Chapter 252: Chapter 252

Celestial Realm

I decided to comply with Zhuge Sa’s request. It didn’t take long to stuff the body and heart of the Portrait Spirit into my sack and head towards Jangryeong Valley, as the altar was set up there.

Pah!

“It would be nice to also have the Sect Leader’s fresh blood, but it doesn’t really matter.”

“What do you mean?”

“It’s to minimize the backlash of the ritual, you see. Of course, it’s fine if we don’t have it.”

Muttering something bizarre, Zhuge Sa led the way into the inner building of Jangryeong Valley. As I followed him, I couldn’t help but ask,

“How does one make money and operate in Jangryeong Valley?”

“What do you mean?”

“Jangryeong Valley has quite a few employed high-ranking masters on standby. To keep such skilled fighters for years, you must need significant funding, but it doesn’t seem like Jangryeong Valley is partaking in any business or commissions.”

This was something I realized while gathering information about Jangryeong Valley in my previous life. Jangryeong Valley possessed enough strength to be called a martial arts faction, but the source of the wealth sustaining that strength was ambiguous. Wanting to know where that amount of money came from, I was directly questioning the leader himself.

Zhuge Sa chuckled softly.

“You’re awfully curious about others’ affairs, aren’t you?”

“……”

“Well, it’s not a big secret, so let me tell you. The reason I have so much money is that I received requests from high-ranking individuals.”

“Requests?”

“I have various skills, and among them, I pride myself on my techniques concerning apostasy. With those abilities, I handled activities in the shadowy places that the world isn’t meant to see and earned a hefty sum.”

As I stared at him blankly, Zhuge Sa gave an annoyed glance.

“What now? I didn’t come here to spill my past.”

“Do you happen to know Mangnyang Zhuge Hyeon?”

Gasp!

At that moment, the slick Zhuge Sa’s eyes lit up.

“Why do you ask about that guy?”

“Mangnyang is the younger brother of Zhuge Bu, the one you killed. So, does that mean you put him in the same predicament?”

“Hehe… What’s it to you?”

I looked him straight in the eye and said firmly,

“Whatever schemes you have, as long as they don’t bring harm to the Sect Leader, I’ll let it slide. The same goes for me. But if your evil hand causes Mangnyang’s death, then I’ll be ready to kill you.”

“……”

Zhuge Sa stopped mid-walk. He spoke while standing still.

“It wouldn’t be appropriate to ask about the relationship between the White Dharma Protector and Hyeon. That guy had plenty of friends across all layers of society.”

He turned his head towards me and continued,

“But you can rest easy on that point. He has a resemblance to me and is quite the cute kid, so I didn’t go that far. I can also stake my name on it.”

I replied incredulously,

“A cute kid? But Zhuge Bu is also your nephew.”

“Nephews can be cute in different ways. That brat is arrogant and selfish, riding on the coattails of the Imperial Palace—what’s cute about that? I’ve wanted to kill Zhuge Bu for a long time.”

In a nonchalant tone, Zhuge Sa added,

“And fundamentally, our Zhuge clan shouldn’t be in a position to receive others’ concerns. Don’t you think it’s rude to meddle in our family matters?”

“I apologize for that.”

“Heh heh.

I wouldn’t have put up with such nonsense, but it’s quite entertaining.”

Step, step

As we resumed walking, we entered the heart of Jangryeong Valley, a place I hadn’t visited before. It looked like a small building from the outside, but as we moved deeper inside, it grew dark, with winding corridors everywhere. Realizing I had walked over fifty corridors that felt like a maze, I recognized this place was a well-constructed fortress.

Torches were lit in the cave, each showing signs of having been tended by human hands; they must have been replaced recently. As I examined the cave closely, Zhuge Sa said,

“From here on out, don’t touch anything without permission. There’s a formation set up.”

“What kind of formation?”

“The Formation of Three Thousand Yang Earth!”

Zhuge Sa slowly walked forward, seemingly hesitating at the crossroads of the ant nest-like passages. Choosing a path must have been part of deciphering the formation. Knowing that Zhuge Sa’s advice about the formation was right, I kept silent and followed him through the formation of Three Thousand Yang Earth.

After a long while, we came out at an exit to a vast room with an altar set up. This definitely seemed to be the altar room for the ritual. Zhuge Sa stood in front of the altar and said,

“Place the body and heart on the altar.”

“I have one question.”

“You’re annoying, aren’t you? What now?”

Despite Zhuge Sa showing signs of irritation, I didn’t mind and said,

“I’ve heard that you’re half cut off from the Zhuge clan. Is that because of the techniques you’ve cultivated from the alien races and your apostasy techniques?”

