Chapter 21 Blood Sacrifice
The eight trigram diagram originated from ancient China. Its origins came from so long ago that even today there were still secrets behind it. Its purpose was still fascinatingly mysterious.
Using it, people had calculated the orbits of celestial bodies, and even the binary code originated from it. One could say that it was enveloped in the mystery of ancient times.
Even today, the Taiji eight trigram diagram’s profound mysteries waited to be unraveled. However, people did have many wild guesses.
Someone once said that it had an unknown ‘trend’ to it, and using it, it was possible to calculate all the possible possibilities of the future. Of course, such a calculation had to be 100% perfect to obtain a good prediction; the slightest misstep would cause failure, making it completely ineffective.
Another person said that it represented the universe in its simplest form, each symbol representing the most fundamental parts.
There was even someone who had brazenly conjectured that the Taiji eight trigram diagram was related to space-time. Each one of the trigrams was a coordinate of the starry sky, and different arrangements represented different star fields.
According to this conjecture, it was possible to calculate any of the coordinates in the universe, and using the Taiji eight trigram diagram as a gate to the starry sky, you could connect to different points via wormholes.
However, these kinds of complicated calculations were difficult to imagine. One of the steps even required the calculation of strange ‘waves.’ These ‘waves’ had yet to be discovered by humanity, and were only a hypothesis.
‘Waves’ had to do with space, and even today people were far from solving these extremely complicated abstruse mysteries.
The eight trigram diagram, the creator of the gate to the starry sky, was extremely complicated. One could even say that even if humanity were given an extremely long amount of time, they still wouldn’t be able to use it.
At this time, Ye Fan and the others once more saw the formation of the Taiji eight trigram diagram. If the gate to the starry sky had been created after humanity’s studying after years of research, people might go mad with excitement to witness such a huge accomplishment.
But it was a pity that Ye Fan and the others had no such thoughts. They were stuck in a life-and-death crisis with the shadow of doom looming over them. The only thought in their minds was to leave this place as quickly as possible.
A thousand meters away, the ruins of the Great Thunderchant Temple had now turned quiet. However, that bitter air that had filled the world continued to linger, and the huge lantern-like blood-red eyes continued to stare at them without blinking. That gaze pierced through the darkness, distressing people’s hearts and causing them to tremble.
The Taiji eight trigram diagram formed in the sky, seemingly as real as metal, as if it were cast out of metal essence refined a hundred times.
The surrounding space twisted and emitted a misty light. Heaven; Earth; Wood; Swamp; Mountain; Thunder; Fire; Water; the eight trigram symbols began to emit rays of light in a mysterious and ancient arrangement. The eight trigram symbols flashed hundreds and thousands of times, but the lights never flashed all at once, and in the end, it once more dimmed. The huge Taiji eight trigram diagram trembled, seemingly about to collapse.
“What happened…?”
Many people became terrified; if they had no way to open the ancient path of the starry sky, it would mean certain death for them.
The light barrier enveloping the five-colored altar had already dimmed to the point that it was practically without light. Only specks of weak sparkles continued to float towards the Taiji eight trigram diagram in the sky. Seeing this, everyone immediately realized what the problem was.
“To construct the Taiji eight trigram diagram, or in other words, to open the gate to the starry sky, there needs to be enough of the mysterious energy. But right now there’s not enough!”
“What do we do? Are we really going to die here…?”
In the distance was the Ancestor crocodile, while in front of them were the small crocodiles; they were already trapped in a large net of death.
Bang!
More than ten small crocodiles pierced through the light cover and began to attack everyone. The incense burner, vajra scepter, bronze bell, bamboo fish drum, and the other divine relics all continuously flashed with a glaring light that resisted the divine crocodiles’ attacks. However, the force they generated was extremely powerful, and people couldn’t help but get knocked back.
Kacha, kacha!
Outside the five-colored altar, the hundreds and thousands of densely packed divine crocodiles continuously attacked the light barrier, and more shattering sounds continued to ring out. In just a short period of time, over a hundred small crocodiles that had managed to break through.
Although they appeared small, these sinister creatures were extremely terrifying. They could fly into the air or burrow into the ground; each divine crocodile was like a sharp sword with extreme penetrating force.
“We can’t continue to passively defend like this, eventually we’ll die,” yelled Pang Bo. His Great Thunderchant Temple copper plaque constantly shook as thousands of magnificent rays of light shot out of it, forming a light screen which protected three or four people. Although they could defend themselves for a period of time, who knew what could happen later.
“Don’t do anything for now, I’ll test it out,” Ye Fan told Pang Bo. He no longer passively defended; holding the ancient lamp, he quickly strode out in front. Immediately, dozens of divine crocodiles attacked him, appearing like dozens of black lightning bolts. They shot forward like nails, using an unmatched penetrative force to attack the ancient lamp’s light curtain.
