Not far away stood a bald man with blue eyes.
He was gnawing on a decaying and bloody head, chewing it with gusto, his mouth stained with blood. His chubby cheeks were filled with satisfaction.
Seeing this man, Tao Qingshan coldly remarked, "Ha Thirteen, even without relying on the prestige of the Swallowing Sea King, I can still kill you, you wretched toad!"
Teng Yong swiftly whispered to Su Yi, "Immortal Master, this is Ha Thirteen from the Poison Sand Ridge, an enlightened jade-eyed toad. He calls himself the Flame Poison Demon King and possesses terrifying strength. He excels in using poison and has killed grandmasters with poison pits. He has an extremely domineering temperament."
Su Yi ignored him.
Ning Sihua's clear eyes revealed an undisguised disgust.
This monster truly deserved to be called a wretched toad; he looked extremely repulsive.
"Hehe."
Ha Thirteen extended his foot-long crimson tongue and licked his own greasy face, cleaning away all the bloodstains and flesh residue.
Then, he retracted his tongue and smacked his lips, saying, "Is that so? After Wuhuan finishes his Cave Heaven ceremony, dare you fight me? If you lose, give me a Pure Yang Fire Peach, and if I lose, I'll kowtow to you and call you grandpa. How about it?"
Tao Qingshan coldly snorted, "Why not? But I don't want to be the grandpa of a wretched toad, and I don't want to have such a grandson!"
Ha Thirteen burst into loud laughter, and his emerald eyes gleamed with a ferocious light. "Tao Qingshan, let's wait and see!"
With that, he swaggered off into the distance.
"Tao Shanjun, do you know why Ha Thirteen is so arrogant?"
Suddenly, a hoarse sigh resounded.
A frail old man with a staff and green eyes walked over from a nearby stall where various bloody flesh was being sold.
Su Yi and Ning Sihua exchanged glances and recognized this old man who had transformed into a spirit creature by the Great Cang River.
"Why?" Tao Qingshan frowned.
The old man smiled faintly and said, "Give me a little something, and I'll show you the way."
Tao Qingshan pointed his hand in the distance, his expression emotionless. "Get lost."
But the old man paid no mind, sighing, "Since that's the case, as Ha Thirteen just said, let's wait and see."
Leaning on his staff, he leisurely walked away into the distance.
"Who is that?" Ning Sihua asked.
"A cunning old yellow weasel that roams the graveyard all year round, digging up graves and stealing the belongings of the deceased. He calls himself Huangshan Jun. It is said that he gained sentience after eating the oil from a bronze lamp he stole from a grave."
Tao Qingshan showed no concealment of his disdain.
Teng Yong couldn't help but say, "Tao Shanjun, something seems off. Both Ha Thirteen and Huangshu Lang seem to have their eyes on you."
Tao Qingshan paused for a moment, then casually replied, "Everyone knows that I am guarding the Pure Yang Peach tree for the Swallowing Sea King. They wouldn't dare to cause trouble."
In his mind, he added, besides, with an Immortal Master by my side, what do I have to fear?
"Ladies and gentlemen, the Cave Heaven ceremony is about to begin. Please follow me," said the colorful-clad female ghost, leading the way forward.
The group followed her.
After traversing several long streets, a vast open space suddenly appeared before them. In the distance, there was a bustling altar surrounded by a massive courtyard.
In the center of the courtyard stood a nine-foot-tall black sacrificial altar.
Eight towering bronze pillars stood around the courtyard, each covered in strange and twisted worm-like runes.
Beyond that, there were densely arranged desks and seats. By the time Su Yi and the others arrived, hundreds of figures were already seated on those seats.
There were eerie ghosts emanating Yin energy, ferocious demons exuding murderous aura, and many grotesque spirit creatures maintaining their original forms.
Various energies intertwined, creating a chaotic and foul atmosphere. Laughter, roars, and whispers filled the air, creating a noisy scene as if a group of demons were dancing.
"Friend, there's something strange about that black altar. It seems to be a sinister artifact," Ning Sihua whispered softly.
From afar, she could sense the sinister and bloody aura emanating from the black altar.
"This courtyard is constructed based on the Nine Palaces orientation and embedded with the Eight Gates Golden Lock Array, with the altar as the eye of the array," Su Yi casually remarked. "In my opinion, this should be a sacrificial formation."
"Sacrifice?" Ning Sihua's clear eyes narrowed slightly.
The art of sacrifice was often associated with eerie and mysterious practices. The purpose of a sacrifice was usually to summon a certain power or exchange something with a sacrifice.
During a sacrifice, there was always a specific and unique object of sacrifice to establish immediate communication with the other party during the ritual.
However, in the eyes of true cultivators, sacrifice was considered a "crooked and evil path" that was not respectable.
As far as Ning Sihua knew, even ghost cultivators and demon cultivators who embarked on the path of cultivation rarely used sacrifices to obtain power.
The reason was simple: once a sacrifice was made, it meant entering into an invisible covenant with some kind of sinister power.
It was like offering worship to an evil god; although one could obtain power bestowed by the other party, continuous offerings were required in exchange.
If the sacrifice was interrupted, punishment from the evil god would follow.
