The Secret of Blood Sacrifice

While Han Li was lost in thought, the dark-faced old man continued his lengthy discourse without pause:

“…We have no way of knowing the Black Fiend Cult leader’s true cultivation. He has close personal guards like the four Blood Attendants we encountered today. With our strength alone, we certainly can’t stand against them. So I suggest you, Senior, not provoke them further—better to wait for reinforcements…”

“Rest assured. This Black Fiend Cult leader is at most late Foundation Establishment stage. He is not a Core Formation cultivator.”

Han Li, who had been listening all along, suddenly interrupted the old man’s speech with absolute certainty.

These words made the dark-faced old man pause in surprise, then immediately brighten. The others also let out a collective sigh of relief. Although they did not know how Han Li could be so sure, since Senior Han had said so, it was likely correct. Just moments ago they had been discussing whether the enemy might be a Core Formation cultivator—if so, they would have no choice but to flee with their tails between their legs. Even if reinforcements from the Seven Great Sects arrived, they might not be able to do anything about the Black Fiend Cult leader. Now that Han Li had spoken, the Meng Mountain Friends felt much more at ease.

“Senior, could you shed some light on this? The Chief Steward Wang we interrogated had no knowledge whatsoever of the Black Fiend Cult leader’s cultivation,” the young man, who had recovered somewhat from the blow to Fifth Sister, asked, hoping for an explanation.

“Fourth Brother, what is this? Since Senior Han has said so, he surely has ample grounds.” The dark-faced old man put on a stern face and scolded the young man.

Han Li smiled faintly at this exchange and said calmly, “There is no need for secrecy. I deduced this from the fact that this cult leader still requires Foundation Establishment cultivators for his blood sacrifices.”

His voice was unhurried as he began to explain:

“Although our Yellow Maple Valley does not have extensive dealings with demonic techniques, we do have some understanding of heretical arts like blood sacrifice that use shortcuts to power. This sort of demonic skill—absorbing another cultivator’s essence and cultivation to bolster one’s own—was once common among demonic sects. It allowed a cultivator to vastly increase his magical power in a very short time, bypassing years of arduous meditation. There was even a period in the cultivation world where, not only demonic practitioners, but even many righteous cultivators secretly trained in such arts.”

At this point Han Li let out a cold laugh, a trace of sarcasm curling at the corner of his mouth before he continued. “But this mad method of cultivation not only required heartlessly slaughtering large numbers of other cultivators; its flaws were also fatal. It was only effective below Foundation Establishment, and once a blood sacrifice was performed, the user was forever doomed to remain at Foundation Establishment, unable to form a core. In those days, among the many cultivators who secretly practiced blood sacrifice techniques, not a single one ever succeeded in forming a core.”

“Even worse, devouring another’s power through blood sacrifice often led to backlash—a moment of carelessness could cause qi deviation and death. The main reason this technique vanished from the world, however, was that the act of devouring another’s essence was too taboo among cultivators. All practitioners of this skill were gradually hunted down and eliminated by both righteous and demonic sects alike.”

“However, I have heard that later the demonic path was unwilling to give up such a rapid method of advancement and created a new version—also called blood sacrifice, but this time targeting a cultivator’s soul and origin spirit instead of directly devouring essence and blood. This method, also known as soul sacrifice, does not advance as swiftly as the original, but it avoids the dangers of core formation failure and backlash. The sect’s records do not mention much about soul sacrifice, only that once it was created, it was kept in the hands of a few high-ranking demonic sect members. It was never allowed to spread widely, thus sparing it from suppression by the cultivation world. I have heard there are other restrictions as well.”

Han Li’s detailed exposition of blood sacrifice secrets opened the eyes of the Meng Mountain Friends, who were all rogue cultivators. They now understood why Han Li could be so certain that the Black Fiend Cult leader was only at Foundation Establishment level—clearly, the Black Fiend Cult used the first type of blood sacrifice.

“We’ve gotten a general picture of the Black Fiend Cult, but that bald-headed man escaped back. The Black Fiend Cult should now know our situation. Could they abandon their lair and flee? If they go underground, that would be very bad for us.” The second of the group suddenly thought of a concern.

“No. The Black Fiend Cult won’t flee immediately. I learned from that minor prince that the cult leader is currently at a critical stage of secluded cultivation, relying on a yin cave within the imperial palace to complete his work. I heard that he has spent several years preparing for this cultivation session. He will not abandon it halfway. Most likely they are gathering their strength and stepping up their defenses.” There was a note of mockery in Han Li’s tone toward the Black Fiend Cult.

