Contention

Mo Jingxian waited until nightfall, when the iron door of his cell was opened once again.

His guess had been correct; there was no need to create a massive disturbance, as long as he caught the attention of those eyes hidden in the shadows.

In Long Yunzhi's plan, he likely wasn't a crucial piece of the puzzle.

He might even be nothing more than a pawn thrown out to draw fire.

Thus, both men harbored their own secret agendas, and it remained to be seen who would ultimately achieve their goal.

The security for this escort was high-level, consisting of two full combat squads of ninja.

Furthermore, these escorting ninja breathed with steady rhythm and walked with firm steps, each footfall landing with precise, calculated cadence.

Unlike the patrolling sentries, these were the true elite ninja of the Grass Ninja.

After passing through two cell blocks, Mo Jingxian was brought to an inconspicuous room.

One of the men walked to the wall and fiddled with it for a few moments.

The wall retracted to both sides, revealing a staircase leading downward.

"Go down."

Mo Jingxian made no unnecessary movements, obediently walking down the stairs as instructed.

Reaching the bottom, a corridor appeared before him.

Before he could take a closer look, he was shoved hard in the back.

His body stumbled forward, but after regaining his balance, he continued to walk along the corridor.

The passage was long, with an oil lamp appearing on the walls every twenty meters or so.

The air was thick with the smell of damp earth and mold.

When Mo Jingxian passed the one hundred and second oil lamp and rounded a corner, the scene ahead finally changed.

A set of double stone doors appeared in his field of vision.

The stone doors were over three meters high and two meters wide, with a relief of a ghost's head carved into them, occupying a third of their surface.

The two doors were parted just enough for one person to pass through.

"Keep moving."

A low command, or perhaps a threat, came from behind him.

The sealing shackles on his wrists were ineffective against him, which was one of the reasons he felt confident enough to put himself in danger.

He did not hesitate.

He passed through the stone doors and entered the hall buried deep underground.

The hall was over fifty meters long and wide, and about ten meters high, with walls paved in blue stone slabs extending up to the vaulted ceiling.

The entire floor was covered in massive, unknown symbols that looked like some kind of mysterious runes.

Bronze torches stood at the five corners of the rune pattern, the leaping flames occasionally spitting sparks with a crackling sound.

In short, the place was permeated with an eerie atmosphere, giving off a sense of mystery and gloom.

Mo Jingxian was not the first to arrive; four prisoners were already huddled in an iron cage in the corner, shivering, making five in total including him.

He joined the group of prisoners and crouched down, blending in perfectly.

No one spoke, as if making a sound would cause them to be taken away by some indescribable horror.

The ninja who had escorted Mo Jingxian in seemed to be waiting for someone, staring toward the center of the hall with eyes flickering with fanaticism.

Yet, there was clearly nothing there.

This wait lasted for two hours.

As the time reached the threshold between the old and the new, the sound of gears turning suddenly echoed through the hall.

The sound reverberated through the enclosed space, and the floor in the center of the room gradually rose to reveal a pyramid-shaped platform.

It stopped at a height of five meters, sitting there like a temple waiting for a sacrifice.

The platform was divided into three tiers, and on the one-foot-square surface at the very top sat a pitch-black box.

The material of the box was indistinguishable, but its four sides were shaped like wide-open mouths, appearing extremely bizarre.

"Marui!"

"I am here, my lord."

If not for that sudden voice, Mo Jingxian wouldn't have even noticed that someone else was hiding in the shadows.

That person's presence was so faint that it was incredibly easy to overlook him.

Of course, Mo Jingxian had not activated his Mist of Vitality to scout, fearing he might expose himself prematurely.

"Are the sacrifices ready?"

"Reporting to Lord Mui, they are ready."

Through their conversation, he realized that this man was none other than Mui, the lord of Hozuki Castle.

Seeing Mui's mysterious demeanor, a great secret was surely about to be revealed.

Mo Jingxian pondered secretly, waiting for the show to begin.

"Bring the prisoners up."

"Yes!"

Several Grass Ninja elites brought Mo Jingxian and the other prisoners before the altar, suppressing any resistance with immediate force.

Mui finally stepped out from the shadows; he was in his twenties, with an ordinary appearance, dressed in a suit of Warring States-era samurai armor.

There was no proper ceremony, nor any sacrificial text; Mui simply waved his hand.

The Grass Ninja named Marui skillfully restrained a prisoner and pushed him toward the mouth of the Black Box at the top.

The good news was that Mo Jingxian was not chosen first.

The bad news... the chosen prisoner disappeared.

Or rather, he didn't just disappear; he suddenly shrank and was swallowed whole by the mouth on the box.

The process was clear, perhaps involving some principles of space-time ninjutsu, Mo Jingxian analyzed.

He now faced two choices: wait to be swallowed, or...

There was no "first" option; Mo Jingxian had already quietly broken the sealing jutsu in his handcuffs, ready to fight at any moment.

Just then, an unexpected change occurred.

One of the restrained prisoners suddenly began to resist.

In the moment everyone's attention was drawn away, Marui suddenly erupted into action.

The others were completely caught off guard, and his movements were incredibly swift.

As a result, Marui easily took the lives of two companions beside him.

As the blade sliced through their throats, amidst the incredulous gazes of his teammates, he even had time to slap explosive tags onto the back of a prisoner.

