Gao Wu insists on cultivating immortality.

Chapter 121 Crimson Flame Golden Scale
The town of Dacang was acting very strangely; the vast town was deserted, with neither the living nor the dead. Only large patches of blood remained, making it extremely eerie.

Bai Yan and Zhang Yunyi frequently deal with believers of demons and strange beasts, and have extensive experience in this area.

Judging from the traces at the scene, both men believed that all the residents of Dacang Town had been killed or arrested, and that they had been moved to an unknown location.

It has been a full twenty hours since the secret realm expanded, which is enough time for Wan Canglong to escape.

From any perspective, Wan Canglong should not have stayed in Dacang Town.

Bai Yan and his group arrived in front of the hotel. The hotel's golden signboard was mostly smashed, but the name of the hotel, Jin Yuan, could still be barely made out.

The glass of the hotel's front door was shattered, and the two doors lay crookedly on the steps. Large patches of blood were layered on the ground, a shocking sight.

Upon entering the hotel lobby, you are greeted by the reception desk facing the door. Behind the reception desk is a pale gold glass wall, divided into regular rhombuses by sharp lines. The name of Jinyuan Hotel is also displayed on it.

The front desk was a mess. The computer screen was upside down, the landline phone receiver was hanging askew, chairs were overturned, and there were large patches of blood on the tables and floor, as well as various footprints...

Gao Wu's gaze fell on the gold-plated glass wall; this kind of ostentatious style was very popular in small towns.

The glass walls, divided into sections by rhombuses, slice the reflected light and shadow into distorted images, creating a rather strange and eerie atmosphere.

It's like a poorly made, old-fashioned horror movie.

"Search each floor, and carefully check every room," Bai Yan ordered the officer beside him.

As the leader of the temporary operation, Bai Yan was granted partial command authority.

The addition of the wireless communication vehicle ensures wireless communication over short distances. After two relays, the communication content can be transmitted to the command center within one minute.

With Song Chunqiu in charge, the military wouldn't carry out any orders given by Bai Yan if he did so recklessly.

More than one hundred elite soldiers, working in groups of five, conducted a thorough and meticulous search of the Jinyuan Hotel. To prevent any omissions, they even cross-searched and swapped positions.

Twenty minutes later, all the teams gathered in the lobby and found nothing unusual.

The three martial arts masters, Bai Yan, Zhang Yunyi, and An Ziru, were somewhat disappointed. They had brought Gao Wu here because they wanted to find the spatial anomaly center as soon as possible.

Based on past experience, anomalies in the void of secret realms are often associated with demonic gods. This particular void anomaly was likely triggered by a ritual performed by Wan Canglong.

As a result, Gao Wu made a mistake on his first attempt.

The three martial arts masters weren't blaming Gao Wu; after all, they weren't good enough, so it was normal for Gao Wu to make a mistake.

Bai Yan looked at Gao Wu: "What are your thoughts? Should we search again?"

He wasn't mocking Gao Wu; the matter was simply extremely important. The soldiers' search might have missed something, or there might be some unusual circumstances.

Since it was Gao Wu's decision, his opinion should naturally be sought. At this moment, personal pride is not important; what's important is to find the altar as soon as possible.

Gao Wu remained silent, but through his Yin Spirit, he could see black smoke above the hotel, the kind of smoke that carried the aura of destruction and death, and he was absolutely certain of it.

He could even conclude that this aura, like the demonic aura of the Dragon Claw Peak Secret Realm, originated from the so-called Qilin King.

It's strange that there's no demonic aura inside the hotel.

He had just released his Yin spirit to wander outside, circling around, but found nothing amiss. However, once outside, he could see black demonic energy soaring into the sky above the hotel.

The most plausible guess is that the hotel has a hidden basement or a secret room hidden in the walls. However, Gao Wu, using his Yin Spirit to easily penetrate matter, did not discover any such mechanisms or secret rooms.

For a moment, Gao Wu was also confused. Where exactly was the altar hidden?
Zhang Yunyi was afraid that Gao Wu, being a young man with a strong sense of masculinity, would feel ashamed if he suffered a setback, so he comforted him, "Don't worry, the followers of the Demon God are cunning, perhaps they are just making a smokescreen."

He then turned to Bai Yan and said, "The town is badly damaged, with many signs of battle, but there isn't a single corpse, nor any trace of any strange beasts or races. It's very strange!"

Bai Yan looked at An Ziru, wanting to see what this martial arts master thought.

An Ziru shook her head. She had never encountered this situation before and dared not make any rash judgments.

"The straight-line distance from Dacang Town to the entrance of the Dacang Mountain Secret Realm is 40 kilometers, and the area of ​​this spatial anomaly in the secret realm is close to 2,000 square kilometers."

