Walking the Ten Thousand Daos

Chapter 75: The True Master

It was broad daylight, the sun shining brightly, and abundant vitality filled the surroundings, emanating a warm spring atmosphere.

Yet, as Li Qi intently scanned his surroundings, he felt a distinct chill.

Within this vibrant burst of life, a certain shadow had begun to gather.

Its momentum was like a giant wave, towering over stacked mountains and obstacles, surging fiercely forward.

Li Qi stood by the altar, holding the Jue.

Then, as if a dragon were drawing water, the liquor in the Jue began to swirl, then transformed into a thin thread, silently flying into the air and vanishing.

It was as if it had been disassembled.

After that, someone began to move chopsticks over the sacrificial stands arranged on the ground altar.

Invisible to the naked eye, Li Qi could perceive it through 'qi': a spherical, chaotic, formless, peculiar entity.

This... this was a ghost?Li Qi continued the sacrificial ritual. After witnessing this, he sat down, took the chopped meat with his right hand, dipped it in meat paste, and performed the offering between the two ritual vessels. The assistant offered millet, panicled millet, and sliced lungs to the 'Shi'.

«The taste is quite delicious.» A voice whispered in Li Qi’s ear.

Even the ambient temperature dropped considerably.

Li Qi did not reply. He knew this was only a part of the sacrificial ritual. He then moved the bowls closer, placing the bowl of millet on the mat, and set the taigeng meat broth north of the meat paste, offering the lung and spine to the 'Shi'.

At this moment, the host, Wang Yuanwai, continuously kowtowed from a distance.

This was what Li Qi had instructed at the very beginning, because according to ritual, the host was now required to bow to the 'Shi' and then offer sacrificial animals to the 'Shi'.

The 'Shi' took rice three more times, signaling to the host that it was full.

The Zhu Ren urged the 'Shi' to eat again, and offered the hind leg bone of a pig, the hind leg bone of a beast, and a fish to the 'Shi'. The ritual was the same as before.

The 'Shi' took rice three more times, signaling to the host that it was full, and the Zhu Ren again urged the 'Shi' to eat more, as before.

Li Qi trembled with trepidation as he meticulously followed the ritual procedures.

Because he knew that while the 'Shi' represented the deceased, it was also not entirely the deceased.

Here, the meaning of 'Shi' was the person who represented the deceased during the sacrificial ritual.

After a person died, their body was used as the divine host. As the saying goes, «The deceased is the end; the 'Shi' is the master, hence 'ultimate master'.»

The 'Shi' currently receiving the offerings was, in reality, a unified entity—the sacrificial ritual, the Zhu Ren, and the ghost itself—appearing as a 'ghostly deity' representing the attitudes of all three parties.

If the sacrificial ritual was successfully completed, then it meant the Zhu Ren had successfully communicated with that particular ghost.

Wang Yuanwai continued kowtowing on the side, his hair standing on end, almost wetting himself.

Because he had personally witnessed, in broad daylight, some unknown entity drinking and feasting with the Zhu Ren.

The ambient temperature had dropped, and even the surrounding vegetation looked somewhat wilted.

The terrifying entity that had brought ruin to his family was right before him.

The intense fear made Wang Yuanwai almost burst into tears.

However, the Zhu Ren had repeatedly warned him earlier to follow instructions. Now, all he had to do was stand obediently after finishing his kowtows. If he messed up the sacrificial ritual...

Then he could just wait for death.

So, even though tears streamed down his face and his legs trembled like a sieve, he kept his legs clamped shut, preventing himself from urinating, while standing perfectly still.

Although Li Qi wasn't as frightened, he remained vigilant.

He fully concentrated on completing the sacrificial ritual until, two quarters of an hour later, all the complex rites concluded.

It was the final part of the sacrificial ritual.

The Zhu Ren removed the host's sacrificial stands, ritual vessels, and bamboo vessels, relocating them below the eastern steps. Then, the Zhu Ren took his own sacrificial stand, left the altar, and stood facing east, to the west of the altar.

