Starting with rogue ninjas, building the insect kingdom.

Chapter 177 The Mad Believers: The Ritual Begins

Here, Shisei Aburame and Hideyoshi finally arrived at the cave of the evil god cult.

The cave entrance was quite large, about five or six meters high, with torches stuck on both sides. The flames flickered in the night wind, casting eerie shadows.

A low chanting sound could be faintly heard from deep within the cave, seemingly accompanied by some kind of rhythmic tapping.

Hideyoshi gripped his sickle, about to rush in, but Aburame Shisei reached out to stop him.

"Wait a moment."

Aburame Shisei released an invisible scorpion, which, along with some mimicry insects, silently crawled into the room.

Hideyoshi was unaware of the rustling sounds. Although he was extremely anxious, he patiently waited.

Soon, the monitoring insects transmitted the information back. Aburame Shisei closed his eyes and received the intelligence sent by the monitoring insects.

He turned to Hideyoshi beside him and said, "There are thirty-seven people in the main hall. Judging from the chakra reactions, there are three Jonin, and the rest are around Chunin level. The three stronger individuals are wearing masks; they should be the high priests. One is on the altar, and the other two are in cages in the side cave."

Hideyoshi's heart clenched. He didn't want to hear about the enemy's positions; he was just going to charge in soon enough. All he wanted to know was where his children were and how they were doing.

Before he could speak, Aburame Shisei had already guessed what he wanted to ask and said, "Nothing was detected. There's a protective barrier inside. But don't worry, they should still be alive."

Hideyoshi knew the other party wasn't trying to comfort him, so he relaxed slightly, then gripped the three-star scythe and charged in.

Aburame Zhicheng followed behind, and a swarm of colorful insects slowly emerged from his sleeve.

The insects silently crawled into the cave, spreading out along the walls and ceiling, and then, with the help of the mimicry insects, concealed their forms.

The only flaw was probably the rustling sounds, but at this moment few people had the energy to pay attention to them.

The killing began the moment they entered the cave.

With the three-star scythe in hand, Hideyoshi killed people without blinking an eye. Everyone who stood in his way, whether believers or ninjas from Yugakure, was cut in half at the waist and completely destroyed!

His bloodthirsty madness was even more terrifying than that of the members of the evil god cult. Yet, those followers of the evil god showed no fear, rushing to their deaths one after another.

Aburame Zhicheng followed behind, not making a move rashly, but observing the situation. He soon discovered that the blood of all the dead believers would slowly seep into the ground.

The area surrounding the cave is sealed with a special energy-based sealing technique.

This energy is mixed; part of it is chakra, and part of it is a mixture of natural energies.

The last part was unrecognizable to him, yet it possessed a kind of spiritual attribute he was unfamiliar with. He guessed that it was probably formed from faith, and also contained a curse power similar to that of the Death Possession Blood.

Indeed, those beings who can be called gods must possess some extraordinary abilities.

Aburame Shisei no longer concealed his strength, sinking a large number of insects underground and sending the Devouring Insects, which were adept at devouring, to seize the energy of the evil god.

Even if it's impossible to stop the evil god's ritual, it should be delayed as much as possible.

After clearing out the believers and ninjas on the outer edge, the two finally stepped into the depths of the cave.

There are no guards here anymore. The cave passage is very deep, and there is a torch stuck every few meters on both sides.

The walls were covered with strange red and black sealing spells, some of which were fresh and still bleeding, while others had dried and turned black.

When Hideyoshi saw these things, he used his sickle to destroy them along with the stone wall, but Aburame Shisei knew very well that it would be useless for him to do so.

This sealing technique may seem simple, but it covers a very large area. As long as the core part is not destroyed, minor damage to the outside is not a big deal.

"It's no use, let's speed up and move forward. I'll take care of these things later."

Hideyoshi nodded emphatically and sped towards the core area. As for the barriers and traps along the way, they had already been destroyed by the insects that had arrived in advance, so the journey was unimpeded.

At the end of the passage, the chanting and children's cries grew clearer. Hideyoshi's face grew increasingly grim, and the veins on his hand gripping the sickle bulged.

Finally, the passage came to an end.

Before us was a huge natural cave, about half the size of a football field.

Countless stalactites hung from the cave ceiling, covered with blood-red strips of cloth and bone ornaments.

In the center of the cave, a huge blood-red array was slowly rotating, and at the center of the array lay three children—two boys and a girl, all only five or six years old.

They were bound, their mouths stuffed with rags, and their faces were covered in tears and snot.

The little girl could no longer cry out; she was just convulsing, her eyes half-open and half-closed, almost fainting.

Around the formation, three bishops knelt in a circle, chanting with their eyes closed.

Kneeling at the very front was the old village chief of Tangren Village. He wore a fanatical and devout smile, his hands raised high, and he was chanting incantations.

"Great evil god, please accept the sacrifice of your loyal followers. This pure blood of children will be the medium for your descent. Please grant us the gift of immortality, so that we may become your eternal people..."

Hideyoshi's breathing quickened. His gaze swept over the three children—a boy and a girl from the village chief's family, and the other boy was the orphan of his friend.

Hideyoshi's eyes were red-rimmed: "Damn it, they wouldn't even spare their own children!"

He continued scanning and finally discovered that two babies were placed in a blood-red barrier in the distance, one of whom was his son Hidan.

"son……"

He rushed forward and swung his sickle, but the blood-red barrier, less than two meters high, held him firmly at bay.

He turned around, staring intently at the village chief and his two companions, and shouted sternly, "I've killed all your men! Open the barrier now and release my child!"

"Hahaha! What do you mean by letting your child go? To become a child of a god is clearly an honor for your child!" The old village chief's eyes flashed with madness, even regarding it as a reward.

Hideyoshi walked up to him, grabbed the village chief by the neck, and the man didn't even resist. "Open it, or I'll kill you."

"Heh, mortal, you'll never understand the gods!"

"Ah!" Hideyoshi was about to go crazy with anger.

He cleaved the man in two with his sickle, then turned to the next masked man and demanded, "Will you release him or not?!"

The man did not respond to Hideyoshi, but remained kneeling on the ground, praying and chanting incantations incessantly.

Hideyoshi had clearly lost patience. After killing the men, he went to the last one.

The last bishop was a woman. He stepped forward, removed his mask, and discovered that she was the village chief's daughter-in-law. So the person he had killed earlier was the village chief's son.

The woman remained calm, smiling as she looked up at the barrier and said, "The evil god is coming soon. He will bestow blessings, and my children will live forever!"