Nightfall

Perhaps it was because the invisible massive array being broken in by this sword, there came a tender breeze in the front yard, lifting a few autumn leaves.

One piece of leaf felt on the blade of that sword. But it was not split for the sword was calm and peaceful. The leaf bounced up a bit and fell onto the ground again.

It was an unsettling sort of calm.

Everyone had since realized who this sword belonged to. No one but Liu Bai would have dared to barge in and accomplish it in such a short instant.

Inside the sacred sedan with radiance of lights, the Hierarch leaned forward.

He felt irritated. This was because Liu Bai’s sword was pointing towards the Divine Hall of Light, even if it meant no offense nor respect. Moreover, that sword had shown up later than himself.

This implied that Liu Bai saw himself above the Hierarch.

He was the Hierarch of the Divine Halls of West-Hill. By placing himself above the Hierarch, Liu Bai was placing himself above all of humanity.

…

The Hierarch was seriously wounded by the Twenty-Three-year Cicada in the back mountain of the Academy. He was blinded, his arms were broken, and his Ocean of Qi destroyed. It took him a lot to get back to the Peach Mountain. He thought he was destroyed, and dared not to come out of the radiating lights because of his fear. But no one could have expected that Haotian would come to the human world.

Since the moment he began following Haotian, he had regained his faith and courage which he lost decades ago. Haotian had already punished Zhishou Abbey in his rage. And thus, the Hierarch became the only one who represented Haotian in the human world. As long as he stayed in the Peach Mountain, he would be undefeatable. No one could defeat him, not even Liu Bai. The Drunkard and the Butcher would not dare to show him any disrespect either.

Therefore, he did not try to hide his anger toward this invasive sword. Yet, despite his resentment, the sword just hovered there calmly without even the slightest reaction.

Out of the five guest ministers in the Divine Halls of West-Hill, Xiahou was gone. The Sage of Calligraphy was already in seclusion. Liu Bai was still the most respected guest minister. His sword was enough to represent his presence, and this was already showing respect to the Rite to Light. Therefore, even the Hierarch could not do anything about it.

The head of Revelation Institute was standing by the Hierarch’s sacred sedan. He was in charge of the agenda of the day. Since the Hierarch did not give further instructions, he announced the official debut of the ceremony.

Sacred music resounded from around the Peach Mountain, resonating in the front yard and was heard by all the participants. The Qi of Heaven and Earth echoed with the music, and along with it arose a warm breeze that replaced the chilling autumn wind.

The peach buds in the valley bloomed in full and their petals were lifted by the breeze. They drifted down the Peach Mountain and gathered above the front yard, dancing in the breeze.

Tons of peach petals sent forth a mystic fragrance. It was not a regular scent of peach blossoms but was stronger than any earthly fragrance and sweeter than any sugar. It was not too overwhelming, just like a refreshing fresh breeze after the rain.

Tens of thousands of followers looked up to the dancing peach petals, enjoying the dazzling beauty and the refreshing fragrance.

They had passed strict exams and traveled a long way to come to the Rite to Light. They were the most devout followers on earth. Based on some very simple logic, devoutness always came from suffering. Therefore, most of them had experienced a lot of sufferings, and many were seriously ill or even dying, carried all the way to the West-Hill by their families.

When the mystic fragrance came, the ill or disabled felt sudden relief, as though they were liberated from any negative energy or sufferings they had undergone. They were refreshed and even seemed to see the sacred kingdom of Haotian through that fragrance.

The lame threw away their crutches, kneeled with trembling hands and prostrated towards the Peach Mountain. Those previously lying on stretchers struggled to get on their feet and prostrated despite of the objection from their families.

Although it was autumn, the front yard of Peach Mountain was as warm as spring with countless peach blossoms dancing in the breeze and spreading their charming fragrance. All of a sudden, the breeze disappeared, and peach blossoms fell toward the ground.

The falling peach blossoms turned into a rain of petals.

Tens of thousands of followers kneeled in the rain of petals. Those petals fell on their bodies, changed into soft beams of lights, penetrated through their clothes and skins, melted into their blood and disappeared.

The lame no longer felt any pain from their crippled legs. The festered wounds became clean and new flesh grew back with healthy skin.

