20: Newcomer Ling Feng

Shen Xiaochuan stood in the middle of the altar, his hand still resting on his war spear. He had just ordered preparations for a second sacrifice and remained motionless.

The black shadow in the lake had risen halfway before sinking back down, and the water surface became calm again.

Chen Yan crouched nearby, his eyes fixed on the broken pillar, feeling a bit afraid. He turned his head and asked, "Main God, that thing that emerged from the lake and went back down just now... was it a person or something else?"

Shen Xiaochuan's expression was grim as he said slowly, "It is not a person, nor is it an ordinary monster."

He looked down at the System interface. The faith points were rising, increasing by 3 points every second, jumping continuously. This was not temporary; it was permanent.

"We have taken Yuling Lake."

He said, "But this lake has not truly been activated yet."

Chen Yan frowned, "What counts as activated?"

Shen Xiaochuan did not answer. He looked around. The ground was covered in bone fragments that rustled whenever the wind blew.

He suddenly remembered a saying from the dwarf Elder—the Azure Flame Altar had an old saying: "Those who offer life gain the lake; those who feed the god inherit power."

"We need to use living things for the sacrifice," he said.

"What?" Chen Yan didn't hear clearly.

"It is a living sacrifice."

Shen Xiaochuan's voice was low but forceful. He turned to look at the shore, "I want to use a living creature for the sacrifice. Transport the remaining two Black Rock Giant Bear corpses back to Skydome City and put them in the warehouse. Then, find another Black Rock Giant Bear that isn't quite dead yet and bring it here."

"Are you going to feed it to that thing?"

"Not feed."

Shen Xiaochuan shook his head, "It is to hand it over to the altar."

Chen Yan hesitated, "What if something goes wrong?"

"If we don't take action, we will never know what the next step is."

Shen Xiaochuan walked off the altar, "Everyone stay put; take only fifty people to follow me to the ancient altar."

The team assembled quickly. The three Black Rock Giant Bear corpses were dragged along the lakeside using iron chains threaded through their bones.

Two warriors escorted a poisoned but still breathing Black Rock Giant Bear, following behind Shen Xiaochuan.

Before leaving, Shen Xiaochuan ordered, "Chen Yan, you stay behind. Select warriors with combat power of 33 or higher to form a lake-guarding team. Do not allow anyone to enter the water, and do not touch the bone fragments."

"Then how long will you be gone?"

"We'll see once the fire starts."

The group left the highlands, passed through the valley, traveled three miles west, and arrived at the Azure Flame Altar.

The altar was in the middle of a wasteland. The ground was black, and dilapidated stone tablets were inserted at the four corners.

There was a deep pit in the middle, with a ghostly blue fire burning at the bottom. The fire was not high, nor was it hot, but it never went out.

Shen Xiaochuan stopped.

He took a Strengthening Talisman from his backpack and walked toward the back of the team. A warrior was lying there in a coma, having been stunned during the lake crossing earlier.

At the time, his whole body was burning hot and his face was turning blue, but fortunately, his heartbeat had not stopped. He was a bit more awake now, but still very weak.

Shen Xiaochuan pressed the Strengthening Talisman onto his chest.

A light flashed.

The warrior opened his eyes abruptly, sat up, his gaze hollow.

"Who are you?" Shen Xiaochuan asked.

The warrior spoke, his voice hoarse, "I don't know."

"Do you remember your name?"

"I don't remember."

Shen Xiaochuan looked at him. This man was tall, muscular, and had dark skin, as if he were often exposed to the wind and sun. Although he had amnesia, he sat very straight, possessing an instinctive alertness.

"I will give you a name."

He said, "Ling Feng."

The warrior repeated, "Ling Feng?"

"Correct."

Shen Xiaochuan nodded, "From today on, you are the new general of the God Kingdom."

As soon as he finished speaking, a System notification appeared: [New General born, Morale increased] [Reward: incense value + 42]

Shen Xiaochuan opened the panel and collected the incense value.

He used another Strengthening Talisman, injecting it into Ling Feng's body.

This time the light was brighter.

Ling Feng's body shuddered, and his combat power jumped directly to 87.

At that moment, a layer of grayish-white light film appeared on his body, like veins on stone, covering him entirely.

The System notification popped up again: [Believer Ling Feng has Awakened B-rank talent: Rock-Solid Talent] [Defense + 30%, reflects 5% damage when hit]

Shen Xiaochuan smiled, "Not bad."

Ling Feng stood up and clenched his fists. He looked down at his hands, then looked up at Shen Xiaochuan, "What should I do now?"

"Follow me."

Shen Xiaochuan said, "We have one thing to do first."

He turned and walked toward the deep pit, pointing at the living bear, "Push it in."

He knew this step was risky, but to uncover the secrets of the altar and obtain stronger power, he had to try it once.

He said to the people behind him, "By sacrificing this, we might be able to awaken deeper powers of the altar that will be useful to us."

Two warriors stepped forward, grabbed the bear's legs, and dragged it toward the pit's edge. The bear struggled a few times, but it didn't have much strength and was quickly pushed to the edge.

