179: Chapter 179 The Test of Divine Punishment! The Last Trump Card!

Divine Punishment!

The moment these two words were spoken, they transformed into invisible shackles, weighing heavily upon Su Changge's Divine Soul.

This was the true death trap.

The Old Priest used a strategy of retreating to advance, wielding fanatical faith as a blade; he had lifted Su Changge high, only to push him onto a judgment Altar that demanded bloodshed.

This was no longer a test, but the most rigorous verification of authority.

Invoking the totem was to verify his identity. Making withered wood spring back to life was to display great power.

But for this "Divine Punishment" at hand, what the Old Priest sought was for him to act on behalf of the god's wrath, to hold the power of life and death! He was forcing him to reveal the essence of "destruction," which stood in direct opposition to "creation"!

This was the only "miracle" deeply recognized by this race, which believed in the Law of the Jungle and used slaughter as a ladder for advancement.

Su Changge's thoughts raced like lightning, analyzing the peril hidden within in an instant.

The Old Priest's request was devastating. Invoke the power of the Blood Moon, descend with Divine Punishment, and punish the traitors.

It contained two major deadlocks.

The first was the Origin of that power. What he had manifested earlier was the power of creation containing endless vitality, its aura gentle and peaceful, which belonged to the opposite pole of Yin and Yang from the Blood Moon in the sky that radiated eternal deathly silence and violence, incompatible like fire and water.

How could a Divine Messenger simultaneously wield two conflicting authorities that annihilated each other? This was the source of the thorn in the Old Priest's heart and the core trap of this death game. He had to provide a perfect explanation, one that could make this old fox completely convinced, and the best explanation was none other than an irrefutable "miracle."

The second was punishing the traitors. These four words seemed simple but were actually extremely tricky. What the Old Priest wanted was not indiscriminate Divine Might that could destroy the heavens and earth; such power, while shocking, would reveal the controller's crudeness. He wanted "precise" annihilation, to have the power of Divine Punishment descend accurately upon the designated targets under the watchful eyes of thousands of tribesmen. This required not only a grand and magnificent scene but also a control of power that reached a subtle, masterful Realm.

This had far exceeded the minor display of invoking the totem earlier.

Su Changge stood in place, his expression indifferent, steady as a mountain, yet deep within his Divine Soul, stormy waves were raging. He had walked to the edge of a cliff, with a bottomless abyss behind him; one step back meant being smashed to pieces.

If this game succeeded, he could completely crush the last shred of doubt in the Old Priest's heart, turn the identity of the "Divine Messenger" into an unshakable, towering idol, and thereby truly control this tribe, obtaining the key to open the "heaven-reaching altar."

If this game failed, his identity as a "fake Divine Messenger" would be exposed on the spot. Before a race that had carved destruction and slaughter into their Bloodline, the fate of a fraudster who dared to blaspheme their faith needed no imagination; it would inevitably be Soul Flying Away and Spirit Scattering, never able to transcend for eternity.

He looked at the Old Priest's crimson eyes hidden under the shadow of the hood; rolling within them was the unquestionable paranoia of a fanatic and the desperate madness of an overlord.

He had no way to retreat.

To refuse was equivalent to admitting incompetence.

Incompetence was equivalent to being a fake.

He had no choice but to face the difficulty head-on.

Under the gaze of countless eyes, Su Changge's head nodded extremely slowly. This movement was so slight it was almost imperceptible. Yet, in the eyes of the Old Priest and the crowd of Bloodline Tribesmen, it was as heavy as a collapsing Mount Tai, triggering a violent tremor in the emotions of everyone in the square.

"Lord Divine Messenger... has agreed!"

Suppressed exclamations rose and fell within the crowd, immediately turning into a scorching, fanatical roar originating from the depths of their Souls. They were about to witness with their own eyes how the legendary wrath of the god would incinerate the bodies and Souls of the rebels!

Su Changge's consciousness was no longer limited to communicating solely with the Old Priest. A grand, majestic, and emotionless voice, like a proclamation of heaven's Law, exploded directly in the depths of every living being's mind in the square.

"Prepare the Altar."

"Bring those... blasphemous traitors up."

"I shall personally execute the will of the god."

Hearing this brilliant divine oracle, the Old Priest's aged body trembled uncontrollably; it was the ecstasy of a scheme succeeded, and even more, the excitement of being about to witness Divine Punishment. He immediately gripped his staff tightly, his hunched back straightened slightly, and he turned to face the tribesmen, loudly issuing a series of orders in an ancient, hoarse, and blood-soaked syllable.

The entire tribe, like a precise and cold war machine, instantly began to operate at high speed.

Several of the most robust Blood Descendants warriors, their eyes blood-red, roared as they rushed toward a heavily guarded dungeon deep within the tribe.

Dozens of others moved quickly to carry over black boulders soaked in dark red blood from various places, as well as the pale skeletons of unknown giant beasts covered in strange runes, rapidly constructing a simple Altar filled with a primitive and bloody atmosphere in the center of the square.

In just a moment's time. Bursts of angry roars and unyielding curses approached from afar.

Several Bloodline Tribesmen were bound by thick black iron chains and forcibly escorted to the center of the square. Their bodies were covered in hideous wounds, deep enough to reveal bone, and their auras were withered, but in their crimson eyes, there was no fanaticism or bloodlust like their clansmen, only the fury and determination to burn everything away.

"Lunatics! You bunch of lunatics controlled by desire!"

"The Blood Moon is not a gift, it is a curse! It is a butcher's knife hanging over all of our heads! It will only bring endless destruction!"

"Wake up! We are not some chosen people of a god! We are captive prisoners!"

Their roars were met with even more brutal punching and kicking from the escorting warriors. They were shoved heavily to the ground, their knees hitting the hard black stone with a dull thud, forced to kneel upon that newly built Altar.

The Old Priest walked with staggering steps to stand before them, the end of his staff striking the ground heavily, emitting a dull "thud" that suppressed all the noise. His eyes were cold, devoid of any warmth of a living being.

"In front of the great Lord Divine Messenger, every word of yours is the most vicious blasphemy against the True God!"

"Today, Divine Punishment descends, and your filthy Souls will wail for ten thousand years in the radiance of the Blood Moon!"

After speaking, he said no more, slowly stepping back a few paces, bowing and standing to the side, leaving the entire Altar, this stage of judgment and slaughter, entirely to Su Changge.

In an instant, the whole place fell into dead silence. Thousands of gazes converged into a substantial torrent, all casting onto Su Changge. In those gazes, there was expectation, scrutiny, fanaticism, and inquiry, heavy enough to crush a mountain.

Below him was a dark mass of tribesmen, holding their breath and focusing, waiting for a bloody feast.

Before him were several "rebels" who were about to be "executed" by his own hands, yet still held their heads high, roaring in anger.

Above his head was that massive Blood Moon, unchanging through the ages, radiating an aura of eternity, annihilation, and violence.

Everything between heaven and earth seemed to have become the background for this trial.

Su Changge walked step by step, slowly up to the center of the Altar, standing before those few "traitors."

He knew. A world-shocking game concerning his own life, a game capable of deceiving the heaven and hiding the Dao, and overturning the universe, was about to be unveiled by his own hands.