Naturally, he was delighted all the way back to the Offering House. After he exchanged places with his physical avatar, Bai Qiuran lay down on the bed and fell asleep, without a word throughout the night. When the first light of dawn touched the sky, two ceremonial attendants from the Shangxuan Kingdom walked in, leading him to the grand courtyard of the Offering House.
Sima Yingbo, without responding, pushed Bai Qiuran to the designated spot to stand. A visible mist of blood surged from the crack of the royal tomb, followed by a wild laughter. A figure dressed in a yellow robe of Shangxuan stepped out from the royal tomb. But no one paid her any attention. Tang Ruowei looked left and right and noticed that her father, the national master, her younger brother, as well as the generals, soldiers, and officials beneath the platform all wore dazed expressions.
Ignoring Tang Ruowei, Sima Yingbo, along with several attendants, bowed to the royal tomb and said, "We humbly request, Master, to emerge from the tomb!"
"Indeed, my child," replied a voice. Two hundred young boys and girls formed a strange shape in front of the altar under the guidance of the first-ranked attendant Sima Yingbo, precisely aligning with a formation of the Blood God Sect used by demon cultivators. He squinted his eyes and, noticing several attendants looking at him, composed his expression, focusing intently on the commencement of the heavenly ritual.
At the prepared altar, the national master lit three sticks of incense, and the thin blue smoke wafted gently. The emperor of Shangxuan then turned to face the officials and all generals gathered below the altar. In the yard were many other children; Bai Qiuran counted—one hundred boys and one hundred girls, totaling two hundred children.
"Wait!" Tang Ruowei exclaimed, but Sima Yingbo did not address her. He simply led the attendants to bow again and requested the master to emerge from the tomb. Bai Qiuran pretended to comply, standing obediently in place, then turned his head, a cold smile emerging on his face.
"Ancestral Sect."
"You!" He was at a loss as to where the officials had found so many children, but he could only conclude that under the pressure of the emperor and the national master, these people, usually idle, had indeed demonstrated commendable efficiency.
Having made the way back to the Offering House, upon exchanging with his physical avatar, Bai Qiuran lay in bed and fell asleep without a word. The next morning, as dawn broke, two attendants from the Shangxuan Kingdom entered and took him to the grand courtyard of the Offering House. Unbeknownst to him, among the two hundred children below, one little boy smiled brighter than he did.
"Now, the heavenly ritual begins. I declare..." Not only was there anticipation, but there were also concealed formations designed to restrain these children from moving around.
"Wait!" Sima Yingbo led several attendants to bow before the royal tomb, exclaiming, "We humbly request, Master, to emerge from the tomb!"
Bai Qiuran continued to act obediently and stood in place, turning his head, then revealing a cold smile on his face.
A visible mist of blood surged from the split of the royal tomb, followed by a round of frenetic laughter. A figure donned in the yellow robe of Shangxuan stepped out from the royal tomb. Sima Yingbo, without paying attention to anything, pushed Bai Qiuran to the ordered position to stand still.
Tang Ruowei, in shock and anger, exclaimed, "What is going on here?" As the Princess of Changhe, she was beside her younger brother, the crown prince of Shangxuan, as they followed the emperor and the national master under Sima Yingbo's guidance, making their way toward the royal tomb.
The youth wearing a cold smile walked out of the blood mist toward the attendants.
"You!" Bai Qiuran continued to interrogate, "Did the emperor or the national master say something?"
Throughout the arrangement, he had been observing Sima Yingbo's demeanor. When he noticed signs of control were absent, Bai Qiuran felt reassured.
“Everyone, take the blood of two hundred children to humbly request the ancestors to rise from the tomb!" Suddenly, the emperor of Shangxuan spoke in an eerie pause, followed by another proclamation.
“Is the matter right or wrong?”
Sima Yingbo’s expression seemed to flicker slightly, and then he revealed a friendly smile, stroking Bai Qiuran’s head while laughing, "I don’t know. It is just a method passed down from above; we have to listen to their words."
Looking up with an innocent face, Bai Qiuran asked, "Uncle Attendant, why do we stand like this? I see the other uncles are arranged two rows by the roadside?"
"Wait!" But again, no one seemed to pay attention to him, as all gathered stood in a trance.
"Then, of course, let Uncle listen as well?" he furrowed his brows with confusion.
Chuckling softly to himself, Bai Qiuran whispered, “I finally caught you, you deviants.”
As the dark clouds swept in, blocking much of the sunshine, the atmosphere turned gloomy, but the emperor and national master remained undisturbed, continuing their ritual.
Opening his eyes wide, he bit his lips tightly. In the yard filled with children, Bai Qiuran counted again. Blanketed under the bright yellow tents and flags, the line seemed like a long dragon, extending for two to three miles.
Eventually, as the sun rose to its zenith, the emperor's procession finally arrived there. Upon noticing the appearance of the imposing procession in the royal tomb grounds, a feeling of unease crept over him.
“Prince, calm your nerves,” thought Bai Qiuran as he took a deep breath.
Acting innocent again, he tilted his head and asked, "Why do we need to stand this way, Uncle Attendant?"
Unbeknownst to him, within the crowd of two hundred children below, one little boy earned a grin brighter than his own.
The ceremony soon reached its peak as heavenly sounds and murmurs rolled through the air, setting the stage for legends yet to unfold.