Red Moon's Blessing

"Are you feeling confused, wondering why the Anomaly Suppression Bureau—or rather, Inspector Yue—would allow the Moon-Worship Cult to extract the life-force and vitality of the many commoners in the three counties of Linhe, setting up this evil Life-Force Extraction Ritual Array, and only intervening after their formation was already operational?"

Chen Mo fell silent for a moment. He did not answer directly, but the doubt in his eyes was clearly seen through by Yue Shan.

Yue Shan took a deep breath and looked at the increasingly hideous Red Moon in the distance, his voice carrying an unprecedented weariness: "Because we have no other choice."

"Do you think the world today is still the same as it was a hundred years ago, before the arrival of the Red Moon?"

"Do you think the United Government is still that behemoth capable of suppressing all directions and ruling the eight wildernesses?" Yue Shan turned his head, his gaze like a torch as he looked at Chen Mo. "Let me tell you, the United Government is now a dilapidated house leaking from every side, relying entirely on a single pillar to barely hold it up and prevent it from collapsing completely!"

"This pillar is the government's only Martial Saint, Xiao Pojun!" Yue Shan's voice trembled noticeably. "But his lifespan is nearing its end."

Chen Mo's pupils shrank!

Martial Saint!

Lifespan nearing its end!

"Only with a Martial Saint sitting at the center, suppressing the world with his might, do those monsters and demons dare not act too recklessly, and do the wolves and tigers across the ocean feel any restraint. But once the Martial Saint falls..." Yue Shan did not continue, but the lingering chill made Chen Mo feel a shiver down his spine.

"Do you know what the situation is like outside?" Yue Shan sneered and began to count them off. "The three northeastern provinces, the White Mountains and Black Waters, are no longer a human realm!"

"After a Yellow Immortal that attained the Dao died, its resentment did not dissipate, combining with the earth's yin sha to transform into a disaster-level Great Anomaly. Within a radius of a thousand miles, all life is extinct. Even the experts from our Anomaly Suppression Bureau face a nine-in-ten chance of death if they enter!"

"In the heart of the Central Plains, there is a statue of a deity calling itself the Thousand-Hand Blood Guanyin. It occupies an ancient city, collecting incense, and anyone who enters the city must offer blood sacrifices; otherwise, they will be drained of their essence and blood, turning into mummified corpses!"

"The government has tried to purge it several times, suffering heavy losses and failing to do anything, so they can only temporarily mark the area as a boundary and tacitly allow its existence!"

"On the southwestern frontier, there is also the Heavenly King Temple. They practice evil Buddhist arts and harbor delusions of establishing a Buddhist kingdom on earth! They have long been eyeing the fertile lands of the Central Plains, only holding back because they fear the power of the Martial Saint."

"And across the ocean!" Yue Shan's tone grew colder. "The Truth Society, the Sun Cult, and many other churches practice extreme purification, viewing all non-believers as filth that must be burned with holy fire! Their tentacles have long since reached inside!"

"Internal strife and external aggression, surrounded by powerful enemies!"

Yue Shan's voice was resolute. "In such a situation, if the meager life-force of the people in these three counties can extend the Martial Saint's life by a thread and stabilize the overall situation, then it is worth it!"

"This is the intention of Inspector Yue, and even the higher-ups!"

He looked at Chen Mo, his eyes carrying a near-cruel clarity.

"Even if it only extends his life for three to five years, it can buy the United Government precious breathing room!"

Yue Shan patted Chen Mo's shoulder with heavy force: "I know this is cruel and heartless, but this is reality."

"In the Anomaly Suppression Bureau, you must learn to view problems from a global perspective. Personal concepts of good and evil, and moral sensibilities, sometimes... must give way in the face of the survival of the race."

Chen Mo was silent for a while before nodding. "Is it only a small amount of their life-force? It isn't a total blood sacrifice?"

Yue Shan turned his head abruptly, his face showing astonishment for the first time. "Where did you get that idea?"

He was caught between laughter and tears. No wonder this kid was ready to run away with his whole family the very next day; it turned out he was afraid of being used to fill the eye of the formation.

"Even if the Anomaly Suppression Bureau were insane, it would be impossible to blood-sacrifice hundreds of thousands of people in the three counties of Linhe."

He shook his head, his tone softening. "The formation laid down by the Moon-Worship Cult is actually not very powerful; its only advantage is its stealth."

"Those affected will be weak, sickly, and perhaps lose some years of life, but they will not drop dead immediately."

"As long as we wait for the Life-Force Cauldron to gather enough vitality and then break the formation, the impact will basically not be very significant."

"Any clear-headed leader, unless they are completely insane or a demon themselves, would never do this to their own foundation. That would be digging their own grave."

Yue Shan pointed toward the Mass Grave Mound: "The Anomaly Suppression Bureau's tacit approval is cold, certainly, but it at least ensures that the vast majority of people can survive."

"Once we seize the Life-Force Cauldron, if we can successfully extend the Martial Saint's life and stabilize the situation, we may be able to find ways to compensate for the losses of these commoners in the future, or provide restitution through other means."

Chen Mo was left speechless by Yue Shan's comparison, only then realizing that his previous question had indeed seemed quite amateurish.

Damn it, he had read too many demonic cultivation novels in his past life, where villages and cities were slaughtered at every turn, causing him to worry for several days.

"Time is almost up. Get ready, release your Paper Puppets and keep a close eye on the Mass Grave Mound."

"Understood!"

Chen Mo said no more. He took out two specially crafted Paper Puppets he had prepared, injected a trace of pure Taiyin Qi into them, and blew on them gently.

The Paper Puppets rose silently like ashes caught in a breeze, drifting through the night toward the outer perimeter of the dirt slope where Zhao Tie was setting up the formation.

Deep within the Mass Grave Mound, in a circular clearing over a hundred feet in diameter, a dozen figures in black robes were using pale white bone powder mixed with a certain blood-colored mineral to outline a massive array of formation patterns on the ground.

The patterns were nested layer upon layer, and suspended in the very center was a three-legged round cauldron, about three feet tall and dark gold in color!

The surface of the cauldron was covered with ancient, mysterious cloud patterns and beast-face reliefs. Pale golden light and mist rose from within it, emitting a majestic wave of vitality.

This cauldron was the Life-Force Cauldron that Yue Changkong was determined to obtain!

Around the perimeter of the formation, forty-nine pitch-black stone pillars stood in specific positions, each topped with a fist-sized, ghostly green crystal.

Between the stone pillars, gray-white lines like spiderwebs connected all the pillars to the core of the formation in the center.

Ten Moon-Worship Cultists in dark red robes stood like statues at key nodes throughout the formation, their hands forming strange mudras as they chanted.

The chanting merged into a surging wave of sound that resonated with the faint light emitted by the formation patterns.

At the very front of the formation, a black-clad figure with a profound aura stood with his hands behind his back; it was none other than Master Liu.

He had already removed his mask, revealing a face with high cheekbones, his eyes staring fanatically at the Life-Force Cauldron in the center.

At the stroke of midnight, the blood moon hung in the sky.

The radiance of that dark red moon suddenly intensified, as if it were truly about to drip blood!

"The Red Moon bestows its blessing, all spirits return to the origin! Rise, formation--!"

Master Liu raised both hands high above his head, his voice filled with fervor!

"BOOM--!!!"