The Ceremony Begins

September 17.

Cultivators from every sect gathered at Thousand Wood Temple, all awaiting this day's arrival.

Today, just a quarter into Mao Shi, the enormous square before Thousand Wood Temple's front hall was already packed with people. They all seemed busy, and at some unknown time, a massive circular altar had been erected in the center of the square.

The Dao Palace cultivators responsible for sacrificial rites were adjusting the altar's angle. Nearby, under the aid of illumination spells, someone held up a huge sheet of drawing paper and traced the altar's appearance. This was to record the day's sacrificial procedure; the record would be preserved in the Dao Palace archives.

By three quarters into Mao Shi, the altar had been adjusted. The busy people nearby gradually gathered in the open space around the altar, devoutly chanting scriptures under their breaths. Ruan Chunzi and Yuan Zheng, dressed in ceremonial finery, carefully placed the divine tablets of the True Lords above the altar according to the Dao Palace's new rankings.

Each time a divine tablet was placed, a designated ritual official loudly read from a prewritten sacrificial text. This was an invitation for the True Lords' consciousnesses to descend.

By the time all this was finished, it was already the hour of Chen. A faint light had appeared in the southern late-autumn sky. Some of the lower-ranked Dao Palace Three Seats had already arrived in the square. Led by the cultivators responsible for Dao Palace sacrificial rites, they stood in their designated positions and quietly awaited the ceremony's beginning.

Another quarter hour passed, and the other Dao Palace Three Seats also appeared in the square one after another. In an instant, the square's chilly atmosphere became lively.

Only during the final quarter hour of the hour of Chen did the nine