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nTranslator: Deep_Blue Editor: Kurisu

nOne might call him the Number One Expert of the Mortal World, but with Shangyang Jiuli stationed here and the unknown depths of the two smiling tigers before him, he would be a complete fool to think of himself as the Number One Expert of all the Northern Lands.

n“Let’s talk somewhere else,” Xiao Hongye suggested.

nThe three of them quickly changed to another room. Nobody mentioned the matter of Ling Feng’s death anymore. Once the three of them left the room, the corpse crumbled into a heap of black ashes in the blink of an eye.

nLing Feng was at least at Double-Vein Level. When Lu Sheng struck at him, he felt an extremely slippery scale-like layer against his palm. Then, he channeled Ultimate Crimson Nine Furies Skill directly into Ling Feng’s body and activated both the Tremor effect and Blood Web to pin him down on the spot.

nIn other words, the moment most experts are caught in his grip, with the activation of both major special effects, there was no escape.

nThat was what had happened to Ling Feng. Lu Sheng seized the opportunity and killed him in one palm strike before he had any chance to utilize any of his powers.

nOn the surface, it seemed as if he died because his head had been smashed into pulp. In actual fact, his body had actually been filled internally with a massive volume of Ultimate Crimson Nine Furies Skill’s Blood Web. One could not kill a being of the Bind realm purely by brute strength alone, not without the use of inner Qi. Only with a mix of both, and with inner Qi of Yang-attribute, could one damage and kill a being of Bind realm.

nThe new room that the three of them now entered seemed like a storeroom. Assorted sculptures of flowers, birds, worms, and fish were displayed all over the room. They were all wood sculptures of weird and strange shapes, but incredibly life-like.

n“Hohoho… collecting is my only hobby. Please don’t laugh at me,” Xiao Hongye chuckled, covering his mouth with his fan.

n“Of course not, Squire Xiao has a really unique interest. I didn’t know you were a wood sculpture expert,” Lu Sheng complimented. One could see Xiao Hongye’s peculiar style from his wood sculptures. Moreover, from the details of the sculptures, one could tell that they were only recently carved with the same technique. It wasn’t hard to guess that Xiao Hongye himself had carved them.

n“Sect Master Lu’s too kind,” Xiao Hongye grinned from eye to eye. He dismissed the servants with a wave of his hand and waited till they had all gone out before shutting the windows and gesturing for his two guests to sit.

n“To tell the truth, I’ve invited both of you here today to discuss the upcoming Ritual Offering,” he began with his typical Cheshire grin.

n“Ritual Offering?” Taoist Bai Feng frowned. “So soon? Isn’t it once every decade?”

n“That’s why I’m discussing it in advance, am I not?” Xiao Hongye smiled, then looked at Lu Sheng. “Sect Master Lu, this matter relies on your full cooperation. You’re the first preparation we must make. Do you have any arrangements in mind?”

nRitual Offering?

nLu Sheng kept up his poker face despite his complete ignorance. He was entirely oblivious as to what on earth the Ritual Offering, which seemed common knowledge to Noblemen, was. Moreover, based on their tone, it seemed to be the most common of the common knowledge that all Noblemen possessed.

n“What arrangements could I have? It all depends on what both of you have in mind, doesn’t it?” The gears in his mind whirled as he gave an ambiguous and vague reply.

n“There’re still six months before Ashoka Manor’s Ritual Offering, so we’re in no rush. We lost too much in the earlier Blood Offering of the Scarlet Dragon Tribulation, and my Family Head has exposed too much of himself. So we’ve got to depend on both of you for this matter. It must not draw attention,” Xiao Hongye grinned. “We, Ashoka Manor, will offer a hundred Artificial Silver Pills as the total compensation this time.”

n“Artificial Silver Pills!” Taoist Bai Feng was astonished. “That’s a huge offer. The Manor Lord of Ashoka Manor is generous indeed.”

