Ash held his hat against his chest and slightly lowered his voice. "Yes, it was right here."
Yuan Qiuyuan was quite intrigued and asked, "How did you manage to attend? Did you eat any?"
Ash paused in thought, a faint, barely perceptible trace of complex emotion surfacing on his face. "I was very young back then, still in secondary school. I was utterly obsessed with the occult and things of that nature, and I joined an occult club at school. The club president thought very highly of me at the time and invited me to many occult gatherings."
He offered a faint, self-deprecating smile.
"I had plenty of nerve back then, afraid of almost nothing, focused only on chasing sensory and psychological thrills."
At this point, his gaze wandered through the air as if evading something.
"I remember it vividly. Once, there was an adult man and woman. Amidst the crowd's cheers, they stripped off their clothes, washed their bodies, smeared various sauces over themselves, swallowed strange spices and ritual ingredients, and finally lay down on platters like dishes of food—"
He paused. "A crowd of people surged forward frantically to divide and devour the two of them. To this day, I still remember the president bringing over a plate of dripping flesh and blood, asking me in bewilderment why I wasn't eating—"
He shook his head and tapped his temple. "That image still lingers in my mind, terrifying me. Even now, it occasionally haunts my dreams. But perhaps I've gotten used to it; nowadays, I don't wake in fright as easily as I used to. Maybe one day in a dream I'll punch him, or perhaps pick up a slice to taste?" He shrugged. "Who knows?"
"After that, I quit the occult club. But as far as I know, similar banquets are still held from time to time."
The group listened. A few thought it was real, but most were skeptical. After all, guides often exaggerated or fabricated sensational tales to pique tourists' interest. Still, they took no issue with it and simply listened as if to a story.
To their surprise, Ash's tone shifted. "Of course, if you ladies and gentlemen wish to see it for yourselves, I can arrange it for you."
"What? It's really real?" Yuan Qiuyuan asked in surprise.
Someone chimed in, "Then how do we attend?"
"All you need is an invitation. There are people who sell them specifically for the price of just one old Federation silver coin. However, whether one can be bought depends on luck."
Ash smiled without continuing, but his words clearly implied he was capable of procuring one.
Wei Chang'an flicked his fingers, sending an old Federation silver coin flipping high into the air. With a soft snap, Ash caught it in his hand and offered Wei Chang'an a slight bow.
Holding the silver coin, he muttered a few quiet incantations over it, then tossed it straight into the lake water.
The action took everyone aback.
He explained, "I am purchasing the invitation. Please wait a moment."
Wei Chang'an asked, "Tossing it into the water is all it takes?"
Ash smiled and replied, "Yes. If such a gathering is being held, an invitation will be delivered shortly."
The group found it quite curious, secretly hoping what he said was true rather than merely a theatrical trick for tourists. Su Wei suddenly asked, "Is no one policing this sort of thing?"
Ash looked over and said, "Sir, just as Great Shun has Great Shun's rules, the Federation has the Federation's way of doing things. If something exists here, there must be a reason for it."
Chen Chuan spoke up: "Mr. Ash, who organizes the cannibal feasts and gatherings you just mentioned?"
This went straight to the heart of the matter. Ash's expression turned slightly grave. "The Primitive Sect."
Chen Chuan gave an acknowledging hum, not surprised by the answer. Among the three Longevity View martial artists who had besieged him that day, one was likely from the Primitive Sect. This sect wielded immense influence along the Federation's East Bank, boasting numerous followers, not least among high-ranking government officials.
If it was staged by people like them, it was not the least bit surprising.
Ash said, "Gentlemen and ladies, let us continue our journey for today. If an invitation arrives, we can loop back from the other end."
The boat continued forward. After several kilometers, through the silhouettes of the skyscrapers, everyone saw majestic and imposing trapezoidal pillars standing tall.
Slightly broader at the base and tapering upward in graceful curves, their tops bore massive braziers, within which flames blazed.
"These are the Pillars of Eternity left behind by the First People. There are twelve in total, each standing over three hundred meters high. It is said that the fire in the braziers has burned for thousands of years and will continue burning into the future. When the earliest Yono colonists first set foot here, they were awestruck by the grandeur and mystery of these magnificent creations. Thus, they settled here, utilizing the flames from the braziers for warmth and to ward off wild beasts, establishing their earliest settlements."
Gazing at the grand ruins before them, even across such a distance, everyone could still feel the heavy, desolate aura they exuded.
