"High Priest, you may descend."

As soon as Li Chengfeng finished speaking, the connection between him and Zhou Xuan was established.

Zhou Xuan's divine soul wavered a few times, and the next moment, he appeared inside Li Chengfeng's body.

He opened his eyes and scanned the surroundings,

It was a cold and damp natural cave, with numerous pits of varying sizes on the ceiling, allowing sunlight to stream into the cavern.

Not far away, there was a pitch-black passage, and above its entrance, three large characters were inscribed powerfully—Gangfeng Cave.

"Young Master, once you enter the entrance and pass through the nine bends of mystery, you can reach the Blood Sacrifice venue."

"Understood, I will utilize your body to chat with the Painter about today's God Slayer affairs."

After Zhou Xuan finished speaking, he walked deeper into the cave with his hands behind his back.

…

Within Gangfeng Cave, there was a massive ancient altar,

The scale of this altar was no less than the Witch God Temple—the headquarters of the Witch Girl.

At this moment, surrounding the altar, sixteen Great Elders and High Priests of the Shadow Hall had already taken their places. Each assumed a different posture, as their beliefs varied, so too did their acts of worship to the "God" differ.

Some sat cross-legged, some lay flat on the ground, and some curled their bodies into a snake-like coil, twisting into a pretzel on the ground…

Apart from the ancient altar, there were also many large stone chambers separated from one another. Inside each stone chamber were the sacrifices secluded by each Shadow Hall for offering to the Gods. In front of the stone chambers, clansmen of the Shadow Hall gathered to participate in this joint Blood Sacrifice.

Since "what sacrifices are offered" were secrets not to be revealed, the entrances of these stone chambers had black banners erected, tightly concealing the sacrifices inside.

In the southeastern corner of the cave, there sat the Painter and Music Master of the God Traveling Department, along with Hua Qingying.

Such an important ceremony required representatives from all three Great Halls of Mingjiang Prefecture to be present, though Qing Feng was absent due to changing his Spiritual Communication Characteristics.

The Painter sat on a Taishi Chair, with the seat next to him taken by King Xishan.

King Xishan arrived fashionably late, and after greeting the Painter with clasped fists, his ever-following Fox Slave laid a tiger skin on the chair to make it more comfortable.

"You may leave now."

King Xishan waved his hand as he instructed Fox Slave.

The Fox Slave immediately retreated several dozen steps, and King Xishan sat down, placing his head on the dangling White Tiger Head, glancing over the ancient altar with an added domineering presence, embodying somewhat the majesty of the "Lord of the Shadow Hall."

"King Xishan, why are you late today?" the Painter inquired.

"Laziness."

King Xishan spoke forthrightly, "I've been in seclusion for years, not participating in the joint Blood Sacrifice ceremony in all these years. Being out of practice, I've grown accustomed to laziness, hence the lateness."

"Managing the sixteen Shadow Halls requires diligence; too much laxity is unsustainable."

"The order within the Shadow Hall under my management thrives precisely because of my indolence."

Pointing at the bustling village clansmen, King Xishan said, "These mountain barbarians see worship as a pilgrimage. On this pilgrimage, naturally, they do not wish for outside interference. If I were more diligent, asking questions daily, not only would it be annoying, it would also likely foster resistance among the mountain barbarians.

If I loosen my grip a bit, they too loosen their own vigilance."

"Are you implying something?" the Painter found every sentence from King Xishan to be directed at him.

"King Xishan, long time no see; you've grown more imposing," the Music Master chimed in unexpectedly.

King Xishan didn't respond but lowered his head and began to doze off. It was at this moment that "Li Chengfeng" arrived.

He walked over to the Painter, reaching out to form a sign on his shoulder—I am Zhou Xuan.

When making the sign, Zhou Xuan did so discreetly, hiding it from King Xishan. Upon sensing the sign, the Painter glanced towards the cave entrance.

Zhou Xuan got the hint and exited the cave with the Painter. In a secluded spot where no one was around, the Painter finally asked, "Young Master, why have you come?"

"The situation has changed."

Zhou Xuan revealed to the Painter the dependency on the Heavenly Ghosts Sharing Method for "Gong Zheng" to descend.

"Does this mean… we cannot kill Gong Zheng?"

The Painter asked.

"It's highly unlikely we're going to succeed,"

Zhou Xuan replied, relaxed.

The weight lifted from the Painter's heart at that moment, finally finding peace as if a boulder had fallen to the ground.

In his heart, he was not eager to confront "Gong Zheng" head-on at this point.

Slaying a peak-stage God-level being, especially such an ancient God, with Mingjiang Prefecture's current capabilities would require an extreme effort, and there might not be any worthwhile gains.

With Ancestor Tree and Golden Bell joining forces, it would be great if "Gong Zheng" could be easily subdued, but he had a feeling that "Gong Zheng" wouldn't be easily taken down.

Yun Ziliang speculated based on paper strength that if the elite forces of Mingjiang and Ping Shui Prefecture, along with Ancestor Tree and Golden Bell, fought, there was an eighty percent chance of victory against "Gong Zheng."

But paper strength is always just on paper; sometimes, it greatly differs from actual battle scenarios.

"Alright then, there's something I haven't mentioned for fear of being criticized by you, Young Master, for losing heart before the fight."

The Painter said, "Gong Zheng is the God of the Divine Arrow Hall; this Hall was established with a mission, as a sharpened blade of the God Traveling under Jing Country, boasting extremely strong combat instincts. If 'Gong Zheng' gets desperate and engages the God Travelers of Mingjiang and Ping Shui to the death, there could be casualties among the God Travelers."

Mingjiang Prefecture has declined to such a state, and now, with the recent revival through the Kongming Mirror and Peng Sheng, they only have a few eight-incense-guardians; any loss would be a price Mingjiang Prefecture cannot afford.

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