The circular staircase narrowed with each tier, the array of sacrificial sculptures decreasing in number until only four remained on the uppermost landing. As he swept past the first two, in a flash, Nie Kong’s pupils constricted sharply, his gaze locking onto the final pair.

This pair depicted a middle-aged man and woman, their features brought into sharp relief by the divine illumination emanating from Nie Kong.

“Hua Chen! Jing Rong!”

Those two names erupted in Nie Kong’s mind.

Though Nie Kong had never met Hua Mei’s parents, when he had broken Hua Mei’s seal within the “Flower Butterfly Secret Realm,” her memories spanning over a decade had been laid bare before him without reservation.

The visages of Hua Chen and Jing Rong remained vividly imprinted in his memory.

The instant he saw these two sculptures, what lay before his eyes merged with the faces etched in his mind, allowing Nie Kong to recognize them instantly.

Compared to the ninety-six sculptures scattered along the lower steps, the black coating on Hua Chen and Jing Rong’s bodies was relatively faint, revealing even the expressions on their faces with clarity. Standing before them, Nie Kong could vividly sense their apprehension, helplessness, and indignation at that moment.

“Whoosh!”

His movement paused momentarily, and Nie Kong swiftly arrived beside Hua Chen, resting his right hand lightly upon his head. Then, with a surge of intent, Xiang Xiang’s innate medicinal power subtly seeped forth.

At this moment, a sliver of desperate hope flared in Nie Kong’s heart: perhaps his in-laws were not yet dead!

The entity refining souls here should be a Dark-aligned Spirit God.

A peak Spirit God could not breach the spatial restraints between the Grand Sovereign Spirit Realm and the Heavenly Spirit Continent to manifest their true form and perform the “Soul Sacrifice.”

The most probable scenario was that the Spirit God had entrusted their spiritual thought into the “Soul Orb” at the center of the altar via the Emissary of the Spirit God Temple, then manipulated the Soul Orb within the Grand Sovereign Spirit Realm to refine the souls of these Heavenly Spirit powerhouses. This method was exceedingly safe but required a much longer duration.

Judging by the intervals at which Heavenly Spirit powerhouses were transported from the Spirit God Temple, it was estimated that the Spirit God would need about fifty years to successfully temper two souls. Upon successful tempering, the Spirit God could then split off a wisp of their own soul to merge with it, subsequently elevating the soul over vast stretches of time.

Tempering, merging, elevation…

Of these three phases, tempering was the most brutal, requiring the Heavenly Spirit Master’s soul to be drawn out bit by bit. Furthermore, throughout the tempering process, the Heavenly Spirit Master had to be kept perpetually conscious; only when the very last thread of soul was extracted would the Heavenly Spirit Master finally die completely.

This process was akin to the Ling Chi—slow slicing—of Nie Kong’s previous life.

For a Heavenly Spirit Master, enduring Ling Chi upon the physical body might be bearable, but few could withstand the Ling Chi inflicted upon the soul.

Currently, Hua Chen and Jing Rong had been imprisoned here for less than ten years, and the darkness coating their bodies was not yet profound. It suggested their souls were still undergoing the tempering process and had not been utterly extinguished. As long as their souls had not been annihilated, Nie Kong was absolutely certain he could revive them.

“They really aren’t dead!”

Seconds later, Nie Kong rejoiced. A slight trace of vitality still lingered within Hua Chen’s physical form. If the body hadn't perished, the soul certainly could not have been destroyed.

He quietly withdrew his palm and moved to Jing Rong’s side.

After a brief examination, Nie Kong let out a breath of profound relief; a faint life force also remained within Jing Rong.

“How is it?”

Lan Ling followed him over, leaning close to Nie Kong. The thought of having nearly become one of those sculptures sent a shiver down even her spine.

“It’s alright,” Nie Kong nodded slightly. After determining that Hua Chen and Jing Rong were alive, he deliberately refrained from probing their souls, mainly to avoid alerting the unknown Spirit God.

To manipulate the Soul Orb on this altar smoothly within the Grand Sovereign Spirit Realm, there must be an intermediary.

That intermediary had to be an Emissary.

Over nearly two thousand five hundred years, Emissaries must have continuously maintained the descent state of that Spirit God. According to Hua Mei’s memories, there was a Tower of Communication with the Gods within the Spirit God Temple; “Communication with the Gods” meant connecting with the Spirit Gods. If Nie Kong guessed correctly, the entity was likely concealed within that tower.

Now, as long as Nie Kong did not touch the souls within these sculptures, he would not disturb it, allowing Nie Kong time to calmly devise a method to rescue Hua Chen and Jing Rong.

Gazing up at the Soul Orb atop the altar, Nie Kong murmured, “Lan Ling, during the two thousand four hundred years you guarded this area, the Spirit God Temple arrived forty-eight times. Did you notice anything unusual among those escorting the sacrifices?”

“Unusual?”

Lan Ling blinked in surprise, recalling for a moment before clapping her hands. “I remember now. It seems every time there was an escort group, there was one very young fellow, sometimes female, sometimes male. And each young person would only appear here twice consecutively before vanishing.”

Nie Kong mused thoughtfully, “Anything else?”

“Anything else…”

Lan Ling racked her brain for a long while before saying somewhat sheepishly, “When they arrived, I was either sleeping or cultivating; I didn’t pay them much attention… Oh, right. Among those twenty-four young people who came here, they all seemed to be Heavenly Spirit Masters who cultivated Dark Spirit Power.”

“That settles it,” Nie Kong affirmed with a nod. “The bodies of the twenty-four young people you saw all housed the same soul—the Spirit God performing the ‘Soul Sacrifice.’ They just replaced the Emissary of the Spirit God Temple every century or so. If you think about it carefully, you must have felt a sense of familiarity every time you saw those young people.”

Lan Ling suddenly understood. “Yes, yes, there definitely was a familiar feeling. I initially attributed it to them all being Dark Spirit Masters, then I stopped paying attention.” She glanced around the vicinity and couldn't help but ask, “What do we need to do now?”

Upon entering the passage and learning the truth about the prison she was guarding, the last vestiges of resentment Lan Ling held vanished. She was now utterly convinced of Nie Kong’s integrity. Because of these bizarre sculptures and the scoundrels, she knew Nie Kong hadn't lied to her, nor did he have any reason to.

For over two millennia, even though the previous Master of the Spirit God Temple had extracted a wisp of her soul aura, she remained grateful to the Spirit God Temple and diligently protected the passage here, never allowing any outsider entry. Now, however, all she felt was fury toward the Spirit God Temple.

Amidst her rage, Lan Ling secretly felt immense relief that Nie Kong had arrived. Otherwise, she might have only realized she was a fool who had helped count the money after being sold out, only to watch her own demise step by step amidst endless regret.

“Let me think,” Nie Kong closed his eyes, calmed his mind, and watched the fragments related to “Soul Sacrifice” spin rapidly through his memory like a revolving lantern.

… ……