The Sacrifice Begins (Seeking Recommendations)

Jade Island.

By the seaside, great waves sifted the sand, their momentum vast and terrifying.

Fang Qing's heart surged like the sea itself as he recalled the intelligence he had obtained from Ma Laosan.

"Good fate... schooling, family traditions?"

"Qi Gathering Method... immortals?"

One clue after another linked together in his mind, forming a conjecture. "For the Luo Family to rule over a region, there was an eighty percent chance they had cultivators in their household... They were simply weaker than the Black Blight Sect, so when others spread plagues within their territory, they could only watch helplessly... But to ordinary people like us, they were still a colossal existence."

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

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

At that thought, a chill ran down his spine.

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

"No wonder that although my Fang Family was poor, even our children could read. So this was the reason!"

Fang Qing unraveled another doubt in his heart.

By all reason, even if the family had income from the Qi Gathering Method, they could not possibly have poured all of it into education.

"So it seemed... the Black Blight Sect disciples casting blights had instead disrupted the Luo Family's plans. The Luo Family was probably too busy looking after itself now. Otherwise, they would not have sent only an ordinary man like Ma Laosan to deal with us..."

"But then again, were all the cultivators in the Land of Ancient Shu this sinister? A single scheme stretched across a century, and even after the plan had fallen apart, when my Fang Family had only a couple of stray cats and dogs left, they still pursued us without relent... Was it to silence us and eliminate future trouble? Or to keep raising pigs?"

Compared to that, Jade Island, where everything was laid out in the open, could practically be called "simple and honest in its customs."

Fang Qing's expression turned grave. "I cannot go to Ancient Shu anytime soon..."

The Luo Family had cultivators!

After Ma Laosan's death, they would certainly take this more seriously!

And his current strength was still insufficient!

"If I wanted to deal with cultivators over there, I had to at least possess mana, right?"

"A hundred years of grudges... What my Fang Family lost was definitely not merely a few hundred strands of Moonlit Flow... There had to be something even more important!"

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

One day, he would surely uncover the truth and repay every debt in full!

"The only good news is that Uncle wasn't caught last time... I just hope fortune watches over him."

Fang Qing sighed and returned to Dahua Fishing Village.

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

The leader was tall and dark-skinned.

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

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

When Ruan Qi saw Fang Qing, his expression was somewhat ugly.

"Naturally, because I couldn't bear to watch you bully an orphan and an old man..." Fang Qing shook his head. Over the past three months, he had picked up quite a bit of news in the fishing village.

For example, during every Dragon King Festival, each household had its allotted quota and obligation.

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

They might even have been driven into ruin and death. In a sense, that would also have been devouring a household with no heirs.

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

A fierce glint flashed through Ruan Qi's eyes. He seemed to want to make a move, but had some misgivings and merely sneered.

Fang Qing brushed past him and arrived at Old Man Cha's home.

"Young man, did you find out clearly during your trip these past few days? No other household could possibly offer conditions as good as this old man's."

Old Man Cha stroked the copper-tipped pipe in his hand. Anticipation filled his face, and he did not look like a man driven to a dead end at all.

"This old man... was rather composed."

Fang Qing secretly laughed. If I clapped my hands and said I was done playing now, would he cough up blood?

Still, the old man had "saved" him after all, forging a good karmic bond. Fang Qing certainly could not do that.

"Of course."

He nodded.

"Excellent. This old man will take you to register your household at once."

A smile appeared on Old Man Cha's face. He knocked the bowl of his pipe against the bluestone slab beneath him. "Leave everything to this old man. You may rest assured."

He intended to register Fang Qing under his own household, so Fang Qing's contribution during the Dragon King Festival would be entirely aboveboard.

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

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

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

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

"Mm."

Fang Qing said nothing and lightly nodded.

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

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

On the day of the Dragon King Festival.

Following the desolate yet ringing call of an old fisherman, dozens of small boats set out from Dahua Fishing Village.

Fang Qing wore a straw rain cape, his face smeared with paint, with unknown feathers stuck in his hair. This outfit... was truly something else.

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

These "offerings" included wine and meat, all rare luxuries for the fishermen. A medicinal fragrance faintly seeped from the surfaces of the dark wine jars.

What astonished him even more was that, after sailing several nautical miles, wave after wave of fishing boats joined them, converging like a hundred rivers flowing into the sea and forming a great fleet.

"How many people were involved in this Sea Dragon Birth?"

