"Everyone, be careful. There's something strange about this altar!" Wu Guang said gravely, staring at the altar deep in the mountain forest.
Yang Zhen rolled his eyes. Even a fool could see that there was definitely something strange about this place. Hidden within those violent fluctuations of Fire Essence was something that could affect women's minds. This place wasn't just strange; it was downright sinister.
A trace of shame and anger flashed across the faces of Lu Xueqing and the other women as they stared fixedly at the altar before them. Even so, it was clear they were somewhat wary of it.
Some poisons were designed specifically to deal with women. Once afflicted, their victims would meet an unimaginably miserable end, one even worse than death.
Seeing that everyone was hesitant, Yang Zhen patted his chest and said, "Don't worry, cousin. As long as I'm here, even if King Yama of the Nine Netherworlds comes, I'll kick him right back down."
Although Lu Xueqing's expression was a little strange, she couldn't help laughing. She gave Yang Zhen a grateful look and unconsciously moved closer to him.
The other women also came over to Yang Zhen. A delicate-looking woman exclaimed, "Huh? It seems that unpleasant feeling lessens when we're near Young Master Yang."
"What?" The other women were stunned, their faces full of surprise.
Lu Xueqing also realized it. Her whole body trembled, and she looked at Yang Zhen in disbelief.
Although Yang Zhen didn't know what the hell was going on either, he still waved a hand and spread his arms with boundless bravado. "When I was fighting a black bear in the mountains, I ate a kind of fruit. The village chief said I'm immune to all poisons now. Ladies, come, come, move a little closer."
"Pah, lecher!"
"What nonsense are you spouting? What do you mean, move a little closer?"
The group all flushed, both annoyed and embarrassed.
Lu Xueqing stared at Yang Zhen for a while, then snorted and said, "Stay behind us in a little while."
Yang Zhen was shocked. "Cousin, are you worried about me?"
"Who's worried about you?" Lu Xueqing glared at him. "I just don't want you to die here without knowing why. After all, you still have to find your... find your cousin!"
Yang Zhen burst out laughing and said, "It's fine. The village chief said I'm hard to kill. I'll take the lead. A real man never chickens out."
Wu Guang stared at Yang Zhen, dumbfounded. Although his words were so crude and vulgar, Lu Xueqing and the other women gave Yang Zhen surprised looks, and they actually seemed to admire him greatly?
"No, no, no, Brother Yang, this was my responsibility to begin with. How could I let you put yourself in danger? I'll take the lead instead. You stay behind and protect Junior Sister and the others."
"Okay!" Yang Zhen answered promptly.
Wu Guang froze. He stumbled and nearly bit his own tongue.
You... you can do that?
You were just talking as if your loyalty and courage could reach the clouds, and your heroic spirit could pierce the heavens. I only wanted to show that I was a real man too, so how did you change your mind so quickly?
Wu Guang nearly cursed. For some reason, he suddenly felt as if he'd fallen into a pit.
Yang Zhen patted Wu Guang on the shoulder and praised him. "Now that's a real man. I'm behind you!"
Wu Guang opened his mouth but said nothing. Lu Xueqing stepped forward and said gently, "Senior Brother, go on without worry!"
"That's right, Senior Brother Wu, go on without worry!"
"Yes, yes, go on without worry. You don't need to worry about us. You're amazing!"
The bevy of women came up one after another to express their concern. Wu Guang wanted to cry but had no tears. With a bitter smile, he said, "I'm going!"
Yang Zhen nearly burst out laughing on the spot. Taking the lead was out of the question; he'd never do it in this lifetime. He could only follow behind others and see if there were any treasures.
If there really was any danger, even being cousins wouldn't do. Yang Zhen had long been ready to grease his soles and slip away.
Wu Guang led several male disciples toward the altar. Yang Zhen followed behind with Lu Xueqing, the other women, and a few male disciples of relatively low strength.
The closer they got to the altar, the stronger the strange feeling in Yang Zhen's heart became.
Lu Xueqing and the other women were pale, but their temples were flushed, and fine beads of sweat had appeared on their foreheads. They moved even closer to Yang Zhen.
