259: Chapter 259 Offering Sacrifices to the Ancestor Witch

Before his voice had even faded, he bit down hard on the tip of his tongue and spat out a mouthful of blood essence containing his vital essence.

The blood essence traced a bizarre arc in the air; it did not fall to the ground but instead instantly condensed and twisted, transforming into an extremely complex, dark red Witch Rune covered in primordial runes.

As the Witch Rune spun, it emitted an ominous Aura that made one's heart palpitate, as if it had opened the gates to the nether Hell—

Even the light between heaven and earth dimmed.

"With my broken body, I offer sacrifice to the Ancestral Witches! Soul Guide... Activate!"

Ancestor Witch Xuanyuzi roared, his voice as shrill and mournful as a cuckoo weeping blood, every word laden with endless pain and madness.

The dark red Witch Rune suddenly shone with brilliant light, and a wave of sinister, eerie energy that pointed directly at the Origin of the Soul erupted like a tsunami, sweeping across the entire sky above Wuji City!

Wherever this wave passed, the air seemed to be stained with blood, emitting a nauseating, fishy stench.

Almost at the same moment—

Qingxuzi let out a muffled groan, his face instantly turning as pale as paper, and faint black Qi began to seep from his seven orifices—a sign that his Divine Soul was being eroded.

The Dao Rhyme within his body churned violently like boiling water, nearly spinning out of control, and the protective Spiritual Qi around him flickered unsteadily, on the verge of collapse.

The several Elders of the Taiqing Dao Palace behind him fared even worse; they screamed outright, clutching their heads and rolling in the clouds. Their Dao robes were torn, their Spiritual Qi was as chaotic as a wild horse breaking its reins, and their eyes were bloodshot, appearing completely insane—they were already showing signs of Qi Deviation!

The Master of Burning Heaven Valley's face was livid, his teeth clenched so tightly that the veins on his forehead bulged like earthworms. He formed hand seals, attempting to suppress the restless Divine Soul within him, but the stinging pain from the Soul Tablet grew increasingly intense, as if countless poisonous insects were gnawing at his Soul—making him wish for death.

The high monk of Little Sumeru Mountain pressed his palms together and chanted Buddhist scriptures, golden light swirling around him as he attempted to use Buddhist Dharma to purify that sinister force. Yet, he still could not block the erosion of the Soul Guide, blood continuously spilling from the corners of his mouth, his face growing paler and paler—he could barely even hold onto the prayer beads in his hand.

"Ancestor Witch Xuanyuzi, do you truly intend to take things to the absolute limit?"

Daoist Baimei spoke slowly, his snow-white eyebrows moving without the wind. His deep eyes reflected Ancestor Witch Xuanyuzi's mad, resolute face, and further reflected the scene of countless Disciples struggling in pain below—his voice carried suppressed anger, like the calm before a storm.

"Hahaha!"

Upon hearing this, Ancestor Witch Xuanyuzi threw his head back and laughed, his laughter filled with endless desolation and madness. A flash of desperate resolve crossed his eyes: "Daoist Baimei, you are all going to be expelled from the Southern Region anyway; why not cause a massive scene before you leave and fight for a bright future for your own Sect?"

"Are you really willing to watch your own Disciples suffer Soul Flying Away and Spirit Scattering and see your Sects destroyed?"

Daoist Baimei's eyes narrowed. His voice was not loud, but it carried a strange penetrating power that temporarily suppressed some of the Divine Soul stinging pain caused by the Soul Guide: "A bright future? At the cost of the Divine Souls of thousands of Disciples being annihilated, in exchange for a 'future' of mountains of corpses and seas of blood, where all living things are ravaged?"

"Ancestor Witch Xuanyuzi, you have fallen into a demonic obsession; there is no saving you! The order you speak of is nothing more than tyranny built upon fear and sacrifice!"

"Demonic obsession?"

Ancestor Witch Xuanyuzi's laughter stopped abruptly. His one arm pointed violently toward the devastated Wuji City below and toward the distant Southern Region land where smoke from beacon fires was rising and undercurrents were surging. His voice was hoarse and agitated, carrying an almost frantic paranoia.

"Look at this Southern Region! When the Tai Miao Ancestral Witches were still present, although there were constraints and sacrifices, all forces lived in peace, and the Legacy was orderly! Now, the contract is on the verge of collapse, ambition is like a wildfire spreading, and everyone wants to usurp their place!"

"Without the sword of the Imperial Ancestral Temple hanging over their heads, do you think they would coexist peacefully and build some bright future together?"

The blood color in his eyes deepened, bordering on insanity, and his voice became increasingly shrill: "No! They will devour one another and plunder resources and trample on the weak even more cruelly than before!"

"While the Imperial Ancestral Temple exists, it at least maintains superficial rules and the most basic bottom line! If the Imperial Ancestral Temple falls, the Southern Region will immediately degenerate into a naked jungle—where the weak are prey to the strong, and there will never be peace!"

"My detonating the Soul Tablet is merely accelerating and amplifying this inevitable bloody catastrophe! I want you to remember, while you taste the bitter fruit of betrayal—some costs, once paid, can never be retrieved!"

