The Sacrifice Begins (Seeking Recommendations)

Jade Island.

By the sea, great waves scoured the sand, their mighty roar shaking the air.

Fang Qing's heart churned just like the sea as he recalled the intelligence he'd gotten from Ma Laosan.

"Such good fortune... education, family traditions?"

"Qi Gathering Method... immortals?"

One clue after another linked together in his mind, forming a conjecture. "For the Luo Family to rule an area, they most likely have cultivators in the family... Their power just isn't a match for the Black Blight Sect, so when others spread plague within their territory, all they can do is watch... But to ordinary people like us, they're still a colossal existence."

"The 'immortal' our Fang Family's immortal ancestor encountered a hundred years ago... couldn't have been surnamed Luo, could he?"

"The Luo Family let our Fang Family obtain the Qi Gathering Method, let us earn silver every year, then establish schools and cultivate a scholarly atmosphere... only for us to gather qi for their family... Were they feeding on our family's fate, or our literary qi?"

The thought made his scalp prickle.

To the Luo Family, the Fang Family had been nothing more than livestock raised for a hundred years!

"No wonder the Fang Family may be poor, but even the children can read. So this was the reason!"

Fang Qing had untangled another doubt in his heart.

By all reason, even if the family had income from the Qi Gathering Method, they couldn't possibly pour all of it into education.

"That means... the Black Blight Sect disciples practicing blightcraft actually disrupted the Luo Family's plans. The Luo Family is probably too busy to look after itself now. Otherwise, they wouldn't have sent only an ordinary man like Ma Laosan to deal with us..."

"But then again, are all cultivators in Ancient Shu this sinister? A single scheme stretched across a hundred years, and even after the plan fell apart, even with only a scattered few left in the Fang Family, they still kept investigating without rest... Was it to kill everyone and silence them, to eliminate future trouble? Or to keep raising pigs?"

"Compared to them, Jade Island, where everything is laid out in the open, could practically be called 'a place of simple, honest folk.'"

Fang Qing's expression turned solemn. "I can't go to Ancient Shu anytime soon..."

The Luo Family had cultivators!

After Ma Laosan's death, they would definitely take the matter more seriously!

And his strength still wasn't enough!

"If I want to deal with cultivators over there, I need at least some magical power, right?"

"Over a hundred years of grudges, what the Fang Family lost was definitely more than a few hundred strands of Moonlit Flow... There must be something even more important!"

Fang Qing clenched his fists. To be penned up and raised for a hundred years—what kind of hatred was that?

One day, he would uncover the truth and make them pay for every last thing!

"The only good news is that Uncle didn't get caught last time... I hope heaven watches over good men."

Fang Qing sighed and returned to Dahua Fishing Village.

The moment he entered the village, several young men came up to meet him.

The man in front was tall and dark-skinned.

Fang Qing recognized them. They were village hooligans, and their leader was called Ruan Qi.

"Fang Qing... You left, so why did you come back?"

Ruan Qi's expression darkened when he saw Fang Qing.

"Naturally, because I can't stand watching you bully orphans and widowed elders." Fang Qing shook his head. Over the past three months, he'd picked up plenty of news in the fishing village.

For instance, every household had both a quota and an obligation for the Dragon King Festival each year.

Without him, who knew what price Old Man Cha's family would have had to pay.

They might even have been driven to ruin and death. In a sense, that was another way of devouring a household with no heirs.

"Hmph! I'll wait for you to die on Sea Dragon Reef!"

Ruan Qi's gaze sharpened as though he wanted to make a move, but something held him back. He merely sneered.

Fang Qing brushed past him and headed for Old Man Cha's home.

"Young man, did you manage to find out everything during these past few days away? No other family could possibly offer conditions as good as this old man's."

Old Man Cha stroked his brass-tipped smoking pipe, an expectant smile on his face. He didn't look like a man who'd been forced into a dead end at all.

"This old man... is quite composed."

Fang Qing chuckled inwardly. If I clapped my hands and said I wasn't playing anymore, would he vomit blood?

Still, the man had, after all, "saved" him and formed a good karmic bond with him. He definitely couldn't do that.

"Of course."

He nodded.

"Excellent. This old man will take you to register your household right away." A smile appeared on Old Man Cha's face as he knocked the bowl of his pipe against the bluestone slab beneath him. "Leave everything to this old man. You can rest easy."

He intended to register Fang Qing under his own household. That way, having Fang Qing contribute during the Dragon King Festival would be perfectly justified.

Yes, the so-called "Treasure Fish" had been a pretext Old Man Cha threw out from the very beginning.

What he truly wanted was for Fang Qing to attend the sacrifice in his family's place. That alone would be enough.

If they obtained a Treasure Fish, that would be an unexpected delight. If not, there was nothing to regret.

With a Treasure Fish, Zhu'er might have something to fall back on after the Immortal Destiny Assembly. But if their family fell apart before the Immortal Destiny Assembly, then they would have nothing at all!

"Mm."

Fang Qing said nothing more and gave a slight nod.

Old Man Cha turned and left. Yet after turning his back, his eyes suddenly dimmed, as though he felt somewhat guilty.

"Raise the sails... welcome the Dragon King!"

On the day of the Sea Dragon King's Birth.

Following an old fisherman's desolate yet ringing cry, dozens of small boats set out from Dahua Fishing Village.

Fang Qing wore a straw rain cape, his face painted with colored designs, an unknown feather stuck in his hair. He grumbled inwardly, This outfit... is really something.

Yet he stood there with a solemn expression, looking at the "offerings" beside him.