Those seriously ill were recovering. Their pale cheeks became pinkish. The diseases they suffered from for years were washed away by the rain of petals.

Those healthy, because of their devoutness, had received profound blessing. Black hair grew on the heads of the elderly. The youth felt never stronger. Women acquired younger skin. A few young women even found their dark skin became fairer, as if they had put on expensive cosmetics.

In the front yard of Peach Mountain, tens of thousands of followers burst into tears, crying and screaming for the blessing they’ve received.

The Rite to Light had always been the grandest ceremony in Taoism. It was the time when Haotian revealed his divine magic. The tons of followers in the front yard of Peach Mountain had no doubt in this. But those delegates from various kingdoms were not so sure. After all, those were only legends described in the scriptures. However, after seeing what happened right in front of their eyes, they did not dare to have any further doubts. The falling peach blossoms, the recovering ill people, the healthy blessed… if those were not miracles, what else should they be?

The divine priests and deacons of West-Hill had been on their knees for a long time. Not long later, so did the national master of Golden Tribe, General Bule, and all the other delegates and independent cultivators.

Although Qi Nian from the Xuankong Temple and Monk Guanhai from the Lanke Temple were still standing there because of their different religions, they were no less stunned by the sacred magic they just witnessed. They put their palms together devoutly and bowed towards the merciful Haotian.

The hanging sword also lowered its tip towards the Divine Hall of Light.

…

When the crying and screaming gradually came to an end, and following a series of complicated procedures, it was finally time for the most important part of the Rite to Light.

The offering to the Heaven.

There were numerous temples and abbeys around the world providing offerings to the Heavens every day. Not to mention a place sacred as the Divine Halls of West-Hill. They had become very proficient with the rituals. But there had to be something unique for such a grand occasion as the Rite to Light. The white stone altar right in the center of the front yard was the proof.

Moreover, the offerings picked for the Rite to Light had to be extraordinary.

Various extremely rare treasures were piled up around the white stone altar offered by delegates and independent cultivators from all over the world, including two unique ingredients for Heavenly Power Pills. Haotian’s followers had made great efforts for this rite. However, those were still too shabby compared with the most important offering for the day, a human sacrifice.

That human being could not be a commoner for sure. He was born to be a genius of genius, with the purest and noblest legacy from Taoism. He grew up studying in an unknown place, went to the City of Chang’an and followed the Headmaster of the Academy. He was the youngest among all those who had reached the Knowing Destiny State. As for the Heavenly Power Pills, he had even tried some of it. He was Chen Pipi, the only person who belonged to both Taoism and the Academy.

On a warm autumn day, it felt cozy around the white stone altar. Yet when the altar opened, an extreme coldness coming from underground almost froze the entire altar. After all, the bottom of the altar led directly to the Secluded Pavilion.

When the altar closed again, Chen Pipi was brought out by two divine guards. He still wore his uniform from the Academy. It was unclear if it was of his own will or deliberately arranged by the Divine Halls. He was not restricted by any spells, nor chains. Not even handcuffs.

They did not worry about him running away. Although he was not restricted by any spells, he was interdicted by Haotian. No one could escape from that.

Around the white stone altar, there were delegates and cultivators from all over the world, among whom only a few had met Chen Pipi before. But due to the information deliberately spreaded by the Divine Halls, they all knew that he was the twelfth disciple of the Academy, and the son of the Abbey Dean of Zhishou Abbey.

No one spoke. Some did not know what to say, but most of them did not dare. The Divine Halls had chosen Chen Pipi to be the offering for the rite. This meant there was finally some significant changes within the Haotian Taoism, which implicated that the Heaven was disappointed, especially by the Zhishou Abbey. It was also a cruel punishment to the Academy.

They were quiet and serious because they all knew that this occasion was not only a rite to Haotian, but a trap for the Academy as well. No one from the Academy was present so far. But they would come for sure. Even knowing that it was a trap, they had no choice but to step into the trap. Because they were the Academy.

Although there had been the rain of peach petals, Haotian’s blessing and sacred happiness, everyone knew that they would not last forever. The moment someone from the Academy arrived at the scene, a most horrifying battle would begin. No one knew how many people would die then.

…