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As for the life and death of these mountain people...

As a Tang Sect Disciple, Tang Xin had never cared.

Back in the day, Tang Sect took revenge for its disciples by bloodbathing several tribes, massacring hundreds and thousands of mountain people...

Although she had never personally participated, she had heard of it and looked down on these savage, backward Miao Jiang people.

Moreover, she did not share the same instinctive disgust for blood sacrifices as Wen Yan did; on the contrary, she seemed quite interested and even a little anticipatory about whether this blood sacrifice could indeed bring a blessed future to the tribe.

It wasn't anyone's fault but the environment she grew up in that shaped such thoughts; had she lived outside the mountains, she probably would have thought much like Qin Fang and the rest.

This performance by High Priest Darren shocked all the tribespeople present, their eyes filled with boundless awe, respect, and longing, making Darren feel elated.

Perhaps she was reminded of the candid interaction with Qin Fang in that cave, and the intimate contact they shared, but sadly since then, there had been no more closeness between her and Qin Fang.

In recent days, she had wanted to get closer to Qin Fang, but although he embraced her to sleep every night, he refused to claim her body.

As for the reason, Qin Fang simply did not want Wen Yan to lose her cherished virginity under such circumstances.

Tang Xin's facial expression remained calm, and her eyes did not show much unusualness, yet Qin Fang could feel that Tang Xin's glances floated across his face several times, pretending as though she saw nothing.

Several people exhibited different demeanors, but overall, their attention was still focused on the stage above, watching High Priest Darren's next act.

This girl was very sacred, so flawless, as if she was now going to face the blood sacrifice; she was completely willing to dedicate herself to the supreme deity to exchange for blessings upon the entire tribe.

For her, it was not a catastrophe, on the contrary, it was a liberation, a gift...

In her heart, she held immense admiration and joy for High Priest Darren, who seemed equally "divinely impeccable"; she watched every single one of Darren's performances very seriously, even believing High Priest Darren to be the most formidable person next to the supreme deity.

As Darren took steps closer, she was not at all panicked; instead, she became more excited, even when High Priest Darren held a shimmering dagger, it had no effect on her.

The blood sacrifice officially began.

High Priest Darren gently waved the large sleeves of his sacrificial robes, like a gentle breeze passing by; the girl felt her head heavy, her eyelids increasingly so, and finally, she closed her eyes and fell asleep...

"Great power of the High Priest!"

"The deity is supreme!"

Although it was a very simple action, to the mountain people, it seemed as if High Priest Darren had merely waved his hand and completely summoned away the girl's soul, causing a clamor to rise again. Soon after, hordes of tribespeople kneeled to the ground and started to worship reverently.

"Shameless..."

It was still just the three of them, Qin Fang and the others, who remained motionless, or perhaps it was the usually calm Tang Xin, who rarely expressed such low-voiced anger.

These mountain people might not understand how Darren summoned away the girl's soul, but Tang Xin knew clearly that it had nothing to do with summoning any soul; the girl had simply been drugged with a stupefying agent.

Although Tang Xin, as a disciple of Tang Sect, might not have had access to the core secrets of the Sect's Hidden Weapons and poison techniques, she naturally had studied drugs quite a bit. Being one of the most despicable intoxicants in the Martial World, the stupefying agent was easy to recognize, and of course, Tang Xin knew it well.

High Priest Darren was truly shameless, having drugged the girl with the stupefying agent, and then pretending that the deity took away the girl's soul, even Tang Xin was somewhat angered.

"Keep calm!"

However, Qin Fang gently pulled her aside, preventing her from rushing up and splitting Darren in two with a sword; she calmed down and continued to watch Darren's performance.

The girl had been drugged into a deep sleep and naturally was unaware of what would happen next.

And at last, the climax of the blood sacrifice arrived.

The blade fell, and blood gleamed.

A deep red appeared on the young girl's wrist, as blood slowly began to flow from the cut.

There, High Priest Darren positioned the girl's arm over the groove, allowing the blood to trickle into the indentation...

Then, he moved to the other side, grabbed the girl's other arm, and with the same motion, cut her other wrist, placing the limb over the groove to continue the bloodletting...

