Lament

As the two straightened up, a group of women approached from the front, all dressed in red skirts, carrying bamboo baskets on their arms, half filled with camellias and half with ears of rice.

The leader bowed slightly, his voice gentle yet carrying a solemn air of ancient ritual:

"Mountain god, priest, please follow me; the king requests your presence."

Xue Min nodded slightly, and Meng Shixi returned the greeting with a curtsy.

The two followed behind the palace maid in the red dress, walking along a blue stone path towards the depths of the island.

A moment later, the path came to an end.

Ahead, the view suddenly opened up, and a magnificent hall stood at the highest point, with layers of dark blue eaves, and forty-nine stone steps winding upwards in front of the hall.

We've arrived at the Nüwa Temple.

On both sides of the square in front of the temple stand rows of stone statues, all of which are the rulers of the Nanzhao Kingdom from the first king onwards, as well as the priests who attained enlightenment.

The stone statues were over three zhang tall, some holding scepters, others holding jade tablets. Their faces were all obscured, but the awe-inspiring demeanor between their brows filled the two men with reverence.

The last stone statue stands on the far left, with light moss on its base. It is a statue of the current king, whose face is also not clearly visible.

All that could be seen was that he was wearing a dark blue robe and holding a gray-black water bowl in his hands, with the bowl facing down, but no water was falling.

That is the image of Subterranean Water, concealed but not released, moist but not overflowing.

At the foot of the stone statue lies a gray-black water buffalo, its horns winding like the foothills of the Cang Mountain, its eyes half-closed as if listening.

In front of each stone statue is an incense table, on which freshly picked camellias and ripe rice ears are offered.

At the very center is a huge bronze incense burner, with wisps of smoke rising upwards.

The palace maid in the red dress stopped in front of the temple. The one in the lead stepped aside and bowed again.

"The king is waiting in the inner palace. Please, gentlemen."

Meng Shixi took a deep breath and stepped onto the forty-nine stone steps first.

There were no restrictions here, yet Meng Shixi, who was at the Purple Mansion Middle Stage, felt as if her legs were filled with lead.

She heard her own footsteps echoing in the empty square, heard the eaves bells ringing softly in the wind, and heard the ancient and distant sacrificial chants coming from the unknown depths.

Xue Min walked behind her without saying a word.

He merely raised his head slightly, glancing at the slowly opening vermilion gate, watching the warm yellow light emanating from within, and the "Mother of the Earth" plaque faintly visible amidst the swirling incense smoke.

He suddenly recalled the feeling he had when he first entered the Nüwa Temple and saw the goddess statue.

It was a sense of belonging that transcended mere awe, like a lost soul that had wandered for countless years finally finding its final resting place.

Later he learned that it was the call of the Womb Earth and the Sacrificial Earth. Mother of the Earth opened her arms and embraced all her children, regardless of their origin. After all, the Earth Virtue is not like the other four virtues, which are honored by the positions of upright and hidden.

The Earth Virtue is unique in that it is revered for its ability to store and collect. After all, even the Human Sovereign and the South Pole Heavenly Venerable are far inferior to the Mother of the Earth in their attainments in Wu Earth Virtue, only the Ancestral Witch and the Earth Master can barely be compared to the Orthodox God. After all, the former two are respectively the Void Witness and the Azure Firmament Path, and the latter cultivates more of the Immortal Path. As for the position of Earth Virtue... apart from the Yellow Emperor, there are no other outstanding figures. The Earth Reform has gained its status more because of its reform of the Human Dao.

When he came to his senses, the two of them had already arrived in front of the palace, where the vermilion gate was now fully open.

Warm yellow light surged out from inside the gate like a tide, bathing the entire square in a very faint golden hue.

The two straightened their clothes and stepped over the Daoist Gate.

Upon entering the hall, the aura of the Subterranean Water rushed towards them. Even with their Purple Mansion cultivation, the two felt as if they were imprisoned by the Subterranean Water and unable to move.

The two men walked with their heads down, not daring to raise their heads. After entering the hall for about three zhang (approximately 10 meters), they stopped and bowed again.

"Greetings, Your Majesty! You are the Water Virtue Subterranean Water True Lord Cangyuan Runze!"

