Hongyue and Lanyue went silent. Their eyes were fixated on the moon in the sky, but their minds were focusing elsewhere.
Yun Lintian could not know what they were thinking right now. However, judging from the earlier conversation and the solemn air around them, he believed something terrible would happen soon.
"Actually…" Suddenly, Lanyue turned to look at Hongyue and tried to say something, but she got interrupted by the latter first.
"No need to say anything. It's my choice." Hongyue tilted her head to look at her beloved sister. The previous sad smile had been washed away and replaced with a loving smile. "You might think I was the one who suffered, but in fact, it's not. It's you that are going to suffer in the end. You have to bear our Divine Moon Clan's hope and revitalize our clan... Just thinking of it, I feel sick already."
Hearing this, Lanyue lowered her head slightly. A trace of sadness could be seen in the depth of her eyes but soon replaced with a firm determination.
Hongyue was utterly unaware of this. She took a deep look at her beloved sister one last time before slowly standing up and saying. "It's time."
Just as Hongyue turned around, she suddenly felt a terrifying force coming behind her. Her expression changed drastically, and she tried to mobilize her power. Unfortunately, it was too late. She could only turn to look at her sister with eyes widened open in disbelief. "Why…"
As her voice fell, she immediately lost consciousness and fell to the ground.
Lanyue looked at her sister with tearful eyes and said with a shaking voice. "I'm sorry, sister. I don't want to see you die."
Following that, she carefully took Hongyue's clothes off and switched them with hers. She adjusted herself for a moment, and her temperament instantly changed. Right now, she was no different from Hongyue.
Yun Lintian looked at the scene in amazement. At the same time, he seemed to guess something. There must be a kind of sacrifice ritual going on soon, and Hongyue was the subject of this sacrifice.
It was as Yun Lintian expected. The scene before him quickly changed. He appeared in a spacious square with a high sacrifice altar at the center. Around two hundred people were gathering in this place. Each one of them had a similar characteristic that was possessing moon power.
Yun Lintian immediately identified them at a glance. These people were no other than the Divine Moon clansmen.
"It's time." A white-haired old woman in a purple robe looked at the moon solemnly on the top of the altar.
Beside her was naturally Lanyue, who was disguising as Hongyue. She was lying on a flat stone bed with her front facing the moon in the sky. Her expression was relatively calm, but Yun Lintian could see a trace of worry in the dept of her eyes. She must be worried about her sister.
Yun Lintian looked around and didn't see Hongyue here.
"Where is Princess Lanyue?" A middle-aged man stood nearby, asked in a low voice.
"She's probably crying somewhere." A middle-aged woman beside him answered. Her face was full of sadness as she let out a helpless sigh.
The middle-aged man had also sighed. "Alas. Fate is really cruel."
Yun Lintian's eyes flickered with a strange light. He turned to look at the altar with curiosity. What kind of this cruel ritual? What's the benefit of it?
At this moment, the old woman slowly raised her hand while mumbling something which Yun Lintian didn't understand. It should be some ancient chantings. Purple light gradually glowed around Lanyue's body, spreading into the stone bed beneath her all the way to the foot of the altar, making the whole altar shine brightly.
Seeing this, the two hundred odd people in this square hurriedly knelt down on one knee and kept chanting something at the same time.
Yun Lintian suddenly perceived a strong moon energy gathering above the altar, transforming into a purple light pillar shooting into the moon above.
Yun Lintian followed the light pillar and saw the moon was actually starting to shrink its size. At the same time, he also noticed Lanyue's body gradually disintegrate bit by bit, as though her essence were sent into the moon.
There were no other expressions on Lanyue's face except for a peaceful smile. Her eyes rolled to the side as if she was looking for someone, but the figure she wished to see was nowhere to be seen.
Just as Lanyue was about to thoroughly fade away, Hongyue in a blue robe suddenly appeared in the square and shouted anxiously. "Stop! I am Princess Hongyue here!"
The crowd was confused and stopped their action. They turned around to look at 'Lanyue' in puzzlement… What was going on here?
Hongyue saw the doubt in their eyes. She hurriedly burst into a red aura and rushed toward the altar.
"It's really Princess Hongyue! What happened here?" One of the crowd exclaimed in shock. The red-colored aura was a unique aura that belonged to Hongyue. There was no doubt about it. This person was Princess Hongyue… Then, wouldn't it be that was Princess Lanyue on the altar!?
The old woman looked at 'Hongyue' that was lying on the stone bed in shock. She wanted to stop the ritual, but Lanyue interrupted her. "Go on. Do not stop. This is my will."
The old woman had a complicated expression. She glanced at Hongyue, that was about to reach the altar and sighed softly before continuing to chant.
"I said stop!" Hongyue's power bust out and swept toward the altar. However, a purple-colored barrier suddenly appeared around the altar and completely blocked her power.
Hongyue was swept away by the impact and spat out a mouthful of blood as she landed on the ground. Her face was filled with despair when she looked at Lanyue on the altar. "Why… Why did you do this?"
"After listening to you, I feel that you are right, and I don't want to suffer further. Please forgive me for my selfishness.." Lanyue smiled gently and sent a sound transmission to Hongyue.