Underground Palace, Fierce Beast, Sacrificer

"Just as I expected, Fengge is indeed the leader of the rebels, but not the one rebelling against the Queen."

Inside the ice armor beneath the tree, Wu Wang remained in a seated position, his mind racing with thoughts.

This Ji Mo, to come up with a plan to drug the wine and use the antidote beforehand, I had seriously underestimated him before...

Wu Wang looked inward, at the Shennong Brand Detoxification Pills, Hua Chun Pills, Soul Protection Pills, Calming Pills, and Deworming Pills wrapped in magic power and not yet dissolved in his stomach. A bitter smile touched his lips.

"Isn't this a waste of resources?"

Although the pills given by Senior Shennong Shi were plentiful, they were non-renewable resources; using one meant one less.

"Oh well, oh well."

"What malicious intentions could Brother Ji possibly have? He merely wanted to prevent me, a mere cultivator in the Core Formation Realm, from participating in the upcoming events."

"If Brother Ji were to pour his heart out and reveal all his plans just because I saved him a few times... then Brother Ji's account would officially be considered ruined, and the Ji family should find someone else to cultivate."

Wu Wang wasn't angry at all about Ji Mo's little scheme.

However, the look in Fengge's eyes when she tucked the Queen's blanket earlier made Wu Wang a little wary.

This Fengge... is definitely problematic.

"Quick! Protect Her Majesty's chambers!"

"Set up the protective array!"

Several sharp female voices called out, followed by the sound of hurried footsteps from all directions. Two teams of imperial guards surrounded the sleeping quarters.

Wu Wang wasn't in a hurry. He sat quietly, pondering. Escaping wouldn't be a problem.

The reason he could have predicted early on that Fengge was planning something in the Women's Country was based on many factors.

For one, Fengge never showed up after he was attacked at the National Teacher's mansion. The General's mansion and the National Teacher's mansion were not far from each other, just a hop, skip, and a jump for Fengge.

Given Fengge's previously displayed personality, it was unlikely she wouldn't join in on the excitement.

Another factor was why Senior Shennong Shi would send him to appear before Fengge; that itself was a form of hint.

Wu Wang had already learned that Fengge, as the Great General, held a high position in the Women's Country and commanded all military power. If she wanted to rebel and become Queen, she wouldn't need support from the Human Domain.

The rebel army's target wasn't the Queen, so Fengge's plea for help from the Human Domain...

The answer was already obvious.

[What Fengge is rebelling against, and what the Human Domain wants to support, is the mythological order of this place.]

However, Wu Wang still had a few doubts that remained unresolved.

Inside the ice armor, Wu Wang looked towards the secret room where the Queen's private collection was kept. He remembered seeing a few tattered parchment scrolls there, inscribed with symbols that were already fading.

Before gathering enough intelligence, it was best not to make hasty judgments.

That would be too unprofessional.

He closed his eyes, and his spiritual consciousness spread out like flowing water.

Like a drop of water falling onto a calm surface, causing ripples, the figures of the more than a hundred imperial guards patrolling the sleeping quarters were projected into Wu Wang's mind.

Wu Wang displayed the patience of an average Northern Plains hunter.

He waited quietly, observing the guards patrolling the four rooftops, and the moment their gaze shifted away from him.

Here it comes!

Wu Wang's eyes suddenly snapped open. The floor beneath him silently turned to dust, and his body "leaked" straight down.

—This place was originally a courtyard. When the Queen converted it into her sleeping quarters, she had laid a layer of wooden planks on the ground, leaving a significant gap.

With a flick of his wrist, he struck the hollow ice armor softly. Wu Wang created a fake ice figure inside it and placed an ice pillar below to prevent the area from collapsing.

Then, Wu Wang's figure quietly slipped beneath the wooden planks, disappearing into the blind spot of the guards above.

After some effort, he finally managed to sneak into the Queen's treasure vault.

Wu Wang maintained his spiritual consciousness spread out, listening in all directions and observing everything. Among the many treasures, he quickly searched for carriers of information.

Parchment scrolls, stone slabs, and the wall covered by a cloth and hidden behind a wooden shelf.

Wu Wang gently propelled a small amount of his energy from afar, lifting the dust-covered cloth. As expected, there were several paintings on it.

But at this moment, Wu Wang's expression grew increasingly solemn...

"What is this?"

The Weeping Goddess, small figures kneeling in prayer, divine light that was constantly fading.

Terrifying fierce beasts, crying figures being pushed forward, a maiden turning into dust and disappearing.

But upon closer inspection, both the fierce beasts and the goddess had the same circular disk beneath their feet. The disk was inscribed with an astrological arrangement, as if the fierce beasts had replaced the goddess.

Recalling the National Teacher's sigh when discussing the local mythology:

"The spirits of the Northern Plains are contained within the starlight, and the Sun Sacrifice allows us to serve the deities."

Did the gods who created this place leave this country?

Leaving behind only a Fierce Beast as a Guardian Beast, and the Fierce Beast needs sacrifices to guard this country?

Wu Wang crossed his arms and stood silently contemplating in front of the mural.