The 'Shi' rose, drank, emptied the Jue of wine in one gulp, and set it down.

Li Qi descended from the dais. At this point, the Zhu Ren needed to announce to the host: «The ritual is complete.»

Li Qi followed suit, walking solemnly towards the host, Wang Yuanwai.

This time, Wang Yuanwai couldn't hold it; he actually urinated.

Because this step involved the 'Shi' rising after eating, and the Zhu Ren guiding it before it, leading towards the host.

Wang Yuanwai watched this scene, ultimately unable to contain himself, nearly stumbling to the ground, his face as white as paper.

But though he managed to stay upright, he couldn't control his lower half.

If only... if only he hadn't drunk soup during breakfast this morning...

However, he had to hold on now.

Li Qi walked to Wang Yuanwai, his expression solemn.

It was already the very end; he couldn't let all his efforts go to waste now.

The closer to the end, the more cautious he needed to be.

«The ritual is finished. Please, host, escort the 'Shi'.» Li Qi said.

Wang Yuanwai stood frozen, unmoving.

Li Qi, exasperated, channeled his inner qi, exhaling sharply forward and glaring at him.

The qi exhaled after being channeled was like a slap, striking Wang Yuanwai's face with a 'pah', finally bringing the terrified man back to his senses.

Wang Yuanwai scrambled, half-crawling, half-stumbling, to kneel before the 'Shi', performing two bows.

After receiving two bows from the host, the 'Shi' then bowed to the Zhu Ren.

After bowing, the 'Shi' magically produced a Jue of wine from thin air.

This was half of the wine that the 'Shi' had just consumed.

Li Qi solemnly accepted it and drank it down in one gulp.

At the same time, Li Qi's vision went dark.

The sacrificial ritual was complete; he had received an «invitation».

An invitation from the 'Shi'.

Darkness enveloped his vision, and Li Qi felt his spirit-soul being drawn by a certain power.

He knew the main event had arrived.

According to Li Qi's own understanding, the sacrificial ritual was, in essence, a method for communicating with ghosts and deities. Through these means, meticulously developed by ancestors, one could achieve truly astonishing feats.

For example, it was like a chemistry experiment: throwing different substances in according to a sequence, performing some peculiar operations, such as cleaning test tubes, screwing on bottle caps, loading solutions, and so on.

These experimental sequences were similar to the various key points within the «sacrificial ritual».

The only difference was that he didn't understand the underlying principles behind these rites, so he could only follow them blindly.

When his cultivation level was higher, perhaps he would be able to analyze the underlying principles himself.

Getting to the point, through the sacrificial ritual, the Zhu Ren, and the ghost itself—these three jointly formed the 'Shi' to receive the offerings. The existence of the 'Shi' represented the coordination and balance of these three parties.

If the sacrificial ritual went wrong, or if the Zhu Ren was unwilling, or if the ghost was unwilling, any one of these issues would lead to the collapse of the 'Shi' and a failure of communication.

But if the sacrificial ritual was completed, it meant that, through the channel of the sacrifice, the ghost and the Zhu Ren could begin to communicate.

Drinking the wine expelled by the 'Shi' at this moment was proof that the Zhu Ren had accepted the communication.

Thus, after drinking that Jue of wine, Li Qi's spirit-soul was immediately pulled by the sacrificial ritual, and at the same time, the ghost's spirit-soul was also pulled!

The two of them would communicate within the special environment constructed by the sacrificial ritual!

This was the Zhu Ren's most renowned ability.

That is, using sacrificial rituals as a means to communicate with Celestial Gods, Earth Gods, and human ghosts!

When light finally appeared before Li Qi's eyes, he realized he had arrived in a peculiar black space. Around him, candles lit during the earlier sacrificial ritual illuminated the darkness.

Before him, there was a mass of chaotic, formless qi!

(End of Chapter)