117 117.

With a heavy sigh, Tao Chen paused for a long time. Even though his body was aching all over, it was nothing compared to the pain in his heart.

"No one knows why, but the human sacrifice was something that doesn't have a limit. So, unlike the animals and monster beasts which provided a limited range of growth, the human sacrifices provided limitless strength. As long as you can meet the number, you can grow stronger."

"In the later chapters of the book, someone discovered a pattern too. Once you use this pattern as an array, you can do a mass sacrifice ritual, possibly hundreds or even thousands of people. This can even help someone take a step further into a new realm."

"This newfound discovery spread like a wildfire. Throughout the Leihui Sect, members began to sacrifice masses of innocent people, just to get more strength. And the more they did it, the more twisted they became.

Even the grand elders and elders like us were no different. The grand elders started experimenting on humans and soon a new discovery was made. The more negative emotions a person has before their death, the stronger the effects of the sacrifice is. And this led to chaos. Before sacrificing people, we from Leihui Sect began to humiliate them. At first, it was limited to curses and beatings, but with more sacrifices, we slowly evolved too. For example, if it were a girl, she would be toyed with before being sacrificed in front of her entire family. We would even force a father to do his own daughter, a brother to do his own sister, and so on... The more we did it, the more twisted we became."

Speaking till here, Tao Chen closed his eyes in shame. It was as if he still couldn't believe what he had done.

"Continue please." At this moment, Yang Ze's expression was grave. He was beginning to understand the dire situation that was slowly unfolding before him.

"No one was safe. We..." Speaking till here, Tao Chen's voice became hoarse. He was trying his hardest to control his emotions.

"We were supposed to be the protectors. We were supposed to be the Lightbringer to the masses, we were supposed to lead them. Instead, it was us that betrayed them, used them for our own sick and twisted ambitions.

We... Are worse than animals."

With a short pause, he continued.

"These practices, not only twisted people's mind but their personalities too. People who practice this art of sacrifice usually have split personalities. One moment, they might appear to be normal, and the next moment, they might do something completely out of their character.

Just like me...."

"And this damned tattoo..." Gritting his teeth in hate, Tao Chen looked at his skin which was completely covered in red. This wasn't him changing the color of his skin, but those tattoos spreading and enveloping his entire body.

"I made this thing to gain even more power. It works as a small array, consuming everything around it and providing me with unparalleled strength. But in case there is not enough sacrifice, it will consume blood from my body continuously... Like a leech..."

"Why are you telling me this all!?" Yang Ze looked at him while slowly using the aura to keep his organs in place.

"Why...." To Chen went silent for a long time. "Maybe is gratitude. Maybe it is my way of expressing my thanks for letting me die clear-headed."

"I have seen a lot of people, yet out of all the people I met throughout my life, you are the most interesting one. I don't know how you reached the realm of Innate at such a young age and I don't even care. This is your chance, and I am not worthy enough to know about it.

It's just that, I don't want to see you get corrupted like myself or other people around me in pursuit of more power. For people like you, who have achieved so much at such a young age, getting more power is always the first priority. Who is to say that you won't be tempted in the future. All of this that I told you today, maybe it will help you out in the future. At least you will remember the consequences associated with gaining more power."

'What are you guys doing here!? I mean this region is controlled by Xuanwu Academy, aren't you guys afraid of them? You guys even attacked them in Yuyang city, not to mention the incident at Darati City."

As soon as Yang Ze mentioned those names, Tao Chen's eyes narrowed to slits. With some hesitation, he looked at Yang Ze "It... It was you... The one who killed the thirteenth elder and destroyed the plans of Darati City!?"

"Err..." Pausing for a second, Yang Ze shrugged his shoulders. "Well, you can say that."

"I see... I see... I see..." Tao Chen kept on repeating the same words.

"Anyway, those things are in the past. Tell me, what are you guys doing here!?" From the day Yang Ze met the old man in Darati City, he always wondered about their purpose. Now that there was someone in front of him willing to answer all his questions, he wasn't going to miss this opportunity.

"We..." After a brief pause, the man didn't answer but asked Yang Ze a question. "What does a lion do when the forest runs out of prey to hunt?"

Without waiting for Yang Ze to reply, he himself continued on "It changes the place. It goes to another forest, another area where there are plenty of preys to hunt."

Slowly moving his head towards Yang Ze, his eyes met Yang Ze's. "We are doing exactly. After ten years of excessive hunting and sacrifices, there aren't many people left in our area. Thus, we decided to move here. We took a risk, we offered the people here power in return for their support. Once our plan is complete, we can have a big harvest."

