109: Tongtian Stele

There was no sun, no light; heaven and earth were stained by black Devilish Qi.

Before a magnificent stone tablet stood one hundred and sixty-three people.

These were the people who had finally escaped from Yongan City.

The rest would remain in that land forever.

"Respect to the heroic souls!"

Xing Manshan took out a wine jar and poured out half of it, offering it all for the heroic souls to drink.

Yang Yin began distributing incense to everyone. Xu Le took his and found it to be ordinary incense—yellow at the top and red at the bottom, emitting a faint fragrance.

When the incense was offered to Qin Siyuan, he waved his hand in refusal. "The only True God already dwells in my heart. I do not participate in any other sacrificial activities."

"Since when did you become a believer?" Yang Yin asked curiously.

Qin Siyuan did not answer, a hint of bitterness in his heart. Ever since he decided to follow Xu Le, he had realized the true way to play the Shaman class.

He had tried to believe in several powerful deities, but every time he recited their honored names, he would unconsciously think of Xu Le and then recite his name instead.

Although he had made up his mind to follow Xu Le and acknowledge him as his master, he was a Shaman; he needed to believe in a Deity!

Sigh~

Besides Qin Siyuan, Lü Yixiu also refused the incense. In his words, for a Sword Cultivator, there was nothing else besides the sword.

Hearing this made Xu Le's teeth ache; this was a typical case of reading too many novels.

Soon, everyone had received their incense.

"Respect to the heroic souls!"

Xing Manshan took the lead, holding the incense, bowing slightly, and then planting the incense into the ground.

The people behind him stepped forward in turn.

Xu Le was a Chiliarch, ranking fifth in line.

As he prepared to bow, he suddenly felt a deep chill.

He couldn't bow!

In a flash, he thought of the outcome of Little Silly Crow worshipping him as a god.

By offering up one's True Spirit, a god could easily wipe that bit of True Spirit away.

If the True Spirit perished, the body died.

So, was this stick of incense in his hand truly an offering to the heroic souls of Yongan City?

"Respect to the heroic souls!"

The temporary priest spoke again, urging Xu Le to hurry up.

The people behind him also showed faint dissatisfaction. What was the point of dawdling so long just to offer a stick of incense to the heroic souls?

Offer incense?

Of course not!

If those heroic souls were truly here, he would have no problem treating them to a meal.

But the stone tablet in front of him was not them!

Suspicion alone was enough!

The "Divine Eye" activated.

[Item] God-Respecting Incense

[Rank] Legendary

[Item Details] Specially made from Spirit God Wood; it connects to the outside world above and the abyss below.

"As I thought!"

Xu Le's expression darkened. He had been wondering why a normal person would have incense in their space ring.

He looked at the stone tablet again.

[Item] heaven-reaching stele

[Quality] Legendary

[Item Details] Seemingly ordinary granite, inscribed with a God-Sacrifice Formation. One can offer their True Spirit to ЖЮЙю and become its believer.

Crucially, the name appeared as garbled code—the divide between the divine and the mortal.

Xu Le's gaze swept around the heaven-reaching stele, but he couldn't see even a trace of a Formation.

"Lord Chiliarch?"

The crowd was anxious, but Xu Le's Aura throughout the journey was deeply engraved in their hearts. Even if they were dissatisfied, they only dared to call out softly.

Xu Le tossed away the God-Respecting Incense, took out his heavenly halberd, and pointed it at Yang Yin from a distance.

"Why?"

"Why what?"

Yang Yin looked bewildered. He looked at Xu Le, then at the crowd, seemingly seeking help and asking someone to translate for him.

He spread his hands helplessly with an aggrieved face. "I really don't know what you're talking about."

Xu Le gripped the heavenly halberd tightly and smashed it toward the heaven-reaching stele with all his might.

Clang!

The massive force struck the heaven-reaching stele, and the heavenly halberd was bounced back.

Desecrating the heroic souls!

Everyone's eyes turned blood-red as they glared at Xu Le in anger. If they didn't think they'd lose, they would have already pounded him into meat paste.

