Chapter Seventy-Three: The Sacrifice

The largest of the nine fire ravens, with a body towering above the rest, stood beside the altar, forming a perfect circle. The fire raven raised its wings high, holding its head proudly to gaze at the blazing sun in the sky.

It was noon, and the scorching sunlight poured down like molten lava. The giant raven’s feathers were gilded by the sunlight, shimmering with golden edges; waves of fiery light rippled across its body like water. If one looked closely, deep within the eyes of the ravens encircling the altar, a small, perfectly round rune flashed. This golden rune was seamless, surrounded by a halo of flame, reminiscent of the sun in the sky, exuding an indescribable sense of antiquity and sacredness.

Above, other giant ravens hovered silently in the air. Each focused all their attention on the altar, enveloped in a mysterious and solemn aura. The ravens seemed to hold their breath, their bodies trembling slightly as their iron-hard feathers clashed together with crisp, ringing sounds.

“Hahaha, hahaha, hahahaha!” Blackwater Wujiao screamed like a madman. “I can’t believe I’m witnessing the ancient blood sacrifice ritual of the Fire Raven Tribe! Ji Hao, you really have guts, you little bastard, you truly have guts! The ancient ‘Nine Suns Ascending’ blood sacrifice ritual that your tribe holds once every century during the ancestor ceremony—you actually dare to use it now!”

Ji Hao toyed with three jet-black Life-and-Death Needles, looking at the crazed Blackwater Wujiao with a faint smile. “Nine Suns Ascending, blood sacrifice ritual—Grandfather and the elders never used it during the centennial ceremony, simply because there were no suitable offerings.”

He placed the Life-and-Death Needles into his hair and rubbed his hands vigorously. “After all, the ancestral spirits worshipped in the sacred temple are ancient, some are the true souls of the three-legged Golden Crow. They’ve seen much; ordinary offerings don’t impress them.”

Ji Hao shrugged, smiling. “If you recklessly use the Nine Suns Ascending blood sacrifice, disturb the ancient Golden Crow spirits, but provide no worthy offerings, you’d have to compensate with your own blood and soul. Grandfather and the elders are all still lively, not ready to die yet.”

Qing Ying, accompanied by several burly Fire Raven warriors, grabbed Blackwater Wujiao’s limbs and placed him at the center of the altar.

Blackwater Wujiao shrieked in despair, thrashing wildly. Yet all his sorcerer acupoints had been lightly pierced by Ji Hao’s Life-and-Death Needles. The venom stored by the Qing Yi Tribe’s priests for countless years now controlled his body; he was utterly powerless to resist.

“Ji Hao, you little bastard!” Blackwater Wujiao howled madly. “How dare you! There are one hundred fifty-eight high sorcerers from thirty-two tribes here, seventy-nine priests and elders from every tribe—do you dare to sacrifice us all?”

“Why wouldn’t I?” Ji Hao replied easily with a smile. “One hundred fifty-eight high sorcerers, seventy-nine priest-level elders—even the ancient Golden Crow spirits won’t be too picky. This time, the ancestors will surely bless me!”

Not only Blackwater Wujiao, but the high sorcerer warriors, their priests, and elders from the tribes began to howl in panic. They too were immobilized by the venom of the Life-and-Death Needles, unable to move a finger, though their tongues remained agile as ever.

“Ji Hao, we confess, we accept punishment, we are willing to become vassals of the Fire Raven Tribe!”

“Lord Ji Hao, it’s our fault—our tribe is willing to become your vassal!”

“Heavens, I don’t want to die, I don’t want to die! Ji Hao, Lord Ji Hao, spare us, spare us! It’s all Jiang Yao’s fault, that wretched woman! We never wished to provoke the Fire Raven Tribe!”

These figures, usually revered in their tribes, wept and wailed, begging Ji Hao for mercy. If Ji Hao merely intended to kill them, they would not fear death—many were even eager to die. In the South Wilderness tribes, to die in battle for the tribe’s sake was the highest honor; the souls of warriors would return to the ancestral temple and enjoy the worship of their people alongside the ancestors.

But Ji Hao did not just intend to kill them—he was using them as sacrificial offerings!

Their souls would never return to their ancestral land; instead, they would become nourishment for the Fire Raven ancestral spirits, utterly extinguished and merged, never to exist again. The ancestral spirits would grow stronger from their sacrifice, but they themselves would vanish without trace.

So fear overtook them, terror overwhelmed them—they begged with tears streaming down their faces, some even soiling themselves in desperation, pleading shamelessly for mercy.

“Hurry! While the sun blazes overhead, this is the best time for sacrifice.” Ji Hao ordered coldly. “Uncle, move quickly—once you finish off these tribal leaders, your thirty thousand slaves will be yours in peace.”

Qing Ying hastened, shoving one high sorcerer, priest, and elder after another—faces streaked with tears and mucus—onto the altar, stacking them like bundles of firewood.

The nine giant ravens at the altar’s edge gave satisfied caws. The Nine Suns Ascending, blood sacrifice ritual—this mysterious ceremony etched into their bloodline—they had never witnessed it themselves. The oldest among them was nearly a thousand years old, and yet for a millennium, the Fire Raven Tribe had not held the Nine Suns Ascending ritual.

Long ago, when the tribe was ruled by sorcerer kings and emperors, every century the Fire Raven Tribe would prepare ample offerings for such a ceremony. In those days, the tribe was at its zenith, its strength surpassing mighty clans like the Bifang and Vermilion Bird Tribes. Such glory was something the ravens longed for.

This time, there were over two hundred high sorcerer-level offerings, with even more lesser sorcerers and warriors on standby, ready to fill the altar if needed.

This blood sacrifice would surely succeed!

The nine giant ravens quivered with excitement, casting approving glances at Ji Hao. Their long journey to assist him had been worthwhile for this Nine Suns Ascending ritual alone.

Soon, all the tribes’ high sorcerers, priests, and elders had been stacked onto the altar, and nearly a thousand of the strongest lesser sorcerers were placed on the surrounding rune formations. The nine giant ravens’ bodies ignited in flames as a sharp, piercing raven cry shot up to the heavens from the altar.

Suddenly, Blackwater Wujiao shrieked desperately, “Ji Hao, do you want to know the truth behind your father and mother’s ambush in the Golden Crow Ridge sacred temple ten years ago? There are elders in your sacred land colluding with us—”

Ji Hao raised his spear, driving it fiercely through Blackwater Wujiao’s throat.

Blackwater Wujiao stared at Ji Hao, his dimming eyes filled with confusion and bewilderment.

“No need for you to say it. Father and Mother already knew someone conspired with your Blackwater Serpent Tribe’s assassins. But Father didn’t wish to pursue it… And I already know who it was. Why would I need you to tell me?” Ji Hao replied coldly, twisting his wrist, causing blood to spurt from Blackwater Wujiao’s wound like a fountain.

From the distant horizon, a fiery streak shot toward them, and Ji Xia’s thunderous roar echoed, “Hao!”

Ji Hao raised his right hand and punched forcefully. “Sacrifice—begin!”

The nine giant ravens let out simultaneous long cries. On the altar, the translucent figure of a three-legged Golden Crow slowly appeared, and all the offerings stacked upon the altar were enveloped in golden, transparent flames.

The fire blazed skyward, dyeing the mountains and forests within hundreds of miles in a magnificent golden hue.

***

Sacrifice! Sacrifice!

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