Chapter 63: Chaotic Banquet

  The border area between the Great Zhou Empire and the Delos Empire, where dozens of city ruins are intertwined and connected, forming a vast ruin group, with a desolate and bleak landscape, some areas overgrown with trees, some flattened by war, some inhabited by certain ferocious beasts, and some covered with dense cracks.

  Years of incessant military campaigns have reduced this once-thriving region to a forgotten land, a chaotic land that has become a haven for some fugitives.

  This desolate city cemetery is usually deserted, with no signs of human life, a bleak and dilapidated scene, unless under special circumstances, nobody would be willing to come here. But now it's bustling with people, noisy and chaotic, all sorts of mercenary groups are crisscrossing within, occasionally you can see the Martial King walking in mid-air, even massive flying demonic beasts swooping down from high above, on top of which stand powerful figures with a thick aura.

  Where there are many people, there will be contradictions. In a place without constraints and all mercenaries, the so-called contradictions will be resolved in the most direct way - killing each other!

  Whether in the daytime or at night, the hustle and bustle is always accompanied by mournful cries and angry roars, and the crowded crowd occasionally bursts into fierce fighting. Perhaps it was the blood that stimulated consciousness, or perhaps it was the chaotic environment that affected the mind, many mercenaries who had grudges against each other before meeting here did not hesitate at all, directly evolving into collisions and killings.

  Night falls, the endless desolate city cemetery has not calmed down, the noise and killing sounds rise and fall, this is no longer a desolate city, but a chaotic city, a land of sin.

  In the ruins, two figures floated in like ghosts, coughing three times in front of a collapsed pile of rubble, then tapping on the fallen beam beside it in a specific rhythm.

  After a suffocating silence, the wooden board covered with thick dust on the ground suddenly cracked open, and a figure emerged from the crack, cautiously looking around, only after confirming safety did they lead them underground.

  The crack closed immediately, a night wind blew by, dust flew up, covering all the marks.

  The underground was a vast stone cave, with more than a dozen night pearls scattered around, bringing a soft glow. In the center, there was a stone table, where a red-haired robust man sat, with a large knife and golden horse by his side.

  "What you've brought is what I want?" The red-haired burly man gazed coldly at the two black-robed men who were approaching.

  "I'd like to confirm if the item is still in your 'Akatsuki' hands." The black-clad man on the left raised his head, his gaze sweeping over the dozen or so men and women present before finally settling on the farthest end of the stone cave.

  "Give them a look." The red-haired burly man gestured with his hand.

  Whoa! The black cloth at the deepest part of the stone cave was pulled open, revealing the seven ferocious beast carvings inside. Under the illumination of the night pearl, the ferocious beast carvings looked terrifying and emitted a cold, murderous aura. Each of the ferocious beast carvings was covered with dense, mysterious symbols, as if they were imprisoning something.

  Two men in black clothes suddenly had a fierce gaze, staring tightly at the seven carvings, even their breathing was somewhat urgent.

  "Have you had enough? Where is what I want?" The red-haired burly man let out a heavy hum.

  The man in black casually tossed over an ancient dragon-carved ring: "This is the material needed to lift the seal, it's all in this ring. The process will be very cumbersome, I hope you don't make any mistakes."

  The red-haired burly man played with the ring, a strange smile spreading from the corner of his mouth: "Can I know your identities? I heard that these seven statues are what 'Di Huang' collected after much difficulty, but couldn't find a way to seal them. How did you get them? And how can you guarantee they can unseal it?"

  "Our identities are none of your concern, and as for the effect, there won't be any problems. The materials were collected a long time ago, and the most important catalyst is the purified blood of eighty-eight third-tier warriors, all of whom are young men about to undergo baptism, whose blood is the purest and most innocent."

  "Oh? I heard that... something strange happened in the Northern Wilderness, someone kidnapped nearly a hundred boys and girls who were about to be baptized, it was you guys who did it!"

  The man in black ignored the strong man's question and continued, "After making contact with the seal, the tens of thousands of warriors in the desolate city's graveyard will all become their sacrifices, being sucked dry. What you need to do is let them act freely, without interfering in any way, until they are completely stable. According to the agreement, two of the seven ferocious creatures that have come into the world belong to you, and the remaining five belong to us."

  "We carried them on our backs and escaped for several months, why can we only get two? You just make some suggestions and send some materials and you get five?"

  The man in black robes swept the scene coldly: "To possess them, you must have a revered level of power. Those below the revered level, as soon as they touch it, will be instantly counterattacked and turned into a withered corpse. Is there still a third martial arts master among you?"

  Another black-robed man said in a low voice, "After this matter is over, the Red God Society will be wanted by the entire continent. Even if you obtain them, it's hard to guarantee that nothing will go wrong. So... we are willing to provide the Red God with three years of asylum and guarantee that we won't covet what's in your hands during this period."

  The red-haired burly man exchanged glances with his subordinates, remained silent for a while, and reluctantly accepted these unfair conditions.

  …………

  After careful makeup, Tang Yan, Du Yang, and Ailin took advantage of the night to slip out of Giant Elephant City, riding a unicorn horse straight to the border town's graveyard. Tang Yan and Du Yang wore coarse linen clothes, stuck on full beards, and transformed into two thin men. Ailin wrapped some cotton cloth around her chest, changed into tattered clothes, and made some gestures on her face, transforming into an ordinary village girl.

