41: Nine Nether Black Lotus, Human Sacrifice

Deep within the Dragon Fall Pit.

Passing through the cavern where the Dragon Blood Pool was located, the view suddenly opened up.

This was a massive funnel-shaped sinkhole, with steep, sheer rock walls all around. Countless thick, rusted iron chains were anchored to the rock walls, all converging towards the very center of the sinkhole.

There, suspended, was an altar constructed from piles of stark white dragon bones.

Atop the Dragon Bone Altar, a lotus flower, pitch-black all over with petals as crystalline as black jade, was in bud.

The nine nether black lotus.

With its rhythmic breathing, a visible black chill spread outwards, instantly freezing even the moisture in the air into black ice shards that emitted crisp cracking sounds.

By now, the rocky ledges surrounding this sinkhole were already crowded with people.

If you included those who had died outside earlier, nearly all the prominent forces from the Southern Commandery Outer City had gathered.

To the east, the Pill Tower. A white-bearded Elder held a dragon-headed cane, followed by over a dozen alchemists with extraordinary Auras. Liu Qingqing, who had been tricked to death by Lin Que earlier, should have originally been in this faction.

To the west, the Black Market Alliance. A group of Cultivators clad in black robes, their heads and faces concealed, exuded a sinister, chilling Evil Qi.

Directly to the north, the Iron Sword Sect. They had the most people and the most imposing Aura. Leading them was a burly man wearing heavy black iron armor and carrying a giant sword on his back. His features were rough, his eyes gleaming with sharp light when opened, and the Spiritual Qi fluctuations around him surged like ocean tides—he was unmistakably a Late Stage Spirit Sea Realm expert!

The Iron Sword Sect Leader, Tie Shan.

At this moment, the three factions stood in a tripartite balance, mutually wary, none daring to make the first move to pluck that black lotus.

In a corner below them, huddled several hundred shivering Loose Cultivators. They were the 'cannon fodder' forcibly captured by the major factions.

"Cough... cough cough..."

An ill-timed coughing fit shattered the tense, dead silence.

Everyone followed the sound.

From the shadows at the end of the walkway, the 'Sick Ghost Old Man,' pushing a wheelbarrow and reeking of foul odor, shakily emerged.

"So cold... this place... why is it colder than a pile of corpses..."

Lin Que hunched his shoulders, looking as if he was about to freeze to death.

"A corpse collector?"

Tie Shan glanced down at Lin Que from his high vantage point, frowning slightly.

He had just received news that Punishment Hall Elder Zhao Wuji had gone mad, and the elite Disciple squad was missing. Now, seeing this strange old man oozing misfortune appear, he instinctively felt something was off.

But his Divine Sense swept over him—this was merely a Qi Refining Perfection Cultivator on the brink of death, with withered vitality.

"Hmph, a fool who doesn't know his own mortality, daring to come here for the spectacle."

Tie Shan withdrew his gaze, no longer paying attention to this ant. He looked towards the Pill Tower Elder opposite him, his voice booming like a great bell:

"Old Freak Yun He, this nine nether black lotus is an object of extreme Yin and cold, not yet fully bloomed. If forcibly plucked, the cold poison would erupt, and likely few here would survive."

The Pill Tower Elder called Old Freak Yun He stroked his beard and smiled, a glint of shrewdness flashing in his eyes:

"Since Sect Leader Tie speaks up, you must have an idea?"

"Simple."

Tie Shan pointed at the black lotus below, a cruel glint flashing in his eyes:

"The black lotus craves blood, especially the warm blood of Cultivators. As long as it's irrigated with enough blood to hasten its maturity and disperse the cold poison, it can naturally be plucked."

At this point, his gaze suddenly turned towards the group of Loose Cultivators in the corner, and he sneered viciously:

"Since everyone wants the treasure, someone has to make a sacrifice. How about... we ask these Loose Cultivator friends to scout the way for us?"

As soon as these words were spoken, that group of Loose Cultivators instantly erupted in chaos.

"Why should we?! We were just passing by!"

"Iron Sword Sect, you're treating human life as worthless!"

"Let's fight them!"

"Fight?"

Tie Shan sneered coldly, suddenly drawing the giant sword from his back. A terrifying Spiritual Pressure instantly enveloped the entire area:

"With you bunch of ants? Throw them down!"

"Yes!"

Dozens of Iron Sword Sect Disciples rushed into the crowd like wolves and tigers, grabbing Loose Cultivators one by one and hurling them like sacks towards the altar at the center of the sinkhole.

"Ah!!"

Screams rose one after another.

Those Loose Cultivators hadn't even reached the altar before being frozen into ice sculptures by the terrifying chill emitted by the black lotus. Then they crashed onto the dragon bones, shattering into a mess of ice shards and crimson blood mist.

As the blood merged in, the petals of that nine nether black lotus actually began to slowly unfurl, that eerie black hue growing even more profound.

"It's working!"

Greed blazed in Tie Shan's eyes: "Keep throwing! Not enough! Still not enough!"

The Loose Cultivators despaired. Before a Late Stage Spirit Sea Realm expert, they had no means to resist.

Just then.

Two Iron Sword Sect Disciples rushed to the corner and grabbed that 'Sick Ghost Old Man' who had been pushing his wheelbarrow and watching the show.

