The Statue Came Alive

The Seventh Elder, who had been approaching, took a step forward. Huang Huai felt his vision blur, and when he looked again, the Seventh Elder had already crossed more than ten zhang. His figure seemed weightless as he suddenly ascended, landing effortlessly on the sacrificial altar that was several stories high.

Huang Huai watched as the two disciples who had been following the Seventh Elder swiftly flew towards the altar, then looked at the Seventh Elder already standing on it, his eyes widening in disbelief.

A single leap covered dozens of zhang; this was no longer human!

However, judging by the reactions of the people around him, besides admiration and reverence, there wasn't a trace of surprise. Clearly, everyone was accustomed to or had long since grown used to the incredible abilities displayed by the Seventh Elder.

In the time it took to blink, the Seventh Elder on the altar slowly spoke, "Today, Wei requests divine blessings, wishing to alleviate all your ailments."

As the Seventh Elder's voice fell, the Common People bowed in unison towards him, saying, "We thank the High God, and pray that the High God's path reaches the heavens, that Gods and Demons Immortal, and that you achieve Eternal Life!"

The Seventh Elder nodded with a smile. Then, his expression turned serious, and a faint aura instantly permeated the entire area. A pillar of vital energy, like smoke, surged from the Seventh Elder towards the sky. The smoke billowed, churning the void and stirring the winds, making the scene appear as a miracle to ordinary observers.

With a wave of his sleeve, the Seventh Elder caused a jade statue radiating a soft glow to naturally fly out from his Dantian. The jade statue, initially only thumb-sized, grew rapidly upon appearing, transforming into a three-foot-tall idol.

Upon closer inspection, the statue was carved from high-quality white jade, appearing crystalline throughout. It depicted a Goddess with a benevolent face, three eyes, and wearing a flowing robe, standing on a lotus flower.

The statue emerged from his body, growing to three feet tall. It hovered in the air, and the Seventh Elder looked at it, then gestured towards the pillar of vital energy resembling a colossal pillar reaching the heavens above his head. A wisp of vital energy descended, transforming into a bloody mass that flew towards the Goddess statue in the air.

At the same time, the Seventh Elder bowed slightly towards the statue in the air and said, "Please, Goddess, partake!"

Boundless divine light suddenly erupted. To Huang Huai's disbelief, the Three-Eyed White Lotus Goddess statue, which had appeared ordinary moments before, instantly transformed into a Goddess the size of a normal person.

As this Goddess's divine eyes opened and closed, they exuded a spiritual gleam of wisdom. Her skin was like jade, she wore a flowing robe, and her bare feet rested on a blooming white lotus. She had transformed from a lifeless jade statue into a flesh-and-blood Deity.

The Three-Eyed White Lotus Goddess first nodded to the Seventh Elder, as if returning his gesture. Then, her gaze fell upon the bloody mass formed from the vital energy the Seventh Elder had summoned. A spark of divine light flickered in her divine eyes.

The Seventh Elder calmly accepted her bow and said with a faint smile, "Please, Goddess, partake of the offering and bestow blessings! Alleviate the ailments of the Common People!"

Under the watchful eyes of Huang Huai and the others, the Three-Eyed White Lotus Goddess opened her mouth and inhaled deeply. In an instant, the bloody mass in the air vanished into her mouth. The Three-Eyed White Lotus Goddess seemed to have consumed something immensely nourishing, her divine radiance visibly strengthening, and her divine eyes becoming even more spirited.

Huang Huai looked at the pillar of vital energy above the Seventh Elder's head, formed from his essence, and then at the Three-Eyed White Lotus Goddess. A guess began to form in his mind.

Before Huang Huai could ponder further, the Common People below, seeing the Three-Eyed White Lotus Goddess swallow the bloody offering from the Seventh Elder, their eyes filled with excitement and hope. They reverently bowed to the Three-Eyed White Lotus Goddess, who had transformed into a flesh-and-blood divine being, saying, "Please, Goddess, bestow your blessings."

In an instant, the prayers of thousands upon thousands of people erupted like thunder, creating a terrifying spectacle.

In the blink of an eye, a rich scent of incense and fire filled the air. Huang Huai looked again and saw that countless people had produced incense sticks, which they skillfully lit and offered to the Goddess in the sky.

At a glance, almost everyone was burning incense and worshipping, leaving Huang Huai momentarily stunned.

