Chapter 112: Clues
After hearing what Han Li had to say, Wyrm 16 immediately paid closer attention to the people being teleported away, and he quickly exclaimed, "These people seem to all be either low-grade cultivators or in possession of spiritual roots!"
"That's right! Are you suggesting that we also pose as low-grade cultivators so we can be teleported away with them?" Wyrm 9 asked.
"That's right. Given our powers, I'm sure we'll be able to pass as low-grade cultivators with no issues at all," Han Li replied.
"The place where we're going to be teleported to may have something to do with Gong Shuhong. Should we inform Wyrm 8 and the others?" Wyrm 16 asked in a slightly hesitant voice.
"We're only infiltrating their ranks for now. Let's wait until we actually make a discovery before we contact them," Wyrm 9 replied in a cold voice.
After that, he raised a hand and gently tapped a finger against his own forehead, upon which a burst of invisible fluctuations instantly began to emanate from his body.
His manifested face didn't change at all, but his aura was rapidly changing, adjusting itself to the mid-Foundation Establishment Stage in the blink of an eye.
Han Li and Wyrm 16 also immediately followed suit, adjusting their own auras to the Foundation Establishment Stage as well.
After that, they waited patiently for the same pillars of red light to emerge from beneath their feet.
However, a few minutes passed by, and during that time, more and more pillars of red light continued to rise up around them, but they weren't given the same treatment.
"Why haven't we been teleported away? Could it be that you're incorrect in your assessment, and this divine selection really is just a random process?" Wyrm 9 asked with a skeptical expression.
Han Li contemplated the situation for a moment before replying, "Be patient and keep waiting. If we haven't been teleported away even after the divine selection process has ended, then we'll just have to release our spiritual sense over a small area to investigate."
Wyrm 9 didn't say anything further upon hearing this, but he began to inspect his surroundings.
Right at this moment, a burst of red light suddenly rose up beneath his feet to encompass him, and everyone around him instantly turned their attention toward him.
Before he had a chance to do anything, the light faded, and he had also vanished from the spot.
Words of praise and envy instantly rang out from the people around him.
However, before long, two more bursts of red light emerged nearby, teleporting two more people away in a flash.
These two people were naturally none other than Han Li and Wyrm 16.
Han Li felt the entire world spin around him, and he couldn't help but sway unsteadily on the spot before reappearing somewhere else entirely.
He quickly swept his gaze over his surroundings to find that he was still surrounded by countless people, and Wyrm 16 was standing not far away from him with a perplexed look on his face, while Wyrm 9 was nowhere to be seen for now.
At the moment, they were situated in a vast underground palace that was so packed with people that it was impossible to see the walls of the palace. The only things that were visible were the ceiling up above the thick stone pillars standing nearby.
There were a series of large braziers hanging down from each of the stone pillars, and it was unclear what was being burned inside them, but they weren't releasing any smoke, and there were only crimson flames visible inside.
At the same time, bursts of red light were appearing incessantly in the surrounding area as one mortal and low-grade cultivator after another was teleported into the underground palace.
In contrast with the solemn atmosphere on the plaza, it was much rowdier here. All of the people who had been teleported into this place seemed to be unable to contain their excitement, and they were eagerly looking around while standing on the tips of their toes.
Aside from several Foundation Establishment and Qi Condensation cultivators, all of the people around Han Li were mortals, so being teleported here all of a sudden felt like a divine miracle to them, and they all began to chant their prayers in a reverent manner.
The combined voices of their prayers were reverberating throughout the entire underground palace, causing it to buzz incessantly.
For some reason, Han Li was struck by an oppressive sensation as he listened to these prayers.
However, this feeling only lingered for a short while before fading away, but there was a persistent bloody odor in the murky air that refused to dissipate.
His brows furrowed slightly as he looked down to find that all of the bluestone slabs that the ground was paved with had been stained a shade of red so dark that it was beginning to resemble black. It seemed like the type of color that could've only arisen from being regularly soaked in blood.
With that in mind, Han Li couldn't help but think of the yin soil that he had discovered under the stone slabs beneath the Red Moon City of Lan, and his brows furrowed even more tightly at the thought.
At this moment, Wyrm 16 squeezed through the crowd with some difficulty, arriving behind him before asking in a low voice, "Have you found anything?"
"I think I may have found some clues, but I can't be sure for now. Let's track down Fellow Daoist Wyrm 9 first," Han Li replied with a shake of his head.
After that, he transmitted his voice to Wyrm 9, asking for his location.
Through their communication, he was informed that Wyrm 9 had been teleported to a location rather far away from them, near the center of the underground palace.
Thus, the two of them were forced to squeeze their way through the noisy crowd, drawing a great deal of ire and discontent along the way.
The closer they drew to the center of the underground palace, the more pronounced the bloody odor in the air became, and the darker the shade of red of the stone slabs beneath their feet.
By the time they arrived at the center of the underground palace, the color of the ground had almost turned a shade of dark purple.
Han Li looked up to find a statue that was over 30 feet tall up ahead, and it depicted none other than Gong Shuhong.