After he finished speaking, there was no response from the person above for a long time.

Xue Min couldn't help but think of how, before he converted to the Divine Dao, he was also a priest in Nanzhao. Before becoming a priest, his master had told him:

"The title of the ruler: Subterranean Water is the way, the Cangyuan is the position, Runze is the achievement."

Subterranean Water, this is the path of the Great Way.

Cangyuan is the name Subsidiary Rank the Subterranean Water that the first king of Nanzhao obtained under the guidance of Orthodox God.

At that time, the land of Nanzhao was in turmoil due to the war between the Orthodox God and the ancestral shaman, which caused the water veins to become scattered, the rivers to be without a master, and the lakes and marshes to be disordered. Under the guidance of the Orthodox God, the former king used the Subterranean Water and store the scattered water veins, thus attaining enlightenment. Therefore, it was named "Cangyuan".

Runze, on the other hand, is the achievement of the king. Before the king attained enlightenment in the previous dynasty, a Great Yang True Lord from the Yang Palace killed a Kan Water Remaining Rank True Lord in Nanzhao, causing the rivers and lakes within hundreds of thousands of miles around Nanzhao to dry up, leaving the land barren and the people destitute.

The later king used the Subterranean Water to prove the Subsidiary Rank of the first king, and drew on the Subterranean Water to replenish the rivers, lakes and marshes, allowing this vast territory to regain its vitality.

Once this work was accomplished, Heaven and Earth responded, and thus bestowed upon it the power of Runze.

Because the king practiced the Immortal Dao of Immortality in his youth, he was not called a Divine Lord like previous kings, but rather True Lord.

Just as he was pondering, a profound voice rang out from above:

"As soon as I emerged from the pass, I looked out from within the grotto and saw the Great Yang's killing light in the southwest, dust and sand flying Proclaiming Earth the north, plagues spreading in the west, miasma pervading the south, Geng Metal Geng Wood in the east, and even hidden Radiant Fire around my capital, and colorful glow flowing in the direction of Purple and Green."

He paused:

What happened in those twenty years?

After saying this, Xue Min turned her head in disbelief to look at Meng Shixi Meng Shixi, who looked completely bewildered before immediately prostrating herself on the ground and saying:

"Your Majesty, the reincarnation of Proclaiming Earth True Lord, the deaths of a True Person seeking gold in both Yang Palace and Langcao, the Qixia Daozi who opened the mountain on the Cibi Lake has become Purple Mansion, and the Geng Wood in the south, Geng Metal in the east, and Radiant Fire around the royal city are truly unknown..."

"Hmph!" A cold snort came from the head of the table, like heavenly music. Meng Shixi, a True Person of the Subterranean Water Dao, immediately had Subterranean Water up in her eyes.

Meanwhile, the mountain god Xue Min's eyes were also filled with Subterranean Water.

At this moment, neither of them could even open their mouths.

After a moment, Xuan Yin, who was seated at the head of the table, spoke again:

"How long did that Daoist master of Mount Zhongnan spend in seclusion to reach the Purple Mansion?"

Ignoring the unusual state of his physical body, Meng Shixi immediately spoke:

"Returning to the Lord, nine years have passed!"

Since there was no response from the person above, Meng Shixi had no choice but to continue:

"When he left the pass a few days ago, I pretended to be the king's name and offered him two mountains next to Golden Ao Mountain, but he refused them. I hope the king will forgive me."

Xuan Yin, who was at the head of the table, then said:

"You did well. When he came to Nanzhao, I observed him from afar in the Great Void. He carried a magical artifact designed to trap King Chen Sheng. That magical box had the ability to transmit sound, and the Heavenly Venerable could send messages and hints at any time from the Jade Void Palace. I suppose he naturally knew something, which is why he decisively refused, not wanting to be involved with our country."

He paused, then said:

"Ever since the Three Pure Ones opened the Immortal Dao, it was said during the final years of the Heavenly Sovereign that the Nanzhao would ultimately perish at my hands..."

His voice grew softer and softer, Subterranean Water around the temple began to swell violently, as if sensing the sorrow of the person at the head of the table.

Then the previous melody rose again, faintly carrying a hint of resentment:

Who will perform the ancestral rites in the future?