Chapter 1128: Chapter 689 Rumors_2 Chapter 1128 -689 Rumors_2 “I… was wrong…” Old Yu looked at Mo Hua, tears streaming down his face. “Young master, it was my fault, I shouldn’t have ignored your words…” “I was too greedy.” Old Yu slapped himself hard, “Why am I so… insatiably greedy?” “I deserve to die…” Old Yu’s eyes were bloodshot, his face filled with remorse. The surrounding elders were taken aback, exchanging bewildered glances. Mo Hua’s gaze narrowed slightly, and he asked softly, “Uncle Yu, what exactly happened?” Old Yu lowered his eyes, his face conflicted. Finally, as if his body had been drained of all strength, he no longer resisted and sighed in surrender, “That day, I listened to your words, young master, and found them quite reasonable. People must learn contentment and not ask the River God endlessly for favors.” “I decided then and there to no longer raise blood fish, stop offerings to the River God, and stop making wishes to it…” “I was determined, I had made up my mind… but then, at night, I dreamt about my two little grandsons. In the dream, they had entered the sect, but due to their lowly background, they were mocked, humiliated, oppressed by those noble family’s sons, and forced to work for them as lackeys…” “In the end, Little Shuier, unable to bear the humiliation, silently… ended his life…” 𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞 “His brother, Little Shuner, wanted to avenge him but was no match for those noble disciples. He was beaten to death…” “After he was killed, his corpse was corroded completely by a black poison, leaving it unrecognizable…” *Upon hearing this, Mo Hua felt a chill run down his spine, unease creeping into his heart.* “Could this be…” Old Yu didn’t notice what Mo Hua was thinking and continued, “My two little grandsons… gone just like that…” “I woke up drenched in cold sweat. That’s when I realized how naïve I had been. The waters in the sect run too deep, far beyond the understanding of a loose cultivator like me.” “Eight thousand Spirit Stones is no small amount for someone like me, but to the noble families or the sects, it’s nothing more than a drop in the ocean.” “Those Spirit Stones aren’t nearly enough to guarantee a good future for my two grandsons.” “But I’m useless. As a Foundation Establishment cultivator who broke through only late in life and through sheer luck, I have no Tao cultivation inheritance and no other real abilities…” “I had no choice but… to ask the River God again.” Old Yu’s expression turned bitter with sorrow. *Mo Hua felt he was starting to piece things together and sighed, “And then?”* “And then…” Old Yu’s tears flowed again, “And then I reaped my punishment. I was too greedy…” “The River God blamed me.” “It took away my two little grandsons to punish me.” “My two grandsons will never come back…” Old Yu’s expression was lifeless, like dead ashes. Mo Hua furrowed his brows. Suddenly, one of the elders exclaimed in horror, “An offering to the River God? You…” His pupils widened in alarm as he stammered, “You… what did you use as the offering?” The elder’s reaction startled those around them. Unaware of the elder’s meaning, Old Yu replied in a hoarse voice, “A certain kind of blood-red fish…” The elder’s face turned pale as a sheet, and he cried out, “This is disastrous…” Mo Hua froze, quickly asking the elder with a full head of white hair, “Old sir, what’s the origin of these blood-red fish?” The elder’s eyes filled with terror, “They’re an omen of a village’s destruction…” The others present were visibly confused. “None of you know…” The elder’s eyelids twitched as he spoke chillingly, “I’ve lived three hundred years, and long ago, I heard someone say that this area once had a fishing village…” “That village was larger than ours, with far more Fish Cultivators than we have.” “At first, the weather was favorable, and while the village wasn’t rich, they at least had enough to eat.” “But something changed; people started dying in the river, and the villagers became uneasy and fearful.” “Later, someone passing by told them they had offended the River God, and the River God had imposed divine punishment.” “They were told to dig a well, raise blood fish in human blood, and then throw the fish into the well as offerings to the River God.” “Once the offerings were made, the River God, appeased by their faith, would forgive them.” “The villagers, skeptical but desperate, followed the instructions. Sure enough, no one else died in the river.” “But as they continued raising the blood fish, people in the village started acting strangely, their eyes vacant and their reactions sluggish, like ‘walking corpses’…” “It was as though… something had eaten away their minds…” The elder’s voice trembled, his demeanor haunted by lingering fear. “Later, for reasons unknown, the entire village disappeared…” Mo Hua’s pupils constricted, “Disappeared?” The elder nodded, “Yes, completely vanished. The people were gone, the entire village was gone. No one knew what happened…” “At the same time, for ten miles around, a mysterious mist began to rise at night, so thick you couldn’t see your hand in front of your face.” “Anyone daring to step into that mist never came back out.” Mo Hua’s expression grew increasingly grave, his thoughts churning. “Oh, wait, no,” the elder suddenly hesitated, his eyes lighting up as if recalling something, “I just remembered, there was one person who came out…” Mo Hua raised an eyebrow, “Who?” The elder shook his head, “I don’t know either; I heard it when I was young from the older generation. Who knows who it was?” “I just remember hearing that it was a cultivator carrying a sword, his eyebrows long and sharp. Disregarding everyone’s warnings, he stepped into the mist.” “Everyone thought he was as good as dead, but surprisingly, he emerged alive just before dawn.” “Although he had no visible injuries, his face looked pale, as if he had endured a fierce battle, his wounds not light.” “After coming out, he left behind two warnings: first, never enter the blood mist, as your fate would be uncertain; second, never raise blood-red fish, as they would surely bring about the destruction of the village…”