Chapter 2793: Sacrifice

Lu Ye abruptly turned his head towards the nine towering divine pillars, finally remembering why he had such a strong sense of familiarity.

Under the guidance of that will, he had once traveled to the Outer Realm to assist a formation master named Xuan Huai in breaking a seal within a wonder. That wonder contained one such towering divine pillar, though it was just one, not nine!

Its appearance was just as he saw now, with only half visible. The lower part of the pillar extended into the unknown, imperceptible.

Xuan Huai had spent untold millennia deploying a colossal formation there, constantly using the power of Outer Realm cultivators to break the sealing force. Unfortunately, their strength was insufficient, as the cultivators of the Outer Realm were ultimately limited, leading to slow progress.

It wasn't until signs of fusion between the Inner and Outer Realms appeared, allowing Dao Integration cultivators to enter the Outer Realm with fewer restrictions, that tens of thousands of Dao Integration cultivators gathered there.

If nothing went wrong, Xuan Huai would likely be able to remove the divine pillar using the power of that formation.

Unfortunately, Lu Ye ultimately ruined his plans.

Because he had suddenly realized that some markings on the pillar were identical to the ancestral abyss restrictions; they were the handiwork of the Dragon-Phoenix ancestors.

Therefore, regardless of what the divine pillar was sealing, it represented the will of the Dragon-Phoenix ancestors. Lu Ye, naturally, had to unconditionally side with them.

That battle also marked the beginning of his abandonment by the Star Abyss Will, the start of him becoming a "rebellious son."

Lu Ye had been very curious then about where the lower half of that divine pillar extended, but he had no way to investigate.

However, combining it with the scene before him, he suddenly understood!

The divine pillar he had seen before was like a nail, driven from the Outer Realm all the way into the Origin Realm. And besides the one he had encountered, there were eight other such seals!

This meant that the sealing of the Abyss was also the work of the Dragon-Phoenix ancestors.

Why would that ancestor do such a thing?

Was he prescient, having foreseen the harm that will would inflict on the entire Star Abyss?

But if he possessed such miraculous means, why did he merely seal it instead of destroying it, leaving behind such a mess?

For a moment, many thoughts churned in Lu Ye's mind, but he couldn't make sense of them.

The only thing he could confirm now was that the Abyss intended to break free! That's why, long ago, it had secretly guided Xuan Huai's actions in the Outer Realm.

And throughout the Star Abyss, it shouldn't have been just Xuan Huai doing this; there must be eight other unknown locations, corresponding to those eight nail-like towering divine pillars.

With this preliminary thought, Lu Ye re-examined the nine divine pillars and indeed found signs of loosening.

The fusion of the Outer and Inner Realms was highly likely related to the loosening of this seal.

Lu Ye's heart stirred again. If his guess was correct, then by continuously climbing these towering divine pillars, he might eventually return to either the Outer or Inner Realm.

“Kid!” Xue Jiu's voice suddenly came, “What are you thinking about?”

Lu Ye slowly shook his head without answering. The idea was good, but it was likely impossible. He had tried it when he first arrived in the Origin Realm: once past a certain height, he couldn't ascend further. So, climbing the pillars was probably not a viable plan.

However, there must be another way to leave the Origin Realm; otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to meet San and Qi before!

“No matter what you see later, pretend you don't see it. If you make any sudden moves, not only will you die, but I'll be buried with you!” Xue Jiu suddenly warned sternly. Seeing Lu Ye still didn't respond, he couldn't help but growl, “Did you hear me?”

Lu Ye couldn't help but frown, “What's going to happen?”

Judging by Xue Jiu's tone, whatever was about to happen was likely something he would not want to witness.

“Just watch!” Xue Jiu snorted coldly.

As they spoke, hundreds of Blood Clan treasure ships had already entered Abyss Island and approached a massive pit. The pit's depth was unknown, but a pervasive bloody stench rose from it, causing extreme discomfort even from a distance.

With a Half-Saint present, Lu Ye dared not make any rash moves, so he had no idea what was inside the pit.

As he wondered, Xue Tianxing said indifferently, “Begin!”

“As you command, Holy One!” Responses came from treasure ships in all directions. Immediately, the hundreds of ships slowly moved, encircling the massive pit.

On the treasure ship Lu Ye was on, cabin doors opened, and figures emerged, numb and despairing.

Lu Ye's pupils immediately constricted.

Because these figures emerging from the cabins were all humans. At this moment, regardless of gender, they looked disheveled, and judging by their demeanor, they were undoubtedly restricted by seals; no matter their cultivation level, they struggled to exert any power.

Blood Clan cultivators herded these humans like sheep. Cries, pleas for mercy, and curses emanated from the crowd, but they were utterly useless and only provoked brutal beatings from the Blood Clan cultivators.

Witnessing this, Lu Ye's blood ran cold.

Looking at the massive pit before him, he immediately realized what was about to happen.

Ever since he met Xia He, he had heard from her that in the Origin Realm, foreign races used humans as sacrificial materials. He had never imagined he would one day witness such a scene with his own eyes.