Someone couldn't help but sigh, "How did the First People ever surrender this land to the Federation?"
The others felt the same. In just a brief span of one or two hundred years, the colonists had built this vast nation through trade and plunder. Relying on geographical advantages and emerging from several wars during the transition between the old and new eras, it had swiftly become one of the world's leading superpowers.
Meanwhile, the First People who originally inhabited this land had been pushed to the verge of extinction.
In the crowd, Feng Xiaoqi spoke up, "I heard those Pillars of Eternity are hollow, and that one of them imprisons the world's only surviving mermaid?"
Ash smiled faintly and gave an affirmative answer. "Yes. That was an offering from the First People. They are not what the world imagines them to be; it is enormous, and only a pillar of that scale can barely contain it. So those hoping to see it will likely be disappointed. Unless granted special permission by the Federation government, there is no chance of seeing it."
*That huge?*
Looking up at the towering pillars, everyone was taken aback, though they couldn't help feeling a trace of regret at not being able to see it with their own eyes.
The yacht continued onward. Along the way, they took in over a dozen more famous sights, though only with passing glances from the river. By evening, a small sailboat drifted toward them and loosed an arrow in a high arc straight toward their vessel.
Ash reached out and caught the blunt-tipped arrow. Detaching a scroll of paper from it and seeing the seal upon it, he held it up and said with a smile, "Fortunate ladies and gentlemen, I have received the invitation. There happens to be a cult gathering tonight, and following our current route, we will make it back just in time."
Everyone was quite astonished. Had an invitation really arrived just from tossing a silver coin? Or was this perhaps a prearranged show? Regardless, everyone's curiosity had genuinely been piqued.
The yacht traveled at a steady pace. As the sun sank below the horizon, night blanketed the river, replaced by a dazzling array of neon lights.
By eight or nine in the evening, they had returned to the front of the cathedral ruins.
Chen Chuan swept his gaze across the water and saw that besides their own yacht, there were dozens of vessels large and small—yachts, steamers, and even some small sailboats—all converging on the area. It appeared they had all been invited.
Ash whispered, "Everyone, quiet down. Look up."
Everyone looked up toward the covered bridge before the cathedral. Columns of figures clad in black, wearing colorful masks and holding torches, were walking across. Chants issued from their mouths, their solemn cadence tinged with an eerie strangeness.
Even more striking was a group carrying a young woman with closed eyes. She was wrapped in blood-red silk, with only her head exposed.
Just halfway across, something unexpected seemed to happen. A cry of alarm rang out, and a figure resembling a woman suddenly broke through the ranks, plunged into the river with a splash, and swam frantically toward the nearest boat.
The people on the boat clearly hadn't anticipated such an occurrence. But knowing she was very likely a sacrifice chosen by the Primitive Sect, how could they dare let her draw close? Security personnel immediately took long poles and pushed her away, refusing to let her board.
Seemingly desperate, the woman swam toward another boat, but the people on that vessel were even more ruthless, leveling guns at her to drive her off. Other boats followed suit, aiming guns down into the water, and some even fired warning shots.
Yet there were also those with a strong sense of justice. Passengers on one yacht deemed this inhumane; they shouted to signal the woman to swim toward them, then reached out and pulled her from the river.
Throughout the entire ordeal, for reasons unknown, the people on the covered bridge made no move at all, merely watching them in silence.
Just then, a series of splashes echoed out as figure after figure clad in black robes leaped down from above, an astonishing sight that left everyone bewildered.
And at that very moment, terrified screams erupted from the boat that had rescued her. The passengers discovered that beneath her clothes were countless opening and closing vents and scales. Fin-like growths protruded from her elbows and knees; apart from a face resembling a human's, it was not a human body at all.
At this sight, everyone felt their scalp prickle and a chill creep down their spines.
The guards on board cared nothing for questions. To protect the passengers, sensing the creature's danger, they immediately fired upon it. Yet the bullets only made it shudder slightly, failing to pierce its hide.
Yet the creature seemed to feel pain. Refusing to linger, it vaulted overboard back into the water.
After the surface calmed for a brief moment, it surfaced beside one of the people who had jumped into the water. Clamping onto the person's head, it bit down in a single savage chomp, blood instantly staining the water crimson.
Yet this was merely the beginning. Across the water, ripple after ripple churned as more similar silhouettes emerged one after another, seizing the people who had plunged into the water and tearing into them. Screams of agony rose and fell in horrific succession, while crimson waves of blood surged across the lake.
Chapter 1182