Chapter 232: Lion Dance

Chapter 232 Lion Dance

Upon discovering these dead sheep might all have been transformed humans, he was utterly shaken.

Yet after the shock, new questions arose in Li Huowang's mind.

"What exactly are they worshipping? Who exactly are they?" These two questions circled endlessly in Li Huowang's thoughts.

He now deemed it necessary to clarify these matters; if such a cult remained deep within this cave, he had to consider whether continuing the adventure inward was wise.

Risking it for the Black Tai Sui was worth it, but dying for it was not.

Upon learning this, Sun Baolu spoke up: "Senior Brother Li, this isn't right. Look at how the sheep, ox, and pig heads are arranged on the plates; they are placed upside down. These offerings are meant for the dead sheep."

"They aren't worshipping... deities? They are worshipping these sheep?"

With furrowed brows, Li Huowang stood nearby, his gaze shifting back and forth between the offerings and those dead sheep.

"Could it be... offerings to the Sheep God? Old Sun, do you have any sheep deities here in Qingqiu?" Gouwa asked from the side.

"Sheep are beasts; why would we worship beasts as gods? Qingqiu has no such custom."

Hearing this, Li Huowang's mind rapidly conjured images of the various factions he had encountered.

The lecherous Buddha of Zhengde Temple, the suffering Ba Hui of the Aojing Sect, the rotting Bodhisattva of An Ci Nunnery.

Suddenly a flash of insight struck his mind, and words spilled from his heart without restraint.

"I understand. They are not worshipping these sheep; the sheep are merely props required to manifest the object of their worship. They sacrifice death; they are worshipping death itself!"

"Huh?" The others clearly did not grasp what Li Huowang meant.

They did not understand, yet Li Huowang understood.

Standing atop the giant cauldron, he looked down once more at the sheep corpses below.

Certain existences had driven hundreds upon thousands of people here, then transformed them into sheep.

Those who failed were discarded aside, while the successful ones were gathered together and killed simultaneously.

The moment these sheep died marked the beginning of their worship; they were not worshipping the sheep, but worshipping the very act of the sheep's death!

As detail after detail was sorted out, he felt he completely understood the behavioral logic of those existences back then.

Beneath this Qingqiu lay not only those chaotic evil spirits, but also a religion worshipping death!

Even more absurdly, Li Huowang didn't even know if the things believing in this religion were human or something else entirely.

Judging from past experiences, since they worshipped death, these things must possess some ability related to death; with just simple association, Li Huowang knew how dangerous the opponent was.

Once he fully grasped what this represented, Li Huowang grew tense, turning his gaze toward the others beside him.

"Go, you lot get out first; this is no longer a matter of mere evil spirits!"

Having said this, Li Huowang led the others outward, but after walking only a few steps, "Da~ Da~ Da~" the sound of wood striking suddenly rang out.

Startled in his heart, Li Huowang quickly gripped the sword hilt, scanning the surrounding darkness.

"Da~ Da~ Da~" The sound of wood knocking carried a certain melody, echoing from all directions; the overlapping echoes made Li Huowang unable to tell which side it came from.

Unable to distinguish where the enemy was, Li Huowang dared not rashly charge forward, fearing a collision head-on.

Li Huowang gritted his teeth, his ears twitching constantly, pouring all his energy into discerning the direction of the sound himself.

As the sound drew nearer, Li Huowang's keen hearing finally proved useful; he identified the direction of the sound.

"Found it! It... is above!!"

Li Huowang quickly tilted his head back, looking toward the pitch-black upper end, swiftly raising the fluorescent stone in his hand and throwing it directly toward the source of the sound.

As the fluorescent stone wedged firmly into the rock crevices at the top, instantly, a human face larger than a round table appeared before them, illuminated by the greenish glow.

It was an extremely flat-faced man, his complexion pale as ash, mouth wide open, two red-and-white pupils the size of lamp holes staring fixedly down at Li Huowang below.

Behind the man's neck there were no limbs or torso, only a long cylindrical body resembling a caterpillar, held upright by numerous small hands supporting the white cloth.

That incessant sound of wood knocking, Li Huowang also found its source; it came from inside his long cylindrical body.

His strange sound immediately reminded Li Huowang of what he had seen at Woman Mountain.

"Is this the Lion Dance of the Lion Dance Palace? No, it is not a lion dance! Which lion dance wears a flat dead human face instead of a lion head?!"

"Are they the ones? Did they orchestrate that grand sacrificial ceremony just now? Could it be they are not the Lion Dance Palace, but the Death Dance Palace?"

Regardless of what it was, seeing that large mass hanging and crouching on the rock ceiling, Li Huowang could not pretend to see nothing; he decided to make contact first.

After pondering for a moment, Li Huowang slowly spoke, "Masters of the Lion Dance Palace, I am Xuan Yang paying my respects. Passing through this precious land, I bear no intent to offend; truly, there is a cause."

In the blink of an eye, Li Huowang immediately found a new reason.

"This person requires a Black Tai Sui as a medicinal guide for alchemy. Hearing your precious land possesses one, I came seeking it. If masters can help me find one, I shall offer heavy thanks!"

Regardless of how to thank later, Li Huowang had already spoken thus far; next, it depended on how the other party replied.

Unexpectedly, that lion dance remained hanging upside down at the top, saying nothing, showing no sign, like a stone lion hung there.

"What does the other party mean? Could it be because those performing the lion dance are Qingqiu people, so they cannot understand what I say?"

Thinking this, Li Huowang turned his head and instructed Sun Baolu to speak to it again in the Qingqiu dialect.

Just as Sun Baolu was speaking, Li Huowang suddenly tensed his whole body; sensing danger, he instinctively tried to lunge to the left.

But moving at this point was too late; he barely felt pain in his back before his body was heavily knocked away by a tremendous force.

"I was ambushed; the lion on top was a decoy!"

Realizing all this, Li Huowang crashed heavily into the darkness; when he climbed up again and reached out to touch his body, he discovered he had sustained no injury.

"This... what is happening?" Li Huowang subconsciously reached toward his own back.

When his fingers touched the "Great Thousand Record" beneath the skin, he realized it was the "Great Thousand Record" that blocked the blow for him.

Although embedding the "Great Thousand Record" under the skin was extremely painful, misfortune brought fortune; his back now effectively possessed an extra layer of thick armor.

Joy flashed in Li Huowang's heart but vanished quickly; there was no time to deal with this now. He hurriedly leaned on his crutch and rushed toward that side.

He saw the thing that ambushed him; it was another lion dance, the only difference from the one on the ceiling being its flat face, which was a woman with blood-red lips and black pupils!