In the country of Baiyue, in the Guangyang Prefecture, within the city of Guangyang.
Just yesterday,
Li Qi stood upon an altar.
After more than eighty days, the grand ceremony was finally ready.
A day earlier, various rural shamans and elders from different villages had gone door to door to inform everyone to go to bed early to avoid disturbing the rats. They were also instructed to scatter so grains and cakes at the corners of their houses for the rats to eat, a practice known as "Rats Sharing Wealth". This act symbolized sharing the year's harvest with the rats, which could bring blessings.
Normally, such actions would never be approved by the people.
Because, during these eighty days, almost all crops in Guangyang began to wither away slowly.
Anyone could see that this year, Guangyang might face a total crop failure.
There would be no food to eat.
So, without any grain, how could they share it with the rats?
However, these days, almost every family in Guangyang who couldn't afford als received food delivered by rats.
Golden-haired and silver-haired rats, carrying unknown sources of grain, delivered it house by house.
Every household received grain brought by these rats.
At the sa ti, over a month ago, many wandering perforrs road the streets, carrying wooden boxes containing rat cages. On top of these boxes, there was a small stage made of painted wood where perforrs sang folk songs and played gongs and drums, directing the rats to perform.
The rats perford programs like "Rats Pushing the Millstone" and "Rats Swinging on a Swing" inside the boxes of these wandering perforrs, bringing laughter and joy to the audience.
Not all Jianghu people were great heroes who could kill soone every ten steps and leave no traces for a thousand miles.
True Jianghu people were mostly bottom-tier perforrs, dicine sellers, thieves, swindlers, wandering magicians, and so forth.
These people had no fixed residences or assets, surviving by wandering around and using various ans, thus calling themselves "Jianghu people", so even self-mockingly saying, "Since we're in the Jianghu world, we are all people with bitter fates".
But it was precisely these people who knew the grassroots level of society best.
Zhang Lan rallied the Jianghu forces in Guangyang, gathering nearly all the wandering perforrs, collaborating with The Rat Mound to jointly orchestrate this play.
They let the performing artists and The Rat Mound work together to transport grain from wealthy families' hos, such as the Zhang family in Guangyang.
These families hoarded enormous amounts of grain, enough to feed the entire Guangyang for over two years.
Thus, as long as the natural landscape's qi could be restored, there should be no problem enduring until next autumn's harvest.
But this year's total crop failure was certain, so it was necessary to calm the public's panic.
For this reason, Wang Baisan called on so clan elders and village elders to promote the idea of "Rats Sharing Wealth", then used various unseen tricks and rat performances to soothe their minds.
With rats continuously delivering grain to hos, influential elders promoting the notion that rats weren't scary, along with various entertainnt activities, the initial wave of grain panic was covered up.
This was Li Qi's first move.
The Rat Mound was also very willing to help because it represented their participation in the grand ceremony.
The first part of the grand ceremony benefited The Rat Mound, although the original blood sacrifice had been interrupted, causing their spiritual transformation to fail. But now, there was a chance to make up for it.
Li Qi needed their help as well.
The Rat Mound had tens of millions of small rats, tens of thousands of Rank 9, dozens of Rank 8, and Rank 7 Rat Kings. With such power, under the cooperation of the authorities, they could thoroughly reach every household.
Then, through this, they could further promote other necessities for the ceremonies.
Originally, many of Guangyang's landscape deities were dead; now, the thousands of Rank 9 rats from The Rat Mound could fill these positions, becoming new landscape deities.
In this way, The Rat Mound's path to spiritual transformation could be fully realized.
After all, The Rat Mound's goal from start to finish was only one: to transcend demonic nature and achieve spiritual transformation.
At this mont, it was their most likely chance to achieve their goal.
Therefore, both sides ca to an agreent perfectly.
Under the assistance of The Rat Mound and the Jianghu people, instructions for what rituals a particular village should perform were conveyed and executed well.
Even though Zhang Lan had killed so of their mbers before, these rats worked wholeheartedly with the Jianghu people rallied by Zhang Lan to begin conveying Li Qi's intentions.
In a small mountain village in Guangyang,
An elderly man with a white beard nodded at several rats, then turned his head and coughed twice towards the people waiting behind him: "Cough, cough, the Mountain God has spoken!"
