Douluo: After I Traveled Through the Book, I Became the Big Sister of Shrek

On the day of the sacrificial ceremony, Wuhun City was once again a scene of great celebration with the streets deserted.

Before daybreak, the soul masters of Wuhun City spontaneously walked out of their homes and headed towards the sacrificial square located in the easternmost part of Wuhun City.

By the time the sun had fully risen, the streets were already crowded with people. There were so many people participating in the sacrificial ceremony this time that the originally wide streets were packed with people, as if the entire Wuhun Inner City had become a large can of sardines.

On the main road of Wuhun City, a team of spirit masters walked slowly in the middle of the road. There were ten spirit masters on each side, five men and five women, wearing gorgeous dresses and holding flower baskets in their hands. As they walked, they scattered the petals in the baskets on both sides of the road. Passersby were not bothered by the petals flying all over the sky, but rather let the petals fall on them happily. For them, being sprinkled with these petals meant that they would have good luck in the coming year.

Eight people were carrying an exquisite sedan chair, with translucent yarn hanging from the eaves, silk tied at the four corners, and colorful flowers on the sedan chair. This was an empty sedan chair. According to the custom of Wuhun City, this sedan chair was used to carry the "god" that everyone believed in. On the day of the sacrifice ceremony, the spirit masters of Wuhun Hall had to start from the west main gate of Wuhun City, carry the sedan chair through the entire Wuhun City, and arrive at the easternmost sacrifice square. Carrying the sedan chair into the sacrifice square was like welcoming the gods, and was an extremely important part of the sacrifice ceremony.

But today, the people carrying the sedan always felt something was wrong. The soul master at the end wiped his sweat while no one was paying attention and quietly asked his colleague in front of him: "Do you feel that this sedan seems a bit too heavy? When we carried the sedan from the Pope's Palace to the west gate before, it didn't seem so heavy."

"Stop talking nonsense. You must be hallucinating because you're tired." The colleague said, "This sedan chair was only carried to the west gate yesterday. Several of us took turns to guard it, but not even a fly could fly in. How could anything change?"

The soul master thought about it and agreed. This sedan chair was one of the most important items in the ritual. They were on duty in groups of three to look after each other. There was also a barrier around the sedan chair, and an alarm would sound if someone approached. Besides, who would have the time to tamper with this empty sedan chair?

He suddenly thought of a possibility, and said with some excitement: "You say, could it be that our Lord really appeared in this sedan chair?"

His colleagues were dissatisfied and scolded: "Hush, young man, you are so disrespectful. Every year we have to carry a sedan chair to welcome the gods. If it's not our Lord in the sedan chair, who else could it be?"

The young soul master who was carrying the sedan chair suddenly came to his senses, quickly shut his mouth, and continued to carry the sedan chair obediently.

Tang San and the others were mixed in the crowd, silently following the flow of people and slowly moving forward. Most of the people around them were ordinary civilians who were farther away from the Wuhun Inner City. From time to time, they could hear a few low conversations: "Is the Saint Girl still not coming this year?"

"No. The Saint has been in seclusion for four years. Sigh..."

"Haven't you heard?" A voice whispered to them at this time, "The Pope and the Saint are at odds. I heard that a few days ago, several sects were attacked in the middle of the night. It is said that the current Pope suspected that they were loyal to the Saint, so he deliberately ordered people to destroy them. Now the Saint is missing, and I don't know if she is still alive..."

Tang San and the others turned around and saw a familiar-looking person mixed in the crowd. After wiping their eyes and taking a closer look, they found that it was Zhang San who had changed his appearance.

Tang San:"……"

You are worthy of being called the all-round model worker of the new Spirit Hall.

The two civilians were shocked: "Don't say that! Where did you hear that?"

"This is what the disciples of the sects outside said." Zhang San looked around nervously. After confirming that no one else was paying attention to this place, he whispered to the two of them, "Think about it, is there no news about the Saint in the past two years? If the Saint was just in seclusion, why did the Pope's Palace disappear even with the wooden carvings that they used to distribute every year?"

He spoke so seriously that the two of them were stunned and actually believed it a little. They couldn't help but look at each other in surprise: "This, this..."

Having whetted the appetite of the two, Zhang San stopped talking, looked up at the front of the crowd, and left in a hurry, making the excuse that he had a friend waiting for him.

Only Tang San and a few others were left in a disheveled state.

At noon, the sedan chair procession, scattering flower petals along the street, arrived at the sacrificial square.

The area of ​​the Sacrifice Square was very large, a full third of the entire Wuhun City. An altar stood in the center of the square, almost as high as the Pope's Palace. One had to walk up hundreds of steps to reach the altar. There were already crowds of people around the central altar, and many people couldn't squeeze into the square at all, so they could only find a high place outside the square to watch.

Pope Bibi Dong and the highest elders of the Spirit Hall have already taken their places in the center of the Sacrifice Square. This time, not only them, but also VIP seats have been set up in the Sacrifice Square to entertain the distinguished guests who come to participate in the sacrifice ceremony.

Among the distinguished guests were Dai Mubai and Zhu Zhuqing, who came on behalf of the Xingluo Empire, and Xue Qinghe, the crown prince of the Tiandou Empire.

When the princes of the two countries met, there was a natural eye exchange. However, Xue Qinghe's heart did not seem to be on the Xingluo Empire. He only briefly exchanged a few professional fake smiles with Dai Mubai, then turned his head and stared at the sacrificial square intently.

"Welcome everyone to Wuhun City today and participate in the most grand festival of Wuhun City." Bibi Dong stood in front of the altar steps. With the influence of soul power, her voice could almost penetrate the entire Wuhun City. "The ceremony of worshiping the gods is a festival that Wuhun City observes every year. It is for the Wuhun Hall to remember its original intention and the grace of our Lord. Today, whether you are in the city or the guests from outside the city, it is an honor for Wuhun City to be able to witness the greatness of our Lord together."

In Wuhun City, the cheers of the believers were getting louder and louder: "May our Lord bless us and bless all living beings——"

"Long live the Pope!"

"Here comes the sedan chair for the gods—" the master of ceremonies who presided over the ceremony read aloud, "Pass the fire—"

Amid the cheers of the crowd, all the flowers in the sedan suddenly turned into bright flames. The flames were only bright, but seemed to have no temperature. The wooden sedan was still tied with silk and gauze, but there was no sign of it being set on fire. Even the silk was swaying leisurely in the flames.

This is the sacred fire used in the ritual of offering sacrifice to gods. It only has the shape of fire but no substance. It is a trick to deceive the eyes, symbolizing that the god in the sedan chair will pass on the fire of civilization to everyone.

Then came the three offerings in the sacrifice process. There was no deity in the Spirit Hall, and the sedan chair carrying the god was a substitute for the deity. The people offering sacrifices to the god needed to place different offerings on the sedan chair in turn, and then use the flame in the sedan chair to light the torch. Afterwards, the people offering sacrifices needed to hold the sacred fire, walk up the long steps to the altar, and light the brazier on the altar. The flame must not be extinguished during the process, and the sacrifice ceremony was truly over.

After offering fruits, beef, mutton and fine wine, Bibi Dong took the torch, bowed three times in front of the sedan chair, and kowtowed three times. Then she placed the top of the torch in the flame. When the top of the torch was burning, she raised her hand, bowed again, and turned to walk towards the steps.

Unexpectedly, something unexpected happened.

Bibi Dong had only taken two steps when the flame on the torch suddenly went out!