Shen Xiaochuan stood in the center of the altar, his hand still on his spear.
He had just given the order to prepare for the second sacrifice, and remained motionless.
The dark shadow in the lake rose halfway up and then sank back down, and the water became calm again.
Chen Yan squatted down beside it, staring at the broken pillar, a little scared.
He turned to ask, “God, was that thing that just popped up in the lake and then went back down…
a person or something else?”
Shen Xiaochuan’s face was grim as he slowly said, “It’s neither human nor an ordinary monster.”
He looked down at the System interface.
His faith points were increasing, adding 3 points per second, constantly jumping.
This wasn’t temporary; it was permanent.
“We’ve taken Yuling Lake.”
He said, “But this lake hasn’t really been activated yet.”
Chen Yan frowned: “How do I know when it’s activated?”
Shen Xiaochuan didn’t answer.
He looked around.
The ground was littered with bone fragments, which rustled in the wind.
He suddenly remembered a saying that the dwarf Elder had once said—there was an old saying at the Blue Flame Altar: “He who offers life will receive the lake, and he who feeds the gods will inherit power.”
“You must offer a living sacrifice,” he said.
“What?” Chen Yan didn’t hear clearly.
“It was a human sacrifice.”
Shen Xiaochuan’s voice was low but powerful.
He turned to look at the shore, “I need to use a living animal as a sacrifice.
You take the remaining two giant bear carcasses back to Skydome City and put them in the warehouse.
Then find another giant bear that isn’t quite dead yet.”
“You’re going to use it to feed that thing?”
“No, it’s not ‘hey’.”
Shen Xiaochuan shook his head, “It should be given to the altar.”
Chen Yan hesitated: “What if something happens?”
“If you don’t take action, you’ll never know what Dao’s next move will be.”
Shen Xiaochuan stepped down from the altar.
“Everyone stay put.
Only take fifty people with me to the ancient altar.”
The group quickly regrouped.
The three giant bear carcasses, with chains threaded through their bones, were dragged back along the lakeside.
Two warriors escorted a poisoned but still healthy Black Rock Giant Bear, following behind Shen Xiaochuan.
Before leaving, Shen Xiaochuan ordered: ” Chen Yan, you stay behind.
Select warriors with a combat power of 33 or higher to form a lake-guarding team.
No one is allowed to go into the water, and no one is allowed to touch the bone fragments.”
“How long will you be gone?”
“Let’s talk about it once it becomes popular.”
The group left the highlands, crossed the valley, and walked three miles west to reach the Azure Flame Altar.
The altar stood in the middle of a wasteland.
The ground was black, and dilapidated stone tablets were stuck at the four corners.
In the middle was a deep pit, at the bottom of which burned a ghostly blue fire.
The fire was not high, nor hot, but it never went out.
Shen Xiaochuan stopped in his tracks.
He took out a enhancement talisman from his backpack and walked to the back of the group.
There lay an unconscious warrior, who had been knocked unconscious by the shockwave when they crossed the lake earlier.
He was burning up and his face was turning blue, but thankfully his heart kept beating.
He’s a little more awake now, but he’s still very weak.
Shen Xiaochuan pressed the enhancement talisman against his chest.
There was a flash of light.
The soldier suddenly opened his eyes, sat up, and stared blankly into his eyes.
“Who are you?” Shen Xiaochuan asked.
The soldier spoke, his voice hoarse: “I don’t know Dao.”
Do you remember your name?
“I don’t remember.”
Shen Xiaochuan looked at him.
The man was tall, muscular, and had dark skin, as if he was often exposed to the elements. This chapter was copied from g.com without permission.
Although he had amnesia, he sat very upright and had an instinctive alertness.
I’ll give you a name.
He said, ” Ling Feng.”
The soldier repeated, ” Ling Feng?”
“right.”
Shen Xiaochuan nodded, “From today onwards, you are the new general of the Divine Kingdom.”
As soon as the words were spoken, a System notification appeared:
[A new general is born, and the warriors ‘ skills are enhanced]
[ Incense value +42]
Shen Xiaochuan opened the panel and received the incense value.
He then used another enhancement talisman and injected it into Ling Feng’s body.
This time the light is brighter.
Ling Feng’s body jolted, and his combat power jumped to 87.
At that very moment, a layer of grayish-white light appeared on his body, like patterns on a stone, covering his entire body.
The system notification popped up again:
Believers Ling Feng Awakening Tier B Talent: Rock Talent
[Defense +30%, reflects 5% damage when hit]
Shen Xiaochuan smiled: “Not bad.”
Ling Feng stood up, clenching his fists.
He looked down at his hands, then up at Shen Xiaochuan: “What should I do now?”
“Follow me.”
Shen Xiaochuan said, “Let’s do one thing first.”
He turned and walked toward the pit, pointing at the living bear: “Push it in.”
He knew that Dao’s move was risky, but in order to uncover the secrets of the altar and obtain greater power, he had to try.
He said to the people behind him, “Our sacrifice may awaken a deeper power in the altar, which will be of use to us.”
Two soldiers stepped forward, grabbed the bear’s legs, and dragged it towards the edge of the pit.
The bear struggled a few times, but its strength was not great, and it was quickly pushed to the edge.
