Fortunately, Chi Xulong and the others were slick old hands who would not spill information about the demonic cult just because they had been locked up. Otherwise, Branch Master Chu would have had to consider silencing them for good.
Branch Master Chu sent word instructing Lu Yang's trio to come to the Yanjiang Branch for their formal initiation ceremony.
As for those brainless fools, let them cool their heads in prison for ten days first.
Branch Master Chu sat lazily on a jade chair, looking up at the three standing before him with approval. "Your idea for the barbecue restaurant was quite good. Keep it up. It provides a channel for us to establish ties with the officials."
Branch Master Chu dismissed the attendants. They were merely entry-level cultists who had not undergone the trials, lacking the clearance to know the cult's inner secrets.
"Come. I will take you to pay homage to the Immortal Celestial."
Branch Master Chu led the three to another floating stone. The structures atop it had been built in an unknown era and had collapsed under the erosion of time. The sourceless light felt dull and oppressive, and walking amidst the complex gave a heavy sense of stepping through history.
Even as erudite as Meng Jingzhou was, he could not tell what era these structures belonged to.
These were definitely not buildings from the Great Xia's hundred-thousand-year history!
Meng Jingzhou was secretly shocked; these ruins were at least a hundred thousand years old!
Could it be from the Great Yu Dynasty?
According to historical records, the last emperor of the Great Yu Dynasty was dissolute and tyrannical, causing the dynasty to fall apart and plunging the world into chaos. The ancestor of the Meng Family and the ancestor of Emperor Xia had risen in rebellion to vie for the Central Plains.
The Dao Seeking Sect had been founded one hundred and twenty thousand years ago, during the reign of the Great Yu Dynasty, though back then, Great Yu had been in its golden prime, its supremacy unchallenged.
At the end of the architectural complex stood a statue roughly four meters tall. It looked just like the one they had seen in Qin Yuanhao's home—with blurred facial features, dressed in long robes, indistinct in gender. It was none other than the Immortal Celestial.
Branch Master Chu raised three lit sticks of incense high, bowed to the Immortal Celestial, and then turned to the three. "Meditate for an hour and clear all stray thoughts from your minds."
The three sticks of incense were no ordinary wares; after smelling the fragrance, their restless minds gradually grew calm.
Clearing away stray thoughts was basic training for the three of them. Seeing how quickly they settled their minds, Branch Master Chu nodded slightly.
Even with the aid of precious incense, this speed was remarkably swift. Most demonic cultivators were impetuous and cultivated the body rather than the mind; these three were truly rare finds.
They must have chanced upon some fortunate encounter somewhere.
In the past, had he learned that someone possessed a fortunate encounter, Branch Master Chu would have tried every means to seize it. But these three were different—they were subjects of special interest to the Cult Master, and he lacked the nerve to touch them.
An hour later, the three opened their eyes and, following Branch Master Chu's instructions, went through the steps to pay homage to the Immortal Celestial.
Once the elaborate rituals concluded, the three formally became members of the Immortal Cult.
With his hands clasped behind his back, Branch Master Chu said, "Before joining our cult, you probably only knew that we are the Immortal Cult, that we worship the Immortal Celestial, and that becoming cultists can extend your lifespan. As for who the Immortal Celestial truly is, you likely know very little."
The three nodded. They practically knew nothing about the Immortal Celestial; he was merely the only celestial they had ever heard of.
In a reverent tone, Branch Master Chu said, "The Immortal Celestial's very existence is a taboo. He lives as long as heaven and earth, bearing witness to the world's rises and falls. Even if his physical body is destroyed, his immortal soul rots away, and his spark of spiritual luminescence is worn down into the mortal dust, as long as a single person still remembers him, he can resurrect on the spot, eternal and immortal!"
Lu Yang and his companions felt a jolt in their hearts, unsure how much of what Branch Master Chu said was true and how much was false.
