Chapter 288

Hmm, perfect!

He Lingchuan grabbed the jade slip containing the Copper Man Technique secret scroll, and a large amount of information appeared in his mind naturally, as if carved. Refining a copper man was delicate work and could not tolerate the slightest error. Fortunately, although this learning method could not make him master it immediately, it at least ensured that his memory would not be wrong.

Walking out of the Pengcheng Office, the two set off for the God-Descending Platform.

The place where Zhong Shengguang rewarded the gods back then was not in the city, but on the northwest highland five miles behind Panlongcheng. Few people usually went there, but now it was bustling with traffic, all heading for the highland.

He Lingchuan and Sun Fuling hired a spacious carriage.

Looking around, the travelers on the road were all civilians of Panlongcheng. Some couldn't afford a carriage and simply walked there.

You know, the dirt road outside the city was bumpy, and in some places, there was still snow, not as easy to walk on as the city roads. Not to mention that the sky was now half-dark, with dark clouds hanging low, and a blizzard could visit at any time.

But the surrounding Panlongcheng residents chatted as they walked, as if no one was worried about the weather.

"It won't snow." Sun Fuling saw him looking at the sky frequently and knew his worries, "Every year on the Heavenly Sacrifice Day, the sky is this oppressive, and everyone is used to it."

He Lingchuan rubbed his hands: "Finally, I can see Commander Zhong." Counting the time in this dream, he had been here for several months, but he hadn't even seen Zhong Shengguang or General Hong.

He had offered wine before Zhong Shengguang's grave and had seen the commander who had turned into a black dragon, but what did Zhong Shengguang himself look like? "I'm going to disappoint you." Sun Fuling chuckled, "Commander Zhong doesn't come here."

"Eh?" He Lingchuan didn't understand, "His daughter's memorial day, and he doesn't show up?!" What kind of heartless father was this? "Commander Zhong will hold the memorial at his home. He said he failed his daughter and had no face or qualification to preside over the Heavenly Sacrifice, so he let Wen Daolun do it on his behalf."

"Since he failed his daughter, why didn't he build a shrine for Zhong Wukan in the city?" Panlongcheng had the Lady Mitian Niangniang Temple, as well as living shrines for Zhong Shengguang and General Hong.

Sun Fuling laughed: "Who builds a shrine for a sacrifice?"

He Lingchuan raised his eyebrows: "So he still defines his daughter as a sacrifice, rather than a hero who saved all the people in the city?"

Sun Fuling looked at him and said leisurely: "Are you standing up for her?"

"What am I?" He Lingchuan grinned and mocked himself, "My thoughts are not important." Up to now, he was just a patrol guard, not even having managed to become a squad leader.

Soon, the carriage arrived at the destination.

In front was the God-Descending Platform. There were too many people, and the carriage couldn't pass, so everyone got off and walked forward.

Fortunately, the road was not rugged; on one hand, Panlongcheng had sent people to level this section of the mountain road, and on the other hand, the God-Descending Platform was located on the edge of the Chapa Plateau.

The terrain of the Chapa Plateau was special, itself dozens of zhang higher than the Panlong Wasteland; standing on the cliff edge of the plateau and looking down, the bottom was full of jagged wolf teeth and dangerous mountains.

But it wasn't too difficult for people on the plateau to walk over.

He Lingchuan walked up with the crowd and only then learned that the God-Descending Platform itself was a huge platform protruding outward, hanging alone on the edge of the Chapa Plateau; if you jumped down from here, you would be in the Panlong Wasteland.

Of course, the body would go down, but the soul would go to heaven.

When He Lingchuan and his companion arrived at the God-Descending Platform, it was already surrounded by people eight layers deep, but everyone knelt on the ground with lowered heads and eyes; if any child dared to make noise, they would immediately attract angry glares from everyone, and the parents had to shut their mouths immediately, otherwise, others would teach the child a lesson for you.

Sun Fuling had reminded He Lingchuan on the way that one must not be disrespectful to the Zhong family daughter on the God-Descending Platform. There had been outsiders who spouted nonsense here and ended up being beaten to death.

It turned out the Heavenly Sacrifice ceremony had already begun, and now there was only one voice resounding throughout the field, and that was the sacrificial text being chanted by Wen Daolun.

Parallel prose, with exquisite wording.

The voice was peaceful, with ups and downs.

He Lingchuan listened for two sentences, and the meaning was nothing more than praising Zhong Wukan for sacrificing herself for her homeland, her sincerity moving heaven and earth. Since ancient times, sacrificial texts were all flowery, wishing to decorate the sky, but He Lingchuan only heard the part where the god Lady Mitian sent down thunder to take away the sacrifice, and then focused all his attention on this field.

This God-Descending Platform should have been the size of two football fields, but the front corner was missing.

The shape of this corner... how should he put it? It was as if someone had used a compass to draw it and cut it off directly.

So the outermost side of the God-Descending Platform became a circular arc, neat and smooth, not like a natural product.

This huge gap made the altar built of green square stones look petite.

A sharp stele on the altar, shaped like a sword pointing straight to the sky, had no name inscribed.

On the offering table in front of the altar were placed the three sacrificial animals: pig, cow, and sheep.

It was not in accordance with the etiquette of the Western Luo Kingdom for a commander's daughter to enjoy such offerings. But clearly, Zhong Shengguang didn't care, and the people of Panlongcheng didn't care either.

What He Lingchuan thought was, why did Zhong Shengguang choose this place to reward the gods back then?

