This scoundrel is a bit of a swordsman.

Chapter 254 The Black Robe's Past

Everyone fell silent instantly. These words, like an open secret, lingered in their minds, and no one could find the answer.

"So what kind of explanation do you think Emperor Wu will give to the Chen family this time?"

Wu Xie abruptly changed the subject, bringing the conversation back to the present.

"It's impossible to guess. Could it be that they really intend to hand over Xiao Xingchen? Of course, anyone with eyes can see that Xiao Xingchen was originally a scapegoat, but now he has transformed into a powerful figure. What could have caused such a change in the Emperor's mindset, or whose appearance could have done so?" Li Jinxian analyzed.

“You and I are of the same mind. There must have been some changes that we are unaware of that caused such a dramatic shift in Emperor Wu’s attitude.”

"It's a pity we weren't there when Chen Haoran died, otherwise we would have been able to see who was stirring up trouble in the dark."

They were still lamenting and regretting, completely unaware that their crisis was already looming large. In the darkness, the black-robed figure appeared out of nowhere at the encampment on the water, his brows furrowed like twisted ropes. After glancing down, he tiptoed toward the Dali's encampment.

Several days have passed since Xiao Xingchen was crowned king and he appeared to lead the Supreme Venerable Empress. If it weren't for his elusive and unpredictable escape techniques, he would probably have already been captured and brought back for questioning by the Supreme Venerable.

However, it was precisely because of this hasty escape, in his panic and haphazard journey, that he had a miraculous encounter. Only after successfully escaping the Supreme Being did he dare to return to Yong'an City to explore the mysteries in his heart.

"No, it's not here. Could it be hidden among the various kingdoms?"

He stood like a statue in the darkness, his brow furrowed, like a sky shrouded in dark clouds. The reason he gained the power of the ritual can be traced back to his childhood.

In their hometown, ancient folk customs shine like stars, the most brilliant of which is the mountain god worship ceremony held on the seventh day of the third lunar month every year.

People pray to the mountain god for protection and a bountiful harvest in the coming year. In this vast world, such sacrifices are commonplace and unremarkable.

However, when he was seven years old, his life took a dramatic turn. It turned out that the so-called mountain god sacrifice was actually offering children as sacrifices to the mountain god.

Every year, the town selects a child under the age of ten to become a sacrifice to the mountain god.

That year, the mountain god's gaze fell upon his newborn brother. He witnessed the villagers of the town surging towards his door like a tidal wave, forcing his parents to hand over his newborn, still-in-wrap brother. The thought of his adorable, pouty-lipped brother being thrown into the vast mountains tormented his heart, and he resolutely stepped forward.

He knew he also met the requirements for a sacrifice, so he begged the villagers to spare his brother, willing to become the sacrifice in his brother's place.

That was a memory he would rather keep buried forever, haunting his mind like a nightmare.

What followed was like the relentless turning of the gears of fate. He was sent to the Mountain God, and only then did he realize what the so-called Mountain God truly looked like. With a determination to die for his cause, he witnessed the truth of the world for the first time.

It turns out that there were countless sacrifices like him, like stars scattered across the sky.

When he was sent to that dark abyss, many children were already imprisoned there, confined in birdcages like birds that had lost their freedom, hanging in mid-air.

These children came not only from their small town, but also from faraway lands. At that time, he was ignorant and did not understand why that place would bring together children from all over the country.

Later, he suddenly realized that the place was actually a transit point for them, the sacrificial offerings, like a gateway to hell.

Sacrificers from all corners of the world would deliver their offerings here in a mysterious and unpredictable way. He had no idea how many cages there were, only the cries rising and falling, like sobs and lamentations, never ceasing.

The old cries gradually faded away, and new cries followed one after another. Far from feeling any fear, he felt an inexplicable sense of intimacy with the darkness.

For the first time, he felt that darkness was so intimate. He was fond of living in the dark, simply because it spared him from having to face those faces he did not want to see.

Time passed, and after an unknown amount of time, a gate suddenly opened in the center of the abyss—a gate that seemed sacred and inviolable.

Through the crack in the door, the view beyond was breathtaking, like a fairyland. Then, people began to file out from inside, plucking cages one by one as if picking fruit, and carrying them away from the place. These fruit pickers appeared to be young boys, still quite young, yet they exuded a chilling aura.

He had seen such people before, people who were revered as immortals.

The cages that were taken away vanished without a trace, like the yellow crane that flew away and never returned. And so, they were like lambs to the slaughter, taken away at different times.

That year, he was already seven years old. After a long and endless wait in darkness, he became the first person to escape from the cage.

He longed to witness the fate of these sacrificial offerings, for there were far too many children like him here.

In the darkness, he carefully observed when the doors opened. After accumulating enough patterns, he seized the opportunity of one of the doors opening and resolutely rushed in.

Upon entering, he was stunned into silence. Everything before him seemed to place him in the abode of a deity. It was an extremely magnificent palace, with countless hidden compartments embedded in the walls like stars around it, each radiating a dazzling light.

Although he didn't know the purpose of these hidden compartments, he could tell that they were of paramount importance and that the contents inside must be incredibly valuable.

In the center of the main hall stood a colossal alchemy furnace, resembling a majestic mountain. Flames roared within the furnace like fire dragons. Through the burnt debris, his mind felt as if it had been struck by a heavy hammer. The debris consisted of tiny remains, some with heads, arms, and legs. These skeletons were like broken porcelain pieces, so small they were chilling. He immediately recognized that these offerings had been thrown into this terrifying furnace.

His fear surged forth like a burst dam, driving him to flee frantically as if a demon were chasing him. He ran desperately for a long time before finally seeing where he was.

Outside this alchemy hall, a towering mountain peak, like a sharp sword piercing the sky, is carved with three large characters, like three sharp swords, gleaming with a chilling light. That is the "Refining Heaven Sect".

These three words were incredibly imposing. Just one glance at them, and the invisible pressure they exerted made him dare not move another step forward, as if Mount Tai were crushing an egg.

He knew all too well that if he were discovered and taken back, the consequences would be like falling into an abyss from which there would be no return.

So he began to scurry like a rat, constantly seeking refuge in the darkness. He darted through the shadows, crept through the night, and dared not move a muscle in the light, as if the light would devour him. Only when darkness descended like night would he cautiously seek an opportunity to escape.

However, how could a seven-year-old child escape unscathed under the watchful eyes of a group of giants? He was soon discovered, and like a frightened bird, he panicked and ran blindly, eventually falling into a dark well.

This black well seemed like a trap of fate, yet it also brought him to his doom. The moment he fell into the well, his pursuers gave up the search. However, in the instant he disappeared, he heard a conversation outside: "He's fallen into the sacrificial ground. Go back, you're doomed." That black well was actually a passage leading to the sacrificial ground.

He didn't understand what this meant at first, until he struggled with the sacrificial site for more than a decade.

At that moment, he suddenly realized that those high and mighty, self-proclaimed enlightened gods were actually the greatest evil in the world.

The ideals that people believe in and admire are nothing more than carefully crafted lies to deceive the world.

During the twelve years of his earth-worshiping ceremony, he endured countless hardships and trials.

When he reappeared, the Supreme Being brought him to Yong'an City.