Chapter 54

The temple was pitch black, so dark that one couldn't see their hand in front of their face!

There were only some faint creaking and groaning sounds, coming from an unknown direction, casting a shadow of terror over everyone's hearts.

At the front, Zhan Bai took out a few luminous stones from his storage bag and distributed them to everyone.

Instantly, the dark and desolate temple was as bright as daylight.

Luminous stones, in simple terms, are some mystic stones that have lost their mystic energy, processed in a special way to make them into lighting stones. The residual mystic energy in the stones, though no longer absorbable by the human body, is still sufficient for lighting purposes.

"Everyone follow me, stay alert, and don't fall behind!"

Actually, for experts at the Human Stage, the lighting function of the luminous stones was more about dispelling the inner fear.

The lighting function of the luminous stones was quite impressive, and the scene inside the temple was immediately visible to everyone.

Although the hall was spacious, the main feature was a huge ancient stone statue and four large bronze bells placed at the four corners of the hall. On the four walls of the hall, there were blood-red strange runes, as well as some special drawings and texts. However, the drawing techniques were very ancient, and with the erosion of time, they had become blurred and incomprehensible.

In contrast, the stone statue in the center of the hall, though covered in dust, was still vivid. The statue had three heads, six arms, and three eyes on its forehead, with a terrifying and fierce appearance. Its massive form was covered in red, strange patterns that Zhan Bai and the others had never seen before, creating a powerful sense of oppression that made everyone feel suffocated.

A single huge stone statue was not particularly frightening, but the scene below the statue made everyone gasp in shock.

The ground was littered with dry bones!

And they were headless skeletons, neatly kneeling on the ground, numbering in the hundreds.

Each skeleton was draped in a red robe, in a prostrate posture, devoutly worshiping the huge stone statue.

On a large altar in front of them, there was a pile of skulls, neatly stacked like a small mountain. Each skull was engraved with strange black runes, and their eye sockets glowed with eerie red light.

The scene was too bizarre!

These monks were actually using their own heads as offerings to worship the stone statue!

Everyone present was utterly shocked!

"Senior Brother, who are these people? Why are they using their heads as offerings? Are they performing some evil ritual?"

Fang Xinyi was curious and asked Zhan Bai, who was at the front.

Zhan Bai remained calm. After a moment of surprise, he sighed and said, "From their clothing, these people are likely the ancient monks of this Blood Fork Temple." He paused for a moment, then his gaze returned to the pile of skulls, his expression serious as he explained, "As for why they would all sacrifice their heads, I boldly guess that they might be trying to use this bizarre ritual to suppress some great evil!"

After speaking, Zhan Bai looked at the Hu-named cultivator nearby, his eyes seeking confirmation.

The Hu-named cultivator came from the Starfire Sect and had extensive knowledge of formations and sacrificial rituals. Meeting Zhan Bai's gaze, the Hu-named cultivator nodded and said, "My thoughts align with Zhan Brother's guess. This is indeed an ancient evil blood sacrifice ritual. Blood sacrifices are generally used to suppress great evil. Using so many lives and heads as offerings suggests that the thing being suppressed is not simple at all!"

"Great evil!"

Upon hearing this, everyone fell silent, their eyes flickering, lost in thought.

This was the best time for observation. Qin Feng looked around at everyone but felt slightly disappointed. Apart from Qin Hu, whose eyes were darting around, seemingly up to something, everyone else's attention was on the stone statue and the numerous monk skeletons, revealing no clues.

Since he couldn't find the other hidden person for the moment, he might as well take the opportunity to observe the surroundings.

Qin Feng was no longer the same as before; his knowledge was no less than anyone else's, and in some aspects, he might even surpass them. As Qin Feng's gaze swept around, it suddenly paused on a series of very blurred drawings.

The drawings were crude and made with a greenish blood, which had faded over time and become hard to see clearly. What caught Qin Feng's attention was that he saw a coffin board in the drawings, which looked very similar to the Blood Fork Temple sign he had removed at the temple entrance.

It was a series of images, seemingly using the most primitive drawing techniques to explain the origin of the board.

However, the drawings were too blurred, and even with his best effort, Qin Feng found it difficult to see clearly.

Fortunately, Qin Feng was at the back, and no one was paying attention to him. He slightly turned his head, and his eyes glowed with a purple light as he observed.

As Qin Feng carefully examined the images, they gradually came together in his mind, and his expression became increasingly serious.

Just then, a voice suddenly interrupted him.

"Hey, what is Daoist Qin looking at?"

Qin Feng turned his head, the purple light in his eyes already gone.

The speaker was Shi Yuan, who had always been curious about Qin Feng. This time, Qin Feng was not interested in the terrifying scene before them but was instead staring at the drawings on the walls. She was surprised and her curious eyes fell on Qin Feng again, asking.

Qin Feng smiled and explained, "I just thought the runes on the wall looked familiar from a book I read before, but I can't remember which one, so I got distracted."

"Oh? Is that so?"

Shi Yuan gave Qin Feng a mysterious smile, clearly not finding his explanation very convincing, but she didn't press further, much to Qin Feng's relief.

It seemed he really needed to be more careful.

The power of the Purple Sky Eyes was indeed useful, but the faint purple light when using it was too noticeable.

Fortunately, the conversation between Qin Feng and Shi Yuan didn't attract much attention, as Qin Hu was already cursing and roaring at the front.

"Damn it, what kind of place is this! Scaring me with some broken skeletons! Hmph, watch me smash them!" Qin Hu's temper was naturally explosive, and the imposter seemed to be pretending to be even more exaggerated to fit the role. Though a bit overdone, it was quite convincing.

At this moment, Qin Hu had already taken out a high-grade mystic weapon in the shape of a large knife from his storage bag and, with a swing of his arm, hacked at a kneeling, headless skeleton monk in front of him.

"No!"

Seeing Qin Hu suddenly burst into action, Zhan Bai's face changed, and he tried to stop him.

But it was too late!

As Zhan Bai's words fell, Qin Hu's knife sliced through the air with a powerful crescent-shaped slash, the immense force and the whistling sound of the air explosion directly shattered a row of skeletons.

The skeletons exploded, and Zhan Bai's face instantly turned pale.

...