nLu Sheng had no idea at all what an Artificial Silver Pill was, but that did not stop him from acting surprised.

nApparently satisfied by the reactions from the two of them, Xiao Hongye smiled, “This time, we need at least ten people born without any whites in their fingernails—all ages permissible—as well as a hundred ordinary living creatures. Most important of all, it must be done discreetly.”

n“That’s the standard quantity. This Taoist has no problems with it,” Bai Feng’s attitude meant that the official court was agreeable with the proposal.

nXiao Hongye’s gaze shifted to Lu Sheng.

nLu Sheng has already made some guesses, but still decided to ask an apparently irrelevant question after consideration.

n“What do you mean by ‘all ages permissible’?”

nXiao Hongye smiled.

n“Oh, by that I mean that both elderly and children are acceptable. We just need a drop of their heart essence blood, so it doesn’t matter what’s their age.”

nRealization dawned on Lu Sheng.

nAshoka Manor was basically asking for living sacrifices! That’s essentially mass murder! Heart essence blood, heart essence blood… how else to extract the essence blood from their hearts apart from killing them?

nHe studied Xiao Hongye and Taoist Bai Feng’s faces only to see that they acted as if it was the most natural thing in the world, as if they were discussing what was for lunch, or as if the human lives they were talking about were not humans, but merely some livestock awaiting slaughter.

nXiao Hongye continued, “Previously, I also captured a hundred people from Yun Province. But they were intercepted by some worms, or else I wouldn’t have to search for them here.

nHence, we‘ve got to trouble Sect Master Lu for this matter, I’m afraid…”

n“Will inmates on death roll and serious criminal offenders do?” Lu Sheng tested.

n“Of course! Those are the best because they don’t draw attention. But people without whites in their fingernails aren’t easy to find,” Taoist Bai Feng smiled.

n“Alright, Sect Master Lu, please answer explicitly. You’re the one doing the heavy lifting, so how’s seventy Artificial Silver Pills?” Xiao Hongye hurried.

nLu Sheng sighed. Although he had never been a kind person with soft spots, he could not bring himself to take human lives without just cause simply for an apparent Ritual Offering.

nNo matter what, however, his rejection would mean offending Ashoka Manor. And judging from Bai Feng’s attitude, this seemed to be a very normal occurrence among Noble Families. There was no avoiding it in the end.

nJust then, he noticed a trace of suspicion and perplexity flashing across Xiao Hongye and Bai Feng’s faces. Knowing that he had hesitated for too long and aroused their suspicions, he said, “In that case, while I cannot guarantee that they’ll all be people without any whites in their fingernails, I can provide up to the full hundred-person quota.” He intended to make up the numbers with criminals in prison, or serious offenders like rapists. Surely, he could gather a hundred people from such big group.

n“That works too,” Xiao Hongye finally shifted his gaze away from Lu Sheng. “So we’ll follow this arrangement every decade from now on?”

n“This Taoist has no opinions against it, as long as Ashoka Manor doesn’t forget it’s compensation,” Bai Feng chuckled.

nLu Sheng smiled too,

n“Yes. But the price may not be fixed at the same rate.”

n“That’s for sure,” Xiao Hongye laughed. “May I know how much time Sect Master Lu needs? My Manor needs to conduct the Ritual Offering in two months.”

n“I’ll try to make it as fast as possible,” Lu Sheng replied. “Squire Xiao needs only to prepare the Artificial Silver Pills.”

n“Don’t worry, don’t worry.”

nAfter coming to an agreement, the three of them chatted further; most of the time, Xiao Hongye and Bai Feng were the ones talking while Lu Sheng listened on. He spoke only occasionally when he was asked for his opinion.

nAs the chat went on, he gradually understood what the Ritual Offering was.

nSimply put, it was an offering that Noble Families must perform once every decade. It involved sacrificing human lives as an offering to the Divine Weapon consecrated by the Family. Failure to deliver the offering would reduce the strength and power of Noblemen in the Family.

