"Her name is You Ruo, and she is my daughter," Xiong Ba declared.
His words fell like a colossal stone into a placid lake, stirring up tumultuous waves.
She is Xiong Ba's daughter?
Qin Shuang, Bu Jingyun, and Nie Feng were all aghast.
Xiong Ba is actually using his own daughter as a sacrifice? That's utterly ruthless!
"Today is a momentous day! You will bear witness to a true Divine Spirit. Shortly, everyone will follow me in prayer. Anyone harboring disrespect shall be slain without mercy!"
At that instant, Xiong Ba's voice turned chillingly sharp, suffused with murderous intent. A terrifying aura enveloped everyone. The one hundred thousand members of The World Association, their expressions grave, roared in unison, "We respectfully obey the Clan Leader's command!"
"However, before that, I have two traitors to deal with," Xiong Ba continued, his gaze falling upon Bu Jingyun and Nie Feng. A shiver went down their spines as an ominous premonition struck them.
"You two harbor treacherous intentions. Today, your blood shall be a sacrifice to the great God of Hongmeng!"
As Xiong Ba finished speaking, Bu Jingyun's Dantian flared with inner strength as he prepared to resist, while Nie Feng and Qin Shuang wanted to plead for leniency and offer an explanation.
But Xiong Ba had already struck.
The might of a Supreme Grandmaster erupted without reservation. Bu Jingyun and Nie Feng, mere Grandmasters, were grievously wounded in an instant, left clinging precariously to life.
As expected of the protagonists, they're still not dead! Xiong Ba was secretly astounded. His strike should have been fatal even to a Great Grandmaster, let alone those merely in the Grandmaster Realm.
Yet, Bu Jingyun and Nie Feng had stubbornly survived.
Without wasting another word, Xiong Ba swiftly delivered the finishing blows, decisively ending the lives of both Bu Jingyun and Nie Feng.
Having foreseen the future, Xiong Ba knew all too well the terrifying resilience of those favored by destiny. His attacks had to be absolutely lethal; otherwise, they would inevitably recover, leading to endless future calamities.
"Master, please spare them..." Qin Shuang began to plead, but before he could utter another word, Xiong Ba had already slain Bu Jingyun and Nie Feng.
A maelstrom of emotions churned within him, leaving him speechless.
"Bu Jingyun was consumed with avenging his stepfather Huo Butian's family, and Nie Feng's mother also perished because of me long ago. I received a God's Revelation: those two have long harbored disloyal hearts. Had they not died today, I, your Master, would have eventually been killed by them!"
Xiong Ba patted Qin Shuang's shoulder reassuringly. "You are different from them. Today, I, your Master, will let you witness a true Divine Spirit. After the sacrificial ceremony, I will preside over your marriage and wed Kongci to you!"
Truthfully, Kongci could also be considered a woman blessed with great fortune. However, she had already been defiled by Bu Jingyun. Her body was no longer pure, rendering her unworthy of being sacrificed to an Upper God. Of course, Xiong Ba had foreseen the future, including Kongci's fate, even though he himself had orchestrated it. Kongci had given her body to Bu Jingyun, her hand in marriage to Qin Shuang, and ultimately, her heart to Nie Feng. Even if Bu Jingyun hadn't touched her, Xiong Ba wouldn't dare offer such a woman to an Upper God. Thus, she was perfect for pacifying Qin Shuang and securing his loyalty.
"Thank you, Master." Qin Shuang knelt on one knee, bowing respectfully.
"Did Xiong Ba really kill Fengyun? Has he gone mad?"
"Xiong Ba must be insane! Otherwise, how could he possibly kill his top generals and sacrifice his own daughter along with all the treasures accumulated by The World Association?"
"Should we intervene?"
"Not yet. Let's observe Xiong Ba's sacrifice first."
Amidst the jeering, scornful, and bewildered gazes of countless martial artists, Xiong Ba ordered his subordinates to carry the corpses of Fengyun onto the altar.
He solemnly adjusted his robes, ascended the steps to the apex of the altar, and turned to face the one hundred thousand members of The World Association. He then declared loudly, "The sacrificial ceremony now officially begins! All disciples, follow me and pray to the great God of Hongmeng!"
With that, Xiong Ba turned, knelt before the altar, and began to chant the sacrificial prayer with sincere devotion.
"Great God of Hongmeng, You are the God of Creation, the Creator of all things, the Maker and Sovereign of the universe."
"You are our Father and God."
"Your light illuminates our path forward."
"You are our faith."
Qin Shuang and Wen Chouchou followed, kneeling in prayer.
Seeing their Clan Leader kneel, the one hundred thousand members of The World Association had no choice but to follow suit and pray.
