Nine Chapters of Strange Cases

Chapter 88 The best time

Tianying Mountain, the underground cave is brightly lit.

Qin Tianying looked at the seven "sacrifices" standing in a row in front of her, her face ashen, her hatred for Zhou Zhao almost unbearable.

Especially when he saw Ye Bai, who was "pretending to be an expert," he was so angry that he gritted his teeth.

He had painstakingly managed Tianying City for many years, choosing the once-in-a-lifetime inauspicious day of July 15th, only to have it ruined by a young girl.

He had seen it clearly just now. The torches looked chaotic, but in fact they were all converging towards the "life" gate of the formation. Someone had seen through the Tianying City formation. If they didn't take advantage of the time when the others were moving to perform a blood sacrifice, by tomorrow, all the outer city offerings would have gone to the life gate, so what would be the point of the blood sacrifice?
What right do mortals have to try and get something for nothing from gods?
All of this is absolutely related to Zhou Zhao!

As Qin Tianying pondered, his sinister gaze swept across everyone's faces. He took out a jade bottle from his pocket, poured it into his hand, and poured out seven pills. With a flick of his wrist, the seven pills scattered like hidden weapons, flying towards everyone.

Su Changying reached out and grabbed it, only to feel a sharp pain in his palm. When he opened his hand, he saw that the pill was spinning rapidly in his palm, rubbing the skin raw.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw that Ye Bai and Yan Junyu both looked indifferent, while Yuheng cried out in pain. Kaiyang shook his wrist without making a sound, but Tianquan held the pill between two fingers.

This old man really is as clueless as ever about reading people's expressions!

Qin Tianying was using force to intimidate them and give them a warning.

Yuheng, Tianquan, Kaiyang, and Su Changying all stuffed the food into their mouths without hesitation, just like they were having breakfast at Qin Tianying's residence that morning.

Xu Yuan, the newly substituted player, and Yan Junyu and Ye Bai from the outer hall looked at each other hesitantly before following along with grim expressions.

Seeing this, Qin Tianying's anger subsided somewhat. He stroked his beard, glanced at the guards, and the guards, like puppets receiving orders, led the six away, one person and one pillar, leaving only Su Changying behind.

"Yaoguang, do you see the pillar in the center of the blood pool? There's a tortoise shell there that I need you to retrieve for me."

Su Changying clicked his tongue twice in his heart, then lightly leaped towards the pillar. The moment his body touched the pillar, he heard a few cracking sounds, as if a hand had suddenly reached out from the pillar, and black iron shackles flew out with lightning speed, instantly locking his two hands and left foot.

As for the right foot, the chain was broken, it trembled twice, struggled for a long time, and only a few wood chips fell off.

"Qin Tianying, what are you doing? Why did you tie me up?! Go to hell! You son of a bitch, your little brat is born with no anus!"

"Old thief, I've been loyal to you. I even stole Tian Shu and Yu Heng's undergarments, and Kai Yang's underwear for you! What are you doing now?"

When Tianquan roared, Qin Tianying's face darkened at first, then he burst out laughing!

"Tianquan, since you've chosen to be dogs, you must obey your master. Don't worry, once I obtain the Six Paths Heavenly Book, I won't forget your contributions. At that time, I will bring you back to life, along with Ye Xuan's former subordinates..."

"You served me as my servants in life, and you will serve me as my ghosts in death. It's not a bad deal!"

As he was laughing, he heard Kaiyang, who rarely spoke, ask in a stiff tone, "Did the city lord really let you steal..."

The pillars were neither too far nor too close. To ensure Tianquan could hear, Kaiyang imbued his voice with internal energy, creating an echo in the cave. "Sneak, sneak..." Qin Tianying's smile froze on his face. He snorted coldly and carefully placed the three pieces of tortoise shell into the blood pool. Seeing that the tortoise shells indeed floated on the blood as the inscription on them stated, he instantly became excited.

"Bury them, ignore them, let's begin!"

The mechanic, who had been waiting impatiently, nodded with a hint of smugness. He gently touched the stone wall with his hand, and the stone wall suddenly trembled twice. Dust fell from the wall, revealing a symbol of the Six Paths of Reincarnation.

The mechanic's fingers flew across the surface, leaving afterimages before he stopped.

"Okay, now press the center button again, and the mechanism will activate."

Qin Tianying's face flushed with excitement. He had been waiting for this day for many years. Although Zhou Zhao had been an unexpected figure, these sacrifices had been relatively obedient, especially Yao Guang! A young prodigy with superb martial arts skills! With such a good sacrifice as him, the others were just side dishes!
He thought to himself, and pressed down on the mechanism with all his might!
His eyes gleamed with excitement as he turned to look at the pillar that bound Su Changying. Seeing the pillar click a few times and the mechanical fragments on it begin to turn, he couldn't help but burst into wild laughter.

But the mechanism clicked a few times, then got stuck, like an old man on his deathbed!
Qin Tianying's pupils constricted sharply, and he slammed his fist on the center of the stone wall again, refusing to believe it. "Impossible!"

There was no earth-shaking tremor, and Tianying City did not experience a collapse or sinkhole like a dragon turning over!

Su Changying on the mechanism pillar was not cut into pieces and her blood flowed into the blood pool, and the grooves on the ground were not "lit up" by the blood of the six people!
That's it!
Thinking this, Su Changying suddenly sprang up. His hands and feet had already been freed from the iron shackles at some point. Like lightning, he thrust his entire body directly at the back of Qin Tianying, who was frantically pounding on the stone wall.

At this moment, Qin Tianying could no longer hear any sounds from the outside world.

He frantically pounded on the stone wall. How could the mechanism have malfunctioned! How could his plan have failed?

He had confined himself to this isolated city for years, all for this day, for the Six Paths Heavenly Book, for immortality. He had killed over forty members of his own family! For this blood sacrifice, he trod upon the bones of ten thousand people! He waded through mountains of corpses and seas of blood.

This is impossible!

It's all Zhou Zhao's fault! If it weren't for Zhou Zhao, the mechanics would have had plenty of time to test the mechanisms beforehand. It was all too rushed!
As he was thinking, he felt strong winds coming from all directions...

A look of confusion flashed in Qin Tianying's eyes. He subconsciously shifted his body a few times, but he was still too slow. He suddenly opened his eyes wide and found that there were three sharp blades stuck in his body.

On his back was Su Changying's longsword!
How could Su Changying possibly escape from the mechanism pillar!

One spot was on his left lower back, where a boy named Yan Junyu was smiling at him with a flushed face, revealing two bloodthirsty tiger teeth.

There was another spot, on the right side of his neck, which was just a hair's breadth away from piercing his meridians and killing him instantly.

Qin Tianying turned her head and saw a familiar blue color; it was the strange dagger in Zhou Zhao's hand.

She used this dagger to sever Tian Shu's arm.

If he remembered correctly, this dagger was seized by Tianquan!

Qin Tianying's mind went blank. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the mechanic lying on the ground like a pile of minced meat. Next to him squatted the mute man wearing a straw hat, carrying a large golden ring sword. He was carefully admiring the unrecognizable corpse as if it were a beloved person.