Pain.
Intense pain!
When Xia Luo woke up again, he found himself hanging on a metal cross, with four huge iron nails piercing through his left and right palms and his crossed feet respectively.
Streams of blood trickled down the cross like a small creek, pouring into the grooves already carved into the ground.
Grimacing in pain, Xia Luo looked over. By the dim crimson moonlight filtering through the skylight, he could make out a circular pattern centered on the cross, extremely complex, much like the magic circles in novels. All around, zombies dressed in maid and waiter uniforms were kneeling.
Countess Castille stood at the front, exuding an aura that inspired trembling fear.
She was facing him, holding a blood-red fragment of paper in her hands, as if torn from some ancient tome.
Seeing Xia Luo waking up, the countess smiled, revealing two sharp fangs:
"Ah, my dear, you're awake."
Xia Luo's heart sank.
Hanging on a cross was never a good situation.
Combined with the obviously unholy magic circle beneath him and the zombies clearly engaged in some kind of prayer around him, Xia Luo, well-versed in web novels, had already roughly guessed that he was being used as a sacrifice.
This world... wasn't an ordinary otherworld at all!
His mind racing, Xia Luo sniffled, and crystal tears instantly fell like silver beads, leaving two curved tear trails on his delicate and adorable face.
"Waaah... Grandmother..."
He whimpered, looking at Countess Castille with the gaze of a weak, pitiful, and helpless cutie.
At that miserable and pitiable sight, even the monstrous Countess Castille was slightly taken aback, her terrifying aura faltering faintly.
But soon, her gaze grew profound again.
Her scarlet eyes shimmered, and greedy gaze slowly slid over Xia Luo's body:
"Such a charming little goblin. It's a pity I can't take you as a bewitching blood servant."
As she spoke, she opened her ferocious mouth, mocking him like a hunter toying with its prey:
"Poor thing, even now... stop pretending."
"Little Charlotte has long since died of illness. You're nothing but a saint's true spirit from the Holy Royal Court that I summoned to complete the final bloodline sacrifice ritual."
"Hehe... Using a saint's true spirit as a sacrifice, my Lord will surely be most pleased!"
His transmigration secret exposed, Xia Luo felt a tightness in his heart.
But along with it came a trace of confusion.
Holy Royal Court saint's true spirit?
What the hell was that?
As if thinking of something, Xia Luo's heart stirred.
He quickly stopped sobbing and said rapidly:
"Grandmother, no, Countess Castille, I think... there might be some misunderstanding between us..."
However, the old woman had lost her interest in chatting, shaking her head mockingly:
"Misunderstanding? Heh, pointless struggle."
With that, she took out a filthy cross from her bosom and aimed it at the maiden hanging mid-air.
Her aged and crazy voice trembled slightly, her expression ferocious and fanatical:
"Come! Holy Spirit! Let me admire your divine light about to fall and your painfully twisted expression!"
Deep light bloomed on the cross, carrying an aura of chaos and evil.
In Countess Castille's cruel and tyrannical gaze, the filthy light shone upon Xia Luo.
"Whine! Scream! Feel... the pain and despair of the darkness!"
Uh-oh!
Seeing the evil aura that made him feel nauseous just from looking at it, Xia Luo's heart tensed.
Startled and angry, with no way to dodge, he could only turn his head, close his eyes, and grit his teeth.
The chaotic evil light wrapped around the maiden like sludge poured into the mortal realm.
However, the expected pain did not arrive.
Apart from feeling slightly cold, as if countless crazy, low whispers were constantly murmuring in his ears, Xia Luo's body felt no discomfort.
Hmm?
He tentatively opened his eyes.
The countess still held the filthy cross aloft in a frenzy, her expression extremely ferocious.
The cross shimmered with light and darkness, its might overwhelming, enveloping everything.
The basement was deep and cold, like falling into an abyss.
But other than that...
Nothing happened.
Xia Luo's expression was confused.
Although he didn't speak, his somewhat dumbfounded and puzzled expression, mixed with relief and apprehension, seemed to say:
Is that all?
The old woman was also stunned.
She furrowed her brows, examining the filthy cross in her hands over and over, as if trying to find what was wrong.
After a thorough inspection, she frowned and raised the cross again, then channeled her magic once more, chanting in an even madder voice:
"Scream! Beg for mercy! Despair and shout under the falling light!"
