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Chapter 256 This territory is forbidden to gods! (35,000 words update, please vote!)

Fang Qingyu's molten gold pupils suddenly shrank to the tip of a needle.

The Eternal Night Territory has been silently infiltrated?!
The feeling was like a ghost walking through the walls of the most fortified fortress, instantly gripping my heart.

He turned his head sharply, his muscles tensed like steel under absolute alertness, and the Dragon Sparrow Blade was almost about to burst from its sheath!

Wei Banmeng, Chu Kuanglan, and Lu Jiuyuan reacted just as quickly as lightning, instantly assuming defensive stances and locking onto the same direction with sharp auras.

Even Jiang Wei paused in her act of sucking on the candy, her clear red eyes coldly gazing into the darkness.

It was less than three steps away from them.

A figure had quietly appeared and stood there.

She was petite and looked no more than seventeen or eighteen years old. She was wearing a slightly oversized, faded dark blue old-fashioned work uniform with the cuffs rolled up to reveal her slender ankles.

His little face was expressionless, with a hint of childishness still lingering in his eyes and brows.

His skin was pale from being deprived of sunlight for a long time, and he was tilting his head slightly, looking at the huge altar deep in the ice cave ahead and the movements of He Manhe and the others.

There was no powerful aura emanating from him.

She seemed like a lost girl from next door who had suddenly stumbled into this deadly trap of wind, snow, and darkness.

Fang Qingyu's gaze immediately focused on the top of her head.
【? ? ? 】

Three scarlet question marks, like congealed blood.

An existence beyond the third tier?
Fang Qingyu's heart felt as if it were being gripped tightly by an invisible giant hand, almost stopping its beating.

"you"

Fang Qingyu's voice was slightly hoarse as he stared intently at that pale face.

The girl seemed startled by their intense reaction, frowning slightly before finally turning her gaze away from the front and onto the five people who looked as if they were facing a formidable enemy.

Those large, clear black and white eyes held little emotion, only a hint of bewilderment at being disturbed.

"See what I do?"

Her voice was soft, with a touch of girlish clarity, yet it was exceptionally clear within the viscous, eternal night: "Didn't you call me here?"

These words were like ice water poured over their heads, instantly causing Fang Qingyu and the others to freeze in their tense nerves.

Did we call her?

Fang Qingyu suddenly remembered the beacon he had pressed.

A tremendous wave of emotion surged within them.

This support came too quickly.

Moreover, this intensity is ridiculously high.

Beings above the third rank can appear out of nowhere.

"You're part of the Federation's support?!"

Fang Qingyu lowered his voice, his tone carrying a strong sense of confirmation, and his gaze involuntarily swept back to the three scarlet question marks.

The girl didn't say anything.

He simply stretched out a small, equally pale hand, expressionless, and rummaged in the large pocket of his work clothes, pulling out a palm-sized, dark blue, badly worn ID card.

He casually flipped open the document and handed it to Fang Qingyu.

For Fang Qingyu, the information on the document was clearly visible:

[Shenqiao Bureau - Top-Tier Strategic Sequence]

Code Name: Nine

[Privilege Level: █████ (Highest)]

[Affiliation: Directly under the General Administration - Dormant Archives]

[Note: Emergency Response Unit]

The bottom right corner of the ID features the highest-ranking nine-pointed star emblem of the Sanctuary of the District of Columbia.

Chu Kuanglan, Lu Jiuyuan, and Wei Banmeng also saw the contents of the document, and the shock on their faces instantly turned into a stiff, blank expression.

Top-tier strategic order?

Highest privileges!?

Each word carries an unimaginable weight.

The girl's identity and status were completely beyond their comprehension.

This is by no means an ordinary "reinforcement force".

Fang Qingyu took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing the shock in his heart.

Although the vigilance had not completely dissipated, the chilling killing intent in the face of an unknown and powerful enemy had been subdued.

She nodded slightly: "Understood. Thank you for your support."

The girl, codenamed "Nine," retrieved her ID and put it back in her pocket.

His gaze returned to the depths of the ice cave, his voice still flat: "Let's continue the mission."

Her words were like a cold command, instantly pulling Fang Qingyu and the other four back to the harsh reality.

"Yes!"

Fang Qingyu responded in a deep voice and did not ask any further questions.

The words Su Wanqing had said at the observation deck came to mind.

This gave him a guess.

But now is not the time to explore these things.

