The Gu God Ritual
It must be said that the Nether River District is indeed a gathering place for Evil Cultivator.
The journey Qin Fei had taken had broadened his horizons considerably.
He saw corpse-drivers, ghost cultivators possessed by evil spirits, and Devil Cultivator with sharp horns on their heads and scales on their faces...
What intrigued Qin Fei the most was a group of paper figures he encountered along the way.
The paper figures were carrying a coffin, digging for paper money with their hands. Even the gaunt man avoided them from a distance.
According to the man, that was the Ghost Mother's underworld marriage team, which specifically sought out handsome monks to be her male concubines for her enjoyment.
The Ghost Mother is one of the five Core Formation in the Nether River District.
This made Qin Fei sigh, "The world of cultivation is indeed full of wonders."
Another half hour passed, and the two finally arrived at the location of the Blood Gu Sect.
This is a dilapidated mansion. Rows of dark brown water vats are placed at the entrance. Under the cover of Divine Sense, nothing inside the vats can be hidden.
It turned out to be a series of corpses and a large number of insect eggs.
Several red ribbons hung at the entrance of the dilapidated mansion, and guests came and went in an endless stream, as if a happy occasion was being held.
The guard greeted the gaunt man with a fawning smile.
"Senior Brother Liang is back. The sect leader is looking for you."
"Did you say why you wanted to see me?"
"Naturally, it's for the new Gu seed."
As he spoke, he glanced at Qin Fei and chuckled dryly:
"A Gu seed at the Qi Refining Seventh Layer, as expected of Senior Brother, you managed to capture one. If the Sect Master finds out, he will surely reward you handsomely."
He hadn't expected that his compliments would enrage the gaunt man.
"What nonsense are you talking about? I haven't captured any Gu seeds; I was just following the sect leader's orders."
The guard was completely bewildered, unsure of what he had said wrong, and could only offer an awkward smile.
The gaunt man glanced furtively at Qin Fei, cold sweat pouring down his back.
"I'm asking you, why did you suddenly hang up red silk all of a sudden?"
"You mean this? A while ago, didn't the sect leader acquire a pair of virgin boys and girls? Today he's throwing a grand banquet, preparing a blood sacrifice to feed the Gu poison. Maybe their power will increase greatly afterward!"
Upon hearing this, the gaunt man felt an urge to slap himself.
He had intended to take the initiative to ask Qin Fei a question to show his goodwill, but he never expected to receive this worst possible answer.
"Senior, I truly knew nothing about this."
"We agreed before that we would release the two children once we found the Gu seed, but who knew things would change!"
Qin Fei chuckled, but his smile turned colder.
Under the influence of his Divine Sense, the entire area within a two-mile radius was under his control.
This place is full of cultivators in the Qi Refinement Realm. Only one residence in the center of the mansion is shrouded in a protective barrier, making it impossible to sense.
If we force an investigation, we'll likely be discovered.
However, Qin Fei was not without a solution. He narrowed his eyes, and a vertical eye suddenly appeared between his brows.
The gaze passed through the walls and finally landed on the restriction.
The restriction didn't react at all, as if it didn't exist.
The scene inside the house appeared in his mind's eye.
A middle-aged man was sitting cross-legged in meditation, with wisps of white steam rising from his head.
In the corner, two thin figures huddled together, the younger sister sobbing incessantly, while the older brother wiped away her tears.
Tang Ping'an and Tang Lening.
Seeing that the two were unharmed, Qin Fei breathed a slight sigh of relief.
Having confirmed that there were no other Foundation Establishment cultivators, he withdrew his gaze, and his vertical eye disappeared.
It all happened in the blink of an eye, though it seemed to happen slowly. Neither the gaunt man nor the guards noticed anything unusual.
"Senior, we..."
"It's alright. Since you've prepared such a grand banquet, please come in and have a seat."
Dozens of banquet tables were set up inside the mansion, and most of them were already occupied by guests.
Directly in front was a huge altar, on which sat a large cauldron, with three sticks of incense burning and emitting white smoke.
