area51novel Page 124
Page 124
Among the Northern Qi delegation, Zhuang Mohan noticed that the chief envoy beside him, Wei Bi, had an extremely complicated expression.
Wei Bi knew that the threat he received last night must have been sent by the Nanqing Surveillance Bureau.
However, he himself was not clean, so there was nothing he could do about it.
What he was worried about was that if the Censorate asked him for a small favor today, he would be asked to do other things in the future, which would be endless.
When Fan Xian entered the main hall of the Temple of Heaven, he found that the attendees from the Southern Qing side were extremely distinguished.
The eldest princess, Prince Yong, the crown prince, the second prince, and officials of the fourth rank and above from the Ministry of Rites and the Court of State Ceremonial all came.
Fan Xian felt that all the foreign delegations and domestic officials present looked familiar.
He found the faces unfamiliar; they were a dozen or so ascetics dressed in black robes and cloaks.
The ascetic is a "monk" who practices asceticism in the temple. There is no Buddhism in this world, and "monk" is just a figurative term.
The ascetics of Qingmiao have been preaching all over the country, and this time so many have gathered.
The three priests sitting steadily at the very front, with their backs to everyone, are the three high priests of the Qing Temple.
Fan Xian had heard Fan Jian mention last night that these three were at least at the middle level of the ninth rank. They were skilled in combined attacks, and when the three of them joined forces, they were invincible below the level of a Grandmaster.
"Brother Fan, come here and stand with Guo!"
Fan Xian had barely entered the hall when Guo Baokun pulled him over to stand with him. Fan Xian and Guo Baokun had always had a very harmonious relationship.
The Crown Prince had been trying to win over Fan Xian, and even Fan Xian's participation in the negotiations was due to the Crown Prince's recommendation. With the successful negotiations, Fan Xian has once again enhanced his resume.
At the front of the procession, the Second Prince and the Crown Prince, who had dark circles under his eyes, stood side by side, whispering to each other.
"Your Highness, why aren't you the one presiding over this sacrificial ceremony to Heaven?"
For the most formal sacrificial ceremony to Heaven, the emperor would naturally be present.
These post-war agreements, which involved annual prayers for a bountiful harvest, were usually performed by princes on behalf of the emperor.
Because this kind of sacrifice requires kneeling too many times, how could the emperor always kneel?
The chief officiant this time was, of course, Li Chang'an, who had conspired with Emperor Qing to perform shamanistic rituals.
Given Emperor Qing's style, he wouldn't explain to the Crown Prince; he'd just let the Crown Prince be filled with anxiety.
The Crown Prince was indeed terrified. Ever since the imperial edict yesterday announced that Prince Yong would preside over the sacrificial ceremony, the Crown Prince had not been able to sleep well, so his dark circles were particularly noticeable.
In previous minor sacrificial ceremonies, the Crown Prince had performed the sacrifices on behalf of Emperor Qing. What does it mean to change the person this time?
"Second brother, don't be so sarcastic. Who can keep Zhuang Mohan in check right here?"
Do you think... Auntie can handle it? Can she go it alone?
This was the reason the Crown Prince came up with after thinking about it all night, for Emperor Qing not to let him preside over the sacrificial ceremony.
The Second Prince suddenly realized, "So that's how it is. Only Uncle Yong's reputation can rival Zhuang Mohan's."
"After all, Aunt is a woman, and His Highness the Crown Prince isn't quite up to the task either. We still need to work harder!"
Behind Zhuang Mohan, Zhan Pianpian glanced at Li Chang'an from time to time, her gaze filled with both longing and a hint of regret.
She was leaving Nanqing tomorrow, and her regret was that she wouldn't have the chance to meet Li Chang'an alone.
Li Yunrui also frowned. She knew Emperor Qing and felt that Li Chang'an's role as the chief officiant was not simple.
But she couldn't figure out why, no matter how hard she tried.
Before long, the sacrificial ceremony officially began.
The court musicians at the back of the main hall began to play a magnificent sacrificial hymn, and everyone's expressions were solemn.
Fan Xian observed that everyone participating in this kind of sacrificial ceremony was very devout.
As a liberal arts student, he was very clear about the meaning of this kind of sacrifice.
In the history before the time travel, although the feudal dynasties did not have a strong religious atmosphere, the worship of heaven was still a grand event.
The so-called divine right of kings means that your attitude when offering sacrifices to heaven is not an attitude towards heaven, but an attitude towards the emperor.