Bai Yan said, "With such a vast area, Wan Canglong has too many places to choose from."

He hesitated for a moment and then said, "Why don't we go and take a look at the military camp guarding the entrance?"

The town of Dacang is so strange mainly because its residents are all ordinary people. Faced with the strange changes in the void of the secret realm, they would find it difficult to put up an effective resistance.

The military camp is specifically guarded to protect the entrance to the secret realm, and it is home to many experts, including one martial arts master.

No matter how terrifying the Void Anomaly may be, a powerful legion will never be easily destroyed.

An officer nearby said, "An advance team has been sent to Camp 0310 to scout the situation. A radio communications vehicle is also accompanying them. As long as there are still survivors in the camp, news will come back soon."

Bai Yan nodded and looked at Gao Wu. Gao Wu pondered for a moment, then sighed and said helplessly, "Maybe I saw it wrong."

"It's alright. Demons are unpredictable and strange; this is normal," Zhang Yunyi reassured him.

An Ziru also said, "You don't need to feel guilty, and we can't see anything at all."

Bai Yan patted Gao Wu on the shoulder and gave him an encouraging look. He said to the others, "Then let's go to the military camp first. We'll leave Dacang Town to the hunters for a thorough search..."

Everyone nodded in agreement.

Through the pale yellow prismatic glass wall, Wan Canglong could clearly see the subtle expressions of the people in the hall and hear their conversations.

The invisible spatial barrier formed by the mirror space is like a one-way mirror, allowing him to observe the situation inside the hall.

Those on the other side of the mirror space were unable to penetrate the spatial barrier to observe or sense him.

This is why he combined the Limitless Divine Weapon with the spatial barrier, transforming it into a mirror wall, thus enabling him to conceal the spatial entrance so effectively.

As long as no one damages the mirror wall, no one will notice the hidden entrance to the space inside it.

Wan Canglong felt a little nervous when he saw a group of people thoroughly searching the hotel.

The sacrificial ceremony is more than halfway complete. All that remains is to communicate with the Qilin King again, so that this deity can bestow divine power upon him, allowing his Limitless Divine Weapon and Crimson Flame Golden Scale to merge.

In this way, he could elevate this divine weapon to the true peak of level six, laying the foundation for level seven. At that time, even without the blessing of a demon god, he would be able to contend with martial arts masters with the Limitless Divine Weapon.

Once he fully refines the divine weapon, he might even have a chance to advance to the Martial Arts Grandmaster level. If he receives divine grace from the God Lord, he might even have a chance to advance to the seventh-level Martial King level.

Even if the chances are slim, there is no turning back; we can only move forward with all our might.

Wan Canglong glanced at the several Wan family members around him. Each of them was covered in blood, and their eyes were full of ferocity, like wild beasts that had seen blood.

He actually disliked this kind of almost insane brutality, devoid of any mind, driven only by a bloodthirsty instinct.

Humans are the leaders of all races because they possess wisdom. Now, although the people of Wancangling have gained increased strength, they have lost their most precious asset: wisdom.

This is unavoidable; the frenzied killings and large-scale blood sacrifices, coupled with the divine power of the god being guided by the Phantom Slayer, are all constantly eroding people's sanity.

Although several members of the Wan family were loyal, they were completely ruined after this blood sacrifice.

Although Wan Canglong felt some regret, he didn't regret it. Great achievements always come at a price. Besides, it was all forced upon him by the Hunter's Guild!

If they hadn't been secretly investigating, he wouldn't have gone on a killing spree, and he wouldn't have risked holding such a cruel blood sacrifice.

Ultimately, it was all that trouble caused by that brat named Gao Wu.

Seeing Gao Wu still wearing the Scarlet Eye through the spatial barrier, Wan Canglong almost couldn't hold back.

Considering the presence of several martial arts masters, including Bai Yan, even if he managed to kill Gao Wu by acting rashly, he would find it difficult to escape. Moreover, his blood sacrifice was at its most crucial stage; he couldn't afford to lose sight of the bigger picture!
The hall serves as the center of the blood sacrifice, with a pyramid-shaped altar constructed of special metal at its center, standing four meters high.

At the center of the altar was a giant silver spider with eight long, sharp legs like long sword blades. Its upper body resembled a female form, and it was none other than the Otherworldly Phantom Slayer.

Below the Phantom Slayer is a large, crimson scale, which is the Crimson Flame Golden Scale, a scale from the level seven beast, the Crimson Flame Phase Transformation Golden Dragon.

To refine the Crimson Flame Golden Scale and fuse it with his Limitless Divine Weapon, one must use the Phantom Slayer as a medium to guide divine power.

The altar was surrounded by piles of corpses, and the carpet in the entire hall was soaked in blood.

