Chapter 21

The Xianzun frowned for a long time before finally giving his answer: "There are so many people in this Heaven's Mandate Tower. How could I possibly remember every single one?"

It was exactly the answer Lin Yu had anticipated.

The Xianzun said, "If you wish to know, just send someone to look into it."

Lin Yu's expression remained unchanged. Her tone carried a trace of self-deprecating sigh, barely perceptible: "I suppose so."

"I've already arranged for the grand sacrifice to be moved up to tomorrow. The day after, you will go to Jiangnan."

"Why?" The moment Lin Yu heard the word "Jiangnan," she remembered what Chen Lu had told her when she first woke—that the dead were rising again in Jiangnan, and the Xianzun had gone there.

"Since you've entered my tutelage, having no cultivation at all simply won't do. A spate of resurrection cases has inexplicably appeared throughout Jiangnan. These people defy heaven itself, clinging to life by means of a Soul-Renewing Pill. Go and take their pills. Each one can grant you several decades of cultivation—a rare opportunity not to be missed." The Xianzun was concise.

Lin Yu's gaze fell on the horsetail whisk before the Xianzun. She lowered her eyes. "Understood."

After leaving Bushou Hall, Lin Yu noticed that many flowers had bloomed outside. Though it was winter, they remained vivid and beautiful.

"Lin Yu!" Chen Lu called her name several times before Lin Yu snapped back to attention.

Chen Lu puffed her cheeks out angrily at Lin Yu, who pinched her face. "What's wrong? Upset again?"

Chen Lu turned her head away. "No!"

A child's moods came and went quickly. Before Lin Yu could figure out why Chen Lu was angry, the girl's attention was already drawn elsewhere.

Bushou Hall sat at the mountaintop, offering an excellent view. Chen Lu said, "Let me take you to where the grand sacrifice will be held! The scenery there is wonderful!"

Lin Yu took the little girl's hand and went along with her. "Let's go."

Walking along the flagstone path and weaving through strange rock formations, a vast circular open space appeared before Lin Yu.

The ground was divided into yin and yang, forming the shape of a taiji bagua diagram. It appeared to be a natural altar. At the very center stood a man who looked rather familiar to Lin Yu. Sensing someone approaching, he lifted his head, and Lin Yu recognized him as Yu Jia.

Yu Jia had been fiddling with something at the center of the altar. Seeing Lin Yu approach, he quickly stood and tucked the object into his sleeve. He said respectfully, "Divine Maiden, does your visit to this Seeking Immortal Platform have some purpose?"

Lin Yu smiled. "The grand sacrifice has been moved up to tomorrow. I came to have a look."

Yu Jia smoothed the wrinkles at his cuff, equally puzzled. "Why the rush?"

Lin Yu casually glanced at Yu Jia's sleeve before quickly looking away. "The Xianzun has urgent business and is sending me to Jiangnan."

At that, Yu Jia's eyes lit up with barely concealed delight, though his tone remained laden with concern: "Is the Xianzun sending you alone? Without any magical power, traveling to Jiangnan on your own would be fraught with danger. As Imperial Preceptor, I would be honored to accompany you."

Lin Yu frowned. Yu Jia's eagerness was a little too enthusiastic. "It's a trivial matter. The Xianzun has already arranged for someone to receive me. No need to trouble the Imperial Preceptor."

When the Xianzun had gone to Jiangnan, he'd brought many disciples with him. Because Lin Yu had woken up, the Xianzun rushed back, leaving the disciples behind. Someone would be there to receive Lin Yu.

Just then, several young immortal attendants around Chen Lu's age popped out from somewhere, clustering around them. A round-cheeked little boy grinned. "The Imperial Preceptor has wanted to go to Jiangnan for ages, but he's been too busy with official duties!"

A few of the children giggled, interrupting Lin Yu and Yu Jia's conversation. "So you're the new Divine Maiden! Have you met the Xianzun? They say he's an incredibly powerful transcendent master!"

"I wonder if I'll ever get to meet the Xianzun," another child asked wistfully.

Chen Lu chimed in, "The Xianzun will definitely be at tomorrow's grand sacrifice! That's when we'll all get to see him! Maybe we'll even absorb a bit of his cultivation!"

The round-cheeked boy with pigtails asked, "Really? Really? Can we ask the Xianzun to give us some cultivation manuals? My cultivation isn't strong enough to enter the scripture pavilion, and in two years I'll probably be kicked out of the Heaven's Mandate Tower..."

"The Xianzun is the person I admire most in this life! Someday I want to be as powerful as him!"

Four or five young attendants chattered all at once, their words tumbling over each other in such a cacophony that it sounded like a dozen people. The noise disturbed even the birds perched on the bare branches, sending them all soaring into the sky.

A tall figure in the distance waved at them—likely a disciple of some standing in the tower. As the sun peeked out from behind the clouds, he raised a hand to shield his eyes from the weak light and shouted, "Hey! What are you all gathered there for?! Get back to chanting and praying!"

"Ah!" The young attendants scattered like startled birds at his shout.

"Coming, coming! Wait for me!"

Lin Yu watched the children scamper off, laughing, and felt her spirits lift slightly.

"I hope the Divine Maiden will seriously consider my request," Yu Jia said. Watching the children disperse, his expression turned worried, as if he truly had urgent matters in Jiangnan. Lin Yu couldn't read his emotions, so she gave no reply.

Seeing people carrying odd-shaped items to set up tomorrow's grand sacrifice, Yu Jia said no more. After taking his leave, he quickly vanished from Lin Yu's sight.

On the enormous taiji diagram, offerings Lin Yu had never seen before were placed at every point. From the very edge of the altar, the view was indeed excellent—looking up, she could see a corner of the Xianzun's residence; looking down, the mountain foot thick with ancient trees.

