The first update, subscribe please~~

...

With doubts in his mind and unable to think of a reasonable explanation, Qin Fang simply continued reading with patience.

Upon the high platform, the limbs of the young girl were all cut, and bright red blood was gushing out, a scene that truly tugged at one's heartstrings.

Those villagers watching below had already prostrated themselves on the ground, worshipping in fear and with expressions of utmost reverence and piety, as if they dared not show any disrespect.

As the sky gradually darkened, it became even harder for the people below to see clearly what was happening above. Perhaps this made it even easier for High Priest Darren to cover up the true facts.

The blood continued to flow, and the blood sacrifice ceremony was still ongoing. It appeared so harmonious, and the girl remained extremely serene as if she really had lost her soul and was about to journey to the abode of the gods in such a dreamlike state...

No one questioned the authenticity of this blood sacrifice; it was the hope of the mountain people, their hope for a bright future, for which they were willing to sacrifice anything, such as the life of this young, tender girl... Anyone who dared to shatter such a beautiful dream would inevitably be attacked by the crowd.

Initially, Wen Yan could not bear to watch such a scene, appearing extremely scared and terrified. However, ever since Qin Fang told her it was all fake, she started observing very carefully.

The half-baked charlatan High Priest Darren's achievements in Qianmen Illusion Technique were not very high. With careful observation, one could still discern the truth from the falsehood.

For example, the scene of bleeding looked somewhat discordant upon close inspection, as the location of the bleeding did not quite match the wounds...

That was why Wen Yan believed Qin Fang's words were true and that he hadn't deceived her, and also that the girl on the platform had not truly been bled to death. This made her feel much better.

Tang Xin's eyesight was naturally much better than Wen Yan's. After Qin Fang stopped her from intervening, she had already guessed that there was something wrong with the ritual above, and upon a careful look, she discerned the truth even earlier than Wen Yan.

She was originally not very concerned about the survival of these people. Now that the girl had no risk to her life, she naturally cared even less...

Although Qin Fang saw the truth very clearly and knew that High Priest Darren was a complete fraud and charlatan, it was still not appropriate to expose him directly.

Exposing a scammer wasn't a big deal and could even be considered heroic, but that also depended on the scenario. The mountain people didn't care whether you were being heroic; they were filled with fantasies about the future. Darren made good use of this, and although he deceived them, he also brought them boundless hope.

In this sense, Darren was not particularly vile, certainly much better than those unscrupulous businessmen outside the mountains... Of course, if Darren had committed other utterly heinous acts, then Qin Fang couldn't be polite to him.

The girl's blood continued to flow, but with the passage of time, the flow gradually slowed as if it was drying up...

However, the girl never moved an inch throughout, and the mountain people below respectfully awaited the conclusion of the ritual.

This bleeding process lasted for more than ten minutes, during which High Priest Darren acted as if he were performing a shamanic dance, gesticulating wildly, appearing to truly engage in sacrificial activities; enduring these actions for such time, he looked as if he had been fished out of water, soaked in sweat...

"The ceremony is complete! Offer sacrifice to the divine…"

Following High Priest Darren's roar, the ritual finally ended completely, and the young girl's blood had also stopped flowing. Darren gently wiped the wound, and suddenly, that spot appeared completely uninjured, as if it had never been wounded at all...

Using the same technique, he smoothed out all the wounds on the limbs, leaving the mountain people utterly dumbfounded, almost at a loss for words.

Qin Fang and the others had no change in expression; since the previous bleeding was an illusion, there naturally were never any real wounds. After dispelling these illusions from the Qianmen Illusion Technique, those so-called wounds couldn't possibly have any cuts...

Unfortunately, only perceptive people like Qin Fang and his companions understood this. These ignorant mountain people couldn't spot the slightest trick...

However, there was one thing that was real; the grooves surrounding the platform where the girl lay were filled with brimming bright red blood, creating a profoundly eerie sight...

As it turned out, High Priest Darren, in his efforts to perfect this scam, spared no detail. Had Qin Fang not seen through the Qianmen Illusion Technique, he might have been deceived as well.

