The Bonfires That Lit Up the Night Sky
Strangely enough, none of the households had had time to heat their kang (heated brick beds) in the past two days.
The original villagers from several villages gathered together without prior arrangement, and when they talked to each other, they found that every family was in the same boat.
Therefore, the answer is obvious.
It must have been the immortals of the Lingxian Sect who cast a warm Law Technique on the houses when they built the city!
As for why the entire Xiushui City didn't warm up, the people didn't have that question.
Is that even a question? Immortals must expend magical Law Power to cast spells; being able to control the entire city's houses is already quite good.
However, standing on the wide and smooth streets of the city, they still felt that this year seemed much warmer than at this time of year.
On Lunar New Year's Eve this year, the heads of each family prepared a large and sumptuous New Year's Eve dinner well in advance.
Life is getting better year by year, and the New Year's Eve dinner on people's tables is getting better year by year. Not only is there more meat and more variety, but people also have extra time to prepare various seasonings and spices, pursuing a dish that is perfect in color, aroma and taste.
The days when meat was only available during holidays and festivals, and when we relied on plain white pork to replenish our bodies, seem like just yesterday, yet also like a long time ago.
At times like these, the elders, who rarely have a moment to spare, would sit at the dinner table and reminisce with the younger generation below, telling them about their past lives. They didn't expect the younger generation to understand much, but they hoped that the younger generation would remember some of the good things about the Lingxian Sect.
Ordinary people may not be able to articulate grand principles or righteousness, but they understand best the hardships of daily life.
Whether they are immortals or not has nothing to do with them, but immortals who are kind to them and care about ordinary people are different.
After the New Year's Eve dinner, people who were full and satisfied went out for a leisurely stroll to digest their food.
Even at night, Xiushui City is now brightly lit, much brighter than the former Xiushui Village, with two streetlights every twenty steps.
Whether elders or children, everyone carries plenty of candy and pastries in their pockets when they go out, sharing some with everyone they meet to express their joy in welcoming the new year.
Wealthy families who had moved here before would have their servants carry several baskets of copper coins, wrapped in red paper, to the crossroads near their gates and distribute them to the children playing on the road carrying small lanterns made of pomelo peels and candles. The children would then offer their joyful congratulations.
Venerable Xunfang was meditating at his lodging, had just completed a Greater Celestial Circuit circulation. He was about to ponder the details of their sect opening a shop in Xiushui City, and his Divine Sense habitually swept around.
Although they cannot cast spells freely within Xiushui City, their Divine Sense can still be deployed normally; however, there are many places in the city where their Divine Sense cannot penetrate.
However, their sect's base was an inn in the city, where there were few restrictions, and he could set up Isolation Formation in his room.
He had tried, but he couldn't set up any offensive formations.
It seems that Xiushui City is quite serious about preventing cultivators from fighting each other.
Originally, Venerable Xunfang only casually swept his Divine Sense around and thought that the outside world was just like what he had observed in the past two days, just the daily life activities of mortals. However, he found that the streets, which should have become quiet at this time of nightfall, were not like usual, but were instead extremely lively.
As night deepened, hundreds of lanterns suddenly appeared in the main streets of the city.
A tall bonfire burned in the center of the lantern array, turning the sky a mix of dark red and dark blue.
The people of the city all gathered around the lantern displays in the streets, admiring, praising, and cheering.
Many visiting cultivators, upon seeing this, couldn't help but sigh at how little these villagers had seen. Although the lantern array was far more luxurious than that of ordinary people, it was nothing special in the eyes of these high-level cultivators in the Mortal Realm.
It's effortless for them; they just don't expend Spiritual Power to do it.
A few outside cultivators also mingled into the crowd, genuinely wanting to join in the simple, lively fun of the common people.
Suddenly, the enormous array of lights began to move slowly.
Various kinds of lights slowly rose into the night sky.
They kept changing their formations, piecing together all sorts of patterns.
There are auspicious clouds, five bats, a hundred flowers, plum blossoms, orchids, chrysanthemums, and bamboo...
The campfire was still burning brightly in the same spot.
Suddenly, the people at the very back started holding hands, chanting simple slogans, and dancing the simplest dances around the campfire.
This atmosphere quickly spread to the outer layers of the crowd, with the bonfire becoming the center. Regardless of age or gender, people held hands and danced in circles, shouting and cheering.
As everyone danced and cheered under the twinkling lights, the central bonfire seemed to be amplified by this enthusiasm, its towering flames reaching straight into the night sky, vibrant and blazing.
At midnight, after the lantern arrays in the sky above various street intersections changed into many auspicious patterns, they rose even higher and merged with the lantern arrays at other street intersections directly above Xiushui City, together forming the four characters "Happy New Year".
The four large characters shone brightly in the sky, illuminated by ever-changing lights.
These four characters were recognized even by the illiterate villagers of the original villages, because as the year drew to a close, disciples of the Lingxian Academy would distribute red talismans to the surrounding villages, explaining the characters and their meanings. These four characters were written on the red talismans.
The next moment, the four large characters exploded with a bang, and each lamp exploded into a dazzling firework, turning the entire sky above Xiushui City into a colorful daytime.
In that instant, even the outside cultivators who were watching from the sidelines suddenly felt that Xiushui City must be the most dazzling pearl on earth.
The dancers gradually stopped spinning, looked up at the dazzling night sky, and cheered and celebrated with those around them. Regardless of whether they were close or distant, everyone wished each other a "Happy New Year."
Without much embellishment, these four words are the simplest and most sincere congratulations, for others and for oneself.
The visiting monks watched all of this unfold.
They may have doubts, confusion, or surprises, but at this moment, all of these are overshadowed by a longing that is subtly rising in their hearts.
They seem to have not experienced this simple, genuine joy in a long time.
How long will it take?
I don't remember.
At some point, their lives became solely focused on improving their cultivation levels. They began to disdain the simple lives of ordinary people, and they started to abandon many of the habits of ordinary people. They found satisfaction in being different from ordinary people.
Gradually, in their race against time to pursue cultivation, they seemed to have lost their joy.
All that remained was urgency and anxiety.
They were eager to improve their cultivation level, but worried about the lack of cultivation resources.
actually...
Occasionally, it seems nice to have some fun and be carefree like this, without thinking about anything else...?
These mortals, despite their short lifespans, seemed to be living a much better life than the cultivators at this moment...