Feng Shui of Fengxi Marsh

"Heaven and earth are in harmony, and I alone yearn for them. Therefore, I gather at the Purple Altar, seeking the path to enlightenment, respectfully performing the sacrificial rites. Amidst the bustling revelry and embroidered decorations, I receive the supreme deity. A thousand children dance in a magnificent display, celebrating the unity and harmony of the universe..."

Before the makeshift altar, the new emperor racked his brains to utter the sacrificial words.

He shouted loudly, reciting the sacrificial inscription as if composing a poem.

If it weren't for the necessity of performing this act, the new emperor felt he wouldn't be willing to engage in such a difficult task as sacrificial rites.

Of course, you gain experience once you've done something.

He then composed his own sacrificial poem as required, which he could then use in future sacrificial ceremonies.

The new emperor was also glad that he liked poetry and prose, which allowed him to barely pass the test.

Seeing Zhao Zhou muttering along with him, followed by numerous ritual personnel from the Court of Imperial Sacrifices repeating the text, and then all the people participating in the sacrificial ceremony reciting the eulogy together, the new emperor felt that his eulogy was quite appropriate.

"Heaven and earth are in harmony, and I alone yearn for them... How does this bear some resemblance to the content of the Fen Jing and Zai You?"

Zhang Xuezhou also joined in reciting the sacrificial text.

He must say that there are too many similarities in the content of sacrificial inscriptions. Whenever the content involves worshipping heaven and earth, the words are often changed repeatedly, and the similarities are quite normal.

At least Zhang Xuezhou felt that the sacrificial text recited by the new emperor was similar to parts of the tomb scriptures.

This involves using rituals and sacrifices to heaven and earth to seek their protection, thereby invoking a favorable aura.

"If Your Majesty uses this set of sacrificial incantations to perform rituals and activate magical techniques, wouldn't that mean I could also use Your Majesty's sacrificial incantations in the future?"

As the legitimate successor of the Great Han Dynasty, how the new emperor cultivates his magical arts is something Zhang Xuezhou has been observing.

He would obviously follow and repeat the cultivation methods the other party intended to use, which would allow him to get as close as possible to the new emperor and create confusion, thus reducing the chances of the new emperor noticing anything unusual.

When Zhang Xuezhou left Chang'an City, he had been thinking of getting close to the new emperor to seek the possibility of cultivating his magical arts. He never expected that he could obtain some information so easily.

"Fengxize is the starting point where Emperor Gaozu slew the dragon and laid the foundation for the Great Han Dynasty. It is also the place where King Liang searched for a burial site. If there is nothing special about it, King Liang would definitely not have chosen this place to set up an array and build his mausoleum. There must be something fishy about this place!"

Zhang Xuezhou found it difficult to guess the identity of the legendary Emperor Gaozu, but he had been to the tomb of the Liang King and even witnessed the grand drama of the struggle between one emperor and two kings.

"This area must have been surveyed time and again by feng shui masters and array formation experts over the past hundred years. Why was it only the Prince of Liang who sought the tomb? The factors involved... must be related to bloodline or status!"

Zhang Xuezhou kept speculating about the relevant details.

Ordinary people would find it difficult to achieve results by searching for acupoints here, but emperors of legitimate lineage might be able to activate certain factors in Fengzexi.

Sacrifice is undoubtedly the most relevant condition, especially sacrifices involving divination.

The new emperor's sacrificial words at this time are a key; as long as the new emperor gains the approval to unlock the factors of Fengxize, others can also use this key.

Zhang Xuezhou's heart stirred, and he couldn't help but secretly cast a feng shui site-finding technique.

A faint blue light flickered in his hand, and as the new emperor continued to recite the sacrificial incantation, he almost seemed about to fly away.

"That's the direction! The altar is placed in the wrong position!"

Zhao Zhou's sacrifice was directly opposite the ancient stele erected by Feng Xize. According to normal sacrificial rites, there was nothing wrong with his actions.

However, this is the place where Emperor Gaozu slew the dragon, and the direction in which Emperor Gaozu slew the dragon is not the same as the direction in which the monument is erected.

The shifting of mountains and rivers may also cause deviations and changes, and with the construction of the tomb and grand formation by King Liang, the starting point of the Great Han's fortune in Fengxize has also changed to some extent.

