Chapter 490: Blood Moon over the Holy Mountain

Chapter 490: Blood Moon over the Sacred Mountain

Zhao Changhe had no idea how monumental a feat he had accomplished.

After releasing the killing intent, he rose from bed feeling refreshed. Though still weak from his injuries, his spirits were much improved, no longer in the pitiful state of the previous night.

He dressed himself, but when he turned around, he saw Sisi lying there limp, as if she too wanted to get up but was too exhausted to even leave the bed.

Zhao Changhe was taken aback. We didn't actually do anything just now, did we? Why does she look so fragile, like a maiden too weak to rise?

He examined Sisi's body with some concern and frowned.

It feels like you're the one injured, not me... But there are no wounds on you, just pain?

What kind of sorcery is this... No. He finally realized why he felt no pain—it had been transferred to Sisi?

He grew anxious: "And you were still giving me a foot massage in this state?"

Sisi smiled faintly: "If my lord desires it, Sisi will do it."

"You..."

"Otherwise, how would Sisi know how much suffering my lord endured for her sake?"

"...What kind of curse is this? Can it be reversed?"

Sisi spoke with a hint of pride: "Actually, it doesn't hurt that much. After all, I wasn't truly injured, and I have some secret techniques to dull the sensation... Mm, when you touched me just now, I barely felt a thing. See? I didn't even moan."

Zhao Changhe was both exasperated and amused: "You really are..."

He couldn't find words for this woman.

Sisi's eyes were seductive as she reached out a hand, as if asking to be lifted: "Since my lord pities Sisi, then carry me out of bed..."

"Knock, knock—" A knock sounded, and a young maid poked her head in: "Holy Maiden... Uh..."

The Holy Maiden's clothes were tattered, and she looked weak and delicate, as if she had been tormented all night. The maid was terrified. It's your first time, how could you be so vigorous?

And acting spoiled... You're the leader of a tribe now. If this gets out, your image will be ruined.

Sisi put on a stern face: "What are you peeking at? Haven't I taught you to knock before entering a room?"

The maid said pitifully: "We don't have that rule."

"Then it's time to teach you some civilized ways of the Xia!" Sisi jumped out of bed and marched over to grab the girl: "First, knock before entering. I say you may enter, then you enter. After entering, you bow and ask if I need water for washing!"

Zhao Changhe watched the girl, who seemed to want to speak but held back, and nearly burst out laughing.

The dragon-slayer had become the dragon.

In truth, the hierarchy among the Ling tribe was even stricter than among the Xia, but the details were coarser, less elaborate. He would soon learn this.

Sisi scolded the maids for a while, then dressed herself in new clothes and asked: "What's the disturbance so early in the morning? Have you no sense of timing?"

The maid said cautiously: "The Sacred Mountain is stirring. A strange aura is seeping out, making everyone uneasy. Several imprisoned elders are causing a ruckus in their cells, saying this is what happens when inferiors overthrow superiors, disrespect the ancestral gods, and slaughter the sacred beasts. The ancestral god's wrath will bring great punishment upon us..."

Sisi shuddered: "The Sacred Mountain is stirring?"

"Yes... It's, it's at the peak, the place of the Lique."

Sisi dashed out, nearly stumbling: "I'll go see."

Zhao Changhe grabbed her arm: "Don't rush. I know why."

Sisi turned to look at him, her eyes complex.

So he hadn't been boasting before; he really knew what was wrong.

Perhaps he didn't need to conquer her; he could conquer the entire tribe on his own.

Sisi took a deep breath, calmed herself, and said slowly: "Take me and the Holy Envoy to see."

...

Lique means the moon.

The so-called place of the Lique at the peak was the same gap through which the setting sun had shone the day before. From the foot of the mountain, it looked like a crescent moon with a bite taken out of it.

At certain celestial times, the half-moon above would align perfectly with this gap, making the mountain and the moon appear as a single, complete crescent.

