The ruins of Bianjing seemed to be shrouded by an invisible and evil haze, filled with a strange smell that was more suffocating than the rotten black air. Since Jiuying broke through the seal, this once prosperous city seemed to have fallen into an endless dark abyss, and it was difficult to find a trace of life. The streets were deserted, with only the cold and biting wind, like a ghost, whistling through the empty alleys with broken tiles and debris, making a sobbing sound, as if lamenting the tragic fate of the city. In this dead silence, a more evil and heinous conspiracy was quietly growing and brewing in the dark corners.
At dawn, the first ray of morning light struggled to penetrate the leaden clouds and fell on a dilapidated temple in the northwest corner of Bianjing. The dilapidated temple, which no one cared about in the past, was now surrounded by a strange atmosphere. In shock and panic, people were surprised to find that a pure white altar suddenly appeared in front of the temple overnight. On the altar, incense smoke rose up, like countless illusory white snakes, winding in the air. A woman in a plain white gauze dress, like a fairy descending from the sky, sat on a lotus seat. Her face was extremely beautiful, her skin was whiter than snow, and her eyes were deep and distant, just like the most mysterious black hole in the night sky. However, there was an indescribable sense of weirdness in her eyes that made people's backs cold.
"Goddess, have mercy! Save our child!" In the crowd, a ragged, haggard mother cried out at the top of her lungs, trying her best to squeeze to the altar. The child she held tightly in her arms was only about five or six years old. His face turned pale as paper due to fear, and his eyes were wide open, full of panic and helplessness. Seeing this, the woman raised her lips slightly, revealing a smile that seemed gentle but actually concealed a mystery. Then she slowly raised her hand and gently stroked the top of the child's head. At the moment when her fingertips touched the child's hair, something strange happened. The original strong fear in the child's eyes instantly dissipated, replaced by a hollow and numb look, as if the soul had been taken away. "Give him to me. Three days later, he will become a spiritual child who blesses Bianjing." The woman's voice was as gentle as the spring breeze, but it was like a spell that bewitched people's hearts, floating in the air. After hearing this, a glimmer of crazy hope flashed in the mother's eyes, and she handed the child over without hesitation. It was as if she was not pushing the child into an unknown abyss, but sending him onto the bright ladder to heaven.
Such heart-wrenching scenes were played out day after day in front of the altar. More and more people, under the powerful magic of the "goddess", were like puppets being manipulated, willingly offering up the boys and girls they cherished in their families. They burned incense and knelt before the altar devoutly, chanting in unison, but revealing a creepy sense of mechanicalness and numbness, as if they had lost their self-awareness and had become the walking corpses in the cult ritual.
At the same time, Lin Feng, relying on his extraordinary keen insight and firm belief, followed the subtle clues and finally found the altar with a strange atmosphere. In the middle of the night, everything was silent. When the last sacrificer left with mixed feelings, he sneaked into the ruined temple like an agile black panther. The rotten wooden door made a harsh "creaking" sound when he pushed it gently, as if it was making a desperate wail in the darkness. A strong and pungent smell of blood rushed towards him like a surging tide, and instantly penetrated into his nasal cavity, almost making him vomit on the spot. With the weak moonlight that came through the gap in the clouds, he keenly noticed that there was a hidden door behind the altar. Behind the door, he could faintly hear the suppressed sobbing of a child, and the sound was like a sharp knife, piercing his heart.
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Lin Feng took a deep breath, suppressed his anger and anxiety, and walked slowly down the narrow and steep stone steps. Every step he took seemed to step into a more gloomy and terrifying abyss of hell. In the underground altar, human skin lanterns were hung high on the rough stone wall. The faint candlelight swayed in the breeze, illuminating the wall with flickering light, reflecting the distorted and painful human faces, as if the souls under these human skins were suffering endless torture and suffering. The altar was engraved with constantly wriggling spells. Those words seemed to have life, twisting and struggling in the darkness, exuding a terrifying evil breath. In the center of the altar, the fox demon leader was concentrating on slowly injecting the souls of children into a black banner that was emitting a faint light. That banner was the "Nine Infants Soul Banner" used to resurrect the Nine Infants.
"It's you." Seeing this, Lin Feng's eyes instantly turned red, and the anger in his heart was like a blazing flame, which was difficult to suppress. He tightly grasped the Qingming Mirror in his hand, and the mirror body was slightly hot because of his inner anger, as if it was also angry about the cruel scene in front of him. The fox demon leader heard the voice and slowly turned around, still with that extremely evil and disgusting smile on his face, and his nine tails swung in the air wantonly, like nine smart but dangerous black venomous snakes. "You came just in time, I still need a sacrifice." As soon as the voice fell, countless fox demons suddenly emerged from all around, their fangs and claws, their eyes flashing with bloodthirsty red light, surrounding Lin Feng tightly.
Just when Lin Feng was in a desperate situation and helpless, a familiar red shadow flashed by like lightning. Lin Wanqiu supported her weak body and appeared at the entrance of the altar with difficulty. Her face was as pale as paper, without any blood color, and the scar on her forehead was still faintly bloodshot, as if telling of the pain and suffering she had experienced. However, her eyes were still as firm as a rock, revealing an indomitable and resolute light. "I will cooperate with you." She looked at the fox demon leader, her voice was a little weak, but it revealed an unquestionable determination, "Tell me the key to Jiuying's resurrection, I can help you block other enemies."
A sly light flashed in the eyes of the fox demon leader, which was as fleeting as a meteor. "Smart man." She raised her hand and waved, and the fox demons immediately understood and made way for a narrow passage. "To revive Jiuying, we need to collect nine kinds of extremely yin things. Now we only need the last one - the dragon heart." Her eyes were like a cold blade, slowly sweeping across Lin Wanqiu, and the corners of her mouth curled up into an extremely vicious smile, as if she had seen the moment when the conspiracy would succeed.
Lin Feng was startled and was about to speak to stop her, but he saw Lin Wanqiu shaking her head slightly, signaling him not to speak. "I promise you." Her voice was as calm as water, but it made Lin Feng feel a heart-wrenching pain, as if an invisible big hand was tightly grasping his heart. However, the so-called cooperation of the fox demon leader was nothing more than a carefully planned scam. When Lin Feng and Lin Wanqiu followed her to a secret room, the mechanism suddenly started without any warning. In an instant, countless sharp spikes shot out from all directions of the wall, as dense as raindrops. At the same time, a strange smoke quickly spread, and the smoke with a pungent smell penetrated into the nasal cavity of the two people, making their consciousness gradually blurred and their bodies became heavier.
"Do you think I really believe in Long Ling?" The fox demon leader's laughter echoed in the secret room, like the roar of a demon, full of ridicule and pride. "When you become the sacrifice of Jiuying, I will be the most powerful being in the world!" In the smoke, her figure gradually blurred and finally disappeared, leaving only the two people trapped in the secret room and the increasingly approaching, desperate danger.
On the ground, the cult's rituals continued frantically. More boys and girls were blindfolded and brought to the altar like lambs to be slaughtered. They chanted incoherent scriptures, and their voices echoed in the night sky, like a gloomy chorus from the depths of hell, which was creepy.
