Killing Dao Fruit

Unaware, Wang Cheng continued obliviously:

"Do you know why, among the thousands of sealed tombs and the three hundred thousand nameless wild graves in Beimang Mountain, only the Luoyang Royal Mausoleum that our family guards requires a grand sacrifice every year?

Why has the Wang family in Daling Village prospered for two hundred years and yet it has only just exceeded two hundred households, the population not even reaching a thousand people?

And why is the tradition of the 'Elder Care Pavilion' only found near Beimang Mountain, where countless elders, who should not yet have died, are sent to the Netherworld prematurely by their descendants?

Think about these things, do you still think the matter of the Owl Tomb is over?"

He turned his head and stared intently at Wang Yuan, his eyes dark:

"When people are hungry, they must eat, and the Owl God Tomb is no different. It has been consuming people all these years, just no longer as voraciously as at the beginning.

Beimang Mountain, the eight counties north and south, Luoyang City... all are its dining plate."

With this reminder from Wang Cheng, Wang Yuan also gradually excavated some memories retained from his foolish times, quickly noticing many abnormalities.

Apart from the grandfather, there were surprisingly no elder people over the age of seventy in the entire village.

Although life expectancy of seventy is rare in ancient times, the complete absence of such elders is certainly not normal.

Furthermore, during the annual Yili King's death anniversary sacrifice, strange occurrences inevitably happen in the small Daling Village.

Dogs howling at graves, dead bodies found on house beams, livestock dying violently... these are just minor matters; even events like entire households disappearing overnight have occurred.

And what startled Wang Yuan more was that, until Wang Cheng reminded him, he suddenly realized.

Over the past fourteen years, every time the clan held a grand sacrifice for Yili King, his primary consciousness would fall asleep, waking up only the next day.

Without exception.

Although memories were not lost, when his primary consciousness was asleep, it was equivalent to that of a three or four-year-old child, hardly capable of focusing on those eerie, abnormal events.

Thinking back now, he couldn't help but shiver at the thoughts.

Associating it with Wang Yunhu and Master Ge's actions, he said instinctively:

"You insisted on bringing me to the Royal Mausoleum, could it be because I have some hidden connection with this continuously people-eating Owl God Tomb? Am I to be sacrificed to this 'Weird' entity?"

Realizing the loosening of the blade around his neck, Wang Cheng's heart leaped with joy, yet his face was filled with sorrow as he said:

"Uncle, have you forgotten?

Fifteen years ago, the day of your birth was the anniversary of Yili King's death, also the day he died violently two hundred years ago.

That very night after delivering you, the previous clan leader couple also passed away.

Over the years, the appetite of the Owl God Tomb has grown bigger annually, not only have the elders in the 'Elder Care Pavilion' been living shorter lives, but the number of deaths in the village has also increased.

It's because the lifespan and fortune that should have been there are being consumed prematurely by the Owl God Tomb!

Seeing the two-hundred-year grand sacrifice is almost upon us, we really had no other choice.

For the sake of the entire Wang clan and the common people below Beimang Mountain, although it's unfortunate for you, we truly only have the public's interest at heart!"

Seeing Wang Cheng's heartfelt performance almost moved to tears, Wang Yuan scoffed in his heart.

If he had not heard them accidentally refer to him as 'medicine bait,' perhaps he might have been somewhat doubtful of their words.

Not wanting to argue with this melodrama possessed fellow any longer.

"I believe there are ghosts in the Owl God Tomb, I believe there are people wanting to profit from it, but to say you are selfless heroes, I believe not a word of it!

Judging a person, since ancient times, is done by deeds not thoughts.

Over these years, your performances in front of me, a fool, have never been disguised, so why bother with pretenses now?

Forget it, I guess flunkies like you would probably not know the real inside story. When the time comes, I will naturally ask our esteemed clan leader and that..."

Before he could finish, Wang Yuan suddenly turned his head towards the dark, lampless rear courtyard of the Royal Mausoleum, not knowing when it had happened.

In his ears, he faintly heard the delicate tinkle of a bell, growing louder and louder.

In the deadly silence that fell over Beimang Mountain after nightfall, the bell sound was especially chilling.

And unlike the previous scriptures, this time, not only Wang Yuan heard it, but Wang Cheng and the other man heard it clearly too.

