The Long Journey to Immortality

Han Lu raised her hand and used her magic to create a set of seats out of mud and ice, then invited the four of them to sit down.

Although the seats are made of ice, they are not cold.

After taking their seats, the four once again took out their musical instruments and magical artifacts, waiting for the main part of the ceremony to begin, to present beautiful music and rituals to the "Holy King" and the believers, and to celebrate this grand occasion together.

Chapter 671 Grand Sacrificial Ceremony

Sitting by the altar, Han Lu could barely be considered to be in an excellent spot for watching the ceremony.

Looking down at the more than 100,000 believers gathered in the square, one can also see the high priest and other high-ranking officials from the Western Regions performing on the altar by slightly raising one's head.

It must be said that the High Priest, as a Nascent Soul cultivator, still possessed the qualities of a reclusive master.

Dressed in gorgeous attire and exuding an aura of authority, Han Lu could not reconcile this with the somewhat frivolous middle-aged man she had met in private.

Although both are religions, the Holy King Religion in the Western Regions is completely different in nature from the small-scale religions that have taken up residence in the villages of the Central Plains.

The purposes for establishing a religion differ, and the vision, status, and support received by those who control the religion also differ.

Therefore, the arrangements made by the Holy King Church for such a grand and important religious ceremony are quite different from those of ordinary religions.

The so-called "centennial celebration" of the Holy King Sect is more like a company's annual meeting.

The high priest, the company leader, will speak about the story of the Holy King who founded the religion.

Let's take stock of the changes in the Western Regions over the past century.

Let's take a look at the good deeds and virtuous acts that the Holy King Sect has done for the vast number of cultivators and mortals in the Western Regions.

Imagine the future and offer some tangible rewards.

However, because of the involvement of monks, this thing, which is more like "company culture," was given a religious veneer and further mythologized, thus becoming what it is today.

The ceremony proceeded step by step according to the pre-established rules, and the high priest's booming voice echoed throughout the square.

The high priest spent two quarters of an hour recounting the heroic deeds of the Holy King, and the atmosphere in the room had already reached a height that was difficult to achieve during any other seasonal sacrifice.

These heroic deeds are, of course, embellished; they are seven parts truth and three parts fiction, merely a propaganda tool.

When discussing the changes in the Western Regions over the past century, they tend to downplay the negative aspects, focusing on the good and minimizing the bad.

With the high priest's speech and the influence of a group of fanatical believers, a belief began to spread and take root among the people.

It roughly means "following in the footsteps of the Holy King's religion, striving to restore the prosperous Western Regions of the Holy King's era."

The Western Region cultivators around Han Lu were filled with excitement.

Although they were not as completely immersed in religious culture as the Green Lion Taoist.

But as people from the Western Regions, they truly hoped to recreate the prosperous world described by the high priest.

One can imagine that when the joyful, exciting, and inspiring passages of the ceremonial music are played later, these three Western Region cultivators will be able to give 120% of their ability and put their emotions into it.

In this intense atmosphere, Han Lu felt increasingly like an outsider, feeling somewhat uncomfortable and only thinking about completing the task quickly and leaving this oxygen-deprived environment.

Fortunately, the high priest was not one to waste words.

The ceremony was originally planned to last no more than an hour.

Therefore, after laying the groundwork, the two most important parts began quickly.

First, the "Holy King Sect" will support the Western Alliance and officially announce some policies and benefits for the next stage, providing guidance for the development of the Western Regions over the next ten, twenty, or even a hundred years.

The second method is to carry out a massive "fabrication" to bring down the "blessings" of the Holy King, whose whereabouts are unknown, from heaven to benefit the vast number of believers.

Under the guidance of the "Holy King Religion," culture and religion have been restored to a revivalist state. Under the leadership of the "Western Regions United Organization," politics and administration have been aligned with the advanced ideas of the Central Plains and other regions. This has been the development policy of the Western Regions for the past century.

Naturally, members of the "Western Union Group" would be present at these occasions where the "Holy King Church" was preaching.

Logically speaking, reading out "political policies" in such a religious setting would provoke discontent among believers. However, if this high-ranking member of the "Western Union" also holds a high-ranking position in the Holy King Church, then the matter would be easily resolved.

Seven governance policies, which Han Lu considered "advanced," were announced at this sacrificial ceremony. The Western Alliance had clearly figured out the general direction of development for the Western Regions over the next hundred or even several hundred years and was slowly pushing these policies forward by relying on the power of religion and the three major clans, trying to make the Western Regions as good as possible under the control of the three major clans.