The deep light bloomed again, enveloping Xia Luo, its aura more evil and chaotic than before.
But this time.
Still, nothing happened...
Xia Luo: ...
Countess: ...
The two looked at each other.
The atmosphere was, just a little, awkward.
The old woman's expression instantly turned ferocious, and terrifying magic erupted like a volcano:
"Why! Why isn't there any holy light on you?! Why haven't you been corroded by the falling light?!"
Tsunami-like pressure undulated, accompanied by crazy roars, bringing unprecedented pressure to the maiden.
However, Xia Luo secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
Combining the old hag's previous words, he had already roughly guessed the reason.
The maiden regained her composure, her voice gaining some confidence:
"Countess Castille, I think... there really is a misunderstanding between us."
"Misunderstanding? What misunderstanding?"
The old woman's eyes were blood-red, her expression as dangerous as a furious beast.
Xia Luo weighed his words and said:
"You must be performing some special ritual, right? And this ritual is related to the saints of the Holy Royal Court?"
"What I'm trying to say is, I'm not actually a saint of the Holy Royal Court."
"Um... you, seem to have summoned the wrong person."
Countess Castille fell silent.
The next second, Xia Luo felt a powerful mental force descend upon him.
Moments later, the mental force dissipated, and the countess's expression turned extremely ugly:
"No holy mark..."
"It's really not a saint of the Holy Royal Court!"
"How is this possible? How can this be!"
"If you're not a believer of the Holy Royal Court, why were you summoned by the Holy Spirit Summoning Ritual?"
How should I know?
I just worked overtime all night and fell asleep groggily. Who knew I'd wake up in this damned place!
And I even got my gender swapped!
Xia Luo complained in his heart.
He maintained his expression and shook his head:
"I don't know either."
"When I woke up, I was already like this."
As he spoke, he weighed his words, put on what he thought was a friendly smile, and continued:
"Countess Castille."
"As you can see, I'm not the saint's true spirit you need. Sacrificing me seems to serve no purpose."
"Perhaps, we can talk..."
"Talk? Do you think you're qualified?"
Countess Castille's red eyes shimmered with mockery.
Her killing intent was so strong, as if she blamed Xia Luo entirely for the failed summoning.
Xia Luo had no doubt that if he couldn't provide a suitable reason, the old hag in front of him would without hesitation kill him the next second.
Suppressing his unease, Xia Luo pretended to be calm and continued smiling:
"Not necessarily. Compared to a doomed sacrifice, I think my being alive brings you more benefits."
"Summoning me here might even be another unexpected surprise for you."
A true man yields when necessary.
Currently in a life-and-death crisis, facing a clearly unstable crazy old woman, Xia Luo had no pressure to act cowardly.
Face and self-esteem could be set aside for now.
First, find a way to survive!
"Oh? So... you have some abilities I don't know about?"
Countess Castille raised an eyebrow.
This time, she carefully examined the maiden, seeming to gain some interest:
"Tell me, what can you do?"
Xia Luo smiled and continued:
"For example... I know how to make many delicious foods, all dishes you've never seen before."
After speaking, he saw Countess Castille's gaze move slightly.
This was expected. From the fragmented memories Xia Luo inherited, Countess Castille was indeed a gourmet.
But...
"If it's just food, that's not enough to buy your life, my little Charlotte."
The countess shook her head.
"I can also do business. With the Castille family's current assets, I'm confident I can expand them several times within ten years..."
Xia Luo pondered for a few seconds and continued to up the ante.
Countess Castille seemed to be deep in thought, possibly tempted.
But in the end, her gaze toward the maiden remained unchanged, with a deeper exploratory intent.
Xia Luo gritted his teeth:
"I also know a lot of knowledge, knowledge that doesn't exist in this world. Each piece has the potential to bring revolution to this era!"
"I..."
"Wait!"
Hearing this, Countess Castille suddenly interrupted him.
She narrowed her eyes and asked:
"You just said... you know a lot of knowledge that doesn't exist in this world?"
Xia Luo hesitated:
"Yes."
"You... come from another world?"
Xia Luo instinctively wanted to deny it.
But feeling the aura locked on to him in the dark, he hesitated for a moment, then slowly nodded:
"Yes..."