But even this was not enough. After severing both wrists, High Priest Darren moved to the girl's legs, seemingly intending to sever them as well to let the blood drain.

Witnessing this, even Tang Xin involuntarily furrowed her brows. While aware that the blood sacrifice might not be straightforward, she hadn't expected such a method.

Tang Xin was not particularly concerned about the girl's fate, but watching her die in such a way was too cruel. Even a swift death by the blade would have been more acceptable to Tang Xin.

Tang Xin moved, wanting to rush forward to save the girl, but Qin Fang stretched out an arm to hold her back, gently shaking his head to dissuade her from intervening.

Had anyone else attempted to stop her, Tang Xin would have ignored them. But since it was Qin Fang who stopped her, and his eyes seemed to convey a deeper meaning, Tang Xin forcefully suppressed the urge to act.

High Priest Darren continued busily with his bloodletting. By now, he had severed the artery in one leg, and seemed intent on sparing none of the limbs.

"Qin Fang, they're so cruel..." Wen Yan couldn't bear to watch any longer, burying her head completely into Qin Fang's chest while speaking with unbearable distress.

She was just an ordinary girl, unaccustomed to the sight of blood, let alone such a gruesome scene. It was fortunate enough that she wasn't frightened out of her wits; expecting her to keep watching was clearly impossible.

The ritual of severing limbs to draw blood could no longer be described as merely barbaric—the bloodshed was extreme, even inhumane.

To kill is to simply end a life, but this method of execution was akin to the cruelty of dismemberment, letting life ebb away with the draining blood.

And so, the girl vaguely lost her vibrant life, which was truly regrettable.

"It's alright, it's all fake, don't take it seriously..."

Qin Fang held Wen Yan by the waist, whispering softly into her ear.

"Really?" Wen Yan was stunned, then glanced again at the bloody scene on the altar, unable to believe what she was hearing. How could the blood, which seemed so real, be fake?

"Trust me, I wouldn't lie to you..." Qin Fang patted her back, saying so. There were things that Wen Yan couldn't understand. If not for Qin Fang's knowledge, even he would have been deceived.

"I didn't expect this guy to have learned so much... even if it's only superficial!"

Watching High Priest Darren, who was busy with the bloodletting, Qin Fang muttered to himself, his mind rapidly piecing things together.

Qianmen Illusion Technique—Darren had actually learned the Qianmen Illusion Technique, which was quite surprising to Qin Fang.

It wasn't that Darren couldn't learn it, but Qin Fang found it odd that Darren's mastery implied an authentic lineage, somewhat purer than what Ye Ming and Ye Huan, the siblings Qin Fang knew, had learned.

Yet it was peculiar that Darren had learned only the superficial aspects and had not grasped the true essence of the Qianmen Illusion Technique, making him seem a novice.

Before, Qin Fang thought of Darren as an imposter mainly because the tricks he used seemed hand-me-downs from other shamans and witch doctors. But now, he believed Darren was a novice because, despite learning such an authentic Qianmen Illusion Technique, he failed to capture even a trace of its essence...

Despite Darren appearing powerful on the altar, with the girl's limbs bleeding profusely—a sight clear to the hundreds or thousands present, leaving no one to doubt its veracity—

In Qin Fang's eyes, it wasn't so. The girl had merely fainted, and Darren's dagger hadn't cut even a single hair on her head; the so-called blood was nothing more than an illusion created by the Qianmen Illusion Technique...

Clearly, from the start, Darren had no intention of truly killing the girl in such a brutal manner—it was all a deception.

"Then how did he accumulate so many Sin Points?"

If Darren knew the Qianmen Illusion Technique, and considering his high status in the mountains, it was evident that such sacrificial rituals had been conducted more than once or twice, and each time, these ignorant mountaineers were deceived by the Qianmen Illusion Technique without actual killings taking place.

If he hadn't killed anyone, then from where did Darren's three thousand Sin Points come from? This inevitably raised doubts in Qin Fang's mind. (To be continued. If you enjoy this work, you're welcome to vote with recommendation tickets and monthly tickets at Qidian.com. Your support is my greatest motivation.)

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