Rise of The Demon General

Chapter 372: Chapter 372. Carrying Out the Ceremony

Amon’s face didn’t show any change, but Tuang Yin showed a horrified expression. Kui Mang laughed at her. He said, ”Don’t worry, I only need a little blood. It won’t endanger his life. However, it is not so for the willing maiden.”

Kui Mang gestured to the crowd of cloaked people around them. One of them came forward. The person removed her hood, which revealed herself as a young woman.

She walked toward Kui Mang. Following behind her were Kui Chong and another cloaked person. She stopped before Kui Mang.

”You know what will happen, right? Don’t worry, as agreed, I will take care of your family,” Kui Mang told her.

Amon could see the fear in the woman’s eyes. She seemed ready to burst into tears but nodded at Kui Mang’s words.

Kui Mang moved aside and gestured for her to go to the wooden table among the Midnight Blooms. She walked to the table.

”What are you going to do to her?” Tuang Yin asked.

”You will see,” Kui Mang answered.

”See my ass! You are doing something bad to her, aren’t you?” Tuang Yin asked. When Kui Mang didn’t respond, she turned to the woman and called, ”Hey, you! You don’t have to do it if you don’t want to! Don’t listen to his lies!”

The girl seemed to falter.

Kui Mang frowned. He signaled his people. One person grabbed Tuang Yin from behind and covered her mouth, preventing her from speaking. Tuang Yin tried fighting back, but another grabbed her arms. Both had the same strength as her.

Another stood between Amon and Tuang Yin, preventing him from doing anything rash. Amon used his eyes to signal Tuang Yin to calm down. She reluctantly complied.

After ensuring he would not be interrupted, Kui Mang told the cloaked woman, ”We already talked about this. If you change your mind, that’s okay. I will find another person, but you and your family will be exiled. Where will your family go? You don’t have money to start over at a new place, and none in your family is a cultivator who can take you safely to this new place. Your family won’t survive. If you do this, your family won’t have to worry anymore for the rest of their lives. I will take care of their needs. It’s your call.”

Tuang Yin was tempted to say something again but couldn’t. Her mouth was still covered.

The woman resumed her steps. She arrived beside the wooden table and removed her cloak. She wore nothing under the cloak. She lay her naked body on the table. Kui Chong and his partner started binding her on the table using straps.

After they were done, Kui Chong revealed a strangely shaped dagger. He brought the dagger above the chest of the woman.

”O, great dark lord. This is for you!” Kui Chong uttered.

Kui Mang started chanting in weird language while approaching the table. The others followed his chant. Their voices filled the woods.

The breathing of the woman lying on the table became more rapid when she heard the chant. She no longer retained her façade. Her face fully showed a terrified expression. When the chant stopped, she yelled, ”Father, mother! I’m sorry I must leave you...!”

Kui Chong’s dagger plunged into her heart then. Blood flowed from the wound. She coughed as she was gagged by her own blood. She became still soon.

Kui Mang again uttered several unknown syllables while making weird hand gestures. The ground underneath the table started to light up. Amon saw now that there was a diagram formed using words of power on the ground.

”Demon cultivator, come!” Kui Mang commanded.

One of his people pushed Amon forward upon the command. Amon had no choice but to follow their wish.

”I have a question for you, demon cultivator,” Kui Mang said while Amon approached. ”How do you describe a man who stands above all others and can do what others can’t?”

”A God,” Amon answered.

”Exactly!” Kui Mang exclaimed, ”I learned about this ceremony from this book. It allows us to communicate with a dark God from the lower world. This dark God can bestow us with power and wealth beyond compare, allowing my clan to thrive in our decaying town. With the revival of my clan, I will bring our town back to glory. This is what everyone wants. That is why everyone here supports me in this endeavor.”

”You, people, place your faith in the promise from a book of unknown origin? How laughable! How do you know everything described in that book is true?” Amon challenged.

”Because all of what it said about the infernal ley lines turn out to be true. The ceremonies we conducted in the past also showed signs of connecting with the lower realm. We only failed because we were missing one key ingredient, the blood of a demon cultivator. This changes today.”

Kui Mang took the unique dagger from his son’s hand and offered it to Amon. ”Spill your blood on the diagram using this dagger. This is a special dagger I acquired together with this book. It is said to be the property of a dark God before he descended to the lower realm. This allows us to call on this particular dark God.”

Amon didn’t like this, but he had no choice but to play along. For now, this ceremony didn’t seem to endanger his life. There was not enough reason to struggle.

Amon took the ceremonial dagger. It was sharp but didn’t seem to possess any specific power. He used it to cut his palm. His blood flowed from the wound onto the ground, where the words of power were still glowing.

When his blood touched the words of power, their glow changed color. Before, it was bright white. It now turned into eerie red. The red glow encompassed the whole diagram, making the whole place unnervingly spooky.

”It is working... It is working...!” Kui Mang exclaimed.

Amon could feel it, too. The energy around them was growing. Something was happening.

The pressure became so strong that everyone started stepping away from the wooden table that was the center of it. Kui Mang also moved away from it. The pressure even created turbulence that pushed everyone away.

The eerie red glow from the words of power slithered up into the air and converged above the dead body of the sacrificed woman. A distortion started to appear at the convergent point. This distortion enlarged into a circular portal. Glimpses of blurry scenery could be seen from this portal. Normal human eyes might not be able to catch these glimpses, but Amon slightly perceived them.

The scenery showed different places with different landscapes. They had one similar thing, though. The sky was always dark red, and everything looked gloomy.

”Yes... yes...,” Kui Mang uttered. ”The ceremonies were always cut off at this point in the past, but it is still going strong this time. We made it! This ceremony is a success...!!”

The portal continued to grow as the blurry scenes continued to change one after another. Suddenly, the scene changing stopped. The turbulence was also abruptly gone. Everything was serene again except for the perimeter outside the circular mob. Sounds of fighting to keep the spirit beasts away were still heard from there.

The portal itself didn’t show any more scenery. What was seen inside the portal was just dark red emptiness.

Everyone stared at the portal in silence. They were waiting in anticipation for something to happen. However, after a couple of minutes, nothing changed. The portal just floated there.

”I... I don’t understand...,” Kui Mang uttered with uncertainty.

”Father... Did we fail again?” Kui Chong asked.

Kui Mang didn’t answer because he didn’t know. It was another cloaked figure beside them who said, ”It can’t be... When it failed the last time, the portal vanished. The portal is still there, so we haven’t failed...?”

Standing around discussing it wouldn’t solve anything. Kui Mang decided to approach the portal. He tried to appear confident and know what he was doing. Yet, everyone could see that each step he took was filled with doubt.

Amon observed his surroundings. He sent Tuang Yin the signal to be ready. This might be the chance for them to attempt an escape. Kui Mang and his mob were completely preoccupied. If they made a quick dash while these people were still unaware, they should be able to make it.

From his observations, he saw a path where the cloaked people didn’t crowd densely enough. They should be able to flee through that path. A flashbang grenade appeared in his hand.

He was about to signal Tuang Yin and throw the flashbang grenade when an enormous pressure bore down on him.

It was not just him. Everyone around the clearing was subjected to this pressure. It caused them to drop to their knees. Even Kui Mang was unable to resist the pressure. He knelt right before the portal.

A voice that caused everyone’s soul to freeze was heard. The voice appeared to sound from inside their minds.

”I was wondering who could have called me from the main world of Aetheria. It appears to be just a group of insects.”