Beside the large cauldron stood a tall stone statue, which was none other than an ugly worm.
The two casually chose an empty spot to sit down. Qin Fei, completely oblivious to being in enemy territory, actually closed his eyes to rest.
The gaunt man had never felt time pass so slowly; every minute and second felt like torture.
As the number of guests increased and the sun shone brightly in the sky, the main guest finally appeared.
"It's noon, the ceremony begins--"
A solemn voice rang out, and Blood Gu Rogue Person led two small hands up to the altar.
He relit three sticks of incense and knelt before the stone statue on the altar.
"By the Gu God, your disciple, Blood Gu Rogue Person, offers a pair of young boys and girls, praying for Gu God protection and divine power."
As soon as the words were spoken, the stone statue began to shake violently.
A stream of dark red blood flowed from the stone statue's mouth and nose, following the pre-carved grooves, and flowed towards Tang Ping'an and the other person.
Qin Fei narrowed his eyes slightly. He could sense that the black blood carried a devouring power, which originated from the same source as the Gu worm in Old Zhang's body.
Just as he was about to make his move, four beams of light suddenly rose in the sky, surrounding the entire mansion.
A wildly arrogant laugh echoed from the horizon:
"On such a joyous occasion, why was I not invited?"
The figure approached from afar, and it turned out to be a fair-skinned, handsome, and otherworldly Daoist priest.
Two paper figures stood on its shoulders, one with flames burning in its eyes and the other with a row of sharp fangs.
Blood Gu Rogue Person's expression darkened, and he said in a sinister tone:
"You pretty boy, instead of properly serving your Ghost Mother, you're causing trouble for your grandfather. Are you looking for death?"
The strange Daoist priest was not angry. He opened his mouth and spewed out a stream of black gas, not targeting the Blood Gu Rogue Person, but instead attacking Tang Ping'an and his companion.
Qin Fei frowned, raised his hand halfway, then lowered it again.
The next moment, Blood Gu Rogue Person moved and stood in front of Tang Ping'an and the other person.
Countless worms sprang out of the body and devoured the black mist in the blink of an eye.
"A mere trick. You are not allowed to touch this pair of virgins until the blood sacrifice of the Gu God is complete."
However, the next moment, his expression changed drastically.
The Gu worms that had been devouring the black energy suddenly burst open one by one and began to die in droves.
"There's something strange about this black aura you exude!"
"Hmph, you old fool, today I'll make you feel the pinch."
The eerie Daoist priest rapidly approached.
Chaos erupted as guests scattered and fled, only to be trapped inside the mansion by the protective barrier.
No matter how hard they bombarded it, they couldn't budge it an inch.
The gaunt man had been restless for a while, but seeing Qin Fei motionless, he dared not leave alone.
"Senior, should we also avoid this area?"
Qin Fei did not answer. He had originally planned to deal with the Blood Gu Rogue Person himself, but before he could even make a move, a Cheng Yaojin appeared out of nowhere.
Who is that Daoist priest?
"That senior was originally an ordinary Rogue Cultivator. Before he even Foundation Establishment, he was captured by the sect leader and given to the Ghost Mother, becoming one of her male concubines."
"After reaching the Foundation Establishment, he stayed by the Ghost Mother's side, but that's when he also formed a grudge against the sect leader."
Qin Fei seemed to be deep in thought; it seemed the two had a deep-seated grudge, and this time it was a fight to the death.
"Senior, all the other guests have left. It's too conspicuous to have only the two of us left at the table. Perhaps..."
As the gaunt man spoke, he turned his head to look, and what he saw there astonished him.
There was no one else around him; Qin Fei had long since disappeared.
The next moment, a black aura swept over, and the man's body rapidly withered, turning into a dried-up corpse in an instant.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the battlefield, the furious voice of the Blood Gu Rogue Person could be heard.
Who stole my virgin boys and girls?
On the altar, the black blood had only flowed halfway down, and the sacrificial ceremony was not yet complete when Tang Ping'an and his companion vanished without a trace.