This phenomenon had existed since the collapse of the previous era, and it was widely believed that the gap had been created when that era shattered.

Back then, the Ling tribe's territory had also suffered a great collapse, killing many and nearly wiping them out. But a fragment of the moon fell onto the Sacred Mountain, stabilizing the space and allowing the Ling tribe to survive, though they never grew numerous.

Ao Chi's mountain had also been "shattered" at that time, but it turned out the mountain was still there, just hidden by a spatial barrier.

So what about the Lique at the peak?

At Ao Chi, there was the Blood Ao. Whether or not it was occupied by someone, the Ling people still regarded the Blood Ao as a sacred beast on the level of an ancestral god.

If a deity also existed at the place of the Lique, could it be the true ancestral spirit that had protected the Ling tribe all these years, hiding within?

And now, was it angry?

When Sisi and Zhao Changhe arrived at the peak, they could clearly see a blood-colored barrier of ripples covering the massive gap, forming a half-moon of blood.

From within the blood moon emanated a terrifying pressure, filled with resentment and violence, yet strangely also a sense of vibrant life, surging bloodlines, and a titan reaching for the sky—a primordial, world-creating aura that could be felt from afar.

On the platform before the blood moon, a sea of people knelt in darkness, stretching all the way down the mountain. Every available space was filled with kneeling figures. When they saw Sisi and Zhao Changhe approach, they shrank back, not daring to look.

Among them were the great elders captured the day before, no longer imprisoned but brought out under guard—the people needed the older generation, who had long held the tribe's secrets, to explain the inexplicable phenomenon.

But of course, their explanation only served their own interests: "We told you! Si Meng overthrew her superiors, disrespected her elders, defiled the ancestral gods, and slaughtered the sacred beasts! The ancestral god's anger is only natural! If you persist in your delusion, you will only drag the entire tribe to extinction!"

"The, the ancestral god wouldn't let us go extinct..."

"Who would spare traitors? Look at the sky!" The great elder pointed at the heavens: "The sky is about to rain blood, do you see?"

The people looked up, and indeed the sky had turned into blood-colored clouds, a bizarre and oppressive sight. The timid began to tremble, kneeling and murmuring prayers: "Ancestral god, forgive us..."

Some of the bolder ones tried to approach the blood moon, hoping to see what lay inside.

But no one could enter; all were blocked by a vast, overwhelming force. One tried to charge through, only to be thrown back, bloodied, and then the bloodthirsty aura entered his body, causing it to burst apart in a gruesome spectacle.

The Ling people trembled even more, prostrating themselves and praying for the god's wrath to subside.

Even the Xia people, who had not yet withdrawn and were camped at the foot of the mountain, muttered among themselves: "Could it really be because they rebelled and angered the gods?"

"Gods and demons definitely exist; many big shots don't doubt it. Look at this blood moon, and the sky... no wonder..."

"Yes, that Blood Ao was a kind of sacred being too. Its power was terrifying, not much weaker than the legendary dragons and phoenixes. If it hadn't been driven mad by some suppression, Blood Rakshasa couldn't even have broken its defense."

"Is it because they killed the sacred beast? That's why this happened..."

"Should we run? If it comes to a reckoning..."

Even the Xia thought so, let alone the Ling. Fortunately, Sisi had just led them to victory and still had some prestige. Everyone waited for her arrival to see what she would say.

Sisi stood before the blood moon, eyeing it with some uncertainty. She knew something the others didn't: they had truly killed an ancestor.

The one Zhao Changhe had used his sword pellet and talismans to reveal as the Blood Ao's body, and whom Yue Hongling had slain with a single sword strike to the soul, was definitely a real ancestor. Whether that ancestor was a god... well, anyone who had survived from the previous era to the present could be called a god.

Could this really be the ancestral god's wrath?