Near the statue was a stone platform that was around 100 feet in size, and it was only protruding slightly above the ground. The platform was completely empty with the exception of a short yet extremely muscular man.
The man was wearing a purple robe, and there was also a crimson moon design embroidered onto his chest.
His eyes were half-closed, and his aura was restrained, but Han Li could sense that he was a Layman Immortal.
Han Li and Wyrm 16 made their way over to the edge of the platform, following which the former's gaze lingered on the Layman Immortal for a moment before he turned to look beyond the statue.
Someone also squeezed their way out of their crowd in that direction, and it was none other than Wyrm 9.
He had naturally also spotted Han Li and Wyrm 16, yet right as he was about to make his way over to them, the Layman Immortal suddenly raised his head before briefly inspecting his surroundings.
Moments later, the man withdrew his gaze before looking directly up ahead as he began to speak. "Everyone..."
As soon as his voice rang out, all of the commotion in the area instantly ceased, and the entire underground palace became extremely quiet as everyone directed their attention toward him.
The atmosphere in the palace had become rather solemn, and Wyrm 9 also stopped what he was doing as he cast his gaze toward the Layman Immortal as well.
"The divine selection ceremony has already concluded. All of you have been chosen by the holy lord as his most devout followers, an honor unmatched by any," the man declared.
Everyone immediately erupted into ecstatic cheers upon hearing this.
Han Li swept his gaze across his surroundings to find that there was no longer any more red light appearing in the area, indicating that no more people were being teleported into the palace.
The Layman Immortal raised his hands in a quieting gesture, and the cheering gradually subsided, with the underground palace quickly falling silent again.
After that, he continued, "Out of the infinite kindness of his heart, the holy lord has decided to select those of you who possess the best cultivation aptitude to bestow cultivation arts upon and serve by his side. All you need to do is pray with sincerity and wait for the arrival of the holy lord."
Everyone in the palace immediately closed their eyes and clasped their hands before themselves in prayer upon hearing this.
An elated look appeared on Wyrm 16's face as he transmitted his voice to Han Li and Wyrm 9: "It sounds like Gong Shuhong will be coming here. Should we inform Wyrm 3 right away?"
Han Li cast his gaze toward Wyrm 9 upon hearing this, only to find a hesitant look on the latter's face.
Right at this moment, the statue at the center of the underground palace suddenly began to tremble, and two bursts of crimson light appeared in its eyes.
Han Li's trio immediately turned their attention toward the statue.
"We welcome the arrival of our holy lord," the Layman Immortal said in a reverent voice as he turned around and extended a bow toward the statue.
Everyone immediately followed suit, extending respectful bows of their own as they greeted in unison, "We welcome the arrival of our holy lord."
Han Li had also bent over slightly, but his gaze remained on the statue and the Layman Immortal.
The man was making a string of hand seals, and his lips were quivering incessantly as if he were chanting something.
All of a sudden, the crimson light within the statue's eyes flashed, and two pillars of red light were projected directly forward.
As the statue slowly revolved on the spot, the two pillars of red light swept through the crowd.
As the red light swept over Han Li, he could clearly sense a burst of spiritual sense lingering on him for a moment before turning elsewhere.
What was rather strange to him was that the spiritual sense was coming from the purple-robed man rather than the statue.
Right at this moment, Wyrm 9's voice rang out in his mind.
"What is he trying to do? There's no holy lord descending here, it's just him releasing his spiritual sense!"
"It looks like this is only a ceremony held in the name of that so-called holy lord. Gong Shuhong most likely isn't going to be coming here," Han Li replied after a brief moment of contemplation.
As soon as his voice trailed off, the pillars of red light that were combing through the crowd suddenly drew to a halt, lingering on a pair of young men.
The two were ecstatic, and they hurriedly moved toward the center of the underground palace under the instructions of the Layman Immortal, attracting much admiration and envy from those that they passed by along the way.
Han Li took a brief glance at the two men to find that even though they were only at a Foundation Establishment Stage, but their spiritual roots and bone structures were both quite good.
After that, the two pillars of light continued to sift through the crowd, landing on a thin young man and an elegant young woman moments later.
Han Li examined them to find that even though they weren't cultivators, both of them had exceptional cultivation aptitude.
As the pillars of red light continued to move through the crowd, one person after another was selected, and all of them were instructed to move toward the platform that the Layman Immortal was on.
Before long, over 200 people had already gathered there.
Ignoring their cultivation bases, Han Li could see that these people were the cream of the crop among the tens of thousands of people gathered in the underground palace when it came to cultivation aptitude.
With that in mind, he was suddenly struck by a sense of realization. Many past observations were strung together in this instant to form a cohesive theory, and he hurriedly transmitted his voice to Wyrm 9 and Wyrm 16 to communicate this theory.
"I'm afraid we may be in some trouble, fellow daoists. This is not a place where people gather to see this so-called holy lord. Instead, it's most likely a sacrificial site."
"What?" Wyrm 9 was very alarmed to hear this.
"Did you find some leads, Wyrm 15? What led you to this conclusion?" Wyrm 16 asked as he turned to Han Li with a perplexed expression.
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