Chapter 66: Qinghua Palace

The most frequently worshipped deities are actually the three types: Heaven, Earth, and Water.

Heaven refers to the Heavenly God of the Four Seasons, while Earth and Water encompass local Mountain Gods, Land Gods, and Water Gods, all of whom belong to the Di Qi (Earthly Qi).

This is because the four seasons and the mountains and rivers are essential conditions for the production and life of all people; without them, humans cannot survive. Therefore, people often hold a sense of reverence and worship them devoutly.

For example, the rituals in the “Zhu” Book record: “Sacrifice to Heaven by burning firewood, sacrifice to mountains and rivers by ascending, sacrifice to rivers by sinking, and sacrifice to Earth by burying.”

Water is the Bloodline of the Earth, like the flowing of veins and arteries.

Water is the standard for all things, the essence of all life, the substance of right and wrong, gain and loss. Therefore, there is nothing it cannot fill, and nowhere it cannot reside. It gathers in Heaven and Earth, is contained within all things, originates from metals and stones, and fills all living beings. Thus, it bears a responsibility akin to the Earth’s Bloodline.

This nature of water determines the nature of the Water God, a type of deity.

The Water God is responsible for transporting resources between Heaven and Earth, like a Bloodline, regulating the Qi in various different places to maintain the vitality of Heaven and Earth.

All of this is stated in the “Zhu” Book.

Li Qi’s own understanding is that the water cycle is very important.

This point is universal in both worlds.

And when sacrificing to the Water God, one should praise water’s Karma in this regard, praising how water carries away stale Qi and brings in fresh Qi, allowing all things to operate and thrive endlessly.

The sacrifice Li Qi arranged was precisely this kind of thing.

Drums beat on fish-skin drums, ten people sang loudly, and Li Qi, as the Invoker, stepped forward to offer the sacrificial text and preside over the ceremony.

People passing by were curious, some watched, while others observed as they walked.

Li Qi, however, paid no mind to them, focusing on presiding over the ceremony.

Burning incense.

Beating the fish-skin drums.

Placing down paper boats, with offerings carried on them.

One paper boat held meat, another held gold, one held the mane of a Dragon Steed livestock, one held a cup of yellow wine, and then, a candle was placed on the fifth paper boat, lit, to guide the way, and sent into the river.

White candles were very expensive, one costing a hundred coins.

As he sent them off, Li Qi’s heart bled.

But he couldn’t show it.

Once everything was complete, and the progress bar of the ritual had perfectly reached 100%.

Li Qi was extremely careful from beginning to end. This small sacrificial ceremony cost him over three thousand coins to organize, excluding the two thousand three hundred coins in costs, there was also that piece of gold worth a thousand coins.

After confirming everything was complete, Li Qi drank his portion of the wine, which belonged to the Invoker.

He closed his eyes and began to use the unique method of the Invoker.

Yes, such sacrifices, if purely sacrificial, would have no effect; that would merely be simple offerings to the deities.

But a Invoker is not someone who simply offers to deities.

Li Qi had read nearly 3% of the “Zhu” Book and had deeply understood this point.

A Invoker is someone who negotiates with deities, a broker between deities, a bridge for communication between humans and Gods, using sacrifices as a means of dialogue and transaction to communicate with deities and exchange what is needed.

The Invoker of Shaman God Mountain have never been servants of deities; they would never do something purely for dedication.

He drank a second cup of wine, and with the sound of the drums, he widened his eyes, looking at the paper boats.

He saw a small vortex suddenly appear in the river.

This water vortex swallowed the paper boat with the candle, and then the other four paper boats were gradually engulfed by the vortex.

Some people looked at the gold, their eyes greedy.

Others nearby mocked Li Qi, calling him a fool for throwing gold into the river.

Some even jumped directly into the river, ready to retrieve the gold.

After all, this was a public sacrifice on the Li Shui River bank, and it wasn’t official, but a private sacrifice, so it was normal to have these ignorant onlookers.

Li Qi ignored them, instead watching the paper boats being swallowed by the vortex, then drinking his third and final cup of wine.

Bang.

Bang.

Bang—!

Three continuous drum beats were struck by the laborers he hired nearby.

As the fish-skin drums played, Li Qi suddenly felt the water Qi within his body begin to stir!

That was the inner Qi refined from Carp Current Intent!

He seemed to have formed a subtle connection with the river before him.

This gave him a feeling.

Following this feeling, he stepped forward and leaped into the river.

As he leaped into the river, he felt as if he had stepped into a teleportation portal.

In an instant, Heaven and Earth were separated!

The river surface was no longer the Yi County waterway.

The riverbed below was no longer the original muddy riverbed.

Instead… countless palaces, stretching from the bottom of the water to the surface, piercing the sky. Yet above the sky, it seemed to be still the water surface, infinite water, enveloping this world.

Before his eyes were golden and silver palaces, dazzling with crystalline light. Inside the palaces, corals branched out, with pearl flowers, jade flowers, and agate flowers, a dazzling array. Although it was underwater, suddenly appeared layers upon layers of pavilions, countless in number, expanding as he counted, no less than several hundred layers. Some had veiled windows, some were surrounded by railings, with five-colored crystalline light that dazzled the eyes, and even more jewels, each displaying its own wonder.

Waves contained island shadows, with green and verdant hues, layer upon layer, beyond what even the greatest painter could achieve. There were also various aquatic birds and fish, swimming and flicking their tails, exquisitely beautiful, too far to see at a glance.

Even though Li Qi was a modern person, he had never witnessed such a magnificent scene!

What place is this?

Azure Brilliance Palace?

A passage immediately came to Li Qi’s mind, something Shen Shuibi had said when introducing Mount Luofu.

“Mount Luofu is located within a Heavenly Cave. The Dao is fundamentally formless, yet through indistinctness, it gains material Qi. The primordial Qi begins, transforms through movement and divides into forms. The essence and image are profoundly manifest, arranging palaces in the pure realm. The subtle essence condenses, opening Immortal Caves in famous mountains. Its heavenly layers are superimposed, and its Qi is varied, completely different from the current world.”

This place gave him a feeling that it belonged entirely not to the human world, but to an Immortal Realm.

This reminded him of that sacrificial ode from before, the one that mentioned the God of the Li River in Azure Brilliance Palace.

Could this be Azure Brilliance Palace?

However, before he could fully appreciate the scene, a meteor fell from the sky.

It just so happened to hit him.

Li Qi had no reaction; he hadn’t even noticed it before!

He was directly struck, immediately feeling a dizzy spell, and instinctively swam upwards.

“Whoosh—!” He surfaced, finding himself back in the Yi County waterway.

That dreamlike scene just now felt like an illusion.

However, Li Qi let out a long breath.

He knew it wasn't an illusion.

Because within his body, a full thirty wisps of pure water Qi were circulating with his营气 (Ying Qi) and 卫气 (Wei Qi).

The sacrifice was complete!