She couldn't tell anyone about this. Forcing herself to stay calm, Sisi said coldly to the great elder: "You spread lies to deceive the masses. Who do you think you're fooling? If the ancestral god were punishing us, everyone would feel his anger and displeasure. But what is this?"

It was hard to say whether there was anger or displeasure inside; the aura was chaotic, but the oppressive pressure was unmistakable, as if the sky might collapse at any moment.

Sisi herself couldn't tell, but she had to give confidence to those on her side. Before the great elder could retort, she quickly continued: "The ancestral god does exist. He is angry that a foreign vengeful spirit has taken over the sacred beast's body, angry that his descendants have been offering sacrifices to an outsider! That is why the ancestral god sent the Holy Envoy, to teach me how to break the seal of the Jun Tian Blood Jade, and the Holy Envoy himself took action to uncover the mystery of the vanished Ao Chi and drive out the vengeful spirit that had usurped the sacred beast! The facts are clear. Is there any need for further debate?"

Sisi had no way to claim for herself that "the Saintess received the Ancestral God's oracle"; she had to bring out Zhao Changhe's title as Divine Envoy. All the miraculous deeds were his doing, and clearly the future would depend on him as well—she couldn't manage it alone.

A touch of bitterness welled in Sisi's heart. What did those little maids know?

She had wanted to hold back, but now there was nothing left to hold back. Your Saintess, me—I'm afraid I'm already set to be a maidservant... Even you all are at his whim.

In any case, her explanation did settle many hearts. The unsealing of the Kuntian Blood Jade had benefited everyone—that was no lie. The breaking of the Aochi Mountain, hidden for an epoch, was also no lie; the true Ancestral God would not conceal such a thing.

But this could not explain the pressing problem at hand.

The Great Elder shouted loudly: "Now the sky is blood-red, the blood moon presses on the mountains, and you still spout such nonsense! If you don't burn this adulterous pair to death soon, when the divine wrath descends, all will be ground to dust!"

"Old fool, you don't drop gold coins, but you sure drop a lot of crap." From the side came Zhao Changhe's cold voice.

Everyone turned to look. Zhao Changhe had been standing with his hands behind his back before the blood moon, as if observing, until now he suddenly spoke: "I've done so much, and you still don't believe I'm the Divine Envoy... Following a traitor, wavering between two sides. Have you considered that if the Ancestral God's wrath descends, it might be because of this?"

Everyone's expressions turned somewhat strange.

It wasn't entirely impossible, after all.

"To make this blood moon return to the sky and the heavens clear again, I need only the time it takes a stick of incense. But why should I still help you? If the Ancestral God punishes you, then bear it." Zhao Changhe finished coldly, flicked his sleeve, and turned to leave.

Sisi grabbed his sleeve and pleaded in a low voice: "Master... just do it for my sake... Sisi will obey you."

The Great Elder sneered: "Look at this adulterous pair—clearly bewitched. Whoever believes him is a fool..."

Before he could finish, his words suddenly caught in his throat.

Zhao Changhe pressed one hand against the blood moon, and faint ripples appeared on its surface.

Before this, no one could even approach, let alone enter that place, but his hand passed straight through as if there were no obstacle at all.

The Great Elder's eyes widened in terror, and the rest of his words died in his throat.

Zhao Changhe said calmly: "I ask you one last time... Why does the Ancestral God send down punishment?"

Countless Spirit Clan members knocked their heads to the ground: "Divine Envoy, calm your wrath—we are ignorant..."

Of course you are ignorant, no matter whom you believe.

Sisi sighed, and before the crowd, she knelt gracefully before Zhao Changhe, saying softly: "Please, Divine Envoy, calm your wrath."

Zhao Changhe gave her a deep look, then with a flicker of his form, he vanished into the blood moon.

Sisi stood up, gazed at the blood moon for a moment, then gritted her silver teeth and said word by word: "Burn these old fools who spread lies and confuse the masses—immediately!"