During that sacrificial ritual, he was the baby on the altar. Although he had never seen it with his own eyes, he had always harbored many doubts about the extermination of his clan. He found ways to learn about that ritual, even using certain methods to witness it, and that one sight had turned into a nightmare…
Nightmares typically haunt the night, but now, in broad daylight, within this tower, it had reappeared…
The despair of his people, the cries of the baby, all filled him with hopelessness.
A sudden thought surged through his mind—he wanted to save them.
The High Priest’s eyes flickered, and in the next moment, he plunged a dagger into his palm.
The pain brought him back to his senses, and the scene before him vanished. There was no ritual, no people—nothing but an empty room!
“Even if you’re clear-headed, you still have to go in,” Huangquan said as she walked over from the staircase, looking at the High Priest standing at the door. “The illusion just now was meant to lure you in.”
Lure you in?
The High Priest frowned and looked back, seeing only Huangquan. Jingchen, Feng Jiuyuan, Lin Xu, and Nangong Qingle were nowhere to be seen.
As for where they went…
No need to think much—they had definitely gone inside.
“I need to go in too,” Huangquan said as she stood beside the High Priest, her tone very calm.
The High Priest looked at her. “Jingchen and the others were lured in. You weren’t affected by the illusion, so why do you want to go in?”
“The passage to the next floor hasn’t appeared,” Huangquan said. “I searched around and didn’t find any passage, so I suspect that to reach the next floor, we must get through the danger of the second floor.”
“Since we need to break through, we have to go in.”
With that, Huangquan stepped inside.
As soon as she entered the tower, a blinding light flashed. When the light faded, Huangquan was gone.
Seeing this, the High Priest frowned slightly and then walked in as well.
The light flashed again, and when it subsided, the High Priest had also disappeared.
…
On a vast plaza, many people stood.
Jingchen, Feng Jiuyuan, Nangong Qingle, and Lin Xu stood together.
At this moment, the smile that had been on Feng Jiuyuan’s face was gone, replaced by a grim expression.
They had clearly been inside the tower earlier, so why were they now in a plaza?
Moreover, Huangquan and the High Priest were nowhere to be seen!
“Feng Jiuyuan,” Jingchen called out.
Feng Jiuyuan looked down at him. “What?”
Jingchen, expressionless, said, “There are too many people. I can’t see.”
At the height of a five- or six-year-old, surrounded by adults, he could only see their waists.
He could look up to see faces, but there were too many people, so he could only see those nearby, not farther away.
Feng Jiuyuan was already feeling irritated, but after hearing what Jingchen said, he chuckled lightly. “What does it matter to me if you can’t see?”
“It’s not me who can’t see.”
Jingchen looked up at him.
Feng Jiuyuan looked down in return.
Then…
Under Feng Jiuyuan’s gaze, Jingchen silently took out the Longyin Qin from his storage space.
This time, Feng Jiuyuan was not intimidated. “If you dare to play, go ahead. There are so many people here that if you hurt someone, it won’t just be me. When everyone chases you down, I won’t save you.”
Jingchen hadn’t expected him to be unaffected this time. Regretfully, he put the Longyin Qin back, intending to find someone else.
Seeing Jingchen put the Longyin Qin away, Feng Jiuyuan grabbed him and lifted him up. “Since you’re being sensible, I’ll help you out. Take a look.”
Being lifted up wasn’t very comfortable, but being able to see far and clearly was. Jingchen didn’t argue and quickly scanned the surroundings.
After a thorough look, Jingchen understood the situation.
“Alright, put me down,” Jingchen said.
Feng Jiuyuan set him down.
Jingchen explained, “Everyone here is also here for the ruins. They must have followed the High Priest.”
“But we appeared in a different place from them,” Lin Xu said. “We arrived here from inside the tower and didn’t see them before. How did they get here?”
“I think they were in other parts of the ruins and, like us, were brought here,” Jingchen said, frowning with a serious expression. “Huangquan was right; these ruins are dangerous.”
They thought the ruins were just an ancient site, where encountering danger was normal, but these ruins felt different. Jingchen had a sense that someone was controlling this place.
“By the way,” Jingchen remembered something and looked up at Feng Jiuyuan. “I saw people from Jiuyuan City.”
Feng Jiuyuan, the young master of Jiuyuan City.
People from Jiuyuan City essentially belonged to Feng Jiuyuan. Everyone in Jiuyuan City had to respectfully address him as the young master.
“What does that have to do with me?” Feng Jiuyuan said, his expression blank and somewhat resistant. “They’re probably people my father sent.”
Thinking of his father reminded Feng Jiuyuan of his competition with Jingchen.
He lost to Jingchen not because of strength but because of his father!
Look at Jingchen’s father, and then look at his own father?
Ugh…
Just thinking about it was exhausting.
Jingchen didn’t know what Feng Jiuyuan was thinking. Seeing that he wasn’t concerned, he continued, “Besides people from Jiuyuan City, there are also people from major sects. Even people from the Buddhist City have come.”
“Buddhist City?”
Feng Jiuyuan was a bit surprised. “Are you sure?”
“Yes,” Jingchen nodded. “I’m sure. I just saw Fuxin.”
“…”
Feng Jiuyuan didn’t know what to say, so he said nothing.
At that moment, a flash of light appeared, and Huangquan materialized in front of the four of them.
Seeing Huangquan appear, Feng Jiuyuan’s gloomy mood instantly vanished, and a smile returned to his face. “I thought you wouldn’t be lured here.”
Huangquan looked at him. “I wasn’t lured here. I came voluntarily.”
Jingchen looked at her. “Why?”
Huangquan glanced at them and said earnestly, “You all disappeared. It wouldn’t be right for the High Priest and me to just leave you behind, would it?”
As Huangquan spoke, the High Priest appeared, having heard everything she said.
For a moment, the High Priest looked at Huangquan with a somewhat meaningful gaze.
He could guarantee that if reaching the third level didn’t require passing through the second, Huangquan would have left long ago…
“Really?” Feng Jiuyuan looked at Huangquan with a half-smile. “Huangquan, it’s not that I don’t believe you, but I think, like me, you don’t seem like the altruistic type…”
“Who gave you permission to call me Huangquan?” Huangquan looked at him, smiling. “Feng Jiuyuan, do you think I won’t actually hit you?”
“Slip of the tongue,” Feng Jiuyuan surrendered. “Huangquan.”
Huangquan gave him a look, then glanced around. When she did, she saw a dense crowd of people.
“What’s going on?” Huangquan looked at Jingchen and the others who had arrived earlier. “Do you know?”
Jingchen nodded. “We know. They’re all here for the ruins, but for some reason, we’ve all been gathered in this place.”
The High Priest glanced at those people without saying anything. He simply took out a box of ointment and applied it to the wound on his palm.