"Young man, what are you spacing out for? Hurry and light your incense to worship the Goddess!"

Sensing Huang Huai standing there in a daze, the restaurant owner, who had already knelt on the ground, reminded him.

Huang Huai looked at the faintly yellowish incense stick in the restaurant owner's hand, a wry smile forming in his heart. He had no intention of casually worshipping this unknown Goddess.

He had only come here because he was dragged along by the enthusiastic restaurant owner and swept up by the crowd.

Seeing everyone burning incense and worshipping, if he were to leave now, he would stand out like a sore thumb, drawing even more attention.

Seeing Huang Huai's hesitant expression, the restaurant owner assumed it was because Huang Huai hadn't prepared any incense. After a moment's thought, the restaurant owner, looking pained, pulled an incense stick from his sleeve and handed it to Huang Huai.

"Take it, quickly light your incense and worship. If you miss this divine blessing, who knows how long you'll have to wait for the next one!"

Under the gaze of the restaurant owner and several others, and with the Great River Sect disciples overseeing from the platform, Huang Huai had no choice but to accept it to avoid appearing out of place.

After a brief pause, Huang Huai lit the incense stick and, like everyone else, bowed towards the Three-Eyed White Lotus Goddess in the air.

At this point, Huang Huai could only follow the crowd. His hesitation earlier stemmed from his fear of potential hidden dangers in casually worshipping a deity.

Upon reflection, he didn't believe there would be any trickery in this divine blessing. Otherwise, the Common People of this world wouldn't be so enthusiastic if there were any hidden dangers.

This scene reminded Huang Huai of the path of becoming a deity through incense and fire described in myths and legends: Deities bestow blessings upon the Common People, and the Common People provide Incense and Fire Prayer Power to the Deities, each party getting what they need.

More importantly, at this point, trying to be different would be the most unwise choice!

At the same time, Huang Huai noticed that the incense sticks held by the surrounding Common People varied in thickness. Some even had one or more colors, though colorless ones were clearly the majority, with colored ones being very few.

The incense stick the restaurant owner handed him was colored, unlike the unremarkable ones most people held.

However, as Huang Huai worshipped the Three-Eyed White Lotus Goddess, he noticed that the incense and fire from his stick wasn't scattering with the wind. Instead, wisps of smoke, like ribbons, flew towards the Three-Eyed White Lotus Goddess in the air.

Not just him, but the incense and fire from everyone present converged towards the Three-Eyed White Lotus Goddess. Amidst the swirling smoke, the Three-Eyed White Lotus Goddess, radiating brightly, opened her mouth and inhaled. In an instant, all the incense and fire vanished into her, like dragons returning to the sea.

After consuming the incense and fire, the Three-Eyed White Lotus Goddess's divine radiance intensified, and her three divine eyes became even more spirited. Then, with a wave of her delicate hand, the winds and clouds churned, and the vital energy of heaven and earth gathered into points of light. Mixed with a trace of the essence of incense and fire, they transformed into drops of Divine Dew, like dewdrops. The Divine Dew varied in size, from as large as beans to as small as grains of rice, densely packed and crystal clear, suspended in the air, emitting a dazzling glow under the divine light.

"Blessings!"

With a vast divine voice, like heavenly music, the dense Divine Dew suspended in the air entered the bodies of everyone present.

Watching several drops of bean-sized Divine Dew fly towards him and the restaurant owner's couple, while most people's Divine Dew was only rice-sized, Huang Huai instinctively felt that the size of the Divine Dew bestowed by the Three-Eyed White Lotus Goddess was likely related to the difference in the incense sticks they used during their worship.

Although he wasn't sure if his guess was correct, Huang Huai felt he was close to the truth.

"Woooo..."

As his thoughts raced, that bean-sized drop of Divine Dew entered Huang Huai's body. In an instant, Huang Huai felt waves of warmth spread throughout his body. These warm currents flowed rapidly, as if he were soaking in a hot spring. The soreness he felt from running all the way disappeared instantly.

The warm currents seeped into his body like tiny hands massaging him, but soon a tingling sensation arose, and his body felt like it was about to burst.

Feeling his body grow bit by bit, the tangible sensation of his own strength increasing made Huang Huai's mind reel. He felt everything was so unbelievable, so incredible.

"This... this is too magical!"