Chapter 610: Sacrificial Offerings for People to Eat

Afterward, Baifeng and Xuanyuan bowed to the altar together, which finally brought the entire sacrificial ceremony to an end; in this regard, Huaxia and the Xuanyuan Tribe were no different.

It was just that at the end, Xuanyuan was very puzzled: "Why not throw the offerings into the fire as well? Otherwise, how could the spirits receive them?"

Baifeng once again spoke the words he had once said to his own clansmen: "When the heart arrives, the spirits know; the offerings are for people to eat."

Plus, there were not many precious offerings to begin with, so Baifeng simply had people take them away. Baifeng continued to explain: "It is not just for the 'Dao'; even our ancestors and the spirits do not need them, because they do not need to eat this kind of food. What they need is, first, sincerity, and second, the 'Qi' of these offerings. After they have enjoyed them, these offerings, which have already lost their original flavor, are then distributed for people to eat. Furthermore, this is considered the 'leftovers of the gods,' which is actually a good thing; people who eat it can increase their wisdom and gain good luck. However, the most necessary and important thing for our sacrifice is the incense—that is, incense made from wood or other materials that are special, intense, and non-irritating—that is the best thing to offer the spirits, because a god is not a human and does not need to eat food to fill their stomach."

Baifeng beckoned, and someone immediately brought over a stick of prepared incense from the Heaven and Earth Altar. After Baifeng lit it with fire, he handed it to Xuanyuan: "Smell this; it is not pungent, and it can calm the mind."

After Xuanyuan took it suspiciously, he leaned in toward the rising smoke and took a sniff; it was indeed very fragrant. Then he held the incense stick horizontally to observe it; although he could not judge how it was made, he could be certain that this thing could not be eaten.

Xuanyuan handed the incense back to Baifeng: "By doing this, have you not received punishment from the Heavenly Spirits? And how do you know that the Heavenly Spirits and ancestors do not need to eat?"

Baifeng turned around, stretched out his arm, and pointed at the entire Huaxia City: "Look for yourself. This entire Huaxia, aside from our own efforts, is inseparable from the protection of the Heavenly Spirits and our ancestors. If our methods were not liked by the Heavenly Spirits, could we still be this prosperous? On the contrary, those tribes that use food and Slaves for sacrifices have mostly vanished, right? Because they wasted food and wasted people, that is what made the Heavenly Spirits and ancestors unhappy."

Baifeng's entire speech left the members of the Xuanyuan Tribe shocked beyond measure. At the very least, their previous shock had come from the material level of Huaxia—the prosperous city and the unique, convenient life. Now, they were shocked by Huaxia's sacrifices: there were no cumbersome sacrificial rituals, no exquisite Ritual Vessels, and even the offerings were eventually distributed for people to eat. Even so, the Heavenly Spirits still protected them; this completely shattered their perception.

Yulong sighed: "However, your sacrifice is a bit too simple, isn't it? This should not be what such a massive tribe ought to have."

Baifeng smiled and explained: "Our sacrifices are certainly just as rigorous and solemn, but today we are sacrificing to the Dao. As the saying goes, the Great Dao is simple, so it should not be overly cumbersome. Moreover, we also considered that the sacrificial methods of our two tribes are different, so being a bit simpler will avoid many potential conflicts."

"Look, we actually lack nothing; the altar, the offerings, and even our shaman is wearing such magnificent robes. We also take it very seriously."

At the same time, Baifeng also thought to himself: It is better to keep it simple for now; after all, in this age of savages, how good could the rituals be? Huaxia does not even have music. If the musical instruments were complete, he could have copied the entire set of the Ritual of the Dao Gate, going straight from opening the altar and summoning generals to submitting memorials, all fully realized. Then, add an orchestra, and with all the various praises and chants, it would definitely be the most solemn sacrificial ceremony of this era.

Because the two tribes had such a large difference in their perception of this matter, they did not discuss it further. After all, just as Baifeng said, where there are differences, it is easy to create conflict. The alliance that was formed with such difficulty must now be maintained well at all times.

The people of the Xuanyuan Tribe said nothing more, and Baifeng did not explain further. He invited everyone to return to prepare for lunch. It was already long past mealtime, and everyone was very hungry; Baifeng's own stomach was almost unable to stop growling.

Xuanyuan, however, kept thinking about what Baifeng had just said on the way back. Was it really necessary to throw offerings into the fire? A cow, a sheep—how many clansmen could they help survive the Winter? Yet, throwing them into the fire was just to please invisible spirits?

Everyone returned to the table, but now the table had become a dining table. Everything used for the meeting had been cleared away, replaced by tableware. After everyone was seated, all the food began to be served immediately, without making everyone wait too long.

Everyone finished their meal in a pleasant atmosphere, and everyone's appetite seemed to have increased. The people of the Xuanyuan Tribe were not at all reserved; if they felt it was not enough, they would immediately ask for more. The servants were also busy running back and forth, satisfying all the guests' needs.

After the meal, the people of the Xuanyuan Tribe intended to go back to rest. According to what was discussed at the table, after everyone had rested well, they would go stroll around Huaxia in the afternoon to visit and sightsee, then set off to return to the Xuanyuan Tribe tomorrow.

However, just before leaving, Baifeng called Xuanyuan aside, saying there were some things he wanted to discuss with him privately. The members of the Xuanyuan Tribe were confused, but Xuanyuan told them to go back to rest and that he would stay behind.

It was the same for Huaxia; in the end, only two servants were left on the side to prepare to serve.

Baifeng brought Xuanyuan to his quiet room, where there were only the two of them. This time, Baifeng did not even let the servants in. After entering, Baifeng locked the door from the inside—that is, he slid the bolt into place.

Seeing this action by Baifeng, Xuanyuan was startled for a moment and prepared to act, but Baifeng had no Weapon by his side, and he himself had not brought one. Their builds were similar, both equally robust, and in terms of martial prowess, they were the strongest Soldiers of their respective tribes, so Xuanyuan was not afraid.

However, Baifeng had no intention of fighting; he still cordially invited Xuanyuan to take a seat, then sat in the host's position and began to brew tea.

This secret talk did not last long. Aside from the two of them, no one else knew the content of the conversation. Neither of them told anyone else—no, that is not necessarily true; perhaps Baifeng told Yulong, and Xuanyuan told Zhi, but no one knew. Even the History Book written by historians who appeared later did not record this conversation.

In any case, the people of the Xuanyuan Tribe, who had been in a state of tension, were met by a still-smiling Xuanyuan. They asked, but Xuanyuan said nothing, only telling everyone to go rest, to take a good look around Huaxia in the afternoon, learn from the experience, and return to build the Xuanyuan Tribe as soon as possible.