Blood Food

Huang Huai hadn't recovered from the shock of his transformation yet. The Common People who had received the blessing bowed even more piously to the Three-Eyed White Lotus Goddess in the sky.

"Thank you, Honored God!"

After bowing to the Three-Eyed White Lotus Goddess, everyone turned their grateful eyes to Wei Yang, the Seventh Elder of the Great River Sect, who stood on the high altar, and bowed, saying, "Thank you, High God, may your path be boundless, may Gods and Demons be immortal, and may you have Eternal Life!"

The Seventh Elder, Wei Yang, nodded slightly towards the Three-Eyed White Lotus Goddess in the sky. In the next moment, the divine light suddenly retracted, and the Three-Eyed White Lotus Goddess, now flesh and blood, disappeared. A lifelike, jade-colored statue of the Three-Eyed White Lotus Goddess, three feet tall, appeared in the air.

With a wave of his hand, the jade statue fell into Wei Yang's grasp. He examined the jade statue in his palm, noticing that the Incense and Fire Prayer Power accumulated on it had increased. A satisfied expression spread across his face.

Having received the Incense and Fire Prayer Power from thousands upon tens of thousands of Common People, his Three-Eyed White Lotus Goddess statue had benefited greatly. It was one step closer to fully condensing its True Spirit, forging its Divine Body, and becoming a god.

With a thought, the Three-Eyed White Lotus Goddess statue in Wei Yang's hand merged into his body, returning to his Dantian Divine Palace to continue being nurtured by his Qi and Blood Power.

Feeling the changes in the Three-Eyed White Lotus Goddess statue, Wei Yang secretly sighed. Harvesting the Incense and Fire Prayer Power from the Common People to forge a Divine Body and condense a True Spirit using Myriad People Prayer Power was indeed much faster than nurturing it with his own essence, energy, and spirit transformed into Qi and Blood.

If he could manifest and harvest Incense and Fire Prayer Power regularly, his cultivation speed would definitely increase significantly.

It was a pity that he also knew that if he did that, once or twice would be fine, but if he manifested too often, the Common People would lose their piety and reverence. At that point, the Incense and Fire Prayer Power he could harvest would not only greatly decrease but also become impure. It would then be not only unhelpful but even harmful to his cultivation.

Manifesting occasionally to bestow blessings and provide tangible benefits to the Common People would make them even more pious. This way, cultivators like them could also obtain Incense and Fire Prayer Power to aid their cultivation. This was the path to longevity.

His gaze swept over the crowd below who were bowing gratefully to him. Wei Yang took a few steps, his figure moving ethereally, and disappeared without a trace in the blink of an eye, leaving two disciples to handle the aftermath.

With the blessing ceremony concluded, the gathered Common People dispersed, filled with satisfaction. In a short period, they had witnessed another bizarre side of this world. Huang Huai was deeply shaken, unable to calm his mind for a long time. He walked aimlessly through the streets in a daze.

In Great River City, sandalwood incense curled and wafted through a cluster of ancient, continuous buildings, filling the air with a rich aura of Incense and Fire. Within this complex, one could see courtyards and various palaces. Statues of all kinds were enshrined within the palaces, and Great River Sect disciples in uniform attire moved among them.

A figure descended gracefully into one of the courtyards. It was none other than Wei Yang, the Seventh Elder of the Great River Sect, who had recently manifested and bestowed blessings in the city.

Upon returning to his residence, attendant boys and girls came forward to serve him tea and water. Before he could drink, a rich aroma of wine wafted towards him, followed by a free-spirited voice: "Junior Brother Wei, how was the harvest from this manifestation!"

Before the voice had even faded, another figure appeared out of thin air in the hall. This person was unkempt, wearing clothes similar to Wei Yang's but with a different style. His wrinkled clothes were stained with wine, and his slightly messy hair hung down, with a few strands, possibly wet from the wine, clinging to his well-defined cheeks.