Everyone immediately refocused their attention on the altar in front of them.

At this moment, in the center of the ice cave.

He Manhe had already floated several meters directly above the altar.

Her once captivating face was now devoid of any alluring languor, replaced by an almost divine indifference.

He muttered incantations, uttering low, obscure syllables that seemed to come from ancient times. Each syllable caused the light of the dark golden runes on the altar to flow faster, and the pressure in the entire ice cave suddenly increased.

"Do it."

Her icy voice was like a judgment.

As she finished speaking, dozens of figures silently emerged from the shadows at the entrance of the ice cave.

They were all dressed in loose, unmarked, pure white robes that covered them completely from head to toe, leaving not a single inch of skin exposed.

Their movements were perfectly synchronized, yet with a chilling stiffness.

Like a puppet controlled by invisible threads, they silently and swiftly approached the massive dark gold altar.

Under the astonished and uncertain gazes of everyone.

The dozens of people in white robes surrounded the altar, forming a tight circle.

Then, in an eerie, deathly silence.

They moved mechanically, simultaneously pulling out daggers that gleamed with a cold, eerie light from their wide white sleeves.

The dagger had an ancient design, and its blade was an ominous dark red, as if it had long been saturated with blood.

next moment!
Pfft——! ! !
The subtle sounds of dozens of sharp blades slicing through flesh merged into a muffled thud that sent chills down your spine!

Dozens of pale arms gripping daggers.

With the exact same angle and force, it slashed across his own neck.

The movements were swift and decisive, without the slightest hesitation, as if they had been practiced a thousand times.

Scalding red blood gushed out instantly from dozens of neat incisions.

No screaming, no struggle.

Only the hissing sound of gushing blood and the nauseatingly strong smell of blood spread like an explosion in the cold ice cave!
Those figures in white robes seemed to have all their strength drained away in an instant. They remained in the posture of committing suicide, then knelt heavily on the ground, their heads hanging limply.

Blood gushed out from beneath them like a stream, quickly spreading across the frost on the ground.

However, a strange scene happened.

The blood that flowed freely, which should have frozen, seemed to be drawn by some invisible force when it touched the ground near the base of the altar.

Like a living being, it defies the laws of physics.

They began to scramble and writh towards the bottom of the altar.

The dark golden altar base, like a thirsty sponge, greedily absorbed the blood of the sacrifices.

As the blood flowed in, the runes on the altar surface suddenly became intensely bright.

A faint, piercing crimson hue began to emerge from the dark gold, and an ancient, ferocious aura, like the awakening of a slumbering beast, mixed with a heavy stench of blood, spread out with a roar.

"vomit"

"What the hell is this evil magic?!"

"Damn! These lunatics!!"

Among the dozen or so "reinforcements" intimidated by He Manhe's intimidating presence.

Finally, someone completely broke down.

A tall, thin man holding two hooks had a face as pale as paper.

Another burly man, his eyes bloodshot with rage, pointed at He Manhe, Wu Gang, and the others, his voice trembling and hoarse with fear and anger:
"Who the hell are you?! This isn't some Martial Saint's ruins at all! This is an evil god's ritual!! You're lying to me!!!"

The roar was like a thunderclap, instantly awakening the others who were blinded by greed and fear.

As they looked at the headless white-robed corpses kneeling on the ground, at the frantically writhing and gathering blood, and at the increasingly dense blood-red light on the altar, a chill ran from the soles of their feet straight to the top of their heads.

Even the greatest temptation turns into bone-chilling fear in the face of such a bloody and evil ritual.

"Wu Gang! Lin Wei! You two better explain yourselves!"

Another hot-tempered swordsman also questioned sharply, his hand already on the hilt of his sword. If it weren't for He Manhe's terrifying third-level pressure still pressing down on them like a tangible force, some of them would probably have already been unable to hold back and fought desperately.

The situation suddenly became tense.

Wu Gang's expression changed, and a hint of ruthlessness flashed in his eyes, but he suppressed it instantly.

He took a sudden step forward and shouted sharply, "Shut up, all of you! What's the panic!"

He then rushed over to a kneeling white-robed corpse and roughly ripped off its hood.

A distorted, inhuman face was exposed before everyone's eyes!

The features of this face were almost squeezed together, the skin had a putrid grayish-green color, and there was a crack in the center of the forehead, through which tiny tentacles seemed to be wriggling.

They are definitely not normal human beings.

