Just as the vassal forces of Liang Ji and his two companions launched a joint assault on the Sharkfolk guarding the Heavenly Emperor Temple...
A sacrificial ritual was taking place inside the Heavenly Emperor Temple, which stood in the center of the Ruined City of the native vassals.
In the central hall of the Heavenly Emperor Temple stood a gigantic statue of a god. Its features were indistinct, and it sat cross-legged atop a massive black lotus pedestal.
A huge Blood Pool had been dug around the statue. The corpses of Half-Dragonfolk, Ice Soul Serpentfolk, Swamp Serpentfolk, and even Sharkfolk had piled up in the pool, whose churning waters were slowly devouring them.
Before the Blood Pool stood a tall, muscular Sharkfolk priest. He was bald, with a Black Lotus Mark tattooed on the top of his head.
At that moment, the towering Sharkfolk priest knelt before the Blood Pool, bowing reverently to the enormous statue seated upon the black lotus pedestal as he chanted:
"All-knowing and all-powerful, infinitely compassionate, savior who relieves suffering and absolves sins, Great Black Lotus Venerable, your faithful devotee offers these sacrifices with utmost sincerity. Please grant me the strength to drive back our enemies!"
As the Sharkfolk priest chanted, the blood in the pool around the statue churned ever more violently, devouring the corpses of the vassals at an ever faster pace.
The black lotus pedestal beneath the enormous statue at the center seemed to awaken. Blood-dark light flowed within it, shooting into the Blood Pool.
Then the Blood Pool before the Sharkfolk priest boiled and churned as if brought to a rolling boil. A black lotus swiftly grew from its depths and bloomed. At its center lay a translucent Blood Jade Lotus Seed.
Seeing the black lotus and Blood Jade Lotus Seed, the