Secret (1)

In the Yellow Earth Canyon.

On the Official Road leading to Citong.

Deep, trench-like knife marks are visible everywhere, and deep pits, carved out by countless footsteps, are scattered about.

Jin Yuan was panting heavily, staring fiercely at the Black-Clad Man opposite him.

His body seemed to have shrunk, noticeably smaller.

His complexion had become much duller, and his eyes looked tired. It was Daoist Scripture to reach this state.

"Is your Great Dao Sect deliberately provoking trouble?! You ambushed this humble monk halfway through his journey, do you really think we wouldn't dare to retaliate?"

He didn't start speaking like that.

Who is he? The mighty Jin Yuan, the Western Sect Grandmaster, when faced with obstacles, naturally rushes over and crushes everything.

Then he rushed through, but the two people beside him were gone.

He felt great while charging forward, but in that instant, two people beside him were intercepted and killed.

The two Spirit Vein were killed on the spot.

Jin Yuan was furious and started fighting with Ming Yuan.

Then the two were evenly matched and fought fiercely for more than an hour.

"By Sect Leader's Decree, our Great Dao Sect neither provokes trouble nor fears it. We hope that when Master Jin Yuan arrives in Citong, he will not fabricate charges against us. If there are any doubts, we will conduct an internal investigation. We will decide how to punish him."

Ming Yuan didn't speak, but another female voice answered loudly from the side.

Jin Yuan felt extremely aggrieved.

He had also heard of Ming Yuan, a guy who was originally hiding deep within the Heavenly Treasure Palace.

In the past two years, he has started to appear frequently in various places to clean up miscellaneous matters for the Great Dao Sect.

The strangest thing is that Ming Yuan's strength is sometimes strong and sometimes weak.

It seems that he is making temporary adjustments based entirely on the opponents he is facing.

He had noticed that just now as well.

Ming Yuan, a previously insignificant guy, actually managed to fight him to a standstill.

"Alright, I've got it. But if your Daozi really does commit a crime, I'm afraid your Heavenly Treasure Palace won't be able to withstand it!" Jin Yuan said ruthlessly.

"Then you won't need to trouble yourself," the female voice beside Ming Yuan replied.

He himself was also slightly pale, gripped the hilt of his sword, and sheathed it.

Jin Yuan snorted coldly, not daring to waste any more words, and quickly crossed the small canyon.

This time, Ming Yuan did not stop him. He simply stood quietly to the side and watched him leave.

He has achieved his goal.

Jin Yuan's accompanying experts were gone, and Jin Yuan himself was also severely injured. A small portion of his Spirit Thread were devoured, causing his strength to drop drastically in a short period of time.

This is the limit of what he can do right now.

From now on, they can only rely on Dao Child Zhang Ying himself.

*** Snow Kui Island itself is not large.

Apart from the Blue God Residence on the highest cliff, the rest of the land consists of people living like slaves in the Woodland basin below.

These people are the food reserves that the Blood God Pirates keep here. Whenever they are unable to go out hunting due to weather conditions, they will select some of the island's residents as meat to supplement their nutrition.

Zhang Rongfang searched the Blue God Residence inside and out, but found nothing else of use.

Except for that Statue.

The small Statue had no cracks and was far more intact than the Statue he had assembled before.

In addition, they finally found the remains of the Treasure Hunting Team member named Cheng Luo.

Her body was eaten down to half, and sadly hung in the kitchen to be made into jerky.

"She is Sister Cheng Luo." Zhou Xinlan pointed seriously and calmly at the corpse that was strung on the wooden post.

There was no fear in his eyes, only habit.

Zhang Rongfang, Tian Ruyi, and the others stood in front of the wooden pillar, looking at the corpse on it, and fell silent.

Long ago, they had also heard of some uncivilized, Man People natives at sea who enjoyed eating human flesh.

Originally, this was just an ancient legend circulating in Citong, but unexpectedly, a real-life example has appeared before our eyes.

And the ones being eaten were their own people! Zhang Rongfang felt an indescribable anger.

He sent out skilled treasure hunters, but all the members of the Treasure Hunting Team were killed, and the Treasure Medicine was almost lost.

If it weren't for good luck, his progress Sun Chasing the second level of the Golden Toad Skill might have been delayed for a long time.

His subordinates were killed and even eaten alive as food because of his orders.

This feeling of suddenly bearing the heavy weight of life was something Zhang Rongfang experienced for the first time.

I am different from before.

His every word and action now affects the safety of many people around him. "Continue to find the remains of the other Treasure Hunting Team. Bring them back and give them a proper burial. Make proper arrangements for their families as well. Provide triple compensation to each family."

Zhang Rongfang said in a deep voice.

"Yes."

Lin Xiaochi, the ship manager beside him, nodded solemnly.

"Daozi, what should we do with these people on this island? We've found out that the island's natives aren't residents at all, but slaves kidnapped by the Blood God Pirates and the Ghost Mask Man," Tian Ruyi of the Thousand Stone Sect asked in a deep voice.

"Keep the slaves, hire them as laborers, and let them go after they gradually adapt. As for the Blood God Pirates and the Ghost Mask Man," Zhang Rongfang remained silent.

These are the real culprits who targeted the Treasure Hunting Team.

"Slaughter them all," he sighed.

"Yes," Tian Ruyi replied solemnly.