Among those offerings were wine and meat, rare good things for the fishermen. A medicinal fragrance faintly seeped from the surfaces of the dark wine jars.

What amazed him even more was that after they sailed several miles out to sea, wave after wave of fishing boats joined them, converging like a hundred rivers flowing into the ocean until they formed a massive fleet.

"Just how many people are taking part in this Sea Dragon Birth?"

Fang Qing couldn't help sucking in a cold breath at the sight.

"Blackfish Village, Upper Red Village, Lower Red Village... they've all come."

"Heh heh... You young ones have seen too little. This Sea Dragon King Festival is a celebration for all of Jade Island... There are over a hundred Sea Dragon Reefs alone."

Beside him, a dark-skinned fisherman with thin lips mocked him.

Fang Qing recognized the man. He seemed to be one of the hooligans who'd followed Ruan Qi before.

"Over a hundred Sea Dragon Reefs?"

He marveled inwardly. This scale... is truly frightening. Jade Island is quite large too... Though it makes sense. They say the proportion of ordinary people with immortal destiny is nearly one in a thousand. How many children of the right age could one village even have?

Sea Dragon Reef!

From afar, the reef looked like a Giant Turtle lying prone, its limbs spread wide, with excellent mooring berths formed in the gaps between its claws.

At this time, fishing boats pulled ashore one after another. The many fishermen formed a long snake and gathered toward the center of the island.

"This island isn't small either..."

Fang Qing carried the wine, his steps incomparably steady.

Most fishermen had practiced the Thousand-Kilogram Drop. It was basic training.

Everyone moved swiftly and soon reached the island's center, where they found a lake. The evening glow shimmered in myriad hues, light rippling across the water as golden liquid swayed.

"We're here... Coiled Dragon Mooring!"

"The sacrifice... begins!"

Several old fishermen shouted as the crowd began arranging the offerings, building bonfires and sacrificial altars...

Fang Qing noticed that everyone moved quickly, as if they feared missing the hour and being unable to flee in time.

"Nightfall... truly holds great terror!"

He had no mind to admire the scenery and merely calculated in silence.

Sure enough, once the sacrifice ended, the crowd fled impatiently, leaving only several dozen strongmen behind to watch the offerings, staring at one another in dismay.

In Fang Qing's eyes, they were less guards than the true "offerings"!

After all, in ancient times, using people as sacrifices had been perfectly normal—commonly known as "burying living foundation stakes," "human pillars," and the like...

The night grew deep. The darkness outside resembled a monstrous beast opening its bloody maw, ready to choose someone and devour them.

Seeing this, Fang Qing silently made up his mind and walked several steps away.

"Wait... What are you doing?"

The hooligan from the same boat had kept his eyes on Fang Qing. Seeing him leave, he immediately shouted.

"Just taking a walk... Anyway, once darkness falls, no boats can leave Sea Dragon Reef. That's an iron rule... And as long as the offerings don't leave the bounds of Coiled Dragon Mooring, it's fine, right?"

Fang Qing didn't stop walking and soon vanished into the darkness.

Above the altar, huge torches flickered, illuminating the hooligan's face until it looked like a vicious ghost.

His cheek twitched a few times as he sneered. "Just as expected of an outsider. Leaving Coiled Dragon Mooring during the sacrifice... he'll only die more miserably!"

The strongmen from the other villages said nothing, merely edging closer to the torches.

The night... grew deeper still.

One incense stick's time passed, then a little less than a quarter hour, then half an hour...

Rustle!

Rustle!

Suddenly, rustling sounded from every direction, as though some enormous creature were crushing sand, stones, and grass beneath it, making the surrounding shrubs let out cries of agony under the unbearable pressure.

"It's... here."

Every strongman atop the altar turned deathly pale. They might not recognize the owner of that sound, but from the faint rustling alone, they could imagine just what kind of colossal creature was wandering nearby, drawing closer...

Closer, and closer still...

Finally...

As the hooligan nearly suffocated, he saw two bewitching crimson lights. They rapidly grew larger, like two red lanterns in the darkness!

Hissss!

"Ahhh!!"

"No... don't!"

"Sea Dragon King... spare us!"

"We've always worshipped you devoutly, offered to you, offered..."

On another Desolate Island, countless strongmen serving as offerings screamed as they fled, yet they couldn't escape the devouring maw.

If one looked down from the clouds, one would see that it was actually a giant python with a body thicker than a water barrel.

After swallowing every last strongman, it curled its tail around the wine jars offered as sacrifices and drank from them like a gale sweeping away fallen leaves. Its movements became even more unrestrained and drunken. It carelessly slithered up a hillside and began inhaling and exhaling toward the Bright Moon in the sky.

Threads of purple mist curled around the blue giant snake, making it appear ever more dreamlike and illusory.

"Good! This snake has learned to breathe in spiritual essence. It has finally entered the ranks and become a demon beast!"

Above the clouds floated an enormous Green Leaf.

At the leaf's tip stood a young man in blue robes. Watching the scene below, he couldn't help laughing. "Out of the hundred and eight island reefs, ours has succeeded. When we return, there should be quite a bit of merit to reward us with... If Little Blue proves capable, and one day awakens a trace of Flood Dragon blood in its body to become a Second-Order demon beast, then perhaps you and I may place our hopes of Foundation Establishment on it..."

"Senior Brother Green Leaf..."

Behind the blue-robed young man stood a young disciple, his face showing reluctance. "Year after year of blood sacrifices, all to raise this pack of Sea Snakes with Flood Dragon bloodlines?"