Vacant City covered a vast area. Although five million Divine Blood Army soldiers were many, they still were not much for the immense footprint of Vacant City. Hence, Gu Hai managed to avoid danger within the ritual array for the past two days.
At another village:
“To think that they did not spare these little children?!” Bing Ji said with an unsightly expression.
The two saw the corpses of many babies gathered in the village. It was as though a banquet had taken place in this village, with these babies as food.
“Who is it?” Gu Hai’s face sank.
“Don’t kill me! Don’t kill me!” A man curled in fear in a nearby house.
Gu Hai and Bing Ji exchanged looks.
“Don’t worry. We won’t harm you,” Bing Ji said gently.
“You…you aren’t the demons?” The man felt some surprise amid his fear.
“Everyone in the village died. How did you survive?” Bing Ji asked, feeling curious.
The man looked at Gu Hai’s and Bing Ji’s hands. He released his bated breath when he saw that they did not twitch.
“I…I was in Vacant City. When I returned, they were all dead. All of them! When I returned, they were celebrating, sucking the children’s blood. I…I wanted to stop them, but…but…” The man burst into tears in pain.
“Celebrating?” Gu Hai repeated with a frown.
“Yes. They said that they were going out to lure people in,” that man said in horror.
“Oh? You came from Vacant City? What’s the situation in Vacant City? Where is the Divine Blood Army gathered?” Gu Hai asked.
“I don’t know. When I left, that bunch of demons had started a massacre there. There was even heavenly lightning around the city lord’s official residence. I did not dare to look, so I returned. Unexpectedly…unexpectedly, when I returned…” The man appeared sorrowful.
Gu Hai turned to that man. “Bring me into the city to take a look.”
“Into the city?” The man immediately appeared shocked.
“Yes. Into the city. Don’t worry. You will be fine with me around,” Gu Hai said with a determined expression.
“Your Majesty, we…,” Bing Ji said worriedly.
After all, Bing Ji did not feel confident of retreating safely.
“Have you forgotten about Ma Sanyan’s body?” Gu Hai shook his head.
“Huh?”
Ma Sanyan’s body? No, it should be the Slaughter Heavenly Emperor’s body disguised as Ma Sanyan’s body. That was currently in Gu Hai’s possession.
The Divine Blood Army soldiers felt very anxious about their bodies, what more the Slaughter Heavenly Emperor? Gu Hai could at least guarantee his safety with the Slaughter Heavenly Emperor’s body in his hands.
“I…I…I’m not going back. I’m not going back. It is full of demons!” that man said in horror.
“How long can you hide here? These demons keep patrolling the place, looking for survivors. You are probably not the only citizen who managed to escape. They want to kill everyone and will find you sooner or later.” Gu Hai shook his head.
“Ah?” That man appeared shocked.
“Let’s go. I promise you your safety,” Gu Hai said with a determined expression.
“Al…alright.” The man nodded, still feeling fearful.
Hence, this man temporarily became Gu Hai and Bing Ji’s guide.
This guide was very familiar with the surroundings and could stealthily bring the two around. They saw corpses everywhere as they passed the various villages; only cruel sights greeted them. Along the way, they encountered some lone Divine Blood Army soldiers. However, Gu Hai and Bing Ji attacked quickly and killed those soldiers.
The group also discovered some citizens in hiding. These citizens were currently terrified and alarmed.
The three quickly arrived at a corner of Vacant City’s city walls.
“This wall is under repair. I am a mason working on the wall, so I happen to know of a small side door here. Milord, do be quiet,” the guide said fearfully.
Gu Hai did not say anything. Along the way, his heart felt heavy.
After entering the city through the small side gate, they saw smoke rising from all over the city as fire surged into the sky.
“Ah! Ah! Save me! Ah!” The cries of some citizens rang out in the distance.
The three silently headed towards the shouts.
Then, they saw the many Divine Blood Army soldiers on horses standing guard in soul form by a huge pit.
One million citizens currently stood in the pit, crying out in fear.
The horse prime, Ma Sanyan, hovered in the air. Suddenly, he opened his mouth and sucked.
Whoosh!
The skins of these one million citizens tore. A large volume of blood flowed upwards and entered Ma Sanyan’s mouth.
Ma Sanyan’s soul body suddenly turned completely red.
“Don’t! Save me!”
“Demons! Demons! Your Reverence, save me!”
“Someone, save me!”
The citizens cried out, but only the Divine Blood Army was in the surroundings. Who would stop Ma Sanyan?
Ma Sanyan sucked away half the blood of these one million citizens in the blink of an eye, leaving them on their last breath.
After he sucked for a while, a red light suddenly appeared in his eyes.
“This time, His Holy Eminence wants to consume three million people. I am still far from comparable to His Holy Eminence. How comfortable!” Ma Sanyan said in satisfaction. “Alright. You can have the rest!”
“Yes!” The Divine Blood Army horses immediately went forward.
Then, the Divine Blood Army horses opened their mouths and sucked the blood of these citizens.
After one hour, all the citizens stopped crying miserably, reduced to withered corpses.
“Alright. Let’s go. It’s time to capture the Bat Ancestor and the others. Humph!” Ma Sanyan snorted coldly.
“Yes!”
Rumble…!
Ma Sanyan left with the Divine Blood Army.