The two men, paralyzed with numbness and weakness, shivered uncontrollably and screamed in terror:

"Impossible! It's just turned night, and Master Ge's people sent to awaken the Owl God Tomb haven't arrived yet, how could the thing in the underground palace have woken up by itself?"

Nobody understood better than these Tomb Guardians that the Owl God Tomb was a massive ticking time bomb.

Though the clan leader and Master Ge had plans for it.

But once things spiraled out of control, the first to suffer were these executors themselves.

And what front-line personnel feared most was an accident.

Sizzle—!

Just then, a flash of blade light appeared in front of the two men.

Their thighs immediately burst with blood, while the "Talisman Seal Waist Tags" hanging at their waists had already been snatched up by Wang Yuan.

Then, without any hesitation, he dashed outside, leaving behind two men lying on the ground, drenched in blood, unable to move, and wailing helplessly.

Seeing a big opportunity and not running, were they waiting for a banquet?

In times of danger, it was most crucial to run faster than one's companions, a lesson Wang Yuan knew well.

Meanwhile.

The bell in the backyard suddenly turned shrill, and between the Enjoyment Hall of the second courtyard and the Treasure City of the third courtyard, a stone archway suddenly burst into a ghostly light.

The next moment, a hand larger than a house and ghostly appeared, reaching out fiercely, its surface covered with a black-yellow keratin layer, fingernails sharp, and the gaps between the fingers filled with filth.

To call it a human hand was more akin to the talon of some giant bird.

It was also wrapped in severely corroded copper bells, which produced a piercing bell sound with the slightest movement.

Like a blind man, this giant hand groped slightly in the second courtyard before lunging towards the front courtyard.

Although Wang Yuan's movements were fluid and seamless, not delaying even a breath, a few steps from the gate, his body suddenly froze.

It was as if the top predator of the food chain had given him a death stare, and if his feet moved again, he would be instantly swallowed whole.

Having lost their "Talisman Seal Waist Tags," Wang Cheng and another, already petrified, lay on the ground like pigs and sheep awaiting slaughter, with excrement and urine flowing everywhere.

The "Weird" creatures clearly also had a hierarchy.

This "Owl God Tomb" compared to the "Weird" creature Wang Yuan had previously encountered in the shrine was like comparing a tiger to a rabbit in terms of difference.

In a flash, Wang Yuan's hands skillfully formed the "Ghost King Altar Sealing Seal" once again.

Instantly, a tiger's roar resounded within him, divine light blazed in his eyes, tiger stripes appeared on his cheeks, and a majestic "king" character faintly emerged on his forehead.

Pop!

The divine light within burst forth, and an invisible abnormal power shattered explosively — Wang Yuan immediately continued to charge forward.

Although the remaining 82 points of Yin Morality in the "Small Book of Life and Death" were rapidly depleting at the rate of five points per breath, being able to move and not being able to move was the difference between life and death.

Truly a race against death!

In the blink of an eye, Wang Yuan had reached the gate of the city walls.

The brightly shining Tiger Head Saber was raised above his head as he exhaled sharply.

"Break!"

The bright saber light flashed in the air, and with this breath, a strike integrating all his strength instantly severed a door bolt as thick as an adult's thigh.

Behind him, the house-sized ghostly giant hand had already entered the first courtyard, rendering the grass and bricks along its path as if they were nothing.

But the moment it touched the two Tomb Guardians lying in their original places, their wails abruptly ceased, and their bodies, like water, were sucked into the giant hand.

What followed was a series of dense chewing sounds.

As the giant hand passed, even the blood on the ground was swept clean.

And Wang Yuan, who had just pulled open half of the gate, instantly felt a bone-chilling cold from behind.

The hand was faster than the heart; the blade light in his hand immediately turned into a streak of lightning and ferociously clashed with the swiftly grabbing giant hand.

Clang!

The collision of metal against metal produced a tremendous boom.

The instant the blade met the claw, Wang Yuan was blown away by an irresistible force as powerful as a collapsing mountain.

Even though the "Ghost King Altar Sealing Seal" provided him with the credentials to combat the "Weird," the gap between them was fundamentally insurmountable even if the abnormal power perplexing mortals were excluded.

Luckily, propelled by the force of that grab, Wang Yuan successfully passed through the city gate, ultimately escaping to safety.

But Wang Yuan, flying in mid-air, did not see—

Inside his mind, the "Book of Life and Death" opened by itself, and on the page marked "Biography, Owner B: Wang Yuan," new text faintly emerged.

That was—Biography, Owner A...