Xu Shuya looked at the Ghost King of Tianluo with disbelief, unable to accept the reality.
Even though she had been imprisoned in the Ghost King's mansion for a hundred years and had never seen the outside world, she had never blamed the Ghost King of Tianluo.
At most, she had only thought of secretly escaping with others.
In her eyes, no matter how many faults the Ghost King of Tianluo had, he was still her father, and everything he did was for her own good.
But...
Xu Shuya couldn't believe that the Ghost King of Tianluo had been treating her as a sacrifice all along!
*Crack, crack!*
Tian Yi gritted his teeth, his fists clenched, his bones creaking as they were squeezed.
He was currently in a fierce internal struggle.
The rationality loyal to the Ghost King of Tianluo told him that he must remain an observer as before, doing nothing.
But when he saw Xu Shuya's current state, an impulse to save her kept surging within him!
Even though he knew his attempt to save her would be like a moth flying into a flame, the impulse grew stronger and stronger, almost overwhelming his reason!
"Ye Ling, where are you now? These tentacles are absorbing my spiritual energy. If you don't act soon, I'll be crippled!"
Ye Qingyan on the altar also struggled. She had deliberately fallen into the trap to cooperate with Ye Ling and continue the act, but when she was entangled by the tentacles, she found her spiritual energy being continuously absorbed. The tentacles were extremely tough and could not be broken!
"Wait a moment longer, there's a good show to watch. I'll deal with those tentacles for you."
Ye Ling's voice echoed in Ye Qingyan's mind. Then, Ye Qingyan felt a powerful surge of spiritual energy flowing into her body from all around, protecting her securely.
Seeing that her spiritual energy was no longer draining, Ye Qingyan secretly breathed a sigh of relief and transmitted her thoughts, asking, "What good show is there to watch? The Ghost King of Tianluo has already made a move against Xu Shuya. The bet is yours, and it's time for you to act."
"If you delay any longer, even if I'm fine, the other girls on this altar will turn into blood and their souls will be refined. You can't just stand by and watch these innocent girls suffer, can you?"
"I have it under control. If there's no show by the final moment, then you can step in and save those girls."
Ye Ling stood behind the shadow of a pillar, calmly gazing at the formation in the center of the grand hall, his eyes deep and distant.
The sacrificial formation was also the formation used by the Yin Curse Elder and Wu Ying to summon evil gods.
However, unlike the formations Ye Ling had seen before, the formation in the banquet hall was highly complete and had already established a connection with a certain higher power.
If Xu Shuya and the others were truly sacrificed, and the Ghost King of Tianluo obtained the power within the formation, it wouldn't be impossible for him to break through to the ninth rank.
Ninth-rank mortal immortal...
In a sense, he could be considered an earth immortal.
In the mortal world, he would be an invincible god, almost equivalent to becoming a god.
The formation's light grew increasingly dazzling. The cultivators and evil spirits on both sides stared intently at Xu Shuya in the center of the altar, their eyes gleaming.
At this moment, no one viewed Xu Shuya as the daughter of the Ghost King of Tianluo anymore.
Everyone looked at Xu Shuya as if she were the most perfect sacrifice in the world!
Xu Shuya was the child of a human and a ghost, a legendary Yin embryo, not tolerated by the Heavenly Dao.
When the Zhengyi Sect intended to eliminate Xu Shuya and allow her to reincarnate, she was intercepted by the Hongchen Pavilion.
Xu Shuya ultimately escaped the Heavenly Dao's judgment and had long since transcended the six realms, no longer belonging to this world.
The Ghost King of Tianluo built the Tianluo Ghost City deep underground, partly to evade pursuit by Chinese cultivator forces, and partly to keep Xu Shuya away from the mortal world, greatly weakening the Heavenly Dao's influence on her.
The Ghost King of Tianluo had nurtured Xu Shuya underground for a hundred years, and her soul had been cultivated to a near-perfect state.
Once Xu Shuya was sacrificed, the power the Ghost King of Tianluo would gain was unimaginable!
