Chapter 169: Mountain Sacrifice Ritual
The Hui Mothers were whispering among themselves, their voices barely audible in the silence where a pin drop could be heard. Luxianbei could only hear the faint sound of rustling.
Most of their discussion centered around how to deal with Gu Qiqi, but there were also praises for Luxianbei from three Hui Mothers who had a very good impression of her.
Time flowed slowly as the Hui Mothers debated, as if they were dragged into a quagmire. Luxianbei’s heart raced, her palms damp with sweat, turning cold as the wind blew across her small hands.
Ever since Mr. Rabbit had pulled her into this mess, she didn’t know how many times she had lied, but never had she felt so tense and endangered as she did now.
This was perhaps because, previously, her lies were simply for survival, but this time the deceit involved not just herself but also others, adding an invisible burden.
Uncertain how long it had been, the Hui Mothers stopped discussing, and the Snake-Head Hui Mother squinted her evil yellow vertical pupils at Luxianbei, coldly stating, “Did you just say to use her as a sacrifice?”
Hearing the Snake-Head Hui Mother speak rather than attack suddenly, Luxianbei secretly breathed a sigh of relief, discreetly tucking away the talisman she had already grasped in her hand back into her sleeve, bowing slightly.
“Yes, esteemed Hui Mother! A sacrifice!”
She raised her voice, standing tall, as she envisioned the Great Serpent God’s mighty form, speaking solemnly, “Esteemed one, this is a foreigner’s conspiracy, a scheme that has angered the divine, a plot that endangers everyone present.”
“Such a sinister conspiracy may not be quelled merely by executing her. However, disregarding this scheme, she indeed makes for a perfect sacrifice.”
“In my view, since she has polluted the offerings, why not just use her to fill the vacancy of the sacrifice!”
……
Luxianbei was still passionately defending her point when the Snake-Head Hui Mother listened to her words, her eyes flickering with thought.
Gu Qiqi, however, felt extremely wronged, puffing out her cheeks, almost shouting in argument with Luxianbei; however, at the moment she opened her mouth, the system admonished her.
“Gu Qiqi, don’t speak!”
“Huh?” Gu Qiqi was taken aback, then immediately complained in her mind, “But she’s lying! I clearly never touched those offerings! I’m so angry!”
“She? Lying? How novel!” the system replied brusquely. “The key issue now isn’t whether she is lying but that she is indirectly buying time, and that gives you a chance to escape.”
“But I’m still so angry!”
“Tsk, a gentleman’s revenge is never too late; haven’t you heard?”
“But I’m a beautiful girl, not a gentleman.”
The system, “……”
……
After Luxianbei finished speaking, the Snake-Head Hui Mother fell into brief contemplation. After several Hui Mothers whispered to her, she turned to Luxianbei and nodded.
“Your plan is good; we shall do as you say and use her as a sacrifice for the divine.”
“Additionally, I hear you are the most outstanding priest candidate of this generation? Then you shall preside over this ritual, and upon its completion, you will earn the title of priest.”
“Thank you for your appreciation, esteemed Hui Mother!” Luxianbei responded, discreetly clenching her fist with satisfaction.
Nicely done! This is exactly what I wanted; even if you hadn’t mentioned it, I would have suggested it myself.
Presiding over this sacrifice would buy a lot of time to figure out how to help Gu Qiqi escape while getting closer to the Great Serpent God, finding an opportunity to steal knowledge, and then slipping away.
Simply perfect!
Luxianbei thought excitedly, her gaze inadvertently sweeping over the deformed villagers beside her, and she couldn’t help but furrow her brow slightly.
For some reason, she saw a look of pity in the villagers’ eyes, as if they weren’t looking at someone about to become a priest, but at a hopeless wretch.
Why was that?
Could it be that hosting the ritual was dangerous? Luxianbei pondered, becoming instinctively wary of the impending sacrifice.
……
After a brief commotion, the feast celebrating the Great Serpent God’s grace resumed.
The deformed villagers continued to fight over the “delicacies” made from the flesh of urban legends, as the off-smelling broth spilled onto the ground, soaking into the mud.
