Chapter 216

Then my children—

Even though Immortal Zhongyou knew the truth.

Such a miracle of reincarnation is absolutely impossible for everyone.

But he preferred to believe that his sons had been reincarnated.

At this moment, he was no longer the king who had endured for decades, nor the immortal who took revenge with cruel means; he was just an old man in his twilight years who hoped that his sons could be freed.

He bent down and hugged the thin, dark-skinned boy tightly.

It was like embracing one's own son.

"Enough!"

The immortal's voice echoed around the fire altar, and faint thunder rumbled in the sky.

Hanuman turned his head, his eyes wide with astonishment.

Celestial phenomena change... Immortals?

Although in his mind, only Patriarch Bodhi was a true immortal, and the others were just charlatans.

But to actually encounter wild sages in this place... truly proves the patriarch's saying, "The sages of Bharata are as numerous as stray dogs on the roadside!"

But regardless of whether the immortals before us are wild dogs or not, their blessings and curses are always the most awe-inspiring abilities.

Sita was fearless and Firstborn, while Hanuman had witnessed the curse of the sages.

Hanuman was unsure whether he could resist the curse.

"Good! Good! Curse them!" the tyrant of the city-state roared inwardly. "I never thought I would be able to summon an immortal!"

What made the tyrant suspicious was that the Immortal Zhongyou were actually embracing that lowly commoner... What were they doing?

What alarmed the usurper even more was the gaze of the Immortal Zhongyou fixed on him.

"Tyrant! Tyrant! Tyrant!"

The beard and hair of the Immortal Zhongyou were blown backward in the gale, like gray flames.

Sita quietly put the Golden Ring he had taken out back into the box.

"Immortal!" The pot-bellied ruler suddenly collapsed to the ground, terrified out of his wits.

"I... I have always offered you the highest honors. I am innocent, I am innocent! Why curse me...?"

"You are indeed respectful. But you are ignorant," the Immortal Zhongyou said wearily. "The Ashvamedha requires the finest white horse. Since you intend to hold a fire sacrifice to replace the Ashvamedha ... why prepare a Shudra as the offering to the fire god?"

"This, this..." The tyrant of the city-state was drenched in cold sweat.

The larger the scale of the sacrifice, the higher the status of the offerings must be.

The highest-level Ashvamedha in legends, the white horse used for the sacrifice, was even a descendant of the horse king Gao Er.

This is also why Brahmin monks hunt each other in the wilderness. They all want to offer each other as sacrifices to God.

Finding the best offerings involves taking a great deal of risk.

The tyrant of the city-state only had that much courage, so all he could think of was to buy a child of the right age from a poor family as a sacrifice.

"It's over... it's all over... I've angered the immortals." The tyrant was dizzy and disoriented.

But the friends put their fingers down.

The aged voice of the Immortal Zhongyou rang out again. "But the fire sacrifice was still successful."

"—Just now, the Child of God voluntarily threw himself into the sacrificial fire, and Agni accepted the offering."

The Immortal Zhongyou looked around and gestured for the trembling Shudra boy to sit beside him.

"May I have your name?"

"Dog, Gouwei..."

"Alright, Gouwei." The Immortal Zhongyou placed his water jug in his palm. "Hold this jug for me."

"And then there's Rama."

The Immortal Zhongyou looked at Sita, feeling the name echoing from their own lips once more, and smiled as they handed him their staffs.

Sita hesitated, then took the wooden staff.

Hanuman appeared on the altar and bowed with his hands clasped together to greet the Immortal Zhongyou.

"Homage to the sage, I am Hanuman."

The monkey finally understood that the sage before him was different from most of the Bharata sages.

But he was still afraid that his friends would say something like "Praise the Vayu," which would be truly disgusting.

"Hanuman, please stand beside the sacrificial fire as well," the Immortal Zhongyou said with a smile, turning his gaze back to the Gouwei. "Let's complete this ritual together."

"?——"

A long, drawn-out chant arose from the chests of the group of friends.

The immortal scooped up a handful of water and sprinkled it onto the sacrificial fire, instantly making the flames even more intense and sacred.

"Here I call upon Agni —the head of the priests, the transmitter of wealth."

"Agni, the god of fire, answered the call of the wise and brought with him the spirits to dwell in this place."

"Through Agni, the people of the world will receive glory and prosperity every day."

"The greatest glory of heroes comes from this."

"Agni, the god of fire! Surround the priests, the messengers of fire."

"You come with the gods, bearing a radiant name. Agni is true and without falsehood; all who are devout will be blessed."

"We approach you, you who illuminate the night, you who appear in the cave, and bring us our heartfelt respect."

"The worship of the ruler and the shining of the guardian will bring growth and prosperity to your dwelling."

"Like a beloved ruler, like a loving father, to allow me to approach you is the greatest blessing..."

The chants of the Immortal Zhongyou became grand and layered, spreading in all directions like ocean tides.

As the flames reached their highest point, the Immortal Zhongyou suddenly stood up from in front of the altar.

"Tyrant, your request is granted, your wish is fulfilled—your city-state will become more prosperous, your rule will become more thriving, and if you can show compassion for your people, then your bloodline will truly become royalty, and your descendants will be protected!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the Immortal Zhongyou scooped up water from the kettle again and sprinkled it in all directions.

Sita, Hanuman, and Gouwei could react, they disappeared along with the Immortal Zhongyou!

In the wilderness, the four figures appeared.

Sita landed, he pulled out his Golden Ring and was about to smash it down on his friends.

