Reborn as the Last van Ambrose
Chapter 262: Bloody Ritual

Chapter 262: Bloody Ritual

The ancient shrine deep within the realm’s sacred forest had been abandoned for centuries, its weathered stones bearing the scars of countless seasons and forgotten conflicts.

Moss-covered pillars formed a perfect circle around a central altar where rituals had once been performed to commune with the realm’s most ancient ancestors.

The air itself seemed heavy with residual magical energy that had accumulated over millennia, making the surrounding trees grow in twisted and unnatural.

Xùyán knelt before the altar in the darkness, his bandaged neck throbbing with each heartbeat as he traced complex symbols into the earth.

The humiliation of his defeat still burned in his memory—not just the physical pain of being used like a toy, but the crushing realization that Grim’s power exceeded his own by such a vast margin that their confrontation had been less a battle than a demonstration.

"This will show them," he muttered, his voice carrying the desperate edge of someone who had been pushed beyond rational thought.

"This will prove that fox spirit magic is superior to human corruption. That our ways are stronger than his darkness."

The ritual he was attempting had been forbidden by the council for longer than most fox spirits had been alive.

The ancient texts he had stolen from Elder Míngzhì’s private collection described it as a technique for temporarily channeling the power of the realm.

The same energies that maintained the protective barriers, sustained the perpetual magic that kept their territory hidden from human eyes, and fed the spiritual wells that nourished their land.

But those same texts also carried warnings written in the blood of previous practitioners, describing catastrophic consequences for those who lacked the spiritual strength to contain such an enormous force.

The ritual had been banned not because it was evil, but because it was simply too dangerous for anyone below the level of the masters to attempt safely.

Elder Míngzhì had mentioned the ritual only once, during a philosophical discussion about the old ways and the prices their ancestors had paid for power.

He had never imagined that Xùyán would be desperate enough to steal the forbidden texts, much less foolish enough to attempt something so monumentally dangerous.

The symbols glowed with increasing intensity as Xùyán completed the outer circle, each mark pulsing with unstable energy that made the air shimmer like heat waves rising from sun-baked stone.

His hands shook from the strain of channeling so much raw power through himself.

"Ancient guardians of the fox spirit realm," he chanted, his voice growing stronger with each word as the ritual began to respond to his call.

"Spirits of the first fox kings who carved this sanctuary from the wilderness, grant me the power to defend what my ancestors built with their blood and sacrifice."

The response was immediate and terrifying. Energy erupted from the altar like a geyser of water.

Surrounding Xùyán in a column of raw magical force that lifted his body off the ground. The power was unlike anything he had ever experienced.

So much raw mana was entering his body at an accelerated rate.

His eyes blazed silver as more mana began to pour into his body. Every cell seemed to ignite with energy. His mana channels expanded far beyond their normal capacity as the mana that had shaped the realm itself poured through him like a river in a flood.

For a single, intoxicating moment, he felt truly invincible.

The mana flowing through his body was beyond description, filling him with strength that seemed to have no limits. His neck and his connevting muscles healed instantly.

Scars from childhood accidents disappeared, and even his damaged mana channels were restored to perfect condition.

"Yes!" he shouted, his voice echoing as multiple beings were speaking in unison. "This is what I was meant to be! This is the power that flows in fox spirit blood!"

But the euphoria was catastrophically short-lived.

The energy was far too much for any mortal to contain, burning through his mana channels like poiring molten metal down someone’s throat.

Pain beyond human description flooded his body as the power began to tear him apart from within, cell by cell.

The column of energy around him grew brighter and more chaotic with each passing second. It’s contained fury seeking any possible outlet for release.

The ritual circle that was supposed to control the flow had been overwhelmed in the first moments, its carefully inscribed symbols began to crack, releasing too much energy.

Energy began to spread outward in visible waves, engulfing the surrounding forest in supernatural fire that consumed not flesh but the very essence of life itself.

Ancient trees that had stood for centuries withered and died in seconds, their accumulated life force being absorbed by the runaway magical reaction.

Xùyán tried desperately to stop the ritual, to release the power before it destroyed him completely, but the energy had developed a terrifying momentum of its own.

It poured through him like a torrent that had broken through a dam, impossible to control, redirect, or contain.

"Stop," he gasped, blood streaming from his eyes and nose as his body began to break down under the impossible strain. "Please, I didn’t mean for this to happen. I just wanted to prove myself worthy."

The words were lost in a scream of agony as the power reached a critical threshold. The entire forest began to shake with seismic force, and deep cracks appeared in the earth as the magical energy sought release through whatever channels it could find.

Trees for miles around began to wither as their life force was drawn into the expanding vortex of power. Small animals fled in panic as their instincts screamed warnings about the unnatural forces being unleashed.

Even the insects fell silent as the very air became charged with energies that made normal life impossible.

In the distance, warning bells began to ring from the palace as the disturbance registered on the King’s ears. Emergency protocols that had not been activated in hundreds of years began to engage as the magical infrastructure of the fox spirit realm detected a threat to its continued existence.

Xùyán’s body began to blur at the edges as the power consumed his body. He could feel his consciousness fragmenting, pieces of his identity being scattered by forces that were reshaping him into something else entirely.

Soon there would be nothing left but raw energy seeking equilibrium through whatever means necessary.

The ritual site had become the epicenter of a magical catastrophe that threatened not just his life, but the stability of the entire realm.

Ancient safeguards built into the very foundations of Fox Spirit territory were beginning to activate, preparing to contain the disaster even if it meant sacrificing everything within a hundred-mile radius.

As his vision faded and his sense of self began to dissolve, Xùyán realized with crystal clarity that his desperate gambit to prove himself superior to Grim had instead doomed him to become the destroyer of everything he had sought to protect me.

Grim felt the magical disturbance as he walked through the palace gardens in the early morning light, discussing wedding preparations with Princess Ruxi.

The dark mana contained in his fourth heart resonated violently with the chaotic energy erupting from the forest, creating painful heartbeat that made his scar blaze and sent waves of nausea through his entire body.