The most secure job in Dajin

Chapter 460, Human Sacrifice

Watching the ghosts leave, Hua Changxi reappeared.

Although she had refined the Ghostfire Token, she did not touch it, leaving it suspended in the Blood Cage.

As a desolate and vast ancient will surged into his mind from the Ghost Fire Token, Hua Changxi finally understood the origin of the Ghost Fire Well.

In the primordial era, when heaven and earth were first established, yin and yang were still in harmony.

Suddenly, a dramatic change occurred deep within the Netherworld. Yin energy surged violently, the Netherworld barrier collapsed, and the Ghost Infant River, formed from the cries of countless vengeful spirits, broke through the boundary, carrying endless death energy and obsession, threatening to flood the mortal world.

Wherever death's aura passes, vegetation withers and all living things turn to ash.

Sensing the strange disturbances in the Nine Netherworlds, the Vermilion Bird Emperor personally descended upon the disaster zone and used his supreme divine power to suppress the rifts.

However, this crack is no ordinary fissure; it was eroded by the very source of the Nine Netherworlds and cannot be completely healed. Forcibly sealing it would only trigger an even greater collapse.

Thus, the Emperor, using the Southern Bright Fire as a hammer, carved out a giant well that connects Yin and Yang above the rift—the Ghost Fire Well.

At the bottom of the well, he set up the "Vermilion Bird Prison Suppression Formation" and used one of his own finger bones as the core of the formation to seal the rifts, firmly locking the Ghost Infant River in the abyss at the bottom of the well and stopping its backflow.

Above the well, an eighth-rank Daoist soldier, the 'Nine-Story Prison Tower,' was set up. The tower was forged from meteorite black iron and Vermilion Bird true feathers. Each layer was equipped with restrictions, layer upon layer, to suppress the Ghost Fire Well, so that the ghost fire would not overflow into the human world and the ghostly aura would not taint the mortal world.

From then on, though the rift remained, peace was restored to the world.

Initially, the Ghost Fire Well was merely a place for suppression.

As time went by, the Vermilion Bird Army gradually took shape. Anyone who disobeyed military orders or defied the laws of heaven was thrown into a well to suffer the torture of having their souls burned by ghostly fire and their bones corroded by yin wind, as a warning to others.

Over time, Ghost Fire Well became the exclusive prison of the Vermilion Bird Army.

When the human race rose to power and the Southern Elephant City was established, cultivators from all directions gathered there. If any cultivator violated the rules of the Southern Elephant City, they would be imprisoned in the Ghost Fire Well, judged, and punished.

Thus, this well, originally dug to suppress the rifts of the Nine Netherworlds, gradually became tainted with the colors of human laws and punishments.

It is both a seal and a prison; both a guardian and a judge.

The Ghost Fire Token is the supreme token that governs all authority over the Ghost Fire Well—

The Vermilion Bird totem on the token is inscribed with the ancient will of the Vermilion Bird Emperor, who swore an oath with divine bones and the fire of separation. From the day it was forged, it has been the key to suppressing evil, the seal of law, and the torch to burn away evil.

The holder of this command can control the 'Nine-Story Prison Tower', an eighth-rank Dao soldier. Everything inside the tower moves according to the command holder's will.

It can also be used to open and close the Vermilion Bird Prison Suppression Array and sense the movement of the Nine Nether Rift;

In times of crisis, the power of the token can be activated to burn the Vermilion Bird Bone at the core of the formation, forcibly suppressing the rampaging ghost energy and ghost fire, and temporarily slowing down the collapse.

Meanwhile, the Ghostfire Token also preserves a divine power created by the Vermilion Bird Emperor specifically for the Vermilion Bird Army guarding the Ghostfire Well—the Crimson Netherworld Flame Prison.

"Crimson Netherfire Hell"

It turns out that Jing Sheng's bloodline chain supernatural power is called by such a name.

That's right, the Vermilion Bird Army, who have cultivated the Crimson Nether Flame Hell, can transform their bloodline power into crimson chains.

To cultivate the Crimson Nether Flame Prison Divine Power, one must first cultivate the Vermilion Bird Divine Technique, and secondly, draw ghost fire into the body to temper the physical form. Only by combining these two methods can one cultivate the Bloodline Chains.

The bloodline chain lies between life and death, containing both the fiery intensity of the Vermilion Bird Fire and the eerie nature of the Netherworld Ghost Fire.

Once unleashed, it can incinerate the enemy's soul invisibly, erode their foundation in an instant, and even transform fire into shadow, making it impossible for the opponent to defend against.