At that moment, no one paid any attention to Gu Qiqi, who had been captured by the black serpent.
However.
They always seemed to intentionally avoid Luxianbei.
It was hard to imagine that the villagers, apparently riddled with numerous diseases and festering sores that even spread to their faces, would avoid her as if she were a plague.
Nevertheless, Luxianbei didn’t mind this situation much; she had no relatives at home, let alone any warmth of familial affection.
Halfway through the banquet, three Hui Mothers brought Luxianbei the priest’s robes; they all looked almost identical, making it hard to tell if they were the same three that had appeared in the ruined temple.
After receiving the robes, she took the opportunity to slip away from the central clearing under the pretext of changing clothes and returned to the stone house at the village entrance, finding the guitar bag she had hidden inside earlier.
The priestly robe was made of strange material, looking akin to silk or sheer fabric, but it felt slippery, like reptilian leather, raising questions about its origins.
Luxianbei had initially been worried that her coat wouldn’t be able to replicate such a texture, leaving her no choice but to wear this unknown item.
However, after devouring the priest’s robe, the coat effortlessly restored it perfectly and even kindly added a layer of plush lining.
Luxianbei was very satisfied with this, her earlier frustration with the coat’s greed evaporating instantly, and she even considered feeding it a few more cores of urban legend.
After changing her clothes, she pulled out two family heirloom kitchen knives and a pouch full of talismans from her guitar bag, securely placing them on her person.
She was uncertain about which words Meng Raoze had spoken, or the pleas she had heard upon entering the Bamboo Slips realm, but she was ready, at the first opportunity, to deal with the Great Serpent God.
Before leaving, she checked on the young man who had been knocked unconscious by the Ming King statue and found him quite satisfactory; he was thoroughly out cold.
May you enjoy a wonderful and fragrant dream with the Ming King…
Luxianbei thought as she placed the Ming King statue on the young man, pushed the door open, and headed back to the village center.
When she returned to the clearing in the village center, the banquet was nearing its end, and a group of robed priests had gathered at the edge of the clearing.
As Luxianbei returned, a sharp and piercing sound from a suona (a traditional Chinese wind instrument) erupted.
The mournful sound seemed to come from a distant time of lament.
Then, with a loud “clang!” a gong sounded, striking sharply and jarringly in the night.
As the gong rang out, the Snake-Head Hui Mother shot a cold glance at Luxianbei before turning away, leading the group of priests toward the blackened mountains.
The villagers carried lanterns, numbly following behind, like a flock of sheep being herded.
Watching this almost familiar scene, Luxianbei’s gaze sharpened slightly, and she quickened her pace to blend into the group of priests.
Soon, this grand procession left the desolate village and delved deeper into the fragmented mountains.
……
The heavy rain intensified, and the sky grew darker, the dense forest shrouded in pale mist.
Under the dim light, the trees formed a giant maze, seemingly connecting to an unknown illusion.
There were many people in the sacrificial procession, yet the surroundings were dead silent, as if everyone breathed cautiously, creating an exceptionally oppressive atmosphere.
In the distance, she dimly heard Gu Qiqi’s voice, low and raspy, coming from her.
“Clearing progress 73%… 73.5%…”
“Gu Qiqi, be quiet! Doing this will expose me…”
“74.6%…”
Talking to yourself? Or communicating with that strange thing inside her?
Filled with uncertainty, Luxianbei wanted to communicate with Gu Qiqi, but every time she got closer, the massive snakes encircling Gu Qiqi would hiss threateningly at her.
After attempting two or three times, she had to give up to avoid arousing suspicion.
……
As they continued forward, gazing at the slate path overgrown with dark green fungi, Luxianbei’s mood grew heavier.
Based on her previous experience in the Bamboo Slips illusion, the sinkhole imprisoning the Great Serpent God would soon appear.
Not long after she dismissed this thought, the Witch’s egg lurking in her heart started to stir, a chilling aura rippling through her body, producing waves of tantalizing tremors that made her shiver uncontrollably.
