Chapter 352: 210 Zhou Ji

“I thought that by following the Heavenly Destiny of Ceremony, all I would need was to carry up the many jade artifacts I had before, in order to successfully take down the Bronze Tripod. Now it seems, it’s not the case at all.

It’s as though there’s an Executioner hidden above, ready to strike as soon as someone climbs over.

Upon reaching the death soldier, Emperor Shen Ling removed the jade token from his mouth and turned to face another subordinate.

“Go up and try, without using zhenqi, just climb up with the strength of your corpse…”

“Yes!”

The subordinate nodded and climbed over with the jade token, and before long, the body also plummeted down.

By now, four strong individuals had died trying to climb the rock wall.@@novelbin@@

Silence ensued all around, no one spoke out, and nobody said a word.

The fear wasn’t the death of many people, but it was this kind of inexplicable death, without any reason whatsoever.

Zhang Xuan had been silent, frowning and looking around.

Other than the rock wall, there was nothing else around, the scenery at the peak was also clear at a glance, with nowhere else to go, under normal circumstances, one should simply Forge the four Bronze Tripods and gain the inheritance of the fragments of the heavens.

But now, he couldn’t even climb onto the rock wall.

“Could it be… that we need to set up an altar like before, and first offer up the six Jade artifacts—Bi, Cong, Gui, Zhang, Hu, Huang—then search for the Bronze Tripod?”

After pondering for a moment, Zhang Xuan spoke.

“There’s a possibility!”

“Now that you mention it, it’s highly likely. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have us perform soul rituals midway up the mountain!”

“How did I not think of that? The ritual halfway up the mountain must have been a prelude, its purpose was to tell us the solution!”

Hearing his words, everyone’s eyes lit up.

This explanation seemed most reliable.

“Let’s try!”

Emperor Shen Ling and Shi Yunjing exchanged glances, feeling this was the most probable option, and immediately nodded, instructing someone to move the altar from midway up the mountain.

Soon, the jade artifacts Bi, Cong, Gui, Zhang, Hu, Huang, and so on were set up once again.

“Elder, we younger generations wish to inherit your spirit and understand your Heavenly Destiny of Ceremony, we beseech your blessing…”

Before the altar, Emperor Shen Ling bowed, his attitude respectful.

Buzz!

With his words, the six altars suddenly released a dazzling light, and then began to shake non-stop. The next moment, an incredibly strong force shone down from above, a seven-colored light appeared in the sky, resembling the aurora.

“This is the Divine Domain Flowing Colors… The Divine Domain Flowing Colors have appeared again, it means the real core has been activated by us…”

Seeing this scene, everyone became excited, all looking at Zhang Xuan with admiration.

If it wasn’t for his realization to perform the rituals, they might have had no idea when they could find the pattern.

Seeing everyone’s expressions, Mo Baiye’s face became even more gloomy.

Buzz!

As more and more colorful lights appeared, an intent abruptly emerged in everyone’s minds.

Zhang Xuan was stunned, turning to look at Fu Qingyao and the others, and saw they too had wide eyes, seemingly in disbelief. They followed this intent and saw the seven-colored Flowing Light in the sky, already transforming into the figure of a person.

The figure was somewhat indistinct, only the slender stature, wearing a tall hat, dressed in long robes, with a sword at the waist, was visible.

“This is…”

Everyone saw this vision, all of them tense.

A figure emerging in the Heaven Mandate Domain meant the legacy was about to descend.

“Those of you who have made it here should have guessed that this Heaven Mandate Domain is a manifestation of my very being.”

A gentle voice echoed throughout the valley, clear to everyone as if exploding right beside their ears.

“I am Zhou Ji, ‘Ceremony’ is a Second-level Heavenly Destiny, and should you comprehend it, you may preside over the ceremonies of the world!”

“So it is a Second-level Heavenly Destiny!”

“A Hongyuan Tier-1 Empire’s destiny barely ever appears, Tier 2 is the pinnacle of the world!”

“Yes, gaining such a legacy would truly be skyrocketing to the heavens!”

All eyes turned red with excitement.

Who wouldn’t want to defy the heavens and change their fate after venturing here?

The Heavenly Destinies they had practiced before were mostly grade-7, and there weren’t many who reached grade-6, let alone suddenly encountering a Tier 2… It was impossible not to be excited!

“There are two ways to acquire my legacy!”

While everyone was still excited, Zhou Ji’s voice continued, “First, take down the four Bronze Tripods from the wall and comprehend the patterns on them. Second, gain my approval.”

“This…

“This Senior Zhou, he died who knows how many years ago, how can we get his approval?”

“In that case, there’s only one way, that’s to… obtain the four Bronze Tripods?”

“Correct!”

Everyone looked up again, eyes filled with greed.

If there was hesitation before about taking down the tripods, now there was absolute certainty required.

“Elder, we’ve tried many methods just now and couldn’t climb the rock wall. How can we obtain the Bronze Tripods, we beseech your guidance!”

Taking a deep breath, Emperor Shen Ling bowed and cupped his fists.

It seemed his words were heard, as the figure in the sky shook slightly, and the voice continued to spread, “The ritual requires more than just offering jade tokens, but also various spirit herbs and artifacts. With sufficient offerings, you need not search above; the Bronze Tripod will fall by itself. However, who it belongs to, who can comprehend its mysteries, will depend on your intelligence!”

“Just by performing rites, will it fall by itself?

“That’s great; does this mean everyone has a chance to get it?”

Clearly understanding the requirements, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

Having experienced the previous climbers, they were now terrified of scaling the rock wall. Given that climbing wasn’t necessary, with the tripod descending on its own, they avoided many dangers, and the outcome became unpredictable.

“Well, you have three days. If within three days no one gathers the four Bronze Tripods, nor comprehends the Heavenly Destiny of Ceremony and gains my recognition, Zhilan Valley will be sealed off, and all of you will stay here, no need to leave!”

Zhou Ji’s voice came again.

“Stay here?”

Everyone felt their scalps explode.

Unable to gather the Bronze Tripods, unable to comprehend the Heavenly Destiny, no one could leave… It seemed necessary to make an effort quickly.

Not for anything else, only to stay alive.

Buzz!

As the monologue ended, the slender figure in the sky shook slightly and disappeared, and the sky full of seven-colored Flowing Light also vanished instantly, as if it had never appeared.

Zhilan Valley once again returned to its previous quiet state, so silent you could hear a pin drop.

“Gentlemen, you must have heard Senior Zhou’s words just now. The ritual sacrifice begins now; if you have any artifacts, please offer them. After the Bronze Tripod descends, we shall discuss who it belongs to, shall we?”

Emperor Shen Ling looked around and took the lead in speaking.

“After three days, if we can’t comprehend the Heavenly Destiny of Ceremony, we’ll all die here. Since that’s the case, might as well give it our all; I support Prince Shen Ling’s decision!”

A voice shouted from among the crowd.”