Chapter 1234: Chapter 1233: The Strange Sapling

Hearing this, Lu Yang secretly transmitted a message to Meng Jingzhou, "That said, Old Meng, if you shed some blood, could you also attract a large group of ghosts to work for you?"

Moreover, the ghosts that would be attracted are King of Ghosts, the lower-level ones wouldn’t even have the life to drink Old Meng’s blood.

Meng Jingzhou rolled his eyes, "If only the King of Ghosts could outcompete the Vast Sea Ancestral Master."

Meng Jingzhou felt that the happiest person about his ascension to the Transcendence Tribulation Stage was his own ancestor, the second happiest was undoubtedly the Vast Sea Ancestral Master.

Mu Baiyi led everyone into the core area of Fengdu City, and Lu Yang noticed that Fengdu City had not only ghosts but also many people who seemed to be followers of the Jiuyou Sect.

That made sense, establishing Fengdu was a major event, so naturally, the Fengdu Festival was an occasion where all Jiuyou Sect members would gather.

Lu Yang guessed correctly; today was a big day for the Jiuyou Sect. All the barbecue shops had been closed for days, all rushing here in advance, with Lu Yang and his group being the last batch to enter Fengdu.

"Are these bricks also moved from the Great Qian Ancient City?" Meng Jingzhou stomped his feet a couple of times, feeling that these bricks and the city walls weren’t from the same era.

"No, only the city walls of the Great Qian Ancient City are usable. The quality of the stone bricks isn’t good enough to be used."

"Then where did these floor tiles come from?"

"I asked the people from the Heavenly Strategy Sect to calculate where there could be a large number of very old bricks. They came up with a general location, and after we dug around, we discovered an ancient capital city from the Great Yu Dynasty and moved all the bricks here."

Meng Jingzhou: "..."

Why does it sound like your Fengdu is put together with bits and pieces from everywhere?

"Speaking of which, your sect believes in reincarnation. In ancient times, the Underworld was indeed the land of reincarnation. Does Fengdu have the function of reincarnation as well?" Lu Yang asked.

Chi Sect Leader and Liu Zhen perked up their ears, they too were very interested in the reincarnation preached by the Jiuyou Sect.

They had also heard from the Jiuyou Sect that the previous sect leader Qin Haoran was a person of reincarnation. At first, they didn’t really believe it, but just now when Young Sect Master Lu mentioned that the manuscript left by Qin Haoran depicted the exact image of the Underworld from ancient years, this matter became very intriguing.

The affairs of the Fire Dynasty should be known to no one, how did Qin Haoran know about it?

Mu Baiyi shook his head gently, "Young Sect Master Lu and Dragon Saint have overestimated us. Currently, Fengdu City is only being used as a residence for ghosts. Although we have built Fengdu strictly following the manuscript left by the former Sect Leader, establishing the Three-Life Stone, Yellow Springs Road, and other places, they are merely replicas without the function of reincarnation."

"However, we believe that as long as our faith is strong enough, one day Fengdu will become the land of reincarnation!"

Lu Yang actually wanted to say don’t get your hopes up too high. Even the Underworld of the Fire Dynasty didn’t have the function of reincarnation, and in ten thousand years, only Li Hao became a person of reincarnation.

Thinking about it, he decided not to voice this thought; it’s not easy for them to build a Fengdu after all, so better not to discourage them.

Lu Yang thought the number of ghosts upon first entering the city was already plenty, but it wasn’t until they arrived at the heart of Fengdu City that they really understood what a mountain and sea of ghosts meant.

They even saw the true forms of the few figures from the space crack a few days ago; they were all ghosts.

So, it couldn’t be said that Man Gu made a wrong judgment; there really were ghost disturbances in Quyi County.

"Here is the sacrificial altar."

Many people and ghosts surrounded the altar, and upon seeing Mu Baiyi and the others coming over, they consciously made way.

The altar was circular and had four levels, corresponding to heaven, earth, humans, and ghosts. It was pure white, the only white in Fengdu, and very eye-catching.

"Please take your seats."

Lu Yang, Meng Jingzhou, Chi Sect Leader, and Liu Zhen, being at the Transcendence Tribulation Stage, sat in the front row, with the high-level members of the Jiuyou Sect beginning from the second row.

