prynovel Chapter 126 Altar Standoff: Years of Grudges
Chapter 126 Altar Standoff: Years of Grudges
The moment I passed through the last layer of fog, my vision suddenly opened up.
The mist was so thin it was almost transparent, like a torn veil with a gaping hole in the middle, revealing what lay behind it. The altar stood there, all alone in the very center of the entire secret realm, like a heart forgotten in a corner of time, beating quietly for a thousand years.
The entire altar was carved from a single piece of ancient sacred rock. The stone's color wasn't ordinary gray-white, but a deep, dark blue-black, its surface covered with fine silver veins, like a galaxy reflected on a lake at night. The steps ascend from the ground, each polished smooth as a mirror. Despite a thousand years of wind and rain, the edges remain sharp, as if completed just yesterday. The handrails on either side of the steps are carved with star patterns and exorcising totems. The star patterns are a distribution map of the Big Dipper and the Twenty-Eight Mansions, while the exorcising totems are abstract lines of ancient mythical beasts, each stroke deeply carved, as if drawn stroke by stroke with the tip of a sword.
Four stone pillars stood at the four corners of the altar, each as thick as two people could hug and about ten zhang tall, their surfaces covered with densely packed martial arts inscriptions. The script was ancient and square, not the language of this era, yet its imposing aura, transcending millennia, still pressed down on one's chest. These four pillars were the core of the array used by the first Martial Emperor to suppress evil spirits and condense the spiritual energy of heaven and earth; they were the central hub of the entire secret realm's formation. As long as these four pillars stood, the secret realm would not collapse.
At the very center of the altar, a pool of shimmering white liquid floated in mid-air.
About the size of a fist, it hung there quietly, neither falling nor sinking. Its light flowed gracefully, like a drop of water frozen in time; every ray of light passing through it refracted into rainbow colors before slowly fading. A rich life essence emanated from the liquid; the moment this energy touched the skin, one could feel weary meridians being soothed and relieved, as if a gentle hand were softly massaging them.
Star marrow fluid.
The ultimate treasure that everyone speaks of and longs for is right there. Within reach.
Qin Hao had already rushed onto the altar platform.
He stood directly beneath the Star Essence Liquid, his hands rapidly forming hand seals. These weren't the martial arts hand seals passed down through the Qin family, but rather a far more ancient and bizarre technique. His ten fingers were twisted at unnatural angles, like broken branches that had been reattached. He chanted obscure incantations, each syllable low and hoarse, as if squeezed from the depths of his throat—not human language, but the sacrificial verses of an evil race. The sound echoed above the altar, creating an eerie resonance with the inscriptions on the four stone pillars.
He took out a black jade pendant from his pocket. The pendant was completely black and did not reflect light, like a solidified darkness. The Qin family's emblem was carved on its surface—a seal script character "Qin"—but around the character "Qin" were dense, evil patterns, like vines, wrapping the entire emblem in the middle.
The Blood Sacrifice Jade Pendant. An evil artifact passed down through the Qin family for a thousand years. Each patriarch, before their death, seals a portion of their life essence and resentment into it, passing it down through generations, accumulating all the Qin family's obsessions and sins over a millennium. This is Qin Cang's last trump card, the Qin family's ultimate weapon. It will never be used unless absolutely necessary.
"Hahaha! Lin Chen, you were still a step too late!"
Qin Hao turned to look at Lin Chen, who had caught up with him. His face was filled with a manic smile, not the arrogant haughtiness of before, but a madness born of a desperate gamble. His eyes were bloodshot, his pupils slightly dilated, and his mouth was stretched upwards, revealing two rows of white teeth. His black clothes were covered in dust and bloodstains, his hair was disheveled, and he looked like a wild beast trapped on a dead end.
"So what if there's a battle on the outskirts? So what if the evil race is destroyed? As long as I obtain the Star Marrow Liquid and use the Blood Sacrifice method to connect with the power of my ancestors, your Star Martial Core and Su Muyue's Martial Emperor bloodline will all be devoured by me!"
As he spoke, a strange, bloody aura began to emanate from his body. It wasn't red, but a dark reddish-black, like blood that had long since congealed being remelted—thick, sticky, and reeking of a mixture of rust and decay. The bloody aura surged from his body, coiling around his arms, shoulders, and neck like living snakes. The shimmering white light of the Star Marrow Liquid clashed and pulled at this dark reddish-black aura, the two forces locked in a struggle at the center of the altar, neither willing to yield.
The Blood Sacrifice Jade Pendant hovered above his head, slowly rotating. With each rotation, Qin Hao's face paled further, and the veins on his forehead bulged an inch. The jade pendant was constantly drawing upon his life essence and remaining true energy—not borrowing, but extracting, plundering, using his life as fuel. The evil power accumulated by the Qin family over generations beneath the altar was stirred by the jade pendant, like a slumbering beast awakened from the earth, emitting a low, chilling buzzing sound.