"Grand Astrologer, shouldn't the sacrificial rites in the suburbs be performed facing slightly east to south?"

Zhang Xuezhou nudged Sima Tan, the Grand Historian, who was standing next to him.

Given his official rank, he shouldn't have been standing next to Sima Tan, but since the new emperor had made this arrangement, no one dared to object.

This allowed Zhang Xuezhou to have close conversations with Sima Tan.

"Ah, this..."

"You've recorded so much history, you should know that historically, suburban sacrifices were always performed facing south, slightly east!"

"Well... you're absolutely right!"

Sima Tan had indeed read a lot of historical materials. He even knew that the emperors of the "One Dynasty" period often went to the ancestral temple to worship Heaven and Earth, and he also knew what sacrificial offerings these emperors used and how many times they worshipped.

However, Sima Tan was genuinely unaware of the difference between the altars set up by emperors in ancestral temples and those set up in the suburbs for sacrifices; the information he obtained did not mention this matter.

If verification is desired, some corroborating evidence may be found in the sacrificial rituals passed down by the Taichang Temple.

Sima Tan couldn't verify it at the time, but since Zhang Xuezhou mentioned it so confidently, he must know the rules in this regard.

The current sacrificial ceremony is breaking the rules.

If one's ancestors are in the southeast, then worshipping them Human Dynasty northeast is worshipping the wrong ancestors, which is a very serious problem.

"I am but a lowly official with little influence; this matter requires the intervention of the Grand Historian," Zhang Xuezhou said in a low voice.

"That makes sense!"

Sima Tan nodded repeatedly.

Zhang Xuezhou was quick to correct the mistake and make a recommendation, and Sima Tan was equally quick to step forward, after all, royal sacrifices were matters that could not be taken lightly.

"Your Majesty, I have heard from ancient texts that sacrifices in the suburbs should be performed facing slightly east to south. Your direction during the sacrifice should be slightly off!"

After the new emperor finished reciting the sacrificial text, Sima Tan stepped out to the side and then took out the ancient book and began to speak.

He wasn't sure which ancient book contained this information, but as long as the content was in an ancient book, it was correct.

"Uh, Zhao Taichang, is that true?"

After the new emperor finished reciting the sacrificial inscription, he called for everyone around him to come forward and pay their respects. Then, he had Guo Sheren change the sword, and it was time for others to come forward and perform the sacrificial rites.

When everything is over and Zhao Zhou hands over the Crimson Sky Sword to the new emperor, the sword will harden, thus completing its transformation.

The matter was so important that the new emperor was indeed keeping a close eye on a few conspicuous bags.

This involves the kings who testified, Zhao Zhou, and the impartial Grand Historian Sima Tan.

Zhang Xuezhou and Sima Tan's hushed conversation naturally did not escape the new emperor's attention. He was quite satisfied with Zhang Xuezhou's diversionary tactic of distracting Sima Tan; that was how things were to be done, even if it violated the rule of not making noise during the sacrificial ceremony. The only problem was that Zhang Xuezhou did it a little too early.

When Sima Tan stepped forward and brought up the matter, the new emperor immediately understood what Zhang Xuezhou was using to disrupt Sima Tan's plans.

He asked Zhao Zhou a question, which made Zhao Zhou smile awkwardly.

He had only been in office for a few days when he was dragged here to hold a grand sacrificial ceremony. He hadn't even finished reading those ancient books and catalogs, so how could he know such details?

Normally, you would place an altar facing the person you are worshipping, but Feng Xize only had one monument, so he could only place the altar facing the monument. Who knew there was such a rule about facing slightly east and south?

"Ancient texts say that heaven and earth have four directions, and each direction is a place protected by gods. Now that we have finished worshipping the northeast, we must also worship the southeast!"

Zhao Zhou couldn't say whether Sima Tan's suggestion was right or wrong, so he could only nod stiffly and then indicate that the sacrificial ceremony was not yet finished.

As the Grand Master of Ceremonies, he could not possibly mention that he had made a grave mistake during the sacrificial ceremony.

Zhao Zhou felt that one sacrifice was not enough, so he could continue with a second sacrifice.

If worshipping in the southeast is not enough, he can also face the northwest and southwest.

If that didn't work, they would repeat the process twice more, until they had worshipped all the ancestors in the east, west, south, and north. Zhao Zhou didn't believe that they could still worship the ancestors incorrectly in this way.