Ch. 21 - Blood Sacrifice

The Eight Trigrams Diagram runs through ancient Chinese history and has an extremely ancient origin. How it was created and what purpose it serves remains an enthralling mystery to this day.

It was once used to deduce and calculate the orbital velocities of celestial bodies, and even the invention of binary code in computing has ties to it, adding to its deeply mysterious aura.

Even now, the ancient Yin-Yang Eight Trigrams Diagram remains unsolved in its profound meaning, but many bold speculations and theories have been proposed over time.

Some have claimed that it represents the unknown "potential" (or "momentum") and that by using it, one could deduce and predict various possibilities of the future. Of course, only perfect deduction would make such forecasts viable, one misstep in calculation would render the entire outcome invalid.

Others believe it depicts the essence of the universe in the simplest way possible, each symbol representing a fundamental element of existence.

Still others have boldly hypothesized that the Yin-Yang Trigrams Diagram is related to time and space, that its eight symbolic positions are coordinates in the starry sky, and that different permutations represent different star domains.

According to this hypothesis, any region of the universe could be located using the diagram as a coordinate system, and the Yin-Yang Eight Trigrams Diagram would act as a gate to the stars, opening up wormholes.

Based on this theory, the Yin-Yang Eight Trigrams Diagram is a stable structure. If provided with sufficient energy and if a region of space could be precisely determined through complex and meticulous calculations, the "gate to the stars" could theoretically be opened.

However, this level of complexity is beyond imagination. It involves mysterious "formations", which have yet to be scientifically validated and remain within the realm of theory and speculation.

These formations are themselves deeply connected with space and remain unsolved, infinitely complex and esoteric.

It’s easy to imagine how distant and elusive the construction of the Yin-Yang Eight Trigrams Diagram, and the opening of a cosmic gate, really is. It may remain impossible to achieve for an extraordinarily long time.

At this moment, Ye Fan and the others were fortunate enough to witness the construction of the Yin-Yang Eight Trigrams Diagram once again. If someone who had studied cosmic gates for years were present, they would surely be driven mad with excitement, for this was a momentous revelation.

Unfortunately, Ye Fan and his group had no such mindset. They were overwhelmed with a sense of imminent peril. Their only thought was to escape, as death loomed closely over them.

In the ruins of the Grand Thunderclap Temple, a thousand meters away, though silence temporarily reigned, the overwhelming aura of carnage surged forth like a flood. Two massive, blood-red eyes like lanterns stared unwaveringly in their direction, chillingly piercing through the darkness.

Above them, the Yin-Yang Eight Trigrams Diagram had already formed, possessing the solid texture of refined metal, as though forged from hundred-times-tempered divine ore.

Space around it twisted; light became hazy. The trigrams, Qian, Kun, Xun, Dui, Gen, Zhen, Li, and Kan, each began to glow in succession, as though ancient and mysterious codes were flashing to life.

These symbols had already flickered hundreds or even thousands of times, cycling through complex permutations, but they had yet to light up simultaneously. Eventually, they began to dim, and the massive diagram trembled, showing signs of collapse.

“How could this be…”

Many people panicked. If the cosmic path couldn’t be opened, it would mean certain death for them.

The protective light screen over the five-colored altar dimmed to near invisibility. Only a few faint glimmers of light flowed upward toward the Yin-Yang Eight Trigrams Diagram in the sky. From this, everyone immediately understood the cause.

“To construct the diagram, or open the cosmic gate, requires a stable and sufficient supply of mysterious energy. But right now, there’s not enough!”

“What do we do? Are we really going to die here…”

From afar came the threat of the Crocodile Ancestor; nearby, its progeny loomed, a vast net of death enclosing around them.

Bang!

More than a dozen small crocodiles had already breached the light screen and began attacking. Sacred relics such as censers, vajra pestles, bronze bells, and wooden drums flashed brilliantly, holding off the creatures' assault. However, the force of the impact was extraordinary, those defending were pushed back involuntarily.

Crack! Crack!

Outside the altar, scaly beasts packed the ground in droves. Thousands of divine crocodiles slammed into the screen. Sounds of shattering grew louder. In moments, over a hundred had breached the defense.

Though small in size, these creatures were horrifying, capable of flying and burrowing, each one a living weapon with immense piercing power.

“We can’t keep defending like this. We’ll all die if this keeps up!” Pang Bo shouted. The bronze plaque from the Grand Thunderclap Temple buzzed violently, casting divine light that protected three or four people, allowing brief safety, but for how long was anyone’s guess.

“Don’t move, I’ll go first,” Ye Fan told Pang Bo and stepped forward with the ancient lamp, no longer staying on the defensive.

Instantly, dozens of divine crocodiles lunged at him, their dark bodies streaking like bolts of lightning, stabbing toward the glow around the lamp, forcing their way in.

Whoosh!

Ye Fan waited until they were nearly upon him before blowing forcefully on the lamp’s wick. A blinding light erupted. Fire surged skyward, engulfing the area around him in divine flames.

The stench of burnt flesh filled the air. Screams echoed all around. When the fire died down, Ye Fan stood untouched, bathed in pure light like a celestial being descending upon the moon, while all around him lay piles of charred scales. Nearly all the crocodiles had burned to death.

A few that narrowly survived were badly burned, their bodies ruined, glaring at Ye Fan with poisonous hatred, letting out low, chilling cries.

“Good! Burned them good!” Pang Bo cheered from behind. He was about to rush in to fight, but three pale-faced companions clung to him. Without divine relics of their own, they’d be helpless without the bronze plaque’s protection.

Crack! Crack!

Another wave hit. This time, five or six hundred divine crocodiles burst through. Their small but fearsome forms radiated demonic power. Razor-sharp fangs gleamed; their eyes shone with eerie light. They charged Ye Fan fearlessly, circling him with frenzied intent.