The altar looked deathly white and rather old. The entrance was damp and slippery, covered in all kinds of moss.
A damp, stuffy smell wafted out. Yang Zhen watched Wu Guang and the others enter, and was just about to ask Lu Xueqing and the others to wait a moment when a startled cry rang out.
"Something's wrong!" Lu Xueqing's expression changed, and she was about to rush past Yang Zhen and inside.
Yang Zhen hurried after her and immediately found himself in a dim, shadowy place.
Inside the altar was a vast underground world. The stifling heat and humidity were hard to get used to, but it wasn't dark inside. Instead, a faint green light shone over the deathly pale stone surfaces. Farther in, Wu Guang and the others stood rooted to the spot, staring in horror at the edge of a stone platform ahead.
More than ten people knelt in a semicircle around the edge of the stone platform, all facing it with their heads bowed. None showed any sign of life.
What made their hair stand on end was that all the flesh and blood on these people's bodies had vanished. Their clothes hung loosely over their skeletons, their skulls were exposed, and clumps of hair lay scattered around them.
"These people died not long ago," Wu Guang said gravely. "How cruel. It looks as though something sucked the flesh and blood right out of them while they were still alive."
Lu Xueqing and the other women looked utterly sickened. The clothes on the people before them were intact, and they were very likely the cultivators who had disappeared in the volcanic forest over the past few days.
The stone platform seemed to be hollow, and waves of violent Fire Essence erupted from beneath it, bringing unbearable heat.
"It looks like some kind of evil ritual. Have any of you heard of it?" Wu Guang turned and asked the others.
Everyone shook their heads. Yang Zhen had heard even less about it. Only Lu Xueqing's expression seemed a little off, and Yang Zhen quietly paid her some attention.
The terrifying eruption of Fire Essence continued. Wu Guang and the others endured the heat and stepped forward to look inside the stone platform.
"What is this?" Wu Guang reached in and took out a fruit the size of a fist. It was bright red, like a heart, and had an eerie appearance.
Something stirred in Yang Zhen's heart. He stepped forward and picked one up as well, examining it closely.
It was indeed a fruit, and it was perfectly preserved, fresh and juicy enough to make his mouth water.
What struck Yang Zhen as strange was that he actually felt a powerful urge to eat one. He could also sense a powerful, eerie fluctuation of energy within the fruit.
Lu Xueqing suddenly let out a startled cry from behind the crowd, giving everyone a fright. Wu Guang hurriedly dropped the fruit and looked at her.
"What is it?" Wu Guang looked grave. When he noticed where Lu Xueqing was looking, he asked in surprise, "Did you think of something?"
Lu Xueqing's beautiful face was bright red. She nodded and said, "If I'm not mistaken, these should be Heavenly Fragrance Fruits."
Everyone was stunned. Wu Guang turned back to look at the fruit inside the stone platform. There were more than a dozen of them.
"What is a Heavenly Fragrance Fruit?"
"I only happened to read a legend about the Heavenly Fragrance Fruit in an ancient book. The fruit is shaped like a heart and tastes fragrant and crisp. It grows in places of Demonization in the extreme depths of the abyss and is the sacred fruit of the Blood Spirit Clan. When a woman of the Blood Spirit Clan comes of age, she picks a Heavenly Fragrance Fruit and has the man she loves eat it. Within half an hour of eating it, his body gives off waves of a strange fragrance that make the woman... lose herself in passion..."
Lu Xueqing grew more embarrassed as she spoke. Her beautiful face was bright red as she gritted her teeth and said, "She does that with the man, and the man will most likely lose his reason and continue without stopping for six hours. In the end... in the end, his Qi and Blood will be depleted, and he'll die."
Hiss!
Everyone present drew a sharp breath, their expressions strange. The entire altar fell deathly silent.
Crunch, crunch.
Just then, the sound of chewing rang out. Everyone turned around in horror. Yang Zhen was holding a Heavenly Fragrance Fruit, eating it with his mouth full of juice and wiping his lips from time to time.
At the sight, everyone's mouths fell wider and wider open...