Earth Flame Pillar, Demigod Altar.
Lawrence Phoenix personally oversaw the construction of the altar by the Bloodline Demons, taking charge of every detail himself.
In fact, most of the Bloodline Demons held Lawrence Phoenix in contempt because he was a human transformed into a Bloodline.
Without Moznis’ backing, Lawrence Phoenix would hold no position within the Bloodline Clan.
With half a day remaining until tomorrow’s ascension ceremony, the altar was almost complete, with only a few runes requiring adjustment.
At night, Bloodline Wizard Klidor came to the altar to inspect its progress. Googlᴇ search nοvelfire.net
As the Great Wizard of the Bloodline Clan, Klidor was the chief priest for tomorrow’s ascension ceremony, so he needed to check on the altar’s construction before the ceremony began.
Klidor entered the altar, meticulously examining each Blood Sacrifice Rune.
After making a circuit, he felt that the runes on the altar were somewhat different from what he remembered.
Turning around to ask the overseer, he saw Lawrence Phoenix standing behind him, observing him closely.
Due to Moznis’ backing, even though the Low Rank Bloodline Demons despised Lawrence Phoenix, they dared not show it.
After all, Lawrence Phoenix’s rank was not low, and with Moznis’ trust, he had the power to dominate most Bloodline Demons.
But Klidor was different; as the Great Wizard of the Bloodline Clan, he was second only to Moznis in status.
Moreover, Klidor’s status was genuinely prestigious, completely different from Lawrence Phoenix’s false bravado.
Thus, when Klidor looked at Lawrence Phoenix, his gaze was full of disdain and contempt: "Why are the runes different from before?"
Lawrence Phoenix responded calmly, "Really? I didn’t know. I built it according to the records, and the tests on the altar’s runes showed the circuits all lit up without any issues."
Klidor narrowed his eyes slightly, asking no further questions, and turned to inspect the altar runes without missing any detail.
After a thorough examination, he indeed found that some of the runes differed from the previous altar.
However, he couldn’t determine the effect of these altered runes and needed to consult the Blood Sacrifice Tower for reference materials to find out.
After completing his inspection of the altar, he did not converse further with Lawrence Phoenix, directly leaving the altar to return to the Blood Sacrifice Tower.
Watching his departing figure, Lawrence Phoenix’s eyes turned cold and sombre.
He had been closely observing Klidor’s actions earlier and was aware that this Great Wizard of the Bloodline Clan had discovered the anomaly with the altar.
He had indeed tampered with the altar, and if this secret were uncovered, he would be doomed.
However, Klidor was a Great Wizard of the Bloodline Clan with a high level, and he was no match for Klidor at all.
As time ticked by with each passing second, the longer it dragged on, the more difficult the situation became.
Lawrence Phoenix rapidly pondered, realizing that he couldn’t silence Klidor, leaving him no choice but to...
He thought of a way to break the deadlock, turning away from the altar to a secluded spot, and taking out the Communication Treasure Pearl to send out a piece of information.
Bloodline Clan’s Great Wizard Klidor returned to the Blood Sacrifice Tower, took out a rune treasure book written on parchment, and opened it for a thorough review.
These Blood Sacrifice Runes originated from the records of the Bloodline Ancestor and were related to the Abyss, containing mysterious powers.
The Blood Sacrifice Runes required for ascending to a Demigod were also included within.
This type of rune treasure book existed in more than one copy among the Bloodline Clan; attaining a certain status enabled ownership.
Klidor’s rough, bark-like fingers flipped through page by page, tracing over each rune with his finger.
He identified all the runes needed for the Demigod ascension, comparing them to confirm that the altar’s runes differed from the ascension runes.
This meant there was definitely an error with the altar’s runes, but whether it was accidental or intentional remained unclear.
If it was the former, it only needed timely correction.
If it was the latter, things wouldn’t be that simple.
Klidor continued to turn the pages, his fingers tracing over each rune figure.
Moments later, his finger halted on one of the runes, confirming repeatedly that this rune matched precisely with those used on the altar.
He gently wiped the rune name recorded in the treasure book with his finger, then pronounced the name: "Absorption Rune..."
This rune was seldom used, and he quickly turned to the next page to examine the effect of the Absorption Rune: "It absorbs the blood and energy of the sacrifice, offering it to the beneficiary of the ritual... This is..."
Klidor pronounced the effect of the Absorption Rune, his eyes widening as his heart began pounding because he realized this ascension ritual concealed an enormous conspiracy.
Who is the sacrifice?
Who is the beneficiary of the ritual?
Klidor thought of a possibility, and then was shocked by this possibility.
He closed the rune treasure book, tucked it under his arm, and got up to find Moznis to reveal his discovery.
As he turned to leave, he was confronted by a shadowy figure.
Simultaneously, a sword radiating a faint blue glow was thrust into his chest.
"You... you..." Klidor extended his bark-like hand, pointing at the human before him, wanting to speak, but as soon as he opened his mouth, blood gushed from it.
The life force of the Bloodline Clan was resilient, and he still wanted to struggle, but at such close range, he had no ability to resist.
Lu Heng reached out to take the rune treasure book from under his arm and asked calmly, "What were you intending to do?"