"Sect Leader Mu, why is there a tree in the middle of the altar?" Lu Yang asked, puzzled.

In the middle of the altar was a circular hollow, growing a sapling over two people tall, with branches holding something unknown, tightly wrapped by leaves.

Lu Yang had seen many spirit trees in the Medicine Garden, but none that matched this sapling.

"Old Meng, do you recognize this tree?"

Meng Jingzhou was also wondering what the Jiuyou Sect was up to, "I don’t recognize it."

"Fairy, do you recognize it?"

Fairy Eternity frowned slightly, "Strange, Immortal has not seen such a thing before."

Mu Baiyi explained, "Actually, we don’t know what it is either."

"It didn’t exist when the altar was first established. Suddenly one day, a subordinate came to report that the altar had been shattered by a sapling."

"At that time, I was very surprised. The altar was made of flawless jade, which is extremely hard. We had a tough time just processing the jade stones. How could a sapling shatter it?"

"When I went to see for myself, it was indeed the case. The altar was cracked into pieces, and a never-before-seen sapling was growing."

"I asked around, but no one knew the origin of the sapling."

"Considering the sapling was quite peculiar, I didn’t dare to pull it out. Instead, I had to find another place to build the altar. But then the sapling moved locations and shattered the new altar again."

"By the third time I was rebuilding the altar, I watched the sapling day and night. I noticed that the sapling would gradually become illusory, and then a phantom of it would appear inside the altar nearby."

"When the sapling on my side completely vanished, a real sapling would appear inside the altar and then explode, shattering the altar."

"Having no alternative, I had to order a hole to be dug in the center of the altar to allow the sapling to grow. Now, it’s grown this tall."

After listening, Lu Yang was still thoroughly confused. What in the world was this sapling?

"Are those hanging from the branches fruits?"

Mu Baiyi still shook his head, "I don’t know."

The appearance of the sapling didn’t interfere with the completion of the Fengdu Festival celebration. The believers simply took the sapling planted here as having some kind of symbolism.

As the ceremony’s host, Mu Baiyi put on a black ceremonial robe and ascended the altar.

Seeing Mu Baiyi take the stage, the members of the Jiuyou Sect all fell silent simultaneously, looking up at Mu Baiyi with devout and clear eyes.

Mu Baiyi’s expression solemn, he took out the willow branch that was inserted in the jade vase and placed it in the four cardinal directions - east, west, south, and north.

The willow branch symbolized rebirth, and the four directions represented the world. The essence of reincarnation is rebirth, and the act symbolized Fengdu as the reincarnation land for the entire world, the starting point of new life.

Then, with one hand holding the ritual sword and the other the jade ring, he struck them together, producing a clear sound, all the while reciting ancient blessing words in the Ancient Language.

Lu Yang, even when translating it into modern language, still couldn’t understand what Sect Leader Mu was saying.

As Sect Leader Mu reached the midpoint of his recitation, those below started to chant along, accompanied by ancient ceremonial music.

"Lucky day, propitious hour, joyfully celebrate Jiuyou..."

The entire Fengdu City was enveloped in a solemn and majestic atmosphere, as if in resonance with heaven and earth, the space itself trembling.

Lu Yang was gradually moved by this atmosphere, and settled down to experience the process.

At the top of the sapling, the leaves unfurled and revealed a glimpse of the true nature of what was enveloped inside.

It was a fruit so illusory that it was nearly transparent, fantastic and bizarre, as if it should not exist in this world.

Witnessing this scene, Lu Yang’s pupils contracted sharply. The altar was in the center of Fengdu City, the focal point of all the believers’ attachments; in other words, it was where the Power of Faith was most abundant. The fact that the sapling only grew on the altar implied that its existence was inextricably linked to the Power of Faith!

Now, as the festival officially began, the fruit on the sapling grew at a speed visible to the naked eye.

Could it be that this thing is...

Just as Lu Yang reached this point, an untimely laughter echoed overhead, interrupting the festival proceedings, and with the laughter, the ghostly flames in the sky above Fengdu City one-by-one extinguished.

"Jiuyou Sect, you do have some skill. You’ve actually managed to create the outline of the Reincarnation Dao Fruit!"