The Fate of the Mysterious Yin Heavenly Star

"Haha, make your own choice!"

Hearing that, even An Jing couldn't help laughing to himself.

He didn't think the Demonic Cult would lie about this. The 108 people who'd been left behind were all elite. Even if they didn't awaken a Fate Grid, they could still reach Instructor Li's level of Tide of Internal Breath in the future—more than capable of serving as the backbone of an organization's mid- and lower ranks.

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

The words sounded grand and righteous, but in truth they glossed over the important part, as if death were a rare occurrence. Instead, they emphasized the glory awaiting those who succeeded and the safety net for those who failed.

As for that line about "making your own choice"...

While Manor Master Yao spoke, An Jing caught a strange scent.

It was very faint. If he hadn't merely been pretending to focus all his attention on the speech, while actually keeping an eye on everything around him, he might not have noticed it.

Not long after catching the scent, An Jing realized his heart was beating faster. His "nerve" seemed to swell as if he'd had a few drinks. He even found himself entertaining the outrageous, senseless idea of standing up, cursing Manor Master Yao, and exposing the Demonic Cult's plot!

No one would believe him now. He couldn't change anything; he'd only make everyone think he'd gone mad. Yet An Jing had been suddenly seized by such an impulse—and such courage!

—They'd drugged them!

Even An Jing could barely resist it, let alone the other children. The moment Manor Master Yao said, "Whether you want to take part is entirely your choice," everyone answered with a loud, "We do!"

An Jing shouted along without hesitation. He noticed Bai Qinghan did the same.

Indeed, she might not have been educated, but she wasn't stupid.

"Excellent."

Seeing all the children act as one, Manor Master Yao smiled with satisfaction. "Then let the Ritual Sacrifice begin!"

"Pay your respects to the Imperial Heaven Venerable God. Disciples, offer incense!"

Amid the chants, the 108 registered disciples in the twelve groups conducting the Ritual Sacrifice burned incense around the altar assigned to each group, paying their respects to the Imperial Heaven Venerable God—also known as "Cangtian," "Tiangong," and "Laotianye."

Not only the Tianyi Sect, but many other sects—and even Da Chen's state rites—worshiped Imperial Heaven and Earth, so no one found this unusual. Nor was the rite merely a formality. It could unite people, giving those who took part together a sense of belonging, accomplishment, and pride.

Imperial Heaven had no fixed form. When people in the mortal world built temples and statues for him, they usually depicted a kindly old man. But the Tianyi Sect's rites, like those of the imperial household, never gave him any form. They worshiped only the heavens above.

Yet such a rite represented an exceptionally high level of Ritual Sacrifice. Without special terrain and status, trying to worship "the wholly real Cangtian" rather than "Laotianye confined within an idol" was like one person shouting in the hope of waking every sleeper in an entire world.

Xuanming Manor occupied precisely such special terrain!

After the incense was offered, one ancient pattern after another lit up across the jade altar.

"Disciples, take your places! Activate the ritual formation and open the Valley of Fate!"

The scripture chanters were the instructors who taught the scriptures at Xuanming Manor. Their voices rang out, vast and ethereal, as An Jing and the others sat cross-legged on the jade platforms in turn.

The instant he sat down, An Jing felt he could communicate heart to heart with the other eight people in his group. They'd undergone rigorous training and could already coordinate with little need for words, relying on gestures alone.

But after they'd offered incense and paid their respects, making the jade platform glimmer faintly, he could clearly sense the others' emotions!

Longing, curiosity, fear, bewilderment, calm, the desire to impress and catch someone's eye, fantasies of mastering peerless martial arts as an official disciple and returning home in glory to bring their parents back...

All kinds of emotions and desires surged like a river.

An Jing's own desires were stirred as well.

He wanted to live—and to help everyone who wanted to live survive.

Unlike all the other boys and girls, he knew the purpose behind every move the Demonic Cult made. He knew the sinister intent lurking beneath their gentle masks.

He believed in his abilities and his own mettle, but he didn't know if he'd survive by continuing down this path, one step at a time. He still wanted to reunite with his mother. He still wanted to see his father. He still wanted to survive alongside his friends and walk together into the future...

An Jing wanted greater power, so he could take control of his fate, and then...

Decide the course of his own life.

—He wanted to live, and live free!

And it was at that very moment, as the 108 people in the twelve groups became one in heart and mind, their sea of desire churning—

Pale green lines of light began to glow around the twelve jade platforms. They spread from the platforms across the ground and even into the air, linking together until they formed an enormous, ancient Array Formation that slowly revolved above the altars.

Manor Master Yao stepped forward. He cut his hand with a Jade Dagger, scattered his blood, and cried out, "With blood as our talisman, with souls as our offering!"

"Venerable God, enact your divine law!"

The instructors and group leaders surrounding the altars, faintly arranged into an even greater formation, also cut their hands with Jade Daggers, scattered their blood, and shouted in unison:

"Venerable God, enact your divine law!" "Venerable God, enact your divine law!" "Venerable God, enact your divine law!"

In an instant, their cries surged like crashing waves. A violent gale rose with them, and the fog around the Valley of Fate sank as dark clouds gathered. Though it was daytime, everything was plunged into gloom.

Amid the chaos of mist, where day and night blurred together—

A vast, shadowy hand, indistinct and seemingly made 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, roused by the contact, all twelve jade platforms burst into light.

Unlike the demonic hand in the valley, these jade altars were genuine divine offerings, imbued with peerless Sword Intent. Stimulated by the Heavenly Demon's aura, they unleashed their keen Sword Intent.

In an instant, streams of jade-green Sword Qi shot out from deep within the White Sand Plains. They held their ground against the shadowy hand reaching from the valley, bursting with Killing Intent like starlight that illuminated the valley and the sky.

"It worked! Sha Mo Sword God, Tianyi Rotation!"

After completing all this, everyone—including Manor Master Yao—looked drained. But the old man's eyes blazed with excitement. "Now we'll see what fate these materials have in store!"

"Life or death, all rests with Heavenly Fate!"

Before Manor Master Yao could finish speaking, a dazzling star suddenly rose in the north of the formation, among the Zuozi group.

The star came from a girl sitting cross-legged on a jade platform. She was young and slight, as if a gust of wind might sweep her away. Yet her eyes were closed, her mind immersed in her inner landscape, her expression resolute.

The star above Bai Qinghan's head shone as brightly as the moon, waxing and waning unpredictably. It radiated pale jade light, floating between the Sword Qi and the demonic hand.

A moon-white starbeam lit up behind her head and circled around, forming a halo behind Bai Qinghan's head.

The halo was the color of white jade. As it turned, it revealed the changing phases of the moon, a totemic image of every waxing and waning moon. An indescribable, frigid Mysterious Yin aura rose from it, spreading in wisps and curls. Mysterious Yin intent spilled out in every direction, condensing into intricate patterns in the air. A ring of mist and frost formed over the altar beneath Bai Qinghan and across the surrounding ground.

"What is this...?"

At first, Manor Master Yao didn't understand. But he quickly erupted with joy. "Excellent! Excellent! A Star Fiend Strange Fate among the Seven Fates!"

"A heavenly star manifests an omen; Dao Patterns form a totem. Nandou hangs at the center of the heavens; her body is entrusted to Taiyin!"

"This is a Yang Death Yin Life Fate Grid—the fate of the Mysterious Yin Heavenly Star!"