What was drawing the Witch’s egg? Luxianbei wondered.
In the next moment, the mist before her gradually parted, revealing the foul and evil-scented sinkhole, resembling an ancient behemoth, its maw wide open, like a dark, festering wound upon the earth.
As the sinkhole came into view, the priests and villagers immediately scattered along its steep, rugged edge.
Walking along the sinkhole’s periphery, Luxianbei discovered the narrow path that had previously led her to slip into the sinkhole, before glancing at the bottomless abyss and feeling a chill down her spine.
It was too deep; it had to be three or four stories high. Anyone with acrophobia would likely faint at the sight. Luxianbei thought.
The bl**d-colored lanterns swayed as everyone prayed, and the air was filled with a low, indecipherable murmur from thousands of people, coming together like a sinful dirge.
Luxianbei mingled among them, completely unaware of what those around her were saying, and could only observe Gu Qiqi while trying to maintain her composure, mouthing incoherently.
“…Kundugu Tarak Tikot Suwa Silongs… Mia Mora Sunadanille Hong…”
Trying to blend in.JPG
But.
What was so special about the priest presiding over the ceremony?
What I’m doing now doesn’t seem to differ much from others!
As Luxianbei contemplated this, a figure clad in red silently appeared behind her, extending long, pale hands with sharp claws and forcefully pushing against her back.
Luxianbei had detected the villagers’ unusual behavior in the clearing and had already been alert for potential attacks.
Just as those pale hands were about to reach her back, she seemed to sense something, turning aside and catching sight of the red-clad figure brushing past her, nearly losing balance at the edge of the sinkhole as it twisted its body awkwardly to stabilize itself.
It was the Snake-Head Hui Mother!
Luxianbei was momentarily stunned before her expression darkened as she said solemnly, “Esteemed Hui Mother, what are you doing?”
The Snake-Head Hui Mother did not respond to Luxianbei, but her body, covered in black scales, suddenly swelled, her neck stretching higher, and within a few breaths, her clothes burst, transforming into a massive black serpent with four limbs, looking down at Luxianbei and letting out a low growl.
“Escorting the sacrificial offering to the shrine is the duty of the presiding priest; do you wish to disobey!?”
An overwhelming sense of pressure rushed toward her, the air filling with a fragrant aroma.
It was a delightful fragrance, filled with the energy of decadence and madness, intoxicating enough to make her feel dizzy.
Sensing something was off, Luxianbei held her breath.
“……”
Had it long ago noticed something was amiss with her? Or was it simply venting its frustration from being bumped into?
d*mn, no matter how she looked at it, it had been scheming against her for a long time!
Furthermore, the village’s shrine was actually at the bottom of the sinkhole—why hadn’t Meng Raoze told her that earlier?
And… and…
In a moment, Luxianbei’s thoughts raced, her lips parted slightly as she calculated how to deal with the looming crisis when a terrified scream pierced her ears.
Following the sound, the black serpent tossed Gu Qiqi into the air; her body fell like a leaf.
At the same time, around the sinkhole, the priests began pushing the dark wooden boxes beside them down the concealed path in the undergrowth, sliding toward the abyss.
The true mountain sacrifice ritual had begun.
In a brief moment of distraction, the monster transformed from the Snake-Head Hui Mother lunged with outstretched claws, slicing through the air with a rancid wind.
In dire straits, Luxianbei stopped hiding and swiftly drew one of the kitchen knives from her chest, swinging it toward the rushing claws, inflicting a savage wound while simultaneously using the momentum to leap back, murmuring the incantation for the Red Flame Flash.
The surrounding spirit energy suddenly stirred, as if ignited.
With her toes barely touching the ground, her body skidded backward on the slick surface, and several crimson fireballs shot from Luxianbei’s fingertips, crashing accurately onto the Snake-Head Hui Mother’s wound with a series of crackling explosions like grease igniting.
Accompanied by the blasts, the Snake-Head Hui Mother swayed, letting out a furious roar, teetering as if about to topple backward.
Seize the opportunity to take your life!
