Huanhuan looked up and saw a winding staircase ahead. It stretched from in front of them to the top of the mountain.

It was at least a thousand meters high. If someone were to climb up, they would die of exhaustion halfway up the mountain.

Unexpectedly, Xue Hui said to her, “We’re going to follow this path to the temple to meet the prophet. Then, under the prophet’s lead, we’ll head to the altar at the top of the mountain.”

Huanhuan’s mouth fell open in disbelief. “We’re going that high up?!”

The sight of her stunned face was adorable. Unable to resist, Xue Hui reached out and pinched her cheek. “If you’re tired, you can rest when we get to the temple.”

“What about you?”

“All oracles and witch doctors must accompany the prophet to the top of the mountain for the sacrificial ceremony. I’m no exception.”

“Okay.”

A middle-aged male beast in a gray-white robe walked to the stairs. He held a bowl of water in his hand. His face was expressionless and very cold. He asked the divine servant, “Is everyone here?”

The divine servant quickly nodded. “Yes, First Elder.”

“Then let’s begin.”

The middle-aged male beast called First Elder turned around and walked up the stairs.

He walked very steadily. The water in the bowl did not even ripple, let alone spill.

All the oracles, witch doctors, and noble beasts followed him up the stairs according to their status.

From afar, it looked like a very long line winding up the mountain path.

Huanhuan, who was part of this long line, felt her breathing become uneven after walking for about half an hour.

Gasping for breath, she looked up to see that they were only a fifth of the way there.

There were still four-fifths of the stairs to climb!

Huanhuan felt like she was about to fall to the ground.

Compared to the panting Huanhuan, the other beasts looked much better. After all, beasts were very strong.

Xue Hui extended her right hand and led Huanhuan forward.

Huanhuan opened her mouth and panted as she struggled to climb up on foot.

She had no idea how she got through the second half of the journey. Anyway, by the time they reached the temple halfway up the mountain, Huanhuan was so tired that her head was spinning. She fell to the ground and lost all feeling in her legs. She couldn’t even move.

Among the other beasts, the weaker ones were already panting from exhaustion. The stronger ones were only sweating a little.

Xue Hui had good stamina. Other than a little sweat on her forehead, she was still the same as before they departed.

She looked at Huanhuan and couldn’t help but chuckle. “You’re so weak.”

Huanhuan was panting. She didn’t even have the strength to speak.

There was a pergola made of branches and leaves beside the temple. Xue Huanhuan carried Huanhuan into the pergola and placed her in a quieter corner.

Xue Ran said, “Rest here and don’t run around. I’ll pick you up after the sacrificial ceremony.”

Huanhuan nodded, indicating that she understood.

Xue Hui got up and walked away.

Huanhuan leaned back against the tree trunk to rest. The pergola was very spacious. In addition to her, there were many beasts who had come here to rest. Many of them were females and cubs.

Compared to adult male beasts, females and cubs were indeed much weaker. Even so, they had to grit their teeth and go up the mountain to attend the sacrificial ceremony.

The initial legend was that one could obtain the blessings of the gods by participating in the sacrificial ceremony. In the following year, they would be safe and sound. As time passed, it just became symbolic. However, the beasts had already imperceptibly treated participating in the sacrificial ceremony as a symbol of honor.

No beast was willing to give up this rare opportunity.

Even the females and cubs gritted their teeth after a short rest and continued to climb the mountain with the help of their families and friends.

Huanhuan could not understand their fanaticism for the sacrificial ceremony.

All she wanted to do now was lie here and not go anywhere.

The number of beasts in the pergola decreased until only Huanhuan was left.

She gradually recovered. She took a pot of water from her space and gulped it down.

After drinking the water, Huanhuan finally felt revived.

She grabbed the tree trunk and struggled to her feet.

Huanhuan looked around and realized that there was a deep forest behind her. The wind blew, and the leaves rustled.

Ahead was a flat area with a few divine servants sweeping it.

Huanhuan stood up to walk. Her legs were still sore, but she could walk normally. She walked out of the pergola and found the temple beside her. There was a guard at the door.

There was nothing fun here, so Huanhuan returned to the pergola.

A frivolous voice suddenly spoke.

“Where are you from? Why are you here alone?”

Huanhuan looked in the direction of the voice and saw a young male beast in a shark silk robe walk into the pergola. He had a wretched smile on his face.

It was obvious that he was not a good person.

Huanhuan frowned. “Who are you?”

“Look at the way I’m dressed. Can’t you tell I’m a noble oracle?” The male beast moved closer to her, his gaze sweeping over her beautiful eyes. His smile became even more lecherous. “My name is Mather. You can call me Brother Mather.”

Huanhuan was almost disgusted by this bastard. She took two steps back and said in disgust, “Stay away from me!”

“Don’t be afraid. I’ll dote on you.” Mather reached into his clothes and touched his member. He then reached out with one hand to take off the veil on Huanhuan’s face. “Come, let me see how beautiful your little face is~”

Huanhuan couldn’t take it anymore. “Little Lotus!”

The skullcap suddenly darted out and bit off Mather’s ear!

Mather screamed and covered his bleeding ear.

Huanhuan looked at him coldly. “I don’t want to cause trouble here. If you know what’s good for you, get lost!”

Mather saw his bloody palm and gritted his teeth in hatred. “You stupid b*tch. I was kind enough to play with you, but you dared to bite off my ear? I’ll kill you!”

He transformed into a brown bear, opened his bloody mouth, and pounced at Huanhuan!

The brown bear was too big, and his skin was thick. Even when the skullcap opened all its petals, it could only bite off a small piece of his flesh.

The angry brown bear slapped the lotus to the side and bit down on Huanhuan!

At the critical moment, a hand reached over and pulled Huanhuan over.

Caught off guard, Huanhuan staggered and fell into the man’s arms.

A strand of pale blond hair floated past her face.

She heard the person in front of her question coldly, “This is the temple. Are you planning to cause trouble here?”

The brown bear seemed to be afraid of him. When he heard his question, he immediately returned to human form. He kneeled on the ground and trembled. “Spare me, Prophet.”

‘Prophet?’

Huanhuan immediately looked up at the person in front of her.

In that instant, she thought she saw a god.