A prancing clown, unworthy of a single kick! At the ends of heaven and earth, Hong Yuan was here!

Scalding blood splashed everywhere. Members of the Stone Demon Tribe carried severed heads beneath the altar, immediately drawing waves of cheers.

Clad in animal hides and hide armor, with great swaths of painted tattoos covering their bodies and faces, the Stone Demon tribespeople either danced and shouted in delight or prostrated themselves, chanting obscure, incomprehensible prayers.

Some even sliced open the chests and bellies of the corpses with stone knives, gouging out their hearts and devouring them in great mouthfuls.

Once one batch had been slaughtered, over a hundred more Yin men and women were brought in and forced to kneel beneath the altar.

The eyelids of several Black Armor Sect disciples twitched, their expressions darkening slightly.

Living in the north, where warfare raged year after year, they were hardly frightened by such a scene. Yet watching Yin people butchered like livestock by a band of barbarians they regarded as uncivilized still left them uneasy.

Zhao Tianheng, by contrast, showed no change of expression and watched with a cheerful smile.

"Mr. Zhao, you've come such a long way to witness our Stone Demon Tribe's sacrificial ceremony. Thank you for the effort!"

Shi Hong wore an animal-hide skirt, his upper body bare, revealing his muscular torso. Blood had been used as ink to paint rune-like patterns across his face.

He approached Zhao Tianheng with a chuckle, his tone warm.

"You're too kind, young friend Shi Hong. You haven't visited our Black Armor Sect in quite some time. This old man has been missing you dearly," Zhao Tianheng said with a hearty laugh.

"That's certainly my fault. Official duties have kept me busy, and I truly couldn't get away. Otherwise, I would have come to trouble your Black Armor Sect long ago."

Shi Hong narrowed his long, slender eyes and grinned. "You