Ye Fan calmly waited for the dozens of divine crocodiles to approach him before using all his strength to blow into the ancient lamp’s wick. A magnificent and fierce light soared to the heavens, and a blazing torrent of divine flame spread out five to six meters in front of him.
The smell of scorched flesh immediately appeared, and mournful shrieks arose one after another. When the blaze finally shrank, a bright radiance lingered around Ye Fan, just like an exiled immortal taking a walk in the moonlight. The ground around him was completely covered in black scales; dozens of the divine crocodiles that had attacked him had been burnt to death.
A few of the vicious creatures managed to luckily escape, but their bodies were covered in burns and no longer intact. In the distance, a malicious glare fell on Ye Fan as a muffled roar sounded that sent chills down people’s bodies.
“Excellent, nicely roasted!” yelled Pang Bo. Just as he was about to charge forward and attack, he was held back by the three other people beside him who were holding on to him for all they were worth. These people didn’t have any divine relics, and without the protection of the Great Thunderchant Temple copper plaque, they would definitely die.
Kacha, kacha!
The shattering sounds broke out once more, and this time five to six hundred of the divine crocodiles managed to pierce through the light barrier. Their small bodies were densely packed together, each of them containing a devilish strength. Their sharp teeth glimmered like frost or snow and their eyes were demonic as they all charged forward, unafraid of death, towards Ye Fan.
“Not good, Ye Fan definitely won’t be able to deal with this many black nail-like attackers, I have to go help him.” Pang Bo once more tried to move forward.
“But…what about us?” The three people’s faces beside him were deathly pale as they pleaded with Pang Bo.
“Of course I won’t send you to your deaths.” Pang Bo turned his body to look at Wang Ziwen, Liu Yunzhi and the others behind, and said, “You guys protect these three, I’m going to go help Ye Fan. And if some other people could come out as well that would be best; this kind of passive defense isn’t a solution in the end. “
“Ok, I’ll go with you.” Zhou Yi walked up.
Pang Bo had always been a bit disinterested in Zhou Yi, considering him to be a very reserved person. But he had no choice but to admit that this scholarly man truly did have boldness during critical times.
At this moment, the always gentle Wang Ziwen also walked forward, and towards the people behind him he said, “One or two more people can still come and there would still be enough divine relics to protect everyone; but the women needn’t feel obliged.”
Facing these kinds of vicious and malevolent creatures, a woman’s fragile nature might cause them to become soft-hearted or too afraid. Even with a Buddhist item in their hand, they might not be able to help.
Clang!
Pang Bo walked up, swinging the Great Thunderchant Temple copper plaque, heavily smashing it onto the five-colored altar. A berserk brilliance surged out, condensing into waves that swept out seven or eight meters, submerging the divine crocodiles.
The cries of the beasts’ deathbed struggles caused people’s scalps to turn numb. It sounded like evil spirits were being refined as traces of white smoke floated out. The ground was covered by scorched corpses that released a burnt stench.
This was an area attack, not like the first time where they couldn’t catch up to only one divine crocodile . With this many vicious beasts rushing forward, just randomly swinging the copper plaque could smash tens of them.
Dong...!
A bell’s melodious ringing sounded out, just like the ringing of an old Buddhist temple hidden deep in the forest, giving people a profound and peaceful feeling. Wang Ziwen’s broken copper bell released thousands of golden ripples that could be seen with the naked eye. Although they appeared like waves, when they encountered the attacking divine crocodiles they seemed to change into a butcher’s knife; each golden ripple could chop any number of divine crocodiles in half.
The sound of the divine crocodiles being wounded continuously rang out, and their divine blood flowed onto the ground.
This kind of blood-filled scene was terrifying for people, but the countless divine crocodiles did not fear death.
By now, over a thousand of the divine crocodiles had managed to enter. Densely packed together, they formed a crisscrossing net of black lights that resembled the Grim Reaper’s scythe.
Bang!
Zhou Yi’s amethyst-gold alms bowl continuously hacked and smashed. A Buddhist light swept through a wide expanse, pulverizing countless scaled bodies. The ground was filled with the appalling sight of countless dead corpses. Many of the divine crocodiles had become mincemeat, their blood flowing unrestrained.
This was a desperate scene; in order to live, some of them had risked it all to come out and fight. The crocodile blood quickly dyed the altar red, and the smell of blood filled the air. A faint blood mist rose up just like the scene of an Asura.
“AH!”
“AH!”
Just at this moment, two blood-curdling screams suddenly came from the rear. Two classmates fell into the pool of blood, each with many bloody holes in their heads, and their bodies covered with many small black-scaled crocodiles.
