Revelation of the Way of Heaven

Chapter 327 Prayer Ritual

The prayer ceremony was held at the Molten Bone Altar, which is located directly north of the Scarlet Moon Royal Court. Early that morning, Qin Xiaochuan and the others were led by the Wood Priest to the side of the Molten Bone Altar, which is an ancient temple with a long history, with a statue of Nuwa standing in the center.

In front of the statue of Nuwa is a circular altar with a diameter of more than five meters. On the half-circle of the altar closest to the statue, seven bronze cauldrons stand on equal sides. In front of the statue is a rectangular blue stone offering table, on which stands a rectangular jade tablet, used to receive instructions from the goddess Nuwa.

When Qin Xiaochuan arrived at the altar, it was already surrounded by people. They were all kept ten meters away from the altar by the Imperial Guards, but this did not dampen their fervent enthusiasm.

After all, such an important prayer ceremony is held only once every few decades or even centuries in Crescent City, and these people who already have a fervent faith will naturally not miss it.

Qin Xiaochuan was taken by the Imperial Guards to the location closest to the altar so he could watch the entire ceremony from beginning to end.

The fire priest stood barefoot and with disheveled hair on the altar, his feet forming a seven-pointed star. He chanted ancient hymns and walked briskly around the center of the altar. Every seven steps, he would wave his staff, and with each wave, a large cauldron beside the altar would ignite into a blazing fire. After the fire priest had walked forty-nine steps on the altar, all seven cauldrons were ablaze.

At this moment, the fire priest stood in the center of the altar, recited a prayer to the statue of Nuwa, bit his finger, and sprinkled the blood flowing from his finger into the seven large cauldrons. After doing all this, the fire priest suddenly knelt down devoutly in front of the statue, and the people watching around the altar also knelt down with him.

Qin Xiaochuan looked around and found that even the Golden Priest was kneeling on the ground in devout worship. As a young man who had been influenced by atheism for twenty years, he had no choice but to follow the local customs and kneel down in front of the statue of Nuwa.

Just after everyone knelt down, the blood that the fire priest had sprinkled into the bronze cauldron did not evaporate instantly. Instead, it gathered together under the burning flames and formed a piece of text. Finally, as if guided by some mysterious force, the text all gathered on the jade tablet on the offering table.

After the flames in the seven great cauldrons were all extinguished, the fire priest stood up from the altar, and the people below the altar also stood up, anxiously waiting for the instructions of the goddess Nuwa.

The fire priest respectfully walked to the offering table, took down the jade tablet, held it in his hand, and shouted to the crowd, "The Goddess Nuwa has given instructions."

A deafening cheer immediately erupted around the altar. After the cheers lasted for a while, the fire priest gestured for everyone to quiet down. He glanced at the gold priest before looking at the jade tablet and respectfully chanted, "Netherworld Mountains, Xuanyuan Sword returns to its rightful place."

After the fire priest finished speaking, the altar suddenly fell into a deathly silence. Almost everyone focused their attention on Qin Xiaochuan's back. Qin Xiaochuan also sensed something was wrong. Just as he was wondering what was happening, he heard the wood priest speak up: "Fire priest, are you sure you're not mistaken?"

"All of Nuwa's instructions are clearly recorded on this jade tablet. If the Wood Priest doesn't believe it, he can come and see for himself. I don't think you would question Nuwa's instructions, would you?" the Fire Priest replied coldly.

"Of course I dare not question the Goddess Nuwa. Since the Goddess Nuwa has given such instructions, I will certainly do my best to assist the Uncrowned One in completing the Dustless Trial." The Wood Priest respectfully bowed to the statue of Nuwa.

The sacrificial ceremony finally came to an end, and Qin Xiaochuan was once again brought back to the royal court by the wood priest. As soon as they returned to the audience hall, Qin Xiaochuan eagerly asked the wood priest, "Wood priest, what did the fire priest mean by the return of the Xuanyuan Sword on the altar?"

