Chapter 336 - 122 [The Final Trial!] (7200 words)_4
The four of them did indeed survive.
However, Kudai’s condition was clearly very bad. His face was pale, his beard was stained with blood, and his clothes were even more tattered.
The girl with long black hair hung her head, limping as she walked.
Chu Keqing’s face was ashen, not appearing to be injured, but her gaze was hesitant to wander. She looked as if she was petrified by the slaughterhouse scene outside. With one hand covering her mouth, it seemed she might vomit at any moment.
The only one with a composed expression was Ouyang. This guy was looking around, his expression calm and collected. But when he saw Chen Yan, he smiled.
"Brother, you really are remarkable! You actually completed the third night’s trial ahead of time."
After speaking, Ouyang looked up at the Meat Mountain Monster on the steps with a grim expression: "Secret Realm Master?"
Chen Yan didn’t speak but looked at Chu Keqing. Chu Keqing had already walked quickly to Chen Yan’s side, her face bloodless, and there was a bit of panic in her eyes.
"Senior, outside, that place outside..." As she spoke, Chu Keqing looked at the Meat Mountain Monster. Seeing what it was eating, she finally couldn’t hold back anymore, lowered her head, and turned away...
Ugh!!
Chen Yan patted her on the back before looking at Ouyang and asking, "Is it daylight outside?"
"Yes, the night is over." Ouyang replied, staring at the Meat Mountain Monster with a frown.
The white-robed puppet suddenly took two steps forward and clapped its hands twice lightly.
Clap! Clap!
The puppets standing on the steps, feeding the Meat Mountain Monster, suddenly turned around neatly. They bowed their heads, carrying their trays, and left in formation.
The Meat Mountain Monster grunted, straightened up, and gazed down at Chen Yan and the others from the steps.
"Dear guests!" The white-robed puppet said slowly in a wooden tone: "You are the guests who survived after completing the third night’s trial.
Here, I first represent the Secret Realm Master to congratulate all of you.
According to the secret realm trial process, you are now entering the final trial stage. Any guest who passes this stage will receive a gift."
"A reward... hmm, a gift. What is the gift?" Chen Yan asked loudly.
"We provide different options for each guest to choose from." The white-robed puppet replied unhurriedly: "A spell, a magical artifact, and a cultivation technique that can enhance soul power."
As it spoke, it scanned everyone: "Any surviving guest can choose one of the three options—but it must be noted that each option has only one item. Once a guest has chosen it, that option is automatically removed, and the next person cannot choose it."
Ouyang heard this and deliberately said loudly: "So, there are only three items in total for the final gift? But there are five people here!"
"To be precise, there are four groups of guests." The white-robed puppet looked at Ouyang: "This guest, you have already teamed up with this lady from Dragon Country next to you. The two of you can only obtain one gift together."
"That still makes four groups of people, but only three items." Chen Yan said coldly: "So, you assume that at the end of the final trial stage, the number of surviving groups will not exceed three, right?"
The white-robed puppet looked at Chen Yan without speaking, but its attitude clearly acknowledged this.
It raised its hands again and clapped twice forcefully.
Clap! Clap!
Soon, three puppets quickly walked into the hall from outside the curtain.
Two of the puppets were carrying a huge iron basin together—about the size of a bathtub!
The third puppet held a wooden bucket with four bamboo sticks inside.
"What is the final trial stage? Haven’t you participated before?" Chen Yan’s heart moved, and he looked at Kudai and the girl with long black hair.
The girl with long black hair shook her head: "I don’t know. Last time, when I participated with my father, I was seriously injured and unconscious during the third night. When I woke up, it was over, but my father was already dead."
But Old Man Kudai’s face looked extremely grim, obviously tense and anxious. With a cold expression, he said, "Stop asking, you’ll know soon enough!"
Once the white-robed puppet and the three skeletal puppets walked in, and the iron basin was placed under the steps, it took the wooden bucket.
The three puppets exited the curtain, and the white-robed puppet shook the wooden bucket in its hand, causing the bamboo sticks to rattle and clatter.
"The final trial stage—drawing lots for the sacrifice!"
Originally, its mechanical and stiff words now carried a strange tone.
"You guests have come to the Secret Realm, received our warm hospitality, thoughtful service, and had an excellent trial experience here. Most importantly, you can obtain a precious treasure gift from here!
This is all thanks to the generosity of the Secret Realm Master!
Receiving a gift, shouldn’t there be some sort of reciprocity?"
The white-robed puppet’s tone became colder: "In the final stage, please come forward to draw lots one by one.
Here we have prepared four bamboo sticks, each marked.
Three of them are the losing lots.
One is the sacrificial stick!
If you draw a losing lot, you can survive this trial.
And the guest who draws the sacrificial stick... please, with gratitude towards the Secret Realm Master, sacrifice your life and body! You will be honored to become the Secret Realm Master’s final course for tonight’s dinner!"
Hearing these words, Chen Yan sighed.
"I now believe you truly are Japan’s monsters, speaking so shamelessly." Chen Yan sneered and asked loudly: "If someone draws the sacrificial stick but refuses to die, will you forcefully kill them?"
"Not exactly." The white-robed puppet said, then actually smiled!
With a strange smile, the white-robed puppet spoke slowly: "Sacrifice should be sacred, conducted with gratitude and a spirit of offering.
So we will give the sacrificial one final chance to survive."
It turned around, bowed to the Meat Mountain Master on the steps, and then said: "The final sacrifice can challenge the Secret Realm Master... if successful, the Master will mercifully spare the sacrifice."
At this, the white-robed puppet nodded and said: "The rules have been announced... now, all guests, you have five minutes to discuss the drawing order.
Hmm, theoretically, the first person to draw has the highest chance of drawing a losing lot."
"Then... what about us?" Chu Keqing suddenly said loudly: "We’re a team of two people! If we draw the sacrificial lot, do both of us have to die?"
"Of course not. The Secret Realm Master is very fair!" The white-robed puppet answered seriously: "The reward is for one person, so the sacrifice is also for one person! If your team draws the sacrificial lot, you two can discuss and decide which one of you will be the sacrifice—noting that we won’t interfere with your decision-making process."
So they might kill each other... Chen Yan sneered.
Old Man Kudai, who had been silent for a long time, suddenly sighed and looked at the girl with long black hair: "Xisang family girl, now you understand!"
Pausing, he said solemnly: "Last time, when you reached this stage, you were already injured and unconscious. Your father drew the sacrificial lot... and to protect you, he gave you the chance to live, becoming the sacrifice himself! So, it wasn’t me who killed your father..."
Upon hearing this, the girl with long black hair trembled uncontrollably!
Sacrifice?
Her father was... eaten!!!
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[Ugh, overestimated myself, the Secret Realm arc is still not finished... covering my head~]
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