Chapter 253: Chapter 252: Grand Cultivation Medicine, Luring Out for the Kill
「Time passed.」
By noon, the sun grew even more brilliant, its golden light scorching and fierce.
Inside the arena.
The Divine Combat was also about to end!
Ninety-nine hearts!
Piled high on a golden platter.
They were offered up before the statue of the Goddess of Fertility!
These hearts all belonged to the Warriors who had been defeated and killed in the duels!
Their hearts, their honor, their souls—all would be offered as sacrifices to the Goddess of Fertility!
HUM.
A strange power clung to the hearts, causing them to beat as if still alive, radiating a scalding heat and pulsing with the vitality of life.
’Ensuring the "ingredients" stay fresh?’ Su Ye sneered inwardly.
Then, atop the high platform, several Priests exchanged a look and nodded.
Bishop Moluo, who looked like a gaunt old man, stood up.
TAP.
He lightly touched the high platform with his gem-encrusted spiritual wood scepter, creating a crisp sound.
A ripple of Spiritual Power flickered out.
In an instant, Bishop Moluo’s voice spread throughout the entire arena.
"Believers!"
"The blood and bravery of the Warriors have drawn the Goddess’s gaze!"
"Now, pray!"
"The grand feast is about to begin!"
The atmosphere in the arena grew even more fervent.
Nearly ten thousand people began to pray.
The sound of their prayers gradually synchronized, like trickling streams merging into an ocean.
Su Ye frowned slightly. As the prayers grew louder, he could feel a vast and powerful energy field gathering within the arena.
It exerted a certain pressure on his Divine Sense.
Then, a group of Priests emerged from the passageway.
Behind them, accompanying soldiers escorted a throng of slaves!
There were nearly a thousand slaves, and their role was obvious!
Sacrifices!
"This scale? Were the previous Divine Combats always this large?"
Muer was shocked by the sight.
"Not always, but over the past few months... the frequency and number of sacrifices have increased dramatically."
Nais shook his head, a hint of worry in his eyes.
Such a frenzied blood sacrifice gave even the Priests no sense of security.
’Today I’m sitting in the stands, but tomorrow... I might be one of the sacrifices on the field, waiting for the blade...’
Nais shuddered and lowered his head, his expression grim.
At that moment, the slaves were brought onto the fighting stage and forced to kneel.
The Priests, holding short blades, walked past the slaves, killing them batch by batch with incredibly practiced motions!
As the slaves died one after another and the blood sacrifice proceeded, a vibrant, crimson light bloomed from the statue in the arena, shimmering like ripples on water!
Faintly visible within this bloody light were a few wisps of gold.
"Hmph..." Su Ye grunted softly.
After the blood sacrifice began, the suppressive force in the arena continuously intensified. ƒгeewebnovёl.com
His Divine Sense was completely forced back into the silver ring, unable to extend even an inch. He could only observe the world through Muer’s eyes.
’It can actually suppress my Divine Sense to this degree?’
Su Ye was startled.
His Divine Sense had already reached the Crystal Perfection Level, and thanks to his cultivation of the *Six Desires Secret Scripture*, it was even more condensed and pure.
To completely suppress his Divine Sense like this, preventing it from extending at all, meant that the power of this statue was of extremely high quality!
’It was definitely the right decision not to enter the city on my own.’
Su Ye thought to himself.
And just then, as the blood sacrifice reached its peak, the last slave was killed, collapsing to the ground.
The power in the arena reached its absolute zenith!
Ninety-nine fresh hearts beating, over a thousand lives and souls, supplemented by the devout prayers of ten thousand people...
DRIP.
Gleaming with a magnificent luster, golden-red blood materialized from thin air and dripped into the golden bowl held in the statue’s hands.
Soon, the golden bowl filled to the brim with the golden-red blood, which emanated intense Spiritual Power fluctuations and an enticingly fragrant aroma, as if it were a divine object!
It was impossible to imagine how evil and bloody its creation process had been!
A great cultivation elixir!
Using Muer’s vision, Su Ye gazed at the distant statue, his thoughts stirring.
’Is this considered a form of Alchemy from the Far South Continent? Using blood sacrifice as the foundation, faith as a catalyst, and a ritual Orbit to refine it... If you remove the blood sacrifice, it seems there might be some merit to it?’
Su Ye observed, murmuring to himself.
As far as he knew, the path of Alchemy in Yaoguang was mostly based on plants and herbs for anything below the fourth order.
After the fourth order, there was supposedly the Gold Stone Core Dao?
But using faith and will for Alchemy? Su Ye had never heard of such a technique.
’A technique bestowed by a deity...’
’That makes sense. In a world of the extraordinary, high-level beings are the key to everything.’
Su Ye mused.
Then, the golden-red blood in the statue’s golden bowl vanished at a speed visible to the naked eye.
"The Goddess is very pleased with this sacrifice!"
Bishop Moluo explained.
’Hmph... just a smokescreen.’ Su Ye sneered internally.
Once the golden-red blood was refined, the energy field blanketing the arena dissipated, and Su Ye’s Divine Sense could finally extend outwards again.
According to his senses, the golden-red blood produced by the sacrifice had absolutely not been consumed by the Goddess of Fertility. Instead, it had been transported away by some method!
’Harvesting blood sacrifices to create a great elixir—that’s the purpose of the Divine Combat!’
So... where was such a large quantity of this elixir being used?
Unfortunately, Su Ye’s knowledge of deities was still somewhat limited. It was difficult to deduce the purpose by merely guessing.
’But why do I need to guess?’ Su Ye couldn’t help but smile.
He gazed at Bishop Moluo in the arena.
A temple bishop, a Second-Order Priest.
’With that status and power, he must rank among the top ten in Aino City, right?’
He was even entrusted with presiding over the [Divine Combat]...
’He must know quite a lot...’
Su Ye was certain.
...
「Over the next few days.」
The Divine Combat continued, and with greater frequency.
It changed from once a week to once every three days.
And though the frequency increased, the scale of the blood sacrifices didn’t shrink—it grew!
SHING!
Muer’s movements were nimble. Empowered by the Wind Talisman and the silver ring, his speed was immense.
With this incredible velocity, combined with the accelerated thoughts provided by the silver ring, he easily ran his longsword through his opponent’s skull!
Muer’s opponent collapsed, filled with indignation and regret!
This person also had a Talisman, but unfortunately, he was too slow and didn’t have a chance to use it.
"Lord Muer won!"
"So fast! He’s leaving afterimages... did you guys see that?" freёwebnovel.com
"That’s Gale Muer for you."
Muer left the stage, letting the crowd murmur among themselves.
"That’s great, you won again..."
Nais said enthusiastically.
Muer exchanged pleasantries, but his mind was elsewhere.
He could feel a cold, sinister gaze locked onto him.
Bishop Moluo.
’A Second-Order Priest, a being who could crush me with a flick of his finger...’
However, Muer felt no fear in his heart.
Instead, he felt a little expectant.
"Tonight, you will leave the city."
Su Ye’s voice rang in his ear.
"Yes, Mr. Su!"
Muer replied respectfully.