He didn't find the commotion outside lively at all; instead, he found it disruptive.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh.

Figures darted rapidly through the palace complex. They wore golden and silver armor, their expressions remarkably uniform, filled with determination.

Inside the Royal Palace, under the grand array shining with golden light, hundreds and thousands of figures gathered towards the northwest corner of the palace.

People kept rushing into the grand array from outside, their bodies full of vitality, wielding swords and carrying spears. Their strength was top-tier within the Women's Country.

Due to the sudden activation of the Royal Palace's grand array, a slight disturbance occurred in the capital. However, most citizens were merely curious and puzzled, gazing in the direction of the Royal Palace.

Batches of elite troops were dispatched to the streets, and rows of torches lit up the four city walls.

The capital, which was supposed to be a night of brilliant starlight, was suddenly covered by dark clouds.

Unease spread among the women, but they didn't know what had happened.

In the northwest corner of the Royal Palace, two flashes of blade light streaked across, and a massive stone tablet exploded with a roar, revealing the three-zhang diameter round hole behind it, and a downward-sloping corridor that seemed to have no end.

Ji Mo, clad in a cyan Daoist robe, stood on a lotus platform with a treasure sword in his hand. Around him floated several powerful Immortal Treasures, including war drums glowing red and a small hammer crackling with tiny arcs of electricity.

Ling Xiaolan stood in mid-air, sword at her back, her white dress unstained and ethereal. Her gaze was fixed on the round hole before her.

Fengge landed before the hole, her saber raised, and a large number of Women's Country experts immediately gathered behind her.

She looked at the cave entrance, her face a little pale.

The great general took half a step forward, suddenly her eyes widened, her teeth clenched, and her battle armor flickered with a hint of blood-red light.

Twelve years old. The year she left this place, she was only twelve.

The memories before the age of twelve were always of the dark underground palace, herself and countless nameless companions...

'Sigh, we pray every day, can the deities really hear us?'

'They probably can, they say once we grow as tall as the priests, we can go outside.'

'Outside, what's outside like?'

These were the conversations they repeated most often.

"Everyone!"

Fengge raised her long saber high and called out in a steady voice. She turned around, her back to the round hole, and looked at the figures before her.

They were also looking at Fengge.

Fengge's voice was very low:

"What is about to be revealed to you is the darkest and most shameful side of this country.

Once we take this step, there will be no turning back."

Behind Fengge, generals wielding weapons had the flames of determination ignited in their eyes. As Fengge stepped forward, they immediately surged forward.

"Are we killing everyone inside?"

Ling Xiaolan's voice suddenly rang out.

Fengge turned her head and said in a low voice, "The fault does not lie with the people of this country, but with the Fierce Beast and us who rely on its power. I ask the Fairy to subdue the priests and guards inside."

"Good."

Ling Xiaolan gently closed her eyes, formed a lotus seal with her hands, and when she opened her eyes again, her figure had already turned into a streak of white rainbow and flew into the hole.

From afar, a few shouts were heard from within, but the voices quickly quieted down.

Ji Mo said calmly, "Our Human Domain will not stand by and do nothing. Today, we will surely help General Feng slay the Fierce Beast and rescue the Women's Country from the shadow of the Fierce Beast."

"Thank you."

Fengge said softly, then her figure moved like the wind, charging into the round hole before her with her long saber.

Behind her, the generals followed like shadows, their figures entering one after another without the slightest hesitation, even though they knew there would be casualties in today's battle.

Facing the Fierce Beast left behind by the gods, how could there not be a bitter fight?

But they could not fear at this moment;

They absolutely could not fear this!

In the long corridor, footsteps sounded like flowing water. The space ahead gradually widened, and on the ground, priests in robes, bound by immortal light and unconscious, began to appear.

Clearly, the experts from the Human Domain who came to assist had easily subdued them.

Fengge made a gesture, and a few people from the advancing crowd separated to re-restrain these priests.

The deeper they went into the round hole, the more figures were bound by immortal light.

With Ling Xiaolan's full power from her Leaping God Realm cultivation, the guards and priests in this place had no room to resist, thus avoiding the bloody battle that would have originally occurred.

The guards, clad in armor, had arrows scattered around them.

Palace maids, their faces filled with panic, were surrounded by spilled fruits, meat, and vegetables.

Long-burning lamps hung throughout the corridor, along with numerous glowing ores. The ground was smooth and spotless.

The underground passage began to branch out, but each fork had clear markings, some leading to the kitchen, others to areas depicted with beds.

After charging forward for an unknown distance, they arrived at a brightly lit underground circular hall. The hall had over a dozen levels, rising from bottom to top, with twelve openings on each level. Before each opening was a long corridor, resembling terraced fields.

Fengge stopped, raising her left fist. The group behind her quickly halted and looked up in all directions.

Ling Xiaolan hovered in the center of the circular hall, her eyes closed and brow furrowed. She took out a jade flute and began to play softly.

Fengge silently walked to a bronze gong in a corner of the circular hall, picked up a wooden mallet, and struck the gong with force.

Clang!

Clang!

The sound of the gong echoed throughout the hall, spreading in all directions.