"Listen up! Tomorrow is the day when stars descend to the mortal realm! As long as we pray, Star Lords will bless us. Withered crops cannot be revived, that's the Earth Mother's concern, beyond the Star Lords' control. However, Star Lords can grant us grain to last until next year!"
The elder's words filled the farrs and peasant won behind him with hope.
The elder tapped his cane and shouted sternly: "Listen carefully! No mistakes allowed. If anything goes wrong and the grain supply is cut off, you'll have to kneel dead in the ancestral hall!"
The farrs and peasant won nodded repeatedly but dared not speak, just nervously swallowing their saliva.
Then, the elder began explaining what should be done tomorrow.
Firstly, small lanterns must be made and lit as offerings, known as "Following the Stars" or "Star Worship".
Two divine codes for worship have been prepared: the first printed with star constellations, and the second with a large golden-haired rat. These were placed together in a paper clip holder and positioned centrally at the back of the courtyard for worship.
In front of the divine codes, oil-soaked yellow and white paper wicks should be arranged in lamps, placed in dishes about an inch in diater. Forty-nine such lamps need to be lit.
Then, cooked grains and clear tea are offered.
After dusk, stars serve as the focal point for worship. After the ceremony, when the lamps are nearly extinguished, the divine codes, incense roots, sesa stalks, and pine branches should be burned together, completing the ritual.
The farrs and peasant won didn't understand what this ritual represented, but they all rembered exactly how to perform it.
After all, it concerned their food supply for the coming year.
In reality, this ritual used human presence as an offering to harness the power of the celestial stars, channeling it into the mountain deities ford by The Rat Mound, thus enabling these deities to regulate the basic natural landscape.
As for the cooked grains offered, they rely served as carriers of human presence rather than the main sacrificial items.
This principle aligns with the saying, "Jiao Di does not exceed the size of silkworm cocoons or chestnuts; Zhen Chang does not exceed the length of a handful."
The reason for using such small offerings is that gods descend among people with essence, hence seeking completeness rather than abundance.
Sacrifices do not require vast quantities of food or livestock; they rely act as carriers, with completeness being the key, not quantity.
However, these details did not need to concern the public; Li Qi ticulously planned and distributed instructions accordingly.
Even the mountain deities didn't know why they were doing this; they simply followed Li Qi's commands.
This village was designated for Star Worship.
This area was Li County, consisting of forty-three villages, all responsible for Following the Stars, guiding the power of celestial stars.
Other counties had their own tasks.
For example, Qinghe County to the east was responsible for Guiding the Rooster.
At the easternmost part of Tianxia (Under Heaven), there is a place called Tang Valley, where the sun rises daily. In the sea stands a giant tree nad Fusang, towering imasurably high and wide.
On this tree resides a white jade rooster, the Heavenly Rooster, which crows at dawn, signaling the sun's rise. This cry prompts all earthly roosters to crow, spreading the news of sunrise far and wide, symbolizing "A single crow from the rooster lights up the world".
Besides guiding solar energy, this also regulated the grand ceremony, embodying the concept that "the rooster checks ti", marking the division between night and day for humans.
Qinghe County's role in guiding the rooster not only channeled solar energy but also ensured the proper calibration of the grand array.
Similarly, across Guangyang Prefecture's twenty-so counties, each had distinct responsibilities involving various rituals and thods, representing different forces and achieving varied effects.
The grand ceremony was assembled from millions of people in Guangyang, combining countless smaller rituals.
Li Qi exhausted his mind, consulting nurous books and borrowing many powers, finally crafting a usable set of rules for the grand ceremony.
Coordinating the schedules of millions of people, setting up thousands of rituals, ensuring no conflicts while achieving myriad effects, all culminating in reviving Guangyang's vitality.
Just imagining it reveals its complexity.
With Shen Shuibei's assistance, Li Qi spent over eighty days accomplishing what seed like a miraculous feat for him.
Millions would benefit, saving hundreds of thousands of lives, earning gratitude from thousands of landscape deities, and forging a solid alliance with The Rat Mound.
He even sensed that successfully completing this grand ceremony might elevate him directly to Rank 8.