The wood priest said, "The Xuanyuan Sword is a divine weapon used by the ancient Wu tribe to fight against the demon tribe. Legend has it that Emperor Zhuanxu defeated Gonggong with this sword and drove the demon tribe back to Buzhou Realm. After Goddess Nuwa mended the sky with stones, in order to prevent the demon tribe from causing trouble for the human world again, Goddess Nuwa set up the current Crescent Moon City at the entrance of Buzhou Realm, and then set up a powerful barrier array in Crescent Moon City. Because the barrier array contains powerful energy of heaven and earth, the demon tribe in Buzhou Realm has not dared to cross the line for thousands of years."

Upon hearing the words of the Wood Priest, Qin Xiaochuan couldn't help but recall the scene in the illusion of the Heavenly Stele where he saw Emperor Zhuanxu standing proudly atop Kunlun Mountain with a giant sword in his hand. He guessed that the giant sword in his hand should be the Xuanyuan Sword. In Emperor Zhuanxu's hands, that giant sword indeed exerted earth-shattering power, truly deserving of the name of a divine weapon.

"I already know about the origins of Crescent Moon City, but I don't understand how the Xuanyuan Sword ended up in the Netherworld Mountains?" Qin Xiaochuan asked, puzzled.

"After the goddess Nuwa set up a barrier in Crescent Moon City, she gifted the Xuanyuan Sword to the first Blood Witch King. This Xuanyuan Sword not only became a symbol of the Blood Witch King's power, but also the carrier of the energy of the Crescent Moon City barrier. It is said that those who can use the Xuanyuan Sword can call upon the energy of heaven and earth in the barrier. With this energy, even if Gonggong were to be reincarnated, he would not be able to break through the defenses of Crescent Moon City. Of course, these are just legends, and no one has ever truly witnessed them. In fact, since the first Blood Witch King, the Xuanyuan Sword has no longer been in Crescent Moon City."

The wood priest paused here and said, "Back then, the demon race was unwilling to be driven back to the Buzhou Realm. So, a powerful leader named Taotie quickly emerged among the demon race, leading them to prepare to attack Crescent City. After learning of this, the first Blood Witch King took the initiative to attack, leading the Blood Witch race to fight Taotie in the Netherworld Mountains. However, because Taotie became so powerful by gathering the undead aura of the demon race, it could not be killed. Helpless, the first Blood Witch King could only seal it in the Central Mountain with the Xuanyuan Sword. Therefore, that Central Mountain was later renamed Sword Mountain."

"So the trial's 'returning the Xuanyuan Sword' means I have to go to the Netherworld Mountains to retrieve the Xuanyuan Sword and then put it back in Crescent City," Qin Xiaochuan said with sudden realization.

The Wood Priest nodded and said, "That's right. There is a Tower of Imprisonment in Crescent City, which is the hub of Crescent City's barrier. That is where the Xuanyuan Sword should be placed. In recent years, the energy of Crescent City's barrier has been weakening. The purpose of this trial may be to let you retrieve the Xuanyuan Sword and reactivate the barrier's energy."

Qin Xiaochuan glanced at the Wood Priest and asked meaningfully, "So, the Wood Priest believes that the content of this trial was indeed instructed by the Goddess Nuwa?"

The wood priest remained silent for a while before saying, "In fact, apart from the first Dustless Trial which was to demonstrate the authority of the Blood Witch King's succession, the subsequent Dustless Trials were more formal than practical. In all the Dustless Trials recorded in history, it can be confirmed that none of the trials were more dangerous than this one."

The wood priest didn't spell it out, but Qin Xiaochuan already understood. Regardless of whether the trial's content came from Nuwa's instructions, the trial's content had already been announced in public, leaving him with no other choice.

Qin Xiaochuan then thought of something else and asked, "If that's the case, if the Xuanyuan Sword is really retrieved, wouldn't the Taotie monster also have a chance to be resurrected?"

"That's true." The Wood Priest sighed. "The danger of this trial is not only that. The demons in the entire Netherworld Mountain Range are distributed according to the rule of being strong inside and weak outside. That is to say, the deeper you go into the mountain range, the stronger the demons become. Sword Mountain is located in the central vein of the Netherworld Mountain Range, which is the main gathering place for mid-level demons, but high-level demons also appear there. This in itself is a great challenge."

"Does that mean we're about to embark on another great adventure?" Qin Xiaochuan said calmly.

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