The blood sacrifice ceremony was thus completed, but it didn't mark the end of the entire ritual. The most crucial process of offering was yet to be conducted...

High Priest Darren had already descended from the high platform and settled back into his palanquin, while several extra sedan chair bearers of his climbed onto the platform. Together, they lifted the platform, on which the young girl lay, upwards...

These bearers were evidently experienced, lifting the platform steadily without the slightest jolt. The blood placed in the groove remained intact, flowing slowly within...

Carefully descending from the high platform, the mountain villagers voluntarily cleared a path, allowing the men carrying the platform to walk out slowly and head towards the exit of the village.

High Priest Darren, sitting in his palanquin, was quickly lifted by people and slowly followed behind the group heading out of the village.

It was then followed by the villagers in the village and those from the surrounding tribes, keeping a distance of at least twenty to thirty meters behind High Priest Darren, hesitant to get closer and potentially disrupt the "exhausted" High Priest Darren's brief respite...

Qin Fang and the others naturally followed within the crowd, also refraining from moving closer to the front, lest the villagers think they were causing trouble.

Carrying Wen Yan on his back, Qin Fang and Tang Xin walked slowly among the crowd; though they didn't seem fast, the villagers in front continuously moved aside subconsciously, soon placing them at the very front, over twenty meters away where Qin Fang could clearly see what was ahead...

However, obscured by Darren's expansive palanquin, Qin Fang couldn't see the platform clearly, which felt quite frustrating to him.

The final part of the ritual was the offering to the mountain deity of this massive mountain range, and the nearest place for offering was selected by High Priest Darren, a very steep cliff, seemingly bottomless, where the offering was to be cast down...

This also puzzled Qin Fang. If High Priest Darren's more than 3000 Sin Points accrued by such means, why didn't he just kill the girl of the blood sacrifice first? Instead, why put in much effort to throw her off the cliff?

Despite his doubts, Qin Fang continued to follow and watch from behind, waiting for the outcome...

The cliff was not too far from the village, located behind the mountain of the village, taking only about an hour's time. As night fell, it became almost impossible to discern the situation ahead, with only the lit torches vaguely illuminating the immediate surroundings.

The platform with the girl stopped at the forefront of the cliff, followed closely by the large palanquin of High Priest Darren, which blocked most of the view combined with the dim light. The villagers following from a distance also didn't dare get too close and naturally couldn't see clearly what was happening ahead.

"It's too far away; I can't see anything clearly..."

Being so distant and the light fading, Wen Yan, a mere mortal, didn't have the keen vision of Qin Fang or Tang Xin and couldn't help but murmur softly.

Qin Fang thought for a moment, then, without showing how he concealed them, he pulled out two binoculars from his body, tossing one to Wen Yan and the other to Tang Xin.

"Go ahead and use these..."

For Qin Fang, this wasn't challenging as his Props Box contained numerous items, including the spoils of war he had gathered from defeating the Remnant Wolf Mercenary Corps. These were not merely binoculars but advanced ones with night vision capabilities...

Wen Yan didn't hesitate; although she had never used such sophisticated devices, she knew these were binoculars. She promptly placed them in front of her eyes and started looking into the distance.

Tang Xin also felt they were quite novel, mimicking Wen Yan, placed the binoculars before her eyes, and peered inside...

"Oh..."

However, she was truly shocked by what she saw. The initially blurry scene suddenly became much clearer, almost as if it was right before her eyes—even the expressions on High Priest Darren's face were distinctly visible...

Tang Sect in the Martial World was known for their hidden weapons and poisons, along with their Mechanism Techniques and other exotic skills, hence they were not averse to such devices.

Yet, this little gadget was quite impressive; Tang Xin was clearly aware that even the top craftspeople of Tang Sect couldn't produce such miraculous devices...

Indeed, the Tang Sect experts could only scale heights to look afar, but not like she was now—able to see distant scenes clearly from where she stood.

Of course, compared to the smartphone-like device Qin Fang had let her play with before, this seemed much simpler...(To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to vote and support at Qidian (qidian.com). Your support is my greatest motivation.)

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.