Only now did Lin Yu realize how simple the overall construction of the Heaven's Mandate Tower was.

They had built the tower on the Divine Mountain behind the imperial palace, dividing the mountain into three levels. A long stone staircase wound from the base to the summit, where the Xianzun and the elders' palaces stood. The middle level held this massive natural altar, surrounded by several imposing temples—presumably spaces for the disciples to cultivate and pray.

She couldn't tell whose statues the temples enshrined. The young attendants had been summoned into one of them to chant prayers, and a low, uniform drone of scripture now emanated from within.

At the foot of the mountain lay the disciples' quarters and various pavilions. Since they weren't clearly delineated, Lin Yu wasn't too familiar with them.

Lin Yu gazed out for a long while until she had a rough grasp of the mountain's layout, then left with Chen Lu. As they departed, the temple door still stood open, and Chen Lu reluctantly waved goodbye to the young attendants inside.

Leaning by the door, Chen Lu mouthed to them, "See you tomorrow!"

...

The next morning, Lin Yu sat at her desk as disciples in uniform white robes filed in one after another, bearing ornate ceremonial garments and sacrificial vessels.

Propping her chin on her hand, she watched them lay out the gaudy, eerie outfit. She didn't want to wear it.

Turning to Chen Lu, she asked, "Has anyone from the Xie family of Jiangnan arrived?"

Chen Lu shook her head. A plump woman who had been arranging the Divine Maiden's garments turned around with a beaming smile. "The Divine Maiden needn't worry. Though the Xie family of Jiangnan haven't arrived, the gift from Lu Yao, the current richest merchant of Jiangnan, has. The Xies have already declined—Lu Yao, the new tycoon, is the one worth befriending."

Lin Yu didn't look at the woman. "Is that so?"

The woman, receiving a response, slapped the shoulder of a skinny young girl beside her holding a tray and shot her a meaningful glance. The girl nearly dropped the tray at the impact, stumbling to her knees, and Chen Lu hurried over to steady her.

The gift was presented. Lin Yu glanced at it—a prayer wheel of pure gold, studded with rubies. Sunlight slanted into the room, making the gems glitter brilliantly. One could tell at a glance that the craftsmanship was intricate and the piece invaluable.

The last stick of incense burned down to ash, the fragrant dust settling in the censer. The hour had come, and still no word from the Xie family of Jiangnan. Lin Yu rose, and at last, like an object being handled, she was dressed in that magnificent, uncanny Divine Maiden attire.

Hairpin after golden hairpin was inserted into her coiffure. Lin Yu looked at herself in the mirror—her head laden with every kind of jewel she'd never seen before.

Finally, the plump woman painted a huadian on Lin Yu's forehead.

It was a pattern resembling a mysterious bird—the most precious motif in the mortal world, signifying royal lineage and noble status.

Lin Yu stepped into the morning light toward the massive altar. The stone steps along the way had been laid with a carpet of bright red, the color of fresh blood.

The steps were broad, and on either side, crowds in ceremonial dress pressed together, heads bowed, waiting in reverence for the Divine Maiden to pass.

Following the cry of the mysterious bird, Lin Yu traversed the long hundreds of steps before once again reaching the altar from the previous day. The once-spacious ground had been so densely arranged with elaborate paraphernalia that it felt almost suffocating.

Lin Yu wove past a variety of objects—sacrificial items, ornate decorations—until she reached the center of the altar, where something stood covered by a red cloth, forming a huge circle.

She halted before the red cloth. It was suddenly yanked away, and the moment Lin Yu saw what lay beneath, her pupils contracted and the blood in her veins seemed to freeze solid!

It was a group of young immortal attendants, no more than six or seven years old!

Lin Yu recognized several of them. Just yesterday, they'd been bouncing around, talking about learning magic, about becoming as powerful as the Xianzun. Chen Lu had reluctantly said goodbye to them.

Yet overnight, they had all become slaughtered sacrifices.

Yesterday's laughter still echoed in Lin Yu's ears, but now they lay with eyes tightly shut, faces a sickly blue-gray, skin drained of luster. Even in their loose robes, the hollows of their sunken bellies couldn't be concealed.

Lin Yu suddenly realized—their organs had been carved out, leaving only empty shells!

Lin Yu clenched her fists. The Xianzun had already stepped up before her, looking positively pleased.

Someone dragged over a giant chest filled with densely packed bamboo slips. "Divine Maiden, these are the prayers of the common folk. Please pick a few slips and stuff them into these offerings' eyes, mouths, ears, and bellies, then light a fire to burn the prayers and the offerings together as a tribute to the gods."

Lin Yu was momentarily stunned.

She'd known they were cruel, but she hadn't imagined they'd devise such a vicious sacrificial rite. She looked back down the endless staircase, where eager worshippers stretched their necks, straining to see which slips she would choose.

Everyone hoped their own wish would be picked and delivered to the gods. No one cared about these children, already drained of blood, about to be pierced like pincushions.

Everyone was watching this absurd sacrifice unfold.

After a long moment, Lin Yu heard her own faint voice: "How many must be burned?"

"As the Divine Maiden wishes. Those chosen by you are surely the fortunate and devout."

Lin Yu picked out a few bamboo slips from the chest. She stared calmly at the little girl before her, lips turned down into a crying face. Lin Yu remembered her—she was the round-cheeked girl from yesterday who'd said she wanted to see the Xianzun at the grand sacrifice.

Now the Xianzun stood right in front of her, but she couldn't open her eyes anymore. It was the very Xianzun she admired most who had taken her life.

The Xianzun seemed to sense Lin Yu's hesitation. He drawled, "What are you waiting for? Do it."

With that, he seized her wrist and guided the bamboo slip in her hand toward the girl's sunken eyelids, ready to pierce through!