Dustin approached the blood altar, paying no heed to the dense aura of hatred lingering in the air. He bent down and picked up the bronze waist token, his fingers brushing over the strange, twisted emblem. His gaze was icy.
“Not just one group,” he muttered. “Judging from the age of the bloodstains and the styles of these remnants, at least three separate factions have conducted blood sacrifices here over the past few decades.”
He examined a relatively intact corpse. Its sternum glimmered with an abnormal dark-gold hue, covered in fine cracks.
“This person was no weakling — at least Master-level cultivation. Yet death came not by ordinary means. Their life essence and soul were forcibly drained, leaving even the spiritual energy in their bones stripped away,” Dustin explained.
Margaret frowned. “The sacrifices… were they trying to communicate with the Dragon? Or weaken it?”
She recalled Xuan Chengzi’s words: the seal had grown weak over the years, leaking its power. Someone deliberately performing blood sacrifices might have been attempting to contact the Abyssal Dragon — or exploit the negative energy generated to impact the seal.
“Highly likely.” Dustin’s eyes scanned the altar, finally resting on a recessed stone basin at its center, clearly meant to hold the sacrificial victims.
Its smooth inner walls still reeked of concentrated blood and emitted faint, twisted waves of desecration and destruction.
“This kind of blood ritual could not only disrupt the seal but might even provide the Abyssal Dragon with the energy it needs to break free — the life essence and resentment of the living.”
The realization weighed heavily on everyone. The peril of Penglai Island wasn’t just from the natural decay of the seal or the corrupted creatures — some malevolent forces from outside were actively interfering.
“Who could do this? And for what purpose?” Margaret shivered.
Any faction capable of finding the island and setting up a blood altar was not to be underestimated.
“Unknown intent. Perhaps they hope to harness the Dragon’s power,” Dustin said, “but it explains why the beasts here are so aggressive, and why the seal has grown unstable. Continuous blood sacrifices act like hammer blows to a dam already riddled with cracks.”
He turned his gaze toward the core of the Jade Pool, eyes sharpening. “We must hurry — not just to find the pool’s water, but also to uncover who is behind this. Xuan Chengzi mentioned disagreements among the guardians — this blood ritual is likely related.”
At that moment, old Zhang, who had been silently observing, pointed hoarsely to a massive reef near the altar. “There… seems to be writing there.”
Everyone looked. On the side of the reef facing the altar, rough, blood-red characters were etched as if written in blood:
“Use blood as guide, soul as offering, beseech the Dragon Lord, grant me power… Black Sha shall not perish…”
The inscription ended abruptly, suggesting the author was interrupted or met with misfortune.
“Black Sha?” Margaret and A-Long exchanged puzzled glances — neither had heard the name before.
Dustin silently noted the name and the strange emblem. He suspected Black Sha had a close connection with the blood altar and the faction plotting around the Abyssal Dragon.
The discovery of the blood altar cast a shadow over the group, adding another layer of danger and urgency to their already perilous path.
“Move. Keep searching for the stone path,” Dustin ordered, suppressing his thoughts.
The group followed, the atmosphere heavier than before. Everyone sensed that time might already be running short.
After advancing over a mile, they discovered a faint, narrow path paved with pale jade stones, hidden among putrid, twisted water plants.
The fragile trail glimmered faintly in the dark-red waters, a delicate thread leading toward unknown hope.
Stepping onto it, they could sense a weak spiritual energy resisting the corrupting force of the Weak Water.
The path, however, was narrow and slippery, allowing only one person to pass carefully. On either side, the blood-stained waters, emanating malice, seemed like the jaws of a beast ready to devour anyone careless.
Margaret followed closely behind Dustin, each step painstakingly cautious, her mind racing.
The blood altar loomed over her thoughts like a massive storm cloud. Beyond the island’s natural dangers, a hidden, sinister force lurked in the shadows — intensifying the gravity of her father’s faint hope.
A-Long and the other guards brought up the rear, muscles tense, constantly stabilizing themselves and watching the ominous waters.
Qingzhu supported old Zhang, whose face grew paler under the oppressive aura, his breathing labored.
As the team reached the midpoint of the narrow path, with no end in sight, suddenly — an abnormality erupted! - Marinien
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