"Your devout followers offer up these most precious sacrifices, hoping to receive Your blessings, to spread Your divine radiance across the lands, and to let Your glory illuminate the world!"
"May Your Divine Power be eternal!"
"May Your Divine Fire never be extinguished!"
"Great God of Hongmeng, most sacred and supreme, the one True God!"
「In the Eternal Continent, within God's kingdom.」
"DING! A strand of Faith Power detected. With a one hundred thousand-fold amplification, you have gained one hundred thousand strands of Faith Power."
"DING! Your followers have sacrificed a Bingpo Divine Stone to you. With a one hundred million-fold amplification, you have gained a Lower Grade Innate Spirit Treasure Ice Soul Divine Bead."
"DING! Your followers have sacrificed a large number of Martial Arts Secret Books to you. With an overall two hundred million-fold amplification, you have gained the Martial Arts Civilization Aura."
"DING! Your followers have made a blood sacrifice of the Sons of Destiny, Nie Feng and Bu Jingyun, to you. With a one billion-fold amplification, you have gained the Heavenly God-Level Path of Wind and Cloud."
As the alerts chimed one after another, Hongmeng, who was in the midst of cultivation, opened his eyes, which were filled with delighted surprise.
The Power of Faith itself was astounding. With one hundred thousand people praying, each contributing a minimum of a hundred-fold amplification and a maximum that was limitless, this wave of Faith Power alone represented an astronomical sum.
Countless strands of Faith Power condensed into Divine Power, which then further coalesced into Divine Crystals.
Divine Crystals piled up like mountains, dazzling and resplendent.
A sacred, brilliant halo emerged, merging with the one already behind his head. Instantly, a radiant sacred light erupted. The Martial Arts Civilization Aura grew even more dazzling, wisdom flowed like a surging spring, and countless insights into various Paths and Laws flooded his mind.
[Martial Arts Civilization Aura: Level 2]
Increases comprehension and combat power a thousand-fold. Impervious to all evil. All laws are mastered at will.
The Martial Arts Civilization Aura had fused and upgraded, its effects becoming ten times more potent—truly formidable. Of course, what thrilled Hongmeng the most was the Heavenly God-Level Path of Wind and Cloud.
With these two Heavenly God-Level Paths, and relying on the Divine Crystals and Origin Power he currently possessed, he could forge a Heavenly God Divine Form and a Heavenly God's Body using the Path of Wind and Cloud. This would allow him to bypass the True God realm and directly ascend to Heavenly Godhood.
However, Hongmeng wouldn't do that. That would be like killing the goose that lays the golden eggs, leading to endless future complications.
Hongmeng had already mapped out his future cultivation path. With assets like the Myriad Heavens Chat Group and his Infinite Multiplication Talent, he could gather the Three Thousand Great Daos. He would then condense them into the Hongmeng Path, a Dao that encompassed all other Paths, thereby laying an unparalleled and profound foundation for his future. The "Three Thousand Great Daos" wasn't a literal number but a figurative term. As the adage says, "One Dao leads to all Daos." It was possible that merely dozens, or perhaps hundreds, of fundamental Daos would be sufficient to condense the Hongmeng Path that encompassed all existence.
"DING! Your followers have sacrificed the three types of sacrificial animals, the six types of livestock, and the five sacred grains to you. With a ten million-fold amplification, you have received: five hundred Divine Beast Ground-shaking Golden Pigs, two hundred Purple-Eyed Devil Cows, five hundred Wind-Chasing Gazelles, five hundred Four-Winged Pegasi, two hundred Golden Fur Dog Gods, one thousand Fire Phoenixes, and a quantity of Five-Grain Divine Species..."
"DING! Your followers have sacrificed You Ruo, a woman of great destiny who possesses ten units of Qi Luck Power."
"A five billion-fold amplification has been applied!"
"You have acquired Holy Spirit You Ruo."
"You have obtained fifty billion Origin Powers."
You Ruo? Murong Fu offered his cousin, and Xiong Ba offered his daughter. Each more ruthless than the last! In his view, the distinction between Holy Spirits and Heroes wasn't significant. Heroes simply possessed titles, which granted them a slight power advantage over others in the same realm due to the strength these titles conferred. But that was the extent of it.
Following the channel of faith, Hongmeng's terrifying Divine Sense projected towards the Fengyun World.
A splendid nebula floated in the vast expanse of the void, twinkling like countless lanterns. It bore some resemblance to the Sky Dragon World where Murong Fu resided, yet it felt somewhat more powerful.
Hongmeng's Divine Sense could perceive that this world, much like the Sky Dragon World, was not under the dominion of any Divine Spirits, making it an ideal place to propagate his faith.
His Divine Sense descended along the pathways of faith, revealing a massive, azure planet.
This was—the Fengyun World.
...