Chapter 683

In front of the Agricultural Altar, there was solemn silence, as vast as the boundless Heaven and Earth.

The pyramid-like central high platform, missing its apex, led straight to the clouds. Every white jade step was engraved with clouds and exotic beasts, lifelike. The hundred officials surrounded it from all sides, and countless banners almost covered the entire sky.

The little Shen Dragon jumped off his shoulder and turned back into a belt.

Liang Qu tidied his clothes and waited silently for the Great Sacrifice to Heaven and Earth.

In the quiet.

The music of the "Taiping Song" played outside the Agricultural Altar, magnificent like a great sound, washing away complicated thoughts.

The wind chimes under the eaves rose and fell lightly, ringing as accompaniment.

From the former Yixing City to Xiangyi County to request the white ape, to Huazhu County to govern the flood and send the King's boat.

Liang Qu had experienced quite a few sacrifices; the procedures in each place had their own set, differing from one another, with local beliefs taking precedence.

The only similarity and rule was that the larger the place, the more complex the procedure—so complex that someone had to be specifically assigned to memorize the vast details.

Small villages had to have knowledgeable village elders; small counties had to have a specialized temple-blessing troupe. As for the Imperial Court, which ruled the entire world, it was even more extraordinary. Most of the many officials of all ranks in the Ministry of Rites were set up for the two words "ritual and ceremony," from entertaining foreign envoys to arranging sacrifices and organizing the honor guard.

If there was any mistake, the light punishment was dismissal from office, and the heavy one was losing one's head.

Master's wife's father, Xu Rongguang, used to do this.

All these things filled up the so-called "sense of ritual," making it impossible for people not to be in awe.

Rumble!

On the high platform in front of the square, wind, rain, thunder, and lightning raged.

The banners fluttered, the officials' sleeves flew, and the tassels of the ring-shaped jade pendants at their waists spread out.

These were the "Four Gods" of wind, rain, clouds, and thunder, all played by Great Martial Artists who practiced special techniques.

After that came welcoming the Imperial God and offering jade and silk.

The strongmen carried the bronze tripod, the Holy Emperor ascended the platform, and willow branches dipped in water were sprinkled into the tripod filled with yellow soil.

Liang Qu generally knew this was meant to pray for a good harvest.

It is said that the soil in the large tripod was all taken from various places in the eighteen provinces of the two capitals of Great Shun.

The water on the willow branches was the water of the two rivers—the South Huai River and the North Yellow Sand. From the high mountain ice and snow, the upper reaches, the middle reaches, the lower reaches, and the estuary, a white porcelain bottle was taken from each of the five locations.

But this was still a small scene. After the opening segment, a faint pressure rose.

The little Shen Dragon opened its eyes.

Liang Qu's spirit tightened.

The main event was coming!

Chains clattered, and the earth trembled slightly.

Three Great Monsters, dozens of feet tall, were bound by long chains, their heads knocking against the ground as they were dragged forward.

Beside each Great Monster, several Grandmasters stood guard, with several divine abilities added; let alone struggling, even making a sound was difficult.

One rhinoceros, one bird, one fish.

The pressure of the Great Monsters was so thick that it felt like a giant stone was pressing on people's hearts.

Without a doubt.

Entering the sacrificial vessel.

The Great Monsters' pupils trembled, and blood spilled on the spot.

Muscles twitched and jumped, and a thick, exotic fragrance drifted.

The centipede monster died but didn't stiffen. The three Great Monsters were drained of fresh blood, and their heads were cut off; their wide-open eyes could still move, revealing fear.

The pressure on their hearts increased by another three points, and some people found it difficult to breathe, clutching their hearts.

Everyone felt awe.

Liang Qu was a bit different; he was not only in awe, but also felt a bit of envy.

With this whole set, so flashy, if it were sacrificed to Jianghuai, how much favor would he get?

The higher the favor, the more Liang Qu's underwater talent would be like getting a lever, and its power would be greatly enhanced.

If he came here for a round today, he estimated that he would take all the favor directly, and he wouldn't need to deal with the Flood Dragon anymore; he would just go up and perform a set of smooth combos.

Pulling tendons and peeling skin, putting on a majestic set of armor, and then moving into the Dragon Palace in a grand manner, embarking on the peak of life...

His thoughts drifted away unknowingly.

The content of the Great Sacrifice did not stop.

The Nine Tripods were lined up, stewing the Great Monsters. White mist soared to the sky, and the entire altar glowed brilliantly. The flowing clouds and exotic beasts on the white jade steps seemed to come alive, rushing and running, indescribably sacred.

First offering, officials reading the prayer text, second offering, final offering, drinking the blessing wine, receiving the sacrificial meat, removing the offerings, sending off the gods, and watching the burning.