The newcomer held a wine jar in one hand, leaning against a chair, his eyes hazy, looking at Wei Yang as if he were drunk.

Such a person, if found lying by the roadside, would likely be mistaken for a drunkard.

However, Wei Yang, as the Seventh Elder of the Great River Sect, became solemn upon seeing the newcomer. He rose and respectfully bowed to him, saying, "Greetings, Second Senior Brother. To answer your question, Senior Brother, although the harvest was not small, it is still far from successfully sealing my second divine title!"

Facing the drunken newcomer, Wei Yang dared not show the slightest disrespect. After all, this person was the only cultivator in their Great River Sect who had opened three Divine Courts in his Sea of Consciousness and enshrined three Honored Gods, a cultivator of the Third Realm. It was precisely because of this person's existence that their Great River Sect could fear no opposing forces and firmly control the vast and lucrative territory of Great River City in Taian Prefecture and the surrounding million Common People.

The name of Zhang Yan, the Second Elder of the Great River Sect, held considerable deterrence among the surrounding powers, large and small. He was one of the rare cultivators of the Third Realm.

Zhang Yan, lying askew, cast a bleary-eyed glance at the respectful Wei Yang and took a deep gulp of fine wine, saying, "You kid are as boring as the Sect Leader Eldest Senior Brother!"

Wei Yang couldn't help but give a wry smile. Their Great River Sect had always emphasized proper hierarchy and order. It was truly impossible to find another person like Zhang Yan, who was drunk and unrestrained every day.

Ignoring Wei Yang's reaction, Zhang Yan sat up, showing a rare trace of seriousness as he looked at Wei Yang and said, "The matter of Niujia Village, where all one hundred villagers were annihilated, their flesh and souls completely extinguished, has been investigated. It was not caused by Gods, Demons, or Malevolent Spirits..."

Wei Yang's eyes immediately narrowed, and he exclaimed, "Who on earth dares to commit such a heinous act, using the flesh and souls of living people as Blood Food to refine the statues they worship? Doesn't he know that practicing such forbidden evil arts, once discovered, will lead to universal condemnation by all under heaven!"

As he spoke, Wei Yang's expression turned solemn, and he said to Zhang Yan, "Most importantly, the perpetrator dared to commit such an outrageous act within our Great River City's territory without any concealment. This is completely disregarding us, the Great River Sect!"

Zhang Yan waved his hand, saying, "Let's not even mention universal condemnation. For those who have willingly fallen, who have entered the Demonic Dao and blindly pursued cultivation speed, how many of them are not eventually consumed by the backlash of the gods and demons within them, only to be replaced and become Gods, Demons, or Malevolent Spirits themselves."

As he spoke, a rare glint of sternness and killing intent appeared in Zhang Yan's usually hazy eyes. "I have already discussed with the Sect Leader Senior Brother, and we will dispatch disciples to thoroughly search the area within a hundred-mile radius of Great River City."

Wei Yang nodded heavily. "His practice of using the flesh and souls of living people as Blood Food is his business. As long as he doesn't cross paths with our Great River Sect, it's fine. But he shouldn't have provoked our Great River Sect so blatantly. If our Great River Sect cannot find him and eliminate him, others will think we are easy to bully."

Soon, Wei Yang seemed to realize something and looked up at Zhang Yan. "Senior Brother, do you mean..."

Zhang Yan took another sip of wine and said, "That's right. This time, the search outside the city will be led by you, Fifth Brother, and Sixth Brother. I will personally search the city!"

Wei Yang was stunned for a moment when Zhang Yan mentioned searching the city, and then his expression turned serious. "If such a heartless wretch were to infiltrate the city and hide in the shadows, secretly abducting people for their evil practices..."

As he spoke, Wei Yang looked at Zhang Yan anxiously. "There are over a hundred thousand people in Great River City. Even if three to five people disappear daily, it wouldn't be noticed. Senior Brother, you had better order people to carefully check if there have been any unexplained disappearances in the city recently, or if any unfamiliar faces have suddenly appeared!"