Thousand Blessings
After mobilizing numerous people and gatherings to contribute financially, the feast finally began.
However, Fang Yu found the meal rather unpalatable. Forget about Spirit Cuisine and wine; the taste was indescribable. He wondered where the chef had come from, as even a master chef from the mortal realm couldn't compare. Fang Yu estimated that the cost of this meal was no more than 200 low-grade Spirit Stone.
Those who came all contributed at least 10 contribution points, which, when converted into Spirit Stone, amounted to 10 high-grade Spirit Stone, equivalent to 100,000 low-grade Spirit Stone.
It has to be said that Wu Youtian is really stingy. Well, maybe he doesn't care about these things at all and leaves everything to Xu Junting and others to handle.
After barely managing to wait until the banquet ended, Fang Yu immediately made an agreement with Zhang Zhonghu that he would start refining pills after returning home and that Zhang Zhonghu could come back in a month to collect them.
*****
The Dao of Qi Ingestion, the Wondrous Goodness City.
Fang Yu sat in front of a roadside roast lamb stall, holding a roast lamb leg in his hand, enjoying his meal.
After returning from the party, he came to Dao of Qi Ingestion, followed by the aroma of roasted meat, and ordered a whole roasted lamb.
The mutton was crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, making his mouth water. A sip of date wine followed by it made it taste even better than any other meal.
"Crackling sound..."
While we were eating, a rhythmic metallic clanging sound rang out, like the sound of some kind of musical instrument coming from afar.
Fang Yu looked in the direction of the sound and saw a group of people dressed in red passing by at the intersection in the distance.
As the procession approached, an elderly man dressed in red and adorned with gold and jade in his hair came into view. He was sitting on a palanquin carried by several men.
Accompanied by the sounds of banging and clanging, it looked like a wedding procession, but a large group of people followed behind the palanquin, with those at the front carrying red banners. People in the procession were seen wiping away tears from time to time. It didn't look like a wedding; it looked more like a funeral procession.
Fang Yu beckoned to the stall owner, drawing him closer. "What's this line for?"
"The guests are not from this city, so naturally they don't recognize us. This group is escorting the elderly to the ' Thousand Blessings Pure Land '."
'Pure Land!'
Fang Yu's heart skipped a beat. "Tell me in detail, what kind of place is this Thousand Blessings Pure Land?"
The waiter immediately pointed to the old man and said, "In this city, all elderly people over sixty years old choose an auspicious day to go to the ' Thousand Blessings Pure Land,' and then they never come out again. This is called a sixty-year-old burial. This is a wealthy family. Ordinary families, let alone wearing gold and jade, are already very fortunate if they can even change into a new set of clothes to go there..."
Fang Yu listened to the waiter's words and quickly understood what was going on.
This is a traditional custom in Pure Goodness City, or rather, in most oasis cities of Lingzhou: once an elder in the family is over 60 years old, they will voluntarily go to the ' Thousand Blessings Pure Land ' to die.
The ' Thousand Blessings Pure Land ' refers to the burial grounds nearby, which are found in almost every larger oasis and are specifically used for the deceased.
'I never imagined that Lingzhou had such a custom!'
Fang Yu thought to himself, and then he understood. There was only one reason why this custom could be formed: resources were too scarce. When a person got old and lost their ability to work, they became a burden when they could only be supported by their family. In order not to be a burden on their family, these elderly people were willing to die voluntarily.
"Wrap all of these up, I'm taking them with me!"
Fang Yu said something to the waiter, got up to pay the bill, and, carrying the unfinished whole roasted lamb, followed the funeral procession.
The procession proceeded with great fanfare, followed by a sparse crowd of onlookers, much like Fang Yu.
Soon, the group left Wondrous Goodness City and headed out of the city, quickly entering the desert.
The yellow sand stretched endlessly, and the scorching wind blew, turning the world into a vast expanse of yellow.
After traveling for another half an hour, the group arrived at the foot of a hill and stopped in front of a mottled boulder that had been weathered by wind and rain for who knows how long.
The old man dismounted from his shoulder, bid farewell to his family members one by one, and climbed towards the top of the mountain with brisk steps.
The once calm procession could no longer be contained; cries of grief filled the air. The old man glanced back, waved his hand, and said, "Go back, all of you, go back!"
He then turned and continued climbing towards the top of the dune. Soon, he reached the top, waved downwards, and disappeared.
The wailing of the funeral procession grew louder, and after a long while, they finally returned along the route they had come from.
Fang Yu then arrived in front of the large rock.
The words "Thousand Blessings Pure Land" are carved on the stone, and countless bats are carved around it, which really does match the words "Thousand Blessings".
After watching the funeral procession disappear into the distance, Fang Yu walked towards the top of the sand dune.
The sand dune wasn't high, only about ten zhang (approximately 33 meters) high. In just a moment Fang Yu reached the top of the dune, looked behind it, and his pupils contracted slightly.
Below, one could see exposed skeletons, many decaying corpses, and the body of an old man dressed in red. The old man must have jumped directly from the sand dune, his body pierced by a broken bone, the blood still fresh.
"Thousand Blessings Pure Land!"
Fang Yu murmured, and his restrained Divine Thought slowly spread out, sensing the situation of this Thousand Blessings Pure Land.
His fortuitous opportunity lay here. He had already explored Wondrous Goodness City several times, but apart from Sweet Dew Monastery, he had not found anything. Now that this place was named ' Thousand Blessings Pure Land ', it could be related to the blessed lands of Buddhist Dao and Daoism.
The Taiyi Profound Gate is said to have thirty-six grotto-heavens and seventy-two blessed lands. Buddhist Dao also have many grotto-heavens and blessed lands, but they are usually called Pure Lands.
Soon, his Divine Thought spread downwards, and he sensed even more skeletons. As he continued to descend deeper, Fang Yu's brows furrowed more and more. Below was a mass grave, filled entirely with skeletons. In his perception, the piles were as high as a mountain, and the skeletons exposed on the surface were just a drop in the ocean compared to those buried below.
"Could it be that all the dead people in Wondrous Goodness City have been thrown here?!"
Fang Yu murmured something and continued to descend deeper.
Suddenly, a faint golden light shone into the range of his Divine Thought sense.
Fang Yu's heart tightened, and he continued to sense downwards following the golden light. He soon discovered a downward-sloping cave beneath the countless corpses, from which the golden light was emanating.
Fang Yu continued to sense the cave with his Divine Thought. Soon, the cave, which was filled with bones, suddenly expanded, revealing an underground cavern. In the middle of the cavern sat a golden skeleton, and the golden light was emanating from the skeleton, or more precisely, from the little finger of the skeleton's right hand.
"Could this be Sarira?!"
Fang Yu murmured to himself, recalling some information he had previously read about Buddhist Dao.
After death, a part of the body of a Buddhist Dao or Daoist practitioner may undergo a process of spiritual transformation, acquiring certain mystical or even Divine Ability from their previous life.
These bones are referred to as ' Sarira ' by Buddhist Dao practitioners.
Fang Yu then focused his Divine Thought on the little finger, carefully sensing it...
Hehehe...
"Come on... come on..."
"Come and catch me..."
"Oops..."
"..."
Laughter and cheerful voices rang in Fang Yu's ears, and figures gradually appeared, becoming clearer as girls dressed in 'flying' costumes surrounded him.
With a soft cry, Fang Yu found himself holding a beautiful, exotic flying girl in his arms.