Aside from those killed during their raid, three Blood God Pirates remained alive.

There are still more than eighty Ghost Mask Man left.

The fate of this group of people also plummeted to rock bottom at this moment.

The group carefully wrapped up Cheng Luo's mangled body, and then arranged for a small boat to transport the goods.

While the laborers and sailors on the merchant ship were busy unloading valuables, Zhang Rongfang returned to the ship with the Statue and a scroll of Secret Art called the Blood Bath Sacrifice Method that had been found.

Inside the ship's cabin.

He stood by the round glass window, gently toying with the mysterious Statue in his hand.

From the remaining Blood God Pirates on the island, he learned that the name of this Statue was Blood God.

That is, the god worshipped by all the Blood God Pirates and the Ghost Mask Man.

However, this god is not recognized by any country.

In the Great Ling, any religion that is not officially registered or recorded is considered Secret Teaching.

That is, it is illegal.

Once a god enters the Great Ling, such a god becomes Secret God, and will be exterminated by the Great Ling's official forces.

It is only on the vast ocean that such a wild god cult can survive.

Zhang Rongfang carefully observed the Statue.

The material of the Statue was the same as the Statue Fragment he had come across before.

They appear to be made of the same material.

The entire Statue has no joints, as if it were carved from a single piece of material.

He gently stroked the Statue's arm; it was cool and smooth to the touch, and surprisingly, there was no dust or dirt on it.

It's clear that someone is constantly wiping and maintaining it carefully.

After examining the Statue for a while, Zhang Rongfang couldn't find anything mysterious about it.

This thing looks like an ordinary sculpture.

He couldn't help but put down his things and pick up the scroll of the Blood Bath Sacrifice Method.

This Secret Art doesn't resemble martial arts techniques or Breaking Limit Skill; instead, it's more like... "a Visualization Method?" Zhang Rongfang suddenly recalled the visualization methods he had encountered in his previous life.

The so-called Visualization Method is a special training method commonly used by a religious sect to concentrate the mind and strengthen willpower.

He carefully examined the text on the Secret Scroll; the handwriting had been completely translated by the translator on the ship.

'The great Blood God was born from blood, and forged his throne in an endless Blood Sea.'

He wields boundless energy.

He possesses limitless endurance.

His arms were as supple as flowing blood.

His five eyes were each gazing in a different direction. Those represented the five senses.

The vortex beneath his seat represents life originating from the unknown and heading towards the unknown.

'When people sincerely worship him, those with exceptional talent may be able to touch his supreme will.'

Following the Secret Scroll are a series of specific ritual methods and the necessary items.

Putting down the Secret Scroll, Zhang Rongfang looked at the Blood God Statue again.

"It seems that without truly becoming Worship God, there is no way to understand what these so-called Gods and Buddhas really are?"

His brows were furrowed.

All signs indicate that Gods and Buddhas are the supreme source of all power.

The Eastern Sect explores the mysteries of Gods and Buddhas, seeking a way for ordinary people to kill those Worship Gods.

It seems that Ling Emperor is behind this.

As a result, they were wiped out.

Who could persuade Ling Emperor to voluntarily abandon the Eastern Sect, which he had nurtured for many years?

Besides Gods and Buddhas, who else could it be? 'What exactly are Gods and Buddhas?'

Zhang Rongfang stared intently at the Statue. Even with his Dark Light Vision, he couldn't penetrate the surface of the Statue and could only see the same scene as before.

The ship sailed back home, and time slowly passed.

After finding the Treasure Medicine Yu Xiang Coral, Zhang Rongfang successfully achieved one of his major goals.

As for the other major objective...

He still had no clue.

After studying the Statue for a long time without success, Zhang Rongfang stored it in the ship's treasure room.

Night.

The waves crashed against the wooden planks outside the boat, causing it to rock and sway.

Zhang Rongfang on his back in the room, resting peacefully with his eyes closed.

In the dimly lit cabin, only a beam of clear moonlight shone through the round, thick glass windows.

'Zhang Rongfang'

'Zhang Rongfang'

A shrill voice kept calling out Zhang Rongfang's name.

The sound wasn't loud, but amidst the noise of waves crashing against the ship, it was exceptionally clear and penetrating.

Swish.

Zhang Rongfang opened his eyes abruptly, frowned, and sat up from the bed.

He listened carefully.

But at that moment, all that could be heard outside was the sound of the waves; there was nothing else.

Zhang Rongfang looked around, thinking he had misheard. He was about to lie down again to continue resting.

'Zhang Rongfang'

That shrill voice rang out again.

This time, he heard it very clearly.

The voice was neither male nor female, making it impossible to determine its gender; the only certainty was that it was shrill and unpleasant.

"Who goes there!?" Zhang Rongfang got out of bed and scanned the cabin, but found nothing.

He walked to the window and looked outside.

The waves outside were rising and falling, but everything seemed normal.

Just then, the shrill voice came again.

Come here.

Come here

This time, Zhang Rongfang heard it very clearly.

The sound came from outside the door.

He slowly put on a cloak and walked to the door.

Reach out and gently grasp the doorknob.

Click.

The door opened.

A huge, blood-red human face, as big as a door frame, was blocking the doorway.

There are five eyes on a human face: three on top and two on the bottom.

It was none other than the Blood God Statue that Zhang Rongfang seized!