Chapter 398: The Sorcerer's Sacrifice
Chapter 398: The Sorcerer's Sacrifice
"Gentlemen, there's nothing to fear as long as we have Lady Red Lantern with us. No demons or ghosts dare to cause trouble in our mine!"
After driving away the esteemed guests, Hu Ma was satisfied, but he couldn't show it on his face. He held up a red lantern and strode around the mine, his body emanating a chilling malevolent aura that swept away the remaining poison bug energy in the valley.
Finally, he leaped into the air and hung the red lantern on the pagoda gate, its dim red light shining brightly.
The flesh carvers, who had endured a night of terror and narrowly escaped death several times, all felt a sense of relief and survival. They bowed and knelt before the red lantern.
The sorcerers were still causing chaos on the other side, but deep down, they had developed a deep reverence for Lady Red Lantern. They felt that by worshipping the red lantern, their hearts would find peace.
Amidst the atmosphere of profound reverence, Old Abacus was stunned, gazing at the red lantern on the pagoda gate, emitting a faint red glow, and Hu Ma, who was walking into the valley with a hand on his back and a blade in his hand. He thought to himself, "Is our Lady Red Lantern that formidable?"
"The little one has just built her temple, and according to reason, the wild fox's cultivation should be deeper and more powerful than hers..."
"..."
As Hu Ma hung up the red lantern and looked out of the valley, he didn't relax but sighed softly, "These sorcerers have made a firm decision..."
Above his head, the light of the red lantern quietly illuminated the pitch-black darkness, revealing vague silhouettes all around. Hu Ma saw the dense forest outside the valley, impenetrable to the wind.
He also noticed a pale, cold face near a tree, standing at the edge of the valley, hidden in the darkness until the faint red light illuminated it, causing the eyes to slowly blink.
Not just one face, but countless faces stood by the trees outside, some old, some young, some women, and some children. They had been silently standing in the darkness since the red lantern's light first shone outside the valley.
Before the red lantern was hung, they seemed non-existent, but when the light suddenly illuminated their faces, it startled everyone.
Each person wore the sorcerers' black clothing, with silver ornaments on their heads that reflected a faint glow under the red lantern.
"Oh my..."
Even Elder Sun, standing nearby, was startled when he caught sight of this scene. He was a smart man, and after seeing that the Dharma King of the One Coin Sect had been driven away, he had abandoned the idea of taking action.
He had been pondering how to appear uninvolved, but now, following Hu Ma's hanging of the red lantern and its illumination of the valley, he was surprised.
Those expressionless faces were more frightening than seeing a ghost in the middle of the night.
"What's the matter?"
Hu Ma chuckled and initiated a conversation with the old gentleman, "You think your disciple is clever for secretly sending a message, but have you considered that the sorcerers are well-prepared?"
Elder Sun opened his mouth but couldn't speak.
The silence seemed to merge with the darkness of the night, creating an inexplicable pressure.
It seemed that Clan Leader Wugong had summoned them, or perhaps it was a collective decision made by all the sorcerers from the very beginning. This wasn't just a decision by Clan Leader Wugong but a significant undertaking for the entire sorcerer community.
First, the Monkey Wine sealed the valley to ensure that nothing inside could be transported out or harvested in a short time. Then, Clan Leader Wugong, accompanied by Nengneng and Wu Ya, entered the valley to utilize the fear of those inside to cultivate poison bugs.
If successful, they could control the entire valley, but they also prepared for unexpected situations. These sorcerers waiting outside were their backup plan.
If a clever strategy could be employed, they would use it, but if not, all the sorcerers would swarm in, killing all the flesh carvers and forcefully seizing the mineral vein's contents if necessary.
Based on the commotion Hu Ma had just heard in the wooden house, it seemed that only the Monkey Wine, responsible for sealing the valley, had encountered an unexpected situation and disappeared. Therefore, the sorcerers outside had to take its place in poisoning those inside the valley.
When the One Coin Sect members arrived and captured the poisoners in the forest, they thought they had exposed the sorcerers' scheme. However, it was like poking a hornet's nest, and as soon as the sorcerers received the news, they all came.
They thought it was a dispute among a few individuals, but the sorcerers had already considered it a significant matter for their entire community.
Initially, the sorcerers only sealed the mine, but when did they decide to mobilize the entire community to seize the contents of the Blood Meat Mine?
Hu Ma couldn't help but smile bitterly as he pondered this. It was the red lantern hanging above him.
