The sacrificial vessel in the old woman’s hand was an incomplete one, a Chen-grade sacrificial vessel!
Sacrificial vessels came in two types: complete and incomplete, and were further divided into four grades.
Sun, Moon, Star, Chen.
Among these, Sun-grade sacrificial vessels were complete ones, possessing earth-shattering power capable of moving mountains and reversing the stars!
Moon, Star, and Chen were incomplete sacrificial vessels.
Sacrificial vessels contained the power of the world’s origin and were the only objects capable of sealing anomalies.
However, there was a fatal flaw in this!
That was, when an anomaly was sealed within a sacrificial vessel, the vessel’s innate power of the world’s origin would be absorbed by the anomaly.
Once the vessel’s power of the world’s origin was completely absorbed by the sealed anomaly, the sacrificial vessel would lose its original power and become useless scrap.
And that sealed anomaly, after absorbing the vessel’s power of the world’s origin, would become even stronger than before.
Therefore, using sacrificial vessels to seal supernatural anomalies was essentially a practice of draining the pond to catch the fish, of drinking poison to quench thirst.
This was also why no one chose to use sacrificial vessels to seal supernatural anomalies.
But it was clear that the people of the World-Cleansing White Lotus Sect would not consider these things.
The old woman, holding the vessel, forcefully channeled her internal energy into it.
Sacrificial vessels could only be used by martial artists at the Internal Energy realm or above, utilizing the energy of heaven and earth.
As the old woman’s internal energy continuously poured out, the seemingly ordinary broken bronze bowl emitted an obscure and profound glow in the darkness.
The seemingly ordinary radiance concealed a power that made the old woman’s heart race with fear.
Upon seeing this light, a flicker of pain crossed the old woman’s eyes.
Because, to seal this anomaly, this incomplete sacrificial vessel had already had most of its power of the world’s origin absorbed by the anomaly.
After a while, as if sensing a certain presence, the corners of the old woman’s mouth gradually curled up. She glanced towards the county town and sneered coldly a few times.
Then, the old woman threw the sacrificial vessel in her hand down below the city wall and, with extreme speed, left with the few women who had been below the wall.
In her panicked escape, she didn’t even dare to pick up the sacrificial vessel left on the ground.
The supernatural anomaly inside had already claimed that vessel as its own.
No matter how greedy the old woman was, she didn’t dare to entertain such thoughts.
Heh heh heh!
That Yin energy was truly powerful!
Even she, a martial artist at the minor achievement stage of Internal Energy, felt a profound sense of danger.
The Yin energy of this E-grade anomaly had actually reached such a concentration.
According to the old woman’s estimation, the strength of this E-grade anomaly was not much different from that of a martial artist at the major achievement stage of Internal Energy.
Strength at the major achievement stage of Internal Energy was not something she, at the minor achievement stage, could handle.
The saying “all beneath the major achievement of Internal Energy are ants” was something the old woman understood deeply.
To be precise, the major achievement of every martial arts realm overpowered martial artists below that stage.
This was also why martial artists at the major achievement stage of Internal Energy were so rare.
Precisely because of the terrifying nature of Internal Energy major achievement martial artists, the position of Black Feather Guard Envoy in every prefecture could only be held by one!
Not long after the old woman left, the profound glow on the surface of the bronze bowl on the ground gradually faded.
In its place appeared a fiercely burning blue flame. The eerie blue firelight illuminated the surroundings with a ghostly luminescence, as if one were in hell itself.
If anyone had been there, they would have felt that the flame, which seemed capable of incinerating all things, was instead bone-chillingly cold.
Within that cluster of blue flames, a human-shaped shadow flickered indistinctly.
The bronze bowl on the ground, having returned to its normal appearance, was directly swallowed by that blue fiery shadow.
Immediately after, layers of blue flame transformed into endless ripples, seeping into the ground and spreading towards the county town.
“What!”
“This Yin energy!”
Within the Lu family estate, Qian Hao and Li Daren were each meditating in adjacent rooms.
After arriving at the Lu family, they had explained their identities to Lu Jiahe, claiming that Lu Xuan had sent them to protect the Lu family.
This was also Lu Xuan’s intention.
At that moment, Qian Hao and Li Daren almost simultaneously opened their eyes, their pupils filled with shock and fear.
The doors on both sides opened in an instant as Qian Hao and Li Daren stepped out.
“Old Li, did you sense it too?”
“Such concentrated Yin energy, how is this possible!”
Qian Hao muttered in disbelief.
Not long after arriving at the Lu family, he had already broken through to the major achievement stage of Blood Refining!
Logically speaking, with his Qi and blood at the major achievement stage of Blood Refining, supernatural anomalies below the E-grade shouldn’t possibly make his physical body feel the chill of Yin energy!
Yet just now, Qian Hao had felt an unprecedented level of Yin energy, the most intense he had ever encountered in his life.
Qian Hao and Li Daren both surged their dragon-and-tiger-like Qi and blood from within their bodies, then probed for the source of the Yin energy around them.
Only when Qian Hao and Li Daren simultaneously perceived the scale of the Yin energy permeating the air did they both become shocked!
They discovered that the entire Lu family estate was enveloped by this Yin energy, which even extended beyond the estate’s walls.
“Old Qian, quickly notify the Envoy!”
“With this Yin energy, something major is about to happen in Qingyun County town!”
As soon as Li Daren finished speaking, Qian Hao immediately reacted, dashing into the room with a swift step.
Qian Hao was going to retrieve the Black Xuan Bird that Lu Xuan had entrusted to him from its cage to send word back about the situation in Qingyun County.
Qingyun County Government Office!
In the rear hall of the government office, Magistrate Ye Qingshan, lying in his room, also sensed this Yin energy.
“This is… an Anomaly Domain!”
“An E-grade anomaly!”
“How can an anomaly of this level exist in Qingyun County!”
Ye Qingshan had already opened his door and was looking up at the distant sky.
Reflected in his pupils was the blue fiery glow on the distant horizon, dyeing the black clouds a strange shade of blue.
“I never thought that after hiding my identity and coming to this small place like Qingyun County, I would still encounter the terrifying presence of an E-grade anomaly.”
“Alas, it seems fate spares no one. I can’t even retire peacefully here.”
Ye Qingshan’s expression was grave. Feeling the Yin energy permeating his surroundings, his face was filled with despair.
Once an E-grade Anomaly Domain is deployed, except for martial artists at the Internal Energy realm, no living being can escape.
They can only remain within this Anomaly Domain, at the mercy of that E-grade anomaly’s wanton slaughter!
However, what Ye Qingshan didn’t expect was that there was one kind of creature that could escape from an anomaly.
That was the Black Feather Guards’ Black Xuan Bird!
The Black Xuan Bird not only possessed a trace of intelligence but also had an innate ability.
That was to be unbound by an anomaly’s Yin energy, able to soar in the sky and leave the range of the Anomaly Domain.
In the tranquil, dead-silent night sky, a small black shadow shot like an arrow from a bow towards the heavens, speeding in the direction of White Path Prefecture’s capital city!
