Longzang

Chapter 186 Paper Wedding Dress

The sunset quickly spread across the realm, dyeing most of the sky blood-red. But this blood-red was different from the previous blood curses; it was exceptionally clear and bright.

No matter how magnificent the view from the sky was, Wei Yuan sensed danger!

He immediately sent a message using his divine sense, and the cultivators waiting at the dozen or so array nodes received the order to activate the arrays immediately. At the same time, several ancient bells in the realm rang, their sound carrying far and wide. Nearly a hundred cultivators, who had been busy with their own tasks, immediately dropped what they were doing upon hearing the bells and rushed at full speed to their assigned array nodes.

Once they were in place, they sat cross-legged. The already activated array began to draw upon their Dao power, and then a faint but enormous light shield appeared, covering the area within three thousand feet around the main peak.

Alarm bells rang in the five newly built cities, and all mortals dropped what they were carrying and fled at full speed towards the city lord's mansion. Their first lesson upon entering the realm was how to defend against the Great Witch's Blood Curse. They knew that as soon as they heard the bells, they should run towards the city lord's mansion at full speed, and escape into the protective array before the blood curse descended to save their lives.

Yong'an City had already constructed defensive spells against the Blood Witches. The first thing to do after the other five cities, located further out, were to set up defensive formations before construction and land reclamation even began. Wei Yuan assigned at least ten Foundation Establishment cultivators to each city so that they could activate the grand formations in critical moments.

A moment later, seven light shields of varying sizes and colors appeared in the realm.

The red of the sky was deeper and richer, but it wasn't blood-red clouds; rather, it was clear and transparent, as if the sky itself was naturally red.

Then, wisps of red mist began to fall from the sky, and the light screens of all the defensive arrays simultaneously lit up, beginning to resist the wisps of red mist. In the azure sky, the pool of azure water began to slowly descend.

Under the erosion of the red mist, the pure energy and vitality accumulated throughout the entire realm began to be consumed at an extraordinary speed!

Wei Yuan was greatly surprised. At this rate, the accumulated nourishment of the entire realm would be depleted in less than half an hour. The power of this blood curse was far greater than the previous ones.

In desperation, Wei Yuan directly channeled a wisp of azure energy into the Azure Netherworld, and sure enough, the rate at which the boundary stone was consumed slowed considerably. Wei Yuan then channeled another wisp of energy, and the consumption rate halved. Seeing that the energy was effective, Wei Yuan channeled over a dozen wisps of azure energy into it in one go, until it could sustain him for six hours.

The fortune itself is also slowly being consumed, taking about a quarter of an hour from initial investment to complete depletion. Wei Yuan estimated that, at the current intensity, it would take approximately ninety strands of azure fortune to sustain it for an hour.

Wei Yuan glanced at the more than eight hundred strands of azure energy in his sea of ​​consciousness, steeled his resolve, and prepared to use them all. As long as he was alive, he would always have luck.

This blood curse appeared calm on the surface, but its power was actually terrifying; the entire realm's reserves couldn't even sustain it for half an hour. How many people did the Witch Clan sacrifice this time? Three thousand, five thousand, or ten thousand?
Wei Yuan stepped out of the room and looked up at the sky. His gaze suddenly extended rapidly, reaching out to see over a hundred miles away!

The sky is not something one can look at at will. Normally, when Wei Yuan looks around from the ground, he can see hundreds of miles away. But when he looks up at the sky, he can only see up to twenty miles away. Even without clouds to obscure the view, everything beyond twenty miles is a blur. He needs to fly higher to see further.

The higher one goes, the more severe the interference and suppression of one's spiritual sense becomes, and this is not proportional. When looking up into the sky, a Dharma image can only see fifty miles, while a True Lord can see a hundred miles.

But at this moment, a special passage seemed to open up in the sky, allowing Wei Yuan's vision to instantly travel over a hundred miles and see a pair of incredibly huge, ruby-like eyes high in the sky!
The moment Wei Yuan saw those eyes, his mind went blank, as if something had exploded, and then everything went black; he instantly lost consciousness.
-
After an unknown amount of time, Wei Yuan faintly heard a call.

He wanted to hear it more clearly, but the voice remained faint and indistinct, and he couldn't make out what it was calling. Wei Yuan just instinctively felt that it was calling him.

After a while, Wei Yuan became slightly more lucid, and his thoughts gradually regained some clarity. At this moment, he instinctively felt that something was wrong with his condition; everything was pitch black, and he couldn't see anything.

Wei Yuan felt as if he were submerged in the deep sea, surrounded by complete darkness. He instinctively sensed his surroundings and began to swim upwards.

