Night fell over the military camp.
"Unfathomable, defying common sense—that is a divine ability!"
Zhong Shenxiu sat cross-legged, pondering in secret. He could not help smiling. "Interesting."
He had begun to understand what a divine ability was.
To the people of this vast world, spells were no legend. Some had even witnessed them with their own eyes.
Drawing talismans, chanting incantations, inviting immortals to descend and guiding spirits through a planchette—such things were commonplace.
To them, breaking common sense and doing the unimaginable was not merely a matter of overwhelming power.
It involved even more wondrous effects.
For example... traversing the void, reversing Karma, reversing the flow of time, and the like?
"Surely not? After all, this is only the fourth cultivation realm..."
Zhong Shenxiu let out a long breath. "Consuming Nine Yin and Swallowing Eight Yangs—does that mean that in the Gang Sha Realm, one can refine at most nine strands of Killing Intent and eight strands of Gang Qi?"
Although he had not obtained the complete Ten Directions Beast Art, he was still at the peak of Xiantian and could already consider advancing.
As for further tempering his foundation and the like?
That was certainly not wrong, but the suppression between major realms was ultimately more powerful than being invincible within the same realm. As long as his foundation and origin had not been damaged to the point where advancement was impossible, he felt that it was acceptable.
Besides... my body has already begun to undergo some mutations. That is not a good sign...
As he pondered, Zhong Shenxiu suddenly sensed something.
"Not good!"
He stepped outside and gazed at the sky.
Two moons hung in midair. The moment before, they had been silver-bright and pure; the next, they were dyed crimson, as if soaked in blood, their scarlet color dripping with menace.
A strange and sinister atmosphere suddenly filled the world.
Even something within his body began to stir restlessly.
"The Blood Moon Night came out of nowhere."
Zhong Shenxiu sighed, then grew somewhat excited. "Whether I live or die depends on this one gamble!"
The next moment, a howl rose from somewhere in the military camp.
Then came one furious roar after another.
"They're killing people!"
"Ahhh!"
Countless soldiers went berserk. Some rolled on the ground, some grappled with one another, and some even drew the weapons they carried, making their comrades bleed...
"There's even this... the camp has erupted into a howling riot?!"
He pondered for a moment. "It came neither early nor late, but at precisely this moment. The descendants of the Felix Family must have tampered with things!"
A moment earlier.
Dilia stared at the crystal ball before her. "Tonight is the Blood Moon Night!"
Fisher's expression changed, and he coughed several times. "Such a coincidence? My injuries haven't recovered yet..."
When he thought of the monster from earlier that day, lingering fear still filled his heart.
If he had not concealed so much of his strength and possessed several magical weapons, an ordinary Company Commander—even one leading dozens of men—would have died there.
"The Blood Moon Night has never followed a fixed schedule, but it was bound to arrive within these few days. It isn't all that unexpected..."
Dilia held the crystal ball in both hands, seemingly gazing at her own future within it. "Besides... we prepared long ago, didn't we?"
Her voice sank as she began chanting an ancient spell.
Throughout the military camp, strands of incantations suddenly appeared and lit up... emitting wisps of Black Mist.
Combined with the Blood Moon Night and the atmosphere of all things stirring restlessly, the Black Mist immediately produced mysterious effects that spread across the entirety of Black Mountain Fortress.
Suddenly.
It seemed that a soldier shouted in his sleep.
That cry awakened the others, and like a chain reaction, it continued spreading.
Madness seized everyone's eyes as they began grappling and roaring...
Fisher did not even need to go outside to know what had happened.
"The military is already a place of immense pressure, with nowhere to vent it. Add the fear, anger, and other emotions we released, along with the people we planted beforehand to stir things up, and it's like a pile of firewood—one spark is enough to set it ablaze..."
"Even if a powerful person suppresses it, the soldiers caught in a camp riot aren't so easy to pacify."
"Even after they calm down, they'll be weak all over, dazed and dispirited... This entire unit is as good as ruined for several days."
Fisher praised it. "As expected of a spell passed down by the ancient gods!"
"Enough. We should set out as well."
Dilia picked up the crystal ball. "The ancient altar will surely reappear today!"
The rituals of the ancient gods were no ordinary matter. They required the correct time, location, and ceremony.
Therefore, they had no choice but to go to the Great Rift of Black Mountain!
"Understood!"
Fisher had prepared a secret passage and horses long ago.
He sent out the signal. More people soon arrived and gathered together before breaking out of the military camp and heading straight toward the Great Rift of Black Mountain.
Whenever they encountered frenzied soldiers along the way, they wore cold expressions and slew them outright.
"What happened?"
Feng Xi'er had been meditating. When the Blood Moon appeared, she was the first to rush out of the tent.
But the moment she heard the uproar, her expression became extremely grim.
"The camp has erupted into a howling riot! The camp has erupted into a howling riot!"
Xu Wenling was disheveled, and he still held a bloodstained saber in his hand. Clearly, he had already killed several people.
At a time like this, those soldiers would listen to nothing anyone said. They could only be killed.
"Where are my Black Armored Iron Cavalry?"
Feng Xi'er did not even look at him as she shouted loudly.
"Colonel, we're all here!"
Dozens of men rushed over and formed a protective formation.
Feng Xi'er's Black Armored Iron Cavalry were elite troops, after all. They remained calm in the face of danger. When this great chaos erupted, they assembled at the first opportunity to protect their commander.
Zhong Shenxiu wore a suit of iron armor and blended into the crowd, utterly inconspicuous.
"Colonel, please suppress the riot at once!"
Xu Wenling was sweating profusely with anxiety as he pleaded with Feng Xi'er.
Smack!
Before he could finish speaking, Que'er, Feng Xi'er's personal guard, slapped him to the ground.
"It's already too late."
Feng Xi'er raised her head to gaze at the Blood Moon and sighed. "I originally intended to use the soldiers of your unit, but they've all become a burden instead. You were incompetent at managing your subordinates, and that is why this calamity befell us. If I were you, I would pray that those people do not succeed tonight. Otherwise, I will certainly report you to the Grand Protector!"
She mounted her horse and shouted coldly, "Black Armored Iron Cavalry, charge out with me! Whoever obstructs us, no matter who they are, kill them without exception!"
"Understood!"
At once, dozens of armored riders answered loudly and charged out together.
Feng Xi'er's objective was clear. She headed straight for the Great Rift of Black Mountain, the site of the ancient altar.
"Kill!"
Amid the bloody moonlight, shouts of slaughter suddenly rang out as several arrows shot toward them.
Several Black Armored Iron Cavalry fell. Feng Xi'er raised a hand, and two streaks of radiance flew out. Blades shaped like willow leaves seemed to be wrapped within them as they vanished into the darkness.
Several screams came from both sides, then all fell silent.
Feng Xi'er reached the foot of the mountain, abandoned her horse, and kept moving. Looking back at the team, now reduced to only twenty-odd people, she felt somewhat regretful. "I originally thought those remnants couldn't accomplish anything significant. I never expected them to have hidden so much strength. Their ambitions must be enormous. Damn them!"
Zhong Shenxiu walked at an unhurried pace, following the mountain path that had once been so familiar to him.
Along the roadside, each stalk of black wild grass seemed to bear an eye watching him, sending a chill through his heart.
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