Shen Xiaochuan personally intervened, kicking the bear in the belly.
The giant bear tumbled down and fell into the flames.
The blue flames surged instantly.
The flames, which were originally half a foot high, suddenly shot up to a height of 30 feet, their color changing from blue to black, with red edges.
The empty space became heavy.
Shen Xiaochuan took a step back and stared at the flames.
A system notification sounded:
[The power of the evil god Aminos is beginning to awaken]
[Unlock new feature: Dark Blessing]
[Can consume incense value to increase Believers’ dark resistance]
[Further features for the altar are yet to be explored]
At that moment, Chen Yan’s voice came through the communication talisman: “Lord God, there’s movement on the lake!”
“What’s going on?”
“The dark shadow underwater moved, circled the high ground, and is now stopped in the direction of the altar.”
Shen Xiaochuan looked at the flames: “Let it see.”
He told Ling Feng, “Stand behind me.”
Ling Feng immediately moved, standing half a step behind him on the right, her movements precise and standard.
Shen Xiaochuan nodded.
The flames continued to burn, and the bear was no longer visible; only faint crackling sounds could be heard from the bottom of the pit.
A few minutes later, the fire subsided, and everything returned to normal.
The surroundings became quiet.
Shen Xiaochuan walked to the edge of the pit and looked down.
At the bottom was a layer of black ash, with a symbol carved in the middle that looked like an eye or a whirlpool.
He reached out to touch it.
Ling Feng suddenly raised his hand to stop him: “Don’t touch it.”
Shen Xiaochuan stopped.
“Why?”
Ling Feng stared at the symbol: “It’s moving.”
Shen Xiaochuan squinted.
The symbol had indeed changed; it was clearer than before, the lines slightly twisting, as if it were alive.
“It’s not an illusion,” he said.
He withdrew his hand, opened Faith Mall, and found the new features.
[Dark Blessing] Consumes 10 incense value per person, increases dark resistance by one level.
He directly spent 42 incense value to select Ling Feng.
[ Ling Feng receives the blessing of darkness, Dark Resistance +1]
Ling Feng’s body trembled, the grayish-white light membrane thickened, and fine crack-like lines appeared on his skin.
How are you feeling?
“My body is more stable now.”
Ling Feng said, “It feels like stepping on the ground.”
Shen Xiaochuan nodded.
He knew what Dao meant—people feel uneasy when facing the unknown.
Ling Feng’s current feeling of “stability” meant the blessing was truly effective.
He ordered, “Everyone, step back ten paces.”
The team did as instructed.
He stayed alone by the pit, took a piece of dried snake bone fish from his backpack, and threw it into the fire.
The flames remained unchanged.
He then took out a spirit detection talisman, activated it, and threw it in.
The spirit vanished the moment it entered the fire.
There was no signal interruption, no explosion, it was simply gone.
Shen Xiaochuan frowned.
Just then, the communication talisman beeped again, and Chen Yan’s voice was urgent: “God!
The bone fragments over at the high ground in the center of the lake have started to glow!”
What color?
“Pale green, flickering as if responding to the fire here.”
Shen Xiaochuan looked at the altar.
He knew that Dao, the altar, and Yuling Lake were connected.
The sacrifice just now not only activated the function but also established a connection.
He turned to the team and said, “Everyone stay here tonight.
Ling Feng, you take ten men and stand guard for the first shift, keeping an eye on the flames and the symbols at the bottom of the pit.
Report any changes immediately.”
“Yes.” Ling Feng responded and immediately organized the manpower.
Shen Xiaochuan walked to the side and opened the System panel to check the faith points.
The rate is increasing by 3 per second and continues.
He opened the Skydome City map and saw that the two giant bear carcasses had been transported to the warehouse.
Chen Yan arranged for people to begin processing them: the meat was put into cold storage, the hides were dried, and the bones were sorted and stacked.
Indigenous people gathered outside the warehouse to watch the spectacle.
Someone whispered, “The Lord God can even bring back the Demon Beast.”
“I heard it’s something from the lake, and you can eat it even after it dies.”
“We won’t be afraid of going hungry anymore.”
The newly recruited soldiers were also discussing it.
“That guy named Ling Feng was originally a wounded soldier who no one cared about, but now he’s become a general.”
“The Supreme God only considers ability when appointing people.”
“I’m going to give it my all too.”
Shen Xiaochuan turned off the control panel and walked back to the altar.
Ling Feng is recording the height of the flames.
He draws lines on the paper with a charcoal pencil, recording the height every minute.
“Seriously,” Shen Xiaochuan said.
“Afraid of missing any details.”
Ling Feng said, “This fire is different.”
“What’s different?”
“It eats.”
Ling Feng pointed to the bottom of the pit, “I just threw a stone in there, but there was no sound or smoke, it was like it was swallowed.”
Shen Xiaochuan crouched down, staring at the base of the flames.
On the black and gray background, the symbol is still moving.
He suddenly understood—
This is not the end.
This is just the beginning.
He stood up and said to Ling Feng, “Prepare for the second round of sacrifices.”
What should we use?
“Wait for Chen Yan to send the materials.”
Shen Xiaochuan said, “I want to know how much Dao can swallow.”