Chapter 254: God—or Monster?
“Little Eight, I think I sensed an array laid with witchcraft on that snake,” Nan Xun said.
“No wonder I felt something off about that sword,” Little Eight replied seriously. “There’s no trace of spiritual energy at all, yet it’s wrapped in an incredibly powerful killing aura. Nan Xun, that big boss is not simple. Be careful around him in the future.”
Nan Xun curled her lips. As if you needed to tell me. Which world’s big boss doesn’t require caution?
Gong Mo Ran took the prayer sword from Nan Xun’s hands and suddenly raised it toward the sky. The tip traced a graceful arc through the air, his white sleeves following the motion.
Standing so close, Nan Xun could even hear the soft whoosh of fabric cutting through the air.
From afar, the kneeling commoners watched in rapt excitement.
All the envoys from the three nations stared intently at the Southern Yun Nation’s National Preceptor and his strange behavior. Only Qi Hengqing kept his gaze on Nan Xun for a long time, his expression unreadable.
“Present the offerings,” Gong Mo Ran said, sword raised.
His lips barely moved, his voice calm and cool, yet somehow it seemed amplified, resounding across the entire ceremonial grounds.
As his words fell, a small path opened in the crowd. Nine palace guards escorted nine black-clad men forward.
They were the surviving assassins from the attempt on the National Preceptor the previous day.
The captives were lined up before him.
Facing the man with indifferent eyes like stagnant water, fear surged uncontrollably in the assassins’ hearts.
Gong Mo Ran suddenly curved his lips. That eerie smile against his deathly still gaze sent chills down one’s spine.
Slowly, he lifted the snake-coiled sword and pointed it at the chest of the first man.
The assassin had never intended to live and even tried to bite his tongue to kill himself—but his jaw had already been dislocated. Suicide was no longer an option.
He watched helplessly as the man before him—beautiful as a god—coldly drove that strange sword… straight into his chest.
In an instant, his eyes flew wide open in terror.
Why—why could he hear something drinking his blood?
It was the sword. The snake coiled around it was sucking his heart’s blood!
This man was no god. He was clearly a… monster.
He wanted to scream, to shout, but no sound would come.
Rip.
Gong Mo Ran expressionlessly withdrew the sword.
The man died with his eyes wide open, as if scared to death.
From the blade’s tip, blood automatically flowed toward the snake’s mouth. Before long, the teng snake coiled around the sword turned a pale red, its surface shimmering with an eerie glow.
The blade itself was spotless once more, not a single drop of blood remaining.
Gong Mo Ran held the sword and lowered his gaze to the now light-red snake. An ominous aura radiated from him head to toe.
Nan Xun stared without blinking, her brow furrowing deeper.
Little Eight blurted out, “Holy crap… the big boss looks terrifying and downright perverted right now.”
Nan Xun replied flatly, “Yeah. My thoughts exactly.”
By the time the big boss finished killing the last assassin, the snake on the sword had turned completely blood-red.
Bloodlight flowed along its body, and the snake looked almost alive.
Nearby princes and officials were already sweating profusely.
This Heaven Sacrifice Prayer Ceremony was nothing like the previous ones—it inspired an inexplicable, spine-chilling dread.
Gong Mo Ran returned to the altar with the snake-coiled sword.
With a single gesture, Gong Da presented the prepared talisman papers, while Gong Liu inserted a thick incense pillar into the great cauldron on the altar.
They then withdrew respectfully.
With a flick of his sleeve, the incense ignited on its own.
Smoke curled upward, and a rich sandalwood fragrance quickly spread through the air, easing much of the lingering unease.
“Sacrifice to Heaven,” Gong Mo Ran said.
In an instant, all civil and military officials stared unblinkingly. Some envoys from the three nations even craned their necks in shock.
Gong Mo Ran pointed the sword toward the cauldron, the snake’s head at the tip aligned perfectly with the sand inside.
Then something bizarre happened.
The blood-red teng snake opened its mouth wide and spewed out a mist of blood.
The brown sand inside the cauldron was shrouded in the blood mist and soon turned crimson.
Even the drifting incense smoke began to carry a faint scent of blood.
Little Eight was dumbfounded. “Aren’t you supposed to be good with witchcraft and gu techniques? What exactly is the big boss doing?”
Nan Xun replied calmly, “A Heaven Sacrifice Prayer. Didn’t I say so earlier?”
Little Eight: …
“What kind of Heaven Sacrifice is this? Is it supposed to be this creepy?!”
Nan Xun pressed her lips together, her gaze dark. “I seriously want to smash his head. Using forbidden witchcraft techniques at the drop of a hat—does he think dying from ten thousand arrows wasn’t miserable enough?!”
Little Eight: …
Under the gaze of the masses, Gong Mo Ran raised his sword and declared,
“Above the heavens, today I offer the blood of sinners. May Heaven transform sin into blessings and bring fortune to the millions of people of Southern Yun Nation.”
His voice boomed like a great bell, echoing through the sky and across all directions.
The commoners were already prostrate on the ground, filled with awe.
The incense smoke gathered on its own into a massive spirit-gathering array as Gong Mo Ran burned the first talisman.
In an instant, the clear sky was swallowed by dark clouds.
The second talisman burned, and divine lightning as thick as an arm descended from the heavens—so-called Nine Heavens Thunder, said to annihilate all evil.
Fierce winds rose, lightning and thunder roared.
At this point, even Qi Hengqing—never one to believe in gods or spirits—was filled with shock.
The third talisman burned, and torrential rain poured down.
Even more astonishing, the rain avoided the ceremonial grounds entirely, falling in sheets everywhere else.
The commoners were drenched in moments, yet they were beside themselves with excitement.
“This is a blessing begged from Heaven by the National Preceptor! This rain is fortune itself!” someone cried.
People tilted their heads back to drink the rain. Some clever ones had even brought containers in advance and were now busy collecting it.
When Gong Mo Ran drew a final arc in the air with his sword, the downpour stopped instantly.
The man in white bowed slightly to the old monarch. “Your Majesty, this minister has completed the Heaven Sacrifice Prayer. Blessings have descended upon all the lands of Southern Yun Nation. This year, our nation will surely enjoy favorable weather and lasting peace.”
The old king stroked his beard and laughed heartily. “Good—excellent!”
On the ceremonial grounds, in high spirits, the ministers shouted, “Long live the Emperor! Ten thousand years to the National Preceptor!”
With the ceremony concluded, the old monarch of Southern Yun Nation departed first in the imperial carriage. The National Preceptor boarded his luxurious white carriage, disciples of Mo Ran Hall surrounding him.
The envoys of the three nations and all officials followed behind.
That eerie Heaven Sacrifice left the three nations’ envoys with very different thoughts.
Qi Hengqing’s gaze fell on the white-robed woman beside the white palanquin, his eyes shifting slightly.
He had not known that Miss Rose had become a disciple of Mo Ran Hall.
It seemed… he would need to change his strategy.
