Chapter 74 Worship Heaven in the Immense Sea
In the ceremony of worshipping heaven, the door of each house was hung with a mahogany sword. Wuyou got up early and hung the mahogany sword that Granny Moon had bought on the door. A mahogany sword was to exorcise evil spirits. On the day of worshipping heaven, all the souls would drift into the Immense Sea in all directions. So on the day of each year, the wooden swords which had been blessed were on sale on the streets, forming a scene in the Immense Sea.
Xiao Douya helped his mother to hold the wooden sword, making invisible drawings in the air. Nie Xiaowu picked up Xiao Douya and took out a “Fu” character from his arms. Seeing nobody notice him, Nie Xiaowu recited the incantation, and a streak of spirit light flew into the character. Since Xiao Douya had never seen such sorcery, he opened Nie Xiaowu’s palm curiously. When he found there was nothing in the palm, he gaped more wide-eyed. Nie Xiaowu burst out laughing at the child’s simplicity. However, Qiongqi in the opposite wing room saw everything clearly. If Qiongqi was right, Nie Xiaowu could use sorcery without doubt. Judging from his conjuring technique, it was different from the common sorceries, and it seemed that Nie Xiaowu used the ancient techniques that had been lost for a long time. Viewed from afar, the “Fu” character radiated an aura of auspiciousness and peace. Don’t look down on the “Fu” character. It was able to make spiritual souls wince far away. Therefore, Qiongqi concluded that Nie Xiaowu must have a link with Pangu family, just not knowing which influence he belonged to in the Immense Sea.
Nie Xiaowu put Xiao Douya down and walked out of the door. He went to a place with no one else and flew away. Qiongqi followed him, but when getting closer to him, Qiongqi found Nie Xiaowu had disappeared under his eyes. At that time, Qiongqi realized how powerful Nie Xiaowu was, and what he guessed was right. So Qiongqi rushed back, eager to tell it to Granny Moon so that she was mentally prepared. The moment Qiongqi wanted to leave, more Spirit Power appeared behind him and tightened him little by little. Qiongqi read some incantation, and then those Spirit Power loosened gradually from his body.
“Who?”
Yuan Xueyi descended from the sky, and her spirit fingers swept and fought with Qiongqi. Qiongqi did not expect it to be a woman and flung his Spirit Power to her back. Yuan Xueyi escaped the attack, and her hands gestured and thrust a palm. “How dare the old man is to follow the Master of the Immense Sea, so I will teach him a lesson.” Yuan Xueyi’s Spirit Power was not weak, so Qiongqi strengthened his Spirit Power more. He was not bellicose, so he rose high to the sky and stretched his wings out immensely. Actually, there wasn’t too much ability on Yuan Xueyi, so she was defeated only within few rounds. Qiongqi swept the woman with his Spirit Power, and Yuan Xueyi was thrown into the air. Qiongqi gave another palm, which could kill the woman for sure. Yuan Xueyi felt regretted that she had neglected cultivating spirit, and had not chance to escape even in the critical moment. Qiongqi applied all of his Spirit Power, with no mercy in his palm, because it was the woman who delayed the time. In Qiongqi’s heart, there was nothing important than Granny Moon. Yuan Xueyi was catapulted in the air again, and she was as lifeless as a fallen leaf. However, a person caught her falling body. She could feel the warmth behind. “It is the Master who has caught me. But why does he come back?” Today, things couldn’t be delayed. To worship heaven was the Master’s mission, and he could not be absent today, because collecting souls was a major event in the Immense Sea to bring fresh blood to the bloody army in the Immense Sea. But the Master returned for the sake of saving Yuan Xueyi, which opened her heart and allowed a man to live there. On the other hand, Zhu Jiuyin remained calm and swept his sleeves. Then expanding Spirit Power enwrapped Qiongqi. The old man who was being lifted up by the Spirit Power was not surprised at all, because he had expected such kind of his ending. His life or death was at the young man’s whim. Nie Xiaowu snapped his spiritual fingers on the top of Qiongqi’s skull. Because Qiongqi had known Nie Xiaowu’s real identity, it would ruined the cause to keep Qiongqi any longer.
“My lord, kill him.”
