Chapter 21: Chapter 20: Seven Kills Stele
"Do you know where Jiang Kaitai is performing the blood sacrifice for the Divine Artifact?"
Murong Qing asked eagerly.
He was only now starting to believe Chen Yuan.
Of course, he wasn’t completely convinced—he trusted him about eighty percent, at most.
Still, he felt a faint thrill of excitement.
If he really managed to seize the Seven Kills Stele, not only would the Murong Family have a chance to restore their nation, but he, Murong Qing, would also soar to the heavens!
Although Murong Qing was a member of the Murong Family’s Direct Lineage in Longcheng, he wasn’t considered a Core Disciple—merely middle-tier.
Simply put, the position of Patriarch was completely out of his reach. The best he could hope for was to become a Manager with Real Power in the future, and perhaps an Elder in his old age. That was the best possible outcome for him.
But if he could seize the Seven Kills Stele, he, Murong Qing, would be worthy of his own page in the clan’s genealogical records!
"Of course. Master Murong, please follow me."
’Of course, Jiang Kaitai would never have told me where the real secret location was. But the game’s plot laid it all out perfectly.’
Chen Yuan led Murong Qing straight to the heart of Lianshan City, to the location of the city’s Government Office.
The entrance to the secret chamber where the Divine Artifact was hidden lay beneath this very Government Office.
By the time Chen Yuan and Murong Qing arrived at the Government Office, the grounds were already littered with corpses.
The County Magistrate of Lianshan City, along with the Chief Constable and constables he had brought with him, had all been killed by Jiang Kaitai.
These men were decent enough at intimidating commoners, but against Jiang Kaitai, they stood no chance.
In the center of the Government Office’s rear courtyard, a hole had opened in the ground, revealing a stone staircase spiraling downward. A chilling aura emanated from within.
The stone steps were coarse and ancient; from the looks of them, they were likely thousands of years old.
As they descended the steps, they noticed bas-relief murals carved into the surrounding walls.
’These details might have been in the original storyline, but I never experienced this part of the plot firsthand. When I reviewed it, I only skimmed through, so I’m making many new discoveries now.’
The murals were likely created in the late Ancient Era, shortly after the disappearance of the great Divine Demons.
Modern history books classify everything from before ten thousand years ago as the Ancient Era.
There are no clear historical records from that period. The Human Race was organized into basic units like Clans and Sects, or small kingdoms that controlled a few cities. There was no single, unified dynasty.
Writing may have existed, but each small kingdom had its own script, making them impossible to cross-reference.
Subsequently, the ceaseless conflict among thousands of Sect Clans evolved into a war between hundreds of small kingdoms, until finally, only seven warring states remained.
It wasn’t until two thousand years later that a great, unified dynasty finally emerged. With standardized scripts, carriage axle widths, and units of measurement, historical records finally became precise.
Based on the background depicted in the murals, they seemed to be from the late Ancient Era, the period after the Divine Demons had vanished. The writing was obscure and difficult to understand.
However, Chen Yuan could grasp the general meaning just by looking at the images.
It roughly depicted a small Clan that had discovered the Seven Kills Stele and sought to control it. The Clan’s priests began to set up an Array, while its Martial Artists waged war, capturing people from other Clans to use in a blood sacrifice.
But halfway through the blood sacrifice, the small Clan was wiped out by a coalition of other Clans and Sects, having provoked too many violent conflicts.
The high priest led one faction of the clan to permanently seal the secret chamber containing the Seven Kills Stele, entombing themselves within.
The patriarch, meanwhile, led another group of clansmen to break through the encirclement and escape, taking a map with them. They planned to return and continue the blood sacrifice for the Seven Kills Stele once the Clan had grown powerful again.
Evidently, the group that escaped ran into problems. Not only did they fail to return, but the map itself eventually fell into the hands of others.
Chen Yuan shook his head inwardly.
’Wrong. They were wrong from the very beginning.’
’Fusing with the Seven Kills Stele doesn’t require a blood sacrifice at all.’
’The small Clan that found the Seven Kills Stele Fragment back then was mistaken, and Jiang Kaitai, who followed their map, made the same mistake.’
Murong Qing, however, was now trembling with excitement.
He had only been about eighty percent convinced before, but after seeing these murals, he was utterly certain.
As the two continued downward, the pungent stench of blood grew stronger.
Murong Qing suddenly thought of something and turned back to Chen Yuan. "You, go back up and stand guard. Prevent those people from the Black Water Gang from coming here and causing trouble."
Murong Qing was arrogant by nature, but remarkably cautious in his actions.
Even at a time like this, he hadn’t forgotten about the Black Water Gang’s presence in Lianshan City.
Under normal circumstances, Murong Qing wouldn’t have given the Black Water Gang a second thought.
Even if he were to annihilate the Black Water Gang, the Sun-piercing Alliance wouldn’t do much to him. He’d just have to explain himself and apologize, at most.
But with a Divine Artifact at stake, there was no guarantee the Black Water Gang wouldn’t get any funny ideas.
"Don’t worry, Master Murong. I will guard the entrance well."
Chen Yuan vowed, patting his chest.
Murong Qing then headed straight for the bottom.
Only after hearing the boom of True Qi did Chen Yuan slow his pace and continue on his way down.
At the very bottom of the passage lay a blood-red altar.
The entire altar was inscribed with dense, crimson runes. On closer inspection, one could see that the runes were actually composed of countless rivulets of surging fresh blood, squirming about as if they were living things.
In the center of the altar stood a massive, blood-red stone stele.
The blood-red stele pulsed with boundless killing intent and Blood Qi. A closer look revealed that it wasn’t a stone stele at all, but a monument built from countless white bones and cast in fresh blood!
There were two lines of text on the White Bone Blood Stele.
