"Just lucky. This soul beast was already heavily injured," Nightmare Douluo explained.
"Fine, since he's your disciple, it's your decision," Zhongli Wu said, not pressing further. "You know the procedure. Take him there yourself."
"Yes," Nightmare Douluo responded, turning to Lin Xiao. "Follow me. You've probably never been to the Ascension Hall before. This time, you'll have the chance to behold the Holy Emperor's visage."
Lin Xiao nodded and followed behind Nightmare Douluo. At this moment, his mind was barely focused on what the Holy Emperor looked like; most of his consciousness had sunk into his spiritual sea.
The Holy Spirit Cult's headquarters was located underground in the Demonic Forest, with intricate passages extending in all directions. Occasionally, one or two cult disciples passed by, but the path to the Ascension Hall was much quieter, with only Nightmare Douluo and Lin Xiao walking one behind the other.
Before long, the passage seemed to reach its end, and Nightmare Douluo stopped.
Lin Xiao looked up slightly, expecting to see the Holy Emperor or the Ascension Hall, but instead, an elderly man stood before them. His silver-gray hair was meticulously combed, and though he appeared aged, his face was as rosy as an infant's.
Even though Lin Xiao had never met him before, a name surfaced in his mind—Dragon Emperor Douluo Long Xiaoyao.
"Greetings, Senior Dragon Emperor," Lin Xiao said.
Even Nightmare Douluo, an elder of the Holy Spirit Cult, lowered his head respectfully in Long Xiaoyao's presence.
"Here for the Ascension Ceremony?" Long Xiaoyao asked.
"Yes, please open the door, Senior Dragon Emperor," Nightmare Douluo replied.
At his words, Long Xiaoyao's gaze fell on Lin Xiao, lingering for a moment.
"His cultivation seems a bit lacking, doesn't it?" Long Xiaoyao observed.
Nightmare Douluo stiffened slightly. He hadn't expected Dragon Emperor Douluo, who typically paid little attention to disciples attending the Ascension Ceremony, to ask such a question today.
Still, he answered honestly, "Senior Dragon Emperor, his talent is exceptional. Undergoing the Ascension Ceremony early will benefit him."
"I see," Long Xiaoyao nodded lightly. "It seems even I can overlook things at times."
Nightmare Douluo didn't understand what Long Xiaoyao meant and remained silent. Long Xiaoyao, seemingly speaking offhandedly, waved his sleeve, and a stone door appeared out of thin air.
Nightmare Douluo led Lin Xiao through the door, while Long Xiaoyao stood at a distance, watching Lin Xiao's figure disappear into it.
It seemed like a simple step, but Lin Xiao felt a wave of dizziness. Looking back, there was no stone door behind him, and he couldn't tell where he had entered from.
They were in a spacious stone chamber, with the floor sunken in, resembling a dried-up shallow lake.
At the center of the "lake" stood a tall stone statue, holding what appeared to be a weapon, though its front half was broken, making its original form unclear.
Lin Xiao's gaze lifted, and his eyes instantly narrowed.
It wasn't the appearance of the "Holy Emperor" that caught his attention, but the candles suspended above the chamber.
Unlike the purple flames common in the Holy Spirit Cult, these were a murky gray. Some burned brightly, flickering constantly, while others were dim, quietly awaiting extinction.
They appeared to be candles, but to Lin Xiao, they were clearly strands of residual souls.
Imprisoned here, they groaned incessantly, as if lamenting their pain or chanting praises to the "Holy Emperor" before them.
Nightmare Douluo's expression subtly changed, a hint of fervor appearing on his face.
Without speaking, he stepped forward and opened the sack.
Inside was a Ghost-Faced Owl, its size larger than an adult's. Though unconscious, the natural aura it emitted still exerted considerable pressure on Lin Xiao.
A cold glint flashed as Nightmare Douluo produced a short dagger. As the dagger pierced the hundred-thousand-year Ghost-Faced Owl, a stream of blood gushed out, flowing toward the statue.
"Alright," Nightmare Douluo turned, staring intently at Lin Xiao. "Everything is ready. How much you gain from this depends on you."
As expected, it was a sacrifice for the "Holy Emperor."
Lin Xiao's gaze followed the gushing blood. Strands of it swirled around the statue, forming a strange pattern.
The next moment, an invisible pressure surged toward him. Looking at the statue, Lin Xiao found it almost blinding.
The gray candles hanging from the ceiling flickered incessantly, their groans growing even more shrill.
"Go, enter the blood pool and receive your baptism," Nightmare Douluo's voice carried a hint of enchantment.
Lin Xiao instinctively looked down and noticed that the sunken floor had been replaced by a pool of crimson blood, as if it had appeared out of nowhere.
Was this all from the hundred-thousand-year soul beast?
No. Lin Xiao quickly dismissed the thought. Even if the beast were drained dry, it couldn't fill an entire pool. There was indeed some incomprehensible power at work here.
"What's wrong? Why are you hesitating?" Nightmare Douluo's voice seemed to come from both himself and the statue, making it hard for Lin Xiao to distinguish.
"Go… come…" the voice urged.
Nightmare Douluo watched as Lin Xiao stepped into the blood pool, his figure gradually submerged.
Only then did he lower his gaze to the Ghost-Faced Owl. Probing it with the dagger, he soon extracted a soul bone.
"Good disciple, you made a fine friend. This soul bone will be your tribute to your teacher," Nightmare Douluo said with a smile, though Lin Xiao could no longer hear him.
At that moment, Lin Xiao felt surrounded by a viscous sensation, as if submerged in liquid, yet his breathing was unobstructed. A pungent smell filled his nostrils, and when he opened his eyes, all he could see was a sea of crimson.
Before he could make sense of his surroundings, a sharp pain surged through him.
In an instant, it felt as though his body was being torn apart. His soul power surged uncontrollably, and his five soul rings—yellow, yellow, purple, purple, and black—rose one by one, their three colors interweaving.
Was this really the Ascension Ceremony?
From what he had learned from the Sixth Holy Servant, the Ascension Ceremony was merely a ritual of worship to the Holy Emperor, with no mention of sacrifices.
Was it because the Holy Spirit Cult had only split her soul and not performed the Ascension Ceremony on her, or was her ceremony incomplete?
Lin Xiao had no way of knowing. He had thought the Ascension Ceremony would tamper with his soul, but he hadn't expected it to begin with such torturous pain.
As he pondered, a violent force surged through his body, as if his meridians were being ripped apart.