Chapter 1049: Chapter 664: Scapegoat

Luohou Clan main camp.

Tents stretched endlessly, unfolding like gray hills on the desolate wilderness.

Between the tents, fierce and ugly Asuras and alluring Rakshasa women came and went. Dark red flags fluttered in the wind, with the clan’s menacing emblem glinting in the sunlight like blood.

The entire campsite was suffused with a murderous aura, like a slumbering fierce beast ready to open its bloody maw at any moment.

Inside the central tent.

The flickering firelight cast long and short shadows of several figures inside the tent.

"Elder Rorschach, Elder Saral, Ossar, Amen, and Feili’s Soul Fire... extinguished."

Quinn Luohou’s voice was hoarse and deep, like sandpaper slowly rubbing against a rough board. His complexion was grim, not just with anger, but also bearing an indescribable heaviness.

A Tier Eight Elder and three Tier Seven powerhouses fell simultaneously; such a loss would be a heavy blow at any time.

Rorschach looked down at the many blood-red jade plaques on the table.

The plaques were crystal clear and smooth to the touch, each about three fingers wide and a palm long, neatly arranged on the tabletop.

Inside each plaque, an orange flame was sealed, quietly burning within the jade as if it were a firefly trapped in amber.

This is the Blood Soul Jade of the Luohou Clan.

Before entering the Celestial Stele Secret Realm, every family member must leave their Spiritual Mark in the Blood Soul Jade to monitor everyone’s safety in real-time.

The Blood Soul Jade is connected to the owner’s soul; the soul fire burns while the owner lives, and if the owner falls, the soul fire extinguishes, and the jade shatters simultaneously.

Among these jade plaques, several had already developed fine cracks on their surfaces, as if something was forcing them apart from within.

The cracks spread from the center of the jade to the edges, resembling parched riverbed fissures, striking at a glance. The flames inside were gone, leaving only a deadened dark red.

Rorschach silently counted.

Nearly ten Blood Soul Jades were shattered.

Among them, four Blood Soul Jades had broken right in front of him. Before his eyes, the plaques suddenly developed cracks, which rapidly expanded until a crisp "pop" caused them to shatter into pieces, scattering across the table with a clear collision sound.

The owners of these Blood Soul Jades were Elder Saral, Ossar, Amen, and Feili.

"Did they mention anything before leaving the main camp?"

Rorschach’s voice was low and emotionless, but those familiar with him knew that such calm often heralded an impending storm.

"They didn’t mention anything."

Quinn shook his head, with a touch of helplessness on his face, "You know Elder Saral’s character. When he went out, who would dare question him? Moreover, he appeared normal when he left, showing no anomalies, so we all thought he was just taking some juniors out to hunt Stele Demons for training. Who could have imagined..."

He didn’t finish his sentence.

Rorschach was silent for a moment, gently tapping his fingers on the table, producing a dull sound that, though unhurried, inexplicably felt oppressive.

"Saral is a Tier Eight Holy Blood."

Rorschach slowly spoke, "In the entire Secret Realm, those who can kill him must be less than a handful. And among those individuals, none should bear a deep grudge against the Luohou Clan to the extent of killing Elder Saral."

He paused, fixing his gaze on Quinn: "What do you think?"

"I suspect Elder Saral’s death, along with the disappearance of other clan members and the Golden Clan members, are all the work of the same culprit." Quinn’s tone was solemn and firm, "The Blood Demon Cult."

Upon hearing this, Rorschach’s brows furrowed.

The Blood Demon Cult?

To the Holy Blood Clan, the Blood Demon Cult was nothing more than particularly noisy mice.

These mice were adept at crawling through gutters, skilled at hiding, but essentially a troupe of clowns that couldn’t rise to prominence.

Unable to withstand exposure or confrontation, they would shatter at the slightest touch.

The Empire had not eradicated them not due to a lack of ability but rather due to a reluctance to expend excessive effort.

Similar to how one wouldn’t overturn a house to squash a few ants, the Holy Blood Clan’s attitude towards the Blood Demon Cult was always "we’ll deal with them when there’s time" rather than treating them as a formidable enemy.

Yet now, the Blood Demon Cult they regarded as mere rodents had become the largest threat faced.

Recently, several Golden Clans discovered the frequent disappearance of their members, vanishing without a trace, neither alive nor dead, as if evaporating into thin air.

Even the Luohou Clan had three Tier Six members go missing, with their Blood Soul Jades shattered as well.

Initially, everyone believed these missing members were slain by the Stele Demons.

In the Secret Realm, it’s common for High Tier Stele Demons to kill and devour others; tragic but unsurprising.

But later, during an unexpected event, a member of the Golden Clan was found in the wild, covered in blood.

After saving him, he recounted that his severe injuries were actually inflicted by people from the Blood Demon Cult.

The Blood Demon Cult had infiltrated the Celestial Stele Secret Realm and was hunting down the scions of the Bloodline Clans!

Upon hearing this, the Luohou Clan, along with many other clan forces, were enraged.

They immediately initiated a thorough investigation and reported the matter to other Holy Blood Clans.

For a while, the entire Secret Realm was filled with a sense of looming threats, with tension in every corner.

Yet, the Blood Demon Cult seemed to have vanished into thin air; no one could track their whereabouts.

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