"Look clearly."

Wu Gang's voice carried a deliberate anger and contempt. He then lifted the hoods of several more corpses, revealing horrific faces that were twisted, deformed, and clearly marked with the characteristics of heretics.

"These are heretics cultists lurking within the City of Glazed Light! They are humanity's mortal enemies! They are the minions of the Fates! Using their filthy blood to open the ruins is purification! It's making use of waste! Do you understand?! Do you really pity these scumbags?!"

Wu Gang's words struck everyone's hearts like a cold hammer.

Looking at those hideous, inhuman corpses, and listening to Wu Gang's talk of "purification" and "waste utilization," the fear and anger that had just risen deflated like a punctured balloon.

Many people showed a look of realization and a hint of embarrassment.

Yes, heretics.
That's no longer human.

Using their blood... it doesn't seem so hard to accept anymore?
Especially considering the possibility of a "Martial Saint's Legacy" existing within the ruins.
The swordsman who had shouted first turned pale and then red, and finally reluctantly lowered his hand from his sword, bowing slightly in He Manhe's direction: "I was reckless."

He Manhe hovered in the air, not even glancing down at anyone below, as if the commotion just now was merely the chatter of ants.

Her entire focus was on the altar.

Om-! ! !
The altar, having absorbed enough blood, emitted a dull rumble, and its surface shone with a brilliant crimson light.

The entire ice cave began to shake violently!
Click. Click.
Before everyone's horrified eyes, the enormous dark gold altar, several meters high, slowly split apart from the center, as if pried open by an invisible force.

The heavy, metallic scraping sound was deafening, and ice shards fell in a flurry.

A deep, downward-sloping staircase, barely wide enough for one person to pass through, appeared prominently at the bottom of the altar.

The passage was pitch black, and a blast of cold air, as solid as a physical current, surged out.

He Manhe finally landed slowly and stood in front of the entrance to the passage.

The indifference on his face faded slightly, replaced by a rare solemnity.

"The entrance is now open."

Her voice was cold, yet clearly audible to everyone.

"The guardians of the ruins have been alerted. They are all top-tier members of the second-tier peak, and may even possess special abilities. Be careful and follow my lead."

Having said that, she looked away from everyone, her wine-red figure flashing as she stepped into the bottomless passage. Wu Gang, Lin Wei, Chen Mingyuan, and Gray Shadow followed without hesitation.

The remaining dozen or so second-tier powerhouses exchanged glances, their eyes filled with both fear of the unknown and a renewed burning greed.

Thinking of the "Martial Saint's Relics" and the reward promised by He Manhe.

Thinking again that those were merely "sacrifices" to pagan cultists, the scales in my heart tipped once more.

"go!"

The bear roared, hoisted its giant axe, and strode inside.

The others gritted their teeth and filed in one after another.

Soon, only a few dozen headless white-robed corpses kneeling around the altar remained, along with an overwhelming stench of blood in the air.

The Dark Gold Altar stopped moving after it split.

The entrance to the passage resembled the open mouth of a giant beast, exuding an eerie and deathly aura.

Fang Qingyu and his group of five, led by the one codenamed "Nine," silently drifted out of the Eternal Night Territory and landed on the ground of the ice cave.

The ice beneath my feet was soaked with thick blood, making an unpleasant "crunching" sound when I stepped on it.

Seeing the carnage-like scene before them, even Chu Kuanglan and Lu Jiuyuan, who had experienced the bloody battle at Black Pine Pass, had extremely ugly expressions.

Fang Qingyu's gaze swept over the twisted corpses.

I wasn't particularly moved.

The Pantheon has no moral bottom line; using heretics for blood sacrifices is just routine for them.

He was more concerned about the attitude of the person codenamed "Nine" and the dangers ahead in the passage.

He subconsciously glanced at the petite girl beside him, his eyes carrying a hint of inquiry and reminder.

Codenamed "Nine" merely glanced indifferently at the bloody altar and the deep passage, her pale face remaining expressionless.

She took a step and walked straight to the entrance of the passage, leaving behind only a single, nonchalant word:

"Walk."

Fang Qingyu and his group of five immediately followed.

The moment you step into the passage, a chilling, deathly aura, mixed with the stench of blood and ancient dust, hits you, several times more concentrated than inside the ice cave.

The passage was narrow, allowing only one person to pass at a time, and the steps descended steeply, as if leading straight to hell.

