55.

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?"

Crawling on the ground, Yang Che just couldn't understand anything that was going on. How could she, a person who he loves the most, could stab him like that?

Looking at the beautiful figure that just stood in silence, Yang Che gritted his teeth before shouting again.

"WHY ARE YOU NOT SAYING ANYTHING... WHY???"

"JUST WHY?"

"Aaaah.! Shut the hell up. You are such a whiny little bitch."

The woman who was clearly annoyed, finally couldn't control herself, before lashing out.

"Huh!?" Startled by the sudden changes, Yang Che didn't know how to react. During all these years, he never once saw her like this. All the time he spent with her, she always kept a smile on her face. It was as if, there was nothing in the world that could upset her.

Yet, in front of him, she was standing with an annoyed expression, occasionally caressing her hair. Her eyes with which she now looked at him were filled with disgust.

Just when Yang Che was about to speak further, a figure slowly walked out of the forest.

"MASTER...."

The woman who was standing still a moment ago suddenly jumped on her feet before rushing to the old man and hugging him.

Yang Che who was still on the ground paralyzed widened his eyes in disbelief.

"YOU... WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" He couldn't believe the sight in front of him. The woman he adored... the woman he loved... the woman he had even killed for; now lying in the arms of an old man. With red eyes and a twisted face, he couldn't understand anything going in front of him.

"Heh." Replying to him was the sight of the old man grabbing the buttocks of the woman before squeezing them hard.

"Umm." A moan inevitably came out of her mouth.

"STOP IT, YOU BASTARDS."

Yang Che's mind was blank at the sight in front of him, the only thing he could do was shout in anger. Yet no matter what or how much he shouted, no one paid any attention to him. It was as if, in their eyes, he was just a worthless ant.

"Are you ready?" The old man who was groping the woman asked in a carefree manner.

"Yes... Yesss...."

Pecking like a chicken, the woman nodded her head. Just from her voice and expression, one could feel the excitement that she was barely able to suppress.

Without wasting another second, the old man grabbed the body of Steward Li and the servant from the ground before walking to the middle of the red circle that was drawn on the ground.

Taking a deep breath, he threw both bodies down before pointing a finger at the circle. The moment he pointed the finger, a strange scene occurred in front of Yang Che.

The seemingly dull red circle seemed to come alive as it slowly started squirming. The red colour on it slowly illuminated before covering the entire mountain. This, however, didn't just stop there. Soon the entire town was covered in a red glow that was coming from strange symbols etched on the ground throughout the city.

"Look, mommy... The ground is red."

"hehe... So pretty."

"Heavens what's going on?"

"What is this red light?"

"Is there some kind of treasure being born?"

Soon, the entire city was in turmoil. To the majority of people of the town who were ordinary, this was a scene that was straight out of a fairy tale. As simple-minded as they were, their first thought was some great treasure was going to be born. After all, there were numerous tales describing how a treasure is born.

At the top of the other mountain, outside in the garden, Yang Ze's face was solemn. Though the red light beneath his feet looked like a wonderful sight, he was still feeling uneasy in his heart.

Before he could think any further, a strong suction suddenly erupted from the ground. Feeling the blood in his body moving uncontrollably, Yang Ze suddenly took a deep breath before covering himself with the aura of heaven and earth. As soon as he did that, the suction from the ground disappeared in an instant.

Moving his gaze, Yang Ze noticed the surroundings suddenly changing at a drastic speed. The flower, grass, and trees around him began to wither at a speed visible to the naked eye. Within a span of a few breaths, the only thing that was left of them were hollow shells of their bodies.

"AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH"

"HELP.."

"SAVE MEEEEE."

"SOMEONE."

Miserable cries filled with desperation rang out in the entire city. With his hearing senses, Yang Ze could hear countless screams echoing throughout the city of Darati.

"What the hell is going on?" With a frown, Yang Ze kicked the ground before jumping into the air. Looking at the village in the distance, Yang Ze inhaled sharply, before making his way there.

However, by the time he was able to reach the village, the screams disappeared.

The city that was once filled with life, was now covered in the aura of death.

Just from the sky above, Yang Ze could see the entire city which now appeared to be grey. All the green plants and trees were withered. And on the ground, he could see the corpses of animals as well as humans alike.

Running his gaze through the entire city, Yang Ze didn't see a single person or animal that was alive. Right now, all he could see were corpses that were sucked dry of their blood, just lying on the ground lifelessly, like a mummy.

Looking around with a dignified face, Yang Ze couldn't understand the reason for all this. One moment everything was normal, and the next moment, he was the only one left alive.

Though his face seemed to appear calm, the constant frown along with the growing coldness in his eyes was enough to display the anger that was slowly building inside him.

If not for him being in the realm of Innate, his situation right now wouldn't have been any different than the corpses down there.

Just when he was about to search for the culprit, a huge pillar of red beam erupted into the sky from the nearby mountain.

"Huh!?" Even though he was pretty far away from the place, he was able to smell the heavy stench of blood in the air. The entire red beam seemed to be made out of the blood of the people of the city.

Without speaking a word, Yang Ze took a step forward before disappearing completely.

.....

"What??? WHAT IS GOING ON?"

Yang Che who was still lying on the ground paralyzed asked in fear. Even though he had already seen enough throughout the day, the scene in front of him struck him breathless.

"You should be grateful." Looking at the red beam of light, the old man spoke with a smile.

"You are about to be a part of something bigger."

"Rejoice...

You have been chosen as the catalyst."

"What? What are you talking about???? Huff... Huff... Why aren't you saying something... At least don't stay quiet."

Yang Che's only hope was the woman in front of him. In his heart, there was a small trace of hope. Hope... That all of this was a bad dream... Hope... That tomorrow when he wakes up, everything will return to normal.

"Aaah! Hahahahahahahahaa... It is about time you tell him the truth. After all, we need him in a suitable state."

The old man spoke with a burst of laughter, yet his eyes were always fixed on the red light in front of him.

"Sigh..."

The woman sighed in exhilaration. It was as if she was dying to talk about this.

"Well, let me introduce myself once again."

"My name is Song Jia. And right now, I am the 3rd outer elder of the Leihui Sect."

"Song Jia...? Elder...? Leihui Sect...?"

Yang Che was still looking at her in confusion. He had only known her as his stepmother. The one who married his father after they moved here.

"Heh... Sometimes not knowing anything is a blessing in disguise."

With a sneer, Song Jia continued.

"More than ten years ago we laid the foundations for the plan whose result is in front of you."

"You see... We from the Leihui Sect practice 'Bloodheart Art'. This is the main cultivation technique of our sect that feeds on the blood and negative emotions of others. The more desperate they are, the more power the user will get."

At this moment, her face became incomparable evil. With eyes that seemed to turn into a bottomless abyss, she looked at Yang Che with a smile that was filled with incredible excitement and cruelty.

"My dear Che'er... Do you realize what is going on now?"