A monk was giving a speech on the altar, and the response from the audience was quite strong, thanks to the "shills".

The Western Region cultivators and ordinary people living in the royal city are all beneficiaries of this new policy.

In this atmosphere, with a little encouragement and based on past experiences, it's quite normal to become a supporter of the new policy.

Talk is cheap, and this occasion is, after all, a sacrificial ceremony of the "Holy King Religion".

The cultivator, who held two identities, didn't say too much or too complicated a thing. After giving a concise explanation for about seven or eight minutes, he voluntarily stepped down to make room for the most important part of the ceremony: the sacrificial ritual.

The high priest had already explained the arrangements for the ceremony to Han Lu.

When the High Priest once again ascended the stage in his magnificent robes, led by Han Lu, a ceremonial melody used in the highest-level sacrificial ceremonies resounded across the square, reaching the ears of every believer, thanks to the skillful use of musical instruments and magical artifacts by the four cultivators.

Since it was just music played at the beginning of the ritual, Han Lu did not incorporate any illusion techniques into it. She simply played the guqin and used the power of the magic weapon to make the music audible to everyone.

The first piece of ritual music is melodious and gentle, as if depicting the peaceful life in the Western Regions 40,000 years ago. It was composed by the high priest, this "musician".

This is also one of the few places where the High Priest, a monk with a considerable "artistic talent," can put his abilities to use in the Western Regions.

As he listened to his own compositions and watched over 100,000 believers bowing and worshipping him and the statue of the Holy King behind him, the High Priest was filled with emotion and felt fortunate for his decision to accept the invitation from the three major clans to become the High Priest.

The sacrificial ceremony naturally required offerings.

The offerings for the seasonal sacrifices are always so lavish, so this grand sacrificial ceremony, which is marked by a century-long tradition, cannot be stingy in this regard.

Ninety-nine cattle, ninety-nine sheep, and ninety-nine other livestock, along with a total of nine cartloads of grain, were moved from the backstage to the altar by the high priest using his magic.

In addition to these traditional offerings, some criminals who had broken the new laws in recent years were brought to the altar in order to establish a real "enemy".

Han Lu had expected a simple, barbaric blood sacrifice, but the high priest, a Nascent Soul cultivator, simply gave the three prisoners half a bowl of blood before instructing the priests to take them away to uphold the law.

Everything was thrown into the eerie blue flames that had just ignited on the altar.

This flame is the infant fire of a Nascent Soul cultivator, with an extremely high temperature. Anything thrown into it will be burned to ashes instantly, which is why the ritual did not turn into a barbecue party.

When the high priest began chanting incantations and performing his shamanistic rituals, Han Lu knew it was her turn to take the stage.

[Author's Note] Some people have asked why the protagonist always lets those who have offended her go. I can only answer that this is the style of behavior of cultivators in the Central Plains in the story setting—to forgive and forget when possible. And to avoid being like "Xiaoyaozi," Han Lu's style is just a bit more exaggerated.

Chapter 672 Illusion

The timing was perfect; the first song ended just as the high priest began to "go crazy."

The second piece of ritual music is a rather mysterious piece, incorporating a large number of rhythmic variations. According to the high priest, this piece was dug out from ancient books, and it has long been lost or incomplete; the original piece was not like this at all.

However, it is precisely because later generations did not fully inherit it, and because some syllables were omitted, that it became what it is today. It sounds quite suitable for the somewhat solemn yet chaotic and frenzied environment of sacrificial rites, which is why this ancient-sounding piece of music was chosen as the "background music" for sacrificial rites.

Accompanied by ceremonial music, the high priest performed various spells on the stage that had no real power but were excellent in terms of light and shadow effects, creating an atmosphere of mystery.

There were probably two reactions from the believers in the audience.

Some of the more devout maintained a posture of bowing in worship.

Those who had just joined the church or were simply there to watch the spectacle mostly stared wide-eyed at what was happening on the altar with astonished expressions.

Regarding the specific content of casting illusions and creating illusions, the High Priest gave Han Lu a certain degree of autonomy, simply giving Han Lu a theme to describe the scene of the "Holy King" descending to earth and generously bestowing blessings in his imagination.

Using this as a template, Han Lu can freely elaborate on the remaining details.

However, given Han Lu's personality, she naturally wouldn't act impulsively on such an important occasion. Before arriving at the ceremony, she had already planned everything out in her mind, deciding what kind of images she should use to instill illusions into the minds of the vast number of low-level cultivators and mortal believers.

