Fate of the Mysterious Yin Heavenly Star

"Haha, choose for yourselves!"

Hearing this, even An Jing couldn't help but laugh in his heart.

He didn't think the Demonic Cult would lie about this—the one hundred and eight people left were all elites. Even if they hadn't awakened a Destiny, they would eventually reach the level of Internal Breath like a tide, as demonstrated by Instructor Li, which was enough to serve as the core mid-to-low-level backbone of an organization.

Even if they failed, the Demonic Cult wouldn't do anything to the survivors.

This statement sounded grand and upright, but in reality, it downplayed the severity of the situation. It made death seem like a low-probability event while emphasizing the glory of the "successful" and the safety net for the failures.

As for the rhetoric of "choose for yourselves"...

While Manor Master Yao was speaking, An Jing smelled a strange fragrance.

This scent was extremely faint; if he hadn't been pretending to be focused while actually keeping a close eye on his surroundings, he would have been hard-pressed to notice it.

Not long after smelling this fragrance, An Jing noticed his heartbeat beginning to accelerate. His "courage" seemed to swell as if he had been drinking alcohol, and he even felt an incredibly bold yet senseless urge to stand up, curse Manor Master Yao, and expose the Demonic Cult's conspiracy!

Right now, no one would believe his claims, and he couldn't influence anything; it would only make people think he had gone mad—but An Jing was suddenly overcome by such impulse and courage!

They actually drugged us!

Even An Jing found it hard to resist, let alone the other children. Immediately, after Manor Master Yao uttered the words, "Whether you are willing to participate depends entirely on your own choice," everyone loudly responded, "I am willing!"

An Jing also shouted along without hesitation—he noticed that Bai Qinghan did the same.

Indeed, the others might be uneducated, but they weren't stupid.

"Very good."

Seeing all the children acting in unison, Manor Master Yao smiled with satisfaction: "Then, let the ritual begin!"

"Worship the Imperial Heaven Venerable God, disciples, offer incense!"

Accompanied by rhythmic chanting, the one hundred and eight registered disciples, divided into twelve groups, burned incense at the altars where their respective groups were stationed, paying respects to the Imperial Heaven Venerable God—also known as "Cangtian," "Tiangong," and "Laotianye."

It wasn't just the Tianyi Sect; many other sects, and even the state sacrifices of Da Chen, worshipped the Imperial Heaven and Earth, so no one felt anything was amiss. Such a ritual was not merely a ceremony; it served to unite the crowd, giving those participating together a sense of belonging, achievement, and pride.

The Imperial Heaven had no specific image, but when people built temples and statues for Him, they would depict Him as a kind old man—yet, like the sacrifices of the Tianyi Sect and the Imperial Court, they absolutely set no image, performing the ritual only toward the vast Cangtian.

However, such a sacrifice actually represented a high level of ritual—without special terrain and status, attempting to perform a ritual toward the "truly real Cangtian" rather than an "old man limited by idols" was equivalent to a single person shouting, hoping to awaken everyone sleeping in the world.

Xuanming Manor, remarkably, occupied such a special terrain!

After the incense was offered, ancient patterns lit up on the jade altars.

"Disciples, return to your positions, activate the ritual, open the Destiny Valley!"

The chanters were the instructors who taught scriptures at Xuanming Manor; their voices were grand and ethereal. An Jing and the others sat cross-legged on the jade platforms in turn.

Upon sitting on the jade platform, An Jing suddenly felt that he could communicate his thoughts with the other eight people in his group. After rigorous training, they could indeed coordinate through movements without much speech.

But after the incense and the ritual caused the jade platform to glow faintly, he could clearly sense the emotions of the others!

Longing, curiosity, fear, confusion, calmness, the desire to perform well to attract attention, fantasies of learning supreme martial arts after becoming official disciples, returning home in glory to bring back their parents...

All kinds of emotions and desires surged like a river.

An Jing himself was also stirred by desire.

He wanted to live, and he wanted to bring everyone who wanted to live, to survive.