Yuan Xueyi pounced over and held Qiongqi’s neck tightly, because the old man almost took her life, and she would not spare him. Yuan Xueyi held a saber in her hand and slashed toward Qiongqi’s neck. Qiongqi’s eyes remained clear, since he knew that he could not escape it. Why not face it bravely? He realized that Nie Xiaowu would only leave death and approach the Goddess of the Moon just for the Heavenly Book, so how was Nie Xiaowu willing to give it up? Qiongqi closed his eyes, waiting for death. Even time seemed to be solidified at that moment. However, Qiongqi did not wait the pain on his body and guessed whether the young man was thinking about their old friendship. But next second, Qiongqi felt the stinging pain on the top of his skull, and Spirit Power poured out of his body. Darkness rushed into Qiongqi’s head, and he felt in a dizzy. Zhu Jiuyin used Pangu’s technique to seal parts of Qiongqi’s memory, so his memory would remain at the point before leaving home. Zhu Jiuyin did not kill Qiongqi not because of kindness, but because he was afraid of arousing the Goddess of the Moon’s suspect. After all, the woman saw him go out. Based on the understanding of the Goddess of the Moon, any flaw would lead failure to the game.
“My lord, we should return to the Immense Sea.”
The two flew onto the sea of clouds and headed in the direction of the Immense Sea. When Qiongqi woke up, he felt stupefied, wondering why he was in the valley.
People were passing to and fro in the streets of the Immense Sea. Today was the day when souls came back to the Immense Sea. Although it sounded scary, the people of the Immense Sea were waiting for the new settlers. The ceremony was held in a square near the imperial palace. When Zhu Jiuyin arrived there, the square had been clogged with people. He ascended to the altar of worshipping heaven. The arrival of the Master of the Immense Sea silenced the noisy square a lot. Xu Linghe dressed up and mingled into the crowd, while Ying Fu became a citizen of the Immense Sea, and Chengyi and Liu Ruoshui disguised as a couple. Xu Linghe stared closely at Zhu Jiuyin on the altar who had not reached twenty years old, but his Spirit Power had been unfathomable, so Xu Linghe began calculating how many odds he would have when he decided to barge into Si Shui tonight. The person on the altar could sense the peep of strong spirit from the crowds and know that the man would come, but what mattered if he did come? Black Emperor’s divine essence was only allowed to stay in Si Shui for good. Zhu Jiuyin lit up the Holy Fire on the altar with his spiritual fingers. The people of the Immense Sea would witness how to call the divine essences in the universe. Zhu Jiuyin’s spiritual fingers drew the Holy Fire, and the flames suspended in the air. When the flame spread out, Zhu Jiuyin gathered all of his Spirit Power and injected it into the flame. Then, the Holy Fire expanded. Zhu Jiuyin spit out Pangu’s Soul-reining Beast. The Sacred Beast of scores of meters high leapt into the sky, and all the people of the Immense Sea looked up to it. The Sacred Beast which lodged in Zhu Jiuyin’s body was the messenger of original souls in the universe. It soared to the sky and faced with Zhu Jiuyin. The flame on the altar was still changing. When Zhu Jiuyin put the Pangu’s gesturing spell into the Holy Fire, the Soul-reining Beast ran to the Holy Altar. Zhu Jiuyin conjured and set formation. Then, a trail of Spiritual Qi rose from the square, changed from thin to thick, and expanded into a canopy to dash to the sky. Next second, the Holy Fire on the altar extended underground like a vortex. Zhu Jiuyin jumped into the altar where flames soared like magmas. The Holy Fire extended to Zhu Jiuyin’s legs and arms. When the golden flames emitted Spiritual Qi and spread to Zhu Jiuyin, the Soul-reining Beast gleamed with golden light rose high from the altar to the sea of clouds. Zhu Jiuyin opened his mouth and spit out the moon and stars. This was called Seven Souls Incantation of the Big Dipper in the Immense Sea, which set formation with the moon and stars. And then, the moon’s and stars’ Spiritual Qi would guide the original souls in the universe to Si Shui, where the original souls had to be expiated by Pangu family’s Souls Stone, and to be shaped their physical body by using the morbid air in the Si Shui lake. After that, the original souls had to endure the burning of the Holy Fire. Then, those original souls could become the immortal soldiers and guard the Immense Sea. Zhu Jiuyin was the one who had the power to control the original souls. In the three realms, only Pangu’s family studies this kind of incarnation, while the supreme power to control this Divine Being technique was the Pangu Divine Being Heavenly Book. Zhu Jinyin was changing in the Holy Fire. When he lifted up the moon and stars, Xu Linghe saw the monster that once helped Chidi in the underground palace. The people of the Immense Sea broke into loud applause and cheers. Apart from the disciples of Kunlun, the Devil God, Chidi was also in the crowd. Not until then did Chidi understand that it was Zhu Jiuyin who helped him return to his position. Xiao Ba behind Chidi fixed his eyes on Zhu Jiuyin, observing Zhu Jiuyin’s arms and legs full of Spirit Power like erupting magma. Xiao Ba was overawed by such formidable Spirit Power. Since Xiao Ba was called by Chidi from the Nether World, he had believed that Chidi was the most powerful in the three realms. But to his surprise, the Master of the Immense Sea would be so redoubtable, and then, Xiao Ba thought that the Master of the Immense Sea could have the ability to become his backer.
