Chapter 798: Sacrifice

In a dim, pitch-black cave.

Christine was almost soaked in sweat, her whole body still trembling.

Compared to her, the three Buriers beside her were even worse off—they had already fainted, their eyes rolled back.

Just moments ago, Wu Ming had fully unleashed his aura, mercilessly interrogating them under absolute suppression.

The three individuals lying on the ground had been subjected to Wu Ming’s soul-searching technique due to their unsatisfactory performance. Although they were still alive, they would likely suffer aftereffects once they woke up.

“Oh, my Lord… You are my sky, my earth, my life, my everything…”

Surprisingly, Christine, the crazy woman, seemed to harbor a secret penchant for masochism. Drooling, she looked as if she desperately wanted to kneel and lick Wu Ming’s toes.

“Is this woman mentally ill or something…”

Wu Ming rolled his eyes inwardly. “But surviving in an organization like this, it’s probably abnormal not to have psychological issues.”

Through these Buriers, he had finally gained some understanding of this organization.

The situation was half good and half bad.

The bad news was that there was indeed an entity above the sixth level behind this organization.

The good news was that this entity seemed abnormal—it was not a true god, and had never even achieved a single manifestation. It could only transmit some vague and often contradictory will.

The reason, naturally, was because the master of the Ouroboros Circle was not even a true god, let alone a false one!

According to Christine, several hundred years ago, the founder of the Ouroboros Circle had received a revelation from an entity from another realm by sheer coincidence.

This entity was not a true god, but it possessed power comparable to a true god. Through a series of sacrifices, it could grant its power to others—even bestowing bloodlines.

Thus, relying on bloody and savage rituals, the Ouroboros Circle began to secretly form, initially spreading only among a few families.

The founders of these families had parts of this bloodline implanted within them.

To pursue the purity of this bloodline and the power it contained, practices like incest became commonplace.

Incidentally, these Buriers were the result of failed unions.

Either they had flaws in their power, or they suffered from mental issues—or both.

Those who were especially deranged or twisted were secretly disposed of by the higher-ups, while the remaining ones were used as expendable tools.

Wu Ming, however, had a different opinion: “This sounds familiar… Could it be that the original body of the Infinite Serpent hasn’t completely died yet? Definitely a problem…”

Beings like him, at the eighth level, had already imprinted their unique mark upon the River of Time. Not only were they unique across all universes, but their vitality was also unfathomable.

Even if their original body perished, given a little time, they could resurrect again from the River of Time.

Of course, the original body of the Infinite Serpent had suffered greatly—it had encountered a ninth-level being, whose attack had severely damaged most of its imprint, causing immediate death. Upon resurrection, the Infinite Serpent had become a mere shadow of itself, barely clinging to existence.

But Wu Ming had clearly underestimated the vitality of such beings.

To ascend to the eighth level, one must gather all their manifestations, but once reaching the eighth-level Great Luo, a Golden Immortal no longer faced such restrictions and could manifest in countless forms at any time.

Therefore, it was not particularly surprising that the Infinite Serpent had left behind other avatars and contingencies in hidden dimensions and planes.

“Based on Christine’s description, this avatar’s condition clearly isn’t very good…”

Wu Ming stroked his chin. “That makes sense… With most of its true-word imprints damaged, wherever this avatar hides, it must inevitably be affected…”

For eighth-level Great Luo beings, their original body was the imprint within the River of Time.

As long as the imprint remained intact, no matter how many times they perished, they would survive. Conversely, if the imprint suffered damage, even if they had countless avatars scattered across different universes, all would simultaneously suffer the exact same injury.

“So, this Ouroboros organization is merely a remnant avatar left behind by the Infinite Serpent long ago, hiding in some semi-plane, with most of its sanity already lost…”

Wu Ming finally reached his conclusion.

He had already devoured the Infinite Serpent, so naturally, he had no fear of this half-dead avatar.

“Still… this problem should be resolved as soon as possible. Besides, this Ouroboros organization seems to have some potential for takeover…”

Admittedly, Wu Ming was now somewhat intrigued.

The legacy of a great being who had cultivated for centuries might hold some appeal for him. Even if he personally had no use for it, the continent of Sear would certainly find it useful in the future.

Moreover, as the inheritor of everything the Infinite Serpent once possessed, he didn’t even need to pretend—he could effortlessly seize control, just as he had done with Christine and the others.

“Christine!”

Thinking thus, Wu Ming immediately turned to the unusually obedient Christine. “Is it Black Serpent who’s currently in charge of your organization?”