Unlike all the other boys and girls, he knew the intention behind every move the Demonic Cult made, and he knew the sinister motives behind their gentle masks.

He believed in his own ability and his own qualities, but he didn't know if he could survive after walking step by step like this. He still wanted to reunite with his mother, he still wanted to see his father, and he still wanted to bring his friends to survive together and walk toward the future together...

An Jing wanted greater power to master his own destiny, and then...

To decide the direction of his own life.

He wanted to live, to live freely!

It was at this moment, as the one hundred and eight people in the twelve groups shared their thoughts and the sea of desire churned.

With the twelve jade platforms as the core, light-cyan light patterns lit up, spreading from the platforms to the ground and even into the air, until they connected to form a massive, ancient array that rotated slowly above the altars.

Manor Master Yao, who was in the lead, took a step forward, cut his hand with a jade dagger, sprinkled blood, and shouted loudly: "With blood as the talisman, with soul as the sacrifice!"

"I invite the Venerable God to manifest the Law!"

The other instructors and team leaders surrounding the altars, who implicitly formed an even larger formation, also cut their hands with jade daggers, sprinkled blood, and shouted in unison.

"I invite the Venerable God to manifest the Law!" "I invite the Venerable God to manifest the Law!" "I invite the Venerable God to manifest the Law!"

For a time, like a mountain collapse or a tsunami, the vast sound waves mixed with the suddenly surging gale, instantly causing the white mist around the Destiny Valley to sink and dark clouds to gather, turning the daylight into gloom.

Right in this chaotic mist where heaven and earth were indistinguishable and dawn and dusk were blurred.

A hazy, obscure giant hand, seemingly composed of pure black mist, slowly reached out from the depths of Xuanming Valley.

Then, it gently covered the twelve jade altars.

"Clang!"

At the same time, stimulated by this, the twelve jade platforms bloomed with light in unison.

Unlike the Demonic hand in the valley, these jade altars were true Taoist sacrificial objects, containing supreme sword intent. Now, stimulated by the aura of the Heavenly Demon, they all released sharp sword intent.

Immediately, streaks of jade-green sword qi shot out from the depths of the white sandy ground, holding their own against the obscure giant hand reaching out from the valley, sparking starlight and baleful qi that illuminated the entire valley.

"It is done! Sha Mo Sword God, Tianyi Rotation!"

After finishing all of this, everyone including Manor Master Yao looked weary, but the old man's eyes were filled with immense excitement: "Now, it all depends on the fortune of these materials!"

"Whether it lives or dies, it all rests upon 'Heaven's Mandate'!"

Before Manor Master Yao's voice had even faded, a brilliant star suddenly rose in the Zuozi sector, located at the far north of the great formation.

That star originated from a young girl sitting cross-legged on a jade platform. She was young, her frame slight and delicate, as if a gust of wind could blow her away, yet her eyes were tightly shut, her mind immersed in her inner landscape, her expression resolute.

The star above the head of Bai Qinghan shone as brightly as the moon, waxing and waning, radiating a jade-white brilliance as it hovered between the sword qi and the demonic hand.

A moon-white starlight ignited from behind her head, flowing into a circle and forming a halo behind Bai Qinghan's skull.

This halo was jade-white, and as it rotated, it manifested totems of the waxing and waning moons, exuding an indescribable, Mysterious Yin icy chill. Wisps of Mysterious Yin intent overflowed, condensing into profound Dao Patterns in the surrounding void, causing the altar where Bai Qinghan sat and the surrounding ground to be coated in a layer of white mist and frost.

"This is..."

At first, Manor Master Yao did not react, but he soon fell into a state of wild joy: "Good, good, good! The [Star Fiend Strange Fate] of the seven fates!"

"Heavenly Star phenomenon, Dao Pattern totem; Nandou in the zenith, body anchored to Taiyin!"

"This is the constitution of [Yang Death Yin Life], the fate of the Mysterious Yin Heavenly Star!"