The slip was originally looking at the white wall in the distance when Wang Mian suddenly pulled him and said with a wry smile: "Jingzhi, I am the distinguished guest of Master Yu, why don't you show any courtesy?"
Wang Li said: "Since he can look at us, we can look at him. This is a courtesy. This man is so weird. I really don't know what we people are worth. It is better than half of the weird cities in this little country."
Lou Jian was well aware of this person's temperament, and the more he argued with him, the harder it became to get out of the quagmire. At the moment, he just shook his head and smiled bitterly, saying no more.
While the few people were talking, the white wall in front of them was approaching, but it turned out that it was not a stone wall, but a square temple of heaven. The altar is white in color, with the top about three feet above the ground. There are stone steps on all sides. There are no carvings or paintings on the pillars, only water patterns made from nature, and the charm is simple. Wang Liben pointed at the man in plain clothes, but when he saw the appearance of the Temple of Heaven, he was surprised and said: "Could this be an invitation to the Immortal Platform?"
At that time, the Eastern Territory was home to the Qingshan Capital Taoist Temple, and monks often went out to perform rituals. All countries, big or small, imitated what China had done, and built invitational immortal platforms in their capitals, each with its own name and similar uses. Since Wang Li was living in the outskirts of Longdu, he knew that the Zou family of Danguo had built Linzhitai. However, any place where immortals are invited must build the capital of a country. If the white altar in front of you is the platform for inviting immortals to the Kingdom of Xuanhui, then this strange city will be the capital of the country, which is really unbelievable. As everyone walked along, they felt that the residences in the city were mostly the same. There were no tall buildings or mansions, and they looked like palaces. The only people who seemed to be powerful so far were people with white beards in front of them, and I didn't know what the position of "high priest" was.
The white-bearded high priest walked to the bottom of the altar, leaned down and chanted a long word repeatedly, which sounded vaguely like "Lago Gongran Buddha Po" and so on. The white-robed men who followed him also followed suit, kneeling on the ground one after another. First they raised their hands in the air and chanted the words, then they hit the ground with their foreheads and knocked several times before resting.
Everyone was frightened by this scene and really didn't know how to deal with it. However, seeing Young Master Yu and others standing quietly by themselves, they also learned to stand by and watch. After everyone had finished kneeling, they followed them up the steps to the stage. The stone steps around the altar are short and thin, making it convenient for people to climb up the altar, but it is quite difficult for ordinary people to climb the steps. As Wang Li walked away, he asked Jing Shi: "Zi Yun, do you know what the auspicious and auspicious words they called just now mean? It sounds like chanting sutras."
Jing Shi shook his head and said, "I haven't heard the words they shouted. It doesn't seem like scripture."
Zhang Duanzheng lowered his head and climbed the steps. Hearing the words, he said, "I think so too. Judging from the way they call out, it seems like a name. Zuo Gui has been separated from the world for a long time, and the customs are very different from mine. Maybe it is some kind of sea god they believe in."
At that time, although worshiping Qingdu was orthodox in various places, there was also the theory of mountain gods and water spirits. People often worshiped them, and it was even common for officials to enshrine them in side halls of national temples and compile them as protectors. What's more, Nonghui is originally remote, and its people are so strange that if they don't have any strange customs, they would be rare. Everyone listened to Zhang Duan's speculation and agreed. Wang Lian nodded and said: "Earlier, Young Master Yu mentioned sea sacrifices. But since this city is not a coastal city, it is really strange how to come to the place for sacrifices."
When he reached this point, he was halfway up the steps and could vaguely see the scene behind the altar, and the words in his mouth stopped abruptly. Not only was he so shocked that he forgot to speak, but everyone who came on stage to see the scene was also stunned and speechless, forgetting what he had just said. But under the altar, I saw the water and the sky, the water and the sky. Gulls and herons are flying in flocks, sandbanks are scattered, and you can’t tell how far away they are when you look up, and you can’t see how deep they are when you look down. Light clouds are flying in the sky, and hundreds of rivers merge into the sea.
