The fake prince was exposed at the beginning, and I took office as emperor on the spot

Chapter 197 Local Gangs: Out-of-Town Cultivators Are Really Shady!
The inn in the desert had been ransacked, but the Demonic Sect didn't seem to care much about it, leaving only a few people to guard it. It was probably just something they did while passing by.

Their current focus should be on investigating remote areas.

The inn was so conspicuous that they didn't pay it much attention.

With her experience of understanding the Demonic Sect's actions better than the Demonic Sect itself, Gu Fangchen successfully evaded the Demonic Sect's search and led the Imperial Preceptor to that ruin.

In the game, this ruin is a dungeon called the [Blood God Altar].

Although it appears to be just a high-level ruin with many resources, in reality, these resources are traps prepared for sacrifice.

Or rather, this entire site was a deliberately set trap to lure cultivators who discovered it.

Once someone obtains certain items, they will be marked by the evil spirits within and then devoured as a sacrifice to the "Blood God."

This so-called "Blood God" was a great evil spirit from the Nine Netherworlds, worshipped by a sect called the "Blood God Cult" in the Qingman Kingdom.

The beliefs of the Qingman people are mostly primitive worship of limbs and flesh.

The most orthodox belief is in the "Heavenly God" and "Hero" faiths of the four major tribes of Qingman. By using the remains of these two beings to perform magic, their spirits and wills can descend or possess the body, greatly increasing strength or enabling various incredible miracles.

In addition, there are many other branches, and the things they worship are much more bizarre.

This "Blood God Cult" is one of the most evil branches, worshipping the great evil spirits beneath the Nine Netherworlds!
By offering blood sacrifices and opening rifts in the netherworld, a stable connection is established with them, seeking their protection.

Therefore, they set up numerous altars to offer blood sacrifices.

However, later, due to the defeat of the Qingman, the Mohai became the territory of the Great Wei, and these altars were buried by the yellow sand, turning into so-called ruins.

However, its essential function remains the same: to lure people and then sacrifice them.

However, if this were in the past, who knows how many "Blood God Cult" members would be lurking and lurking in the shadows of this altar.

But now, there are no living people in these ruins.

They were all dead, and had been influenced by the power of the Nine Netherworlds for a long time, turning into lumps of living dead and evil spirits.

The concept of sacrifice no longer exists in their minds; they simply hunt living people out of pure hunger, and the altar has lost its original primary function.

Of course, at this moment, the cultivators of the Desert Sea did not have such a deep understanding of this ruin, and thought it was just the ruin left behind by another sect that had been destroyed in the previous dynasty.

At this point, although the people of Ling She Cave claimed they would take over the entire site, they wouldn't actually go that far.

In name only, they all have to be called the Spirit Serpent Cave.

Cultivators rarely monopolize the exploration of ruins. For example, if the Great Dao Sword Palace were to emerge, the Sword Pavilion would commission other sects to explore it.

After all, exploring ruins is risky, and relying entirely on trial and error is too costly. In the early stages, some independent cultivators will still be found and asked to risk their lives to fill the gaps.

As for whether they survive and manage to keep what they've got, that depends on their own abilities.

Anyway, everyone knows what the other is really thinking.

It was all a matter of mutual consent.

The rogue cultivator that Gu Fangchen impersonated was named Cheng Tai. He had a cultivation level of the sixth rank peak. Because he knew some formations, he was quite famous in the Mohai area. He often worked as a henchman for various sects and did dirty work. He was a professional mercenary among cultivators.

This time, he also received an invitation from the Spirit Serpent Cave.

This was because Gu Fangchen had observed the candidate for a period of time before deciding on this person.

Although he knew when the ruins opened, he couldn't possibly know the identities of everyone who participated in the operation, so he could only rely on his own judgment.

However, he was fully aware of the results of this exploration of the ruins.

Because none of those who entered the ruins survived.

Total destruction.

……

"As you all know, everyone entering the ruins this time will need to sign a soul contract."

An elder from the Spirit Serpent Cave, dressed in purple robes, with a hissing, flicking blood-patterned venomous snake slung over his shoulder, stood with his hands behind his back, looking at the numerous rogue cultivators below, and said calmly:
"If you are not satisfied with the requirements, you can leave now."

He waved his hand, and sheets of paper fluttered down into the hands of the crowd.

Gu Fangchen glanced at it and her lips twitched.

Anything obtained that is of superior quality or above belongs entirely to the Spirit Serpent Cave; anything below superior quality is divided equally between the Spirit Serpent Cave and the other three.

Seventh in the Spirit Serpent Cave, and third among the rogue cultivators!

