Chapter 319 - Activating the Ritual (2/2)
And along with the disappearance of the sword energy, the Dongran couple similarly lost the last glimmer of hope in their hearts.
There was no longer any ways for them to win.
Behind them, Lu Tianzi's returning sword light gathered and struck out towards them, but they had already completely depleted their energy in that last strike. There was simply no time for them to gather their strength and defend against something that was coming from behind.
Slash-!
The dazed Master Dongran instantly regained his senses, gasping in horror as fresh blood sprayed onto the ground.
”Chan'er!” Master Dongran hurriedly held onto Madam Dongran's falling body.
At the very last moment, Madam Dongran had used her own body to shield Master Dongran from the sword light, taking the full hit herself to keep Master Dongran unharmed.
”Bu, you must live on…” Madam Dongran grasped Master Dongran's arm. ”Even if we failed this time, I am sure you will be able to succeed in the future. Don't ever give up…”
”Chan'er…!” Master Dongran teared up as he gazed upon the pale face of his beloved wife. ”What are you saying? How can I ever do this again without y-”
Before he could finish his sentence, the Moon Culler had severed his head in one clean strike.
Madam Dongran's eyes widened in horror, but her horror did not last long either.
She might have already received a fatal blow, but Lu Tianzi was not intending to simply let her bleed to death.
Slash-!
Madam Dongran's head fell to the ground, rolling to a stop beside her husband's limp body.
With that, the Dongran couple, heads of the esteemed Dongran Family, had finally left this world.
Now that things were settled here, Lu Tianzi turned to look towards the crowd below the stage.
They were still in a state of complete chaos, and many of them had already started fighting amongst themselves, perhaps having grown confused at who was the enemy.
With all of them fighting for their lives, not even a single one of them had realised that their leader had already been killed on stage.
Even Aged Crow who was supposed to be on stage with them had fainted from the shockwaves of their fight.
How pathetic…
Lu Tianzi stretched a hand out towards the crowd, and an immense pressure immediately fell upon everyone present.
”Argh!”
The fighting stopped in an instant as everyone was forced to focus on withstanding the pressure instead. One by one they fell to their knees, unable to move a single step.
”You already won?” Nanlan Qianxue casually leapt onto the stage after witnessing this scene.
By now, her clothes had been dyed red from the fighting, and her long hair was almost dripping with fresh blood.
”Are you ready?” Lu Tianzi asked in return.
Nanlan Qianxue nodded solemnly.
”Then I will start.”
Lu Tianzi released the pressure on the townsmen, leaving them scared and breathless while he directed his Origin Force towards the Sky Crystal in the middle of the clearing.
The moment his Origin Force entered the Sky Crystal, it was like the Sky Crystal had received a signal, directly bursting apart into countless small fragments.
Shatter-!
Shatter-! Shatter-! Shatter-! Shatter-!
Linked by a trail of light that seemed to symbolise a shared fate, the four Sky Crystals at the corners of the clearing immediately followed suit, shattering into pieces.
Not just that, but the numerous Sky Crystals placed in the vicinity started shattering one by one as well.
With each Sky Crystal that shattered, the emblem of light on the ground grew brighter.
With each Sky Crystal that shattered, the masked townsmen felt their hearts beating faster.
Faster, and faster, and faster…
”What's going on?” one of them clutched his chest in pain. ”My heart… it hurts!”
”Something is wrong!”
”Help! Save me!”
One by one, the masked townsmen fell to their knees, most of them clutching their chest in agony.
Now, even without Lu Tianzi's pressure, they were no longer in the state to fight.
It was as though they were suffering from an intense poison, and their strength was rapidly draining from their bodies.
Thud-!
The first masked townsman fell to the ground, his body limp and motionless, the light in his eyes lost forever.
And then the next, and the next…
More than a thousand of them fell within a matter of seconds, the Slaughter Essence from within them gathering to form a sphere of darkness above the clearing.
But they were only the first wave to fall.
Underneath the mansion, a large group of people were being held prisoner, kept barely alive and too weak to break free.
Under the effect of the sacrificial ritual, they suffered the same fate as the masked townsmen, falling into a state of eternal sleep while their Slaughter Essences passed through the walls and were drawn into the sphere of darkness above.
Further away, there were quite a few groups of martial artists that had come seeking the bounty promised by the town lord.
Even though they had not offered up their blood as sacrifice, they were still caught in the range of the ritual.
They, too, fell to the ground one by one, unable to resist the mysterious powers of the sacrificial ritual.
Their Slaughter Essences were similarly absorbed into the sphere of darkness that hovered in the air.
While their numbers were not as high as the others, their individual strength was much greater.
This was the reason why they had the confidence to target the leader of the Blazing Wings. Unfortunately, their higher cultivation levels only ended up serving to benefit others.
Nourished by the number of deaths, the sphere of darkness grew at a rapid pace, reaching a point where it was almost as large as the mansion itself.
This sphere of darkness was rapidly absorbing all remnants of Slaughter Essence energy in the area, including that of those who had lost their lives just prior to its appearance - this naturally included the Dongran couple.
And then it completely burst apart, forming two streams of Slaughter Essence energy that headed straight for Lu Tianzi and Nanlan Qianxue, directly entering their inner world!