Several people worried about the tablet rushed over, taking out silk to wipe it carefully. Only upon close inspection did they find there wasn't a single mark on it.

Granite was hard, but since when was it hard enough to deflect a Legendary weapon without leaving a single scratch?

Whoosh!

The crowd's gaze instantly became suspicious.

Yang Yin didn't panic at all. "The heroic souls forged a path of blood for us. I knew long ago that some traitors would have ill intentions, so I specially set up a protective Formation."

As he spoke, his Aura radiated out, as deep as an abyss and as heavy as a prison.

Xu Le, who was at the center of the Aura's suppression... just wanted to laugh.

What kind of nobody dared to show off their Aura in front of him? Kill!

With violent power, he swung the heavenly halberd forward. It was just a dungeon; he didn't plan to continue a war of words.

Boom!

An invisible light curtain rose from beneath Yang Yin's feet. He had actually anticipated this and set up the Formation in advance.

The other contracted beasts, and even Qin Siyuan, attacked together. In just a second, cracks began to appear on the light curtain.

"Stop!"

Xing Manshan looked at Xu Le. "First, explain in detail what he has done."

Xu Le pointed at the tablet and said, "He used a deceptive trick. The stone tablet before us seems to commemorate the heroes of Yongan, but it is actually to offer one's True Spirit to a Deity."

"What? This tablet was erected for a Deity!"

"Dammit! We were properly worshipping the heroic souls, yet it turned out to be worshipping the Deity that harmed us? And it wants us to offer our True Spirits?"

Disgusting!

Truly disgusting!

More disgusting than eating flies and Cockroaches.

Everyone's fists clenched until they cracked.

Xing Manshan and the other two's faces changed drastically; they felt like killing someone. "What happens if we offer our True Spirit?"

"From then on, your life and death are controlled by the god. What you see is what the god sees."

As soon as Xu Le finished speaking, Qin Siyuan immediately jumped up. "So that's how it is! No wonder back on the city wall, your raven could also summon a scythe and was so powerful."

Xing Manshan and the others' faces darkened further.

"In other words, that evil god can descend upon us at any time?"

"Do you have evidence?"

Xu Le didn't tell them that it was only because of Little Silly Crow's special skill that he could descend.

Pointing at the stone tablet nearby, he said, "Proof is simple. Just spit on it and you'll know."

"Utter nonsense!" Yang Yin's face flushed with anger as he cursed, "Absurd! Absurd! Those are the heroic souls of Yongan, and you want to spit on them? You probably want the City Lord's reputation to be ruined!"

Xing Manshan already trusted Xu Le, and seeing this, his trust reached ninety percent. He walked to the stone tablet and laughed sorrowfully, "Brothers, if I offend you, I will kowtow and apologize later."

After saying that, he spat on the stone tablet.

One second.

Two seconds.

Three seconds.

Nothing happened.

Yang Yin breathed a sigh of relief. Just as he was about to mock Xu Le, he saw Xing Manshan spit on the stone tablet again and even start unbuckling his belt. What he was about to do was self-evident.

"City Lord, have you gone mad?"

Yang Yin rushed over, trying to stop Xing Manshan, but was pushed aside.

"What I see is what the god sees. Let Him drink my urine!"

Actually, although his words were bold, his heart was pounding. But he was prepared to take a gamble—gamble that he hadn't misjudged the person and gamble that the agreement was not wrong.

The moment a weapon was truly drawn, he would definitely hold it back.

But the god didn't give him the chance.

Xing Manshan's health bar instantly dropped to zero, and he collapsed straight to the ground.

The other two's eyes immediately turned red. They now knew that their lives had already been given to the god behind the scenes.

Yang Yin laughed loudly. "The world is a prison, and all living beings suffer. God loves the world; the True Spirit returns home."

"The world is at its end. Only by throwing oneself into the embrace of the Venerable God can one enter the next era."

"You are different from those useless fools. I am giving you a chance to see tomorrow. Offer your loyalty to the Venerable God!"