God Weird Fairy

Chapter 407: Heavenly Sacrifice Ceremony

The next morning, the gray fog gradually dissipated and the sky became bright.

Many people got up, washed themselves briefly by the stream, and then rushed to the top of the mountain.

Although the flattest parts of the mountain tops were set aside as places for sacrificial ceremonies and common people were strictly prohibited from getting close to watch the ceremonies, people still had to occupy excellent positions at other peaks that were some distance away and that the court allowed common people to view from afar in order to watch the ceremonies from afar.

At this moment, in the misty sacrificial area, many officials and servants were busy making final preparations for the upcoming ceremony of offering sacrifices to heaven.

The top of Junshan Mountain, which originally seemed like a fairyland, suddenly seemed quite noisy.

Soon, all the preparations were completed, the officials and servants withdrew, and the solemn atmosphere once again permeated the sacrificial area.

When the appointed time came, Emperor Li, dressed in a gorgeous imperial robe and a crown with twelve tassels on his head, set out from the Junshan Palace, surrounded by civil and military officials, and walked up the winding mountain road, slowly heading towards the top of Junshan.

When they reached the top of the mountain, the ceremony of offering sacrifices to heaven officially began.

Accompanied by the sound of bells and drums, Li Huang stepped onto the altar, stood in the middle, facing the sky, with an extremely pious look on his face.

But the Minister of Rites Sima Qianyuan stood by and chanted a sacrificial text on behalf of the Emperor. His voice was clear and melodious, resounding through the sky:
"On the fifteenth day of the eighth month in the fourth year of Tianqi, Yuan Zhao, the minister of the successor to the throne of Dali, dares to announce to Taiyi the mysterious and supreme Yang God, and Chi Yun, the governor of Weidingyue:

I believe that the universe is in place, the sun and the moon are shining, the four seasons are running, and all things are growing. I am a humble official who has received this great treasure and has worked diligently, fearing that I may not be able to win.

Today, I lead hundreds of officials to respectfully ascend Junshan Mountain and perform the grand ceremony of offering sacrifices to heaven, praying that our country of Dali will prosper like the evergreen pine and cypress; that the weather will be favorable and the rain will fall like the universal rain; that the grains will be abundant and the granaries will be full; and that the people will be healthy and have long lives.

……

Fu Wei Shang Xiang! "

As the sacrificial text was read, the musicians played elegant music, with bells and drums ringing and zithers playing in unison. The music was melodious and graceful, echoing between heaven and earth.

Emperor Li took the three animals, jade and silk and other offerings from the servants, presented them on the altar one by one, and arranged them carefully himself.

Afterwards, Emperor Li washed his hands and burned incense. The smoke rose up and slowly merged into the clouds.

But he was seen holding the jade tablet in both hands, bowing deeply towards the sky, performing the ritual of three kneelings and nine kowtows, with a solemn expression and meticulous movements.

When the ceremony was halfway through, auspicious light suddenly emerged from the sky, with thousands of auspicious colors illuminating the heaven and earth.

The people who were watching the ceremony from afar, bathed in the auspicious light, felt relaxed and at ease both physically and mentally.

As for the civil and military officials under the altar, the Nine Palaces Magic Seeds in their bodies will resonate with the fortune of the dynasty corresponding to their official rank, and improve their Taoism out of thin air - the increase in officials of the same rank will fluctuate slightly depending on their official achievements in the past year.

Take Nan Yi as an example. He is an eighth-rank official, an idle position with few achievements. He only enjoys the most basic blessings of the dynasty and has practiced Taoism for about one and a half months.

If one is at the ninth rank, one can enjoy one month's practice of Taoism; if one is at the eighth rank, one can enjoy two months' practice of Taoism, and so on.

For most monks, using an official position to assist in their practice is the best way to steadily improve their cultivation.

But Nan Yi didn't take it seriously.

Now, with the spiritual blessing of the martial arts faith transmitted by the true qi of various meridians, his cultivation speed is ten times faster than usual, which means that if he practices seriously for one month, he can increase his cultivation by ten months.

It has been more than four months since I left Nan Tian City. If I use all my spiritual energy to refine my Taoism, Nan Yi's Taoism can be increased by more than forty months. Adding the share of the dynasty's fortune and blessings today, it is exactly forty-two months, or three and a half years of Taoism.

However, Nan Yi is now focusing on nurturing the seeds of Dharma, and only uses a small part of his spiritual energy to refine his Taoism. As a result, his actual Taoism has only increased by one year, reaching eighty-one years.

Let's get back to the topic. After the auspicious light faded, Emperor Li stood up, took the wine cup from the Minister of Rites, and poured the wine on the altar to pay tribute to Yangshen Yuezai and to entertain all the gods of heaven and earth.

At the end of the ceremony, Emperor Li personally read out the imperial edict, summarizing the gains and losses of this year's administration and looking forward to the plans for the coming year.

After the imperial edict was read, all the officials shouted in unison: "May God bless Dali and the country prosper forever!" The sound shook the sky and lasted for a long time.

At this point, the ceremony of offering sacrifices to heaven was successfully completed.