A burst of sorrow filled everyone. All of them were bitterly struggling, but in the end, two more of their classmates tragically died.
These two people were sharing a divine relic, but just now, over three hundred of the divine crocodiles had all charged at them. The impact of the collision was so large that it sent the two of them flying. The Buddhist item in their hands was knocked out of their hands and landed to the side. The two of them were immediately drowned under the attack of the divine crocodiles, dying on the spot.
“Even if you die, don’t let go!” Lin Jia shouted a reminder to everyone.
Many people had already been knocked back and forth. Due to people having to share the Buddhist items, their movements were restricted and the danger was extreme.
“AHH!”
“AHH!”
Another two miserable shrieks rang out. A man and woman fell into the blood, crocodiles shooting out of them. Their eyes were all open in death, taking in the scene that was too terrible to bear.
The people in the rear quickly gathered together. At the same as they shared the divine relics, they also started to use them attack, slashing at the divine crocodiles. For the time being, the situation stabilized.
“Die!” Liu Yunzhi’s complexion was somewhat pale. His natural disposition was to be gloomy, and his courage was not great. But now he was also holding his jeweled vajra scepter to attack.
In the Buddhist legends, this was one of the mightiest holy defense items. Killing enemies was the same as killing chickens or dogs. It was an object of complete invincibility and even Talatha had once used such a holy item..
Electricity pulsed, its light flickering. Liu Yunzhi’s surroundings were swept away by divine bolts that pierced the eyes. The jeweled vajra scepter swept past, and with a stroke that seemed like it could kill thousands, it immediately left behind a ground of bloody and broken scales as a vast stretch of the divine crocodiles were pulverized.
The might of the jeweled vajra scepter could clearly be seen!
At this moment, the foreigner, Kade, charged forward screaming nonsense, holding a broken mokugyo which he crazily beat.
“God is benevolent…” Although he shouted this way, he still went all out. The broken mokugyo looked like it could fall apart at any time, but it still possessed a mysterious might.
The three Bodhisattvas carved on top of it seemed to rise up, coming out as glowing figures. They lingered around Kade, sweeping away the surrounding divine crocodiles.
“Oh Lord, are these the angels you’ve sent for me? Quickly kill these infernal devils!” As Kade’s fear reached an all-time high, his fluency suddenly became very smooth.
“You blonde dumbass, you’re holding a Buddhist item, can you not talk randomly…?” In this life-and-death moment, Pang Bo could unexpectedly still be amused.
Kade continued to shout nonsense. “God has said that all things are born equal and that he is merciful, and so these Bodhisattvas are angels.”
“Your God is nonsense. ‘All living things are equal, and Buddha is merciful’ is something that Buddha said, ok?”
Within the deathly air of the five-colored altar, the two people’s dialogue brought a strange atmosphere.
The crocodile blood on the altar became points of bloody light that floated past the light curtain, converging into the sky’s unstable Taiji eight trigram diagram. The gate that was on the verge of collapsing once more began to flicker with brilliance.
When everyone noticed it, their spirits were immediately upraised.
“Kill! The more we kill the better! These divine crocodiles are an unrivaled Greater Demon’s progeny, and they definitely have inherited divine blood in their bodies. The altar can transform this divine energy into a mysterious energy and condense it into the Taiji eight trigram diagram!”
“Right, this five-colored altar’s original purpose was for sacrifice. In the past, they must have considered this scenario with a blood sacrifice.”
The sky’s Taiji eight trigram diagram gradually became more and more solid. It was as resplendent as if it was cast of metal, and it constantly sparkled. The eight trigram symbols all flickered according to a complicated sequence. After countless changes, it was on the verge of completely lighting up and opening the ancient path of the starry sky.
BOOM!
But just at this moment, the Great Thunderchant Temple’s bitter air roared towards the heavens! The land completely ruptured, and a colossal monster rose to the heavens, causing the entire sky to shake!
In a split second, everyone’s spirits almost left their body. Their bodies turned to jelly and they almost collapsed onto the altar.
The two huge lantern-like blood eyes were approaching them from the distance at a frightening speed!
“That is the legendary Ancestor Crocodile that was suppressed under the Great Thunderchant Temple by Buddha; who in this world can stop it now?!”
Everyone felt as their bodies were encased in ice as they were filled with despair. Even real Bodhisattva spirits might not even be able to beat this huge, unrivaled demon; only Buddha in person might be able to.
At this final moment, did they really have to leave behind their lives in the hands of this legendary demon?
Clang, dong!
Just at this moment, the huge bronze coffin on top the five-colored altar suddenly emitted a vibrato, and the two distant blood-red eyes stopped. They no longer moved forward as if they were extremely bewildered.