Others rewarded the gods secretly, wishing no one would know. But the venue he chose was open and flat, and could easily accommodate thousands of onlookers.

Besides Zhong Shengguang no longer taking the Western Luo Kingdom's ban seriously, and besides him holding absolute power in Panlongcheng, even being able to reward the gods openly, were there more political considerations?

For example, letting the people of Panlongcheng witness with their own eyes how much sacrifice the Zhong family had made for the peace of Panlongcheng and for the well-being of every city resident? Hearts of the people needed to be won.

If this were true, even if the sadness of Zhong Shengguang losing his beloved daughter was genuine, it had also been carefully considered.

This was truly an ambitious figure, even being able to use his own pain as a bargaining chip.

Somehow, He Lingchuan suddenly associated this with He Chunhua, and then sighed.

Sun Fuling on the side immediately turned her head to look, her bright eyes like water.

She held a finger to her lips, not making a sound, but continued to point to the sky.

At this time, the celestial phenomenon could be described as treacherous. It wasn't even time (3 PM) yet, but heaven and earth were without light, and at the same time, a strong wind blew; the dark clouds in the sky were so thick they were about to press down on the mountain peaks, and everyone could see the surging waves under the cloud layer when they looked up, as if the sea had been turned over and stuck to the zenith.

The civilians lay low, not daring to breathe loudly.

At this time, Wen Daolun finished chanting the sacrificial text, loosened his hand, and the golden-red paper with the sacrificial words was rolled into the sky by the strong wind, burning itself in mid-air and turning into ashes in a few breaths.

He Lingchuan watched these ashes fly into the cloud layer and disappear.

Afterward, light filled heaven and earth, because a bolt of lightning struck down.

Before He Lingchuan closed his eyes, he only vaguely saw its tree-root-like shape, and it struck straight down below the God-Descending Platform.

And then came the second bolt of thunder.

This was unreasonable; shouldn't lightning strike the high places? Why ignore the sharp stele on the cliff and smash directly into the valley?

Perhaps in response to the question of this contrarian, twenty breaths later, just when he thought everything was over, another bolt of thunder fell.

This time the shape was different from before; it was actually a huge circular beam of light, and it struck exactly on the gap of the God-Descending Platform, fitting perfectly! No living creature dared to open their eyes, and even Wen Daolun, who was the main sacrificer, turned his head away.

Heaven's might is hard to resist.

After He Lingchuan opened his eyes, he smelled a heavy burnt smell. The dark clouds in mid-air gradually dissipated, and before long, a ray of sunlight shone through the gaps, piercing the high sky and focusing into a beam, hitting exactly on the God-Descending Platform.

That magnificence and solemnity could not be described by pen and ink.

He Lingchuan looked out, and the Panlongcheng civilians were prostrate on the ground, chanting words; no matter who it was, their expressions were much more pious than before.

The gods still cared for this place, who would dare to have questions? Wen Daolun walked down from the altar and stood to one side.

The main sacrifice ceremony was completed, and the scene no longer required solemnity. So the civilians stepped forward one after another with baskets to offer sacrifices, and then bowed respectfully. Those who were particular pressed their children's heads to make them kowtow three times.

When the high incense was about to burn out, Wen Daolun had to go up to offer incense again.

The city guards maintained order on the side, and everything was orderly.

He Lingchuan looked, and the civilians offered mostly fruits, vegetables, and pastries. In this season of intertwined wind and snow, fruits were really not cheap, and those with good appearance were even more expensive.

The life of Panlongcheng people was still some distance from affluence.

Some children even placed their beloved toys on it.

He Lingchuan even saw a youth take fresh flowers from under his coat, peel off the outer layer of oil paper, and carefully place them under the sharp stele.

The flowers were not crushed, but the delicate petals were instantly covered with a layer of white frost.

Delicate things, indeed, cannot survive in Panlongcheng.

Only until this moment did He Lingchuan truly realize the genuine feelings of the Panlongcheng residents for the Zhong family.

That didn't even need to be expressed in words.

People who sacrificed themselves for the sake of all living beings in the city were worthy of remembrance and respect no matter what.

Sun Fuling tugged at his sleeve, divided the prepared offerings in half for him, and the two stepped forward together.

He Lingchuan lowered his head and found that besides several large crystal pears, what she brought also included a box of meat pies.

The box was elegant, and there was a product name on it, called Wenxiangyi.

This meat pie was actually a brand-name product from an old shop.

There were too many civilians participating in the Heavenly Sacrifice, and the offering table couldn't hold them, so these fruits were placed around the sharp stele.

He Lingchuan put down the offerings, bowed with Sun Fuling, and then walked toward Wen Daolun.

The personal guards behind Wen Daolun immediately stepped forward to block them.

However, Sun Fuling had already spoken in advance: "Mr. Wen."

Wen Daolun turned his head to look: "Isn't this Xu Shichu's female disciple? Come over, come over."

The personal guards then let them pass.

Sun Fuling knew his time was precious, so she didn't exchange pleasantries and went straight to the point: "Mr. Wen, I've come to ask for a favor."

Wen Daolun was confused: "A favor?"

"Two months ago, you and I were playing chess at the Shumin Academy..."

Wen Daolun immediately said "Ah": "Alright, alright, I remember now, tell me."

"My friend here has been divined to have a life of disaster, and I would like to ask Mr. Wen to point out a clear path for him." Sun Fuling pointed at He Lingchuan, and the latter immediately cupped his hands in salute, "Please enlighten me, Mr. Wen."

(End of chapter)