Chapter 15: Ancestor Blessing Ritual

Having spent this time together, Xia Duo had come to fully trust in Mu Yan's goodwill toward him, but the more Mu Yan gave, the more embarrassed Xia Duo felt, because his integrity had not yet been completely lost.

And now, Mu Yan had prepared this huge pile of things, saying it was to be the final gift. Xia Duo knew full well that this gift might not be light, but for some reason, he felt a bit reluctant to accept it.

However, Xia Duo also knew his current situation; as a "stranger alone in a foreign land," he should not give up even the slightest useful thing, so he could not bring himself to utter a firm refusal.

Mu Yan seemed to perceive Xia Duo's awkwardness and smiled. "If you feel uneasy, then in the future, if you encounter Kara-Tur people stranded in foreign lands, help them as much as you can. Now, lend me a hand; help me move that altar inside out. I need to process these materials one last time, and the ritual will also take quite a while. Hurry!"

"Oh."

Xia Duo responded and went to the other compartment of the tent. The altar was very conspicuous; it was a miniature three-tiered circular altar resembling the Circular Mound Altar of the Temple of Heaven, about 1 meter in diameter and half a meter high.

It was covered in dense, unfamiliar hieroglyphs and patterns of ancient sacrificial scenes. Xia Duo stepped forward and hugged it; it was not heavy, meaning it was either not solid or had been enchanted with some weight-reduction Magic.

Xia Duo carried the altar outside, found a level spot on the ground to set it down, and then watched Mu Yan process the materials. Xia Duo did not know what kind of ritual Mu Yan was preparing, but since it could serve as a final gift, it likely wasn't anything common.

"The Ancestor Blessing Ritual is a type of blessing ritual I comprehended when my Spellcasting Level reached 15; it can increase one's good luck slightly." In the gaps between processing materials, Mu Yan also introduced the ritual to Xia Duo.

"Good luck?" Xia Duo was very surprised. "Does such a thing as fate really exist?"

"That depends on how you understand it. I believe in fate, but most Mages do not. They believe that as long as all choices originate from one's own heart, then one has grasped their own fate."

Speaking of this, Mu Yan seemed to think of something amusing, and the corners of his mouth curled up involuntarily.

"Then does this blessing ritual actually increase good luck?" Xia Duo asked again.

"Regarding this question, I can only say I don't know. Compared to this question, I think you should be more concerned with whether it is effective."

"Then is it effective? Mr. Mu Yan."

"Of course—still don't know! Haha!" Mu Yan could not help but laugh out loud. "A piece of Magic that consumes over 1000 Gold Coins in materials alone, yet has no effect whatsoever—isn't that interesting!"

1000 Gold Coins! Xia Duo subconsciously touched his belt, where a handful of Silver Coins were tucked away. There had originally been 5 Gold Coins, but unfortunately, he had paid the Mage from the Eagle Chamber of Commerce for that 【Light】 two days ago.

How much is 1000 Gold Coins?!

For a fleeting moment, Xia Duo wanted to say—just give the Gold Coins to me instead! But Xia Duo, whose integrity still remained, could not say such words.

He could only stare fixedly at the movements of Mu Yan's hands; in a moment, these priceless materials would be consumed, and consumed as if they were being thrown into the water.

……

While processing the materials, Mu Yan placed them on the Ancestral Altar and shared with Xia Duo his past experiences of wandering and adventuring, which opened Xia Duo's eyes.

Finally, all materials were fully processed and arranged. Mu Yan stood up, took out that Elven Harp from behind him, and handed a palm-sized White Crystal to Xia Duo, saying, "Stand on the altar and hold this White Crystal tightly with both hands."

It was starting already? Xia Duo felt a bit nervous. He took the White Crystal and stepped onto the altar. With the half-meter-high altar added to Xia Duo's height, he felt his hair touching the top of the tent.

Holding the White Crystal tightly with both hands, Xia Duo looked at Mu Yan.

Mu Yan's expression was solemn. His left hand rested on the strings. Following a short prelude, the sound of the music began to blur in Xia Duo's ears, and the scene within the tent disappeared from his field of vision, replaced by a flood of red and yellow light.

A distant human voice drifted over—

"The mandate of Heaven, how beautiful and unceasing;

"Revere it, revere it, Heaven is clearly manifest;

"……

"Bestowing this blessing, favoring you without limit."

……

He did not know how much time had passed, but the light and shadows of the ancient ancestors living, hunting, and sacrificing gradually vanished from before Xia Duo's eyes.

Coming back to his senses, Xia Duo felt something strange in his hands. Looking down, the once clear and transparent White Crystal had now turned into a pile of dull powder, and the materials on the altar had also turned into piles of grey-black ash.

Was that it? This thought arose in Xia Duo's heart. He stepped off the altar and looked around; Mu Yan was not in the tent. Just as Xia Duo was about to lift the curtain between the tent compartments, he did not expect the curtain to suddenly flip upward.

It was as if an invisible hand had lifted it.

"This—"

Xia Duo hurriedly gathered his scattered thoughts. In a focused state, Xia Duo discovered that his connection to the Magic Net was much closer. It seemed that with a single thought, he could entangle, join, bend, coil, or overlap the Magic Net at will to produce the corresponding Magic Effect.

Compared to his ignorance last night regarding the phenomenon of his hair glowing, Xia Duo now had a deeper understanding of Magic. That was indeed 【Prestidigitation】; it was only because Xia Duo's knowledge of Magic was too lacking that he could only manage to make his hair glow.

Now, he could easily lift the curtain! As the thought arose, the curtain fell, but the moment it fell, a hazy white light, visible to the naked eye in broad daylight, radiated from the curtain.

It seemed that Mu Yan saying the blessing ritual had no effect was not accurate. Perhaps for someone as powerful as Mu Yan, it had no effect, but for a novice like Xia Duo who had just come into contact with Magic, the effect was quite obvious!

He had a mind to try other effects of 【Prestidigitation】, but Xia Duo still remembered Mu Yan's warning: one must be cautious when dealing with Magic, as excessive Spellcasting would affect the Soul.

Xia Duo could not yet feel his Soul, but he knew the principle of taking precautions.

……

Mu Yan was not in the other compartment of the tent; he might have gone out. Xia Duo used his hand to lift the curtain leading outside and happened to see Mu Yan handing a heavy cloth bag to a young man.

More accurately—handing it to a young man wearing Mage robes.

Xia Duo seemed to think of something. The blessing ritual just now had consumed at least 1000 Gold Coins in materials alone and could improve Xia Duo's spellcasting ability; it must be a relatively Advanced piece of Magic. Would the Savile Territory lord, who possessed a Mage Tower, not notice the commotion here?

However, Xia Duo did not think that young Mage was the Savile Territory lord himself; he looked more like his Apprentice.

"Xia Duo, come here." Mu Yan beckoned to Xia Duo and introduced him, "This is Mage Leonard. I have already told him about you joining the Mage Tower. You can go with him in a moment."

Xia Duo was somewhat speechless. "Thank you, Mr. Mu Yan."

"No need to thank me; the path ahead depends on yourself." Mu Yan patted Xia Duo's shoulder and said to Mage Leonard, "Mage Leonard, I leave Xia Duo to you."