Chapter 106: The Nine Sacrifices at the Lake

This was a realm of mountains of bones and seas of blood—broken swords and shattered walls strewn with corpses, the very soil blackened. Yet, there lay a vast lake, its waters a deep and vibrant blue, a singular breath of life amid the desolation.

The sky above was shrouded in gray, devoid of sun or moonlight.

Suddenly, a sharp crack of lightning tore through the void, splitting it open like a rift, and from this fissure emerged Zhan Bai and Qin Feng, expelled into midair.

Realizing their peril, Zhan Bai swiftly drew his flying sword, skillfully maneuvering it to catch their fall, gently lowering them to the ground.

Once on solid earth, the two scanned their unfamiliar surroundings with heightened vigilance. Both Zhan Bai and Qin Feng stood back to back, prepared for any sudden threat.

After a tense moment passed without incident, they exchanged subtle sighs of relief.

Zhan Bai’s earlier suspicion had proven true: the painted wall they had encountered was indeed a portal, transporting them directly to its southeastern region.

Before them lay the boundary between the lake and a battlefield—the very spot Zhan Bai had touched moments before.

It was truly extraordinary.

As they absorbed the scene, Qin Feng suddenly spotted figures by the lakeshore.

Not just one or two—at least a dozen.

Qin Feng tugged at Zhan Bai’s sleeve, and together they fixed their gaze on the shoreline. Upon closer inspection, Zhan Bai’s face darkened.

“It’s Li Haoran again. What mischief is he up to this time?”

This time, it was Zhan Bai who spoke first, his hatred for Li Haoran unmistakable, likely fueled by the latter’s prior interference with Fang Xinyi.

Cautiously, they edged closer.

As they neared, Qin Feng noticed something peculiar.

Along the lakeside knelt twelve individuals: Li Haoran himself; a personal guard dispatched by Li Xingjian, a formidable Earth Rank cultivator; and ten Earth Rank disciples arranged in two rows, among whom was also Huo Siyuan.

These ten Earth Rank disciples were tightly bound by a strange rope—one Qin Feng recognized as the Binding Profound Chains, a device capable of suppressing the flow of one’s inner energy, rendering the bound helpless to wield their power.

Of course, such bindings were only effective against cultivators at Earth Rank or below.

All ten remained kneeling by the lake, cowed under the pressure of the Earth Rank elite, none daring to resist, even if they wished to—since they could not mobilize their energy.

Meanwhile, Li Haoran appeared to revel in the moment, leisurely chewing on a blade of grass as he sat atop a skull, his face alight with fanatic excitement.

Qin Feng and Zhan Bai exchanged glances, both choosing to remain still, eager to see what Li Haoran intended.

Time slipped by unheeded until the lake’s surface suddenly rippled with the first wave.

Li Haoran’s eyes gleamed with delight as he stood and approached the first Shu Sword Mountain disciple. Without hesitation, he drew the Thunderbolt Sword and plunged it ruthlessly into the disciple’s back.

Blood splattered across Li Haoran’s face, but he merely licked the crimson with a twisted satisfaction.

He then hoisted the dying disciple with the Thunderbolt Sword and cast the corpse into the rising wave, which quickly stained crimson with blood.

The lake quivered.

Li Haoran smiled contentedly and resumed his seat.

Qin Feng and Zhan Bai’s expressions shifted sharply. Qin Feng’s eyes brimmed with revulsion; Zhan Bai’s face paled, struggling to comprehend why Li Haoran would slaughter his own sect members.

Before they could process further, tragedy struck again.

As the second wave rolled in, Li Haoran hurled a disciple from the Earth Corpse Sect into the lake. After a splash, a scream pierced the air as some unknown force tore the disciple’s body apart.

The lake’s surface was once more painted in blood.

This time, the water began to tremble more noticeably.

Alarmed, Qin Feng strained his vision toward the lake’s center. His eyes flickered with violet light, growing ever more disturbed.

There was a great secret hidden beneath these waters.

He sighed heavily, his expression grave.

Beside him, Zhan Bai grew restless. Barely moments passed before the third victim fell to Li Haoran’s blade, their body tossed into the churning waves.

Now the lake roiled violently, the waves growing both larger and more frequent.

Among the remaining, save for Huo Siyuan, several had wet themselves in fear. One Shu Sword Mountain disciple even pleaded desperately for mercy.

But to Li Haoran, such supplications only stoked his bloodlust further.

With the deaths of the fourth and fifth victims, Zhan Bai’s face hardened into a frosty mask of fury—his murderous intent ignited. Among the dead were two Shu Sword Mountain disciples, including one who had been a close friend, inducted into the sect alongside Zhan Bai.

Qin Feng shook his head and pointed to a faint but enormous shadow beneath the lake’s surface, signaling Zhan Bai to hold his temper.

Squinting, Zhan Bai glimpsed the shape and felt a chill of dread.

It was clear Li Haoran was conducting some arcane death ritual. To interrupt it now could provoke the wrath of the enigmatic entity lurking within the lake.

Though it had yet to fully reveal itself, the aura it exuded already sent shivers down their spines.

What was Li Haoran’s true purpose?

Both men silently pondered this question.

Evidently, the lake concealed a colossal, formidable presence—one beyond the capacity of Earth Rank cultivators to confront.

If this was a ritual, why had Li Xingjian sent Li Haoran alone, while leading Shu Sword Mountain’s disciples out to battle the Earth Corpse Sect’s forces?

“Could it be...?”

Speculation flashed between Qin Feng and Zhan Bai, their eyes meeting with newfound understanding.

Li Xingjian had orchestrated a grand scheme.

This gambit would likely cost the lives of most Shu Sword Mountain disciples.

All for what?

What secret lay beneath the lake to drive Li Xingjian to such extremes, willing to sacrifice the sect’s interests for Li Haoran’s ambitions?

Their theories proved futile.

Only patience remained.

As one by one fell, the lake’s turbulence grew, accompanied by deep, ancient roars echoing from its depths—strange cries that rattled the eardrums.

When the ninth victim plunged into the water, Li Haoran erupted into wild laughter, as if on the cusp of seizing an unparalleled treasure, his voice soaring to the heavens.

Then—

A massive, monstrous form finally emerged from the lake’s depths, exuding a savage, primeval aura from an age long past...