After an unknown amount of time, Wei Yuan's consciousness suddenly surged out of the sea, and he regained consciousness, slowly opening his eyes.

What came into view was a dark red color, which was spreading and moving around, like blood flowing everywhere.

"Husband, are you awake?"

The sudden voice startled Wei Yuan awake. He looked toward the source of the sound, but his body felt rusty, and his movements were heavy and difficult. Even a simple action like turning his head was extremely strenuous.

Fortunately, his vision cleared up a bit, and he could see the top of a large bed. The bed was exquisitely crafted, with intricate patterns carved on the top, four posts, and back wall. At this moment, Wei Yuan's vision was blurry, and he couldn't quite make out what was carved on it.

Wei Yuan turned his head with difficulty. The room was a blur, but he could vaguely see a large red candle burning on the table, and a floor-standing candlestick on the other side of the room with several red candles. All the candles were burning, but the flames were a dark red, casting a red hue over everything in the room.

A person sat in front of the bed, her head covered by a veil, wearing a bright red dress; she was a newlywed bride.

Outside the window, it sounded like someone was playing a flute, a soft, mournful sound, as if telling a story. The room was filled with red; only then did Wei Yuan realize that the blanket covering him was red, as were the pillows and sheets. This seemed to be the legendary bridal chamber.

The sound of an erhu playing outside the window drifted in again, occasionally punctuated by a few notes from a guzheng, which seemed out of place.

Wei Yuan felt very cold, as if it were the dead of winter outside the window, and there was no fire in the room. The blankets were also cold and damp, without any warmth.

"My lord, it's getting late, we should rest now."

Her voice was very pleasant and gentle, and it had an indescribable quality.

At this moment, Wei Yuan's primordial spirit felt as if a veil had been draped over it, and he felt that there were many things he couldn't remember. But that voice seemed to possess a strange magic, making Wei Yuan feel that he had known her for a long time, and that today should have been their wedding night.

Wei Yuan regained some strength and was able to support himself. He slowly sat up, and his vision became clearer.

As soon as Wei Yuan got out of bed, he felt an unusual chill in the room. Everything he saw seemed devoid of warmth, including the bride in her bright red wedding dress. Wei Yuan instinctively shivered.

"My lord, you drank too much tonight. Are you still feeling unwell?"

"Yes, I can't hold my liquor..." The words came out in a voice so unfamiliar that even Wei Yuan himself was startled.

But the bride didn't notice anything amiss and urged again, "It's getting late, let's get some rest."

Wei Yuan moved to the edge of the bed, his feet touching the ground, and only then did he realize that he was also wearing auspicious robes. As he got up, Wei Yuan seemed to see something in the corner of the bed. He turned his head and saw that it was a spider web.

The servants are slacking off again...

Wei Yuan flicked his sleeve to brush away the spiderweb, unexpectedly stirring up a cloud of white dust. However, he didn't pay it any mind, and instead walked up to the bride, who was urging him on again.

Wei Yuan placed his hand on the veil, and just then he heard the sound of musical instruments outside the window again. This time it was a xiao (vertical bamboo flute), its mournful notes lingering and strained, as if someone were speaking:
"Don't lift it!"

"He'll be finished once the veil is lifted."

Wei Yuan thought he heard someone talking, but he felt it was probably the sound of a xiao (a type of vertical bamboo flute). He didn't think about it further, because he felt it was indeed getting late and he should rest.

So he lifted the bright red veil and saw Zhang Sheng's face.

Wei Yuan was greatly shocked!
Crack! A shattering sound rang in Wei Yuan's mind. The world before him suddenly cracked with countless fissures, then shattered. The bride in her bright red wedding dress and the bride covered in dust and cobwebs were scattered among the fragments, gradually fading into the distance.

His consciousness plunged into darkness once again.

After an unknown amount of time, Wei Yuan heard a voice calling in his ear again: "Husband, wake up."

Wei Yuan opened his eyes, and the first thing he saw was the ceiling above the bed. This time his vision was much clearer, and he could see the relief carvings on the ceiling.

The relief depicts several grotesque demons carrying a bloodied humanoid figure onto a large table. Around the table sit seven brides in bright red wedding gowns, one of whom holds a bloodstained kitchen knife. Her hands are slender and white, while the knife's blade is chipped and nicked.

Wei Yuan suddenly had a thought: Why did he feel that his vision was clearer this time? Had he seen it before?
"My lord, it's getting late, we should rest."

Wei Yuan slowly turned his head and saw the bride sitting in front of the bed, her wedding dress a dazzling red.

P.S.: I'm organizing my thoughts for the next day or two, so updates will be slower. I think it's time to increase Wei Yuan's strength.

(End of this chapter)