nWith some probing, Lu Sheng also found out that every single Noble Family which has consecrated a Divine Weapon or Devil’s Blade must perform the Ritual Offering without exception.

nHence, regardless of Noble Family or demonic factions, they would do their best to maintain the prosperity of the place under their command. This was because population growth made it convenient for them to gather sufficient people for the Ritual Offerings.

nAfter all, the required conditions for the Ritual Offering were susceptible to change too.

nAfter learning of this, Lu Sheng finally had a complete and clear picture of the world.

nNoble Families were essentially demons and devils in human skin. They regarded ordinary mortals no differently from livestock. At best, perhaps only slightly better than livestock.

nThe three of them chatted for a while more before Taoist Bai Feng made his leave, leaving behind Lu Sheng with Xiao Hongye.

nXiao Hongye called for the accompaniment of beautiful women. Seated beside Lu Sheng in the hall and watching dancing artistes, his hand reached into the dress of one of them.

nThe music was gentle and provocative. Lu Sheng could not identify what instrument it was produced by, but it sounded to him like the moaning of a young girl—the moaning produced while making love.

nA well-endowed curvaceous lady leaned on Lu Sheng. Despite the erotic environment, he was in no mood at all for pleasure-seeking. Rather, he was detached and cold.

n“Brother Lu, all of the beautiful servant ladies here have been treated by me. If you take a liking to any of them, you’re free to take your pick,” Xiao Hongye waved his hand generously.

n“You’re joking with me now, Brother. I’m not interested in these. My lifelong pursuit is the Dao of martial arts. Everything else is ephemeral to me,” Lu Sheng said impassively.

nAlthough he had no idea what was meant by the word “treated”, he arrived at a rough guess from the sparkling eyes and puppet-like obedience of the ladies here.

n“In our day and age, simple men like you are a rare find, Brother. No wonder you could step into Three-Vein Level at such a young age,” Xiao Hongye sighed. He lifted a cup of wine in toast.

n“You’re too kind,” Lu Sheng lifted his own cup in return.

n“To tell the truth, I’ve asked you to stay behind because there’s an important matter that I must communicate with you,” Xiao Hongye said somberly.

n“Please speak your mind,” Lu Sheng had guessed that Xiao Hongye should have unfinished business.

nXiao Hongye dismissed the guards around them with a wave of his hand. Only the dancing women and the lady beside him remained.

n“You may not know this, Brother, but a rogue wanted by Ashoka Manor has recently escaped to the Northern Lands. He has joined forces with some wanted fugitives from Yun Province and even seems to be doing quite well now.”

n“Oh? Despite the strength of your Manor, are you still unable to resolve the matter?” Lu Sheng smiled.

n“That rogue is too cunning. He never fights us openly. Scuttling here and there, he’s really a thorn in the flesh. So, your brother here is asking a favor of you, Brother Lu. Please be on the lookout for him. Once you detect any leads, please inform your brother here at the first available opportunity,” Xiao Hongye said sincerely. “When the matter is settled, we’ll give you an Ashoka Flower from my Ashoka Manor as reward.”

n“Ashoka Flower?” Lu Sheng had no idea what it was. But clearly, it must be good.

n“As long as your body is not damaged by more than fifty percent, consuming one would give you full recovery. You haven’t eaten one before, have you?” Xiao Hongye smiled. “We only produce limited quantities of this stuff each year, so we don’t give it to others. But Brother, you’re definitely different from the rest. You and I see eye to eye with each other. This is just a small thing not worth mentioning.”

n“Many thanks to Brother in that case,” Lu Sheng clasped his hands together.

nHe recalled how he had once witnessed Zhen Yi survive despite his head being cleaved into two. Not only did he survive, he even recovered instantly. Then he remembered the umbrella girl and Ling Feng.

nAmong opponents of Bind realm, he had fought only these three. The first two were nearly indestructible. Ling Feng, on the other hand, was destroyed by him in one move. This had perplexed him.

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