289 A Heart Woven from Flesh and Blood
Although Ye Xuan’s condition wasn’t as serious as Shen Changling’s, he felt as though his mind was about to explode as well. He felt his heartbeat gradually increase with that inexplicable sound. It almost felt like his heart was not his own.
The sound became long and drawn out. If one listened carefully, one could even detect a rhythm to it. The inexplicable rhythm lingered in the air, giving the impression of a beating heart!
Ye Xuan was shocked by this thought. How could it be a heart?
However, once he considered it, he could not dismiss this possibility.
Due to the pain, Shen Changling’s facial expression became even more twisted. Even though he had sealed off his five senses, it was not a permanent solution. Soon, it lost its effect. The sound traveled along the blood-red lines and soon enveloped the entire area.
In addition to the humanoid creatures that covered the sky and the earth, there were also bright red blood lines all over the altar, be it on the ceiling or the ground where they stood.
If this continued, Shen Changling would probably go crazy before he was killed by the humanoid creatures.
Just as Ye Xuan was figuring out a solution, something seemed to call out to him. His heart beat faster and faster. It actually matched the frequency from the void for a moment and then resonated with it.
Qian Yuan was not faring any better. He was on the verge of collapsing, and he was holding on to the last shred of his consciousness.
“What sound is this?”
He panted heavily. His face was twisted to the extreme.
The high priest, on the other hand, had an intoxicated expression on his face, as if the sound came from the heavens. Even his hands began to dance uncontrollably.
He said, “I can already hear the Master’s footsteps. He’ll be here soon.”
The high priest spoke nonsense. Yet, for some reason, when Qian Yuan heard these words, he felt his blood run cold and a chill crept up from the soles of his feet.
The high priest in front of him was already unfathomable, but he had an inexplicable fear of the “Master” the former spoke of. It was as if an extremely ominous thing was about to occur.
With this sound, Qian Yuan also became drowsy. The blood lines in the altar squirmed even more frantically, as if something was about to come out.
Qian Yuan bit the tip of his tongue until it bled and mumbled something. He didn’t know if it was the pain on the tip of his tongue or the effect of the spell, but he finally broke free of his restraints for a moment. He was in control of his body again.
The high priest, who was not far away, thought that victory was at hand and did not notice Qian Yuan’s movements. He focused all his attention on the altar.
Taking advantage of this opportunity, Qian Yuan ran towards the altar. He wanted to check out what was causing all this commotion. At the same time, he gathered spiritual power in his palm, determined to destroy the thing inside the altar.
He could tell that the high priest was particularly interested in this altar. Regardless whether it could be destroyed or not, he could at least disrupt the sacrificial ceremony and buy them time.
However, reality was extremely cruel.
Qian Yuan’s pupils suddenly shrank when he saw what was inside the altar.
It was a bright red, beating heart! He finally knew where the strange sound he had heard earlier had come from. It was the sound of a heart beating.
The blood vessels intertwined to form a heart of flesh and blood. It looked gruesome and terrifying.
It was engraved with all kinds of patterns and symbols. Countless blood vessels served as its nutrition tubes, sending nutrients to it while waiting for it to mature.
Qian Yuan’s face suddenly paled. Let alone attacking, even breathing was difficult for him. It was as if he had been locked onto by a massive object, and a tearing pain shot through his heart.
He subconsciously raised his head and met the high priest’s cold gaze. The latter did not say anything, but silently laughed at Qian Yuan’s overestimation of his own strength.
The high priest did not stop Qian Yuan. It was because he knew that at this point, the heart would definitely mature, and Qian Yuan could no longer stop it.
That was the reality of the situation.
Qian Yuan fell to the ground. The pain and twitching in his heart had made him lose all ability to fight. The blood lines had become as sharp as knives, cutting open countless small wounds on his body.
His golden blood flowed along the blood lines and was injected into the heart inside the altar. After absorbing these nutrients, the heart beated even faster.
The high priest’s strange laughter and the sound of the heart beating harmonized.
This strange and evil heart was growing at an extremely terrifying rate. At first, it was only the size of a finger, but now it was the size of an adult’s fist. This speed was impressive.
The blood vessels had turned dark red and looked extremely shriveled. It seemed that they were no longer useful after all the nutrients had been absorbed.
Qian Yuan knew that by the time the heart fully matured, incomprehensibly terrifying things would happen. He wanted to stop it, but he did not have the strength to do so.
“Master will be here soon.”
The blood vessels had turned black and were wrapped around the heart. The heart was surrounded by a layer of black Qi. Its gloomy color could be vaguely made out. An ominous evil was gathering inside.
Qian Yuan was ready to sacrifice himself. Even though he could not fight at the moment, he should be able to destroy the heart with all his current cultivation. Even if he couldn’t destroy it completely, it would be enough to make the high priest suffer a great loss.
Just as he was reversing his meridians and mobilizing all the spiritual power in his body, the heart in the altar suddenly flew out.
Not only Qian Yuan, but even the high priest was shocked. He exclaimed, “What is going on? It’s not mature yet! What went wrong?”
The heart seemed to be attracted by something inexplicable and flew into the horde of humanoid creatures.