  Actually, Ailin's recent mood has been very messy. She always wanted to return to the college, but there was a few inexplicable reluctance. Finally, she made up her mind to go back, but was deceived by Tang Yan's clever words and left the city. She kept reminding herself not to mess with this rascal again, but subconsciously, she couldn't help following him. This made her very uncomfortable, yet she had no choice.

  The once icy and elegant 'Ice Flower' of the academy, has recently become like a 'wild child', following Tang Yan, that young master, in his mischief. Galloping wildly on horseback through the ancient forest paths, Ailin even doubted how she had agreed to it, and how she had left Giant Elephant City.

  Compared to Ailin's anxiety and entanglement, Tang Yan and Du Yang were very excited. Unless they encountered some mercenary troops or family troops on the road and pretended to be stupid, they were very active at other times.

  Seven days later, the three finally arrived at the desolate city cemetery. From a distance, all that could be seen was ruin and devastation, with a gust of wind blowing in, stirring up clouds of dust. Some parts of the desolate city cemetery were almost devoid of any signs of civilization, reduced to mere rubble fields, while other areas still retained some semblance of their former appearance, though they too were battered and worn, as if even a slight tremor could bring them crashing down.

  It's exactly as I imagined, this place is filled with slaughter and madness. Even before approaching the tomb group, you can hear the loud shouts and clashes of steel, feel the murderous aura inside, and even the air is mixed with dust and blood.

  "Be careful, we're here to 'clean up' not to look for trouble. Some things can be avoided." Tang Yan made a gesture to the two of them and entered the desolate city from a relatively secluded place. The mercenaries who came and went noticed them, but when they saw Erynda's ugly appearance, they all showed a few points of disgust. As for Tang Yan and Du Yang, these two old men were directly ignored.

  Inside the desolate city, there were loud noises and shrill screams, as well as intense clashes. The three of them wandered around casually, carefully searching, and soon discovered a battle circle, where two teams of mercenaries were fighting each other.

  Maybe they're already used to this kind of scene, nobody nearby pays attention, and even when they see a fight, they quickly hide far away, afraid of being implicated.

  Three people hid in the corner, patiently waiting for their fight to the death. The strength of these warriors was not too strong, with only two or three martial arts masters, and the rest were all martial spirits. However, for Tang Yan, they were still a great tonic.

  The uneven battle ended soon, with one side being completely killed and the other side's survivors quickly leaving after snatching the opponent's package.

  "You take turns keeping watch, and remind me immediately if there's any situation." Tang Yan took a swift step forward, arriving at the middle of the bloody corpses. With his eyes closed and legs crossed, he quickly condensed five cyan fireballs, which first struck an old man, who was observed to be a strong Martial Ancestor-level cultivator from earlier. Following closely behind, the fireballs were condensed one after another, targeting three high-ranking Martial Spirit corpses, while temporarily abandoning the rest.

  After all, with limited strength, it is impossible to infinitely stimulate the ghostly green fire, and only a few can be chosen.

  The ghostly blue flames enveloped the four corpses, rapidly burning and refining them. In just a few short minutes, the flames dissipated, revealing four vials of dense spiritual liquid. However...

  "Huh?" Tang Yan picked it up one by one, and after carefully feeling it, he couldn't help but furrow his brow.

  Du Yang and Ailinda gathered around: "What's wrong? Is there a problem?"

  "This is a Wu Zong's, these three are third-grade Wu Ling's, didn't find that the spiritual liquid is much smaller than normal?" Tang Yan had already known in his heart what kind of demon beasts and warriors could refine how large spiritual liquids, but the four spiritual liquids in front of him were actually reduced by half compared to normal.

  Ailinda said: "Is it... because it's a corpse?"

  Du Yang raised an eyebrow: "You're still picky about your Green Flame? Does it have to be a living creature that you've personally refined?"

  Tang Yan thought for a moment: "There's this possibility, previously it was basically all about using Qing Huo to kill the demon beasts, which is different from now picking up corpses and refining them. However, this is also too exaggerated, shrinking by half?"

  Du Yang was quite open-minded: "If you're getting a good deal, then don't be dissatisfied."

  "That's right, four is not a small number either. Let's continue working." Tang Yan ate one of the Lingyuan Liquids to replenish his depleted spiritual energy and put the other three into the jade bottle. He casually patted the little black dog that was staring blankly at the jade bottle.

  The little black dog let out a discontented whine and reluctantly withdrew its gaze.

  Inside the desolate city, fierce battles were frequent and deaths were everywhere. Tang Yan and his three companions carefully made their way around, finding a suitable battlefield to hide in, waiting for the fight to end before pouncing on the scene to harvest the spoils. The scene was like walking into a self-service store, where you could pick whatever you liked.

  During this period, they encountered several times when mercenaries came and went, or other mercenaries passed by. If they could avoid them, they would directly avoid them without getting entangled. If they couldn't avoid them, they would use all their strength to kill them. If they encountered particularly strong targets, they would rather give up and escape the scene decisively.

  Tang Yan's Extinction Eye, two types of seal techniques, Du Yang's petrification martial skills, and Erynda this second-tier martial ancestor, the three of them are simply natural partners. Tang Yan and Du Yang play tricks, Erynda takes charge of the main attack, with enough self-defense power.

  Anyway, with Lingyuan liquid available to replenish their spiritual power at any time, they don't have to worry too much about consumption, and can go all out in displaying their martial skills, which can also be considered a kind of training.

  The three quickly adapted to the environment of the desolate city's graveyard, constantly wandering through various battlefields, constantly undergoing refinement and slaughter, fearlessly 'clearing corpses'.