The Ghost King of Tianluo had never considered Xu Shuya his daughter from the beginning; he had always been using her.
He hated the Zhengyi Sect to the bone, so how could he fall in love with a Heavenly Master from the Zhengyi Sect?
All along, Zhang Muya had been deceived and manipulated by the Ghost King of Tianluo.
Like Xu Shuya, she was merely a tool for the Ghost King of Tianluo's revenge against the Zhengyi Sect!
"Wh-why..."
Xu Shuya felt her strength constantly draining and sobbed softly.
She had already given up struggling.
She was not afraid of death...
She just didn't want to die in this way.
Imprisoned by her father for a hundred years, only to be betrayed by the father she loved most, and never even catching a glimpse of the true appearance of the world...
Why did it have to be like this?
Why treat me like this?
What did I do wrong?
Suddenly... Xu Shuya's eyes turned scarlet, black energy emanated from her body, and an extremely terrifying aura spread from within her, startling Ye Qingyan beside her.
"This is bad, this girl has gone berserk!"
Ye Qingyan exclaimed upon seeing Xu Shuya's current state and wanted to intervene.
However, before Ye Qingyan could make a move, she saw a flash of sword light. The tentacles on the altar were all severed by the sword light, causing a stir all around!
At this moment, Tian Yi stood on the altar, blocking in front of Xu Shuya.
The formation below had already been completely shattered by his sword energy.
"You all leave quickly, I will hold them here."
Tian Yi said quickly, gripping his long sword and looking directly at the Ghost King of Tianluo ahead.
Xu Shuya's scarlet eyes gradually cleared. She stared blankly at Tian Yi, who was blocking in front of her, her eyes filled with surprise. "Tian Yi?"
The evil spirits and cultivators around erupted in an uproar, all rising to their feet and looking at Tian Yi with disbelief.
They never imagined that Tian Yi would dare to disrupt the sacrificial ritual!
This was courting death!
The Ghost King of Tianluo's face turned as dark as if water could drip from it. He stared intently at Tian Yi on the altar, his lungs about to explode with anger!
The Ghost King of Tianluo gritted his teeth and said, "Tian Yi, you dare to betray this king?"
"Our paths diverge; we cannot conspire together."
"You ordered me to protect the young lady with my life, and I cannot stand by and watch you sacrifice her."
Tian Yi removed his mask, revealing an extremely handsome face. His deep eyes were filled with determination.
He gripped his long sword and assumed a sword stance, "Tian Yi will fight to protect the young lady with his life!"
Hearing Tian Yi's words, Xu Shuya's pupils constricted sharply, and her heart was greatly shaken!
It was only then that Xu Shuya realized that although Tian Yi was a block of wood, he was the one who had accompanied her since childhood.
For most of her life, Tian Yi's awkward figure had been present.
"Hahaha! Well done, Tian Yi! This king has truly raised an ungrateful wretch!"
The Ghost King of Tianluo laughed in extreme anger. "How dare you ruin this king's great plan? This king will not spare you!"
As the Ghost King of Tianluo's voice fell, a gust of yin wind raged around, and the faces of countless evil spirits coalesced in the air, roaring at Tian Yi.
Tian Yi was not afraid. He raised his sword and assumed his stance.
"Sword Painting · Unleaving!"
*Boom!*
Countless illusions of Tian Yi appeared in the banquet hall, as if sketching an ink painting in the air. Sharp and elegant sword energy crisscrossed in all directions!
The surrounding walls, stone pillars, and numerous evil spirits and cultivators were all severed by Tian Yi's sword energy!
"Hahaha! Well done!"
"Hundred Ghosts Collapse!"
The Ghost King of Tianluo laughed heartily, sending his giant palm forward. A colossal bloody palm slammed towards Tian Yi, hitting his true form precisely!
"Pfft!"
Tian Yi spat out a mouthful of blood, and the myriad illusions dissipated!
"Tian Yi!!!"
Xu Shuya's eyes were about to split, her eyes turned scarlet, and a large amount of black energy surged towards the sky.
A violent aura erupted!!!