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Chapter 5: Sacrificial offering
Meng Zhang was a doer; when he had an idea, he acted on it immediately. He stopped reading, carefully stowed away the "Sect Master's Chronicle," and walked out of the main hall. Taiyi Sect was a small sect occupying less than thirty acres of land. Several small courtyards contained lush green spirit fields.
The sect lacked grand and majestic buildings, with only a few rows of ordinary houses. Even the grandest hall of the sect, the main hall, had no embellishments and appeared inconspicuous. Meng Zhang left the main hall and entered one of the adjacent houses. This was the Taiyi Sect's treasury, where all the sect's wealth was stored. Tian Zhen, Meng Zhang's staunch supporter, resided here and was responsible for guarding the treasury.
When Tian Zhen saw Meng Zhang enter, he immediately stood up and respectfully greeted him, "Sect Master..."
"You don't need to mind me; I'm just getting something," Meng Zhang waved his hand and walked to the back wall of the house. He reached out and fumbled around on the wall, twisting it a few times. With a series of rumbling sounds, a hidden door appeared on the original wall, revealing a secret chamber behind. Meng Zhang was familiar with the place and walked straight in.
He had been here more than once and had even counted the resources inside multiple times. Although it was called the sect's treasury, the amount of wealth inside was pitifully small. The walls of the secret chamber were covered in layers of runes, preventing the dissipation of spiritual energy from the items stored within and ensuring a constant temperature and humidity. It also protected against pests and decay.
Shelves lined the walls, but most of them were empty, with only a few holding various items. There were stacks of commonly used talismans, dozens of bottles of elixirs, and a large pile of low-grade materials such as cinnabar, blank talisman paper, incense, demonic beast blood, thread incense, and medicinal oil, all neatly categorized on different shelves.
On the floor, there were several large jars, one filled with more than two hundred jin of spirit grain, another containing dried spirit dates...
In the middle of the secret chamber, there was a large chest holding less than a thousand pieces of low-grade spirit stones. These were all the belongings of Taiyi Sect, accumulated over the past century or so. Despite the fact that the entire sect's treasury lacked even one decent magic tool, the successive Sect Masters of Taiyi Sect had put their utmost effort into managing the sect under such adverse conditions, allowing for the accumulation of these resources.
Meng Zhang didn't need many items, nor were they particularly precious. After searching through a few shelves, he gathered what he needed. With a brief greeting to Tian Zhen, he hurriedly left the treasury.
In the courtyard outside the main hall, Meng Zhang found a grinding stone the size of a millstone and returned to the main hall. Placing the stone in the middle of the hall, he took out his flying sword and used it to flatten the surface of the stone, creating a smooth plane.
Then, he infused true qi into his fingertips and, following the records in the "Sect Master's Chronicle," started drawing on the stone. Thin cracks the width of a finger appeared on the surface of the stone, forming complex runes layer by layer.
Meng Zhang had an excellent memory, and it didn't take him long to finish drawing the runes on the stone, perfectly matching the records in the "Sect Master's Chronicle." He took out a bottle containing mercury that had been refined with spiritual energy and poured it onto the stone. Using true qi, he remotely controlled the mercury to flow along the inscribed runes, quickly filling all the gaps.
Next, he took out some cinnabar and applied it all over the surface of the stone. With that, a simplified altar was set up. A small bottle of demonic beast blood and ten low-grade spirit stones were carefully placed on the stone as sacrificial offerings. Meng Zhang was relieved that the required offerings were not extensive and didn't require a large expenditure.
Finally, he took out three long incense sticks and lit them in front of the altar. With everything in place, Meng Zhang stood solemnly before the altar, concentrating his mind and calming his breath. According to the records in the "Sect Master's Chronicle," during the Taiyi Sect's heyday, they had made a covenant with a Ghost Deity from the Netherworld, and this deity was responsible for guarding the Trial Ground. Taiyi Sect disciples needed to set up altars, prepare offerings, and communicate with the Ghost Deity, then use the deity's power to send their own souls into the Trial Ground. There was no need for ceremonial rituals like bathing, changing clothes, or fasting. The most crucial aspect was sincerity and showing no disrespect towards the Ghost Deity.
Standing before the altar for a while, feeling that he had finally calmed his mind, Meng Zhang deeply bowed three times, then lowered his head and cupped his hands in a respectful manner. His face showed a sincere and solemn expression as he said, "I, Taiyi Sect Sect Master Meng Zhang, sincerely pray and humbly request the Honored Deity to reveal thyself."
After saying this, Meng Zhang maintained his posture, not moving a muscle. The hall fell silent, not even a breeze was stirring. Only the three incense sticks burning on the ground remained quietly flickering in the still air. These three long incense sticks could burn for over an hour in the windless environment.
As time passed, Meng Zhang's expression remained unchanged, his movements unwavering, and even his breathing didn't show the slightest disorder. When the three incense sticks were almost completely burnt out, the hall finally underwent a change.
A gust of eerie wind seemed to materialize out of thin air, howling fiercely in the hall, making Meng Zhang feel somewhat unsteady on his feet. Above the altar, a dense black cloud appeared, within which a faintly discernible portal emerged.
Suddenly, the portal emitted a suction force, directly drawing the offerings on the altar into it. Meng Zhang knew that this was the critical moment. Without hesitation, he quickly sat cross-legged, entered a meditative state, and communicated with his soul.
Soon, Meng Zhang entered a strange state that felt like a half-dream and half-awake condition. In this semi-conscious state, he sensed his own soul within his body. It appeared as a softly glowing human-shaped mass of light, with a hazy and faintly familiar face that bore some resemblance to Meng Zhang.
"This is me," Meng Zhang had a moment of realization.
Then, his consciousness merged with the glowing mass of light, and they became indistinguishable from each other. Meng Zhang controlled his soul, exerted force, and leaped as if escaping from a cage.
His soul leaped out from the top of his physical body and surveyed the surroundings for a moment before resolutely dashing towards the portal above the altar, like a fearless charge forward.
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