Chapter 208: Flood Dragon!

"No wonder."

Liang Qu stood on the steps and swept his gaze across the scene.

The river wind was vast, and the banners fluttered violently.

Today was a rare, beautiful day; the entire Shangrao Wharf was teeming with people, a sea of heads.

Energetic young men wove through the crowd, maintaining order to prevent anyone from taking advantage of the chaos to steal.

The entire Yixing Town had nearly ten thousand people, and counting those who had rushed over from surrounding townships, there were truly over ten thousand. The bluestone street couldn't hold them all; they squeezed like a tide into the crevices of the reefs, filling every alleyway.

With such a large number of people, even low-voiced conversations, when layered together, merged into a roaring tide.

It startled the surrounding water birds, making them afraid to land on the eaves, so they circled in the sky for a long time without resting.

The crowd stood in silence, and the restlessness gradually subsided.

The prominent families took their seats in order, spreading out one by one.

At the very front, there was one and only one chair, but it was currently vacant; the owner of the chair was standing to the side, talking in low tones with Chen Chen Zhaoan.

The coiled, long-strip incense burned with curling white smoke; at the boundary where the gray ash met the incense, tiny red sparks flickered, spreading backward in thin, wispy threads.

The timing tool used by ordinary families was usually a copper water clock with a vertical arrow shaft marked with scales; once full, one simply poured out the water and started over. Only on grand occasions was incense used for timing.

So-called "timing incense" meant adding scales to ordinary incense and coiling it into various shapes; some could even burn continuously for days or even over ten days.

Because it was disposable, it was naturally much more expensive than a copper water clock.

This stick of timing incense before him even had iron balls hanging from fine threads beneath the scales. Truly, every aspect of this ceremony was superior to the last one, and Liang Qu grew increasingly expectant of the final feedback.

The red glow spread to the fine string, burning through the loop.

"Clang!"

The iron ball fell into the metal tray below, emitting a crisp sound. It rolled around the edge of the iron tray, and two clear marks appeared on the surface.

The second quarter of the Hour of the Horse (11:30 AM).

"The time has come."

Chen Chen Zhaoan nodded and turned his head to pass the word.

"Beat the drums."

Chen Tongmin ran all the way down, shouting at the top of his lungs.

"Beat the drums!"

The bare-chested men holding the mallets suddenly roused their spirits, let out a roar, and swung their arms with all their might.

Boom!

The sound of the drums soared into the sky, and dust danced in the pillars of light.

Boom!

Boom! Boom!

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Six large drums were beaten in unison, the surging sound waves rising one after another, becoming increasingly deep and majestic.

The dust on the ground rose and swirled, spreading and flowing in all directions.

After just a moment, the bare-chested men were flushed red all over. With another roar, they delivered the final strike heavily onto the drumheads, and the six strong men stopped beating the drums at almost the exact same instant.

The sound subsided.

The people present felt as if they had just escaped from a thunderstorm of lightning and rain; their ears were buzzing, and they couldn't hear any other sounds for a long time.

"Bring the offerings!"

The high, piercing voice of the old priest resounded across the wharf.

The drumbeats started again, steady and powerful.

Chen Chen Jiechang took the lead, pulling a four-wheeled cart forward step by step, the ropes binding the "Blue Beast" tightly.

The onlookers were shocked to the core, but they dared not speak, fearing they might offend the River God.

Lin Lin Songbao and Li Li Libo followed one after another.

Li Li Libo was followed by several burly men, all martial artists from the town, who helped pull the specially made cart, moving forward slowly.

The sturdy bodies of the red beasts gave people an incomparable impact and shock; the crowd could no longer restrain themselves, and a wave of suppressed uproar erupted.

The three beasts were too heavy, especially the red beast; they couldn't be hung up like pigs, cows, or sheep, and could only be raised to the sharp blades on the cart.

The red beast's pupils shrank violently, and it struggled with all its might, but it was to no avail.

Not a single muscle in its entire body would listen to it; it could only helplessly feel the coldness of the sharp blades pressed against its neck.

The priest remained expressionless and shouted again.

"Stab!"

The three men put all their strength into stabbing the sharp blades in, and with a forceful gouge, a splash of blood surged out entirely.

The thick, bloody stench splashed into the air, spreading across the entire wharf along with the humid river wind.

The crowd shivered under the scorching sun, involuntarily holding their breath, and the atmosphere became increasingly silent.

Wave after wave of fresh blood surged out, filling multiple wooden barrels one after another—a magnificent sight that had never been seen before.

The luster in the pupils of the three beasts gradually dissipated, finally turning into a deathly dimness.

The villagers' faces flushed red, and their hearts pounded violently under the stimulation of the bloody scent.

Spirit monsters!

True, great spirit monsters!

They were dead!

"Lift!"

Li Li Libo and the other two lifted the wooden barrels and, following the drumbeats, came to the riverbank, lining up the barrels one by one.

"Pour!"

Barrel after barrel was tilted, and the hot, steaming blood poured out, merging into the water, spreading against the tide, and dyeing the Great Marsh red.