An invisible pressure filled the air, making it difficult to breathe.

Codenamed "Nine" walked at the very front, its pace slow but exceptionally steady.

Fang Qingyu followed closely behind. Although the Eternal Night Territory had mostly subsided, it still instinctively surrounded the group, isolating them from the biting cold and the invisible pressure that was trying to erode their spirits.

Chu Kuanglan and the other two circulated their cultivation techniques, their qi and blood surging within their bodies as they resisted the chill and oppressive force, their expressions solemn.

The passageway was deathly silent, with only their extremely faint footsteps echoing in the narrow space.

The walls are made of solid ice that has never melted, and they are icy cold to the touch.

Deep within the ice wall, there seemed to be some blurry, distorted shadows frozen in time, whether ancient creatures or former intruders, it was hard to tell.

It took us more than half an hour to walk downhill.

The passage remained unfathomably deep.

Just when everyone's nerves were stretched to the limit
"Roar--!!!"

"Clang!! Boom!!!"

"Watch out on the left!!"

"what--!!"

The sounds of fierce fighting, the explosions of colliding energy, the roars of the demons, and the screams and cries of humans surged up from below like a boiling tide.

The sound was amplified and distorted within the narrow passage, causing a buzzing in the eardrums.

Arrived!

Fang Qingyu and his companions perked up and quickened their pace.

After another sharp turn downhill, the view ahead suddenly opened up.

The passage leads to an underground space that is even larger and deeper than the ice cave above.

At this moment, near the entrance to this underground space.

It has already turned into a bloody battlefield.

He Manhe remained suspended at the forefront of the battlefield, her wine-red figure like a beacon on the battlefield.

He didn't go all out; he just occasionally waved his sleeve, and an invisible, terrifying force swept out, tearing apart and crushing the life ghosts that fearlessly charged forward.

Each of her moves was like creating a brief vacuum in a surging tide, giving the team behind her precious space to advance.

behind her.

With Wu Gang, Lin Wei, and three others at the core, the remaining dozen or so second-tier grandmasters and chosen ones formed a tight formation, frantically resisting the surging tide of life ghosts pouring out from the darkness from all directions.

These ghosts of fate come in all shapes and sizes.

They were all at the peak of the second tier.

Moreover, their numbers were enormous, surging forth from the depths of darkness like a tidal wave.

"Hold on! Charge with the Apostle!"

Wu Gang was covered in blood, wielding a giant blade as big as a door.

It cleaved an ice spider that pounced at it in two, roaring furiously.

The flashing lights of battle illuminated the entrance area like a bizarre and surreal hell, finally revealing the depths of this vast underground space.

Fang Qingyu and four others, along with the person codenamed "Nine," stood in the shadows at the exit of the passage.

My gaze was instantly drawn to something deep within the space.

There stand several enormous statues, some tens of meters tall.

The statue is made of neither gold nor stone, and has a dark red color like congealed blood. Its surface is covered with traces of erosion from the years and huge cracks.

Several of the statues have been completely destroyed.

Only the massive base and huge fragments scattered on the ground remain, testifying to the fierce battle that once took place.

Only the statue in the very center.

It remains relatively intact, standing majestically in the darkness.

When Fang Qingyu and the others saw the statue clearly, their pupils suddenly contracted.

That wasn't human!
The main body of the statue is an unimaginably huge serpent.

The snake's body was as thick as a mountain range, coiled and twisted, covered with huge, dark red scales like roof tiles, each scale engraved with twisted runes.

On the snake's body
Nine enormous, ferocious snake heads rose high like nine small mountains.

They come in various forms, yet share a common source of ferocity.

Some snake heads had wide-open, angry eyes with exposed fangs, and seemed to still retain solidified flames in their mouths. Other snake heads had their eyes tightly closed, but twisted bone horns grew on their heads, emitting a chilling aura. Still others had their heads strangely split open, revealing countless fine, suction-cup-like sharp teeth.
Nine enormous snake eyes.

Even if it's just a cold statue.

It also seemed to contain endless resentment, greed, and destructive desires, coldly staring at the intruder across millennia.

A terrifying pressure emanated from the hydra statue, enveloping the entire underground space.

Those frantically attacking guardian spirits.

It seems that they were driven by the aura of the statue.

"Nine-headed Xiangliu?"

The previously silent codenamed "Nine" showed an extremely subtle change in her expression for the first time as she gazed at the enormous hydra statue.

