The child held up in the air was only two or three years old, plump and fair-skinned, with delicate, porcelain-like features — utterly adorable by any measure.
But being manhandled so roughly, the toddler naturally bawled and flailed, kicking and waving his little limbs wildly in midair.
Among the crowd of onlookers below, a man around thirty years old heard the child's cries and froze, his body going rigid. His trembling gaze locked onto the child, and he screamed in anguish: "My child!"
This three-year-old was none other than his own flesh and blood.
The boy had vanished from home without explanation a few days prior, and the father had no idea who had taken him. It wasn't until today that he finally understood — the people who had abducted his own son were none other than the Shadow Moon Palace.
Could the rumors really be true?
Over the past while, many children under five and young, beautiful women in Sky Fortune City had disappeared under mysterious circumstances. Their families had searched everywhere without finding a trace, and privately everyone had been whispering that the Shadow Moon Palace might be behind it. After all, in this part of the world, only the Shadow Moon Palace had both the power and the audacity to pull off something like that.
But rumors were just rumors — there was no proof. And the Shadow Moon Palace of today was not the Shadow Moon Palace of old. Nobody dared to confront them. All they could do was swallow their broken teeth, suppress their rage, and weep in silence.
Now, seeing his own child suddenly appear before him, the middle-aged man was overwhelmed. He lunged forward without a second thought.
His cultivation was unremarkable — only at the third stage of Transcendence, not even having reached the Saint realm. On any ordinary day, he would never have dared to act recklessly before the powerhouses of the Shadow Moon Palace. But in his desperate love for his son, he could no longer care about any of that.
He launched himself into the air, soaring straight toward the elevated platform.
"Insolent!" A harsh shout rang out. A streak of light flashed past, and the middle-aged man, still airborne, let out a muffled grunt as a bloody hole appeared in his chest. By the time he hit the ground, he was already a corpse.
A wave of shock rippled through the crowd. Every onlooker trembled with fear, eyes wide with horror.
"Before Lord Fang, you dare act so brazenly? Let anyone else try — a hundred will die for it!" the warrior who had struck the blow roared.
The residents of Sky Fortune City wore expressions of grief and fury, but not one of them dared voice a word.
Meanwhile, the three-year-old had been brought before the youth surnamed Fang.
The youth looked the child over, a satisfied look crossing his face. He gave a casual wave of his hand.
Immediately, a young woman emerged from behind him — heavily made up, with sumptuous cosmetics and a figure that swayed like a serpent. A cold, bewitching smile played at the corners of her lips.
"What are you planning to do?" Fei Zhi tu spoke up abruptly.
He stood on the elevated platform, and though he could not draw upon his own power, his gaze was still sharp as he fixed it on the youth.
The youth curled his lip and deigned no reply, clearly considering someone like Fei Zhi tu — a prisoner — unworthy of even conversing with him.
Instead, the traitorous elder of the Shadow Moon Palace chuckled: "Senior Brother Fei, you'd do well to keep your mouth shut. Enjoying the final moments of your life in silence isn't the worst way to go."
After that round of mockery, the man stopped paying Fei Zhi tu any attention.
The young woman, however, walked up to the child. She reached out and grabbed the toddler's tender wrist, then extended her scarlet tongue to lick her lips — a gesture that was both alluring and deeply unsettling. Parting her ruby lips, she giggled softly: "Such tender blood fare. Surely the young master will be pleased."
"Do it," said the youth surnamed Fang, noncommittal.
The woman bowed in acknowledgment. With a flick of her wrist, a dagger materialized in her hand, its blade gleaming coldly. She gently drew it across the child's wrist, and bright crimson blood immediately welled from the wound.
With her other hand, she produced a golden, crystal-clear goblet and held it beneath the child's wrist, catching the trickling blood.
Drip… drip…
The sound of blood splashing and the child's heart-rending wails tugged at every heart in the crowd. The onlookers burned with righteous fury, their eyes blazing.
"You soulless monsters! You'll meet a horrible end!" Fei Zhi tu roared, struggling to rush forward and save the child, but he had barely taken two steps before a warrior on the platform knocked him to the ground. He was then kicked viciously several times.
The youth surnamed Fang cast a cold glance at Fei Zhi tu and sneered: "A defeated enemy has no right to speak to me. But don't worry — this is only the beginning. Once I've severed your head, I shall grant you a new life of my own!"
His words were nonsensical, and most people couldn't understand them. But to Fei Zhi tu, they were nothing short of a demon's pronouncement. He collapsed to the ground, lifted his head, and screamed: "Fang Fengqi, even in death I will never let you go!"
The youth scoffed: "Once you've become one of my Corpse Spirit race, you won't think that way anymore. You'll even be entitled to feast on blood fare like this!"
As he spoke, he took the goblet — now brimming with blood — from the young woman's hand. He held it beneath his nose and inhaled deeply, an expression of intoxicated rapture washing over his face. Then, tilting his head back, he drained the entire cup of warm blood in one gulp.
Every onlooker was horrified.
Countless eyes stared blankly at the bloodstains at the corners of Fang Fengqi's mouth. Every person stood frozen in place, as though struck by lightning.
This man… had just drunk blood? And what in the world was this "Corpse Spirit race" — what manner of bizarre creature was that?