In this era, religion had such a great influence that people truly held deities in awe.
The three mysterious high priests finally turned around, and one of them began the sacrificial ceremony.
"The sacrificial ceremony begins; let us welcome the gods!"
The sacrificial ceremony was very complicated. First, the gods had to be welcomed, and then offerings had to be made.
Having to kneel several times during each process, Fan Xian had become completely numb to it.
After kneeling forty or fifty times, the sacrificial ceremony was finally coming to an end, and everyone walked from the main hall to the area around the Circular Mound Altar.
The Circular Mound Altar is a three-tiered open-air circular platform, with the outer layer being square and the inner layer being round, symbolizing the ancient Chinese concept of a round heaven and a square earth.
All participants in the sacrificial ceremony stood on the three levels of the Circular Mound Altar according to their official rank.
The outermost layer consisted of hundreds of guards, along with eunuchs and palace maids who served in the sacrificial ceremonies.
Li Chang'an and the three high priests stood at the top of the Altar of Heaven.
Standing at the highest point, Li Chang'an could see the majestic imperial palace in the distance, and below him were the solemn-looking officials of the Three Kingdoms.
No wonder the jade seal with the inscription "By the mandate of Heaven, may your life be long and prosperous" is so sought after. Standing in that position, with everyone at your feet, the temptation is simply irresistible to ordinary people.
"The sacrificial ceremony is complete; let us send off the gods!"
With the high priest's final chant, the sacrificial ceremony reached its final stage, and everyone knelt down once more.
The Crown Prince watched Li Chang'an's retreating figure with a complicated expression, feeling as if something important had been taken away from him.
However, just as everyone knelt down, a sudden change occurred!
In full view of everyone, Li Chang'an suddenly fell backward to the ground!
Only a handful of people who looked up could clearly see this scene.
Among them are Crown Prince Li Chengqian and the unruly Fan Xian.
"What happened to Prince Yong?"
"What happened? Has His Highness fainted?"
"No way, Your Highness is an eighth-rank martial artist, how could you not be able to hold on?"
The participants from the three kingdoms all stood up and looked towards the top of the Circular Mound Altar.
Those who were threatened last night know that they will soon be needed to prove themselves.
Those who threatened them said that the high priest had divined last night and discovered an auspicious sign of the descent of the gods!
We hope they will respect the gods, be in awe, and not cause trouble on Nanqing's territory!
Fan Xian gasped, suddenly having a bad feeling!
The prince smiled and then shouted loudly.
"Uncle Yong, what's wrong? Uncle Yong! Are you alright?!"
Li Chengze rolled his eyes and was about to rush over to check the situation.
But just as he was about to step forward, he felt a tremendous force push him back.
He looked up and saw that the Second Priest, Master Sanshi, had already stopped him.
"Please be patient, the High Priest is assessing the situation."
At this moment, Li Yunrui looked at Master Sanshi with a puzzled expression.
Master Sanshi, a member of the Junshan Society, nodded slightly, indicating that everything was under control.
The three high priests of Qing Temple only received Emperor Qing's instructions last night, instructing them to fully cooperate if any deity were to descend to earth.
The three high priests could probably guess what was going to happen, but they could only follow orders.
The ascetics of Nanqing do not have a grandmaster like Kuhe.
Just as everyone was in a state of chaos, Li Chang'an suddenly stood up!
His body stiffened, and he stood up straight like a zombie!
At this moment, Li Chang'an stood with his hands behind his back and his eyes closed, exuding an aura of dominance over all directions.
Then, he slowly began to speak. Because of the structure of the Circular Mound Altar, speaking from the center of the top level amplifies the sound several times over.
Therefore, although Li Chang'an's voice was not loud, everyone heard it.
"Two hundred thousand years... Finally, a Celestial Vein practitioner performed a sacrifice, allowing me to borrow their body to take one last look at this world."
"Two hundred thousand years ago, the world collapsed, and all living beings perished... Now, it has miraculously revived."
Two hundred thousand years!
Everyone was stunned upon hearing these two sentences!
The creator god has reappeared in the world through the body of the Celestial Vein Being!
After a brief silence, various hushed discussions began to emerge.
"His Highness Prince Yong is a being of the Heavenly Vein!"
"Then who is the Holy Maiden of Northern Qi? Are there two other people with celestial lineages in the world?"