As long as someone still remembered the Immortal Celestial's existence, he would be deathless and indestructible—something unheard of even in myths and legends!
Such divine marvel truly deserved the title of 'Celestial'.
Branch Master Chu continued, "In ancient times, His Eminence attained the Dao and achieved celestialhood. He knows the secrets of the myriad ages and commands power far beyond what mortals like us could ever resist.
"Now, the ancient Golden Age has arrived, and the old monsters buried deep within the desolate wilds are crawling out from their coffins. If we wish to preserve our lives in this Golden Age, our only recourse is to resurrect the Immortal Celestial so he may protect us!"
Lu Yang hesitated for a moment before asking, "Then how are we to resurrect the Immortal Celestial?"
"The Immortal Celestial proved his Dao through battle and ascended to celestialhood through slaughter; he relishes bloodshed above all else. We must incite bloody calamities and war across this world, pleasing the Immortal Celestial with the deaths of hundreds of millions of humankind. That is merely the first step. The subsequent steps are beyond what someone of your rank is permitted to know."
"The deaths of hundreds of millions of people?!" Meng Jingzhou was horrified. How many deaths would that be? Even 'corpses carpeting the land' fell far short of describing it!
"Is that many? Not in the slightest." Branch Master Chu shook his head. Most people had a similar reaction when they learned of this number, but thinking about it calmly, the Central Continent was boundlessly vast. Hundreds of millions might sound immense, but averaged out, it was merely one death out of every few thousand people.
"Do you know how many people are worked to death each year just trying to make a living? How many commit suicide, driven to wits' end by crushing burdens? How many die of illness each year, or perish under the treatment of quack doctors? How many unclaimed corpses does the Great Xia Dynasty discover every year?"
Branch Master Chu sneered. "Do you know? Of course you don't, because the Great Xia Dynasty wouldn't dare publish the real figures!
"If we don't resurrect the Immortal Celestial, who will protect the vast Central Continent? Once the old monsters awaken one after another, far more than just this many will die."
"Is the ancient Golden Age truly that terrifying?" Lu Yang felt a chill creep through his heart.
Branch Master Chu said nothing more and gestured for the three to follow him.
Branch Master Chu bypassed the statue of the Immortal Celestial, traversed a stretch of ruins, and spoke as he walked: "These ruins have been passed down since ancient times, decayed and battered by the erosion of the years. Ten thousand years ago, the Cult Founder stumbled upon this place by chance, and here he learned of the Immortal Celestial's existence.
"The Immortal Celestial's existence in this world is too ancient; everyone had forgotten the celestial who once protected the world. It was the Cult Founder who brought the Immortal Celestial back into the light of day!
"The Cult Founder made replicas of the ruins and preserved them across various strongholds. This is one of them, with ten thousand years of history behind it."
Meng Jingzhou thought to himself that it was only a replica of an ancient ruin, which explained why he had not recognized it. From the ancient era, only legends had survived to this day; virtually nothing tangible had endured.
Branch Master Chu stopped before a stone wall. "Here it is. This is a sacrificial rite from the ancient era."
The first thing that caught their eye was the Immortal Celestial on the stone wall with arms spread wide. Cradled in his embrace were countless spheres of varying sizes. Around some of these spheres was a ring-like object of unknown nature.
Upon every sphere knelt a tiny figure, holding up offerings to present to the Immortal Celestial.
"What are these spheres? Why are people standing on them?" Meng Jingzhou and Man Gu were baffled and deeply puzzled.
Seeing the mural, Lu Yang's pupils contracted slightly. These spheres looked uncannily like the planets of his previous life, and the ring-like structures encircling them looked like rings of meteoric dust!
Branch Master Chu spoke slowly, "These are called planets. In ancient times, there was no Central Continent; all races, regardless of kind, lived on planets.
"At the end of the ancient era, an unknowable existence refined all the planets together, turning them into today's Central Continent!"
At these words, all three were struck with shock!
Chapter 79