Chapter 2037: Sacrifice?

Before he could ask, Nanrong He said, "That's the roar of a large monster. But because the cave system is complex, there's no telling how far away it is from us."

"Where's the small monster you caught?"

"Here."

Directly opposite the cave entrance lay a flat, colossal stone, on which a magical artifact was inverted.

The artifact resembled a food cover used by farmers, or an open umbrella placed upside down on the ground. Its mesh was incredibly fine, preventing anything inside from escaping.

Nanrong He explained that it was the "Mountain-Stabilizing Shield," a magical artifact passed down through the Nanrong family.

The monster confined within was thin and elongated, resembling a human at first glance. But when it turned its face, it appeared like a demon straight out of a nightmare. Its eyes were tiny and blood-red, and its mouth didn't open up and down like a human's but split horizontally, like an insect's mouthparts.

Its gaze, directed at He Lingchuan and the others, was filled with hatred.

Elder Sutuo circled the "Mountain-Stabilizing Shield" twice, then suddenly began to mumble. Few nearby understood what he said.

He was speaking: "Where are you from?"

The monster inside the shield pricked up its ears, showing a hint of focus.

Clearly, it understood.

Then it snarled at Elder Sutuo, nearly spitting saliva onto his face.

To He Lingchuan, the creature was saying:

"You'll all die here too, every single one of you!"

It was indeed Demonic Tongue!

He Lingchuan also asked it, "Where is your master?"

He had already deduced that this creature was either a demonic puppet or a Nether Ghostling. But why did it say "too"?

Did it know it was doomed?

He also used Demonic Tongue. The monster's eyes darted, then fixed on him:

"You, especially you!"

When He Lingchuan tried to question it further, it resumed roaring and gibbering.

The creature seemed quite confused, not very intelligent.

He Lingchuan suddenly asked Nanrong He, "Why did you capture them?"

"Recently, people have been disappearing from villages near Luofeng Pond, so I sent people to stake out the area." During the handover, the Nanrong family was still responsible for maintaining order in the territory. "Unexpectedly, they appeared suddenly yesterday morning and killed several of my subordinates, eating half of them."

"How did you catch it?"

"Brother Bai stabbed it in the back, and the creature bled. We followed the blood trail and caught it with a net," Nanrong He explained. "Fortunately, it wasn't far from the cave entrance, so we managed to drag it out."

Everyone understood now. No wonder Nanrong He sought He Lingchuan's help; although he had many soldiers, they wouldn't be effective in the unique terrain of the cave system. Capturing that monster required elites and powerful individuals.

He Lingchuan asked his subordinates, "Is that clear?"

They replied, "Yes, it's clear."

He Lingchuan pointed towards the cave system. "Wear the Mind-Cleansing Charm and go assist General Nanrong."

Since the victims had no physical injuries, it was likely that monsters had bewildered their minds.

So, three hundred elites behind him, led by Luo Xie, entered the cave system to pursue the monster.

Elder Sutuo clicked his tongue twice. "It would be great if Mother Zhu were here."

Why was she called the "Queen of the Subterranean Spiders"? Mother Zhu's physique was perfectly suited for such watery, labyrinthine terrain; she could enter water and squeeze through any crevice.

Though the speaker didn't intend it, He Lingchuan's heart stirred at the words.

He walked aside by himself and whispered to the Blood Fiend, "Do you think Nanrong He is alive?"

"Alive." The Blood Fiend, in its cloak form, was puzzled. "What do you mean by that?"

"In the Upside-Down Sea, I encountered a type of insect demon that could control corpses to speak, move, and even kill after taking a life. The County Governor of Miancheng, Huang Chengqi, was killed and then controlled in this manner, used to damage Miancheng's guardian beast mechanisms." In fact, Situ He's father, Situ Yu, was also assassinated this way.

That's why He Lingchuan had the Blood Fiend observe whether Nanrong He was already dead.

The Blood Fiend's sensitivity to flesh and muscle tissue was unmatched by even ordinary immortals.

"He is indeed a living person; I can still hear his heart beating rapidly." Of course, it could also hear He Lingchuan's heartbeat. "Why? Do you suspect something is wrong with him?"

He Lingchuan rubbed his hands. "Nothing much. I just have an ominous premonition; I've felt something eerie ever since arriving here."

If "suspicion" was one of the traits of a high-ranking individual, then he had certainly mastered it.

That's why he didn't enter the cave system. With countless people wanting him dead, he preferred to be cautious.

The Blood Fiend readily agreed. "Alright, I'll check around."

Just then, a commotion suddenly erupted at the cave entrance, and Nanrong He's voice carried over:

"My Lord!"

His tone was somewhat urgent.

He Lingchuan strode back to the group, only to see the monster inside the "Mountain-Stabilizing Shield" suddenly shrivel.

It had been lean and strong, with visible muscles on its legs and arms, but now it resembled a balloon from which air had been sucked out, turning emaciated in an instant.

In just a dozen breaths, its essence of flesh and blood had been completely drained by something unknown.

The Soul-Capturing Mirror exclaimed, "What's happening?"

The monster, like a desert mummy, stopped breathing after a few gasps.

The Blood Fiend also said, "The speed at which it's consuming flesh and blood isn't slower than mine. Hmm, could it be a sacrifice?"

As soon as the word "sacrifice" was uttered, He Lingchuan shivered. "This isn't good!"

If it truly was a sacrifice, what was it meant to activate?

A Black Armored soldier stood about three *zhang* away. He Lingchuan targeted him, initiating *Shadow Trace* to teleport over.

Unfortunately, it was too late.

A red light flashed before his eyes.

In the eyes of the others, the colossal stone where the Lord and Nanrong He stood suddenly emitted a brilliant red light.

This huge stone, located right at the cave entrance, had a flat, circular surface about three *zhang* in diameter, resembling an oversized stone table.

The monster contained by the "Mountain-Stabilizing Shield" was on this stone, so He Lingchuan, Elder Sutuo, Nanrong He, and two guards were naturally also standing on it.

There was no room for anyone else; the stone's surface area was limited, and the cage was also quite large, with Elder Sutuo alone taking up as much space as four people.

The next second, everyone on the colossal stone vanished, including the monster's mummified remains!

Everyone was startled. "My Lord!"

This was bad!

As the red light burst forth, He Lingchuan knew immediately that something was wrong.

He had fallen into a trap.

He tugged his cloak, and the Blood Fiend transformed into a crimson blood shield, enveloping them all.

Fortunately, his reaction was swift, because what awaited them was a rain of swords.

Not arrows, but swords—small, palm-sized swords.

The sword bodies were shimmering green, like jade. When first launched, there was only one, which split into two in mid-air, then two split into four, resulting in three to four hundred swords by the time they reached the group. Their tips faintly gleamed with golden light.

Before the crimson shield formed, He Lingchuan caught a fleeting glimpse of the scene, seeing a screen full of these green objects.

If struck, it wouldn't be as simple as becoming a pincushion.

Now, the damage from these hundreds of swords was entirely absorbed by the Blood Fiend.

The crimson shield was almost pierced through, even showing a reddish-gold glow. He Lingchuan heard the Blood Fiend shriek, "Damn it, that hurts! Blazing Sun Aura Fire!"

The golden light attached to these sword tips was extracted from the True Sun Fire; every trace was refined and maximally harmful to yin-aligned entities like the Blood Fiend.