Destiny is ashes

Chapter 23 Slaughter
"Pure and Quiet Sword Contemplation", a practice taught to An Jing by a mysterious voice, is a method of meditation.

This method of meditation allows one to calm down and visualize a rusty sword in one's mind. One can brush it with thoughts, subdue it with the heart, and rub it with the hand. Eventually, one can cultivate a clear and pure sword heart, which can subdue the monkey in the heart, subdue the wild thoughts, and achieve freedom.

It is also a method of spiritual cultivation that can increase spiritual consciousness, and can also suppress the spiritual influence brought about by the "Emperor Heaven's One Yuan Yangqi Method".

An Jing did not need to practice to the final level, and now was not the time to break through his inner energy. He only needed to visualize the sword, suppress the evil thoughts in his heart, and suppress the effects of the demon flesh and ruthless water that he had consumed for too long.

Recite the formula in a low voice, visualize the rusty sword in your mind, carve it with perseverance, keep your thoughts clear and focus, and carry it out with meditation.

A quarter of an hour later, An Jing opened his eyes, and a flash of pure murderous intent passed through his eyes. He felt that the many constraints and thorns that had been entangled on his soul were cut off by a ray of sword light, making his thinking more agile and clear, and his grasp of the innate Qi in his body more clear and sensitive.

He stood up: "There is a sound."

It was late at night, the rainy night was noisy and there was thunder, and the manor was not empty, the fire was flickering, but An Jing still heard the sound from the building not far away.

That was the sound of a child, wailing and crying.

There are still people alive.

The sword sound also gave instructions: [Enter the dungeon, there is a key there - if you want to gain power beyond everything, that is the key]

"clear."

An Jing didn't know who the mysterious sword sound was, but he could see that the other party was not on the same side as the Demon Cult, but was their enemy and had helped him several times along the way.

He was willing to follow the other party's instructions: "But how to get in?"

He had found the 'dungeon' where the sound came from. It was a building integrated with the mountain. Only a part of it protruded outside, and most of the structure of the entire building was located inside the mountain.

The main gate is an iron gate. An Jing doesn't have the key, and it's impossible for him to rush in by brute force. The sound will definitely attract many guards and instructors stationed at Dongshan Manor.

[There is a window on the side]

The sword voice guided: [You can get in from there, but you have to find a way yourself]

An Jing quickly found the "window" that Jian Sheng mentioned. It was a ventilation hole on the side of the building, fenced with iron bars, through which the flickering lights in the dungeon could be vaguely seen.

The iron bar was not of high quality and had become somewhat rotten over the years, but it was still not something that could be easily broken - An Jing could destroy it with brute force, but the sound would definitely alarm the people around him.

But An Jing has enough wisdom... Even if the wisdom in this life is not enough, he still has the wisdom from the past.

Looking around, An Jing quickly found some wooden strips in the corner, and then tore off the lining of his clothes and turned them into strips of cloth.

He used rain to wet the cloth strips, arranged the wooden strips into a cross, and then wrapped the soaked cloth strips between the cross wooden strips and two iron rods to form a knot, making it a labor-saving lever.

An Jing slowly twisted the wood and used the principle of leverage to tighten the cloth strip.

The cloth strips soaked in water became tougher, and the iron rod was indeed made of poor quality material, so he actually bent it little by little, creating two more holes for the young man to crawl out of.

“That’s the principle of leverage.”

After seeing that the iron rod of the ventilation window was really bent by himself, An Jing couldn't help but sigh. He didn't expect that the simple principle he mastered would have such a miraculous effect in practical application. Using such ordinary materials could turn decay into something magical, which was simply amazing wisdom.

In fact, there is not much difference between prying it open with a lever and prying it open with force. The only difference is that the lever is more stable. An Jing was also cautious to avoid using too much force and alarming the people inside.

Now is not the time to lament.

An Jing was like a big cat, crawling into the ventilation window.

He came to the inside of the dungeon.

In the dim dungeon, the heavy rain and water vapor mixed with the wind were swirling. Only in the distant corridor were there some kerosene lights, which smelled unpleasant and flickered.

The dungeon was filled with the smell of urine and stench, and weak wailing and groaning were heard everywhere. At the same time, there was a chilling smell of blood.

An Jing looked around cautiously. This was a straight corridor made of bluestone. It was dirty and the lighting was dim. It took him a while to see the scene inside clearly.

Then, a biting coldness surged from the end of his spine, temporarily making him lose the ability to speak.

Slaughterhouse.

If you have ever been to a slaughterhouse, you will know what real slaughter is: the butcher will put the livestock on the rack, fix the body, and then use bolts or sledgehammers to drive nails into the livestock's head, or simply beat it unconscious.

A skilled butcher would then keenly cut the blood vessels on both sides of the animal's neck, drain the blood as quickly as possible, and collect it in a bucket without wasting any blood. The animal might struggle at this time, but the sturdy rack would restrain all its movements. It could only scream and shed tears until the last bit of strength was drained away with the blood, until the tears also turned into blood.