Hearing this, the four Meng Mountain Friends perked up, showing faint signs of excitement.

“Senior, then what should we do next…?” After calming down, the dark-faced old man asked tentatively.

“Next we do nothing—just wait for reinforcements. Although they know what we look like, they don’t know where we are hiding. Moreover, the ones in charge of Yuejing affairs are the two prisoners in our hands. The Black Fiend Cult can’t spare any capable personnel to find us now. Still, everyone must be careful. Do not go out recently; rest well within the residence. When the reinforcements arrive, we will discuss our next move.” Han Li rubbed his nose with one hand and his lips curled into a faint smile, his eyes narrowing into slits.

The others in the room were confused by Han Li’s inscrutable expression.

…

The imperial capital of the Yue Kingdom occupied about one-fifth of the entire city of Yuejing, and a full third of that area was taken up by the resplendent grand imperial palace. Layer upon layer of intricately carved palace towers, countless elegantly designed corridors, and strange flowers and exotic plants adorning the gardens—even the young eunuchs and maids who had lived in the palace for years often mistook their paths. Such was the vastness of the Yue imperial palace.

It was now the third watch of the night. The great palace, which would normally be bustling with eunuchs and maids dashing to and fro, was now heavily guarded with sentries every five steps and posts every ten.

Yet, under these circumstances, a figure wrapped from head to toe in a voluminous cloak walked boldly through layer after layer of palace checkpoints holding a golden token. He strode right up to a cold, remote hall deep within the palace grounds.

This person was exceedingly tall and large.

Standing before the gloomy hall door, the mysterious figure suddenly flung off his cloak, revealing a huge, shiny bald head. He was the bald-headed man who had escaped from Han Li.

He had now returned to his original appearance, no longer the demonic form he had taken earlier. However, his face was pale and bloodless, as if his vital energy had been severely damaged.

“Who?”

The bald-headed man had just taken two steps forward when a voice as cold as ice came from inside the hall, through the closed door.

“Ice Fiend, it’s me.”

The bald-headed man replied bluntly, not pausing in his steps as he approached the door.

“Ah, it’s Tie Luo back from his mission. But your steps sound hollow and your qi is weak. Could it be that you, who always boast that weapons can’t harm you and water or fire can’t faze you, have suffered a great loss?” The icy voice carried a note of surprise, then immediately shifted to a tone of schadenfreude.

“Hmph. You ice-cold fool have no idea! The one I encountered this time was a tough nut to crack. Even if the two of us attacked together, we probably wouldn’t fare well. If I hadn’t been quick-witted enough to transform into a fiend form earlier, I might not have made it back alive.” The bald-headed man sneered.

“You used your fiend transformation? No wonder your origin energy is so damaged. It’s going to take at least half a month of hard cultivation to recover. But to push you that far, that opponent is no ordinary person. Won’t you tell me the story?” The Ice Fiend’s words showed curiosity.

“Let me report to the cult leader and take my punishment first. I’ll tell you the details later! This time even the cult leader’s personal disciple on probation was lost to the enemy. I don’t even know what punishment I’ll receive yet!” The bald-headed man said impatiently.

“Old Tie, you know well enough that we’re not like the others. We’re almost of one body with the cult leader. How could he punish you severely? At worst, a harsh scolding.” The Ice Fiend inside did not think much of it.

As his words fell, the previously tightly closed hall door creaked open by itself, revealing a pitch-black doorway like the maw of a demonic beast waiting to devour its prey.

The bald-headed man stepped inside without the slightest hesitation.

“What about Qingwen and Yeshe?” the bald-headed man casually asked the white figure by the door as he entered.

“They went to the Blood Prison to train. I’m the only one on duty here.” The white figure flickered indistinctly in the shadows, emitting faint white vapor that completely obscured his form and features.

“Hmph. That Qingwen is already at mid Foundation Establishment and still cultivating so diligently. Isn’t he afraid of true qi backlash? And that Yeshe kid—when did he become so hardworking?” The bald-headed man showed surprise, then asked suspiciously.

“Don’t be jealous when you hear this. Yeshe said he felt the signs of a breakthrough to mid Foundation Establishment. What can we do about it? Some people are just born with good aptitudes—they don’t need to cultivate to catch up to us.” Although the Ice Fiend advised the man not to be jealous, his own words were full of sourness.

(Reminded by readers, I realized the chapter number was wrong—Chapter 310 was mistakenly written as 311. But chapter titles cannot be modified, so I’ll have to let the error stand. Hehe, so now there will be two chapters numbered 311! Please bear with me~)