Chapter 4086: Sacrifice Ritual

During the last Immortal Meteor Calamity, the Murong family's losses were not this significant. This was mainly because the Murong family only had two Mystic Cities at that time, which allowed for stronger defenses. Now, with five Mystic Cities, their strength is dispersed.

In addition to the five Mystic Cities, the Murong family also controlled a considerable amount of territory in the Tianchen Sea Domain, which required Golden Immortal cultivators to guard.

Eleven Golden Immortal cultivators were captured by Chaos Beasts, most of them early-stage Golden Immortals, with virtually no chance of survival. A difficult problem now confronted the Murong family: what should they do about the five Mystic Cities?

With the Murong family's current strength, they could entirely defend the five Mystic Cities. The question, however, was how long the Immortal Meteor Calamity would last. If it continued for too long, the pressure of defending all five Mystic Cities would be immense.

If they chose not to keep all five Mystic Cities, the defensive pressure would not be as great. However, they would forfeit significant benefits. If they abandoned any Mystic Cities, the Cao family would assign them to other forces for management, making it difficult to regain control.

For immortals, the Immortal Meteor Calamity was both a disaster and an opportunity, depending on one's strength.

The Cyan Cloud Palace, the oldest inherited force in the Tianchen Sea Domain, suffered heavy losses during the last Immortal Meteor Calamity, nearly severing its lineage; it was currently merely clinging to survival. In contrast, the Murong family acquired several Mystic Cities during that same calamity and, through years of development, achieved its current standing.

Each time the Immortal Meteor Calamity erupted, some forces would decline while others would rise.

"How should we report this to the Cao family?" Murong Zhengxian asked. "The Qian family and the Seven Glories Palace cannot hold their Mystic Cities, and it will be difficult for us to defend all five of ours. Tell me your thoughts."

"We can exaggerate our losses, but we absolutely cannot abandon the five Mystic Cities," Murong Tianbao said deeply. "This is our ancestral foundation, built by generations of effort and sacrifice, which secured our current territory. If we lose these five Mystic Cities, how will we explain it to our ancestors when they return? How can we face our forefathers?"

Our ancestral foundation cannot be lost, or we will have no face to meet our sacrificed ancestors.

"Indeed, we cannot lose our five Mystic Cities, nor can the Mystic Cities of the Qian family and Seven Glories Palace be lost," Murong Tianya offered. "If the tide of Chaos Beasts attacks again and is too vast, retreat immediately without hesitation; people are the most important. If the scale of the Chaos Beast tide is not large, then defend them. If we abandon the Mystic Cities, it will be difficult to regain them. The Cyan Cloud Palace serves as a warning."

"Can Ancestor Tianyan deduce the direction of this Immortal Meteor Calamity, or where the fiercest battles will take place?" Murong Yuhong asked curiously.

"Tianyan is already performing the deduction; I hope she can figure it out," Murong Zhengxian said.

Diviners are not omnipotent. Strictly speaking, Immortal Luoshui was merely a Golden Immortal, and her abilities were limited. Immortal Luoshui then walked in, her expression grave.

"Tianyan, do you have a result?" Murong Zhengxian asked, delighted.

"I cannot deduce the overall direction of the Immortal Meteor Calamity," Immortal Luoshui stated solemnly. "However, I have deduced that our territory will suffer a calamity of bloodshed. It would be best to defend only a few important Mystic Cities; the fewer cities, the easier they are to defend."

"A calamity of bloodshed?" Murong Tianbao asked. "What about other areas?"

"I don't know; it's beyond my abilities," Immortal Luoshui said, her expression grave. "According to the divination, our territory will face a great battle, a very fierce one. We must prepare for it in advance."

"What? A very fierce battle?" Murong Zhengxian frowned deeply.

In that case, they naturally couldn't hold all five Mystic Cities, yet they were reluctant to simply abandon their ancestral foundation. They were caught in a dilemma.

"I suggest we only defend two Mystic Cities," Immortal Luoshui advised. "Most of the Yellow Cities should be abandoned. We should send people to procure important strategic materials such as mid-grade Immortal Extinguishing Cannons, mid-grade Chaos Armor, and mid-grade Immortal Extinguishing Arrows. Deploy personnel from the rear to support the Chaos Continent. As long as we endure this, our territory will expand; other forces might be completely annihilated, ceding more territory."

