The stair-like dark passage leading underground was not very long. It was pitch-black all around, without the slightest trace of light.
Following Zhou Gushan's aura, Meng Zhao kept a sufficiently safe distance and quietly trailed behind him.
And as they continued deeper underground, the thick, cloying smell of blood permeating the air grew ever more distinct.
After walking for roughly four full minutes, he finally discovered another world: a spacious, broad altar-like plaza, excavated and constructed by human hands.
The plaza was paved on all sides with rough yet sturdy Cloud Prefecture lodestones, set piece by piece into the excavated earth and enclosing the altar in an exceptionally regular circle.
These Cloud Prefecture lodestones were also engraved with murals of simple lines that nonetheless seemed to contain some profound Demonic Nature. They made the already dark, damp underground space even more gloomy and terrifying, sinister and strange.
But that was not the most frightening part. When Meng Zhao circulated his cultivation technique and crouched along the upper edge of the passage exit, he immediately saw that the basin-like sunken altar was filled with scarlet liquid, thick and viscous, with bubbles like those of boiling water constantly welling up.
Gurgle, gurgle. The source of the dense bloody stench in the air was precisely that red liquid.
This is all blood? That aura is hidden within this blood pool?
Meng Zhao was startled, but he did not make a fuss. Instead, he maintained the best possible concealed state throughout.
He vaguely felt that he was about to come into contact with the Zhou Family's core secret—one that might leave him utterly stunned.
Zhou Gushan clearly had long grown accustomed to everything before him. As he emerged from the passage exit, he gave a light leap and landed upon a flat circular platform