Every link had the Grand Music Official playing music, and civil and martial dancers dancing.

Respectful and respectful, without the slightest mistake.

From the Chen hour in the morning to noon, the entire sacrificial process finally came to an end.

Under the mountain-like bronze tripod, the white bones and remains of the Great Monsters rushed straight to the sky, flesh and skin surging, and the unextinguished charcoal fire scattered sparks.

The officials of the Honglu Temple began to distribute the sacrificial meat.

There are rules for distributing sacrificial meat; the high-ranking get much better, and the low-ranking get less and worse.

Since there were so many officials in the field, it was impossible for everyone's standards to be completely different, so they mostly followed the standards of official rank.

Normally, a From Fifth Rank official receives ten jin of sacrificial meat, and it is a relatively poor part; it wouldn't be offal, mostly like the fish tail part of a fish.

But Liang Qu, on the surface, was just a "small official" of the From Fifth Rank, but his rank and title were both Regular Fifth Rank, and he had the title of the youngest Hunting Tiger Great Martial Artist, so he was directly allocated sixty jin—twenty jin each of rhinoceros, bird, and fish, all good meat from the waist and abdomen!

This amount was more than that of the Fourth Rank Meng Qiang!

Happy.

Liang Qu sniffed the smell.

Thick meat fragrance, not the slightest mutton smell, and it looked very soft and rotten.

Cultivation reached the Great Monster realm, and naturally, the flesh was not ordinary.

It's just that it was sacrificed to Heaven, so it couldn't be raw meat; it had to be cooked meat, with many treasures added in the middle, stewed in a unique large tripod.

This was also the most time-consuming part of the entire process, and various treasures completely disintegrated the hardness of the normal Great Monster meat.

After receiving the large meat, the sacrificial process was completely over. The princes and nobles left first. Liang Qu's position was not high, so it was not good to leave immediately. He followed Meng Qiang to fish for a while, and after a quarter of the people had left, he finally got on his horse to return.

"Cao Shixiong!"

Xu Zishuai squatted at the gate, waiting for a long time, and saw the meat pieces Liang Qu had tied with fine rope at a glance.

"Great Monster meat?"

"Sixty jin, all three Great Monsters have it—those that walk on the ground, fly in the sky, and swim in the water, all complete!" Liang Qu lifted the straw rope in his hand and looked at the center of the courtyard, where all the senior brothers, senior sisters, and Dragon People were. "Have you eaten?"

"How could we eat? It was agreed the day before yesterday that it would end at noon, so we were waiting for Junior Brother's meat to eat with rice!" Cao Rang booed.

"Go, go, go! Start the stove, start the stove!" Liang Qu crossed the threshold. "Killed this morning, put in the pot to boil immediately—it's just fresh!"

"Then isn't this already cooked? It's quite fragrant." Xiang Zhangsong sniffed hard twice; it was very fragrant.

"Sacrificial meat has no seasoning, it needs to be cooked again."

"Come, come, come!"

Liang Qu waved his hand to let the cook at home process it a second time, slice it, stir-fry it, and drizzle it with hot oil.

Sixty jin of meat was definitely not enough for the Martial Artists' appetite, and some had to be set aside for the water beasts, but with the side dishes, it was enough to make more than a dozen large dishes.

Sizzle!

Hot oil bubbled and splashed.

Fragrance hit the nose.

The snow outside the house fell rustlingly, and the heat inside the house surged toward the face.

Everyone sat around the round table, sitting in a circle and sharing in a circle.

【Water Ze Essence +16】

【Water Ze Essence +12】

Liang Qu picked up a few pieces of fish meat, but the Water Ze Essence absorbed was not much.

As expected.

How big is a whole Great Monster? A chopstick of meat is like rubbing off a layer of skin; perhaps he didn't feel anything.

But from the public ministers to the capital officials.

What they tasted was face!

In the past, when he was hungry, catching a yellow croaker would be sold to a restaurant for money; now, even a Great Monster is just an object on the plate.

Fragrant!

Back courtyard pond.

White mist surged.

Tatta Kai held a steaming large wooden bucket and came to the lakeside, using a ladle to scoop out hot dishes to feed the water beasts.

Water splashed everywhere.

The fat catfish and other beasts bumped into the broken ice and swallowed in large mouthfuls.

Midnight.

Candlelight was dim.

The bamboo tube surged with luster.

The time insect had no intention of breaking the cocoon.

Liang Qu sat in meditation until his essence, Qi, and spirit were adjusted to the peak.

The little Shen Dragon danced down, spitting white mist.

The Great Sacrifice is over, let's explore the Immortal Island first!

(End of chapter)