Chapter 27: The Ritual of Sacrifice

Is it a reverse unbinding…

Vilyric pondered and did not immediately respond to Old Longbei’s expectations.

She was now one hundred percent certain that this pollution, said to be from the “Ghost Ship,” was an influence of a higher power.

From what Vilyric understood, most races and factions in this world had a rather limited understanding of the soul. Even a skilled interloper like Hao Miao Yi Meng couldn’t solve the issue of Mofuman’s soul loss, let alone ordinary beings.

If the pollution were merely a special kind of mental magic, there might be a possibility of human manipulation, but considering that the souls of the polluted had undergone directional distortion, it could only mean that the source of this “mental pollution” was incredibly high-level.

This power resembled something she had previously seen in the Holy Empire—the “Impurity” authority of the Demon Four Monarchs. That too was a plague and mutation targeting souls, but how should she say it… It’s similar, but fundamentally there’s a clear distinction.

Here, it feels more like certain guys deliberately manipulated and even amplified the pollution of high-level magical information, spreading it through some means that affected this side.

As for whether the Priestess could heal this kind of pollution, which directly impacted the soul…

Of course, she could.

After all, she was a level 110 Priestess, and having gained a lot of knowledge and power from the Spiritual Fox Priestess, her understanding of the soul was no longer as unfamiliar as it once was. If this had been shortly after her arrival, she might indeed have felt at a loss. Now, it was merely “a bit troublesome.”

The key issue lay in another angle.

“In my view, as long as a being hasn’t fundamentally mutated into something completely different, there’s still room for restoration. But after all, that’s just my personal power, not a method that can be widely applied.”

“That’s… also true.”

After Vilyric’s not-so-subtle hint, Old Longbei quickly understood and wore an expression of regret.

The Priestess could heal this situation not because she possessed a special targeted method, but simply because she had reached a high enough level in terms of realm and status to use brute force to break through.

It was like two choices: unlocking a lock or forcefully smashing it. She might be able to save one or two, or even all the patients in this room, but she couldn’t become a means for the Merman tribe to deal with this “pollution.” It wasn’t a matter of ability but rather feasibility.

The former of those two choices was truly what the Merman tribe and the entire Emerald Sea Region needed right now.

Or… solve the problem at its source.

Standing once again beside the unconscious patients, the black-haired girl clapped her hands and, without hesitation, walked toward Queen Anies and others waiting a little further away. Old Longbei hesitated for a moment but could only sigh and shake his head, following behind.

Vilyric chose not to hastily attempt treatment at this moment. On one hand, it was unnecessary; on the other, she wasn’t quite familiar with the source and content of this information pollution. Acting rashly wouldn’t be a smart choice.

Things like information pollution differed from ordinary mental magic or brainwashing techniques. Its effects might not be as immediate as the latter, requiring a process of growth and change. However, in comparison, it was also much harder to guard against and could more easily affect high-resistance individuals.

Just like those advertisements that can influence others’ subconscious through specific images, language, or actions—such things had been stealthily mixed into the biotechnologies devoted to the Earth Mother Goddess Xi Fu in the Aibus world, subtly pushing some of Her decisions, which ultimately led to Her tragic fate.

Although at that time, Xi Fu was in a fragmented state, mentally unstable, and had no prior defenses, allowing those hard-to-detect information infiltrations to take advantage, it also fully confirmed that such power could indeed exert some influence on deities.

Vilyric didn’t want to carelessly expose herself to anything strange and let something odd creep into her mind. After all, if she wanted to treat it, she’d have to delve more deeply into that matter. And for “information,” contact equated to unleashing its effect.

Let’s not forget, they weren’t invited by Queen Anies to play doctor today. These patients had been specifically gathered here, clearly for another purpose. It would be better to observe the situation for now.

“Miss Vilyric, you’ve figured it out so quickly?”

While waiting for the Priestess and Old Longbei, Her Majesty was busy directing the three-finned Mermen to arrange numerous unclear items like incense sticks, some bones refined from creatures, and various oils throughout the vast space of the stadium. However, before this task was fully completed, the black-haired girl had already returned to their side.

“I just wanted to confirm a few speculations. This is about good enough. Today is Your Majesty’s stage, so I naturally can’t overstep.”

The mature and gentle-looking woman who resembled Nitira tilted her head, a trace of confusion crossing her face.

“Overstep… what? What does that mean? But you’re right; the urgent matter is still to find Nitira’s whereabouts… Isn’t Miss Vilyric curious about what we’re doing?”

“Um… a ritual centered around these patients?”

Her Majesty smiled slightly.

“You are indeed very clever, but it’s not quite right to call it a ritual. To be precise, it should be called a ‘sacrifice.'”

Just then, the Sea Priestess who had been busy arranging the environment also returned and respectfully reported.

“Your Majesty, preparations are complete and ready to begin at any time.”

“Good. Have those unrelated to the ceremony withdraw and light the ‘sacrifice candles.'”

Saying this, Anies paused and cast a meaningful glance toward Silisa, who seemed to be in charge of presiding over this sacrifice.

“Don’t let me down.”

“Yes… I will do my utmost.”

The three-finned Mermen responsible for caring for the patients exited the room, leaving behind only a select few powerful Mermen warriors, as well as the queen, the mingjiao girl named Valda, Old Longbei, and the three women, Vilyric.

Under everyone’s gaze, Silisa stepped forward alone, approaching a dozen patients surrounded in the center by various sacrificial items and specially crafted candles. With a solemn expression, she bit her fingertip, reaching toward the nearest sacrificial candle.

“Boom!”

The moment her blood dropped onto the specially made candle, all magical lights in the room extinguished simultaneously. A deep blue flame ignited in the darkness, rapidly bursting into life from all the sacrificial candles in a prearranged sequence, illuminating the pale faces of the unconscious Mermen as if offering them as sacrifices to an unknown deity.

A dark blue glow, akin to the profound ocean, slowly brightened on all the sacrificial items, and accompanying it was the figure of Silisa, the ritual’s leader, and her flowing, wave-like hair!

Supported by some power, she floated up slowly, reciting fervently!

“O masters of the sea, rulers of azure waves, roaring tides, tempests, and whirlpools, great truth of the ocean, devout followers herein offer prayers, calling for your gaze and power! Please, with the ‘Spear of Storms,’ cut through the waves, let the ‘Lamp of Truth’ illuminate our path, guiding us in our wandering direction…”

“We present you with this offering, as proof, descend to reveal the location of our royal daughter—Nitira Mingjiao!”

   

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