Translator: CinderTL
"It worked!!"
On the ground of Nanjiang City, Chu Shihong and the others watched the crimson pillar of light rapidly dim, their faces flushed with excitement.
But soon...
As two humanoid Black Shadows ascended into the sky, heading straight for the spatial rift,
Whoosh!
A new crimson beam suddenly appeared hundreds of meters away.
The dimming crimson light was thus prolonged, and everyone's gaze froze in place.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!!
Then, more and more crimson beams shot into the sky, brushing past skyscrapers and heading straight for the spreading black mist of the spatial rift.
Each beam varied in thickness and was far weaker than the initial crimson pillar.
But now, dozens, hundreds, and ever more beams converged, forming a Blood Sacrifice no less potent than the first. This caused the spatial rift to expand further, painting the sky an even deeper crimson and pitch black.
"What's going on here?!"
"How could this happen?!"
Someone from the Military roared in anger, immediately deploying drones to investigate.
The source of the crimson beams was revealed to be none other than figures within the city itself.
"Aaaah!!"
A middle-aged man suddenly collapsed to the ground, his eyes crimson, a pillar of blood erupting from his forehead.
The white Martial Arts Uniform was stained with blood, and it was clear that the body beneath was rapidly withering, as if all its life Origin had been drained.
Boom!!
Another figure fell to the ground, the source of the other crimson light.
It was the hall master of a martial hall, a Third Level of Inner Strength expert.
At this moment, he had plunged from the balcony, crashing onto the ground. The crimson light on his forehead continued to soar into the sky.
"Master Lin!"
A young man rushed forward, his expression a mixture of fury, shock, and grief.
But before he could reach the fallen hall master, two martial hall disciples nearby convulsed and collapsed, also erupting in blinding crimson light.
This scene repeated itself over and over, as if igniting the entire Nanjiang City.
Hundreds of crimson beams erupted uncontrollably from the bodies of Martial Artists, shooting skyward and reigniting the crimson glow that had begun to fade.
"This..."
"It's the Martial Artists!"
A Red Guard snapped back to reality, his face contorted with shock and rage.
Eyes turned toward the collapsed laboratory entrance, where the Red Wave Energy logo and traces of their activities were still visible.
"So... they were all sacrifices from the start."
Chen Feng closed his eyes, his arms hanging limp as he stood in the ruins of the laboratory.
Dust swirled, and crimson light spread like a stain.
All doubts vanished in that moment. He finally understood why Red Wave Energy had initiated the martial arts research collaboration.
It was a secret method for gathering sacrifices and preserving the means for a Blood Sacrifice.
Perhaps even Red Wave Energy hadn't realized they had become pawns of the Evil God Cult.
Only by using the pretense of research could the Blood Sacrifice proceed without leaving a trace.
That was why the Red Guard, the military, and even he himself had been unable to uncover the conspiracy's true nature for so long.
"Aaaah!!!"
Another Martial Artist collapsed in the street, becoming another sacrifice.
A pillar of blood-red light erupted from his body, and his flesh visibly melted away.
The sight stunned Wang Zhou and the others nearby. Panic gripped them. The military, the Red Guard, and even representatives from the Mega Corporations were overwhelmed with shock and fury, their faces contorting in horror.
"Those Evil God Cult beasts!!"
"What do we do? What do we do? We can't stop this!"
"Run! Run for your lives!"
Some within the Mega Corporations and super-large conglomerates tried to flee Nanjiang, but the dense crimson light in the sky suddenly bloomed fully.
Buzz!!
The spreading crimson light flooded the space like a tide, transforming into a barrier.
A massive glass dome enveloped an area several kilometers wide.
Sky and earth.
Skyscrapers, streets, bridges.
More than half of Nanjiang City was now spatially isolated, transformed into a cage.
"Damn it!"
Someone roared in fury from atop a skyscraper belonging to Blue Sky Group, one of the Mega Corporations.
