Rise to God with Life Skill Professions-Chapter 408 - 398: Has the Mirage Gone Mad?

Altar?

As soon as these words were spoken, everyone present showed a look of confusion and turned their gaze towards Wu Da.

Wu Da took a deep breath: "No matter what, let’s leave this platform first, and I’ll explain to everyone in detail."

Everyone was originally Mountain Patrol Silver Generals from the Evil Extermination Bureau, so their reactions were naturally swift.

Before Wu Da finished speaking, they all executed their Body Techniques and jumped off the platform.

When everyone landed on the ground, they focused their gaze on Wu Da again, waiting for Wu Da to continue speaking.

Wu Da paused for a moment before explaining: "I once saw similar information in an ancient book, where the stone pseudo-gods on this platform are all worshiping the most powerful stone pseudo-god, and the bonfire in the center signifies a sacrifice."

"When we arrived, we saw that the Evil Qi had coagulated but failed to disperse because these stone pseudo-gods are already dead."

Qin An squinted his eyes and mused, "Sacrificing lives as an offering, this is playing on a large scale."

Zhu Qingsha’s charming, long eyes flickered with brilliance: "That being the case, their sacrifice must have an outcome. Sacrifices with lives are rare, so what exactly is their result?"

Liu Ji didn’t speak, but the meaning was already clear.

He shared the same thoughts as the others.

The method of sacrificing lives implies a goal behind it.

The simplest question is what the result of the sacrifice is.

Since Wu Da mentioned it, he must know the reason, so everyone didn’t speculate further, just patiently waited for Wu Da to continue speaking.

Wu Da paused slightly before continuing: "As far as I know, their sacrificial method uses their lives as a guide, ultimately condensing the Evil Qi of numerous stone pseudo-gods, converging it on the stone pseudo-god on the throne, qualitatively enhancing the stone pseudo-god’s power, even enough to upgrade a major realm. Therefore, the danger in the Wanshi Mountain Forest is probably more than we imagined."

At this point, Wu Da’s face showed an unusually grave expression.

Even the usually calm Wu Er became extremely serious.

Liu Ji’s brows furrowed deeper and deeper: "Everyone, the situation is very different now, we should act cautiously. Are there any other clues at the altar?"

The first half of the sentence was addressed to Qin An and the others, and the latter half was directed at Wu Da.

Wu Da gently shook his head: "I don’t know either. The ancient book only recorded the sacrificial method, but there was no record of how to find the next clues, so now we can only try on our own."

Hearing this, Liu Ji felt quite helpless.

He originally thought they could find corresponding clues through the altar, sparing them the trouble of running back and forth.

But unexpectedly, Wu Da only knew that the platform was an altar and was clueless about everything else.

This means they will still have to face the unknown terror later.

Qin An tapped the Cold Star with his fingertips and said: "Let’s go further inside and look around. If we can find a clue, we can see if we can deduce anything."

Everyone nodded in agreement with Qin An’s plan.

There was no other way at the moment; what Qin An said was the only option.

After all, they couldn’t find any clues now, and if they left, the mission would fail.

The Mountain Patrol Generals only care about results and not the process, even willing to pay a heavy price for the outcome.

In this line of work, many lives are lost every year, and they were mentally prepared for it long ago.

Thus, when Qin An said this, they all agreed with his idea.

...

Behind the altar was a long mountain path, rugged and uneven, made extremely slippery by the years of fog coverage.

After a slight pause, everyone formed a formation and headed up the mountain.

This formation was led by Qin An, with Wu Da and Wu Er on the right side, and Liu Ji on the left side.

As for the rear, it was Zhu Qingsha.

This formation was a typical one for the Evil Extermination Bureau, usually used for small-scale missions, able to cover all aspects.

After stepping onto the moist mountain path, the humidity that hit them caused everyone to frown tightly.

Following the path upward, they arrived at a massive platform halfway up the Wanshi Mountain Forest.

The platform was extremely spacious but its full view was obscured by the densely packed stone forest surrounding it.

At the center of the stone forest was an entrance.

Cold Evil Qi gushed out from the entrance.

This terrifying Evil Qi could be distinctly felt even across a distance of more than ten zhang.

If it were an ordinary cultivator, upon feeling the Evil Qi, they would immediately roll their eyes and faint.

Fortunately, everyone here was a master at the Inner God Realm, and while the Evil Qi affected them somewhat, it wasn’t significant.

"This is the destination." Qin An squinted his eyes and tapped the hilt of the Cold Star Saber: "Everyone, act cautiously."

Liu Ji and the others nodded slightly in response to Qin An’s words.

They didn’t speak further nor get distracted by other thoughts but followed Qin An towards the entrance.

The closer they got to the entrance, the more they felt the overwhelming momentum rushing towards them.

And this overwhelming momentum starkly contrasted with the cold Evil Qi at the entrance.

Qin An took a deep breath, feeling as if there were faint cries coming from inside the cave.

The cries were extraordinarily complex, as if tens of thousands of people were shouting inside.

Not only unpleasant but also disturbing to the mind.

Liu Ji suddenly spoke: "Everyone, be careful. This sound has the effect of attacking Divine Sense, make sure to guard your own Divine Sense."

After reaching the Inner God Realm, they had a good grasp of controlling their Divine Sense.

Everyone understood the horror of this sound, each mobilizing a portion of True Essence to protect their Divine Sense, ensuring it wasn’t harmed.

At this time, led by Qin An, everyone entered through the stone-formed gateway in turn.

...

