I made the entire cultivation world cry

Chapter 296 Blood Sacrifice (【Frosty Creek】Alliance Leader +3)

Snowflakes fell softly in the dead of winter. Shang Shixu pushed open the wooden door, and a cold wind swirled in with snowflakes, only to be quickly shut out by the closed door.

Shang Shixu stood silently under the eaves, waiting for the two people inside to finish speaking.

Inside the room, the flickering candlelight illuminated the hunched figure of Gu Lou. He sat in a sandalwood chair, his withered, claw-like fingers caressing the teacup. His face was wrinkled like cracked tree bark, his eyes were sunken, and his pupils had an eerie bluish-green hue, as if countless insect shadows were lurking within.

"Everything is almost ready."

A cloaked figure emerged from the shadows, removed his black iron mask, and revealed a young face in his early twenties.

A hoarse laugh escaped Gu Lou's throat. "The person who contacted me before was a woman. How come it's a man now?"

The young man was unsmiling. "We are all servants of the Holy Lord, there is no distinction between you and me, we are just using a body to act. Let's get down to business. I've been to the Qin family. Your improved Dream Gu is very good, without the slightest flaw."

Gu Lou smiled without saying a word. If it weren't for the help of the timing, it wouldn't have been easy to improve this Dream Gu.

The young man continued, "This time, my teaching also took a great risk. Three thousand cultivators in the city were sacrificed, enough for you to break through to the Nascent Soul stage. I hope you will keep your promise afterward and offer the mother Gu of the Dream Gu and the cultivation method to the Demon Lord."

"Don't worry, next year will be the opening of the Eastern Continent Trade Route, which takes place once every thirty years. At that time, I will take my apprentice with me and leave Beixuan. How this place develops will be none of my business."

"There's no time to lose. You should prepare quickly. I'll have the believers gather at the blood sacrifice site first."

The young man opened the door and went out. When he saw Shang Shixu standing outside, a barely perceptible murderous intent flashed in his eyes.

"Shixu, come in."

The Gu worms called out, and Shang Shixu glanced at the young man before walking past him into the house.

Shang Shixu recognized the young man's face; his wanted poster was probably still hanging in the Cangling Sect's internal affairs hall.

Shang Shixu remembered that his name was Song Ming, but it might just be a pseudonym, or perhaps the demons behind the Dream Immortal Sect were using his body.

After entering the room, Gu Lou released a swarm of flying insects, sealing the entire room completely. Then, he took out an old, yellowed jade slip from his sleeve and placed it on the table.

"As you probably guessed, the reason why I've been relentlessly pursued by the Insect Valley, and why your seemingly virtuous female master keeps chasing after me, is all because of it."

Shang Shixu stood there silently, without saying a word.

Gu Lou was furious. "Your physique and abilities are all excellent, but you have a weak personality. Well, what's done is done, and I can't choose a successor again."

"Keep the jade slip with you. If my blood sacrifice to form my nascent soul is successful, you can return it to me. If I fail, you can keep it and seek your freedom from now on."

Shang Shixu looked up at Gu Lou, his eyes filled with doubt but not a trace of greed.

"Can't we think of another way? Why do we have to cooperate with the Dream Fairy Sect? They are demons, demons that slaughter the human race."

Gu Lou scoffed, “Sometimes, humans are more vicious than demons. Back in the Insect Valley, I worked hard and cultivated so many spirit insects and spirit gu. They said they would give me everything I deserved, but I only got the Insect Emperor’s relics because of my own abilities, which allowed me to pass through the Ten Thousand Insect Array.”

"And what happened? They forced me to hand over the items, and when I refused, they pinned a fabricated charge on me and hunted me down for decades! If I don't cooperate with the demons, am I supposed to cooperate with those beasts?"

Shang Shixu clenched his fist. "But you also killed so many innocent people!"

“Those are all sinners! Their lack of ability is their sin! The laws of this world are like the survival of insect swarms. When locusts pass by, do they stop to devour the green rice seedlings? The flesh and blood of the weak are born to nourish the strong.”