Many captured humans were herded to the edge of the ships and then, pushed by Blood Clan cultivators using their power, were shoved in waves into the enormous pit. Their figures plummeted, vanishing as if swallowed by a beast's maw.

Each treasure ship held numerous captured humans. From a distance, the figures falling into the giant pit were as dense as raindrops.

Lu Ye's face was grim. Suppressing the intense discomfort in his heart, he heard Xue Jiu's incessant nagging: “Calm down! Don't do anything rash!”

Currently, Lu Ye's identity was that of Xue Jiu's blood slave. If Lu Ye truly did something foolish, he would inevitably implicate Xue Jiu.

In the Inner Realm, Xue Jiu was one of the renowned Ten City Lords, but here in the Origin Realm, facing a Half-Saint, he was truly insignificant.

Of course, Lu Ye wouldn't do anything foolish. While he sympathized with the humans' plight and hated the Blood Clan's actions, he hadn't lost his rationality.

Xue Tianxing was right there; acting unwisely would undoubtedly be courting death.

Therefore, in this situation, he could do nothing but watch helplessly!

“Hmph!” Just then, Xue Tianxing suddenly let out a cold snort, and his aura abruptly turned dangerous.

Lu Ye's heart jumped, instinctively thinking he had given something away, but then Xue Tianxing raised his hand and waved, sending a crimson light streaking sideways.

In the void nearby, as the crimson light swept past, a figure abruptly materialized.

Clad in black with white hair, a crescent-shaped sharp blade slowly spun beneath his feet, radiating bright light.

It was none other than Si Shengya, who had just left the sea bottom not long ago.

“I wondered who was hiding, but it turns out to be Brother Si,” Xue Tianxing said, a faint, unreadable smile playing on his lips as he gazed at Si Shengya.

Si Shengya's expression was grave. The rotation speed of the Shattered Heavens Blade beneath his feet visibly quickened, betraying his inner turmoil.

“What are you trying to do?” he asked.

Xue Tianxing replied indifferently, “Since Brother Si is here, you must have some guesses. Why ask the obvious?”

Si Shengya frowned, his heart sinking. Things were indeed as he had suspected.

Xue Tianxing continued, “This matter benefits Brother Si too, so why the long face? The tide is turning; Brother Si can either fight to the death or enjoy the fruits of our labor. What else can you do?”

Si Shengya remained silent, his peripheral vision sweeping past Xue Tianxing to Lu Ye. He was truly puzzled; how had Lu Ye ended up here after such a short time?

And on top of that, he was calmly staying on a ship.

He had no time for further thought. His ears were already filled with numerous cries for help. The human cultivators, already at their wit's end, saw Si Shengya's presence as a ray of hope in their despair and loudly shouted, “Holy Venerable, save us!”

“Brother Si, leave now. If you remain here for ten breaths, I will slaughter a major human island!” Xue Tianxing stated, looking indifferently at Si Shengya.

Although he was mostly certain that this human Half-Saint wouldn't dare to ruin their plans, there was always the chance he might act impulsively in the heat of the moment.

He was indeed a Blood Clan Half-Saint, but he was still quite wary of Si Shengya.

The only human Half-Saint to have survived to this day did so not by remaining aloof from worldly affairs, but by his own immense strength.

As soon as Xue Tianxing uttered these words, Si Shengya could no longer force himself to stay. He gave him a deep look, and his figure transformed into a streak of fire, vanishing from sight.

The pleas for mercy and help grew much louder.

From each treasure ship, human figures continuously plunged into the giant pit.

This continued for a full incense stick of time before it finally ceased.

Immediately, numerous Blood Clan powerhouses flew out and landed on the edge of the pit. Each formed hand seals and chanted incantations, seemingly praying or performing some mysterious ritual.

Xue Tianxing, with a flash, appeared above the pit, his expression pious and solemn.

Following this, violent power surged. Beneath the pit, countless vital energies suddenly vanished in large swathes, and the already thick bloody stench intensified.

Visible crimson light soared from within the pit, seemingly intelligent, transforming into nine streaks of blood-red, splitting and sweeping in all directions.

Like nine long dragons, these nine blood-red streaks precisely coiled around the nine towering divine pillars.

The earth trembled and the mountains shook!

The entire Abyss Island was shaking. Before Lu Ye could recover from his feelings of powerlessness and grief, he saw the nine divine pillars begin to sway.

The amplitude of the swaying wasn't very large, but the nine pillars were so enormous that even a slight movement caused a huge reaction.

The turmoil on Abyss Island was caused by these nine divine pillars.

This commotion continued ceaselessly for a full half-hour, only subsiding when there was no more vital energy in the pit and no more crimson light overflowed.

The blood-red dragons coiled around the divine pillars also vanished at the same time.

Lu Ye watched, his brows deeply furrowed.

From what he saw, the so-called sacrifice seemed to be using the vital energy and blood of humans to destabilize the seal here. He didn't know what previous sacrifices were like, but this one clearly fit the pattern.

Why was this happening? Whom had humanity offended? Did the blood of cultivators from other races not have this effect?

It wasn't right to say humanity was weak; at least they had Si Shengya. The Sea Clan, however, didn't even have a Half-Saint.

Why didn't the foreign races target the Sea Clan instead?