Guangzai swallowed hard. He was a little nervous.

’Maybe joining the Illuminati back then was a mistake. For the crimes I committed, the worst I would have gotten was a life sentence.’

As Guangzai thought this, a trace of regret appeared, but looking at the gentle Miss Lanhua beside him, that feeling vanished without a trace.

’Whatever. At least I’ve experienced love. It was worth it!’

Finishing his train of thought, Guangzai looked up at Di Yunliang, the person in charge of the Bright God Sect in Tianning County.

A strange, sinister light seemed to flash in Di Yunliang’s eyes. He stared at Guangzai, looking him up and down, and said approvingly,

"Miss Lanhua is right. After your baptism in a moment, you can look as long as you want. Although you joined us halfway, we’ve gone through hardships together on this journey. You can be trusted."

"And that’s not all, Mr. Liang! My dear Guangzai has taken control of all the flesh trade recently. Mr. Qian, you should have a record of how much funding Guangzai has handed over during this time, right?"

Miss Lanhua asked Mr. Qian, one hand resting on Guangzai.

Mr. Qian was the one in charge of logistics for the group and also managed their funds.

Based on appearances alone, Mr. Qian seemed like a very agreeable person. He wore round glasses, had a thin frame, and was always slightly stooped.

There was something contradictory about his presence. His skin looked like that of a thirty-year-old, his voice sounded like a forty-year-old’s, but if you looked at the dense wrinkles on his face, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say he was fifty.

Hearing Miss Lanhua’s question, he chuckled and said,

"Little Guang has secured twenty-nine million in funding for us recently. Life has gotten much better for everyone. We really should thank Guangzai!"

Hearing this, the crowd immediately expressed their gratitude to Guangzai, praising him endlessly. Even the coldest among them, a man named Gang Dao, nodded at him in acknowledgment.

"Alright, enough with the pleasantries. After Guangzai’s baptism, we’ll truly be one family. We are all lambs under the great Lord of Dark Ash, ready to become one."

Di Yunliang rose from his chair, patted Guangzai’s shoulder, and pointed to the array on the floor.

"Take off your clothes, lie down in the center of the array, and close your eyes."

"Mr. Qian, bring out the materials for the spiritual offering!"

Guangzai hesitated. He turned to see Miss Lanhua’s encouraging gaze, steeled his resolve, took off his clothes, and lay down in the center of the array. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝔀𝓮𝒃𝙣𝓸𝒗𝒆𝒍.𝙘𝒐𝒎

The concrete floor was cold to the touch, like a giant cutting board.

The last rays of the setting sun shone through the window, casting long, grotesquely twisted shadows of the group onto the mottled walls.

An inexplicable unease grew in Guangzai’s heart. He didn’t know what an Illuminati initiation baptism was supposed to be like, but he felt like a sacrificial offering on a cutting board, about to be thrown into the mouth of a vicious beast.

Mr. Qian poured an unknown black liquid into the carved lines of the array. It had a foul, rotten smell.

The black liquid was extremely viscous, yet it flowed swiftly through the array, like black snakes. A damp, cold, and slippery sensation passed over his skin, making goosebumps break out all over Guangzai’s body.

This was nearly impossible for a Second-Realm Martial Artist. Even if he swam a lap in a frozen lake in the dead of winter, he wouldn’t have such a reaction. His unease intensified.

The sun was about to set completely. The members of the Illuminati stood backlit, their expressions hidden by the stark contrast in light, completely invisible. Yet, Guangzai felt that their expressions must be ones of excitement. He didn’t know where this strong premonition came from, but it made his blood run cold.

Mrs. Li stood in front of him, watching him excitedly, a dribble of saliva seemingly escaping the corner of her mouth.

"Wait!"

Guangzai could no longer suppress the anxiety in his heart. When he tried to get up, he found himself bound by the black liquid in the array, unable to move!

He seemed to understand something. So today, he was the sacrifice. But why?

He had handed over more than enough money, Mr. Liang had promised to baptize him, and then there was Miss Lanhua... his gentle Miss Lanhua.

"Mr. Liang! Why? Miss Lanhua... Miss Lanhua, save me!"

Guangzai’s voice was hysterical, but no one paid him any mind.

He only heard Di Yunliang instructing Mrs. Li,

"The first step of the baptism ritual: you must take the sacrificial knife and slit the offering’s throat. Not too deep, and not too shallow."

"Then, while he is still alive, you must cut open his chest and remove his heart."

"While the heart is still beating, make the offering watch his own heart. Then, you will eat what you believe to be the most delectable part. It’s best if the offering remains conscious throughout this process. The offering will despair, and the more intense the despair, the more perfect the baptism ritual will be. You, in turn, will gain greater power."

Di Yunliang was like a choirboy in a chant class. He waved his hands, eyes narrowed, dancing frenetically like a drunkard.

His voice was low yet crisp, carrying an ultimate sense of bewitchment.

