Feng Wuya's expression grew even darker.
His brows furrowed tightly as his gaze locked on the trial grounds below, where an uneasy stalemate had formed.
In his expectations, this valley floor should have already become a Shura hellscape, rivers of blood flowing as countless corpses piled high.
Those one hundred mortals, wagering everything for the so-called "Immortal Fate," should have been stripped of their facades under the temptation of the Blood Feast Codex, devolving into ravenous beasts that tore one another apart in the most primal, savage slaughter.
Yet what lay before his eyes was utterly contrary to what he had foreseen.
One man was ceaselessly snatching away cultivation manuals. Another was mercilessly cutting down anyone who dared to kill. Although many had already died, the pace of death had slowed—slowed drastically.
"Damn those righteous fools…" Feng Wuya cursed under his breath.
Normally, in the initiation trials of Blood Feast Valley, one need not worry about people like this appearing.
In previous trials, there had always been a few so-called "idiots" who attempted to stop the carnage.
But they were quickly killed, either ganged up on and turned into the first sacrifices, or broken down by cruel reality until they, too, picked up the butcher's blade, stained their hands in blood, and, for the sake of survival, descended into greater madness than anyone else.
By the end of such trials, even the kindest hearts could not escape being dragged into the demonic way, becoming disciples of Blood Feast Valley.
But this time… this time was different.
Two utterly inexplicable men had appeared.
The one named Zhou Wen—though he himself had cultivated the Blood Feast Codex—did not slaughter others. Instead, he dashed across the valley, snatching manuals from others' hands and tearing them to shreds on the spot.
And the other, Qin Yi, was stranger still. He would not strike at mortals unprovoked, but the moment anyone raised a murderous hand against another, he would descend in an instant, striking like thunder and executing the would-be killer on the spot.
With these two moving in such uncanny harmony, the bloodshed within the trial grounds had nearly vanished.
It was not that Qin Yi's executions had cowed the participants—many of them were still unaware of his presence.
The real reason chaos dwindled was simple: nearly every cultivation manual had already been destroyed by Zhou Wen.
Without manuals, what was there to seize?
Without something to seize, what was there to fight for?
The crowd's eyes burned with fury as they glared at Zhou Wen. To them, he was the selfish villain who sought to hoard Immortal Fate for himself, the wretch preventing them from transcending mortality.
But to Zhou Wen, they were less than ants. Even when a dozen attacked him together, they could not so much as shake his body.
Under such an overwhelming disparity, more and more participants resigned themselves. Some simply sat blank-eyed upon the ground, lost in thought, bereft of hope.
Clearly, the Blood Feast Valley's initiation trial was grinding to a halt.
Feng Wuya wiped at the cold sweat that did not truly exist upon his forehead.
As the overseer of the trial, if it failed, he would bear no small measure of responsibility.
He cast a nervous glance at the senior disciple beside him, hoping to escape punishment. To his surprise, Senior Brother Zhou was not angered at all—instead, he watched with relish, even murmuring:
"Interesting."
Interesting?
Feng Wuya was baffled. What was interesting about this? The trial was on the verge of collapse! What could his senior possibly see that amused him so?
Though he could not comprehend it, he saw clearly that his senior's mood was good. Seizing the chance, Feng Wuya quickly asked, "Senior Brother Zhou, if we allow those two to keep making a mess, this trial won't be able to continue. Shouldn't we—"
But his words were cut short.
Senior Brother Zhou's expression darkened. His eyes turned toward Feng Wuya, his voice heavy:
"You think… they are making a mess?"
An invisible pressure crashed down upon Feng Wuya, suffocating him in an instant. The chill of death clawed at his very soul!
In his mind, this was no different from foolish disruption. If this was not chaos, then what was?
But beneath that crushing will, he dared not utter such thoughts aloud. He knew full well—if he displeased this senior even slightly, that pressure could crush him to dust in an instant.
When he failed to answer, Senior Brother Zhou snorted coldly, withdrawing the pressure. He offered no explanation, turning his gaze back down toward the trial grounds.
Feng Wuya followed his eyes. He saw that all struggle below had ceased completely. Other than Qin Yi and Zhou Wen, every participant had given up, slumping hopelessly to the ground.
Perhaps they had realized: with those two present, Immortal Fate was forever beyond their grasp. And with that realization, their desire to fight for it had simply… vanished.
Some might already be pondering—what was this place truly? If there was no Immortal Fate, how would they ever return?
Seeing this, Feng Wuya forgot his earlier fear, his brows knitting tightly as he scolded aloud:
"These mortals—such weak Dao-hearts! So what if the manuals are gone? So what if an immortal stands before you? You still have life, don't you!? If becoming immortal requires risking everything, why do you cower? At this rate, how could you ever ascend!?"
"Well said."
A deep voice rumbled beside him.
Feng Wuya froze, then realized—Senior Brother Zhou had spoken. And he was agreeing with him!
A flicker of joy rose in Feng Wuya's chest. But in the very next instant, every hair on his body stood on end. Instinct screamed that something unspeakably dreadful was descending upon him.
And then, he heard it.
A voice—neither human nor inhuman—intoned words that made the heavens themselves tremble:
"On the eleventh watch, famine devours all; brothers turn upon brothers when they enter."
At once, the bright daylight dimmed into the pall of dusk. Feng Wuya felt it clearly—time itself was flowing, drawing toward the hour of Xu!
His face drained of all color. He finally realized—
This was… the Dao-Path!
Senior Brother Zhou was revealing the might of his Dao-Path!
A wave of unbearable hunger crashed through Feng Wuya's being. His mind abandoned all thought—he only wanted to eat. Anything. Whatever he could find, as long as it could be devoured…
Smack!
A hand fell upon his shoulder.
Feng Wuya shuddered violently, awareness snapping back. Only then did he realize how terribly abnormal his state had become, a chill of horror creeping into his heart.
This was wrong—he no longer had a body of flesh, so how could he feel hunger?
But that was the power of a Dao-Path. Even as a disembodied soul, he could not resist its influence.
Suddenly, a thought struck him. He lowered his gaze cautiously toward the trial grounds—and froze.
Below, chaos had erupted once more, exactly as he had feared.