Silently circulating the "True Phoenix Manual," Han Lu quietly entered a semi-spiritual state, her hands, which had already sprouted feathers on the back of their hands, caressing the guqin with varying speeds.

A large amount of spiritual energy was drawn from her dantian and golden core and poured into the ancient zither, a spiritual artifact, in front of her.

Since awakening her Phoenix Bloodline, Han Lu's most powerful illusion, affecting the largest number of people, was slowly unfolding in this square where 100,000 people had gathered, aided by the sound of a guqin.

Because illusion works on the mind, both devout believers who bowed their heads in prayer and worship, and onlookers who looked up to watch the spectacle, were affected by the illusion and saw, heard, and felt the illusory world that Han Lu had carefully arranged.

Suddenly, the sky above the enormous statue of the Holy King behind the altar changed color, as the low-level cultivators and onlookers, who were watching with their heads held high, observed the ceremony.

Colorful rays of light shone through the clouds and landed perfectly on the altar.

Many ordinary people, already captivated by the fervent atmosphere, witnessed this scene. Some even shouted "The Holy King has descended!" and began to worship like devout believers, some even going so far as to encourage their friends, who were still immersed in the "miracle," to follow suit and pray that the Holy King would also consider them devout believers and bestow blessings upon them.

The rosy light moved from the statue of the Holy King to the altar, and finally shone on the believers in the vast square.

The illusion depicted everything with incredible realism, making the believers feel as if they were basking in the midday sun on a winter's day, experiencing warmth and comfort from the inside out.

After the rosy glow, the statue of the Holy King in the illusion emitted light again, and then a phantom emerged from the statue.

After a moment, the phantom gradually solidified, as if the Holy King had truly descended from the upper realm with his divine soul avatar to the sacrificial site.

Noticing the actions and expressions of the believers below the altar, the high priest, who was performing the shamanic dance, couldn't help but feel secretly pleased. He was glad that Han Lu had come to the Western Regions at this opportune time; otherwise, unless she relied on hallucinogenic drugs, the performance would never have been so well-received.

Not finished yet.

The light emanating from the phantom of the Holy King grew ever deeper, making ordinary mortals unable to look directly at it.

At the same time, some low-level cultivators were also completely immersed in this illusion, secretly blaming themselves for their past disloyalty and lack of piety to the Holy King.

These low-level cultivators are the ones the high priests most want to "fool." If they can get these young cultivators to convert, then this ceremony will be a great success.

In order to time the ceremony perfectly with the High Priest's "shamanistic ritual," Han Lu instructed the Holy King to stare intently at the believers for a while longer.

When the High Priest and the other Golden Core cultivators hiding behind the scenes joined forces to cast the spell, Han Lu not only began to lead the entire ceremonial music troupe to play the third piece of ceremonial music, but also manipulated the illusion to attribute this "favor" to the Holy King.

In the eyes of the believers, the phantom of the Holy King raised his hand, and then the clouds in the sky quickly changed color, were stirred up, and gathered below the square.

As the phantom lowered its hand, as if stroking the heads of believers, a light rain fell from the clouds, showering everyone participating in the ceremony.

This nectar was truly "nectar," a wonderful thing born from a mixture of spiritual herbs and healing magic. Even without Han Lu using illusion magic to deceive them, mortals drenched in raindrops could clearly feel the changes in their bodies.

With Han Lu's encouragement, this change naturally became more and more obvious.

The dew that could heal wounds only consumed 50% of the high priest's spiritual power.

Standing on the altar, he was still full of energy, shouting loudly to thank the Holy King for his generous "blessings".

The Green Lion Taoist, who was standing not far from the altar, reacted the fastest. As a devout believer, he shouted along with the high priest, seemingly echoing him but actually expressing his own thoughts.

This caused a huge uproar; the shouts drowned out the sound of the rain and the sound of Han Lu playing the ritual music.

Everything proceeded smoothly as planned. Han Lu ended the illusion with the "plot" of the Holy King's illusory image smiling as he returned to the stone statue, thus avoiding any unnecessary complications or suspicion.

With the mission accomplished, Han Lu lingered by the altar for a while longer. Only when the ceremony officially ended did she leave with the other three monks from the music troupe, whose clothes were soaked and who had shed a few tears.

The ceremony was followed by a meeting of the "Western Union Group," so although Han Lu had made a great contribution upon returning to the hotel, she was not summoned by the High Priest again until the next day.

During their private meeting, the High Priest reverted to his youthful "temperament." Although he had arranged the meeting to praise Han Lu, he started by talking about personal matters.