The emperor and the officials returned to the Junshan Palace. After lunch, they would leave Junshan and return to the capital. The common people who came to Junshan would also follow the imperial army on their return journey.

However, when the imperial army began to descend the mountain and reached halfway up the mountain, Nan Yi turned around and took Yan Qingyun straight to the blessed land of Junshan.

On the way, Nan Yi chatted with Yan Qingyun and asked with a smile: "Brother Yan, do you feel regretful that I didn't let you compete for the title of martial arts champion this year?"

Yan Qingyun heard this and shook his head and laughed: "It's just an empty title, what's there to regret?"

Nan Yi chuckled: "Fame is the anchor of spirituality and the nourishment of cultivation. It is what thousands of cultivators dream of. How can it be just an empty name? If you get this reputation, once the news spreads, the spiritual energy gathered can at least refine five years of cultivation."

Yan Qingyun said solemnly, "Hearing is not as good as admiring. I teach martial arts to you, and I am respected and admired by others. My spirituality is no less than yours. And that Tang Shan, although he is called the martial arts champion, is actually just a puppet of the Huagui Pavilion. He is completely unaware of it and lives up to the title."

"Besides, I am your escort and I only obey your orders. Since you have not ordered me to participate in the martial arts examination, I have no intention of competing for the title of martial arts champion."

In Yan Qingyun's mind, the title of Wu Zhuangyuan, no matter how nice it sounds, is for mortals. After all, according to Dali law, monks are strictly prohibited from participating in the martial arts examination.

Although he has not yet entered the Dao of martial arts, and is still half a step away, he can still be considered a mortal warrior. If he really wants to participate, it is not impossible.

But Yan Qingyun felt that he didn't need to lower his status and compete with ordinary warriors for fame. Not to mention that Huagui Pavilion had secretly played tricks on Tang Shan, making this year's martial arts examination, which was hastily held, a laughing stock in the eyes of those who knew about it.

Nan Yi could tell that what Yan Qingyun said came from his heart.

However, he was just chatting casually and used this topic to talk about Huagui Pavilion.

"The Huagui Pavilion was quite scheming. They instigated the Emperor Li to regard me as a lone minister, forced the martial arts examination, praised the true qi martial arts, and forced me to the front." Nan Yi laughed, "But they should never have let me appear in Junshan."

"Now that the Heavenly Sacrifice Ceremony is over, you will come with me to Junshan Blessed Land to rest for a while to avoid the limelight and see what tricks the Painting Gui Pavilion can come up with."

In order to spread the martial arts of Dali, Nan Yi was appointed as the assistant director of the Ministry of Culture and Education.

Because of this status, he needs to abide by the rules of Dali officialdom. At the very least, he cannot ignore the words of the Emperor Li, nor can he travel far away without asking for leave - meaning leaving the capital area.

However, the fact that Nan Yi had a good relationship with Monk Junshan was not known to Huagui Pavilion.

The military examination and the ceremony of offering sacrifices to heaven forced Nan Yi to no longer hide behind the scenes. He had to come out in the open and follow the emperor and the officials to the Junshan Palace.

But when you come to Junshan, you can go to Junshan Blessed Land.

As long as he didn't use the "Liang Yi Xiang Jiao Ling Xi Formation" of the Daojun Mountain Blessed Land to teleport away without permission, it wouldn't be considered violating the rules of officialdom.

In fact, in the past few days, many officials and monks have gone to Junshan blessed land to purchase materials for refining equipment.

After the grand ceremony of offering sacrifices to heaven, Nan Yi's trip to the blessed land of Junshan would not arouse any suspicion.

Because according to common sense, Nan Yi would not stay in Junshan blessed land for too long.

It's like if other people go to Junshan blessed land, or purchase materials, or place orders for refining equipment, it won't take much effort. Once the task is completed, they can easily catch up with the imperial army.
However, Nan Yi has a good relationship with the monks of Junshan, so he can borrow the land to refine weapons and stay for a long time, in order to break the trap set by Huagui Pavilion.

This was a plan to break the impasse after Nan Yi realized that Huagui Pavilion would instigate Emperor Li to hold a military examination. He did not want to be led by the nose by Huagui Pavilion all the time, so he decided on a plan to break the impasse.

However, when Nan Yi came to Junshan last time and was presented with the "Equipment Refining Booklet", Junshan's head, Su Chuanyao, once said that he hoped that when they met again next time, Nan Yi would be able to live up to his talent in refining equipment.

Now, only more than half a month has passed. It is impossible for Nan Yi to master all the skills in the "Equipment Refining Booklet" and even integrate them into his mind.

But if you want to stay in Junshan blessed land for a long time, you must at least lay a solid foundation for refining equipment, so that you can take advantage of Junshan to break the impasse.

Therefore, in the past half month, apart from secretly doing something to Ji Xiaoba to deal with Tang Shan, Nan Yi has been very well behaved and has been concentrating on studying the art of refining equipment.

He wanted to see, if he stayed in Junshan blessed land in the name of retreat and refining equipment instead of returning to the capital, using the method of stillness to control movement, then how would Huagui Pavilion respond next?
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(End of this chapter)