“Yes, Black Serpent has perfectly inherited the Lord’s bloodline. Upon reaching adulthood, he automatically entered the Saint Realm and has since become unfathomably powerful!”

Christine betrayed her teammates without hesitation.

After all, the information deeply embedded within her bloodline left her with absolutely no desire to resist Wu Ming.

“Where is he now?”

Wu Ming asked directly.

“In the Great Southern Swamp. Black Serpent also has a public identity—as the Count of Black Forest Castle!”

Christine provided another valuable piece of information. “The entire Count’s family carries the Lord’s bloodline…”

“Actually, it’s the bloodline of the Infinite Serpent!”

Wu Ming rolled his eyes inwardly but didn’t directly correct her. Instead, he ordered, “Take me there!”

“At once! Your will is my mission!”

Christine nodded solemnly, a glint of bloodlust flickering in her eyes.

…

Southern Great Swamp, at the edge of the Black Forest.

This place was in the opposite direction from Ivansh Port in the east of the continent. Even with the best carriages, it would take several months of travel to reach.

Of course, supported by various teleportation techniques in this world, it only took Wu Ming a single blink to arrive here.

The Southern Great Swamp belonged to the Kingdom of Bod, and the nearby Black Forest region was also quite vast. However, due to the harsh environment, it had little population or resources. Thus, the Count of Black Forest Castle, who was enfeoffed there, received little attention and was merely an average noble within the kingdom—neither particularly prominent nor insignificant.

In terms of wealth and luxury, he couldn’t even compare to the port-controlling Ivansh Count.

However, the people of the Kingdom of Stein were unaware that beneath the mask of the Count of Black Forest Castle lay another, secret identity.

Late at night, a purple lunar halo descended.

Inside the castle, the Count of Black Forest Castle—the leader of the Ouroboros Circle, known as Black Serpent—felt the power within the lunar halo and a blissful expression appeared on his face.

“It’s time for the sacrifice again. How are the preparations going?”

He asked the butler standing behind him.

“There are no problems. We spent heavily to gather only the finest offerings—eight young girls from different regions, aged between fifteen and eighteen, all still virgins. Our Lord will surely be pleased with them!”

The butler replied in a stiff tone, his indifferent attitude indicating that this was far from the first time such an event had occurred.

In fact, as a family whose bloodline carried power—more akin to sorcerers—the Black Forest Counts had always selected their butlers from the most loyal branches of their family. These butlers also carried the bloodline bestowed by that great being, making them trusted members of the Ouroboros Circle, ensuring their loyalty.

“Excellent. Also… there’s still no news from Christine and the others?”

Black Serpent frowned. “If they had completed their mission, they would have reported to me immediately. This is highly unusual…”

“With all due respect!”

The butler slightly bowed. “Miss Christine is not exactly someone who follows the rules. It’s possible that Hulk and the others have already been eliminated by her…”

“That’s quite possible…”

The Count of Black Forest Castle sighed, rubbing his temples. “Christine inherited an exceptionally perfect bloodline, and her talent is also very good. If it weren’t for her mental issues, she would have been one of the most outstanding descendants of our organization.”

“That’s why I have tolerated her so much and not offered her as a sacrifice to our Lord!”

As the butler listened, his body shivered slightly.

The being that had granted the Black Forest family its power and bloodline was a mad, ignorant, bloodthirsty entity.

It not only enjoyed young, beautiful girls as sacrifices but also preferred powerful living beings as offerings.

Especially if these offerings were also its own bloodline descendants, they were even more favored.

Therefore, among the many failed offspring produced through generations of inbreeding within the families, a large portion had been used as sacrificial offerings to the deity.

“My Lord, the ritual is ready!”

At this moment, the captain of the castle guards entered, his eyes displaying vertical pupils.

Clearly, most of the castle’s upper echelons were actually members of the Ouroboros Circle.

“Very well!”

Hearing the report, Black Serpent finally set aside his concerns about Christine for now and proceeded with the butler and the guard captain to an underground chamber.

Within the vast underground space, a black altar stood out prominently.

On the cavern ceiling above, countless tiny holes, like pinpricks, allowed thin rays of purple moonlight to filter down, casting shimmering lights across the altar.

At this moment, surrounding the altar were already gathered numerous Ouroboros followers. At the center were eight young girls, stripped of their clothes and looking terrified.

“I hope these offerings will please our Lord this time!”

Black Serpent looked at the scene and sighed.

Lately, for some unknown reason, the entity that his family had worshipped for generations had become very strange. It had become unresponsive during communication attempts, constantly demanding more and more sacrifices, as if it had just suffered a major setback.