After dealing with the two guards, Leo’s consciousness penetrated the heavy stone door and discovered a passage stretching tens of meters into the depths, with no guards behind it.
Pushing the stone door open slightly, Leo slipped inside. He quickly scanned his surroundings and then used his consciousness to probe ahead, cautiously advancing deeper.
After walking about fifty or sixty meters and turning a corner, the space suddenly opened up before him. A massive and spacious cavern appeared in front of Leo.
A strong light emanated from the bottom of the cavern, giving Leo a sense of stifling heat.
He walked lightly to the edge of the cavern and found a winding staircase extending down along the rock wall.
Peering down, he saw a flat area at the bottom of the cavern, about the size of a football field, thirty meters below.
At that moment, a large group of people had gathered at the bottom, all dressed in strange attire.
The most noticeable were over twenty sentinels wearing green headscarves and blue clothes, standing along the four walls of the cavern.
Torches burning brightly on the cavern walls illuminated the area as if it were daylight.
In the center of the cavern, there were two rows of chairs arranged in front.
In the middle sat five or six people dressed similarly, with blue headscarves and blue capes. They appeared to be the leaders of the Curse Sorcery Cult.
On the left were three people in black clothing with black headscarves, their chests and backs painted with fierce ghost patterns. They seemed to be from the Ghost Path Church.
On the right were four people in brightly colored clothes, both men and women, with “Five Poisons” embroidered on their garments. They were likely from the Five Poison Sect.
These people were respectfully drinking fragrant tea and talking excitedly.
Since they spoke in dialects and were far away, Leo couldn’t understand what they were saying.
Leo didn’t rush down but hid quietly at the entrance of the passage, observing the situation below.
Soon, the leader of the Curse Sorcery Cult, a man around fifty years old, coughed.
The surroundings immediately fell silent.
The leader of the Curse Sorcery Cult spoke passionately for a few moments, and an extremely excited cheer erupted from below.
Everyone looked proud as if they were about to accomplish something great.
Leo couldn’t understand a word and felt quite frustrated.
However, someone from the Five Poison Sect then spoke in Mheffada: “Fellow practitioners, I have been away from Miao Wilderness Five Poison Ridge for many years and rarely use Miao Language, so please forgive my unfamiliarity.”
“Master Amirah, you invited us from the Five Poison Sect and Ghost Path Church to form an alliance, saying that we could use the blood of forty-nine boys and forty-nine girls to resurrect our great ancestor Chiyou, correct?”
Master Amirah nodded.
“This matter is too incredible. Whether it will succeed or not is another question. Now, WONDER has tightly sealed off the mountain area, and we are short two boys and three girls to meet the sacrificial requirements. What should we do?” continued the leader of the Five Poison Sect.
Master Amirah glanced at the leader of the Five Poison Sect and spoke passionately: “Our Miao People originated from the ancient Nine Li Tribe, and our great war god Chiyou is our sacred ancestor.”
“As you know, our Curse Sorcery Cult’s predecessor, Witch Sect, has existed since the time of our great ancestor Chiyou. It is one of the oldest religions in the East, having once flourished with the entire Nine Li Tribe and then declined together.”
“However, throughout generations, Witch Sect’s Masters have held a sacred belief: to use the strongest Witch Methods to summon our great ancestor Chiyou from the abyss of death and lead our Miao People to revival once more.”
“But thousands of years have passed, and Witch Sect has never found all six pieces of our great ancestor Chiyou’s remains. Without these six pieces, reviving our great ancestor would be an unrealistic fantasy.”
“So, over time, Witch Sect gradually despaired and abandoned this seemingly impossible belief, instead using Drum Festival to worship our great ancestor and express hopes for revival.”
“Witch Sect gave up, but Curse Sorcery Cult, which evolved from Witch Sect, did not. Our first Master Amirah made a grand vow that our Witchcraft Curse lineage would fulfill this sacred mission!”
“To honor his wish, our Witchcraft Curse lineage has spent countless manpower and resources over thousands of years, traversing mountains and rivers to revive our great ancestor Chiyou.”
“For this belief, our Witchcraft Curse lineage has resorted to all means to raise funds. Due to our significant undertakings and secrecy, we have been regarded as a cult. Countless followers have faced difficulties without hesitation.”
“It can be said that our Witchcraft Curse lineage has made significant sacrifices for this belief. But compared to reviving our great ancestor Chiyou, these sacrifices are insignificant.”
“Heaven rewards diligence. The previous Master Amirah accidentally found clues about our great ancestor Chiyou’s six remains in oracle bones from ancient Shang Dynasty tombs.”
“After painstaking searches and countless sacrifices by followers, we finally broke Emperor Xuanyuan’s restrictions in six locations and gathered all six pieces of our great ancestor Chiyou’s remains.”
“The previous Cult Master sacrificed his life while breaking these restrictions. Now, this great mission of revival falls upon me!”
At this point, Master Amirah became visibly excited.
Everyone in the hall wore expressions of disbelief.
“Master Amirah, is this true? Have you really found all six pieces of our great ancestor’s remains?” The leader of Five Poison Sect stood up.
The leader of Five Poison Sect was a woman with a charming appearance and demeanor.
“Master Linda, your Five Poison Sect is also part of our Miao People. How could we deceive you with such a sacred matter?” Master Amirah replied sincerely.
An old man from Ghost Path Church who looked like a skeleton stood up excitedly: “Master Amirah, where are our great ancestor Chiyou’s remains? Can we faithful followers pay our respects?”
“Master Noah, of course. It would be an honor for our Curse Sorcery Cult,” Master Amirah nodded with a smile.
“Master Amirah, you still haven’t answered my earlier question. Even if we have found all six pieces of our great ancestor Chiyou’s remains and made his revival possible, we are still short two boys and three girls. What should we do?”
Master Amirah smiled confidently: “Perhaps you are not aware why we need the blood of forty-nine boys and forty-nine girls for the summoning ritual?”
Everyone shook their heads; they indeed did not know.
Master Amirah continued: “This traces back to our Witchcraft Curse’s predecessor, Witch Sect. After our great ancestor Chiyou died in battle, reviving him became Witch Sect’s sacred duty.”