Once this supernatural power is mastered, its combat strength becomes unpredictable and powerful enough to defeat enemies of higher ranks and intimidate all evil forces.

After reading the information in her mind, Hua Changxi's mind calmed down a bit. She could now leave the Nine Netherworld at any time with the Ghost Fire Token and return to the bottom of the Ghost Fire Well.

However, without retrieving the core of the Vermilion Bird Prison Suppression Formation, the formation cannot prevent the Ghost Infant River from flooding the human world with ghostly energy and fire. The hundreds of Vermilion Bird soldiers currently maintaining the formation's operation cannot hold out for long. The Vermilion Bird Bone, the core of the formation, must be retrieved.

Hua Changxi's gaze fell in the direction where the ghosts had disappeared. The next moment, she flashed and transformed into a streak of light, quickly chasing after the ghosts.

Black mist swirls along both banks of the Ghost Infant River, where withered bones form a forest.

Hua Changxi quietly followed the ghost clan members, like a silent crimson shadow sweeping across the dark green river, disappearing into the shadows where ghostly energy surged.

Before long, a majestic and somber altar suddenly appeared in front of them.

The altar was built entirely of bones, with skulls as steps and ribs as railings.

Will-o'-the-wisps, like snakes, coiled and swirled around the altar, their bluish-green flames licking the void and emitting low moans; thick, inky ghostly energy surged from the ground, shooting straight into the sky and dyeing the entire sky a deathly gray-black.

At first, the distance was still far, and Hua Changxi could only see a ball of crimson-gold flame stubbornly burning in the darkness in the center of the altar, like the last star in the night that refused to go out.

But as she quietly approached, the scene on the altar suddenly pierced her eyes.

Her heart clenched suddenly, and she almost suffocated.

North of the altar, nine pale white bone pillars are arranged in an arc, each over three zhang tall, covered with twisted runes, and exuding a nauseating and filthy aura.

And suspended a Vermilion Bird soldier from each of the bone pillars!

Their shoulders were pierced by ghostly chains as thick as a child's arm, and the flesh around their collarbones had long since rotted away, revealing their stark white bones.

The ghost chain gleamed with a cold, eerie green light, writhing and greedily drawing upon the essence and soul power of the Vermilion Bird Army, like a living creature.

The extracted essence and soul power flowed like water, meandering towards the center of the altar.

There, a section of crimson-gold bone floated in mid-air; it was the core of the Vermilion Bird Prison Suppression Formation – the Vermilion Bird Bone!

At this moment, the Vermilion Bird Bone was engulfed in pure Southern Bright Fire, the flames blazing fiercely, constantly trembling and roaring, as if resisting the suppression of the sacrificial array.

Each tremor caused the entire altar to shake slightly, and the will-o'-the-wisps dissipated.

However, as the essence and soul power of the nine Vermilion Bird soldiers were continuously poured into the altar array, that force of resistance was being gradually eroded.

The tremors of the Vermilion Bird Bone gradually diminished, and the flames changed from blazing gold to dark red, then gradually thinned out.

Looking at the dying Vermilion Bird Army, Hua Changxi clenched her fists, her nails digging deep into her palms, and crimson flames surged deep in her pupils.

Just as she was about to burst out to save people and seize the Vermilion Bird Bone, a faint but familiar spiritual energy fluctuation came from the east.

"squeak~"

To the east of the altar was a black stone mountain burning with green ghost flames. Suddenly, the stone gate of the mountain opened, and several ghosts with considerable auras walked out.

The familiar spiritual energy that Hua Changxi sensed came from the stone gate.

"Congratulations, Ghost General."

Several demons walked up to the altar and bowed and smiled obsequiously at a demon with an even more terrifying aura, saying, "It shouldn't be long before the Southern Bright Fire on the Vermilion Bird's bone is completely extinguished."

They gazed at the Vermilion Bird bone in the center of the altar, their eyes filled with greed and fervor, but also with a deep-seated fear.

The ghost clan, known as the Ghost General, is tall with a string of infant heads hanging around its neck. Its eyes are deep-set, and ghostly green flames flicker in its pupils.

"How many Vermilion Bird soldiers are left in the prison?" His voice was low and grating, making everyone feel uneasy.

"Less than a hundred left."

A ghost general licked his sharp teeth, his eyes gleaming with hunger. "But rest assured, my lord—the blood and soul power of those hundred people are enough to extinguish the last trace of the flame."

Another ghost general added with a sinister smile, "Even if that's not enough... there are still over three hundred human cultivators in the prison. Their souls may be weak, but as long as there are enough of them and their blood is hot enough, they can still burn away that last ember." (End of Chapter)