Ah Rou's bones were dragged into the Sea of Blood.
Clusters of red Other Shore Flowers sprang up.
Wherever the dark-red light passed, red lanterns appeared in the trees.
The scene of Ten Miles of Red Makeup appeared once more.
At the core of the Lake of Life, in a space beyond the spring, lay a colossal Black Dragon, its entire body covered in scales of deep, profound black.
Its eyes were tightly shut. With every breath, it seemed to draw in the spiritual energy of heaven and earth in a frenzy.
Just then, one Other Shore Flower after another spread into the space, and red lanterns hung all around.
Ghostly Souls, each carrying different things, flew out of the Sea of Blood.
As the Other Shore Flowers bloomed, a vast sea of petals scattered through the air.
A suona sounded, and the Hundred Birds Paying Homage to the Phoenix began.
The Black Dragon, who had been asleep, suddenly opened its deep-set eyes.
At first, it looked bewildered. Then it stared in surprise at the scene before it.
Four Ghostly Souls carried a red bed at the very front.
Around them were five or six Ghostly Souls dressed in red silk, their faces pale and their lips stained with cinnabar.
Their arms were wrapped in scarlet ribbons thirty feet long. With baskets on their left arms, they scattered Other Shore Flower petals into the sky with their right hands. The petals danced alongside those from the Sea of Blood, creating a magnificent scene punctuated now and then by the eerie laughter of women.
Behind them, more than a dozen Ghostly Souls played various ancient instruments, filling the air with the sound of suonas.
Farther back, eight Ghostly Souls carried a red sedan chair, floating through the air.
The chair was draped in red silk, and its curtains swayed from time to time.
Inside, a figure could just be made out, dressed in the vivid Phoenix Coronet and Rosy Cloud Cape.
Behind the sedan chair came all sorts of strange Ghostly Souls.
Some carried mirrors, some carried bedding, and some carried chests...
At the very end was a coffin.
The procession stretched far and wide. Accompanied by the suona and the Other Shore Flowers, it mingled celebration with terror.
The Black Dragon was dumbfounded.
It had never seen such a bizarre scene before.
Once it came to its senses,
it flew into a rage.
Its dragon claw struck out.
A powerful gust surged forth, and ripples spread through the surrounding space.
Its claw came down on the wedding procession.
Boom!
The ground split apart in an instant, leaving a massive crater.
Yet the wedding procession remained completely unharmed. It continued onward at an unhurried pace, and even the suona music went uninterrupted.
The dragon claw seemed to have struck nothing at all.
A look of astonishment appeared in the Black Dragon's furious eyes.
A flash of light followed.
The Black Dragon vanished, replaced by a middle-aged man in a black robe, his build tall and straight and his features stern.
"King of Myriad Demons, go outside and see what's happening. How did something so strange show up here?"
"Xiao Wen, has it still not arrived?"
Bibi Dong looked around. The wedding procession was taking so long to arrive that she couldn't help frowning slightly.
"Well... I'm not sure either. I've already used the Spirit Skill!"
Su Wen looked at the scene around them, which was still covered in red wedding decorations.
The contract had definitely succeeded. He just had no idea where the procession would come from.
"It's here!"
Bibi Dong's brow relaxed.
The people from Spirit Hall also looked over curiously.
The suona music was close at hand.
Then they all saw the vast procession of Ghostly Souls floating through the air.
It was coming straight toward them.
Some of the Cardinals were seeing this for the first time; others had watched from a distance while at Spirit Hall.
Either way, they were all shaken.
There had never been a wedding procession like this on the continent.
"Eagle, why are your legs shaking?"
"I'm afraid of ghosts!"
"Come on, you're a level seventy-six Soul Saint!"
"I'm afraid of ghosts!"
"But you're a man as proud as an eagle!"
"I'm afraid of ghosts!"
"..."
"The Lake of Life!"
Su Wen realized they were coming from the direction of the Lake of Life.
Remembering that last time they had come from the direction of Spirit Hall,
Su Wen understood.
Within a ten-mile radius, the procession began wherever the most prestigious location was.
Thud!
The red sedan chair touched down. A cold wind stirred, and the curtains lifted by themselves.
Inside was a woman dressed in a blood-red wedding gown.
As before, a red thread drifted out from Su Wen's Spirit Ring.
Bibi Dong watched the scene and, though she had already seen it once, couldn't help sighing inwardly.
The entire procession looked like a wedding. It had a festive atmosphere, yet was terribly eerie.
Bibi Dong watched Su Wen take Ah Rou into his Spirit Ring.
She glanced at his left hand and saw that he had one more red thread. It was over.
Her red lips parted slightly. "Return to Spirit City!"
"Understood, Your Holiness the Pope!"
Everyone came back to their senses and began leaving the area in an orderly fashion.
Bibi Dong took Su Wen's hand. He wore a thoughtful expression.
Suddenly, a surge of Soul Power lifted Su Wen into the air, and Bibi Dong flew upward with him.
"What are you thinking about?" Bibi Dong suddenly asked.
"Teacher, did you notice that the wedding procession had a lot of dowry items?"
"Heh, what... did you really think they were real? They were just for show."
"I don't think so!"
Su Wen hadn't paid close attention to the wedding procession at Spirit Hall.
There had been too many people, and he'd wanted to finish quickly without drawing too much attention. He hadn't given it much thought, either.
But he'd seen this procession clearly.
"What... are you expecting her to bring as a dowry?"
Bibi Dong glanced at him coolly.
"True, I guess..."
Su Wen replied awkwardly, but he had already decided to ask Ah Rou and Ah Yin about it when they got back.
After all, his Martial Soul had always been shrouded in strangeness and mystery.
After the people from Spirit Hall left, a handsome man with a slightly greenish complexion and jade-green eyes gazed silently in their direction.
A thoughtful expression appeared on his face, and then he vanished from the spot.
"What... a Spirit Beast married a human Soul Master..."
"What nonsense are you talking about..."
In the space beneath the core of the Lake of Life, the middle-aged man regarded the returning King of Myriad Demons with a strange look.
"That's exactly what happened, and the whole scene was..."
King of Myriad Demons couldn't quite describe it. It was supposed to be festive, but somehow it felt utterly terrifying. You could call it bizarre, but they were still getting a bride married.
All he could say was, "In short, the Spirit Beast entered his Spirit Ring, and then that was that."
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