Chapter 1964: Chapter 1961: Altar
"What do you mean by favorable days and locations?" Lin Tian asked, puzzled.
Xu Feibai didn’t keep him in suspense and directly answered Lin Tian’s question, "Our ancestors were magicians, so they had considerable knowledge about the Qiong Gou Jade. In ancient times, jade was considered noble, and imperial priests often used jade as a magic artifact for rituals. When performing rituals for heaven and earth, three conditions needed to be met: favorable days, locations, and harmony among people."
"Favorable days are determined by observing the heavenly stars, checking the lunar calendar, and calculating the auspicious days; favorable locations mean selecting a site with excellent feng shui for constructing the altar; harmony among people refers to the Emperor leading civil and military officials onto the altar to perform the ritual for heaven and earth."
"I understand these rules for rituals. Choosing a suitable day is easy; all we need is an auspicious day. As for constructing the altar, we can manage that too, but where do we find an Emperor? Are you suggesting that either of us should pretend to be the Emperor?" Lin Tian shrugged his shoulders, feeling speechless.
Xu Feibai waved his hand and laughed, "The Emperor is the eldest son of heaven, the true dragon emperor, mandated by heaven. I can’t do that, unless you are the ordained emperor. However, you just need to open the Netherworld channel, it’s not that complicated. As long as you choose an auspicious day and set up an altar, let Zhang Lingyu perform the ritual."
"But the premise for all of this is finding the Yin Jade; otherwise, it’s all just talk on paper. The Zhang Family performed rituals for the royal family in ancient times, so they should be familiar with these matters. Zhang Lingyu will know exactly what to do." Xu Feibai added.
"Alright, I’ll ask Lingyu then. You hurry back to get the Qiong Gou Jade." Lin Tian gestured with his hand.
There wasn’t much else to discuss. Lin Tian left the teacher’s apartment, and as he reached the dorm room door, he heard the pleasant sound of a "ding-dong" from the zither. Upon opening the door, he found Xiao Manxuan gracefully plucking the strings of an ancient zither.
Her slender jade-like fingers swept across the strings, producing a melodious sound. Although there was no specific tune, it was pleasing and refreshing.
"Why the sudden urge to play the zither? Is there a gala at your college?" Lin Tian sat down, curiously asking.
"No, I just took it out for maintenance and couldn’t resist playing a little." Xiao Manxuan looked up at Lin Tian with an attractive smile.
Lin Tian knew that musical instruments require maintenance, especially stringed ones; any issues with the body or strings can drastically change the sound.
"However, every time I play the zither, I feel something strange, as if I become one with the instrument, like the feeling of unity of heaven and man that my elder sister described." Xiao Manxuan felt puzzled, clearly uncertain about why she felt this way.
Lin Tian’s heart was moved, remembering the night they captured Yasuo, when the zither suddenly erupted in a red flame, identical to Xiao Manxuan’s. Yasuo mentioned that the zither already had an owner.
And this owner is very likely Xiao Manxuan. But Xiao Manxuan is just an ordinary person and doesn’t know any ritual techniques; how could she become the zither’s master? The only link is the Red Flame, but it remains a mystery so far.
Of course, Xiao Manxuan has no recollection of that night’s events, so she is unaware of the zither’s magic.
Every time the mysterious energy erupts, she loses that portion of her memory. Lin Tian couldn’t explain, so he jokingly said, "It’s nothing. They say the zither has a spirit. Maybe it considers you its master and soulmate."
Xiao Manxuan nodded, looking at the zither, her eyes showing tenderness. She softly said, "My sister mentioned that the Langya Pavilion is best at treasure appraisal. If there’s a chance, we could ask Ling Pavilion Master to help with the appraisal."
"There will be opportunities. Have you forgotten? I still have the Token given by Ling Pavilion Master. Perhaps he can appraise it as an Ancient Divine Artifact, and you’ll become famous." Lin Tian comforted her.
"I don’t want an Ancient Divine Artifact. I just want to peacefully stay by your side... and with sister and mom." Xiao Manxuan dreamed, although she knew her dream might be a bit extravagant, given the presence of mysterious energy, unsure of how many years she had left.
Lin Tian noticed the heaviness of her topic and shifted the conversation, "Speaking of Divine Artifacts, have you heard of the Three Divine Artifacts?"
"More than heard; we have the Three Divine Artifacts in our dormitory." Xiao Manxuan confidently said, stunning Lin Tian. The little girl giggled, extending three slender fingers, counting them one by one, "First is the egg beater, second the bottle opener, third the mixer, see, aren’t they the kitchen’s Three Divine Artifacts?"
Seeing her seriously counting, Lin Tian’s face went black with helplessness, "Alright, they are truly the Three Divine Artifacts against heaven."
"Haha, just joking with you. The Three Divine Artifacts are the Heavenly Cluster Cloud Sword, Qiong Gou Jade, and Yata Mirror. Originally, they were ours in Huaxia. Later, they were taken to Japan, becoming symbols of royal power. But, it seems the Three Divine Artifacts in Japan’s Divine Palace are fake." Watching Lin Tian’s playful expression, Xiao Manxuan laughed heartily, looking very proud.
"I’m currently searching for the Qiong Gou Jade." Lin Tian said with a teasing smile.
This time, it was the little girl who was stunned, her rosy lips opened wide, making Lin Tian’s imagination run wild. She was about to ask something when her phone rang, interrupting her thoughts.
She took out her phone and paused for a moment when she saw the contact name, gave Lin Tian a glance, then answered the call. The familiar voice on the other end made her increasingly surprised, eyes widening in disbelief.
After hanging up, she seemed to be digesting the conversation’s contents and remained silent for a while before speaking, "Lingyu just called me; she asked for my help... to complete a ritual ceremony."
"Did she ask you to play the summoning zither?" Lin Tian had overheard the voice during the call and honestly felt surprised that Zhang Lingyu sought Xiao Manxuan’s help.
Lin Tian sensed that opening the Netherworld channel was becoming a significant endeavor, far from the simplicity previously mentioned. As thoughts churned in his mind, Xiao Manxuan hadn’t quite had the time to respond before his phone rang, and upon checking, it was Zhang Lingyu again.
Upon answering, Zhang Lingyu’s pleasant voice immediately resonated, "Lin Tian, after speaking with you over the phone, I calculated the date. The lunar calendar’s twelfth month and fifteenth day, during the full moon night, this time marks the peak of yin energy in the second half of the year, making it the ideal time for conducting the ritual ceremony."
"Is this what Xu Feibai meant by the favorable days?" Lin Tian asked.
"Favorable days or auspicious days, they’re essentially the same thing. The time is set; next, our task is to locate the Qiong Gou Jade Yin side and then find an ancient altar." Zhang Lingyu’s pace was swift, yet her logic was crystal clear.
"An ancient altar? Like the Temple of Heaven in Jinghua City?" Lin Tian inquired, puzzled.
"No, that’s for heaven worship; we need to worship the Netherworld." Zhang Lingyu refuted Lin Tian’s guess.
Lin Tian scratched his brow, saying, "Isn’t finding an ancient altar difficult? Can’t we build it ourselves?"
"Build it ourselves? Haha..." Zhang Lingyu chuckled softly, speaking gently, "Do you think an altar is easy to construct? It must align with heavenly stars above and earth veins below, and the surroundings must harmonize with feng shui. The building process is meticulous and complex, more than building a hundred-meter skyscraper."