“He can’t handle all those black needles alone. I have to help him!” Pang Bo shouted again.

“But… what about us?” the three beside him asked, terrified.

“I won’t let you die,” Pang Bo turned to Wang Ziwen, Liu Yunzhi, and the others. “Protect them. I’m going to help Ye Fan. And it’d be best if more joined me, passive defense will kill us all eventually.”

“I’ll go with you,” Zhou Yi stepped up.

Pang Bo didn’t like Zhou Yi, finding him calculating, but had to admit he had guts when it counted.

Unexpectedly, the usually refined Wang Ziwen also stepped forward. “One or two more, follow us. The rest stay back. The relics we have are enough to protect everyone. But the girls, don’t come.”

Facing such horrific creatures, women’s natural timidity could turn fatal. Even with divine relics, their hesitation could cost lives.

Clang!

Pang Bo swung the bronze plaque like a giant weapon, smashing it against the altar. A furious wave of divine light erupted forward, sweeping seven or eight meters ahead and drowning dozens of divine crocodiles.

Dying screams chilled the bones, like ghosts being purified. Wisps of white smoke rose, the ground strewn with corpses and charred remains.

This was a large-scale attack, unlike before, when chasing a single crocodile was nearly impossible. Now, with so many charging at once, even a casual swing could crush scores of them.

DONG…

A bell tolled, deep and distant, like the chimes of an ancient temple. Wang Ziwen held a broken bell that emitted layers of golden ripples, gentle in appearance, but deadly on contact, slicing through divine crocodiles with each shimmering wave.

Puff, puff, puff! Dozens were cut down, blood soaking the altar, a grisly, terrifying sight.

Yet the crocodiles came endlessly, fearless of death. Nearly a thousand now charged in, weaving a net of black streaks, death incarnate.

Bang!

Zhou Yi wielded a purple-gold bowl, smashing out floods of Buddha light, grinding countless scaled bodies into a pulp, blood and flesh smeared everywhere.

It was a brutal, hellish scene. Desperate for survival, everyone fought like demons. Blood soon soaked the altar, the stench of death thick in the air, blood mist hanging like fog.

“AHHH!”

Suddenly, two screams rang out behind them. Two classmates collapsed in blood, heads riddled with holes, swarming with grotesque little crocodiles.

Grief and horror filled the air. Despite their desperate struggle, fate still claimed lives.

They had shared a divine relic, but with three or four hundred crocodiles ramming into them, the impact knocked the relic from their grasp. In an instant, they were swarmed and devoured.

“Never let go!” Lin Jia shouted, warning everyone.

Many were already rolling on the ground from the collisions. Sharing relics limited movement, danger loomed from all sides.

“AHH!”

Two more screamed. A man and woman fell, drenched in blood, eyes wide open in death.

Those in the rear clustered together, defending as one and attacking in tandem. Using the relics, they hacked away, stabilizing the situation for now.

“Kill!” Liu Yunzhi’s face was pale. Though naturally timid and gloomy, he charged forward with a vajra pestle.

In Buddhist lore, the vajra pestle was a supreme artifact of protection, capable of smashing evil like dust and symbolizing invincible might.

Lightning arced, light flashed, wherever Liu Yunzhi struck, blood and fragments rained down. Dozens of crocodiles were shredded in an instant.

The power of the vajra pestle was undeniable.

Then, the foreigner named Cade rushed up, shouting wildly in broken Chinese, swinging a battered wooden fish drum.

“God is merciful…” he shouted, but his strikes were vicious. The drum was barely holding together, yet it exuded divine energy.

Three Bodhisattvas carved on it appeared in radiant form, circling Cade, obliterating the divine crocodiles.

“Lord, you sent me angels! Smite these devils from Hell!” Cade’s Mandarin suddenly turned fluent in the heat of battle.

“You damn yellow-haired foreigner, you’re using Buddha’s relic, don’t say nonsense!” Pang Bo laughed in the face of death.

Cade shouted again, “God said, all beings are equal. My Lord is merciful. Bodhisattvas are angels…”

“Idiot! All beings are equal, my Buddha is merciful, that’s Buddhist, not Christian!”

Even in this deathly crisis, their exchange brought a strange levity to the blood-soaked altar.

The blood spilled on the altar turned into radiant light, pierced through the screen, and floated up into the sky, feeding into the unstable Yin-Yang Eight Trigrams Diagram, reviving its glow.

Everyone noticed, and became excited.

“Kill! The more we kill the better! These divine crocodiles are descendants of great demonic beasts. Their blood holds divine energy. The altar can convert it into the power needed for the Yin-Yang Diagram!”

“That’s right, this five-colored altar is a sacrificial platform. Blood sacrifice was clearly considered in ancient times!”

The diagram grew ever brighter, like forged divine metal. The eight trigrams flickered in complex sequence, soon to fully ignite and open the path through the stars.

BOOM!

But at that very moment, a horrific aura erupted from the Grand Thunderclap Temple ruins. The earth shattered as a monstrous being soared into the sky, shaking the heavens!

In a flash, everyone felt their souls leaving their bodies. Some nearly collapsed.

Two lantern-sized blood-red eyes hurtled toward them from the darkness.

“That’s the Crocodile Ancestor, supposedly sealed by Buddha beneath the temple! Now that it’s free, who can possibly suppress it?!”

Despair gripped every heart. Not even divine intervention seemed likely to defeat such a monster, unless the Buddha himself descended.

Were they truly going to die at the hands of this legendary demon at the very last moment?

CLANG!

At that instant, the giant bronze coffin on the five-colored altar emitted a resonant hum.

The two massive blood-red eyes froze mid-approach, as if stunned or confused, and no longer advanced.

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