The inner courtyard of the Zhou Mansion.
In the center of the spacious hall, a bronze tripod about seven feet tall stood silently.
Zhou Jianmi, dressed as a middle-aged scholar, sat cross-legged to one side of the tripod, forming spells with his hands and periodically sending out streams of True Qi.
The True Qi flowed into the tripod, and its mouth immediately began to billow thick white smoke. The smoke enveloped the dozens of people in the hall, connecting seamlessly with the dense fog that shrouded the entire Zhou Mansion.
"Despicable!"
"Shameless!"
Patriarch Zhou Yangyun of the Zhou Family fell to his knees, his face contorted as he roared in fury:
"My father and I trusted you so much, yet you have the audacity—you're using dozens of my family members as a blood sacrifice for alchemy!"
Around him, nearly all thirty-plus members of the Zhou Family were present. They were forced to their knees, their auras linked to the great tripod as if bound together by invisible chains.