Everything proceeded as planned.
Standing on the altar, Li Qi wore clean clothes, looking spirited yet visibly weary despite having rested.
Though physically recovered, he remained ntally drained.
Shen Shuibei had gone to sleep, likely equally tired.
Preparing for the grand ceremony was extraordinarily challenging.
Li Qi had vastly underestimated its difficulty.
Seventy percent of the work was handled by Shen Shuibei, who worked much faster than Li Qi, managing most data calculations and information coordination. Li Qi focused on designing the overall frawork.
Bo Yue also contributed, but he had his own advancent to prepare for, contributing roughly half a percent of the workload.
After leading a complete landscape array, Bo Yue had enough foundation to advance to Rank 8, thus focusing on his own preparations.
Landscape arrays were akin to Li Qi's grand ceremony, both complex systems covering an entire prefecture.
Bo Yue was luckier, inheriting a pre-established landscape array to manage and learn from, whereas Li Qi had to design everything from scratch.
People indeed differ greatly.
Despite both being disciples of Wu Deity Mountain, their fortunes differed significantly.
After extensive preparation and mobilizing vast manpower, the grand ceremony was about to comnce.
The sacrificial animals were ready, millet and sorghum presented, altars cleaned, ceremonial attire worn, and sweet wine filtered.
This comprises the one purity, two refinents, three sacrificial animals, four grains, five colors, six tones, seven affairs, eight sounds, nine sacrifices, ten days, and twelve earthly branches to bring it forth. The common people, the thousand ranks, the ten thousand officials, the hundred million masses—all are accounted for and offered up in precise asure.
The purity of one heart, the two refinents of jade and silk, the three sacrificial animals of cattle, sheep, and pigs, the grains born of the four seasons, the five colors, the six tones, the seven sacrificial affairs, the eight sounds of tal and stone, the nine thods of sacrifice, the calibrated stems and branches, and all the people and officiants.
Bright virtue illuminated the proceedings, harmonious sounds resonated, announcing the arrival of blessings.
Everything was in place.
The appointed hour arrived.
Li Qi solemnly ascended the altar.
This was a Rank 7 altar forged by Guangyang's Sīkōng, adjustable in size, capable of reaching heaven, observing earth, and connecting below.
This was what Li Qi needed to do now.
It was a hundred tis grander than the river-opening ceremony!
A grand ceremony mobilizing millions of people!
At this mont, ceremonies akin to 'first call, second call' numbered in the tens of thousands, spanning all of Guangyang!
Connecting heaven, harmonizing humanity, soothing the earth.
Across Guangyang, he stood at the center.
He was the bridge between heaven, earth, humanity, deities, and spirits.
All energies flowed through his altar, and as a fair and dignified Wu Zhu, he maintained justice and righteousness, ensuring balance persisted.
With all of Guangyang's support, he beca sothing nobler than the gods themselves.
The altar towered high, watched by countless eyes in Guangyang. knowing a grand ceremony was underway, everyone paid attention.
His presence exuded dignity, akin to a thousand chariots' worth of honor, surrounded by wealth beyond asure.
Yet, these descriptions fell short of capturing Li Qi's current state.
He appeared endowed with extraordinary wisdom, his surging power causing the altar to tremble impressively!
Le Ya, as guardian, stood atop a nearby building, watching Li Qi.
A thought crossed his mind:
"In ancient tis, those pure and undivided souls, able to maintain solemnity and integrity, whose intelligence matched heavenly anings, whose wisdom shone brightly, whose clarity illuminated, whose hearing perceived deeply—such beings attracted divine spirits."
"Those possessing propriety, dignity, loyalty, and sincerity were chosen as 'Wu Zhu'."
This was true Wu, true Wu Zhu.
Such majesty, such grandeur.
Only soone like this deserved the title of Wu Deity Mountain's disciple.
This Rank 5 Wu of Wu Deity Mountain sighed.
What a pity.
If nothing went wrong, Young Master Qi should ascend to Rank 8.
Of course, assuming nothing went awry.
Thinking this, he flew up, reinforcing defenses around Guangyang City.
Though already prepared, he wished to add more layers.
Every bit counted.
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