“You really have a knack for poking into sensitive matters. It’s true that the White Dharma Protector and I have only met for a day, and this is quite rude.”

“You accepted the role of the Shadowless Gate’s soldier. What the Dharma Protector does is identify elements that pose a risk to the Sect Leader. I’m merely fulfilling my duties to understand your past.”

As I wouldn’t back down, Zhuge Sa made a strange expression.

“You’re definitely the master of the Seven Luminaries, aren’t you? I kinda like that about you.”

Muttering to himself, Zhuge Sa continued,

“Yeah, that’s right. I majored in the techniques of the alien races and researched them for a long time. I got caught by my brother, and that’s how I got kicked out of the Zhuge clan. Luckily, he wasn’t strict and didn’t impose any serious punishments, so I’ve been living lazily in Jangryeong Valley.”

“What about the apostasy techniques?”

“While searching through the texts of the Baihua School, I found many references to the alien races, and that’s how I picked them up. That’s not particularly related to why I left the Zhuge clan.”

“Hmm.”

“Have you finished asking your questions?”

Thinking for a moment, I asked,

“You’ve been dead for several years. Did you perhaps see the afterlife during that time?”

“The afterlife…”

Zhuge Sa stood there, resting his chin on his hand as he replied,

“The afterlife exists, of course, but I wasn’t there. Because I created another passage to snoop around. My soul has been preserved in silence all this time.”

“What do you mean by snooping?”

“There’s another world that exists aside from this one. Blood Realm, Illusion Realm, Asura Realm, and so on. I found that far more interesting than the human world.”

I was baffled. I squeezed my thoughts on sorcery and muttered,

“Wait! I don’t get it. When someone dies, doesn’t their soul separate and ascend to the heavens? What on earth happens to the soul after death?”

Hehe. That’s a great question. I questioned it while I entered my field of study.”

Zhuge Sa, chuckling ominously, continued,

“Let me clarify: the afterlife does exist, but it’s in a realm vastly different from human imagination. The King of Hell or the Underworld isn’t remotely like what’s commonly believed. The descriptions of the afterlife from Daoism or Buddhism aren’t incorrect, but they’re merely scratching the surface.”

“……”

“Let’s not get caught up in idle chatter. To properly explain this, it would take three full days and nights!”

“Got it.”

Swish

I pulled out the heart and body of the Portrait Spirit from my sack and laid them upon the altar.

At the same time, a complex feeling arose within me. I had originally fought hard against the cruel practices of the alien races in my past life, and now I was placing myself in a situation of human sacrifice! Upon noticing my somewhat sour expression, Zhuge Sa remarked,

“You don’t need to think too deeply about it. These are just dolls that never had souls to begin with.”

“Have you participated in human sacrifices or offerings before?”

“Of course. I used substitutes like this back then too.”

Zhuge Sa’s face showed no hints of hesitation or embarrassment as he replied casually. His mental state was on a level I found difficult to comprehend. As I stared blankly at him, Zhuge Sa added,

“Just to clarify, the ritual of human sacrifice isn’t just brutal; it’s incredibly efficient sorcery. If you don’t master human sacrifice, you may find entering the world of the alien races impossible.”

“Damn… Is this really the sort of thing to say? Efficient?”

“It’s efficient, which is why we do it. There’s no other reason.”

Zhuge Sa followed up with,

“Why do you think the kings of the Silver Age continued these brutal human sacrifices? Sure, there were demands from ancient gods, but humans have offered sacrifices voluntarily even when they weren’t explicitly asked. Because the outcomes of human sacrifices often yield results that are impossible to achieve through human efforts alone.”

“What are you saying?”

“Ancient humans were weak. Without the aid of the gods, they’d have likely faced extinction. The gods, in exchange for offerings, opened up treacherous lands, eliminated ferocious beasts, and blessed them with bountiful harvests. Sacrificing a few human lives brought forth incredibly bountiful returns.”

I glared at him.

“I wonder if you’d still say that if you were to become one of those offerings.”

Zhuge Sa grumbled incredulously,

“What are you talking about? I’ve worked hard to study this sorcery precisely so I wouldn’t end up in such a position! I put in a decent effort, you know!”

“……”

He was in a fundamentally different mindset.

As I was blown away internally, Zhuge Sa continued,

“That demand of a doll in your hand is a product of the vast exchange of human sacrifice that existed between gods and humans. At least as the master of the Seven Luminaries, you shouldn’t deny the efficiency of human sacrifice, right?”

“Though the Seven Luminaries may have been created that way, it doesn’t justify human sacrifice.”

“Sigh, this is maddening. Talking to you feels a lot like talking to Hyeon.”

Zhuge Sa made an exasperated expression.