Mrs. Li’s eyes were already bloodshot. Trembling with excitement, she staggered over to Guangzai, her saliva dripping onto his face.

These people were discussing right in front of him how to kill him, eat him, and make him despair!

"Ah... no... you lunatics! You’re all fucking lunatics! Get away from me!"

Guangzai’s bound body thrashed like a live fish on a cutting board, but it was useless.

Mrs. Li’s rough hands tremblingly brushed across his face, locating his neck. It was a tremor born of excitement.

A cold glint of light flashed in the dim living room.

"Ugh..."

Gushes of fresh blood spurted out and were absorbed by the black liquid in the array, which began to turn a dark red.

The rotten smell faded significantly, replaced by a somewhat sweet aroma.

Guangzai’s eyes bulged as he stared deathly at Mrs. Li. This lowly figure he had never paid any mind to was now about to kill him so effortlessly.

Mrs. Li didn’t stop. She swiftly sliced open Guangzai’s chest.

For some reason, Guangzai was reminded of feeding pigs as a child. They ate just like this.

Specks of dark red spiritual light seemed to rise from the array. Guangzai wasn’t dead yet. It wasn’t just his body; he could feel his very soul being torn apart. Pain, despair... this wasn’t normal, but for the cultists of the Illuminati, it was perfectly normal.

This was their baptism: to bestow terrifying despair upon a life, and then devour it.

Di Yunliang watched with great interest. As the master of ceremonies for the baptism, a considerable portion of the red spiritual light emanating from Guangzai flowed into his body.

Watching the sacrifice in the array approach death, the others also showed their eagerness. Miss Lanhua couldn’t help but take two steps forward.

Among the crowd, only Cheng YuanYu remained expressionless, still maintaining their vigilance.

Mrs. Li stepped aside, satisfied. She felt vitality return to her aged body. Extending her hands, she saw the thick calluses recede. She touched her face again; the sagging skin was slowly tightening. She was becoming younger.

But this action smeared Guangzai’s heart’s blood all over her face. Paired with her satisfied expression, it was both evil and perverse.

The bald man suddenly spoke up. "I want the two thigh bones. It’s been a long time since I’ve carved."

Hearing this, Miss Lanhua turned to look at him and smiled gently.

The bald man couldn’t help but squeeze his legs together and say humbly, "Of course, you first, my lady!"

Cheng YuanYu ignored the two of them, dragged Guangzai’s corpse aside, and helped Mr. Qian clean the bloodstains from the surface of the array.

"This thing is such a pain. Have to clean it up every single time we use it!"

Mr. Qian chimed in, taking out a towel. He said with a grin, "We should be glad we have one to use. Times are tough; we have to overcome. Gang Dao, go wake up a sacrifice. Prep their emotions a bit."

On the other side, Miss Lanhua took out a scalpel. With gentle movements, she slowly sliced off the toy she had been playing with for the past two months.

Because she had been trimming the hair every day, it was quick this time.

Miss Lanhua admired it for a moment, then chewed and swallowed it, skin, flesh, and all.

The sun had completely set. The light in Guangzai’s eyes finally faded. He was dead.

The bald man then took out a deboning knife. He stripped the flesh and pulled the tendons, skillfully detaching the two thigh bones. Specks of blood still clung to the pale white bones.

He held one in each hand, struck them together to hear the sound, and a satisfied smile spread across his face.

A Martial Artist’s body was strong, their bones even harder than metal. In the bald man’s eyes, this was the finest material.

Di Yunliang smoked his cigarette nonstop. The curling smoke enveloped his whole body, vaguely resembling giant tentacles emerging from him, coiling around everyone present.

Gang Dao dragged a conscious woman over. He used a small knife to slice off the tape sealing her mouth, revealing a bloody, mangled mess underneath.

"Ah! ...No..."

Hearing the screams, Gang Dao grew more and more excited, a complete departure from his usual silence.

He used the knife to slash open the woman’s clothes, cut by cut, and then sliced open her skin, instantly revealing her mangled, bloody body.

He then threw her into the array, where the blood-streaked black liquid bound the woman like a living creature.

"HEE HEE HEE..."

As if he had seen something amusing, Gang Dao laughed with glee.

These were just ordinary people, not qualified to be materials for a baptism. The black liquid merely absorbed their life force to become more active.

Di Yunliang watched the increasingly excited Gang Dao and sighed to himself.

’This crew is getting hard to lead. There are more and more degenerates under my command.’

’Look at Miss Lanhua. Whenever there’s a male sacrifice, she’s as happy as a cat that got the cream... and the ’chicken’.’

’The bald man is swinging his deboning knife, collecting all sorts of fresh bones, happy as a child.’

’Mr. Qian is controlling the Life Soul Blood in the array, watching its spirituality increase bit by bit, dancing with excitement and letting out sinister chuckles from time to time.’

’And Mrs. Li... she was a real surprise.’

’Just look at her, taking out an insulated bag like she’s at the market, only she’s picking out fresh cuts of meat from the sacrifice’s body.’