Today’s breakfast—Dragon Eye Salad, Dragon Beard Candy, Dragon Beard Noodles, and Pouched Dragon Egg.
Although most of these dishes only had the word “dragon” in their names, and the so-called Pouched Dragon Egg was actually just a snake egg, Jiang Ke’er insisted on naming everything after dragons…
Somehow, it seemed to put her mind at ease.
The rest of the Demon Race, not knowing the truth, felt that today’s breakfast was truly grand—practically a full dragon feast.
With stomachs full and hearts brimming with praise, the members of the Revival Society set off on their way—having a chef and nutritionist like Jiang Ke’er made every day’s tasks feel invigorating and full of anticipation!
“Qing Yi’s cooking is simply amazing! Hic,” Jie Shui said, hiccupping as he gave Jiang Ke’er a thumbs up.
“You’ll definitely become a super competent virtuous wife and loving mother one day!”
A virtuous wife and loving mother?!
A direct hit! The effect was overwhelming!
“…You can forget about lunch.” Jiang Ke’er sneered.
“Eh, eh, eh, why?!” Jie Shui was almost frightened to tears.
Jiang Ke’er didn’t bother to explain.
Qiao Xiaoxian covered her mouth and laughed softly, but the look she gave Jiang Ke’er was tinged with reluctance.
After yesterday’s chaos, there were no more rampaging Void Beasts today.
The team proceeded smoothly to their destination, unloading goods at each of the three villages.
During this time, Jiang Ke’er noticed that the houses in all three villages had been dismantled and spread out, forming a mysterious scene.
It turned out that the roofs and walls of these houses were movable, made of special materials and easy to disassemble.
Once reassembled, the houses formed a formation Jiang Ke’er had never seen before.
Standing at a high vantage point, she tried to identify it and concluded—it was the Communicating with the Underworld Ritual Formation.
The Communicating with the Underworld Ritual Formation was composed of all the buildings in the three villages.
Although there were over ten kilometers between the villages, together they faintly formed an immensely grand formation.
“What a bold feat,” Changsun Qingyue exclaimed, “I’ve never even seen such a complex ancient sacrificial formation in any ancient texts. These three villages must have quite a background.”
“These are the remnants of the Mingzhou Clan.” Qiao Xiaoxian, for once, spoke at length, explaining, “And this isn’t a formation from Shenzhou.”
Changsun Qingyue’s heart trembled, startled by the words “Mingzhou Clan.”
Mingzhou, the legendary realm of the dead… Could it really exist?
“So you’ve finally arrived,” Ming Ling stood at the village entrance, looking around.
She had clearly been waiting for a long time.
The wind whistled, and Sandao Village was already adorned with white sails.
All the villagers were dressed in white robes resembling mourning clothes, gathering around the village square.
The atmosphere was solemn, making Jiang Ke’er afraid to speak loudly.
“You all should put on the sacrificial robes as well,” Ming Ling handed over well-fitted white robes, motioning for the Revival Society members to board the boat.
“Is it really appropriate for us to take part in your village’s festival?” Changsun Qingyue was a bit uneasy.
It wasn’t just a matter of appropriateness—she was also afraid of getting involved in trouble.
Such an obviously eerie sacrificial event—outsiders joining in without invitation could end up badly.
She’d heard stories of remote villages using outsiders for live sacrifices, and those stories were far from rare.
In the cultivation world, for the sake of a tiny bit of cultivation benefit, people would do anything.
That’s why the Demon Race had to live in constant fear… If they were as useless to humans as some animals, perhaps they wouldn’t have to worry so much.
Jiang Ke’er had read plenty of cultivation novels, so she was well aware of how terrifying the cultivation world could be.
If you saw things from a human protagonist’s perspective—hunting monsters, killing demons, taking Soul Cores to refine pills, and watching the main character get rich and level up by slaying monsters—it all seemed exciting.
Only when you were the monster did you realize how messed up that was.
So Jiang Ke’er was also extremely cautious, agreeing with Changsun Qingyue’s suspicions and maintaining a wary attitude toward the festival of the three villages—after all, it did seem rather sinister.
“Don’t worry,” it was Qiao Xiaoxian who spoke up at this moment, “The Connecting with the Underworld Formation only serves to strengthen the participants’ souls. In ancient times, this was a ritual used by the Mingzhou Clan to fortify their souls.”
Ming Ling was stunned for a moment, then admitted frankly, “I didn’t expect someone here to be so knowledgeable, able to recognize such an ancient formation.”
She decided to explain further, “That’s right. In the age before the Six Paths collapsed, every year the Mingzhou Clan had to select several Lunhui Envoys, responsible for guiding the souls of the dead into Mingzhou. These Lunhui Envoys needed to possess powerful souls, to deal with the vengeful and stubborn spirits unwilling to reincarnate…”
“…For this, Her Highness the first Queen of the Earth created the Connecting with the Underworld Formation. It could draw the scattered consciousness of all living beings throughout Mingzhou to strengthen the souls of the Lunhui Envoys,” Ming Ling sighed, “Although Mingzhou and the Lunhui Envoys no longer exist, the formation remains. It also serves as a ritual to honor our ancestors, so we still perform the ceremony every year…”
“You really are the Mingzhou Clan?” Changsun Qingyue exclaimed, “Then, aren’t you… death gods?!”
“Back before Mingzhou collapsed, the other eight provinces did call us that,” Ming Ling smiled, “But that’s all in the past now. All things have their end, Mingzhou included… One day, even the Lunhui Envoys must enter the great cycle of Reincarnation. Being called death gods isn’t such a big deal.”
Though she spoke with such detachment, there was still a bitter smile on Ming Ling’s lips.
With Mingzhou’s collapse, what death gods were they now? Just a group of pitiful souls with no home to return to.
Because of the changing environment, even their cultivation could only reach the Three Talents Stage at best.
They had no choice but to hide in the Realm of Novice Cultivator, barely managing to avoid extinction.
“Why did it collapse?” Jiang Ke’er asked, “What happened to Mingzhou?”
Jiang Ke’er had long been curious about the events of ancient times.
Though those days seemed far removed and unrelated to her, the traces of the ancient catastrophe always appeared in the events she experienced.
The decline of the Demon Race, the collapse of the Nine Provinces, the loss of the Nine Cauldrons.
“I don’t know,” Ming Ling sighed, clutching the hem of her robe, “The elders of those days couldn’t withstand the erosion of time and have long since passed away. All that’s left are scattered legends passed down by word of mouth—supposedly, it all happened in a single night.”
“The Lord of the Earth died in battle, the Underworld Province Cauldron went missing. Then the Mingzhou dragon veins were all severed, the fortune dissipated, and the entire Mingzhou fell apart. The clansmen had to flee to other realms in a hurry, never to be heard from again.”
“But those are all stories of the distant past, and have nothing to do with the present,” Ming Ling changed the subject, “Let’s not talk about what’s gone. Let’s all get ready for the ritual.”
“Yes, yes.” Everyone hurried to agree, unwilling to reopen the wounds of the Mingzhou Clan.
But Jiang Ke’er didn’t notice that, as she walked within the formation, the Underworld Province Cauldron in her inventory began to emit a faint, ghostly blue light.
The Connecting with the Underworld Formation was far more than just a formation for creating Lunhui Envoys.
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