Murong Tianbao and Murong Tianya looked towards Murong Zhengxian, awaiting his decision.

"Let's proceed as Tianyan suggested!" Murong Zhengxian said after a long pause, a look of reluctance on his face. "Report to the Cao family, exaggerating our losses. We only need to defend two Mystic Cities."

Everything has its pros and cons; there are no perfect solutions.

"Yes, Ancestor Zhengxian," Murong Tianbao and the others agreed in unison and departed to carry out the orders.

***

In a continuous stretch of verdant mountains, numerous Chaos Beasts could be seen, most of them five-colored.

In a giant valley surrounded by mountains on three sides, an eight-colored, beast-humanoid Chaos Beast stood respectfully before a colossal black tower, which pulsed with an incessant dark light. Dozens of seven-colored Chaos Beasts stood respectfully atop three peaks.

The black colossal tower swayed slightly, emitting a dazzling black light. A somewhat youthful male voice emerged from within: "Is the food ready? I am going to feed."

"It is ready, Lord Teng," the eight-colored Chaos Beast replied. "Then serve the meal!"

"Begin the sacrifice," the male voice from the black colossal tower commanded.

As soon as the words fell, numerous Chaos Beasts entered, each carrying an immortal on its back. True Lord Yuchan, Lady Yuzhu, Zhang Yilei, Jin Yulan, Meng Yudie, Qin Chuan, and Wang Yunchen were among them. There were thousands in total, mostly True Immortal cultivators, with over a hundred Golden Immortal cultivators.

They were filled with despair, unable to mobilize their immortal essence, like fish on a chopping block. Qin Chuan struggled to tear at the black vines, but it was useless.

Wang Yunchen's ribs were pierced by a black vine. Six other True Immortal cultivators, like him, had their ribs pierced by black vines, stringing them together. A five-colored Chaos Beast resembling a bat held onto the black vine.

The five-colored Chaos Beast flew into the black colossal tower carrying them. What greeted them was a spacious and brightly lit black hall with a circular pool in its center.

The five-colored Chaos Beast flew above the pool and released its grip, causing Wang Yunchen and the six others to fall into the pool. They struggled, trying to climb out.

The pool immediately gushed forth countless mysterious black runes. A black mystical light shot up, engulfing the seven figures, including Wang Yunchen. Wang Yunchen felt a mysterious power envelop him; his life force was draining away, and his body was disappearing at a visible rate. He then felt an overwhelming drowsiness wash over him and lost consciousness.

Not long after, Wang Yunchen regained consciousness. He was surprised to find himself in a magnificent golden palace, with a green lotus treasure lamp placed before him.

He himself was within a golden body, as if forged from gold.

"What happened to me?" Wang Yunchen asked. "Wasn't I sacrificed in the sub-tower of the Ten Directions Mother-Child Pagoda by the Chaos Beasts?"

A beautiful young woman in a golden dress walked in. "Yunxi, why are you here, and where is this place?" Wang Yunchen asked, confused.

"I've always been here. This is the Heritage List, Brother Yunchen. It seems you've met with misfortune," Wang Yunxi said. "Don't worry! I will inform the family head and arrange for you to absorb enough incense power to be resurrected."

"Heritage List! Resurrection!" Wang Yunchen's tone was full of doubt.

"You'll know once you're resurrected," Wang Yunxi explained. "However, it will take quite a long time. Since you are a mid-stage True Immortal, it will take at least 500,000 years for you to be resurrected with the incense offered by our family. Fortunately, after your resurrection, your cultivation will be the same, and your lifespan will be calculated from before your demise."

Under the Wang family's current conditions, resurrecting a mid-stage True Immortal cultivator would take 500,000 years, a conservative estimate since they had not yet resurrected any clan members. If the Wang family's territory were much larger, with golden bodies established everywhere and a vast number of cultivators providing incense, Wang Yunchen's resurrection time could be shortened.

This was just for resurrecting a True Immortal cultivator; resurrecting a Golden Immortal cultivator would be even more difficult.

"So, does that mean other True Immortal clan members who perished can also be resurrected?" Wang Yunchen asked.