Welcoming the Myriad Laws Dao Lord to Manifest in the World

At the foot of the back mountain in Qingci Town.

A shrine to the White Ape was also built.

During the monthly worship ceremony, the town's deity statue would be carried in a sedan chair to the shrine at the foot of the mountain.

The nearly ten-kilometer journey took the procession two hours, filled with the sound of gongs and drums the entire way.

Not only were the people playing the gongs and drums getting tired.

Everyone's head was buzzing from listening the whole way.

But no one dared to complain.

Because no one knew when this White Ape might suddenly appear.

This White Ape loved vanity and excitement.

It also had a strange quirk—sometimes it liked to hide in the surrounding jungle, tailing the worship procession, and enjoying the sight of everyone worshipping it.

Previously, some members of the gong and drum team tried to slack off, only to be suddenly pounced upon and eaten by the White Ape.

So, along the way, no matter how tired or uncomfortable people were, no one dared to complain.

"Shen girl, are you sure you asked that Lord Lu the other day... that no one will become a sacrifice this time?"

"Yeah, it's rare for demons and monsters not to eat people..."

"...Little Lord Lu said that no one will be a sacrifice to demons and monsters anymore... and no one in town will die because of demons and monsters from now on..." Shen Lingying's eyes were fixed on the figure at the very front of the procession.

"Sigh, if we really won't die because of demons and monsters, why are we still going through with this damn ceremony!"

"Shen girl, I feel like that Lord Lu is just trying to keep the townspeople calm... just hoping we don't mess up during the ceremony, so the White Ape doesn't blame him."

"That's right, that White Ape is so powerful. How many Demon Slayer Envoys before couldn't defeat it, and that Lord Lu is so young..."

Shen Lingying didn't retort. Her gaze remained fixed on the tall, slender figure at the front of the procession, and she said with conviction, "Anyway... I believe him!"

The people around sighed, but said nothing more.

In front of the shrine at the foot of the mountain.

Jia Kuiren gently struck the bronze bell in front of the shrine.

The booming bell sent a tremor through everyone's hearts.

"Onto the altar!" Jia Kuiren continued to shout.

Eight strong men carried the sedan chair containing the deity statue onto the altar.

"Bring the sacrifices!" Jia Kuiren announced again.

Li Tuo brought the three types of livestock, bound by chains and carried by the townspeople, to the base of the altar.

This White Ape was very concerned with appearances.

Even for sacrifices, it demanded the full "Tai Lao" offering—cattle, sheep, and pigs—which was only used when the current Emperor of Dagan sacrificed to the state.

The town's three butchers took the knives handed to them by Li Tuo and approached the necks of the three livestock, aiming their blades.

"Screech!"

At Jia Kuiren's command.

The sharp knives pierced flesh and severed blood vessels, and bright red blood spurted out, falling into three half-human-tall porcelain basins prepared in front of them.

A strong, pungent, fishy smell filled everyone's nostrils.

Everyone's spirits jolted, and a sense of sorrow flashed through their hearts, a feeling of shared misery like that of rabbits facing the death of a fox.

Today, it was the livestock being killed, but when the White Ape arrived, it might be them.

Everyone couldn't help but smile bitterly. As humans, they had actually fallen to the point of empathizing with livestock.

But in the eyes of those demons and monsters, what difference was there between them and livestock...

The wind howled, the blood of the livestock steamed, and only an unspeakable sorrow remained in everyone's hearts.

Lu Jun watched the scene quietly.

It was as if everything happening had nothing to do with him. His gaze merely drifted towards the distant jungle.

The demonic energy there was very dense.

He had seen it from the beginning.

This White Ape had followed them the entire way.

Watching everyone worship it with feigned excitement.

Satisfying its intense vanity.

Lu Jun did not choose to act, although he really wanted to.

But he had to wait for an opportunity.

He wanted the White Ape to die in a more shocking manner.

Only then could this place be permanently free from the disturbance of demons and monsters.

"Pour!"

Jia Kuiren continued speaking.

The three butchers who had just slain the three animals picked up the porcelain basins in front of them and poured the fresh blood within onto the surroundings of the altar.

The thick loess was drenched a vivid red.

"Shaman, strike the gongs!"

Jia Kuiren was filled with shame.

The gong squad struck the copper gongs in their hands once more.

Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!

"Chief Priest! Recite!"

The most important, most crucial part had arrived.

Lu Jun knew it was his turn to go up.

He needed to recite the sacrificial text, and after reciting it, he could bring out the deity statue from the palanquin.

Then, under everyone's gaze, the deity statue would manifest, and the White Ape would descend from the sky to devour people.

The gong squad was giving it their all at this moment.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

The sound of the gongs was immense, echoing throughout the entire altar, surging along with the turbulent winds!

Lu Jun ascended the altar and swept his gaze across the crowd below.

Their faces were filled with terror, their expressions trembling.

"It's over, it's over..."

"The same sequence again, the same day of death..."

"The demons and monsters are coming... Don't eat me... Don't eat me..."

Once Lu Jun finished reciting the sacrificial text, the demons and monsters would leap out to devour people.

Right now, Lu Jun's recitation of the sacrificial text felt less like a ritual to a deity and more like a countdown to everyone's lives.

Although Shen Lingying had previously inquired about information from Lu Jun.

And Lu Jun had promised that no one would die.

But...

They didn't believe him!

The White Ape demon had eaten too many people!

So many deaths, such profound fear... how could it be dispelled by a single promise from an outsider like Lu Jun?

Moreover, the entire ritual procedure today was no different from before.

In the crowd, many people had already begun to sob quietly.

The greatest fear was not death itself, but knowing that death was constantly approaching.

It was at this moment that Lu Jun spoke:

"Recite the sacrificial text!"

"Deity above! I, Lu Jun, lead all people gathered before your presence today, receiving the bright mandate of heaven, holding sincerity in my heart, and now gather at the foot of the back mountain of Qingci Town, respectfully offering these profound scriptures and jade wine, to announce our sacrifice to all spirits."

"In the primordial chaos, the Dao began in the vast expanse. Yin and Yang separated, and all phenomena came into being. The Dao Lord manifested signs, deriving hexagrams to establish the framework, transmitting the laws throughout the universe, and arranging the rhythms to order the dawn and dusk..."

The strong winds continued to surge, becoming even more ferocious, passing through the mountains and forests, creating dense rustling sounds.

Lu Jun's voice was clear and resonant, and for a moment, it inexplicably blended even better with the sound of the wind passing through the forest.

But as Lu Jun uttered the next sentence, the expressions of the crowd suddenly changed.

"Today, a White Ape in the mountains is causing trouble, bullying the countless people in the town..."

The people who had been filled with sorrow moments before all changed their expressions.

Wait?!

No, Lord Lu, did you misread it?

What kind of sacrificial text is this?

"The dark yin and the obscure new moon, demonic miasma obscures the sky. The stars lose their light, the mountains and rivers weep..."

Stop, stop, stop!

What happened to the sacrificial text we were promised?!

"We, the surviving people of Qingci Town, wear shackles in the mud, gnawing on grass roots in dark alleys, and now weep at the foot of the altar, daring to use our blood and tears as ink, and our cut hair as incense, to lament and implore the Deity, the Myriad Laws Dao Lord!"

Everyone was stunned.

Including the White Ape eavesdropping in the grass nearby.

Where's the promised White Ape Festival?

Where's the promised sacrifice to me?

Who is the Myriad Laws Dao Lord?!

"Wrong, wrong, wrong! It's the White Ape General! It's the White Ape General!" The White Ape, furious, suddenly poked its head out from the jungle.

Everyone instantly panicked.

Lu Jun's expression was indifferent, with a hint of solemnity as he said:

"Infinite mountains and rivers weep, who says heaven and earth are wide!"

"We welcome the Myriad Laws Dao Lord to manifest in the world!"

"To sweep away all evil!"

As soon as Lu Jun finished speaking.

"Wrong, it's me, I'm the one being sacrificed to!"

The White Ape, nearly a hundred feet tall, was both angry and flustered. It suddenly arrived at the altar and punched the sedan chair on the altar.

"Everyone watch closely, I'm the one being sacrificed to!!"

With a loud bang, the sedan chair instantly shattered into pieces, turning into a pile of broken wooden scraps.

But everyone also subconsciously looked at the statue on the altar, and for a moment, they were stunned in place.

The statue in the sedan chair was not some white ape demon or monster at all!

It was clearly a Deity!