A Sixth-Tier Mech Warrior, unwilling to sit idly by, immediately unleashed their Mech-Warrior Technique, blasting the crimson barrier in the sky.
Boom!!!
A Flying Shuttle soared into the air like a mobile artillery platform, unleashing a powerful beam of energy that pierced the blinding sky.
The crimson barrier rippled, and everyone clenched their fists, gazing upward with trembling anticipation.
Buzz!!!
But the shockwave exploded outward, the powerful impact rebounding.
The artillery-like Flying Shuttle was sent crashing back to the ground, causing nearby skyscrapers to sway and tremble.
The crimson barrier remained completely intact, the energy beam vanishing without a trace.
Everyone's faces fell into the abyss of despair as the isolated Nanjiang City was consumed by hopelessness.
"This time... we're finished."
A Councilor's face turned ashen as they muttered in despair, mirroring the expressions of others in different skyscrapers.
"The Radiant Light Secret Realm has begun its final migration."
"Wang Cheng probably can't intervene now."
Meng Anran's expression darkened. The message on her communicator had arrived in the final second before the signal was cut off.
Behind them, Old Gu's heart sank. He knew exactly what this meant.
To prevent the Platinum Federation from repeating their old trick of destroying the Energy Nodes and collapsing the Radiant Light Secret Realm, the high-walled land needed a Legendary-grade presence to guard it.
But if that were the case, wouldn't they be...
"Hahahaha!!"
A triumphant laugh suddenly echoed through the entire barrier city.
Everyone looked up to see the black hole had expanded to five meters in diameter, with wisps of black mist constantly spilling from the surrounding spatial rifts.
Crimson eyes, dense as a swarm, appeared within the black hole's fissures. The sky grew increasingly dark and ominous. The black-robed figure and the Wide-Brimmed Hat Batfolk stood on either side of the black hole, looking down at the city below with arrogant mockery.
"Do you despair?"
"Do you suffer?"
The taunting voice, amplified by some unknown power, reverberated endlessly.
Figures below clenched their jaws in fury and despair. Military aircraft unleashed energy beams.
Boom!!
But the beams were blocked.
A mirror-like object floated out from the black-robed figure, intercepting the destructive attack.
At the same moment, as the black mist behind him continued to dissipate, he seemed to receive some sort of blessing.
His aura surged higher and higher, ignoring the shocked and furious expressions of everyone around him. He surveyed the scene, finally settling his gaze on the massive, collapsed pit below.
"The reason all this happened is simple," he said, a mocking sneer twisting his lips. "It's not just because you mortals are foolish."
The mirror floating before him suddenly swelled, transforming into a hundred-meter-wide crimson mirror that hung suspended in the sky. Ripples danced across its surface, as if images were about to appear.
The mirror showed Martial Artists being sacrificed in a Blood Sacrifice. Driven by greed for so-called resources, they had willingly collaborated with Red Wave Energy, unknowingly allowing the ritual's methods to be secretly planted within them.
Even when they sensed something amiss, they had risked it all. Their greed had brought them their just deserts.
Finally, the image froze. The destroyed laboratory was littered with debris, and the crimson pillar of light had completely dissipated. The once-proud black-robed youth stood with closed eyes and limp arms, his expression blank, as if enduring the weight of some unspeakable sin.
"The Blood Sacrifice of these Martial Artists is the primary reason for our success," the black-robed man declared. "Therefore..."
His eyes filled with contempt, the black-robed man and the Batfolk together gazed down at Chen Feng with cold, cruel indifference. An eerie light seemed to spill from the mirror's surface, attempting to influence the minds of those below.
"The Martial Artists are our accomplices!"
"Hahahaha!"
Arrogant laughter echoed in all directions as an eerie light bloomed within the massive, suspended mirror.
Though unrelated to the events, the youth with his arms hanging limply seemed to have become the scapegoat for all this evil.
"Xiao Feng..."