Anyway, the secret of his body swap was already known.
Adding that he came from another world didn't seem to matter much.
Countess Castille fell silent again.
Gradually, the corner of her mouth curled up into a satisfied smile, which continued to broaden, becoming more and more unrestrained, eventually turning into an excited mad laughter:
"Hehe... hehe... hahaha..."
"Hahahaha!"
"Good! Very good! Extremely good!"
Seeing the other party so happy, although Xia Luo felt strange and uneasy, he finally breathed a temporary sigh of relief.
Burying his vigilance, grievance, and anger deep in his heart, he suppressed his unease and nervousness, struggling to appear relaxed as he smiled:
"It seems you're satisfied."
"Then... can you let me down first?"
As he spoke, he twisted his body, which was already so painful it had almost lost sensation, pretending to sigh indifferently:
"To be honest, hanging here is quite uncomfortable. I feel like I'm about to bleed out..."
"Pfft..."
A dull pain suddenly surged from his abdomen. Xia Luo felt a strong urge to vomit and couldn't help but spit out a mouthful of blood mixed with internal organ fragments.
He slowly lowered his head, his expression incredulous.
Below, a hideous black tentacle as thick as a fist had penetrated his stomach, madly twitching and churning inside.
On the other side of the tentacle was Countess Castille, her smile gone, her face expressionless.
"Why... why..."
Feeling his life force rapidly fading, Xia Luo widened his eyes, filled with unwillingness and confusion.
The old woman sneered:
"Why? Of course, to continue the sacrifice according to the ritual."
As she spoke, her expression became ferocious and greedy, bloodthirsty and fanatical:
"Hehe, unexpected surprise. You're right, you really are my unexpected surprise!"
"A soul from another world, this is a hundred times more precious than a saint's true spirit!"
"What's a holy saint?"
"As long as I sacrifice you, I will surely receive my Lord's grace and obtain unprecedented divine favor!"
Fuck!
Is that how it is?
Xia Luo cursed inwardly.
He difficultly raised his head, using his last bit of strength to pull a smile at the old woman:
"Fine... fuck you."
Countess Castille frowned.
Although she didn't understand the awkward phrase, she instinctively felt it wasn't a good thing.
Glancing at the increasingly round red moon outside the skylight, she grinned cruelly:
"The auspicious time has come."
"My unexpected surprise... enjoy the final crimson moonlight!"
With that, she put down the dark cross, held the blood-red fragment high, and great light surged from her body.
Xia Luo felt himself locked on by an indescribable strange force, instantly losing control of his body.
His blood gradually began to boil, and the hideous wound on his abdomen seemed to be burning continuously—this was the sign that the sacrifice ritual had begun...
Great.
About to die just two days after transmigrating, he was probably the most miserable transmigrator ever.
Xia Luo sighed in his heart.
If he had known this would happen... after transmigrating, he shouldn't have been so reserved and should have studied his new body first.
As he thought these random thoughts, time seemed to slow down unprecedentedly.
At the same time, the cadenced prayers of Countess Castille and the zombies slowly reached Xia Luo's ears:
"Master who wanders between the abyss and the mortal realm,"
"Incarnation of depravity and decay,"
"Savior of the bloodline descendants..."
"Great Blood Demon Duke—Abaddon!"
"Your humble servant prays for your grace..."
"I offer the most precious bloodline of the Castille family and a soul from another world, begging you to bestow eternal youth and vitality upon this humble servant..."
Hmm...
This prayer...
Seemed... somewhat familiar...
Just as Xia Luo's consciousness was gradually fading, his vision suddenly brightened.
In the scarlet light, a series of ancient and strange characters slowly emerged before his eyes:
[The Blood of the Sealed detects an incoming divine arts ritual—]
[Ritual Name: Bloodline Sacrifice Ritual]
[Sacrifice: Charlotte de Castille]
[Sacrificer: Elena de Castille]
[Recipient: Blood Demon Duke Abaddon]
[Ritual Effect: Using one's own bloodline sacrifice as a guide, the sacrificer gains the sacrifice's bloodline power and life force, while the recipient gains the soul and memories.]
[Interception probability judgment: 100%]
[ (Intercept or not)?]
Xia Luo: ...