Chapter 287: Chapter 267 Memorial to the Blood River Ancestor

This was Yu Feng’s second time reaching the Nascent Soul Stage. This time, not only was his foundation stable, but he was also a month faster than in his previous life.

With Jiang Li guiding him, that result was only natural.

What Yu Feng and Wu Lian worried about was the founding ceremony in one month.

The Blood River Ancestor no longer dared to abuse his position to demand mortals from Xuanji Kingdom, but requesting mortal tributes from mortal emperors on the eve of the founding ceremony—that was the Heavenly Lord’s order. No one could change it.

The Heavenly Lord intended to use one million mortals to activate the Nation-Protection Grand Formation, marking the start of the founding ceremony and writing a grand chapter in the history of Tongu Continent.

What was even more terrifying was that almost no cultivator objected to this decision—neither those of the righteous path nor the demonic path.

To them, mortals were no different from pigs or dogs. If they died, they died. Who would oppose slaughtering livestock?

Yu Feng understood death intimately. The pain and despair before dying were the most torturous parts. Repeatedly experiencing this process had nearly driven him mad.

That was why he couldn’t understand—everyone was of the human race, spoke the same language, had similar ways of thinking. Why did cultivators so clearly divide themselves from mortals, as if they were two separate species?

“Senior Jiang, I want to save them.”

Jiang Li turned to look at him, amusement in his eyes.

It was the first time Yu Feng had wanted to save people who had nothing to do with him.

“Good.”

He could tell Yu Feng was a kind person.

When someone knows that everything they do is ultimately meaningless—no matter how hard they try, no matter what connections they build—it will all be undone by the flow of time, erased completely…

Such a person could easily indulge in themselves, doing whatever it took to grow stronger: kill, and keep killing.

The rise of the demonic path on Tongu Continent was largely because blood sacrifice accelerated cultivation too quickly.

Through standard methods, reaching Foundation Establishment might take ten years.

But if you killed enough people and knew how to absorb life force, you could reach Foundation in a year—or even half a year.

Not to mention, blood sacrifice could break through bottlenecks and extend lifespan.

Kill a thousand mortals, and you could rise from Foundation Establishment to Golden Core and gain an extra hundred years of life. Kill or not?

Jiang Yixing had given his answer.

The temptation of demonic cultivation was simply too great.

But Yu Feng had never done that. He cherished every opportunity to live, and every life.

When Jiang Li first came to the Tongu Continent, he had watched Yu Feng die twice, seen him cultivate cautiously without stealing or killing—only then did he decide to help him.

Jiang Li had no reason not to help someone who held to their principles.

…

The Blood River Ancestor had been quite irritable lately.

A million mortals had been tributed by mortal emperors and locked in the dungeons. They were the key to the founding ceremony—nothing could go wrong.

The mortals knew they were doomed and cried nonstop day and night, which annoyed the Blood River Ancestor to no end.

He wanted nothing more than to slap them all dead for some peace and quiet—but as the Minister of Rites appointed by the Heavenly Lord, the main organizer of the founding ceremony, killing these mortals would be a slap in the Heavenly Lord’s face. The Heavenly Lord might use him as a sacrifice for the formation instead.

As the grand master of the Blood River Technique, seeing people but being unable to kill them—he was deeply frustrated.

“What kind of nonsense is this?!” The Blood River Ancestor patrolled the Celestial Prison and released his aura to scare the mortals into silence.

But once he left, they started wailing again.

He had no choice—he couldn’t constantly release his divine sense. Fragile mortals couldn’t endure such pressure for long; they would die.

“Master, someone outside seeks an audience. He says he has a good idea for the founding ceremony,” a servant reported.

“Let him in.”

“Yu Feng greets the Ancestor.”

“Go on, let’s hear this idea.” The Blood River Ancestor was lazy and full of pent-up anger. If this brat offered some boring suggestion, he wouldn’t hesitate to torture him with flaying or bone-pulling techniques.

A Nascent Soul at twenty-one—he was a genius.

And the Ancestor loved tormenting geniuses the most.

He wasn’t good at cultivating. The only reason he’d reached the Fusion Stage was because he had killed enough people.

Which is why he despised cultivation geniuses.

“I passed by the dungeons and heard the mortals wailing. It drew attention from many cultivators. I was thinking—if these cowardly mortals also cry and wail during the founding ceremony…”

Yu Feng’s words caught the Ancestor’s interest. “Go on.”

“The founding ceremony is a grand occasion for the entire continent. If there’s sobbing and wailing, it could cast a bad impression and displease the Heavenly Lord.”

“I can just seal their mouths.” The Blood River Ancestor immediately thought of a solution.

“Ancestor, your wisdom is profound—far better than what I was thinking.” Yu Feng flattered him.

He also sighed internally. It seemed he had quite the fate with the Blood River faction—from the granny who made human meat buns, to Ma Pingfan, and now the Blood River Ancestor himself. He’d encountered them from the bottom all the way to the top.

“So what was your idea?”

“Mortals are ignorant. We can indoctrinate them to become fanatics for the Celestial Dynasty. Teach them that dying for the dynasty is an honor and source of pride—that their deaths are the foundation of the Celestial Dynasty and therefore meaningful.”

“If, before death, these ignorant mortals could shout praises of the Heavenly Lord and the Celestial Dynasty’s eternal glory, wouldn’t that be a fine tale to spread?”

Yu Feng’s plan was certainly better than the Ancestor’s, but he couldn’t say that. The Blood River Ancestor was capricious and might just slap him to death.

This operation placed Yu Feng in serious danger.

In the past, he had always avoided high-level cultivators—especially murder-crazed ones like the Blood River Ancestor.

But this time, to save the mortals, he had to get close.

“Your idea is somewhat interesting,” the Blood River Ancestor said, shaking his head lightly. “But it’s unrealistic. How could ignorant mortals reach such noble awareness?”

“You’ve wasted my time. That’s a crime punishable by death.” The Ancestor’s killing intent surged.

Yu Feng broke out in cold sweat. “Please wait, Ancestor! I can indoctrinate them! If I fail, you can kill me then!”

The Ancestor withdrew his hand.

“I’ll spare your life for now. If you fail, you’ll be sacrificed with the mortals.”

“Thank you, Ancestor, for your mercy!” Yu Feng kowtowed in excitement.

As if he were offering a memorial to the dead.

…

Yu Feng entered the dungeon. Men, women, elders, and children were all crying—cursing as they wept.

With only one month left to live, they had completely lost hope.

Resistance? Useless.

Trickery? Useless.

Begging? Useless.

“Everyone, there’s no need to be sad. You should be happy.”

Some turned their attention to Yu Feng.

He had placed amplification talismans around the area so that all mortals could hear his voice.

“You will not die. On the contrary, you will become holy spirits—eternal and undying—forever protecting the Celestial Dynasty.”

Hearing this, the people looked skeptical, but they were curious to hear what this lofty cultivator had to say.