I am the Ruler of the Kingdom of Mysterious-Chapter 88 - 71: Zhongyuan Taboos

Sang Que originally thought that only Black Mountain Village was being sacrificed, but now she realized that Black Mountain Village was just a small piece, perhaps the most insignificant one.

Even though she killed Yan Daozi and led most of the people of Black Mountain Village to escape, she still couldn’t stop this ’grand ceremony’.

According to what Sang Que knew, a Yin Walker did not need a ceremony to descend into the Nine Netherworld; as long as the Heart Lamp was strong enough, breaking through to the Third Layer and continuing to the Fourth and Fifth Layers wasn’t difficult. The hard part was the evil spirits being harnessed by the Yin Walker for ascension, which required a special ritual with every level breakthrough.

Could it be that all of this was actually a promotion ritual prepared by Wan Xiangtou for his evil spirits?

Yan Daozi mentioned that after this ceremony, Wan Xiangtou would enter the Ninth Floor of the Nine Netherworld; he didn’t seem insane, which meant his Heart Lamp strength was at least on the Fifth Layer of the Nine Netherworld.

According to Mom’s summary about Heart Lamps, it was equivalent to Wan Xiangtou needing the admiration of ten thousand people, or as Yan Daozi mentioned, another kind of Heart Lamp that required the fear of ten thousand people?

Sang Que looked at the bizarre blood cloud mask above her head; as long as this event was spread, it wouldn’t be hard to gather the fear of the masses.

Desperate cries echoed in the darkness; the more than seventy people of Black Mountain Village were now collapsing in the night, with nowhere to go and no way to retreat.

"Oh, God, if I had known, I would rather die at home!"

An elderly woman was crying hysterically, and a dark red grass rope silently appeared on the elm tree beside the road, suddenly wrapping around the woman.

Ugh!

In the blink of an eye, the woman was strangled by the rope and hung violently from the tree, kicking and struggling!

Sang Que saw this and immediately drew her iron sword, using the power of the Yin Child to transform the Evil Mist onto the sword, sweeping it horizontally at the Suicide Rope.

The Suicide Rope snapped, and the woman fell to the ground.

Panic erupted among the people, one by one being caught by the Suicide Rope at the roadside and hung under the trees, struggling mightily; most were children who couldn’t control themselves and looked up.

"Everyone, keep your heads down, don’t look around!"

Kou Yushan shouted, and the older people immediately pressed down the heads of the children beside them, trembling.

Sang Que and Xia Chan quickly intervened to rescue those children and people from the trees.

The cries of the children were muffled by their parents, the trembling people huddled together, heads low in fear, and a pungent smell spread through the crowd.

Compared to modern people, these villagers were already considered calm; at least they didn’t run and scream, and they could follow orders and react quickly.

A sinister wind howled like ghostly wailing, and the blood-red opera mask overhead dispersed with the dark clouds, revealing a blood-red full moon.

On the elm tree beside the road, dark red ropes came cascading down one after another, with hanging knots, ready to hunt once someone triggered the rules.

The low, oppressive crying continued, faced with the surrounding Suicide Ropes, their hearts were filled only with fear and despair.

Kou Yushan, holding a hatchet, softly comforted, "Everyone, don’t move rashly, no need to panic or make noise if you hear anything."

Everyone looked to Kou Yushan, but Kou Yushan’s gaze fell on Sang Que.

It was around 7:30 now, with four and a half hours until midnight.

Kou Yushan walked up to Sang Que, "There are more than twenty villages around Tangyuan County, and with Tangyuan County gone, those villages are surely in grave danger. The event just happened, so even if the Night Travelers of the Evil Suppression Bureau set off right now, the earliest they can arrive to check the situation is tomorrow. We can only rely on ourselves to survive tonight."

Sang Que straightforwardly said, "I have less than ten Exorcism Talismans left, and I can use the Evil Mist to block some evil spirits, but I can’t hold out for long."

There’s also the Exorcism Red Candle, but it won’t last long either.

Actually, Sang Que very much wanted to leave now; she couldn’t die here, her mom was waiting for her to return home.

But she needed a gate to return to the modern world, and she needed the power of the Yansheng coin to open it and go back.

Surrounded by the wilds, where would she find a door? She didn’t dare go near the places that had been sacrificed.

So tonight, she must hold out.

"Little Chan can help as well." Xia Chan said softly.

Meow~

Kou Yushan showed a grateful expression, and Liu Tianyou, with reddened eyes, stumbled over; he had been in Tangyuan County for a long time, and while grieved by the loss of his classmates, he wanted to survive more than anything.

"Uncle Kou, towards Wangshan City from Tangyuan County, it’s a two-day drive to Dongyang County, a large county with an Evil Suppression Bureau branch; it should be safe."

"On the way to Dongyang County, there’s a station where we can take shelter; we just need to survive tonight, and maybe tomorrow we’ll encounter people from the Evil Suppression Bureau, or we can try to reach the station and be safe."