Fortunately, Hanuman reacted quickly and grabbed him.

The boy named Gouwei stood in front of his friends, holding a water bottle, and glared angrily at Sita.

Zhongyou himself fell to the ground, panting heavily.

The scene remained tense for a second or two before the group coughed heavily twice. "Gouwei, come here."

The Gouwei, holding the water jug, seemed to wake from a dream, shivered, and quickly returned to the side of the Immortal Zhongyou.

Sita also realized what was happening.

She frowned, staring at the smiling Immortal Zhongyou before her.

For some reason, she always felt a sense of familiarity with this old man who looked even somewhat humble.

"I've wanted to ask this question since our first meeting." Sita retracted the Golden Ring and handed the wooden staff back to the Immortal Zhongyou. "You give me a sense of familiarity, sage. Have we met before?"

"Hahaha, cough cough, hahahaha..."

The Immortal Zhongyou laughed and coughed at the same time.

"Rama, Rama... If you are truly Rama, how can you not remember me? There was a cause in the past, and there is an effect today."

Sita's eyes slowly widened, and the withered face before her gradually overlapped with the angry face in her memory.

"Who are you--"

"Yes, child. I am the Immortal Zhongyou, one of the Seven Great Immortals, Brahmin Immortal who practices the Brahmin Dharma in the form of Kshatriya."

I took revenge with my own hands, and I felt joy because of it, but I also suffered greatly because of it, and I felt pain because of it.

I once personally brought you out of the palace of Ayodhya, hoping that you could fulfill my vow to kill the Ravana, while I myself would practice asceticism and pray for the untouchables. But in the end, both vows were in vain... I failed to fulfill my responsibility of raising you, nor was I able to practice asceticism for those who suffer.

Fortunately, I saw you again.

I imagine you must have loving parents, and also a wonderful teacher..."

The Immortal Zhongyou were silent for a moment. "Fortunately, this is the case. Perhaps my vow will one day be fulfilled. That is enough, enough."

"Rama, we may no longer be able to be master and disciple, but I am still willing to impart all my knowledge to you in order to fulfill my vow. Please do not refuse."

"Gouwei."

The Shudra boy shuddered, and just as he was about to kneel down, the Immortal Zhongyou pulled him up again.

"My sons were once cursed to be reborn as untouchables. I had given up hope of all this because I knew that most people do not have an afterlife."

"But today, I saw Rama, and from this day forward I sincerely wish them a better future."

"Gouwei, from now on you are my son. You don't need to kneel before anyone or any god."

"Father..." The lowest of the castes, the Untouchables, choked out.

His friends patted his head and said, "All of this is against the Dharma, but since I was able to become Brahmin Immortal, I hope you can also achieve something similar."

The aged sage looked at Sita, "Although I do not know who your mentor who imparted wisdom and power to you was, I think he must have been an extremely capable and accomplished sage."

"Yes, both my senior brother Hanuman and I are disciples of the founder."

"Ancestor, Ancestor..." the Immortal Zhongyou murmured a couple of times, "Then, did your mentor ever say anything to you?"

"How did you know?" Sita asked.

"Rama, since you are still wandering in the mortal world and have not gone directly to Ayodhya to inherit the throne, it means that your teacher thinks you are still not 'perfect' enough."

Sita frowned. "Indeed, the patriarch said I still lack a Divine Bow and a long spear."

"A spear?" The Immortal Zhongyou sighed. "I do have some basic knowledge of spear techniques, but this is, after all, a cane, not a real spear."

That being said, just look at the few poses the Immortal Zhongyou took when wielding their staffs like spears.

Anyone can see how much modesty was involved in the friends' claim of having "a rudimentary understanding of marksmanship."

"All the Brahma Artifact in the world are obtained by immortals through arduous cultivation and cannot be called divine weapons."

"Therefore, all 'Divine Bow' and 'divine spears' are related to the Mahadeva Shiva and Indra."

"Mahadeva Shiva is skilled in using a Divine Bow that symbolizes storms; Indra is known for his vajra and javelin."

"Rama, I do not know where the spear that struck you is. As you can see, in this Bharata, the Kshatriya like to wrestle with vajras or fight with swords; the Brahmin are skilled in archery, and they do not carry any weapons other than bows and arrows, because their superb archery skills are enough to overcome all difficulties."

"Rama, in Bharata, the spear has never been a mainstream weapon. It's too easy for commoners to learn and use to fight against the 'noble' Kshatriya. If you want to find it, you might really have to go to the south of the subcontinent."

"The South?" Sita asked, puzzled.

"Yes, not the nations currently engaged in battle on the Ganges Plain," said the Immortal Zhongyou. "You need to cross the vast primeval forest to reach Lanka Island in the south. In recent years, I have often heard that a new powerful nation has risen there, and they are skilled in using javelins."

The Lanka Island is what later became known as Sri Lanka.

The Immortal Zhongyou sighed, "As for your Divine Bow, I do know exactly where it is."

"This isn't even a secret; it's an open rumor."

"In the Mithila Kingdom, the king publicly displays the Shiva's Divine Bow, which is placed on a high platform, every year. He proclaims that whoever can lift it will become the ruler of the world. But so far, no one in Dongpu has been able to lift it."

"But Rama, I think you should be able to."

Sita a moment, then looked up at the sage before him.

A proud smile appeared on the girl's face.

"Then let's go to the Mithila Kingdom first."

"I will let that Divine Bow know who its true master is."