Luxianbei’s gaze sharpened, her body turned, and she leaped from a nearby protruding rock, soaring into the air, wielding both knives to slash forward.
At that moment, she fought against the wind and rained, her slightly reddish hair dancing, her eyes filled with murderous intent.
……
On the other side.
As Gu Qiqi fell into the sinkhole, she did not experience the anticipated sensation of weightlessness; when her body reached the level of the sinkhole’s opening, her speed abruptly slowed, as if trapped in quicksand, sinking slowly yet unable to escape.
“Roar—!”
In the wake of an enraged roar, the system slightly paused the process of purging the corrupt god’s bl**d, casting a glance toward the direction of the roar, and then spoke heavily, “Gu Qiqi…”
“Huh?”
“Never mind, it’s nothing… 92.1%…”
Having witnessed Luxianbei battling the Snake-Head Hui Mother, the system initially intended to correct what it had said to Gu Qiqi, wanting to tell her that she was not the most battle-capable person it had encountered—she ranked at best as tied for first.
But then fearing it would undermine her confidence, it fell silent once more.
That girl… even without relying on the power within her body, she would still be quite formidable.
If Gu Qiqi knew her fate enemy not only was merciless and battle-talented like her but also mastered spells and was highly skilled in crafting various alchemical potions and talismans…
Perhaps she would spiral into despair?
The system mused, when suddenly, a thunderclap broke through the sky, interrupting its thoughts.
Brilliant lightning snakes darted through the seemingly within reach leaden clouds before quickly fleeing, and the thunder gradually subsided.
In the ensuing silence, a vast, lifeless sense of oppression surged from all directions.
A shadow darker than that under the sinkhole twisted and crawled, suddenly lifting into the air.
That pitch-black shadow, glimmering with an eerie sheen, churned like boiling water, resembling a mass of unclean creatures intertwined, continuously splitting and multiplying profane limbs, emitting maddening screams as they extended, wrapping around and dragging out in all directions.
“Bad news, Gu Qiqi!”
The system barely had time to shout when a dark limb wrapped around Gu Qiqi’s waist, dragging her deep into the sinkhole.
……
At the sinkhole’s edge, with the sharpness of the family kn*fe that could pierce the divine, Luxianbei and the Snake-Head Hui Mother were engaged in a fierce battle, with Luxianbei even gaining the upper hand, leaving several deep, bone-visible wounds on the Snake-Head Hui Mother’s body.
However.
She never expected that the being she could not defeat would actually call for help—oh no, it should be calling for a god!
As the intense pain flared in her eyes, warning her of approaching danger, Luxianbei’s vision blurred, her movements stilled, and in the next moment, a crashing tail from the Snake-Head Hui Mother sent her flying.
In that instant of being hurled into the air, a pitch-black shadow struck, wrapping around her ankle, a wave of ice-coldness assaulting her soul.
In a panic, she waved her arms wildly, and as her left hand brushed against a cold scale, she instinctively swung her right hand holding the kitchen kn*fe and thrust it in. In an instant, icy, foul bl**d erupted upon her, and she heard the terrifying screech of the Snake-Head Hui Mother.
“d*mn it! If I’m going to d*e, we’re dying together!”
Luxianbei bellowed, gripping the kn*fe tightly, pushing it deeper into the Snake-Head Hui Mother’s flesh.
Her body was slowly dragged toward the sinkhole, while the Snake-Head Hui Mother clawed wildly, twisting its body in agony, its sharp claws scraping against the ground with a nauseating sound.
Then…
With the sound of rocks crashing, it plunged along with Luxianbei into the abyss.
“Roar—!”
It was as if the cries of countless wronged souls and the hisses of numerous venomous snakes converged.
The terrifying wail of the Snake-Head Hui Mother echoed in Luxianbei’s ears, a strong sensation of weightlessness overwhelmed her, causing her body to descend uncontrollably, even starting to spin.
Everything around her faded into illusions, colors thickened, overlapping rapidly, retreating into a profound darkness.
Her eyes could see no light, as if covered by a vast black curtain, plunging into an eternal night…