This local gang is so rude, they're fucking shady!
In the game, a superior quality item would only be equivalent to a purple quality item.

Even in the early stages of development, a normal player with a sixth-rank cultivation level would have at least half of their equipment in purple-grade gear, and that's just the average level!
A pro like Gu Fangchen would have already equipped herself with rare (gold) gear.

These rogue cultivators in the desert have absolutely no human rights!
Cheng Tai is considered to be doing quite well, but he only has a fine (blue) soft armor and a superior sword.

The next time we run a dungeon, we'll have to sign another blood-soaked contract. Not only will we have to hand over the lion's share of what we get to the sect, but we might not even get any of it at all.

Because the contract only stated that the artifacts had to be handed over and that neither side could attack the other while inside the ruins, but it didn't mention anything about not being able to take them back afterwards...

However, the surrounding rogue cultivators all seemed unfazed, clearly used to it. At this moment, Gu Fangchen felt several sinister gazes fall upon her, full of vigilance and malice.

It seems Cheng Tai is indeed quite famous; these people are already on their guard.

Gu Fangchen narrowed her eyes. There was no extra tampering with the soul contract. It must be that the Spirit Serpent Cave knew how dangerous the Blood God Altar was and used these rogue cultivators as cannon fodder, too lazy to waste time on dead people.

However, although Gu Fangchen didn't care for the things inside, she would definitely not give them up easily.

He pulled out an unrefined divine soul from the "Spirit-Nourishing Bottle" and conveniently transferred the contract to that divine soul using the substitution technique.

A flash of red light appeared on the page in front of them, symbolizing the formation of the contract.

Some rogue cultivators, finding these conditions unacceptable, waved and left.

The purple-robed elder glanced around, then narrowed his eyes and quietly gestured to the disciple beside him, clearly indicating that he did not intend to leave any survivors.

Then, he turned around and, together with several other elders, broke the formation of the ruins.

"Rumble..."

The gates of the ruins opened to both sides, and a putrid and sinister aura rushed out.

The purple-robed elder gestured for them to proceed.

"Then please show us your skills!"

After Gu Fangchen and the others had mostly left, he flew into the ruins. As soon as he passed through the gate of the ruins, he stopped in his tracks.

The purple-robed elder was taken aback, and frowned:

"Cheng Tai, if you want to back out now, it's too late!"

Gu Fangchen said with a smile:

"Of course I'm not backing out, but there's something I need to do."

Having said that, he cut his palm open and used his blood to cast a spell, chanting in the difficult Qingman language, and as a "priest," he directly activated the long-dormant true Blood God Altar.

"boom!"

A thick beam of blood-red light enveloped the entire ruins and shot into the sky.

Instantly, streaks of blood-red lines lit up on the gate, and it quickly closed.

Gu Fangchen smiled brightly, waved to the outside, and disappeared through the crack in the door.

Purple-robed elder: "...???"

He stared in astonishment at the scene, not reacting for at least three seconds. Then he rushed up and pounded on the gate of the ruins. But this time, the formation on it was not the one that later people used to seal the altar, but the formation of the altar itself.

After attacking for a long time to no avail, the group could only stare in silence.

After a while, realizing that the soaring blood-red light had attracted the attention of all the cultivators in the desert, the purple-robed elder's face twisted, and he uttered a string of curses...

……

Gu Fangchen turned around, and Xu Fu, who was standing beside him, looked at him thoughtfully and said coldly:
"So you came to these ruins not just to help me break the 'Soul-Locking Array'."

"Snapped."

Gu Fangchen snapped her fingers:

"Of course."

"What do you intend to do with these Qingman ruins?"

"Why don't you take a guess, Your Excellency,?"

Gu Fangchen looked at the dark, unpainted passageway in front of her and walked down the stone stairs with a smile.

The ruins of the "Blood God Cult" are almost scattered throughout the entire desert.

All the altars were interconnected and could form a huge sacrificial array, but the Blood God Cult perished before it could activate it.

Now, only Gu Fangchen knows how to restart it.

Its very central starting point is this ruin!

Although Gu Fangchen had a smile on her face, her gaze was as cold as a star.

Perhaps it's because of his current identity as a "priest," or perhaps it's for something else...

The evil spirits lurking in the shadows trembled instinctively as he passed by, shrinking into a corner and bowing their heads in worship.

If Gu Yuye had already obtained the new military formation from the [Martial Immortal's Tomb], he would definitely summon the Xuanhuang Army and send them all into the Desert Sea...

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

P.S.: I've been brainstorming plot ideas, need a break, lol. This chapter is 2800 words; I'll update again during the day.

(End of this chapter)