Mui was about thirty meters away from the altar; it was too late for him to intervene.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

Marui threw three explosive tags in one breath, the sound of the explosions echoing for a long time in the enclosed space.

The moment the danger arrived, Mo Jingxian immediately moved far away from the spot.

When the smoke cleared, the area beneath the altar was a mess, with several prisoners blown to pieces.

Of the remaining three elite Grass Ninja, only one survived, and he was already severely wounded.

Mui arrived via Body Flicker, but he was a step too late; Marui had already fled to the stone gate.

The Lord of Hozuki Castle's face was as dark as water, his previous composure entirely gone.

Looking at the traitor who had already reached the entrance, he shouted indignantly:

"Marui, how dare you betray me!"

Unexpectedly, just as his voice fell, a voice drifted in from outside the stone gate:

"How could it be betrayal? Marui has always been my man."

As the last word settled, Long Yunzhi walked into the hall with two subordinates.

He glanced at the altar first, then immediately shifted his gaze to Mui.

"Lord Castle Master, so you really did hide the Box of Ultimate Bliss in secret."

Seeing that the matter was exposed, Mui no longer made an effort to hide it.

"What? You, a man full of hypocritical righteousness, are also interested in this demonic object?"

The two confronted each other across the room.

No one noticed that the blood near the altar was slowly gathering into a stream, flowing along the altar and into the Box of Ultimate Bliss.

As a large amount of blood was absorbed, the mouth on the Box of Ultimate Bliss became increasingly vivid.

Long Yunzhi did not rush to deny it, glancing toward Mo Jingxian's direction as if unintentionally.

"The matter of the Box of Ultimate Bliss can wait. Before that, shouldn't we clear out the irrelevant people? We wouldn't want an outsider to take advantage of us in the end; that would be a joke."

Mo Jingxian was not surprised by Long Yunzhi's words, and he prepared himself to break out.

He had originally intended to fish in troubled waters, but he hadn't calculated that Long Yunzhi would arrive so quickly.

"Long Yunzhi!" Mui suddenly interrupted.

"Drop the disgusting act. We both know what kind of person you are; I didn't expect your ambition to be even greater than mine."

"Hmph! If you won't drink the toast, you'll be forced to drink the forfeit."

Long Yunzhi stopped pretending; since Mui refused to cooperate, he couldn't be bothered to act anymore.

"Bring the person up."

Soon, Long Yunzhi's subordinates brought in a child under guard.

Upon seeing Mui, the child immediately cried out for help, "Father, save me!"

"You!" Mui had not expected Long Yunzhi to be so despicable; his finger trembled as he pointed at his opponent in a fit of rage.

"Fine, very well!"

Mui took two steps toward his son, then abruptly stopped.

He took a deep breath, forcing himself to remain calm.

"It seems you have made thorough preparations. Fine—I concede. Release my son, and the future Hozuki Castle shall be yours, along with this place."

"Lord Warden, don't be so naive."

Long Yunzhi was elated; was there anything more satisfying than seeing a long-time nemesis bow his head in defeat?

He stepped forward unconsciously, wearing the smile of a victor, and said:

"I can let you leave, but Wugou shall remain at my estate. In the future, I will groom him to be the new Warden."

"You are utterly shameless..."

"Save your breath. You have no other choice, Lord Warden."

Long Yunzhi emphasized the words "Lord Warden" heavily, his tone thick with undisguised menace.

Mui's expression shifted several times in a short span—unwillingness, hatred, and a mixture of many emotions.

In the end, it all dissolved into a single sigh, "Sigh—"

Long Yunzhi's sense of pleasure reached its peak.

As the sigh faded, Mui vanished from his spot, reappearing only an arm's length away from Long Yunzhi.

"You!"

This time, it was his turn to be shocked.

Mui's movements were decisive, his fist wreathed in flames as he slammed it into Long Yunzhi's chest.

A figure flew backward.

"Bang!"

His back struck the bluestone wall, causing dust to shower down.

It took a full breath of time before the figure slid to the floor.

Long Yunzhi looked quite disheveled, his hair half-unbound from his hairpin, a trail of blood hanging from the corner of his mouth.

The sleeve of his pale green robe had been blasted into tatters by the flaming fist.

Long Yunzhi used his hands, covered in black-green scales, to gently wipe the blood from his lips.

The body-jutsu Black Dragon Imperial had saved his life once again.

He stared at Mui, who stood upon the altar, with the gaze one reserves for the dead.

After blasting Long Yunzhi away, Mui immediately climbed onto the altar, pressing his palm against that strange maw without hesitation.

"Hahaha..."

"If you won't let us father and son live, then no one is leaving this place today!"

The stone door slammed shut, cutting off the only path of escape.

Mui released his chakra, allowing the Box of Ultimate Bliss to consume it, and a fierce wind suddenly whipped through the secret chamber.

The great mouth of the Box of Ultimate Bliss opened wide, forming vortexes that sucked in every living thing within the space.

Mo Jingxian had not expected that watching the show could put his own life in danger, and he couldn't help but wonder if this adventure was truly worth it.

One of Long Yunzhi's subordinates failed to resist the suction and, just like the prisoner before him, was swallowed in one gulp.

The space seemed to distort as the people present were devoured one by one by the Box of Ultimate Bliss.

Strangely, aside from living beings, other objects remained unaffected by the suction.

When the last person vanished, the hall returned to silence.