Witnessing this scene, everyone on the Great Shun delegation's side furrowed their brows, though none of them made a move.
For they could tell that although the people being gnawed upon let out agonizing screams, they did not struggle or resist, as if they were doing so voluntarily.
Someone asked, "Mr. Ash, is this the banquet?"
Ash answered in a low voice, "Yes, this is the banquet. More precisely, it is a sacrificial ritual."
Su Wei knit his brows and asked, "Are the rituals here always conducted with human sacrifices?"
Ash said, "Yes, but you need not concern yourselves too much with them. Most of those sacrificed are condemned criminals purchased from the government. Of course, there are also some who volunteer—"
"Volunteer?"
"Yes. They are fanatics who believe they can merge into one with primal desires. And then there are others..."
Ash's voice grew a bit lower. "They are willing to use their own bodies to secure enough money for their families to survive.
"The Primitive Sect is actually quite popular among certain people in the slums. In life, they can indulge in all sorts of pleasures, enjoying the stimulation of various drugs and entertainment implants. When they fall gravely ill or become incurable, they can sell themselves to the sect for money—and fetch quite a handsome price, too."
Someone could not help asking, "Selling themselves for a good price? Is that supposed to be something praiseworthy?"
Ash sighed. "This is the Federation; you have to get used to it. Besides, the Primitive Sect is considered fairly honest—they make sure the relatives receive the full sum. Because of that, the capital avoids a great deal of public unrest every year."
Chen Chuan paid no heed to the people below. At this moment, he could sense ripples of a field surging around them; this was indeed a sect ritual.
Looking down from above right now, one would see an enormous face emerging beneath the waters of the lake, with every vessel on this stretch of the river floating directly above it.
A ritual?
This was no simple rite. It did not seem aimed at extracting something from flesh and blood, but rather at dredging up and provoking emotions from within human hearts—fear, revulsion, frenzy, agony, and the like.
Moreover, looking through the celestial eye at his glabella, he could see thread-like wisps of light swirling around the people aboard the yachts, trickling down toward the bottom of the lake.
These lights did not originate from the people themselves; rather, they were excited emanations produced by the interaction between the ritual field and their intense emotions and mental states.
At the same time, he noticed that particularly abundant light rose from the people aboard his own boat. It appeared that the stronger an individual, or the higher their status, the more brilliant the flares of light they produced.
Even around his own body, such radiant flares hovered. Even though his emotions barely rippled, perhaps because he held the highest status of anyone present, the light around him was the brightest of all.
With a calm gaze, he asked Ash, "Mr. Ash, do rituals like this happen often?"
Ash thought for a moment and said, "While rituals don't happen constantly, there is at least one a month, though never at a fixed time. A situation like today's, however... might only happen once every several years."
Chen Chuan nodded. This only confirmed his suspicion. To just happen upon a ceremony that occurred once in several years—there were no such coincidences.
He could be reasonably certain that the other party had staged this ceremony precisely because of the arrival of him and the escort team. The reason was obvious: to extract some form of benefit from them, or from him in particular.
Yet he had no desire to be used so easily. Especially if the other party succeeded in gaining something today, they would only be emboldened to go a step further next time.
And they did not seem to fear his discovering it either. Was it because this was the Federation capital, and they assumed he wouldn't dare make an excessive move?
He cast another glance downward. That face had grown increasingly distinct. One could tell it was no simple human face, but an amalgamated visage combining features of both man and beastly monster.
Without question, the ritual materials were laid out under the lake—and perhaps not just here; in all likelihood, they spanned the entire waterway. The silver coin Ash had tossed in had very likely conveyed information through the ritual.
Although he was unfamiliar with this specific ceremony, he understood that no matter what kind of ritual it was, completing it inevitably required ritual materials. If those materials ceased to exist, nothing could be accomplished.
In that case...
He remained standing motionless, but the field around him radiated outward. At that moment, deep within the silt and sediment beneath the water, sturdy, sinewy biological materials were laid out like veins, woven into a giant web.
Viewed from high above, one would find that this network formed the face of a creature, with nerves, blood vessels, and all else clearly distinguishable.
Though the vessels were made of a special material that seemed capable of walling off external fields, the very collision between them allowed him to pinpoint their location. With that, his spirit power swept over them.
Ordinary spirit power had no way to penetrate such protection, yet his spirit seeped right in with effortless ease. Under this erosion, the materials began vanishing at an astounding speed.