In fact, the most important thing in blood sacrifice is the human soul; flesh and blood are just the specific way to present the soul.

The ones who truly need flesh and blood are the alien beasts and alien races.

Like the black beetle-like beings gnawing on flesh and blood all around, they crouched there, taking small bites and quickly nibbling away, looking more like rats stealing food. Only, their furtive behavior was tinged with an unusually bloody and cruel aura.

The Black Beetle People look like standard humans, except that their bodies are covered by black, insect-like exoskeletons. Even their faces are covered in these exoskeletons, making them resemble large, humanoid insects.

The Black Beetle People have a natural hierarchy, and subordinates must absolutely obey their superiors.

At the same time, most of the black beetle people are not very bright; they only have the instincts to eat, reproduce, and survive. Their intelligence is about the same as that of insects.

Of course, the advanced black beetle people are quite intelligent; their carapaces are evenly and orderly arranged, like well-designed armor, and can even present a kind of aesthetic.

High-level black beetle people are easy to identify; the higher the level, the lighter the color of their carapace.

Just like the insect-man named Rama standing next to him, whose outer armor was already light white, his handsome features were not covered by the armor, and his light blue eyes were very bright and spirited, making him look very intelligent.

It must be said that Rama was a completely different race from the black beetle people around him.

Luo Mo sensed Wan Canglong's gaze and looked at him with his bright light blue eyes: "What, you want to make a move?"

As a member of a different race, Rama spoke the Alliance language very fluently, even with a magnetic, broadcast-like quality.

Wan Canglong hurriedly shook his head: "No, I just want to complete the ceremony as soon as possible."

He then formally clasped his hands in a fist and said, "It was all thanks to Lord Rama's help that the sacrifice was completed in such a short time. I will be very grateful after it is done."

"You're welcome. It's all for spreading the glory of God..."

Rama wore a polite smile on his handsome face. From his expression to his speech, he seemed like a human being of extremely high quality.

Wan Canglong was very polite on the surface, but he was actually very wary of this black beetle man named Luo Mo.

The other party's ancestors may have been pure-blooded humans a hundred years ago, but after a hundred years, this branch of the human race has completely mutated and can no longer be regarded as human.

Despite their similar appearances, their ways of thinking are completely different. This high-level insectoid, Rama, is already a level five martial arts master according to the Alliance's standards.

Combined with the insectoids' unique talents, they are extremely terrifying.

The four or five thousand insect-men present were all subordinates of Rama. It was with the help of these insect-men that he was able to control Dacang Town and complete the blood sacrifice in a short time.

As for how many people died as a result, that blood debt rests with the Hunter's Guild and Gao Wu. If it weren't for their investigation, this wouldn't have happened!

If he waits another two hours, he can complete the blood sacrifice and refine the Crimson Flame Golden Scale! He will then be able to completely take control.

Once the enemy completes their search of Dacang Town, their vigilance will be lowered. When they charge out with thousands of black beetle men at night, they'll definitely give Bai Yan and his group a huge surprise!
Wan Canglong told Luo Mo about the plan, and Luo Mo quite agreed with it. To him, it didn't matter how many Black Beetlemen died, as long as it pleased the God Lord, everything was worthwhile.

Rama said, "The young man who led the way just now was quite perceptive and should not be underestimated."

"The failure of Dragon Claw Peak last time might be related to this kid." Although Wan Canglong had no evidence, he knew that Gao Wu had participated in the preliminary round.

There will always be some people who are born with a connection to the aura of a certain demon god, and therefore have a special sensitivity to that aura.

Wan Canglong sneered, "Fortunately, the entrance to the mirror space is well-hidden and wasn't discovered by this kid."

Before he could finish speaking, he sensed something was wrong; a surge of violent energy suddenly pierced through the spatial barrier of the mirror wall.

With the powerful mental field of a martial artist, Wan Canglong immediately recognized that it was a cannonball. He was shocked, but there was no time to dodge. He could only try his best to activate his source force field to protect himself.

The other members of the Wan family reacted much slower, including the black beetle people. Before they could even realize something was wrong, the 155mm grenade exploded into a burst of flame in the confined space, the violent gunpowder impact sending hundreds of shrapnel fragments flying.

With a deafening roar, the group of black beetle-men at the forefront were torn to shreds in the flames. Several members of the Wan family were also caught in the blast; two unlucky ones were struck by shrapnel and their bodies instantly exploded into pieces.

The metal altar at the very center also trembled violently in the explosion, but fortunately, the alien spirits instinctively activated their source power, and layers of dark red source power light resisted all the impact.

Just as Wan Canglong breathed a sigh of relief, he heard another violent roar as a second 155mm grenade whistled through the spatial barrier and crashed into the hall…

(End of this chapter)