"That kid who used to call you brother, if he wasn't so useless that he couldn't even withstand a Heart-Eating Gu, how could he have become nourishment for your natal Gu? It's the same between demons and humans. If humans are strong, they will slay demons; if demons are strong, they will devour humans. In my eyes, there is no distinction between races in this world, only strength and weakness!"

"You think you can escape by joining a prestigious sect? Look at that Gu in your dantian, how much flesh and blood has it devoured to grow to this size? To allow you to control all insects at will? You're already a cannibalistic monster just like me!"

As Shang Shixu's face gradually turned pale, Gu Lou's voice suddenly softened.

"Let me teach you a lesson: survival in this world is like a swarm of insects searching for food—either you devour others, or you are devoured. Do you think those prestigious sects have fewer bones than I have? They merely crush the flesh and blood of other living beings and mix it into their elixirs!" Shang Shixu was speechless. Gu Lou picked up the jade slip and shoved it into his hand. "Remember, before I die, do not break the seal on this jade slip. Since you can't stand bloodshed, find a place to hide and wait for my news. I sent you to the Qin family a few days ago to plant a Gu, and you got injured. You're truly useless..."

Shang Shixu clutched the jade slip tightly as he left the room, never expecting that something the Insect Valley had schemed for decades to obtain would fall into his hands so easily.

Gazing at the vast snowy night, Shang Shixu was momentarily at a loss for where to go.

……

The streets of Yuyang City were teeming with people.

Everyone came out of their homes, excitedly looking around. Even cultivators who had reached the ninth level of Qi Refining were like naive young men, full of curiosity about everything.

"Is this where cultivators live? It's definitely more impressive than our town."

"Is this a magical artifact? Does anyone know how to use it?"

"Are we really dreaming? This dream feels so real!"

"Hey look, my finger is on fire, but it doesn't hurt!"

Jiang Yi and Zhao Cangyun mingled in the middle of the noisy, unsophisticated crowd.

While pretending to be shocked and shouting "Amazing!" at the person pointing at the fire, Zhao Cangyun secretly communicated with Jiang Yi using a communication talisman hidden in his sleeve.

"Senior Sister, didn't you say you weren't going to care?"

Jiang Yi, with her unremarkable face, frowned because she couldn't see the dream marks on these people's heads.

"The matter of the Dream Fairy Sect is a major issue, and their methods have now been upgraded. They are so secretive that you can't smell them and I can't see them. We must find out the truth."

At this moment, a man at the seventh level of Qi Refining suddenly leaned over to Jiang Yi and asked, "Miss, which village are you from?"

"What?! You want to meet up in person?! No way!" Jiang Yi replied irritably.

The man froze, not quite understanding what Jiang Yi was saying, and muttered, "I was just asking, why are you being so fierce? Are you a man possessing a woman's body?"

Jiang Yi glared at him, and the man left sheepishly.

At this moment, everyone inexplicably headed towards the dock. When they passed a fork in the road, Jiang Yi saw the Qin family members. Although they weren't as excited as the people around her, their expressions and behavior suggested that they had been parasitized for several days.

Before today, if the Dream Immortal Sect wanted to parasitize a Qi Refining cultivator, they had to induce the cultivator to fall into a dream state when the cultivator's mind was not in control.

Or, like during her inner sect assessment, she used a dream gu to trap a cultivator's consciousness in a dream, and then parasitize it.

Later, Lord Longri verified that the Dream Gu had limited effects. For those with slightly stronger willpower, they could break free from the dream woven by the Dream Gu, wake up, and regain control of their bodies.

Those who have been afflicted with the Dream Gu, as well as those who cultivate the insect path, all have ways to identify them.

Without using the Dream Gu method, it would be difficult for other cultivators to detect the clues.

Jiang Yi was slightly more advanced than everyone else, and could directly see the dream traces created when a cultivator's soul sank into a dream.

Zhao Cangyun could smell a slight stench emanating from these people.

But now, without dream marks and without stench, if this new parasitic method were to become widespread within the Dream Immortal Cult, Bei Xuan would truly be in grave danger.

　See you tomorrow!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)