In the beginning, the sorcerers only sealed the valley, and it seemed they hadn't decided to take such drastic measures. However, when the red lantern was hung, they became afraid, and after some deliberation, they prepared this chilling display.
In the pagoda gate, Hu Ma stood beneath the red lanterns, his hands clasped behind his back, eyes narrowed as he gazed outward.
Outside the valley, hidden in the darkness, were expressionless faces occasionally illuminated by the red light. They stared at him, and the two sides silently locked gazes, yet not a single person spoke.
"Squeak, squeak."
Compared to the silence outside, the valley was bustling with activity.
One had to admit that Monkey Wine, or rather Wu Song, was truly a genius!
Through an earlier battle with the poison bugs, the reincarnator, among ordinary people, could often be considered a genius, having far more opportunities to learn skills than others.
But Monkey Wine was a genius even among reincarnators.
Just now, he had single-handedly taken on the Nine Heavens Lotus Mother, an ascended guardian, a transformed Wu Ya possessed by the Dark Empyrean, and the Wugong Clan Leader, whose body was inhabited by a divine poison bug with mysterious powers. Yet, he hadn't been killed.
What level of cultivation would it take to dare to withstand these four working together? But he had endured, and of his seven incarnations, three remained, an unimaginable feat.
Now, borrowing the bones of the Five Malevolent Stars, he had instantly driven away the Nine Heavens Lotus Mother, reducing Monkey Wine's pressure by nearly half, and disabled the divine poison bug's powers. The pressure on his head had also lessened, providing him with an excellent opportunity.
And now, he was seizing this chance...
To cure a disease?
Just now, he had created an opportunity for himself, allowing him to capture Wu Ya. Logically, with three incarnations approaching, he had countless chances to destroy Wu Ya's body, regardless of what was hidden within. As long as this body was destroyed, there would be no other recourse.
But he didn't do that. Instead, all three incarnations grabbed Wu Ya, and the poison bugs on their bodies crawled into her.
If this method were used to harm someone, it would be the cruelest form of torture. But Hu Ma knew Monkey Wine wouldn't do that to Wu Ya, so was he trying to use the poison bugs on his body to dispel something from Wu Ya's body?
He couldn't help but sigh softly, "Damn sister-obsessed..."
Since Wu Song couldn't spare his hands now, the sorcerers outside would have to be dealt with.
The hand behind his back tightened around the black bone and the hilt of the jagged blade. Malevolent aura swirled around him, and he stood straight, his body blending with the red lanterns, blocking the valley.
"Wu Ya, Wu Ya..."
In another place, the Wugong Clan Leader's possessed poison bug emitted intermittent cries, trying to awaken Wu Ya. But as the bugs entered her body, Wu Ya stiffened, remaining motionless for a long time.
Behind him, Hu Ma's approach also put immense pressure on the Wugong Clan Leader. He couldn't understand how the divine poison bug he had created with his own body could be so easily broken by his opponent. The Han Chinese in the Red Lantern Society had skills, but in his impression, they were only as skilled as Zhuang Erchang. How could they be so formidable?
So, in his terror, he finally emitted a sharp, eerie noise.
The silent sorcerers standing by the trees outside had been quietly waiting, almost seeming soulless. Suddenly, they began to move.
Their silence and obedience were such that their actions seemed unusually synchronized. They took various venom basins from their sides and knelt down silently.
Their expressions were devout as they earnestly bowed to their venom basins, their movements slow but continuous.
One bow, two bows.
Due to the large number of people, their kneeling motions seemed to stir up a breeze. Gradually, semi-transparent shadows appeared beside them, one by one, encircling the venom basins and bowing in unison.
With the sorcerers outside already numerous, the appearance of these semi-transparent shadows made it seem as if the entire forest was filled with people.
Inside the valley, even the ascended Elder Sun couldn't help but change his expression. He stumbled slightly and instinctively sought an escape route.
Old Abacus had just breathed a sigh of relief when he looked outside and suddenly turned pale with fright.
Hu Ma's face also became slightly stern. The black bone in his hand disappeared as he faced the silently bowing sorcerers outside, letting out a heavy sigh.
He saw that as the sorcerers bowed, more semi-transparent shadows appeared beside them. Each had an expressionless face, merely following their motions in bowing to the venom basins, some even bearing signs of damage or insect infestation.
Gradually, an invisible dark aura emerged with their bows, casting a huge and eerie shadow over the moon, which was already shrouded in an ominous gloom.
An evil deity!
(End of Chapter)
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