Then, the blood-drained skin bag was hung on a hook, suspended from a beam, and then the belly was cut open and all the internal organs fell into a basin.

Their bodies will sway with the butcher's movements, emitting a fishy smell. If the butcher is skilled, he can separate all their meat and bones with just a small knife, leaving only a pile of white bones.

This is the slaughterhouse. People who are not used to seeing death will feel terrified and disgusted when they come here, even if the dead are livestock. This is the work of processing life as material, so the ancient sages said that a gentleman should stay away from the kitchen.

This is just livestock.

but……

What if the people being slaughtered are humans?

What if those hanging bodies, those bones, eyeballs, blood and internal organs... all came from familiar people?

"The Demon Cult... Hey, I never understood what the Demon is before, but now I understand a little bit." The teeth-grinding chill that emerged from the depths of blood and bones was swept away by a rage born from the mind. An Jing did not change his expression at this moment, but looked around at everything in front of him with extreme calmness, those "shells" hanging on both sides of the dungeon walls.

Zhao Yongan, Xu Yi, Xie Pinglan, Li Junyi, Zhao Raner...

One name after another emerged and was remembered by him, in the deepest part of his heart.

I am not an animal because I have talent... What if I don't have it?

Closing his eyes, An Jing still remembered his mission and he couldn't let anger get the better of him.

Because there are still people alive.

There were many children still alive in the cell, but most of them were tired and asleep, and a few were still groaning in a daze.

An Jing smelled the scent of "merciless water". It seemed that the potion was given to these young boys and girls to drink, forcing them into this "stable" state, unable to struggle or hurt themselves, unable to resist, and unable to observe their surroundings.

An Jing silently looked at each face. He remembered all of their faces. They were all the sons of disaster who were gradually "eliminated" in the past few months.

Although there are still some people who have not seen it, I guess most people have waited here, waiting for death to come?
[The key is in front]

Guided by the increasingly sinister sword sound, An Jing looked in the direction where the instructions led him and saw the exit of the dungeon.

The exit is guarded.

He was a somewhat elderly member of the cult, with a head full of white hair, but still in good health. He was sitting on a chair with his head tilted to one side, sleeping soundly.

An Jing recognized the other person. He was a less common instructor named Song. He was only seen occasionally and it turned out that he was a guard here.

Yes, no matter how lax the management is or how easy it is to look after the children, there still has to be someone guarding the gate.

An Jing looked carefully and found an empty cup of medicine on the table - this old man suffers from insomnia, so is he using the sedative, Merciless Water, as a sleeping pill?

——Haha, is it because you can't bear to see such a tragic scene that you feel uneasy? You really are not qualified to be a member of the evil cult!

Feeling extremely calm, An Jing saw the keys hanging on the wall nearby. There were several sets of keys, each set had three keys in total.

【Take the key】

An Jing narrowed his eyes and stared at the old man from the Demon Cult in front of him.

This old guy is also in the inner breath realm. Fortunately, he is not a middle-aged man. In this way, if the opponent is suddenly awakened, he may still be able to defeat him quickly.

But he was sleeping too soundly. An Jing walked forward with mysterious steps and took the key back silently. During the whole process, Teacher Song did not react at all. An Jing even smelled the scent of alcohol.

——This old man, drinking and taking drugs? An Jing was speechless. With such quality, he could twist the other person's head off with one hand.

But now is not the time. An Jing took the key and got out of the vent.

He used wooden sticks to restore the twisted iron rod bit by bit. Although it was a little twisted, it was not noticeable to most people.

【Walk】

Jian Yin was a little excited: [Go to the storage room in the next building]

"Ah."

An Jing took a deep breath, his heart pounding, and then he looked towards Honjo: "Wait, there's a sound over there!"

After initially learning the Pure Sword Contemplation and using his anger, hatred, and powerlessness to polish the rusty sword, An Jing's perception became more sensitive. This meditation method could greatly enhance An Jing's perception and the sensitivity of his five senses. He saw shadows slowly approaching Dongshan. "Someone is coming from this village!"

[This may also be a test for you - indulgence also has a time limit]

The sound of the sword returned to calm: [Do you want to take advantage of the chaos to go back, or do you want to follow my instructions? ]

"you still need to ask?"

An Jing did not hesitate at all. He walked quickly towards the storage room and said, "I have made up my mind and I will not change it."

The storage room was not far from the dungeon, just separated by a long corridor. An Jing walked quickly and soon arrived at the storage room.

The storage room, like the dungeon, is also located inside the mountain, with a locked black iron door.

[Open the door]

The clear and soulful sword sound trembled in a rare way.

An Jing took out the keys, except for the key to the dungeon, and tried the other two keys one by one.

The first one didn't work and couldn't turn, but An Jing didn't panic and immediately changed to the second one.

Twist and open.

The storage room of Tianyi Sect opened its door to An Jing.

(End of this chapter)