Listening to Tao Chen speaking of humans like some kind of crop, Yang Ze didn't even bat an eye. He just looked at him expressionlessly. It was as if there was no effect of those words on him.

Even Tao Chen himself was surprised by this kind of attitude. The boy in front of him truly didn't seem to care for the lives of the people around him. It was as if, everything that was happening or was going to happen had no relation to him.

"Well... That was insightful. Thank you for telling me all this." With these words, Yang Ze dispersed the aura of heaven and earth that was keeping Tao Chen's body in place.

"AUGH!" With a painful groan, Tao Chen clenched the soil underneath him. At this moment, he was truly feeling the pain, and his life slowly slipping away.

"You know what..." Clenching his teeth in pain, Tao Chen uttered the words with great effort. "I have kept the complete copy of that book on me. If you want to learn more about us and how our power works, you should give it a try. Maybe you can find a way to free us from this curse."

"I... I put my faith in you... Good Luck with your future... It's underneath the skin of my thigh..."

Pointing towards his left leg, Tao Chen looked at Yang Ze with eyes filled with expectation. "Take it out before I die... Once I die, my body will shatter and disperse into this valley, blessing it with the aura of heaven and earth. At that time, maybe even the book will be destroyed too...

Do it... This much pain is nothing to me."

Even though his stomach was torn open, Tao Chen still had a smile on his face. It was as if, he was putting all his faith and trust in a complete stranger, just for the tiny glimmer of hope. A chance that the future might be different for their Leihui Sect.

"Okay." At this moment, on the usual emotionless face of Yang Ze, a smile was formed. Slowly bending over, Yang Ze moved towards Tao Chen, his face now just a distance away from Tao Chen.

"Good... Good..." Looking at Yang Ze's figure that was drawing closer, Tao Chen's eyes flashed as his lips slowly curled upwards.

"DIE." With a loud shout, Tao Chen's body swelled like a balloon.

However, before he even had the time to self-destruct, a seemingly simple palm burst open his head like a watermelon.

"....."

Silence... Utter silence...

In the middle of the valley, lay the figure of Yang Ze sitting on the ground, and in front of him was a bloated corpse with a missing head.

Yang Ze never trusted Tao Chen fully. Even though he was telling the truth, in his last moment, his expression was constantly changing. Even his heartbeat which should have been normal was sped up unnaturally. It was as if he was in great excitement.

Was it any other person, perhaps they might have fallen into his trap? But unfortunately for him, his opponent was Yang Ze. With a keen sense of smell, sight, and hearing, along with some advanced knowledge about behavior. It didn't take long for him to find flaws in his acting.

Tao Chen's body which was going to burst out at any moment slowly deflated like a balloon as it started to crack like a mirror. Within a few moments, his entire body shattered like a sand castle, completely erasing his presence from the face of the world. The aura of heaven and earth along with the Qi in his body blew in the air before slowly falling all over the valley like rain.

Yang Ze who was sitting in the middle of the valley admired this beautiful scene with a smile on his face. It was as if there were countless small stars slowly falling to the ground. And with each small star touching the ground, it returned the life that it previously snatched away.

Within a few moments, the entire valley seemed to regain its previous life. The grasses seemed to be greener and lusher than before. The flowers all over the valley were now giving off a hazy dreamlike feeling. Their colors along with the soft light glow gave them an otherworldly beauty.

"Only one more thing." Standing up, Yang Ze stretched his body and waved his hand. And as soon as he did that, the previously seemingly destroyed ground trembled and slowly started to fill those crates that were formed during the fight.

Clenching his fist, Yang Ze walked to the middle of the valley where the lake once was and thrust it deep into the ground.

"AAAGH..." With a loud shout, Yang Ze pulled out his hand. And as soon as he did that, a pillar of water shot out from the ground, slowly filling the dry lake.

It didn't take long before the entire valley of flowers was returned to its previous state. Looking at the current situation of the valley, no one would believe there was a battle between two Innate powerhouses here.

Waving his hand, Yang Ze lifted up Xia Xueqi from the distance and brought her close to him, and slowly put her down on the grass. Removing the shattered rune from her, Yang Ze looked around and made sure everything was perfect.

After not finding anything wrong, Yang Ze smiled as he gently caressed her hair and spoke in a soft voice.

"Xue'er... Wake up."