Chapter 571: Shifting the Blame

"With my blood, I burn my body, I offer prayers to the spirits, may the great Nine Spirits descend!"

As the High Priest thrust the staff into his own heart, the remaining Lion-Guard tribesmen chanted the same words, plunging their claws into their own hearts. Vast amounts of crimson blood gushed out, quickly spreading and soaking the entire altar.

With the staff embedded in his chest, the High Priest's mortal vitality rapidly faded, as if absorbed by the staff, but his eyes grew ever brighter.

As his chanting continued, a layer of dark red light began to emerge on the blood-soaked altar.

Soon, this light swelled wildly, transforming into a pillar of dark red light a thousand zhang tall.

Within the pillar, the phantom of a massive beast materialized, gradually solidifying in the dark red glow. It was a primordial true spirit, huge as a mountain, with nine lion heads on its neck.

The lion's fur was dark purple, and the mane around its neck shimmered with purple light, drifting like water plants, resembling clusters of dark purple ghostly flames.

"Roar..."

This true spirit named Nine Spirits swept its gaze over the tragic scene at the valley entrance, its eyes blazing with fury. All nine gaping maws let out a thunderous roar.

That roar was filled with anger and hatred, showing it was enraged to the extreme.

Unlike other tribes that worshipped true spirits, the Lion-Guard tribe actually carried the bloodline of this true spirit, making their bond closer. It could be said that the Lion-Guard tribe were its blood descendants.

"Shameless bug spirit, you seek death..." After roaring, the central head of Nine Spirits suddenly opened its mouth and inhaled.

An invisible suction force emerged, drawing the blood energy of the Lion-Guard tribe scattered across the land, gathering it from all directions and surging into its mouth.

At the same time, the multiple altars in the river valley, without anyone controlling them, began to operate on their own. The totem marks engraved on them shone brightly, and from them rose purple fire altars shaped like bonfires.

From the fire altars, specks of dim purple light drifted out like fireflies, merging with the surging blood energy into Nine Spirits' mouth.

Nine Spirits let out hoarse roars, its muscles suddenly bulging outward, a layer of dark red scales appearing on its surface, the mane on its neck doubling in length, and its aura approaching the mid-Taiyi stage.

Under the riverbed, Han Li sensed this change in aura, a hint of surprise on his face, and murmured to himself:

"This Lion-Guard tribe is somewhat interesting. Their worship relationship with this true spirit seems different, somewhat similar to the ancestral god system of Black Wind Island. With the blood sacrifice and the prayer power stored in the altars, this true spirit might even be able to fight that Devouring Immortal for a while."

"Is it really that powerful?" Jintong asked skeptically.

"Leaving aside the blood sacrifice of the Lion-Guard tribesmen, no one knows how much totem prayer power has accumulated in these altars. It definitely can't win, but we'll see how far it can go." Han Li said slowly.

Hearing this, Jintong's face suddenly showed eagerness, as if she wanted to watch the battle, which made Han Li both amused and exasperated.

"Let's go." He raised his hand and patted Jintong on the head, saying.

The latter paused slightly, then deftly flipped her palm, took out a soul armor talisman, and stuck it on her forehead.

Han Li also waved his hand to summon the White Jade Pixiu, ordering it to swallow Jintong, who had turned into a golden beetle, in one gulp.

A moment later, a large splash erupted from the river in the valley, and a jade flying carriage broke through the waves, soaring into the sky, instantly turning into a streak of green light and disappearing.

Outside the valley, the Devouring Immortal sensed Jintong's aura vanish again. It looked up at the sky, a trace of disgust flashing in its eyes, and flapped its wings to give chase.

Just then, a patch of dim purple light flared up before it, and waves of surging purple flames rushed toward it from the front, turning into a sea of blazing fire, blocking its path.

The Devouring Immortal turned its eyes and saw the central head of Nine Spirits opening its huge maw, spewing rolling, sky-filling fierce flames.

The four heads on its left simultaneously shot out white cyclones, whipping up the flames into huge whirlpools, trapping the Devouring Immortal in the center. The four heads on its right spewed large amounts of purple lightning, all pouring into the flame whirlpools.

Connected by the purple lightning, the hundreds of massive flame whirlpools that pierced the sky generated a very special and extremely powerful attraction, forming a forbidden realm like an exquisite ancient formation.

Anything trapped inside would feel its body and even soul pulled and suppressed by this force, unable to escape, only to be trapped as the flame whirlpools, pulled by the purple lightning, drew closer and closer, eventually being crushed and burned to death.

