novelzi Chapter 116: Performing the Ghost Altar Ritual
Chapter 116: Performing the Ghost Altar Ritual
Chapter 116: Performing the Ghost Altar Ritual
A Cloud Sail slowly descended toward Divine Fortune City.
The Cloud Sail was the most common means of transport for both goods and people in the seven major clans of the Fourth World. It traveled between the fragmented lands at a slow pace and could not fly to the Third World.
A man named He Hui stood on the deck of the Cloud Sail as he looked at the approaching Divine Fortune City. He had a commanding presence and had just entered the Marrow Cleansing Realm.
A loyal advisor of the He Clan accompanied He Hui in gazing at Divine Fortune City and commented, "It's much more empty than before. The influential families loyal to the Shangguan Clan have all evacuated via Cloud Sails.
"The rogue cultivators have to pay an exorbitant fee. Their memories are also searched to ensure they have no ties to the Shadow Specter Sect before being allowed to leave."
The advisor glanced toward the western district and shook his head.
"The commoners are unaware of the impending danger. They only know that the city's population is dwindling."
He Hui did not respond. He had been in a terrible mood since finding out that both his brother, He Rong, and his son, He Ziren, had perished in the Solitary Mountain Range.
Not long ago, he learned from the Su Clan that Hong Tai of the Shadow Specter Sect had killed his son, He Ziren, and that his brother had died at the hands of the traitor, Dong Tianze of the Dong Clan.
Only Su Meng, Zhou Qingchen, and Han Duping had survived, having escaped to the Third World through a Mirror Tunnel.
"Ziren is dead. Hong Tai has a nephew named Hong Jian who is making a name for himself in Divine Fortune City!" He Hui suppressed his inner grief. "I've come to Divine Fortune City not only to understand the extent of the catastrophe but also to ensure the death of Hong Jian!"
The advisor nodded. "My lord, Shangguan Dong and Ouyang Quan are also searching for Hong Jian. Hong Tai is said to have killed Ouyang Duanhai, Shangguan Qin, and their clan members in the Solitary Mountain Range as well."
He Hui coldly declared, "No one from the Shadow Specter Sect will leave Divine Fortune alive!"
***
Three Cloud Sails, each filled with cultivators from the seven major clans, roamed the skies above Misty Swamp.
They patrolled day and night.
Those aboard the Cloud Sails targeted Shadow Specter Sect members and rogue cultivators unable to prove their dissociation from the sect.
Resistors were killed on the spot. Non-resisters were captured and imprisoned, destined to be handed over later to the Radiant Sun Sect and the Star River Alliance. The Gilded Chariot and the Fire Cloud Ship transported them to the fragmented lands contaminated by murky energy.
The Star River Alliance implanted Stellar Eyes into these prisoners before tossing them into the contaminated lands to observe what was happening below.
***
Standing in a marsh shrouded in pale green miasma were the three hall masters, Meng Qiulan, Yang Yuansen, and Zhao Ling.
Even if a Cloud Sail passed overhead, it was impossible to see through the haze without descending into the marsh.
Nothing could be seen at night.
The group stood around a four-sided altar.
"Hong Jian!" Meng Qiulan exclaimed. She looked around and asked in a chastising tone, "Are all our lookouts dead?"
"No. It's dark, and I'm too fast for them to notice," Pang Jian replied calmly.
Glancing at the Ghost Altar Meng Qiulan was dismantling, Pang Jian sensed a familiar aura. He had felt this eerie aura when he destroyed the skull-shaped array in the Solitary Mountain Range.
Perhaps the Shadow Specter Sect has connections to the Sinister Soul Temple, Pang Jian thought.
"You've been gone for a long time," Zhao Ling said, standing up and staring at Pang Jian. "While you were gone, we..."
She shook her head as her voice trailed off, unwilling to continue.
Their strongholds had been dismantled one after another, Fan Liang had been captured, and many of their subordinates in the Meridian Opening Realm had been killed or injured.
The remaining members of the Shadow Specter Sect in Divine Fortune numbered fewer than forty. Most were scattered across Misty Swamp, hiding in caves or submerged in lakes, and living in constant fear of being discovered by the Cloud Sails patrolling above.
"Is this the Ghost Altar?" Pang Jian asked with an intent gaze. "I heard hall masters can use it to communicate with the Sect Leader and exchange rare materials."
"It can only be reactivated after a while," Meng Qiulan nodded. Smiling bitterly at him, she said. "Hong Jian, it's a pity you didn't leave Divine Fortune earlier. With your cultivation realm and youth, if you had gone to another branch of the Shadow Specter Sect, you would've been given a grand welcome."
"I heard the Sect Leader intends for me to take over as the hall master of Divine Fortune?" Pang Jian asked.
Meng Qiulan was speechless. "The seven major clans are hunting us all down. Does being a hall master still hold any significance to you now?"
Pang Jian was silent for a long moment before finally saying, "You all may die, but I might not."
"Kid!" Yang Yuansen shouted angrily. "Where were you when we were fleeing in disgrace and our subordinates were being killed? According to the plan, you should've joined us the next day! Do you really think you can survive?"
"Yes."
Meanwhile, Wu Yi, Bai Wei, and Bai Zhi approached upon hearing the commotion.
Seeing Pang Jian, they cried out, "Hong Jian!"
"We thought you were already dead," Bai Wei said, eyes red with heartfelt sorrow. "So many people have died, familiar faces killed day after day. I thought you were among them."
Bai Zhi bit her lower lip, and silently but eagerly stared at him.
"Elder Meng, you know I've always been interested in these two sisters. We're all destined to die in Divine Fortune anyway, so why don't you just let me have them, fulfill my wish, and let me die in peace in Divine Fortune ?" Yang Yuansen boldly suggested.
"I don't want that!"
"I don't want to be with him!"
Bai Zhi and Bai Wei screamed simultaneously. They then glanced hopefully at Pang Jian.
If they were destined to serve someone before dying, they wanted it to be him.