Soft, rapid footsteps could be heard from the various openings. The generals looked up at the different areas.

First, a little girl in a loose white dress peeked her head out from a high vantage point, then quickly ran to the corner of the corridor before the opening.

Following her, girls in loose white dresses emerged from all the openings. They orderly walked to their designated positions, their eyes, lacking much expression, observing the figures below. Soon, they knelt down, clasped their hands together, and began singing a prayer.

Fengge stood before the bronze gong, unable to move for a long time.

The flute music gradually ceased. Ling Xiaolan's face was like frost as she gazed at these figures. She realized that most of them were children, with fixed prayer positions for each age group. The oldest among them were no more than fourteen or fifteen years old.

The total number was around six to seven hundred.

"They don't have names," Fengge said calmly, her figure sinking into the shadows.

"Want to know the meaning of their existence? Follow me."

As she spoke, Fengge stood up, leaped to an empty opening, and walked into the darkness.

Though the memory was distant, Fengge remembered walking for a long time in a passage that day. Following a strange snoring sound, she had reached the end of the passage...

The unpleasant snoring sound reappeared.

This seemingly endless passage made them instinctively hold their breath.

Finally, they reached a massive stone gate, from the cracks of which wisps of black smoke billowed out.

Ling Xiaolan made a sweeping motion with her long sword. The stone gate lit up with over a dozen horizontal and vertical cracks, revealing a brilliant light from within. With a roar, it collapsed.

Black smoke rolled in. Ji Mo gripped the small hammer floating beside him. A shockwave surged forward, instantly dissipating countless black smoke.

This was an incredibly magnificent hall.

A terrifying Fierce Beast, dozens of feet tall, sat in the center of the hall. It had a distorted human face and an obese ox body, with four legs and one thick arm.

It reached out, took a comatose white-clothed girl, and brought her to its nose, inhaling lightly. The figure rapidly turned into dust and slipped from the Fierce Beast's large hand.

The Fierce Beast searched around somewhat displeased, but found no other Sacrificers. The Priests on the distant high platform trembled but continued to kowtow and pray.

White-clothed girls... white clothes...

'What are you doing here! Are you trying to die!'

A scolding voice suddenly came from behind. Fengge, who was watching the same scene through the cracks in the stones, still remembered being so startled that she forgot to cry out when she was twelve. A strong hand lifted her up...

"General Fengge?!"

The Priests on the high platform discovered the intruders. An aged Female Priest exclaimed with a trembling voice, "You, what do you want to do? This is disrespect to the Deities! It will bring disaster!"

"Scram," Fengge's voice was flat, but her eyes were already bloodshot.

The Priests fled down the high platform without looking back, running to a corner, not daring to say another word.

With a few muffled sounds, Fengge's long saber pointed at the Fierce Beast.

"This is the Guardian Beast that protects us!

The price of our protection is our lives, and the Kings of past generations chose to hide this secret!"

Fengge took a deep breath, two flames burning in her eyes, her voice rising and becoming gritted.

"I am one of the Sacrificers who walked out from here!

The Priests, using the Spirit Nurturing Pool secret, nurture batches of infants. They are not given names, not given the right to be citizens of the Women's Country. When their souls mature at fifteen, they sacrifice their souls to the Fierce Beast!

The children we saw, are they destined to die the moment they are born into this world?

Without being given names, are they not considered our people?

We raise an army tonight to rescue the children within and slay this Fierce Beast!"

Fengge looked up suddenly, throwing her long saber aside. She raised her hand and grasped the air, and a spear materialized in her palm, crackling with lightning. Her voice echoed throughout the hall:

"The future of the Women's Country will be determined by us, the people of the Women's Country!

Tonight, we defy the Goddess's will. Tonight, with the swords in our hands, we shall liberate this kingdom from the shadow of the Fierce Beast!"

The First General Before the Throne, Fengge, has rebelled against the gods today!"

The Fierce Beast raised a hand and scratched its forehead, its bloodshot eyes fixed on the tiny figures ahead.

A lotus flower bloomed, and sword light slashed a hundred zhang.

Ling Xiaolan's figure had already appeared above the Fierce Beast's head. Ji Mo formed hand seals, and several Immortal Treasures around him blazed with light...

In the center of the Royal Palace, the foundation of the Women's Country, was the Spirit Nurturing Pool.

Wu Wang sat quietly by the pool, gazing at the massive mural drawn at the bottom. A flicker of hesitation crossed his eyes before he finally let out a soft sigh.

"Who are you!"

Shouts came from the entrance of the Spirit Nurturing Hall, and over a dozen guards rushed in.

Wu Wang pointed his left hand at these figures and clenched his fist gently. The dozen guards were immediately trapped in solid ice. However, the ice did not press tightly against their chests, leaving gaps for their nostrils.

Wu Wang stood up, spreading his wings behind him, and calmly said:

"I am... someone who might be able to help you."

Time was short, the task was heavy, and there were many arrangements to be made.

The predicament facing the Women's Country was even more troublesome than the unexpected Star God's Blessing.

Next chapter, 6 PM!