The gigantic face manifested at the lake bed seemed to rot away, collapsing bit by bit, rupturing and becoming riddled with holes. The lights flickering around their bodies swayed and faded away in tandem.
A sudden stir broke out on the covered bridge, as if someone had detected the anomaly below.
Chen Chuan looked up and caught sight of a figure gazing right back at him. This person was likely an innate spirit power wielder; judging by the intricate patterns on their attire and mask, they were a priest or medium who channeled the ceremony. The moment their eyes met, the figure's eyes rolled back, and they tipped straight backward, collapsing.
Chaos instantly erupted along the covered bridge. Yet none of those people could flee either. As though a switch had been flipped, they lost all strength in a single instant and collapsed one after another.
As for the monsters in the lake, their bodies floated up to the surface one by one, drifting motionless upon the water.
To the squad members, scenes like this were nothing out of the ordinary. By contrast, the passengers on the nearby yachts had no idea what had just occurred; terrified, they started their engines and sped away from the area.
Ash glanced at Chen Chuan, then at Gui Zihan, who leaned nearby holding his sword without a word. Ash was tactful enough not to ask anything.
Looking at the drifting bloody water and remaining severed limbs on the lake, then at the distant ruins of the old cathedral, he drew a spiral cross over his chest and murmured a few words under his breath.
Chen Chuan glanced at him, withdrew his gaze, and said, "Mr. Ash, that's enough of today's tour. Let us head back."
"Yes, Mr. Chen." Ash took off his hat and bowed, showing considerably more sincerity than before.
Chen Chuan pondered the matter. He had friction with the Primitive Sect before; it was hard to say whether their targeting him this time was fallout from that prior encounter.
Whether deliberate or incidental, since they had initiated this provocation, he certainly wouldn't sit idly by. He had to find a way to strike back. Upon returning, he could first have the covert department look into the details of this sect within the capital before deciding on his next move.
Around midnight, he returned to the Red Rock station.
Upon his return, he instructed the telegraph operator to send a message to the covert department before heading back to his quarters. Just as he stepped through the door, he saw Chaoming raise its head from its designated nest, looking at him and letting out a soft chirp.
Slightly surprised, he broke into a smile.
Ever since eating the khaki fruit, Chaoming had remained in a drowsy, half-awake state. From the looks of it, the creature had finally awakened completely. Its body had grown another size larger, measuring nearly two meters from head to tail, with plumage that was magnificent and lustrous.
He stepped forward and stroked Chaoming's soft feathers. Without Chaoming's help over these past days, though he could manage things on his own, he had felt something was missing. Its waking now brought a genuine sense of pleasure to his heart.
He noticed the boundary credential on Chaoming's head looked stretched tight—evidently, Chaoming had grown too fast, making the band too small. After a moment's thought, he removed it, planning to have the technicians here adjust it or order a custom replacement.
After all, while they could communicate mentally, functions like recording and reconnaissance recognition were still necessary.
After inspecting Chaoming and confirming there were no issues, he set out some food and water for it, then headed to the training room.
Over the next few days, he did not venture out, remaining at the station to cultivate.
Meanwhile, the Feishen Dojo took the initiative on all fronts, challenging other fighting gyms across the city.
With the Migas Fighting Gym backing down, their primary opponent had become the Infantry Fighting Gym.
This gym had been founded by a group of retired veterans, promoting highly practical military combat arts. They also possessed strong networking advantages and held considerable influence within the Federation military. A large influx of retired soldiers seeking a livelihood had flooded into the establishment, giving it not only the character of a martial arts gym, but even the faint undertones of a mercenary outfit.
Most within the gym were battle-hardened veterans, including no shortage of skilled adepts boasting formidable combat strength. Even so, facing the sharply revitalized Feishen Dojo, they suffered far more losses than victories, allowing the Feishen Dojo to firmly reclaim its reputation.
Yet merely a day later, crowds began gathering before the doors of the Feishen Dojo in waves of protests, demanding that Great Shun return the dojo to the Federation. The demonstrations quickly drew coverage from multiple news outlets and made the newspapers, showing every sign of escalating further.
The Federation government showed no reaction, as the disturbance had not yet reached a major scale.
Delegation Leader Xie had been monitoring the situation closely. He knew the Federation government was not holding back to leverage anything, but simply because the trouble was still too small. Under these circumstances, he felt it was time to take the initiative.
Chapter 1183