At the high-speed rail station, Chen Yun's face was pale. Supported by Lin Xiaoyun and others, her eyes were filled with worry.
At the Flame Tiger Martial Arts Hall, Zhao Jushan and the others, as well as Lin Hao at the Tianhao Security building, all wore grim expressions, their fists clenched tight.
"Diverting the disaster eastward!"
"What a vicious scheme!"
They all knew that not everyone could think rationally.
And with the influence of the Evil God Cult's mind-control power...
"If it weren't for these Martial Artists, we would never have ended up in this mess!"
"Get out of here, Martial Artists!"
Someone shouted first, followed by a chorus of agreement.
The voices grew louder and more frequent. Flying General Zhao and the others' expressions darkened as they saw the crowd's eyes turn crimson.
Thin strands of crimson mist began to seep from their bodies, spreading like a tide, as if to transform them into inhuman monsters.
More and more ordinary people turned their accusing and furious gazes toward the youth in the crimson mirror, their voices rising in a continuous wave.
"How could this happen?!"
"How could you do this?!"
Wang Zhou, a young man standing at the noodle shop entrance, was filled with disbelief and fury. How could the hero who had saved them all become the target of their condemnation at this moment?
"Grandmaster Chen..."
Flying General Zhao's expression was complex as he tried to console him. Chu Shihong and the others immediately sent people to quell the growing unrest and initiated a communication request, hoping Chen Feng wouldn't be affected.
"That's right! Exactly!"
"It's all his fault!!"
"If it weren't for a Martial Artist like him, we wouldn't have succeeded at all!!"
The black-robed figure in the sky continued to laugh arrogantly, the black hole's fissure widening further.
Crimson eyes drew closer, and a dense swarm of non-human creatures descended from the rift, filling the sky above Nanjiang City.
The Military's faces turned grim. They unleashed a barrage of Energy Cannons to stop them, but at the critical moment, the Demonic Bat-folk beside the black-robed figure intercepted every shot.
Its bat wings, which had inexplicably expanded to a hundred meters in size, closed together like a perfect circle, forming an impenetrable barrier in front of the spatial rift.
More and more Black Tide Creatures poured through the rift, and behind it, a terrifying entity stirred the Sea of Mist, its form barely visible.
"That's right."
Crimson eyes under the Wide-Brimmed Hat gleamed coldly, a cruel smile spreading across the Demonic Bat-folk's wickedly handsome face.
Just a little longer, and My Lord would descend in perfect form.
And these foolish humans, as always, proved to be the most easily manipulated sacrifices.
"Kill him!!"
The black-robed figure roared, continuing his incantation from high above.
More and more people succumbed to the crimson influence, wisps of crimson mist enveloping them, driving them to turn on each other.
Boom! Boom! Boom!!
Energy Cannon blasts were blocked one after another, and the black-robed figure in the sky let out another cruel laugh.
"Hurry! Hurry!!"
"Kill him!"
Boom!!!
Suddenly, the ground shook violently.
The Black Tide Creatures in the sky exploded simultaneously, their obstructing black bat wings pierced through.
The incantation abruptly cut off mid-sentence. The ground of Nanjiang City erupted like a volcano, a flame pillar shooting skyward!
"You..."
The black-robed figure and the Demonic Bat-folk's expressions instantly changed. Everyone froze in stunned silence, looking up.
Hundreds, even thousands, of Black Tide Creatures were incinerated in the explosion, their scattered flesh rapidly vanishing.
White mist, like a defiant force, clashed with the black fog. Within the straight flame pillar, a figure slowly ascended, opening its eyes.
"I have no interest in explaining right and wrong anymore."
Slowly unclinching his right fist, the flame pillar dissipated, its light floating high in the sky.
A crackling blue light flickered behind Chen Feng as a deep voice echoed through the world once more.
"I will bear their karmic debt!"
Boom!!
(End of the Chapter)
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