Chapter 139: Advancement [2]

However, the middle-aged man’s face fell upon hearing this.

"Be quiet! How can you speak of the Lord Celestial God in private? That’s disrespectful and will bring disaster upon us."

His tone was unusually severe.

Hearing this, the little boy’s eyes turned red, and it looked as if he was about to cry.

"Why are you being so harsh? The child was just asking out of curiosity! There, there, Gou Dan, don’t cry."

The woman at his side shot the middle-aged man a look, then gently stroked the little boy’s head, letting him rest on her lap.

The little boy fell silent. Listening to the rain, he comfortably closed his eyes and soon fell asleep on the woman’s lap.

After a long silence, the middle-aged man finally spoke.

"According to tradition, it’s our family’s turn for the village’s ascension quota this year. I’ll be the one to go. After I’m gone...

...if you can manage to raise Gouwa, then do so. If you can’t, find someone else to marry. Leave some of the family’s sheep for him. Gouwa isn’t a little kid anymore; let him learn to fend for himself."

Hearing this,

The woman didn’t answer. She simply lowered her head, her gaze gentle as she looked at the boy’s peaceful, sleeping face. Her eyes were filled with love and tenderness. After stroking his cheek, a pale smile touched her lips.

"Husband, what nonsense are you talking about? If you go, what will happen to Gouwa? He can’t live without his father. Let me take the ascension spot this time. Don’t fight me for it.

I’m just a woman, and I’m getting old anyway. I’m not as useful as you. It’s just a shame... I won’t be able to watch Gouwa grow up."

The middle-aged man opened his mouth to speak,

but no words came out.

A bitter look flashed across his face, and he let out a heavy sigh.

The ascension quota. It sounded so pleasant.

But everyone knew it was just a euphemism.

The reality was being eaten by the Lord Celestial Gods—becoming nothing more than rations.

Yet, even knowing this, the people who lived here were completely powerless.

Faced with Celestial Gods as powerful as Divine Spirits, all they could do was obey.

It had been this way for generations.

No one could defy the Celestial Gods. After all, they were Divine Spirits, beings that could not be killed by mortals.

...

At this moment, high atop a mountain peak, a throne floated in the air.

A black-robed figure sat upon it. Rain poured down from the sky.

Strangely, not a single drop touched the hem of his clothes.

"Killed by a mere human! What a worthless fool!"

Suddenly, the black-robed figure looked up, revealing a young man with silver hair, two horns, and an ethereally handsome face.

His expression was grim, his face somewhat pale.

’According to his plan, nothing should have gone wrong.’

’After all, the few remaining Venerables on the Surface World were being held up by the other Food Masters; they couldn’t possibly have intervened.’

’But now, the important pawn he had chosen had been killed.’

’Not only that, but he had even lost contact with the trace of Soul Power he’d left inside the pawn’s body.’

As a result, his own Divine Soul had been injured.

’Unlike the physical body, the Divine Soul recovers very slowly. The injury could even have a considerable impact on his power.’

’Logically, something like this should have been impossible.’

’To accomplish such a feat, one of the few Refining God Venerables would have had to act. Otherwise, it was impossible.’

’But according to his information, that person was merely a Secret Martial Artist at the Martial Arts Family level, not even a Qi Dao Grandmaster.’

’Then there was only one possibility.’

’This person was definitely hiding a great secret.’

Thinking this,

he glanced up at the channel.

This channel hadn’t been formed by the shifting crust of Earth Star; he had created it himself.

Therefore, it couldn’t be maintained indefinitely.

’No matter what, I can’t let this person live. Otherwise, he will surely become a disaster in the future!’

With this thought, the ethereal, black-robed young man raised his palm. A ball of black energy condensed and shot directly into the gloomy sky.

Vast amounts of gray mist intertwined like tentacles, extending up into the channel.

The channel, which had begun to shrink, stabilized once more.

"Blood Yin! Blood Sun!"

The ethereal, white-haired young man in the black robe called out.

The next moment, two figures—a man and a woman—clad in Blood Pattern Armor appeared before him and knelt on one knee.

"We greet you, Lord Ao Lin!"

they said respectfully in unison.

"Go to the Surface World. Bring this person back to me. If you can’t, kill him on the spot. Understood?"

The ethereal, white-haired young man—Ao Lin—spoke flatly.

As he spoke, a wisp of black mist materialized before him and coalesced into a large mirror.

When the mist cleared, it revealed a scene from within a ruined city. In the ruins, the image of a scar-faced young man appeared.

"Yes! We understand!"

The pair glanced at the image, memorized the man’s face, and acknowledged the order.

After receiving Ao Lin’s confirmation,

their figures transformed into two black shadows that shot toward the sky. They plunged directly into the vortex in the clouds and vanished in the blink of an eye.

’It’s a shame. If not for *that* person, I wouldn’t have to be so restrained.’

Ao Lin muttered to himself as the image of a certain figure appeared in his mind.

A look of deep apprehension flashed across his face.

’Still, what does it matter how strong he is? The old fool’s lifespan is nearly at its end. How much longer can he hold on?

The Surface World has always been our feeding ground. Now is the time for the harvest, and you can’t stop it alone!’

...

「Inside Anshan City.」

BOOM! BOOM! ...

A series of massive explosions echoed from within the gray mist. The ground shook, and rubble shattered.

Each blast was accompanied by the faint sound of a scream.

On the city streets, hidden from the eyes of ordinary people by the gray mist, moved a figure like the Grim Reaper.

Wherever it passed, any Black Blood Species hiding within a thousand-meter radius would be found and killed.

As time passed, the many Black Blood Species who had been treating the city as their hunting ground were terrified out of their wits.

The figure was far too powerful, moving so fast it was little more than an afterimage. Before they could even react, they were dead.

This was true even for the powerful Lower-Rank Black Blood Species.

Under these circumstances, the other Black Blood Species scattered in terror. The gray mist didn’t obstruct their vision,

but it also sealed them within Anshan City, cutting off any escape.

The mist had been meant to prevent their "blood food" from escaping.

Now, it had turned them into fish in a barrel.

Fortunately,

Anshan City was large enough that there were still places to hide, for now.

...

In an underground parking garage, gray mist swirled silently, thick and viscous like a slowly writhing veil.

In one corner stood more than a dozen figures. The ground around them was littered with bloody tissue and chunks of flesh.

"Master, why are we hiding here? It’s just one portion of blood food. If we all attack together, you’re telling me we can’t take him down?"

One of the figures spoke up. Its eyes held a faint crimson glow, like the weak, eerie flickering of a candle flame.