Meanwhile, the hundreds of giant lion-headed, eagle-bodied beasts from the valley also flew out, surrounding the purple sea of fire, opening their mouths to screech, sending sound waves toward the Devouring Immortal.

Golden light flickered in the Devouring Immortal's eyes, as if it finally showed a bit more seriousness. Its wings trembled violently, and a strange ripple spread from its body...

Dark Star Canyon.

In the hall of the cliff waterfall, the eight great tribe chieftains sat on beast-hide chairs, while the other small and medium tribe chieftains sat in lower positions. A bonfire blazed in the center, crackling loudly.

"The King's injuries have fully recovered, everyone can rest assured," said Nuo Qinglin, seated in the main seat.

"The King's recovery is indeed a cause for celebration, but I can't understand why that bug spirit hasn't attacked. Could it be that the human caused it more damage than we thought, so it hasn't healed yet?" Ze Wushi asked doubtfully.

"That's unlikely. If the human were that capable, he wouldn't have left a fake clone and slipped away from Dark Star Canyon earlier," Yin Mei said, shaking her head as white smoke curled around her.

"Indeed, if he were that powerful, why would he fear a battle with us when the King was injured?" Nuo Qinglin nodded in agreement.

"Chief Qinglin, have you still not found the human's whereabouts?" Yin Shen, the Lion-Guard chieftain, suddenly asked.

"Although the bug spirit hasn't attacked, the insect and beast tribes are still at a standoff, and war could break out at any moment. I can only spare limited scouts, so it's hard to find him quickly," Nuo Qinglin said, glancing at him.

Yin Shen showed some dissatisfaction but suddenly stopped, his mouth slightly open.

Then, he took out a palm-sized special bone, bit his fingertip, and dripped a drop of blood onto it.

As the blood fell, a layer of hidden runes and totem marks quickly appeared on the bone.

Yin Shen held the bone with both hands and pressed it to his forehead, as if in prayer.

A moment later, his expression changed drastically. He abruptly stood up, knocking over his beast-hide chair, which flew backward, smashed into the ground, and shattered into dust.

"Chief Yin Shen, what is..."

Nuo Qinglin knew that something major must have happened to make an old hand like Yin Shen so lose his composure.

"The bug spirit attacked Red Spiral River Valley..." Yin Shen said, as if he himself found it hard to accept.

"What? Did it lead an army to Red Spiral River Valley?" Ze Wushi exclaimed in surprise.

"It went alone to Red Spiral River Valley. Among my Lion-Guard tribe's remaining members, except for the old, weak, women, and children, almost all were killed in battle. Even Lord Nine Spirits..." Yin Shen said, his eyes turning bloodshot.

"No wonder the insect army didn't attack earlier. It was..." Yin Mei said in realization.

"So, the insect army currently stationed outside Dark Star Canyon has no bug spirit present?" Deng Gui, the Night Owl chieftain, suddenly asked.

His meaning was clear: he hoped the beast alliance would take this opportunity to strike and crush the insect tribe.

Yin Shen turned his eyes to Deng Gui, his gaze full of anger. After a long pause, he said, "I'm afraid the Lion-Guard tribe cannot join the campaign against the insect tribe..."

"The bug spirit has descended on Red Spiral River Valley. The situation there is clear. It's meaningless for you to return now, Chief Yin Shen. It would be better to join the other tribes in defeating the insect tribe and avenging your people. I think everyone here thinks the same, right?" Deng Gui said, ignoring his gaze.

No one responded in the hall, and the atmosphere grew awkward.

Though everyone indeed thought so, no one was willing to say it outright.

"Such a tragedy is truly unexpected. Chief Yin Shen, you may return to Red Spiral River Valley as soon as possible to settle your tribe. Don't worry about the alliance. If you need any help, just say the word. My Youchen tribe will do our utmost to assist," Nuo Qinglin stood up, crossed his hands over his chest, bowed to him, and said earnestly.

"Lord Nine Spirits is severely injured and can no longer provide totem protection for our Lion-Guard tribe. We won't be of much use in the army. We'll return to Red Spiral River Valley now. As for the King..." Yin Shen's expression softened slightly, and he returned the bow.

"Rest assured, Chief Yin Shen. I will report truthfully to Lord Su Liu and the King. They will surely understand," Nuo Qinglin assured him.

"Then I am in your debt. Thank you." Yin Shen's mind was already elsewhere. He thanked them absentmindedly and strode out of the hall.

After he left, the other tribe chieftains used secret methods to contact their tribes, confirming that their own tribes had not been attacked by the bug spirit, and only then did they relax.