Building a sect from scratch.

"Sigh...a human sacrifice...it's been so long since I've heard that term..."

"Niohuru!?"

Chakota was surprised and took a few quick steps, then pushed open the courtyard gate.

Niuhelu, the priest of the Hubuyu clan, was standing outside the courtyard, leaning on his cane.

The urgent evening wind, carrying fine snowflakes, blew his clothes around, but the little old man stood there like a stone, his head covered with a layer of snow like grains of salt.

"Niuheru! What are you doing here!?"

"Chakota, distant stories are like merchant ships sunk at sea. Although they cannot be seen, fishermen who go out to sea will always catch the cargo that has been scattered out of them."

Niohru's hoarse voice, unhurried and steady, carried through the wind and snow to everyone's ears: "Chakota, you grew up listening to stories of the Sword God. Almost every child of the Hu Buyu clan worships him. But those millions of lives lost... he was the one who took them away..."

"Sword God...and...human sacrifice..."

Chakota stared wide-eyed in disbelief.

The soup dumpling keenly sensed something and pressed, "You people here also know about human sacrifice?"

“I… I don’t really know,” Chakota seemed flustered, even somewhat incoherent, but after a moment’s hesitation, she continued, “When I was little, whenever I was naughty and wanted to go out to play, my parents would scare me, saying that the Soul Eaters outside would drain my blood, and that monsters would turn disobedient children into human sacrifices… that is, they would capture them, cut off their feet, and then keep them in cages…”

Niuhelu laughed. It was completely dark, but the stone embedded in the wall illuminated his wrinkled face very clearly, making it look even a little eerie.

He said, "Human sacrifices don't have their feet cut off; instead, they are taken wherever those adults need them. The Sword God... he likes to use the hearts of human sacrifices to forge his swords and to polish the scabbards with the oil from their brains..."

Chakota opened his mouth with difficulty and asked, "But the Sword God, didn't the Sword God also kill the sea beasts and protect the people of Liuzhou?!"

"Yes, but he killed sea monsters and protected the people of Liuzhou, also for his own sake..."

"For their own property!"

The Jade Emperor replied, "Slaves are the property of slave owners. When a slave owner protects slaves, he is actually protecting his own property, not truly protecting human lives!"

“Hehe, this young brother is right. He does it so that there will be enough people to forge the sword and enough brain oil to polish the scabbard in the future.” Niuhelu squinted and slowly said something that shocked everyone: “Because I was once a human sacrifice raised by the Sword Sect.”

"What the hell!?"

Not only were the players surprised, but Chakota also exclaimed, "Niohuru!?"

Why do you all have that expression?

Niuhelu laughed hoarsely, then revealed a smug expression completely different from his previous composure, saying, "My parents were human sacrifices. The Sword Sect, wanting more human sacrifices, forced fat human sacrifices to mate, like making animals give birth, so that human sacrifices would produce offspring. Fortunately, when I was five years old and my heart was cut out, I managed to draw qi into my body in front of the Sword God. The Sword Sect then adopted me, and I went from being a human sacrifice to a sword slave. After becoming a sword slave, the day before the Soul Devouring Rift appeared, I stole the divine fire seed from the sect's sword furnace and burned down the Sword God's house and his precious sword! Hehe!" The Jade Emperor instinctively felt that this "sword slave" wasn't a good identity, so he asked, "Sword slave... what is that?"

"They are the servants responsible for maintaining the various spirit swords within the Sword Sect. In name, they are disciples of the Sword Sect, but in reality... they are servants. However, I am luckier than my parents, who have almost no memories of me, at least I survived."

Huangzhucao, standing to the side, was so angry that her hands were trembling. She was too embarrassed to speak directly, so she typed in the team chat: "This Sword Sect, I hope something bad happens to it!"

Other players weren't to be outdone. Renxin Huadao resorted to his old tradition, cursing the game planner: "You dog planner, I'm going to send you razor blades!"

Chakota frowned: "That's not right, Niohuru! How did you escape from the Sword Sect after doing something like that?"

"The Sword God bound my Heavenly Soul with the magical Soul-Binding Lock, tearing at it like a cat catching a mouse, but not killing me in one go, wanting me to experience the pain of despair..."

Niohru seemed lost in memories, his whole body trembling as if from fear, yet his face wore an extremely unrestrained and gleeful smile. "I was truly desperate at the time. I ran frantically, but no matter how hard I ran, I couldn't shake him off. He was like a hunter chasing wild dogs, the chain he held loosening and tightening its grip. He hated me to the core! You know what? It was only when he hated me so much that he treated me like a human being!"
"However, even the heavens were on my side. As they were driving me away, suddenly, the earth cracked open, and the Soul-Devouring Rift appeared. They lost their patience, probably worried that something might happen to the Sword Sect. In any case, they pulled my Heavenly Soul out of my body... and pulled it out alive..."

"But when the Soul-Binding Lock flew above the Soul-Devouring Rift, it instantly fell into it. After my Heavenly Soul was freed from the restraint of the Soul-Binding Lock, it flew back into my physical body instead."

"That's when I realized! Even the lofty Sword God has moments of helplessness! The Sword God is human too! Hahahaha!"

As Niohuru spoke, his laughter grew increasingly manic, while Chakota silently wept, his eyes red like a rabbit's.

"He tried many methods, but whatever flew over the rift valley would fall and disappear, so he didn't dare to fly over to catch me himself. Even the various spells and talismans he used were blocked by the rift valley and couldn't touch me at all!"
He was furious! But there was nothing he could do! Hahaha!

Niuhelu laughed wildly, his hoarse voice echoing in the dark night, accompanied by the falling snowflakes.

It was laughter, but it made the players feel incredibly bitter.

"Later," Niohuru laughed for a while before continuing, "later, I saw with my own eyes that a red and black mist enveloped him. He kept flying into the sky, trying to escape that strange mist, but no matter how fast he flew, he couldn't outrun it. The last thing I saw was his eyes!"

Niohuru emphasized, "Do you know what? The eyes of the Sword God are exactly the same as the eyes of the human sacrifice who is about to be dragged away and have his heart cut out!"

Chakota sniffed hard, his voice trembling with tears: "Niohuru..."

“Niuhelu is old, and the wolves of the Hubuyu clan can no longer protect his wolf cubs,” Niuhelu patted Chakota’s head, his hoarse voice filled with sorrow and affection: “I don’t want this story to be buried with me in the ground. This is the most enjoyable thing I, Niuhelu, have ever done in my life!”

Chakota tugged at Niohuru's wide sleeve: "Niohuru, what's wrong with you?"

"Chakota, don't worry, Niohru is fine, but Niohru will have to go back to Abaga sooner or later. But before that, I will live for a very, very long time!"

Niohuru patted Chakota's hand kindly, then turned to the Jade Emperor and the others with a serious expression, asking, "Guests from afar, what is the purpose of your journey to Liuzhou in search of the Sword Sect?" (End of Chapter)