“People in this world may think human sacrifice is someone else’s problem, but it has been ongoing since ancient times, is still ongoing, and will continue into the future as long as there are worshippers of the evil gods who serve the alien races…”

“……”

“Well, anyway, let’s conduct the ritual. We can debate later at any time.”

“Understood.”

Zhuge Sa spent a while adjusting the positions of the Portrait Spirit and its heart, apparently coordinating something. After much fiddling, he wiped the sweat from his brow.

“This is the most annoying part. Getting the orientation right.”

“Orientation?”

“It’s a basic structure divided into four directions and order. The concepts of Four Pastures, Four Pairs, and Four Winds have been essential laws of sorcery passed down for thousands of years.”

“I’ve learned a bit about Daoist sorcery, but I’ve never heard of Four Pastures, Four Pairs, or Four Winds.”

“Huh? Of course not. This knowledge dates back to the era when gods directly descended to the world. Back then, there was no concept of soul or yin-yang, but knowing the four directions was still necessary.”

Zhuge Sa continued,

“As that developed, it expanded into the concept of the Nine Provinces in terms of Heaven as Nine Valleys, and Geographical Regions below, all linking to the powers of the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors. So that’s how it is.”

“Hmm.”

“Okay, now shed some blood on the altar.”

Slash!

Following Zhuge Sa’s directive, I cut my arm and let the blood flow. Once a sufficient amount of fresh blood had spilled out, I used my internal energy to staunch the bleeding, and soon after, the altar was soaked in blood. Zhuge Sa then walked to the front of the altar and knelt, starting to chant an unfamiliar spell.

“#&^$&@&%^@….”

It sounded like some incomprehensible mumbling, but hearing that incantation sent chills down my spine.

This is a bizarre language!

Only I could sense it with instinct. Though it wasn’t entirely obscure, much of it was mixed with Central Plains dialects. Ignoring the tonal variations, fragments of that bizarre language flowed through.

After completing the incantation, Zhuge Sa turned to me.

“The Divine Spirit will soon descend here. Bow your head and press it to the ground and do not lift it.”

“Understood.”

Zhuge Sa and I lay flat on the altar, holding our silence.

Whoooosh—

A strange, eerie sound echoed as something slithered and crawled out from the air. I caught a glimpse of its shape reflected in the blood on the floor: thousands of tentacles, each adorned with eyeballs. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

The Divine Spirit, writhing and crawling, soon settled upon the altar.

Crunch, crunch!

Along with that dreadful sound, I could hear the Portrait Spirits being devoured in real-time. The Divine Spirit feasted for a while, and blood poured down from the altar, tickling my nostrils.

Then, after a moment, it let out some strange noise and vanished back into the air.

As the series of actions concluded, Zhuge Sa was the first to rise from where he had knelt. He told me to get up and mumbled,

“Luckily, it went well. Seems the body of the Portrait Spirit was quite delectable.”

“Does that mean the [Old Ruler] won’t place a curse upon us?”

Zhuge Sa nodded.

“From now on, we no longer have to fear retaliation. In fact, it’s even better than that.”

Zhuge Sa pointed at the altar.

“It seems it left behind a gift.”

A gift?

I approached the gruesome scene, where the flesh was completely disintegrated into blood and gore. Looking at the altar, there was indeed something alien as Zhuge Sa said. It was a bright red, round lump, the size of half a fist, with a dark eye staring at me from its center.

Zhuge Sa grabbed the tentacles of that creature and said,

“Looks like the Blood Eye Fruit I’ve only heard about.”

“What on earth is that horrible thing?”

“Blood Eye Fruit is a divine gift. Eating this grants you special abilities, they say.”

Without hesitation, Zhuge Sa bit into the Blood Eye Fruit, blood splattering everywhere.

Thud, thud!

“Ugh…”

I slightly turned my head in disgust. The sight of him chewing the Blood Eye Fruit, which had been wide open like a living eye, was grotesque. I thought I had seen everything filthy and brutal in life, but this sight exceeded my imagination.

After consuming the entire Blood Eye Fruit, Zhuge Sa wiped the blood from his mouth and said,

“This is good. Very good.”

Whoooosh!

As Zhuge Sa extended his fingers, a rock that had been lying far away suddenly lifted into the air. It was a sizeable rock, weighing as much as a foot of stone, yet it danced under the movement of Zhuge Sa’s fingers as if weightless. After placing the rock back down, he said,

“Normally, it takes decades for sorcerers to attain this level of telekinesis, but this is extraordinary.”

“……”

I watched Zhuge Sa smile and remained silent.

This is beyond comprehension…

This guy is insane.

I had no idea just how much I could profit while dealing with this crazy monster.