The blood of the spirit monsters attracted a large number of carnivorous fish, which jumped incessantly—a truly magnificent sight.

Hearing the sound of the splashing water, countless people felt a surging excitement and agitation suppressed in their hearts.

"Witch doctors, return to your positions!"

Five gongs sounded.

Several witch doctors walked to the sides of the altar, singing sacrificial songs and dancing bizarre, unknown dances. This time, there was no trembling in their voices.

It was his turn.

Liang Qu straightened his clothes and hat, holding a long wooden staff.

"Chief Priest, proceed!"

Clang! Clang! Clang!

Nine gongs echoed, rolling and surging incessantly.

The musicians raised their copper horns, and the large drums with yellow ox-hide heads were struck by large mallets.

All eyes were upon him.

Liang Qu took a step forward.

The river wind was vast, carrying wisps of white mist surging from the river surface, thick like spilled milk, covering the bluestone slabs.

Many people were bewildered and inexplicably shocked.

He took a second step.

The white mist boiled and surged, instantly covering everyone's ankles and expanding in all directions.

Surprise turned into shock, and whispers arose beneath the altar.

Three steps.

Four steps.

One drumbeat per step.

Liang Qu trod upon the four directions, heroic and extraordinary. Under thousands of gazes, he walked slowly up the steps along the central axis of the altar.

With every step he climbed, the thick mist surged and rose by another layer, until it permeated to everyone's waist; the entire Shangrao felt as if it had entered a fairyland!

This... what is going on?

Chen Chen Zhaoan was dumbfounded.

Tang Tang Zutao and Lin Yao, the two hall masters, retreated a step, the long chairs scraping against the stone slabs, emitting a harsh friction sound.

Everyone looked down in disbelief, their emotions surging just like the white mist before them.

Mist!

It was foggy!

At the second quarter of the Hour of the Horse, the moment when the Yang energy was at its peak, it had actually become foggy!

The priest's legs trembled.

Ten thousand people sacrificing—he could handle it calmly.

Sacrificing spirit monsters—he was slightly startled.

Creating mist out of thin air—he had lived for over sixty years, and he had never seen or heard of such a thing!

Intense emotions surged into his heart, and the priest fell to his knees with a thud, tears and snot streaming down his face.

"The River God is overjoyed! He has manifested! He has truly manifested!"

One stone stirred up a thousand waves, instantly resonating with the villagers.

Such a fairyland—it must be the River God manifesting, without a doubt!

"He has manifested! It is the Huaihe God manifesting!"

"The River God has manifested! The River God has manifested!"

"River God, bless me!"

Countless people prostrated themselves, the massive sound waves layering upon each other, converging into a terrifying, surging tide!

Tang Tang Zutao stared at Liang Qu on the altar, turned his head to look at Lin Yao, his eyes flickering.

Lin Yao noticed Tang Tang Zutao's movement and shook his head lightly.

As Galloping Horse martial artists, the two of them naturally couldn't be easily deceived like the ignorant villagers, but they couldn't figure out how the strange sight before them had been created.

Could it really be the Huaihe God manifesting?

The power of nature—even Perfected Form Grandmasters couldn't afford to underestimate it.

A trace of awe inevitably rose in their hearts, and looking at the villagers kneeling around them, they followed suit and bowed down.

Liang Qu stood still before the offering table, waiting for a while, but didn't hear the priest shouting. He lowered his head slightly and discovered...

That little old man had prostrated himself at some point, curled into a ball, his body trembling as he sobbed uncontrollably.

Overdone it...

He looked at Li Li Libo and the others who were also kneeling to the side.

Noticing the gaze Liang Qu cast, Lin Lin Songbao, being the sharpest, bowed and ran quickly to the old priest's side.

"Chief Priest, it's time to light the incense. If we miss the time, that would be a great disrespect!"

One sentence awakened the dreamer.

"Yes, yes, yes, we must not miss the time."

The priest nodded repeatedly, stood up with Lin Lin Songbao's help, wiped away his tears, and shouted loudly.

"Light the incense!"

Liang Qu breathed a sigh of relief, lit the incense with charcoal, bowed, and inserted it into the incense burner.

"Libation!"

The wine liquid collided with the cup walls, shimmering with ripples under the sunlight.

"Chant, the sacrificial text!"

"With the Jianghuai River above, I, residing in the land of Yixing Town, facing the waters of the river, bearing the trust of the masses and the hopes of the people, lead the populace today to worship before your honor, presenting this sacrificial text..."

"When chaos first opened, heaven and earth were born. The heavens govern the sun and moon; the earth guides the rivers and streams..."

The river is calm for ten thousand miles, yet waves of excitement rise.

Heaven and earth are vast and boundless, with lingering echoes everywhere.

Long sleeves flutter wildly, and the figure stands ten thousand fathoms tall.

【Sacrificing to the Huaihe, extremely pious, River Favorability +0.97】

In the deepest part of the Jianghuai Great Marsh.

A pair of pupils, brilliant as the scorching sun, suddenly snapped open.