PDLP Chapter 260 Who is the Offering, Who is the Hunter?
Chapter 260 Who is the Offering, Who is the Hunter?
In the cold, deep cave.
The Bai family's innate expert, who had come on orders, deliberately shuffled his feet and cautiously made his way forward.
The cave smelled foul and had a chilling, unsettling odor.
Finally, he stopped in front of a seemingly ordinary stone wall.
Having heard that Chu Lengyu had already dug away many empty stones, the Bai family couldn't help but worry that she might have discovered the secret of the ice cave.
However, after a thorough interrogation of the guard team, it seemed that nothing unusual was found, which relieved the Bai family patriarch and elders of a great weight.
So, taking advantage of the tea party, to avoid any unforeseen complications, the Bai family immediately sent someone to retrieve the treasure.
Bai Jiaxian looked tense and carefully took out a glove from the empty stone ring.
These gloves are made from the broken leaves and roots of the Ice Lotus, making them extremely cold. Even with his Innate Realm physique, he could only wear them for a short time, otherwise they would cause irreversible damage.
He took a deep breath and solemnly put the glove on his right hand.
In that instant, a bone-chilling cold surged into his body, causing him to shiver involuntarily.
Bai Jiaxian dared not delay. He reached out and forced his way through the stone wall, then groped in the frozen soil behind it and touched a small, hollow stone.
A moment later, he grasped something and carefully took it out.
It was a small, exquisite white crystal, its surface ablaze with a pale flame, dreamlike, beautiful, and mysterious.
The white flame was extremely cold, and only with these specially made gloves could one barely grasp it. Even so, Bai Jiaxian felt as if his right hand was frozen and he had no sensation.
His tense nerves finally relaxed, and a relieved smile appeared on his face. He thought to himself: Now that I have successfully obtained the treasure that the clan elder instructed me to obtain, the clan will no longer have to worry.
He carefully put away the crystal and turned to leave the underwater cave.
Several inconspicuous insect puppets had silently approached and surrounded it.
A faint warning came from his spirit, startling the Bai family's innate being. He immediately looked around alertly, his expression becoming extremely tense.
"Who?" he whispered, his voice echoing through the cave.
But the cave was completely empty.
He suspected his intuition was wrong, and just as he was about to relax, the insect puppet lying in ambush suddenly moved.
Like spiders, they sprayed out strands of silk, binding his limbs tightly with lightning speed, rendering him unable to move.
Furthermore, a thread clung to the precious white crystal, attempting to grasp it.
However, after only a moment of contact, layers of ice crystals immediately condensed on the silk thread, and it broke completely halfway through its flight, causing the white crystal to fall to the ground.
The insect puppet once again spit out a large amount of silk threads, tightly wrapping it up like a silkworm cocoon.
Then, carrying the cocoon, it flapped its wings and flew high into the sky.
Two more insectoids followed closely behind, ready to take over midway or deal with any potential enemies.
Watching the insect puppet and crystal disappear into the distance, Bai Jiaxian's eyes widened in fury. He had thought that with the treasure in hand, the mission was complete, and all he had to do was return to the family to receive the precious reward promised by the elders.
Just when he thought victory was in his grasp, he was unexpectedly thwarted by a few inconspicuous insects!
This sudden change caught him off guard.
He tried his best to break free from the silk threads that bound him tightly, but no matter how much he struggled, the threads were like iron chains, firmly fixing him in place, unable to move.
He could only watch helplessly as the insect, carrying the crystal, flew out of the cave entrance, shouting angrily, "Leave it here!"
"What's that noise?" Hearing the noise, the guards on the shore cautiously approached.
A moment later, he shouted angrily, "How come it's another member of the Bai family!"
……
Inside the Bai Family Ancestral Hall.
The flickering candlelight illuminated the portraits of ancestors hanging on the wall.
The Bai family patriarch turned his gaze to a certain elder who had remained silent.
The elder, sweating profusely, said nervously, "Recently, the 'offerings' have been requested too frequently, and many people have gone missing. This has already attracted the attention of other members of the clan. Should we...?"
His words were not finished, but the meaning was already quite clear. Upon hearing this, all the elders looked troubled.
How could the Bai family patriarch not know the situation within his clan? His heart was also filled with worry and helplessness.
But this was the ancestor's request, and no one dared to refuse, much less delay.
His face was serious as he said, "The ancestor's condition requires more 'offerings' to stabilize. If the offerings are not made in time, the ancestor will become uncontrollable and will not recognize even his own family when he has a fit of rage!"
The elders fell silent.
In order to prolong his life, the ancestor had to absorb the life essence of an outstanding descendant every few years. This was the Bai family's most closely guarded secret, known only to the core members.
The Bai family has always encouraged its members to have children and expand the family line. Given this background, the occasional disappearance of one or two members wouldn't attract much attention.
However, ever since the ancestor discovered the mysterious ice cave and attempted to fuse with the treasures within, the demand for blood offerings has become increasingly frequent.
After each blood donation, the ancestor would be lucid for a long time, but now, his lucid moments are getting shorter and shorter...
The elders felt a sense of dread at the thought of those blood-red eyes.
The ancestor is the Bai family's trump card. In order to appease the ancestor, we can only continue to prepare "offerings".
Just as the clan elders were about to discuss who should be chosen as the "offering" this time, a series of muffled sounds suddenly came from the ground floor of the ancestral hall.
"Bang!" "Bang!"
Like a giant beast crashing into the ground, the entire ancestral hall trembled.
Immediately afterwards, all the offering tables began to shake violently, and the wooden plaques offered there crashed to the ground with a series of clatters.
The Bai family patriarch turned around in surprise and saw that several large holes had been broken in the ground and the wall behind the ancestral tablets. Several thick vines, like giant dragons, broke through the soil and spread wildly inside the ancestral hall.
Even more terrifying was that the portrait of the Bai family patriarch, which had been hanging on the wall and worshipped for hundreds of years, had been pierced by a vine, leaving a large hole.
"Ancestors!" The elders knelt down in fear and unease.
The Bai family patriarch involuntarily took a few steps back and asked cautiously, "Does the patriarch have any instructions? Please rest assured, the offerings are ready and we will deliver them to you immediately!"
"Yes, yes, yes!" The elders behind him echoed, their faces ashen with fear and their eyes filled with terror.
One of the clan elders wept bitterly, knelt on the ground, and repeatedly kowtowed to the portrait of the ancestor, begging for mercy: "Ancestor, please spare my life! I... I will definitely prepare the best offerings for you!"
However, a deep, hoarse voice came from behind the portrait: "No, not enough!"
These three words resounded like thunder in the ancestral hall, making all the elders tremble with fear.
They all knew that if they failed to meet their ancestor's demands, the consequences would be unimaginable.
The clan elder, who was weeping bitterly, was terrified. He kept kowtowing, pleading, "Ancestor, spare my life! I will definitely find you better, better offerings!"
The so-called best tributes are actually the most talented descendants in the clan, who are often direct descendants of the Bai family patriarch.
However, in the eyes of the Bai family patriarch, they were merely tools to prolong his own life.
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I will be very busy from mid-October onwards, so updates will be less frequent and less frequent. Please forgive me.
After finishing this part of Fog Hill, I will reorganize the outline of the next part, which is the part about the demon invasion. This chaotic battle should be the climax of the whole book, so I will try to make it as exciting as possible.
When the book was first started, it was estimated that the total word count would be between 50 and 75, and so far the progress has been in line with expectations.