’s an unspeakable secret.”

"Does Your Excellency know that the various tribes of Baixi cultivate a bloodline-based method?"

“Of course I know,” Jiang Wen nodded.

"Does that noble person know that the Bloodline Method is actually a method of nourishing flesh and blood? Just as humans raise livestock, the Bloodline Method is the shackle that keeps us in captivity. We, or rather all the tribes of Baixi, are nothing more than livestock raised in the Land of Divine Blessing."

(End of this chapter)