Inside the gate was still an exceptionally vast space. Previously blocked by numerous stones, they couldn’t see the interior situation clearly, but now the stones’ cover had disappeared, revealing the scene inside to everyone at once.

On the vast ground lay a colossal stone pseudo-god, standing tens of zhang tall, but this stone pseudo-god had long since lost its breath of life.

Only the massive Evil Qi continued to disperse.

In the chest of the stone Pseudo-God, there is a spear as thick as a stone pillar, brutally piercing it and pinning it to the ground.

Seeing this scene, Qin An also frowned.

"Didn’t you say earlier that the stone Pseudo-Gods were sacrificing to the stone Pseudo-God sitting on the throne? So why is this stone Pseudo-God dead now?"

The scene on the altar was so lifelike that with a little thought, one could tell that this massive stone Pseudo-God was the target of those sacrifices.

Using their lives as sacrifices to amass killing intent would ultimately make this stone Pseudo-God even stronger.

Yet, this stone Pseudo-God was viciously pinned to the ground by a spear, and judging from the shape and size of the spear, it must have been engaged in battle with an existence of the same level.

Wu Da showed a puzzled expression on his face.

He felt his guess was not wrong, after all, the ancient book described it in great detail, and it should not have any errors.

But now that this scene appeared, his doubts grew exponentially.

Wu Er, who had been silent, spoke.

"Fell in battle."

Just two words, and everyone turned their eyes to Wu Er.

Wu Er remained as indifferent as before.

Wu Da, being Wu Er’s twin brother, instantly understood his brother’s meaning.

"I understand, I see! This stone Pseudo-God must have encountered a formidable enemy, thus resorting to the method of live sacrifice on the stone platform!"

Hearing this, bamboo masked Qing Sha showed a look of realization.

"If they used life as a medium for sacrifice, allowing the leader of the stone Pseudo-Gods to gain unimaginable power to fight their enemies, it makes sense. Looking at the current situation, it seems it was not a match for its opponent and was ultimately pinned dead here."

Liu Ji followed up by saying: "From this clue, the opponent of the stone Pseudo-God must be incredibly powerful."

Everyone could feel that even though the stone Pseudo-God was dead, it was clear it had surpassed Inner God Realm Perfection, reaching the level of Half-Step Unity Realm in its lifetime.

An existence at such a level could be pinned to the ground by a spear, showing just how powerful its opponent must have been.

Qin An, holding the Cold Star Saber, took a few steps around the giant stone Pseudo-God and then turned and said: "The spear remains here. Normally, even if one killed the enemy, they would take their weapon with them. That the opponent didn’t could mean several possibilities."

Liu Ji asked, "What are the possibilities?"

Qin An held up two fingers, bending one: "First, the enemy was severely injured after the kill, perhaps leaving quietly before even pulling out the spear to recover their wounds. But this is very unlikely."

Bamboo masked Qing Sha nodded: "The probability of the first scenario is indeed very small. No matter how severely injured, one wouldn’t leave without their weapon. What is the second possibility then?"

Qin An bent the remaining finger and slowly said, "The second possibility is that this spear is crucial for restraining the stone Pseudo-God. Although the stone Pseudo-God is dead, it might resurrect."

When Qin An mentioned the second possibility, everyone felt it was rather ridiculous.

However, this absurd assumption seemed to fit the scene before them better.

Since they would not leave without retrieving their weapon after defeating an enemy, Liu Ji and the others began to slightly accept Qin An’s speculation.

"Then where are the clues?" Liu Ji fell into deep thought.

He felt that the things within the mirage were exceedingly peculiar.

The clues at hand were so elusive that finding the continuation was exceedingly difficult.

Qin An was about to speak.

Just at that moment, a hoarse voice suddenly echoed in his ears.

"He’s gone mad, he’s gone mad. You must be careful. He’s now killing everything that interests him."

When the voice sounded, Qin An immediately became alert, raising the Cold Star Saber while looking around.

This scene immediately struck everyone as odd.

Wu Da asked, "Mr. Qin, did you discover something?"

Qin An came back to his senses, shaking his head slightly: "I didn’t discover anything."

From everyone’s expression, he could tell that the voice seemed to be heard only by him.

It seemed as though it deliberately sought him out.

He’s gone mad?

Destroying everything that piques his interest?

What is this?

The doubts in Qin An’s heart were like countless crashing waves, one after another.

Yet he didn’t know how to communicate with this voice.

As Qin An pondered, the thought had just floated up in his mind when the hoarse voice continued.

"Run, quickly run, his presence is about to descend upon the entire Wanshi Mountain Forest! If you don’t run, you won’t be able to withstand it!"

"Who is he?" Qin An instinctively asked in his heart.

"He is the mirage."

At those words, the ground suddenly sent a violent tremor.

Qin An’s expression slightly changed, as he turned and said, "Get out of here!"

He had just deduced some subtle things from the voice’s words.

According to what the voice said, the mirage had gone mad, exterminating everything that caught his interest.

In other words, did the mirage become a Pseudo-God?

This speculation was very likely.

But now was not the time to think much, it was time to seize the moment to leave here.

Everyone was a Silver General from the Evil Extermination Bureau’s Mountain Patrol, well-trained in daily life.

When Qin An spoke, he had already used his body technique to escape.

Qin An didn’t dawdle, using the Seven Stars Dragon Roar Shadow Step, he headed towards the mountain path exit.

From here back to the mountain path, everyone took less than half an hour.

When everyone stood in place, observing the slightly trembling Wanshi Mountain Forest, their expressions suddenly changed.

Only to see the forest before them tremble increasingly, and amidst the intense trembling, something unexpected suddenly occurred.