Chapter 1134 - 359: Evil Sun God (Part 2)

Ian folded his wings and crouched in the shadows, his gaze sweeping eagle-like below.

In the temple courtyard, dozens of priests were bustling back and forth.

They wore pure white robes, but the corners were embroidered with dark red runes, which were not the sacred texts commonly seen in Ancient Egypt, but rather some twisted, almost sinister symbols, as if written in blood.

They were carrying various items—a human effigy with an eagle head carved from obsidian, its eyes set with flickering flame crystals, several sealed clay jars, their openings sealed with runes, emitting a faint moan, and even a young man’s corpse, carried into the depths of the temple, covered with linen inscribed with spells.

A huge bronze cauldron, filled with dark red liquid, emitted a strong rusty smell—blood. The scene in the temple district was extremely eerie, with twelve bronze fire bowls surrounding the main hall, the flames an eerie bluish-white, casting the priests’ shadows long and twisted like demonic figures.

They worked silently, transporting various unsettling items: a golden chalice inlaid with human teeth, a transparent stone jar filled with mercury liquid, and a jackal wolf skull bound by seven chains—these were not offerings to the orthodox Sun God, but rather seemed intended for some evil god, sending chills down one’s spine.

"This is not an ordinary ritual."

"These offerings... don’t seem like they’re meant for the Sun God Ra." Despite not being a scholarly Hogwarts student, Ian could still cast aside his doubts and make this judgment.

Ra is the God of Light, a symbol of order, his sacrifices should be bright, pure, filled with hymns.

Yet everything before him was filled with darkness, oppression, and taboo.

The priests’ expressions were exceptionally solemn, no one talked, no one prayed, just mechanically performing their tasks, as if they themselves feared saying one more word.

They placed the offerings one by one on the altar in front of the main hall, in the center of the altar stood a giant statue of Ra.

But that statue... was somehow off.

Its facial lines were too rigid, its eyes vacant, and its mouth wore a strangely eerie smile.

"Are the priests using the statue of Ra to worship some hidden evil god within it? But that’s improbable; Ra’s statue has divinity and wouldn’t easily be parasitized by an evil god."

Ian felt that the situation was becoming more and more mysterious.

Ian did not act recklessly.

He knew that to intrude now would only startle the snake.

He chose to wait, like a true raven, blending into the night, becoming part of the shadows. He observed every detail, the raven landing in the shadow of the eaves of the side hall, its sharp eyes piercing through the smoke. In the central courtyard, nine high-tier priests were inscribing complex patterns on the ground with an obsidian knife.

With each completed inscription, dark red liquid filled the grooves automatically, like living blood vessels spreading across the stone slabs. Ian’s bird heart beat wildly.

Under the moonlight, that liquid shimmered with a nacreous luster.

Ian wouldn’t mistake it.

It was diluted divine blood. Furthermore, around the altar, the priests painted a giant magic array, the array patterns a mix of gold powder and bone ash, flickering with an eerie green glow. They laid the corpse flat in the center of the array, chanting a spell Ian had never heard before, the syllables twisted, like some ancient magic language.

As the ritual proceeded, the blood from the bronze cauldron was slowly poured into the array, the blood amazingly suspended in air, forming a spiral light stream directly connected to the statue’s eyes.

The obsidian eagle statue was placed at the array’s core, the flame crystal began to pulse, akin to "breathing." Due to the numerous necessary offerings, the priests were increasingly busy.

All priests were cooperating in very detailed roles.

"Speed up!"

A raspy voice called out from within the inner hall.

"The preparations must be completed before the Pleiades reach the zenith."

The previously seen Scepter Priest strode out, the Eye of Horus insignia on his forehead bleeding. He held a Crystal Box in his hands.

Inside curled some glowing creature, each wriggle causing frost to form on the crystal’s surface.

"What on earth is that?"

What shocked Ian the most was the expressions of the priests. In their eyes was no devotion, only mechanical numbness and oppressed fear. When a young priest accidentally knocked over a bronze incense burner, everyone around instantly froze, only continuing after confirming there was no anomaly—like avoiding some unseen surveillance.

Suddenly, the chanting from the inner hall made Ian’s feathers stand on end. It was recited in the long-lost Helio-Polis dialect, a spell supposed to praise Ra’s rebirth, now distorted into an eerie dirge. The raven’s vision suddenly blurred for a moment, some existence beyond the senses of a bird was awakening from the depths of the temple.

Ian quietly shifted to a higher eaves edge. From this angle, some scenes within the inner hall were visible: the gold altar atop seven steps had been transformed into a terrifying sight, the originally sun-symbolizing disc now inset with countless eyeball-like gemstones, in the central depression lay—Ian’s breath halted at that moment.

It was a familiar blue shard.

Larger in size than any Eye of the Ra he had seen.

A woman in a black robe suddenly appeared before the altar, her attire drastically different from the daytime. The elaborate gold embroidery on her robe’s hem dragged on for over three meters, but upon closer inspection, those ornate patterns were actually numerous twisted miniature human forms. The runes on her face had turned blood red, brightening and dimming with the chanting rhythm, as if flames flowed beneath her skin.