Sacrifice

038 Sacrifice

Ancestral virtues and generational merits, devoutly remembered, solemnly honoring the departed, never forgetting the past.

As the year ends and a new one begins, willow paths are veiled in mist, and the spring sun shines brightly.

Precious delicacies are laid out, fresh melons and beans yellow, fine spirits are respectfully offered, their fragrance filling the air.

"We believe humanity originates from ancestors, just as things originate from heaven, trees from roots, and water from its source.

Thus, ancestral temples have rules, honoring the teachings of predecessors; ancestral sacrifices offer libations, and commoners repay the blessings of their kin.

Therefore, honoring ancestors through sacrifice has endured through ages, with descendants never ceasing, a grand tradition from antiquity to the present."

Ming Shu spent several days meticulously reviewing the contents of the Fate Book and devised a complete set of sacrificial rituals.

The items for the sacrifice were merely some readily available fruits and vegetables; he couldn't even produce spirit rice, making it truly rudimentary.

At least, Old Zhao recalled from his previous experiences in the palace, sacrifices always involved items like spirit rice and spirit fruits.

In the end, Zhao Siqi retrieved a damaged spirit artifact from her own home, and combined with the New Year's gift from the Butcher, an unknown spirit fruit.

Ming Shu learned from the Fate Book that this spirit fruit was called a [Blazing Sun Fruit], a small, bean-sized fruit of bright red. Its effect was to dispel cold and heal injuries, easily removing frostbite or mild cold poison.

However, this wild little fruit seemed to be immature, the kind even wild beasts wouldn't eat. Still, it was far better than nothing.

After thanking the Butcher and the Hunter for their thoughtfulness and sending back gifts, Ming Shu personally tested the ritual he had researched in the makeshift ancestral hall in the backyard of the manor.

On New Year's Eve, during the vigil.

Earlier in the day, he had celebrated with everyone, feasting and rewarding them for their hard work.

Even the captured pirates each received a piece of meat.

The perimeter security remained tight during the New Year. After the snow stopped, the main concern was the rivers, waiting to thaw.

Quietly awaiting the passage of time, only Zhao Siqi remained by Ming Shu's side. He had already sent the maid, Lü E, to go to sleep.

Zhao Siqi spoke to Ming Shu about her observations within the Zhao Clan. Most of the clan head and main lineage members had moved to the Royal Capital, but their ancestral land was in Handan City.

The clan's primary sphere of influence was also in Handan City, where Zhao Siqi had lived since childhood. She had never been to the Royal Capital.

Ming Shu's memories, too, only contained scenes of the Cold Palace, not the Royal Capital outside the palace. In a way, they both lacked yearning for the Royal Capital.

The Zhao Clan had been a minor power in the previous dynasty, squeezed into Jinyang City alongside the Han and Wei clans.

When the founding emperor's family was in turmoil, he led some followers, split off, and came to Jinyang City to develop. He unified the six major families in the city, including Han, Zhao, and Wei.

They amassed a powerful military force and, amidst the chaos of the late previous dynasty, emerged triumphantly, sweeping across the land and ultimately unifying the realm to ascend the throne.

Afterward, the six major families were granted their own fiefs. The Zhao Clan relocated from their founding ground of Jinyang City to Handan City, while the Wei Clan moved to Anyi City, and the Han Clan to Pingyang City.

News had recently arrived that the main branch of the Han Clan had left the Royal Capital. Moreover, most of their clan members had also left Pingyang City and migrated south.

Only a few peripheral branches remained, guarding the empty ancestral hall in Pingyang City.

Pingyang City had likely been retaken by the Immortal Dynasty, but only an empty city remained.

"Doesn't that mean the Han family can at least guarantee their own family's position as the Grand Princess Consort in the King Chu's court?" Ming Shu joked.

"That's for sure. Otherwise, why wouldn't they stabilize the situation together after a minor conflict, as they did before? Undertaking such a grand gamble to move south must mean they don't have high hopes for the legitimate new emperor."

Zhao Siqi continued, "Actually, all the families have reached their peak. They all want to advance further, but none are willing to yield to the others. So, it's time for a showdown, a complete reshuffling of the world, where everyone fights for dominance by their own means."

The imperial family's decline and the rise of powerful aristocratic families constituted internal strife. To the north, the Daoist Sect, along with the Barbarians, watched with covetous eyes. To the south, the Daoist Sect was also restless. Crucially, the Sky-Toppling Observatory, which had helped the imperial family suppress the realm, chose to stand by and watch, even fanning the flames at a critical moment.

This was truly a great upheaval unseen in a thousand years!

"It's almost time!"

Chong Li, who was outside observing the stars and timing the moment, called out.

Although "almost time" was acceptable, the ingrained mindset of sorcerers made them stubbornly insist on exerting their utmost effort to ensure precision.

Chong Li voluntarily took responsibility for correcting the timing that night.

In Ming Shu's view, time was merely a relative concept. However, to the theists and the native inhabitants of this fantastical world, time was mysterious and possessed divine qualities.

The starry night was silent, the sky clear. In the makeshift ancestral hall, Zhao Siqi waved her hand, igniting a circle of sacrificial candles around them.

The faint candlelight illuminated the room, and their faces were calm and serene as the New Year arrived!

Ming Shu softly recited the contents of the Fate Book, while Zhao Siqi listened quietly beside him. She was unaware that Ming Shu was secretly guiding the power generated by the ritual into the Fate Book.

This was to prevent them from returning to the ancestors of his current body, who were past emperors of the Immortal Dynasty, and perhaps even ancient beings who were still alive.

He couldn't believe that even the Director was rumored to be over a thousand years old, and that none of the past emperors had truly lived to the present day.

This was not a scientific world, after all.

The offerings on the table, the spirit artifact and the [Blazing Sun Fruit], had lost their spiritual energy and become ordinary objects.

After completing the initial ritual, Ming Shu led Zhao Siqi in offering incense, its wisps quickly filling the entire room.

The fine spirits in the wine vessel also emitted a rich, intoxicating aroma, amplified by the ritual's power.

Ming Shu watched the changes in the Fate Book, sensing a faint power descending from the distant heavens.

A new page appeared on the Fate Book, displaying a hexagram array. Ming Shu sensed it was meant to perfect tonight's sacrificial ritual.

The ritual could also grant a descendant a talent, known as Spirit Initiation.

Could this be the origin of the Sorcerer's second-tier Spirit Awakening Realm? Coming from the heavens?

The prerequisites were: first, reaching the Qi Gathering Realm; second, offering at least a low-tier magic artifact or a first or second-tier demonic beast, a living demonic beast, for the sacrifice.

Then, a random talent would be obtained. The Fate Book didn't specify what it would be.

Unfortunately, for Ming Shu and Zhao Siqi right now, descendants were too distant a prospect. This ability wouldn't be useful even in another ten years.

However, it at least validated one of Ming Shu's ideas for using the Fate Book: one was to predict the weather through rituals; another was to communicate with powers above through specific time nodes and offerings for sacrifice.

A response could indeed be obtained. As for who was responding and what kind of response could be received, these were things that would require slow exploration.

He could also try using it in other places later! He'd develop it slowly.