The guide beside Gu Hai had already fallen limp on the ground in fright.
Gu Hai and Bing Ji showed unsightly expressions.
“Soldiers die on a battlefield during a war. That is their fate and duty. However, the Divine Blood Army soldiers killed innocent citizens, treating life as worthless as grass? No wonder the Myriad Age Daoist Sect chose to keep its distance. They don’t even feel guilty about treating the citizens of a city as food when they take over a city. Indeed, they are an army of demons. They are probably full of sin, right?” Gu Hai said with a sullen expression.
Gu Hai and Bing Ji slowly made their way to that huge pit.
There were one million dried-up corpses densely packed together—all of them with expressions of intense shock, fear, and despair.
“Let’s go and continue looking around,” Gu Hai said sullenly.
Bing Ji nodded. That guide’s legs had gone soft, but he was more afraid of not following Gu Hai, so he could only force himself to follow.
Along the way, the group stumbled across withered corpses, no matter where they were in the city. These presented a scene out of the asura hell. All of the corpses had a look of despair in their eyes.
Not all of the citizens in the city had died. A portion of them was locked up, reserved for the Slaughter Heavenly Emperor to consume.
Crimson clouds covered the sky, looking very foreboding. Bolts of lightning continuously lashed down in the direction of the city lord’s official residence.
“Seniors, you said earlier that these were the souls of the Slaughter Heavenly Dynasty. Why don’t they go to the nether realm instead of wreaking havoc in the land of the living? Didn’t you say that there would be Yin-attributed energy to nourish them there, so they don’t have to search for food and blood? Why don’t they go?” that guide asked sorrowfully.
“Entering the nether realm is not difficult for souls. The world has a force that guides them there. However, it would be extremely difficult for them to return to the land of the living. Furthermore, their purpose is to find their bodies. That’s why they are remaining in the land of the living,” Bing Ji explained.
“However, they ate everyone in the city, all of them,” the guide said sorrowfully.
“Once they have fully consumed Vacant City, they will probably go to the next city,” Bing Ji said with an unsightly expression.
Bloody energy lingered around the city lord’s official residence in the distance, which was brightly lit by the lightning.
Gu Hai appeared extremely sullen.
“Your Majesty, I guess that after they eat all of Vacant City’s citizens, they will scatter the Nine-by-Nine Sun Sealing Ritual Array and move on to the next city. We just need to find a place to hide and wait patiently. Furthermore, this place can only be entered, not exited. It will draw over Imperial Emperor Xi Yu sooner or later. At that time…,” Bing Ji said.
“Right. We should hide. Quickly,” the guide said in horror.
Gu Hai remained silent for a while. Then, he shook his head. “And let them continue sinning like this everywhere, bringing harm to countless citizens? We cannot bear to let them do that.”
“However, these citizens are the Yuan Imperial Dynasty’s, not ours,” Bing Ji argued with a frown.
“So what if they are not from our Han Nation? Are they not people?” Gu Hai countered.
“Han Nation? You…you are Bing Ji. I recall now. I have seen the wanted posters of you. Are you the Han Royal Emperor, Gu Hai?” the guide said in shock as he looked at the two.
The guide recognized the two only at this moment.
“Is Your Majesty going to use Ma Sanyan’s body?” Bing Ji asked.
Gu Hai shook his head. “Only if I am left without a choice. Furthermore, giving him the body would only bring greater disaster. How can we return the body to him?”
“Ah? However, we are only two, and they are five million. We…” Bing Ji showed a bitter expression.
Does His Majesty want to kill the Slaughter Heavenly Emperor? Kill five million Divine Blood Army soldiers?
How can that be possible? The people pursuing us—the Bat Ancestor and the others—are hiding like rats. We are just two people. How can we even resist? Isn’t this just seeking death?
“It is not that we abhor evil as if a deadly foe. We do not like to stick our nose in other people’s business, either. However, heaven placed us in such a situation, letting us see the remaining citizens tremble in fear as their blood gets consumed. Will we shrink back like a tortoise and wait for possible good fortune?” Gu Hai said coldly.
“Eh…” Worry flashed in Bing Ji’s eyes. Now, some shock appeared. After following Gu Hai for some time, this was her first time seeing this side of Gu Hai, a side that took pity on the masses.
“Han…Han Nation Emperor, you…you can save my countrymen? You can save the people of Vacant City? That’s…that’s impossible. You are just a royal dynasty’s emperor; that is a heavenly dynasty’s emperor. It is impossible for you.” The guide shook his head skeptically.
“We will just do our best and leave the rest to heaven.” Gu Hai shook his head.
“However, Your Majesty, how are we to do it? While we can deal with a few Divine Blood Army soldiers, we can’t resist one hundred, much less five million. Furthermore, Vacant City does not have sufficient spirit stones to lay a ritual array. Not to mention a Thirty Line-Pair World Ritual Array, there isn’t even enough for a Twenty-Nine Line-Pair World Ritual Array,” Bing Ji said bitterly.
Gu Hai’s eyes narrowed. “Find the Bat Ancestor and Archduke Xi Kang to work with them.”
“Ah? Them? They already hid long ago upon seeing the Divine Blood Army,” Bing Ji said in shock.
“Let’s go. Listen to us.” Gu Hai shook his head, not explaining further.