"Are you a bit curious about who the Wuhuan Water Lord is sacrificing to?" Su Yi whispered.
"Have you noticed something?" Ning Sihua couldn't help but feel a bit surprised.
"I don't know who the other party is, but I don't think it's anything impressive. Otherwise, why would they let these lowly creatures perform the sacrifice?" Su Yi's gaze carried a trace of disdain.
During their conversation, the colorful-clad female ghost had already led them to the seats on the side of the courtyard.
"Please have a seat, Immortal Masters!" Tao Qingshan invited Su Yi and Ning Sihua to sit down one by one, and then he sat down next to Teng Yong.
On the scrolls, there were various peculiar items such as drinks, fruits, and other curious things. They weren't necessarily precious, but they were quite rare.
As time passed, more and more guests took their seats. Surrounding them, a group of eerie female ghosts played suona horns and beat drums, producing a haunting melody reminiscent of funeral music.
"Tao Shanjun, long time no see," a palace-dressed lady suddenly approached, her pale complexion and burning eyes. In her hands, she carried a plate containing eyeballs stained with bloodshot veins.
"Lady Shanxiu? I didn't expect you to be here," Tao Qingshan frowned.
"As Lord Wuhuan has convened the Dongtian Convention, how can I not come to witness it?" The palace-dressed lady smiled and offered the plate. "These are the eyeballs of six pairs of boys and girls. I just freshly dug them out, intact and extremely delicious. Would you like to taste them, Tao Shanjun?"
Tao Qingshan stiffened, fearing that Su Yi, who was beside him, would misunderstand. He slammed the table and said in a stern voice, "Since I gained spiritual wisdom, I have never consumed such filthy blood food. Why do you deliberately bring it before me? What is your intention?"
The palace-dressed lady was taken aback and snorted, "Tao Shanjun, I treated you with such hospitality, but if you don't appreciate it, it's fine. Yet, you dare to berate me so impolitely."
As if deliberately provoking, she put an eyeball into her crimson mouth and lightly chewed it, a satisfied and intoxicated expression appearing on her face.
Then, she scanned the surroundings and coquettishly said, "Tao Shanjun claims that such a delicacy is filthy blood food. Everyone, don't you think he has gone too far?"
A chorus of uproar and many demonic creatures turned their attention to them.
"Tao Shanjun has 'divine guidance' and has embarked on the path of cultivation. He thinks he's different from us," sneered Hama Shan, a bald-headed, blue-eyed figure not far away. "Moreover, he has the support of Lord Swallowing Sea, so he no longer considers us fellow practitioners!"
Tao Qingshan's face darkened, sensing that among the surrounding gazes, there were some malicious intentions.
"'Divine guidance'," the palace-dressed lady murmured, her emerald-like eyes revealing a strange light. "Tao Shanjun, since a divine entity has pointed you in the direction of cultivation, can you also guide us?"
The nearby gazes turned hot and greedy.
Most of them had heard that Tao Shanjun had received teachings from a divine master and had truly embarked on the path of cultivation. This was an irresistible temptation for these monsters and ghosts.
Who wouldn't want to become a true cultivator?
"Don't be hasty, everyone. In my opinion, tonight at the Dongtian Convention, with Tao Shanjun's magnanimity and character, he will surely present cultivation methods for us to observe one by one," Huang Shuwang, an elderly man transformed from a yellow weasel, spoke with a smile, his pair of emerald eyes shimmering unpredictably.
"Is that so?"
"That's great then."
"Hahaha, in that case, we'll thank Tao Shanjun in advance."
Laughter erupted nearby.
This made Tao Qingshan's expression extremely unpleasant, filled with anger and annoyance. He was about to retort when he saw Su Yi shaking his head slightly. "The innocent suffer for the guilty. They have already set their sights on you, and it would be futile to argue further."
Tao Qingshan fell silent instantly and sighed bitterly after a moment. "It's my own fault. I was too careless. I was so delighted back then that I accidentally revealed the fact that a divine master taught me the cultivation methods, which led to this unwarranted disaster."
"No matter," Su Yi said calmly.
His gaze had been scanning the surroundings, his demeanor calm and composed, completely disregarding those monsters and demons.
It was only then that Ning Yihua realized that Tao Qingshan had received Su Yi's "enlightenment" before.
"Tao Shanjun, who are these two friends and why have I never seen them before?" the palace-dressed lady, standing not far away, asked with a smile.
Tao Qingshan had long taken a dislike to her and immediately slammed the table, shouting loudly, "What's it to you? Get lost!"
The nearby commotion fell silent, and many gazes turned towards them.
The palace-dressed lady's face turned ugly, constantly changing.
At that moment, a burst of laughter resounded through the venue.
"Tao Shanjun, your temper seems to be getting worse. Alright, today everyone is a guest of mine, Wuhuan. Let's not argue anymore."
The voice echoed throughout the venue, attracting everyone's attention.
In the distance, a man dressed in a silver python robe with a feathered crown took steps towards the black altar at the center of the venue.
Black energy surrounded him, and his crimson, indifferent pupils were filled with a chilling aura. Standing there, he exuded a terrifying power like surging waves.
He was none other than the City Lord of Jiucu, "Wuhuan Shuijun"!