She seemed somewhat uncertain, yet also somewhat understanding, as she softly uttered an ancient and fierce name.

Her voice was soft.

But it exploded in Fang Qingyu's ears like a thunderclap.

Xiangliu!

The fierce god recorded in the "Classic of Mountains and Seas: The Great Wilderness North"!
A minister of Gonggong, the water god!

It has a snake's body and nine heads, devours countless people, and wherever it goes, it turns the land into a swamp, filled with a foul stench, and where no crops grow.

Later, it was killed by Yu the Great. Its blood was extremely foul and its flowed so badly that nothing grew where it flowed.

Could this not be the remains of a martial saint at all?!

Just as the code name "Nine" revealed the statue's identity.

Rumble, rumble—! ! !
The entire underground space suddenly began to shake violently and unprecedentedly.

It's ten times more powerful than when the altar was activated! A hundred times more powerful!
The ice wall shattered, and huge ice shards crashed down like swords of divine punishment.

The ice on the ground cracked inch by inch, and the people and ghosts who were fighting fiercely could not stand steadily and staggered.

"Roar--!!!"

A terrifying and violent roar, as if from the deepest part of the Netherworld, suddenly exploded from the direction of the nine-headed Xiangliu statue in the deepest part of the space.

The roar had an unimaginable penetrating power, making everyone's blood boil and their eardrums feel like they were about to burst.

It also carries an ancient pressure that sends shivers down your spine.

Immediately following, an extremely loud roar, yet tinged with a heavy, strange accent, resounded throughout the entire underground space like rolling thunder:

"Who is it?!"

"Disturbing my slumber?!"

The sound was like a tangible shockwave, carrying with it millennia of accumulated resentment and killing intent, and it swept over us with a deafening roar!

However, amidst this desperate roar...

Instead of showing any fear, He Manhe's stunningly beautiful face shone with an almost fanatical light of surprise.

The three people, including Wu Gang, behind her, as well as the gray figure.

His eyes also blazed with barely suppressed excitement.

He Manhe even ignored the huge icicle falling from above, which was shattered into dust by an invisible force just a few feet away from her body.

She abruptly looked up, gazing towards the direction of the nine-headed Xiangliu statue, which was trembling most violently and seemed to be coming to life. Her voice, with an almost fawning penetrating quality, rang out in a high-pitched tone:

"My lord! It's me! He Manhe!"

"I've brought you offerings!! Fresh and powerful offerings!!"

Her voice was filled with eagerness and ecstasy, as if she were offering the most precious gift to the second-tier martial artists behind her who had grim faces.

As she cried out, the nine-headed Xiangliu statue trembled even more violently. A viscous, living energy seemed to slowly flow across its dark red stone surface, and a dim light seemed to be struggling to gather and illuminate the nine enormous snake eyes.
At the very moment He Manhe shouted out!

Fang Qingyu only felt a blur before his eyes!
The petite figure that stood calmly in front of them.

Codenamed "Nine," it vanished silently, like a drop of ink merging into the darkness.

Without any warning, without any energy fluctuations, even the Eternal Night Territory failed to detect a trace.

"What about people?!"

Wei Banmeng gasped in shock, and Chu Kuanglan and Lu Jiuyuan tensed up instantly, their eyes scanning the battlefield like lightning.

The next moment.

In the eyes of everyone, in the center of that bloody and chaotic battlefield.

Between the nine-headed Xiangliu colossal statue that seemed about to come to life and the ecstatic He Manhe...
The petite girl, dressed in faded dark blue work clothes, seemed to have stepped out of thin air and floated there quietly.

The chilling energy turbulence rolled up her wide trouser legs and ruffled her slightly messy bangs.

Beneath his feet lay severed limbs, frozen pools of blood, and struggling ghosts; above him, massive icicles fell and a raging energy storm raged.

And she remained calmly suspended in the center of this scene of destruction.

As insignificant as a speck of dust in a storm, yet seemingly the sole anchor point of the entire storm.

She slightly raised her pale, bloodless face and calmly gazed at the towering, nine-headed Xiangliu statue, tens of meters high, radiating overwhelming ferocity and seemingly poised to devour anyone at any moment.

Then, a voice, clear and distinct, though not loud, boomed like thunder in everyone's ears, resounding throughout the chaotic underground space:

"This area is forbidden to the gods..."

"do not you know?"

"You still dare to hide here...!?"

(End of this chapter)