Zhu Jiuyin lifted up the moon and stars to illuminate the sky. Original souls in the universe were gathering in all direction to feel the Spiritual Qi of all the living creatures. At that moment, the Immense Sea was enveloped in the moon and stars. Zhu Jiuyin spit out the spell to constrain the Soul-reining Beast. The Beast in control transformed itself into drops of delicate beads and scattered. In the Immense Sea, Zhu Jiuyin swept his spiritual fingers slightly, and then, the floating delicate beads flew to the sky gleaming with spirit light. Those delicate beads were the messengers of original souls, which would take the soul essences in the universe back to the Immense Sea. The sea of clouds surged that pushed the ceremony of worshipping heaven into a climax. On the clouds, Zhu Jiuyin waved his spiritual fingers, and then, Spiritual Qi with long tails flew to the all directions of the universe. Every wisp of souls was called by the delicate beads. Zhu Jiuyin injected his Spirit Power into the original souls, which enabled those weak souls to have power to return to the Immense Sea. The delicate beads spattering in the three realms sucked in the original souls. When the delicate beads were swollen up, they would trace Zhu Jiuyin’s aura back to the Immense Sea. Zhu Jiuyin conjured the spell to guide the collection of original souls. In the sky, those delicate beads carrying with soul essences flew back to Zhu Jiuyin’s hands. Lurid delicate beads reddened the Immense Sea. Rapturous acclamations were raised inside and outside the palace. For the people of the Immense Sea, each wisp of original souls was a part of the bloody army, which could make the Immense Sea more peaceful and away from the flames of war.
“Grandmaster, Zhu Jiuyin is collected so many original souls. It seems that he is reserving military power for himself.”
“We come to the Immense Sea for looking for the Divine Being Heavenly Book. Mind your own business.”
Since Nascent Soul had lost the fight, he was reprimanded by Chidi several times. Obviously, his Grandmaster was quite disappointed with him. Now, Xiao Ba was promoted in an important position. So Nascent Soul thought he should do something happy to regain Chidi’s recognition. It was necessary to find Changxi, the Goddess of the Moon first. Nascent Soul looked around, trying to find a place to have a rest. Because of the Grandmaster’s attitude, Nascent Soul had a sense of crisis, and was totally not in a mood to appreciate the divine power of the Master of the Immense Sea. Looking down the crowd, Nascent Soul spotted an acquaintance, his hateful person—Xiao Qi. In the crowd, Xiao Qi seemed to be looking for someone else. The enemy was right in front, so Nascent Soul would not let him go for sure. Nascent Soul approached Xiao Qi secretly, and had forgotten his Grandmaster’s words already. There was a sharp saber hiding in Nascent Soul’s hands, and he hoped to kill Xiao Qi in a densely-populated place so that he could still have change to escape. Totally unaware of the eyes, Xiao Qi just stared the front and finally spotted Xiaoyao. Xiao Qi was excited, ignoring the danger behind him, and could only see Xiaoyao in his eyes. In the crowd, Wuyou stared at a man’s back quietly. Although the man had changed his face, Wuyou could recognize him and followed him all the way. “Why does my husband come to the Immense Sea? It is impossible for him to watch the Master’s ritual of worshipping heaven.” Wuyou held her child in the arms and got closer to her husband carefully. Not far away, Xiao Qi sensed something different. The one who could make Xiaoyao so nervous was only Xu Linghe. It turned out that the man dressed as a common citizen of the Immense Sea was his cousin. Xiao Qi had a mixed feeling of happiness and sorrow. “Does Xiaoyao’s husband come to the Immense Sea for the Heavenly Book?” However, Xiao Qi did not realize that the danger was pressing on towards him. Nascent Soul let out a sneer and charged at Xiao Qi. Unexpectedly, the crowd rushed toward them suddenly, and Xiaoyao was submerged in the crowd. At that moment, Wuyou regretted having taken Xiao Douya with her. The child in her arms burst out crying with fear. Xiao Qi looked at them with his heart frightened, so he rose up into the sky and flew toward Jiang Wuyou. So Nascent Soul failed to prick him, wondering whether Xiao Qi had eyes on the back. However, with more looks, Nascent Soul understood well. It was all because of the woman. Then, Nascent Soul held up the child and left immediately. What he wanted was only to get more chips, and he had completely forgotten the lessons that he had been taught when he had robbed the woman away.