"Absurd!"

Jian Xiaotian roared, his voice like a thunderclap, shaking heaven and earth. The nameless bronze sword in his hand hummed, as if responding to his rage. The sword body was covered in rust, yet it radiated a resolute sharpness capable of severing all things: "Order maintained by fear cannot last! The Human Race should strive for self-improvement; we should open our path forward with the swords in our hands and protect the common people with our own Dao—rather than kneeling forever before cold idols begging for mercy! Even if today the sky is stained with blood and corpses litter the fields, I will sever these shackles binding the Southern Region—and return freedom to all living beings!"

Emperor Wu Tianba held his halberd across the sky, his voice like thunder, causing the Void Realm to tremble slightly. The nine-dragon patterns on his black-gold imperial armor shone brilliantly, the Nine Extreme Dragon Souls roared once more, stirring the Human Race's Luck between heaven and earth: "Enough nonsense! Old thing, the debt from when you slaughtered the royal clan of my Great Wu Dynasty must be settled today! Pay with your life! Soldiers, hear my command! Form the 'Army-Breaking God-Slaughtering Formation', follow me to slay this villain and trample the Imperial Ancestral Temple flat—and return a bright and clear world to the Southern Region!"

"Kill! Kill! Kill!"

The elite powerhouses of the two great Imperial Dynasties responded in unison, their Battle Intent soaring to the heavens. Even though the palpitations caused by the Soul Tablet grew increasingly intense, no one retreated—their eyes shining with the light of those ready to face death.

At the same time, the Evil Qi of the army formation condensed into a tangible blood cloud, covering the sky and blocking the sun. It rolled once more toward the remnants of the Imperial Ancestral Temple, full of Killing Intent and unstoppable—as if it were about to crush all decay completely.

"Then... let us all die together!"

Ancestor Witch Xuanyuzi roared wildly, his voice filled with the madness of mutual destruction. The blood essence within his body burned frantically, almost turning him into a burning blood man. The Witch power around him surged to the limit, and that dark red Witch Rune expanded to its peak, the runes on its surface flickering unsteadily, emitting an Aura capable of destroying heaven and earth—it was on the verge of completely exploding, unleashing an indiscriminate Divine Soul annihilation shockwave upon everyone present!

The fate of the Southern Region seemed, at this moment, to have reached a crossroads of life and death. Would the order of the old era collapse completely, ushering in a new dawn? Or would they all perish together, reduced to a wasteland? Everyone held their breath, waiting for that final judgment.

The Witch technique used by Ancestor Witch Xuanyuzi to detonate the Soul Tablet had reached its critical point!

Ink-black Soul fog surged and filled the air, like a turbid wave pouring out from the Nine Nether Hell, instantly swallowing half the horizon.

Wisps of bizarre patterns spread along the Void Realm like living creatures, enveloping the entire scene like a spider web, precisely drilling into the space between the eyebrows of every Cultivator who had been implanted with a Soul Guide.

In an instant, screams rose one after another! The Spiritual Qi around those Cultivators suddenly went into chaotic rampage, their Meridians swelling as if to burst, and their Divine Souls, under the scorching of the Soul Tablet, were like ice and snow thrown into boiling oil, teetering on the edge of destruction.

Black blood continuously spilled from the corners of their mouths, their expressions shifting from initial shock to the pain of impending collapse, finally being completely devoured by madness—appearing as if they had gone insane.

The coalition forces of the several major powers fell into disarray, panic spreading among their ranks. Ancestor Witch Xuanyuzi's frantic Aura of mutual destruction was like a tangible dark cloud, pressing heavily on everyone's hearts, leaving them unable to breathe. Despite holding the upper hand, they were shocked into immobility by this resolve to burn together like jade and stone, and the battlefield fell into a bizarre stalemate. Only the Five Elements Wheel remained suspended in the sky, its colorful halo swirling ceaselessly—forming a glaring contrast with the blood and chaos below, adding a touch of desolation.

"Enough! Enough!"

An aged sigh pierced through the chaotic battlefield, carrying endless exhaustion and resolve. Daoist Baimei waved his horsetail whisk lightly, his brows etched with the weariness of time and helplessness, and finally, he gritted his teeth and spoke: "Fellow Daoists, we have all sworn oaths to the Heavenly Dao; the Soul Tablet is like a maggot attached to the bone, and our life and death are no longer in our own hands!"

"Why not have a great battle before leaving the Southern Region? We have to die sooner or later anyway—it is better to fight before we die, to win a future for our Sects that breaks free from these shackles!"

This sigh, like a drop of ice water thrown into a boiling pot of oil, instantly ignited the suppressed battlefield! The bizarre stalemate was completely broken, and the shock brought by the Five Elements Wheel was diluted by this desperate resolve. A frenzied Battle Intent, like a wildfire, spread rapidly among the Cultivators of the various Sects.

"Future?"

The Master of Burning Heaven Valley's eyes were blood-red, and the flames around him surged uncontrollably like an erupting volcano, scorching the surrounding air until it twisted and deformed—even the light bent because of it.