Chapter 519: Sacrifice

Zu'an swung the Tai'a Sword, slashing, but unfortunately, the evil spirits were intangible; the blade passed directly through their bodies.

The evil spirits let out chilling cackles and, without hesitation, continued to lunge at him.

Fortunately, Zu'an deployed his "Sunflower Phantoms" movement technique, narrowly dodging the attacks. He avoided the grim fate of the taotie below, which was being overwhelmed and devoured by the spirits.

Even so, some evil spirits managed to scratch his arms and legs, causing immediate sharp, burning pain.

He couldn't see his leg, but when he pulled up his sleeve, he found numerous bruised, dark handprints on his arm.

"This is freaking unfair!" Zu'an muttered in frustration. He couldn't hit them, yet their ethereal forms could harm him. How was he supposed to fight like this?

Just then, the evil spirits missed their targets and shrieked as they charged at him again.

Zu'an's heart tensed. As he was pondering how to respond, a streak of black flame shot out from the side.

The evil spirits let out shrill screams and quickly retreated several meters, clearly wary of the black flames.

At that moment, Pei Mianman came over and took Zu'an's hand. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine. I didn't realize your black flames had an exorcising effect," Zu'an said in surprise.

"These evil spirits are inherently Yin and malevolent, while black flames are extremely Yang and potent. They naturally counteract each other," Pei Mianman replied.

Just then, a shriek echoed from below the platform. Both instinctively turned and saw the giant taotie being devoured by the evil spirits, its flesh gradually consumed until only bones remained.

Zu'an couldn't help but swallow. The creatures in this eerie palace were increasingly powerful. The previous skeleton warriors had easily dispatched five regular taotie, only to be instantly killed by this giant taotie. He had thought this giant taotie was the boss, but it had died such a miserable death.

As the taotie's flesh below was completely consumed, many evil spirits began to fly back, approaching the two of them.

Pei Mianman quickly channeled her primal energy, causing the surrounding black flames to burn more fiercely. Only then did the wolf-like evil spirits dare not approach them.

"Perhaps we should leave here first?" Pei Mianman suggested. The giant taotie that had threatened them was dead, and retreating now would mean no more danger.

Zu'an frowned. "But we've been in this secret realm for a while now. We'll eventually need to find a way out, otherwise, we'll be trapped here until we die. Moreover, we're already on these steps; leaving might not be so easy."

Pei Mianman looked worried. "But I can't maintain these black flames indefinitely. When they extinguish, we might end up like that taotie, gnawed to bones."

"Then let's get off the steps first and rethink our plan," Zu'an said.

The two slowly started descending the steps.

The countless evil spirits constantly swirled around them, unwilling to disperse. As the two neared the first step, all the evil spirits blocked their path, wailing.

Each time Pei Mianman used the black flames to dispel some spirits, another group immediately replaced them. As a result, the two couldn't break through the spirits' dense blockade.

What's more, the evil spirits seemed to communicate with each other, quickly changing tactics. A dense swarm surrounded the two, rapidly spinning.

As they spun, chilling winds gusted around them, making Pei Mianman's black flames flicker erratically.

Pei Mianman's expression changed. "I can't last much longer like this!"

Blown by these chilling winds, the energy required to maintain her black flames increased exponentially.

Zu'an said gravely, "Let's go up to the high platform first."

"Won't it be even more dangerous on the high platform?" Pei Mianman's voice was full of worry.

Zu'an shook his head. "Often, life and death are separated by a thin line. Perhaps there's a way to leave this secret realm hidden up there."

There had been almost no branching paths on their journey so far, and the areas they passed through offered no mechanisms for departure. Therefore, their only option was to explore forward, and the top of these steps was the only accessible route.

Having no other options, Pei Mianman followed him, ascending the steps until they reached the high platform above.

The high platform was circular, with nothing but a large bronze cauldron in the center.

Zu'an ran to the side to search for any hidden mechanisms or secret doors but found nothing.

The whistling sounds around them grew sharper, and the evil spirits, as if sensing the two were cornered, let out eerie, chilling laughter.

"A'Zu, what do we do now? I can't hold on much longer," Pei Mianman said anxiously. Chilling winds swept around them, and she had already reduced the size of her flames as much as possible to prolong their duration.

Zu'an frowned deeply. Just as he was about to reply, Mi Li's voice sounded in his ear: "Why are there so many resentful souls?"

Zu'an was overjoyed. "Empress Sister, you're finally out!"

Mi Li scoffed coldly. "Who knew you were such a troublemaker? Now you've attracted so many vengeful spirits. If I had come out any later, your flesh would probably have been completely gnawed away."

"Empress Sister truly does care about me," Zu'an chuckled. "By the way, you're also a soul. Can you greet them and tell them not to bother their own kind?"

Mi Li: "..."

Rage points from Mi Li: 233!

"What do you take me for?"

"Uh, I just thought since your states are similar, you might have a lot in common."

"Hmph, these creatures are nothing but instincts. They have no sentience. Don't compare me to them."

Sensing the indignation in her tone, Zu'an realized his mistake and quickly changed the subject. "Uh, Empress Sister, do you have any solution for our current situation?"

Mi Li said proudly, "Of course. This should be an altar from the Yin-Shang dynasty."

"An altar?" Zu'an instinctively looked around. It didn't look like the altar he imagined, but that wasn't the point. "What does an altar have to do with our current predicament?"

Mi Li replied, "The Yin-Shang people placed great emphasis on sacrifices. For birth, aging, illness, death, military expeditions, farming... they performed sacrifices for any important event, praying for guidance from the gods. The most crucial element of every sacrifice was the offering. Since this is an altar, offering a sacrifice should resolve this calamity."

"Offerings?" The concept of sacrifices was quite distant for modern people; at most, they might burn incense, candles, or paper money, not actual offerings.

Mi Li said, "Generally, animals were used. However, for the Yin-Shang, the highest-grade offering was human sacrifice, meaning using people as offerings. The Yin-Shang believed that by sacrificing the flesh and blood of an offering to the heavens, they would receive a corresponding response."

Zu'an recalled content from documentaries he'd seen in his previous life and thought, *No wonder I saw so many white bones earlier; they were likely all used as offerings.*

"Then why couldn't that taotie below serve as an offering? It also died here, and its flesh was consumed," Zu'an asked curiously.

Mi Li replied, "For the Yin-Shang people, offerings had to be cooked in a bronze cauldron. To them, bronze cauldrons were specifically for cooking. Since that taotie didn't die in this cauldron, it naturally couldn't be considered an offering."

"If I had known that, I should have grabbed its corpse earlier," Zu'an said, filled with regret. "Now, where am I going to find an offering?"

"What's so difficult about that?" Mi Li's voice turned cold. "Isn't that big-chested girl the best offering? She's a high-grade human sacrifice, beautiful, and well-endowed. Surely the gods would be extremely pleased with such an offering."

"Given your relationship with her, she wouldn't be on guard at all. You could easily succeed with a single strike."

Zu'an: "..."

What kind of animosity was this, to consider using Big Mianman as an offering and even devising a detailed plan? Was she jealous because her chest was bigger?

Mi Li snorted. "Don't get emotional, or you'll just die with her. You can die if you want, but don't drag me down with you. If you can't bring yourself to do it, then let me."

"No!" Zu'an flatly refused. Perhaps fearing she might actually act, his mind raced. Suddenly, a flash of inspiration hit him. "I have an offering!"