"Old fool! You go down too!"

Lin Que didn't resist, only coughing violently, clutching his wheelbarrow tightly:

"Cough... don't... don't push... this old man will go himself... I want to get closer to that flower... it smells fragrant..."

"Fragrant?"

That Disciple sneered: "Mad old man, that's a fragrance that hastens death! Down you go!"

He suddenly kicked Lin Que in the rear.

Lin Que flew out with the momentum, tracing a not-so-graceful arc through the air, even flailing his limbs due to 'fear of heights,' and finally... plop.

He didn't freeze into an ice sculpture like the others. Instead, in an extremelydisheveled posture, he landed on the edge of the Dragon Bone Altar, a mere three zhang away from that nine nether black lotus.

"Huh?"

Tie Shan above let out a light sound of surprise: "This old thing isn't dead?"

Old Freak Yun He also narrowed his eyes: "The Death Qi on him is too heavy, temporarily resisting the cold poison's invasion... but, he'll only take a few more breaths at most."

Indeed.

On the altar now, the chill was so intense it could instantly freeze and crack metal.

Lin Que lay on the ground, his whole body trembling, his eyebrows and hair instantly coated with a layer of black frost.

"So... so cold..."

He tremblingly reached out a hand, as if wanting to touch that black lotus so close at hand.

Everyone looked at him as if he were already dead.

Touching the nine nether black lotus? That was asking for a quicker reincarnation!

However.

No one saw, beneath that layer of frost, the corners of Lin Que's mouth were slightly upturned, revealing a trace of triumphant, wild joy.

He took a deep breath.

This time, it wasn't absorption, but guidance.

He completely released his Divine Sense, actively drawing the most Origin, most domineering **'Nine Nether Cold Poison'** from the lotus's core into his body!

Hum!

The black lotus seemed to sense the provocation, trembling violently. A visible black beam of light shot directly into Lin Que's brow!

[Detected Origin-level Nine Nether Cold Poison!]

[Attributes: Extreme Yin and cold, freezes the Divine Soul, necrotizes vitality.]

[Drawback Eruption: Meridians ice-sealed, Divine Soul extinguished, eternally falling into the cold prison!]

Lin Que's body instantly stiffened, the blood in his veins seeming to stop flowing, even his thoughts slowing down.

This cold poison was ten times more domineering than the previous fire toxin!

"System... make it... Transfer!"

Lin Que roared inwardly.

[Target locked: Iron Sword Sect Leader Tie Shan (Malice Value 100%).]

[Transfer initiated! Multiplier: Fivefold Critical Strike (Origin Backlash)!]

On the rocky ledge.

Tie Shan, who had been looking smug and waiting for the black lotus to fully bloom, suddenly changed expression.

"Hmm?"

He felt the surrounding temperature seemed somewhat off.

Before he could react.

Crack!

A crisp shattering sound came from within his body.

"What's happening?!"

Tie Shan looked down in horror, only to see his supposedly indestructible Black Iron Heavy Armor inexplicably covered in frost.

Immediately after, an indescribably terrifying chill directly erupted within his Dantian Spirit Sea!

It wasn't external cold.

But his Spirit Sea... was freezing over!

The liquid Spiritual Qi that had been surging like a sea was instantly frozen solid!

"Ah!!!"

Tie Shan let out a shrill scream, but the sound was frozen in his throat halfway out.

He opened his mouth wide, but what he exhaled wasn't hot air, but fine ice shards.

His eyebrows, hair, and skin turned a deathly white at a visible rate. His entire body stiffened, maintaining a standing posture like a freshly completed ice sculpture.

"Sect Leader?!"

The surrounding Iron Sword Sect Disciples were greatly alarmed, wanting to step forward to support him.

"Don't touch him!!" Old Freak Yun He shouted in terror.

But it was too late.

A Disciple's hand had just touched Tie Shan's shoulder.

Crash!

There was no gore flying.

That Sect Leader who had shaken the Southern Commandery Outer City, possessing Late Stage Spirit Sea Realm cultivation, right before everyone's eyes, shattered like a piece of broken porcelain, into a pile of... frozen meat chunks.

Even his Primordial Spirit couldn't escape, directly frozen and extinguished within his body.

Dead silence.

A deathly stillness.

Everyone stared wide-eyed at that pile of shattered ice, their minds blank.

What had happened?

How had the Sect Leader, perfectly fine just moments ago, suddenly... shattered?

And at the center of the altar.

That 'Sick Ghost Old Man' who had been nearly frozen to death now stretched comfortably as if he'd just taken a hot bath.

With the cold poison transferred, the purest Nine Nether Spiritual Qi contained within the black lotus was madly nourishing his Divine Soul.

Lin Que slowly got up from the ground, brushing off the ice shards on his body.

He raised his head, looking across the Void Realm at those Cultivators who were already scared stiff, his hoarse voice echoing within the sinkhole:

"This flower... doesn't seem that cold to me."

"Since that Sect Leader froze himself to death..."

Lin Que extended a withered hand, grabbed that nine nether black lotus, which was enough to make Spirit Sea Realm Cultivators tremble in fear, and directly uprooted it!

"...then this old man won't stand on ceremony."