Shen Xiaochuan took action himself, kicking the bear in the stomach.

The Black Rock Giant Bear rolled down and fell into the fire.

The Azure Flame flared up instantly.

The flames, originally half a foot high, suddenly surged three zhang high, changing from blue to black, with reddish edges.

The air became heavy.

Shen Xiaochuan stepped back, staring at the fire.

The System notification sounded: [The power of the Evil God Aminos has initially revived] [Unlocked new function: Dark Blessing] [Can consume incense value to increase Dark-attribute resistance for Believers] [Subsequent altar functions to be explored]

At this moment, Chen Yan's voice came through the communication talisman, "Main God, there is movement on the lake!"

"What's the situation?"

"The black shadow under the water has moved, circled the highlands, and is now stopped in the direction of the altar."

Shen Xiaochuan watched the flames, "Let it watch."

He said to Ling Feng, "Stand behind me."

Ling Feng immediately moved, standing half a step behind his right, his movements standard.

Shen Xiaochuan nodded.

The fire continued to burn; the bear was no longer visible, and one could only hear faint crackling sounds from the bottom of the pit. A few minutes later, the fire receded and returned to its original state.

The surroundings quieted down.

Shen Xiaochuan walked to the edge of the pit and looked down. At the bottom was a layer of black ash, with a symbol carved in the center, looking like an eye, or perhaps a vortex.

He reached out to touch it.

Ling Feng suddenly raised his hand to stop him, "Don't touch it."

Shen Xiaochuan stopped.

"Why?"

Ling Feng stared at the symbol, "It's moving."

Shen Xiaochuan narrowed his eyes. The symbol had indeed changed; it was clearer than before, and the lines were twisting slightly, as if alive.

"It's not an illusion," he said.

He retracted his hand, opened the Faith Mall, and found the new function.

[Dark Blessing] Consumes 10 incense value/person, increases Dark-attribute resistance by one level. Current number of users: No limit.

He spent 42 incense value directly and selected Ling Feng.

[Ling Feng has gained Dark Blessing, Dark-attribute resistance + 1]

Ling Feng's body shuddered, the grayish-white light film thickened, and fine crack-like patterns appeared on his skin.

"How do you feel?"

"My body feels more stable."

Ling Feng said, "Like stepping on the ground."

Shen Xiaochuan nodded. He knew what this meant—people feel uneasy when facing the unknown. And since Ling Feng now felt "stable," it meant the blessing was truly effective.

He ordered, "Everyone step back ten paces."

The team complied.

He remained alone at the edge of the pit, took a piece of dried snake-bone fish from his backpack, and threw it into the fire.

The fire did not change.

He took out a Spirit Scouting Talisman, activated it, and threw it in.

As soon as the spirit entered the fire, it immediately vanished. There was no signal interruption, no feedback of an explosion; it was simply gone.

Shen Xiaochuan frowned.

At this moment, the communication talisman rang again, Chen Yan's voice sounding urgent, "Main God! On the highlands in the center of the lake, the bone fragments have started to glow!"

"What color?"

"Pale green, flickering, as if responding to the fire here."

Shen Xiaochuan looked at the altar.

He knew that the altar and Yuling Lake were connected. The sacrifice just now had not only unlocked the function but also established a connection.

He turned and said to the team, "Everyone will camp here tonight. Ling Feng, take ten people for the first watch, keep an eye on the fire and the symbol at the bottom of the pit. Report immediately if there are any changes."

"Yes." Ling Feng acknowledged and immediately organized the men.

Shen Xiaochuan walked to the side and opened the System panel to check the faith points.

The +3 per second was still continuing.

He opened the Skydome City map and saw that the two Black Rock Giant Bear corpses had already been transported to the warehouse. Chen Yan had arranged for people to start processing them: meat into the cold storage, fur out to dry, and bones sorted and piled up.

The native inhabitants gathered outside the warehouse to watch the excitement.

Someone whispered, "The Main God can even bring back Yao Beasts."

"I heard that's something from the lake; even dead, it can be eaten."

"We won't have to worry about hunger from now on."

The newly joined warriors were also discussing.

"That guy named Ling Feng, he was just an unattended wounded soldier before, and now he's a general."

"The Main God only looks at strength when employing people."

"I need to work hard too."

Shen Xiaochuan closed the panel and walked back to the altar.

Ling Feng was recording the height of the fire. He used a charcoal pencil to draw lines on paper, recording once every minute.

"Diligent," Shen Xiaochuan said.

"Afraid of missing details."

Ling Feng said, "This fire is different."

"How is it different?"

"It eats things."

Ling Feng pointed to the bottom of the pit, "I threw a stone in just now; there was no sound, no smoke, it was just swallowed."

Shen Xiaochuan crouched down, staring at the bottom of the fire.

On the black ash, the symbol was still moving.

He suddenly understood—this was not the end. This was just the beginning.

He stood up and said to Ling Feng, "Prepare for the second round of sacrifice."

"With what?"

"Wait for Chen Yan to bring the Materials."

Shen Xiaochuan said, "I want to know how much it can actually swallow."