Seeing this, Fang Qing could not help drawing in a sharp breath.

"Blackfish Village, Upper Red Village, Lower Red Village... They all came."

"Heh heh... You youngsters have seen nothing. This 'Dragon King Festival' is the celebration of our Jade Island... There are more than 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 had followed behind Ruan Qi before.

"More than a hundred Sea Dragon Reefs?"

He was inwardly astonished. This scale... was truly frightening. Jade Island was quite large too... But thinking about it, that was only natural. They said the proportion of ordinary people with immortal affinity was nearly one in a thousand. How many children of suitable age could a single village have?

Sea Dragon Reef!

From afar, the reef resembled a gigantic turtle lying prone, its limbs spread wide, with excellent berths formed between the gaps of its claws.

At this time, fishing boats docked one after another, while countless fishermen formed a long serpent-like line and gathered toward the center of the island.

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

Fang Qing carried the wine, his steps utterly steady.

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

Everyone moved swiftly, arriving at the center of the island, where they saw a lake beneath myriad streaks of sunset. Its rippling surface shimmered as golden liquid swayed upon it.

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

"The sacrifice... begins!"

Several old fishermen shouted as the crowd began setting out offerings, building bonfires, and erecting the altar...

Fang Qing noticed that everyone moved quickly, as if they feared being late and not having time to flee.

"At night... there really was some great terror!"

He had no mind to admire the sight and only calculated silently.

Sure enough, once the sacrifice was over, the crowd fled impatiently, leaving only several dozen strongmen assigned to guard the offerings staring at one another.

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

After all, in ancient times, human sacrifice had been entirely normal. It was commonly called "burying a living foundation," "human pillars," and the like...

The night deepened, and the darkness outside resembled a colossal beast opening its blood-filled 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 been watching Fang Qing all along. Seeing him leave, he immediately shouted.

"Just taking a walk... In any case, once night falls, no boats can leave Sea Dragon Reef. That is an ironclad rule... And as long as the offerings do not leave the bounds of Coiled Dragon Mooring, it is fine, right?"

Fang Qing did not stop walking and quickly vanished into the darkness.

Upon the altar, the enormous torches flickered, casting the hooligan who had spoken into the likeness of an evil ghost.

His face twitched a few times before he sneered. "Just as expected of an outsider. Leaving Coiled Dragon Mooring during the sacrifice... will only make him die even more miserably!"

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

The night... deepened further.

The time for an incense stick passed. Then a quarter of an hour, then half an hour...

Rustle!

Rustle!

Suddenly, rustling sounds came from every direction, as though some gigantic creature was crushing gravel and grass beneath it, making the surrounding shrubs cry out under unbearable strain.

"It... it's here."

Every strongman on the altar went pale. Perhaps they did not know the owner of that sound, but from the faint rustling alone, they could already imagine what sort of colossal monster was wandering closer...

Closer, and closer still...

Finally...

As the hooligan nearly suffocated, he saw two points of bewitching crimson light rapidly grow larger, like two red lanterns in the darkness!

Hiss!

"Ahhh!!"

"No... Don't!"

"Sea Dragon King... spare us!"

"We have always devoutly served you, served you..."

On another Desolate Island, countless strongmen offered as sacrifices screamed and fled, yet could not escape being swallowed by a huge maw.

If one looked down from the clouds, one would discover that it was in fact a great python, its girth thicker than a water barrel.

It swallowed every strongman whole, then curled its tail around the jars of wine offered as sacrifices and drank them with the force of a sweeping wind scattering clouds. Its movements became ever more wanton and intoxicated as it carelessly slithered to a hillside and began drawing in and exhaling toward the bright moon overhead.

Strands of purple mist wound around the blue giant serpent, making it seem increasingly dreamlike and illusory.

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

Above the clouds floated an enormous green leaf.

At the tip of the leaf stood a young man in blue robes. Watching the scene, he burst into laughter. "Of the one hundred and eight islands and reefs, ours has succeeded. When we return, we should receive quite a few merit rewards... If this Little Blue proves capable and can awaken a trace of Flood Dragon blood in its body, becoming a Second-Order demon beast, then perhaps the hope of Foundation Establishment for you and me will lie with it..."

"Senior Brother Green Leaf..."

Behind the blue-robed young man stood another young disciple, his face bearing an expression of unbearable pity. "Year after year of blood sacrifices, all to raise this group of Sea Snakes with Flood Dragon bloodlines?"