The line on the right read: Heaven gives birth to all things to nourish man, yet man still resents Heaven for its cruelty.
On the left were seven writhing, blackish-red characters for the word ’KILL’.
Each ’KILL’ character was different, written in a different script. As they twisted and squirmed, their very calligraphic style was constantly changing.
But no matter how they changed, the moment you looked at them, you would know instantly, deep in your mind, that they were seven characters for ’KILL’.
This was the Seven Kills Stele, the ultimate Divine Artifact from the first version of Jianghu 2. It was said that it wasn’t forged by mortal hands, but was an innate Divine Artifact of slaughter, condensed from the very Killing Intent Origin of the world itself!
At that moment, Chen Yuan also noticed that of the seven ’KILL’ characters, only one was exceptionally solid, while the other six were somewhat illusory.
The Seven Kills Stele before him looked complete, but it was actually just a fragment; the other parts were merely illusions manifested from killing intent.
Jiang Kaitai didn’t know the full story; he truly believed that a complete Divine Artifact was buried in this secret chamber.
In front of the Seven Kills Stele, Jiang Kaitai was enveloped in endless Blood Qi, desperately trying to force his body into the stele and merge with it.
Wielding a Dragon Patterned Green Gold Treasure Sword, Murong Qing unleashed a flurry of Sword Qi, frantically attacking Jiang Kaitai, but every strike was repelled by the incredibly dense Blood Qi surrounding his opponent’s body.
"Jiang Kaitai! You dare to steal an opportunity meant for my Murong Family? You’re courting death!"
Murong Qing’s eyes were like ice. As he watched Jiang Kaitai get closer and closer to the Seven Kills Stele, his heart filled with a growing sense of urgency.
"Courting death? Once I’ve fused with the Seven Kills Stele, we’ll see who’s really courting death!"
Jiang Kaitai turned and shot Murong Qing a savage grin. "Your Murong Family is nothing but a bunch of has-beens. You go around all day screaming about being Royal Family descendants. Who doesn’t see you as a complete joke?
An opportunity for the Murong Family? You think you’re worthy?!
I was the one who discovered the Seven Kills Stele! I’ve been plotting to perform this blood sacrifice for twenty years! This opportunity belongs to me, Jiang Kaitai, and me alone!
Once I’ve fused with the Seven Kills Stele, not only will you die, but your entire Murong Family will die with you!"
’For all these years, I’ve had to grovel before the Murong Family, fawning and flattering them without a shred of dignity.’
’One day, when I stand at the pinnacle of the Jianghu, how can I allow such a dark part of my past to be known by others?’
’That’s why the Murong Family has to be destroyed. I can’t let the people of the Jianghu know that I, Jiang Kaitai, once acted as the Murong Family’s dog!’
"In your dreams!"
Murong Qing sneered. "Do you really think that just by fusing with a Divine Artifact, you’ll become the supreme master of the Martial World?
A Divine Artifact may be powerful, but its strength depends on who wields it.
The Kunwu Sword was the sharpest blade in the world in the hands of the Sword God Xie Kunwu. In the hands of anyone else, it’s just a useless fire poker."
Jiang Kaitai scoffed, unfazed, and continued to focus all his energy on fusing with the Seven Kills Stele.
At the same time, he was mentally calculating the time. ’Why hasn’t the final surge of Blood Qi arrived yet?’
’Could Murong Qing have dealt with Chen Yuan and his companion first, and only then found this place?’
The writhing, blood-red runes on the altar slowly flowed into Jiang Kaitai’s body. Their numbers dwindled, and with no replenishment from behind, the light of the Array began to dim.
"Damn it!"
Jiang Kaitai’s expression changed.
Without that final blood sacrifice he had arranged, the accumulated Qi Blood was far too little—not even half of what he had planned for.
If Murong Qing weren’t here, he could have stopped the sacrifice and simply started over. It would be a setback, but not a disaster.
But with Murong Qing right there, if he terminated the sacrifice now, he would surely die without a proper burial!
Gritting his teeth, Jiang Kaitai forced the boundless Blood Qi around him to surge into the Seven Kills Stele.
The next moment, that Blood Qi, now suffused with boundless killing intent, surged back into Jiang Kaitai’s body. A vast and powerful force instantly manifested within him.
Jiang Kaitai’s aura began to skyrocket, becoming even stronger than that of Murong Qing, who was in the Sea of Reincarnation Realm.
Veins bulged all over his body and his muscles swelled. He grew two or three feet taller in an instant, his entire form enveloped in an intensely powerful Blood Fiend Qi.
When he opened his eyes, they were crimson and filled with a savage Killing Intent.
A long saber materialized in his hand. With a single downward slash, Blood Fiend True Qi surged out, creating a crimson Saber Aura that stretched for dozens of feet.
Murong Qing’s expression changed. Executing the Wandering Dragon Step, he retreated rapidly to dodge Jiang Kaitai’s strike.
Jiang Kaitai had now entered a berserk state. Empowered by the boundless Blood Fiend Qi, his strength was now several times greater than Murong Qing’s.
Although his power had skyrocketed, the utterly berserk killing intent seemed to have affected his sanity.
’I can clearly sense it,’ Chen Yuan thought. ’Right now, Jiang Kaitai’s mind is filled with nothing but primitive Killing Intent. He can’t even execute basic Martial Arts Techniques anymore.’
’Jiang Kaitai’s trump card, the Beichen Celestial Wolf Slash, is a Profound Level Saber Technique, after all. If he combined it with this ultimate Blood Fiend Power, its might would be even greater.’
’But in the end, forget the Beichen Celestial Wolf Slash, he couldn’t even use the basic Celestial Wolf Saber Technique. He was just swinging his saber mechanically.’
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