When everyone saw this scene, they couldn't help but pause. Immediately, they all walked in the wind, taking three steps and two steps at a time, trying to get a clear view of the surrounding terrain. He and his companions were taller and wider than others, so it was easier for them to climb the stairs. In a blink of an eye, they had caught up with Young Master Yu and his companions. However, they were concerned about the inferiority of host and guest, so they could not surpass them any further, so they could only follow behind and climb up to the altar slowly. Standing on the top of the altar like this and looking down from a high position, I was even more shocked and horrified.
It turns out that a few feet in front of the altar is a cliff. Under it, turbid waves roll, fish and whales appear. It is a deep abyss, and it is difficult to fathom its bottom. Thinking about where they came from, they realized that this city was actually built on the top of a sea cliff, with a half-circle of city walls. It was probably because it was built on the edge of an abyss, making it difficult for apes to climb, and there was no need to defend against foreign enemies, so it was called a city. "Half Hades City". However, people who have been traveling for days only notice the undulating mountains along the way, and do not notice that the terrain is getting higher and higher under their feet, which is really puzzling.
While everyone was still waiting to discuss, they suddenly heard a long bell ringing from all over the altar. The sound was as loud as a bell, and it was about to shock people's hearts. Looking around following the sound, I saw several people standing in front of the altar, each holding a copper conch in their hands, playing in unison with their cheeks. The white-bearded old man stood in the middle, holding the bamboo stick high in his hand and raising his head to the sky, as if praying. It's just that the sound of the conch pierced my ears at this time, and I couldn't tell whether he had any words in his mouth.
The copper conch in Ren Ren's hand seemed clumsy, but the pitch was extremely high. Everyone was surprised at first, but after a while, they couldn't stand the sharp sound. They saw that Master Yu had taken the lead to take a cloth to plug his ears. No matter how polite he was, everyone covered their heads with their hands. ears to avoid hearing loss. The people nearby were attentive and didn't feel any discomfort at all. Except for the conch blower who didn't move, the others were all prostrate on the ground and worshiped, looking very pious. Everyone on the stage has their own attitude, but the man in plain clothes still stands alone, letting the wind blow, and he is still and calm.
Jing Shi noticed this scene and was staring from behind to take a closer look. Suddenly he felt someone patting him. When he turned around, he saw that it was Zhang Duan. At this time, the two of them could not hear, so they saw Zhang Duan giving directions in front of the stage. Jing Shi looked around and saw countless rafts on the water, arranged in a row, floating from the bottom of the altar to the sea. There was no one alive on the raft, only hundreds of flowers piled up. Their colors were bright and colorful, as if they had been picked not long ago. Seeing the group of rafts getting further and further away, with only the faint shadow of the boat remaining between the water and the sky, all the people stopped the copper snail. The man with the white beard put down his bamboo stick and suddenly sang a song in his mouth. His voice was like a sob, and his tune was somber and rainy. Although he didn't know the meaning of the lyrics, his sadness could be expressed in a sympathetic way. Everyone is facing the sea and hearing the tragic song, and they are all touched unconsciously.
When Du Ge was young, a man on his left quietly stepped forward and knelt down at his feet. The man with the white beard kept singing, but he slowly handed the bamboo stick in his hand to the other party, let him hold it in his hands, and retreated on his knees. When Jing Shi saw this scene, he looked at Zhang Duan and shook his head at the same time to show that he didn't know what he meant.
The man who took the staff knelt down behind the altar, held the staff high in his hand, lowered his head, and lowered his face to the ground, showing a very humble expression. After the white-bearded man handed over his bamboo stick, the singing in his mouth slowly stopped. The altar was silent for a while, except for the howling wind and the setting sun.
The man with the white beard stood near the altar, stretched out his hand to explore the sky, as if he wanted to catch the afterglow of the setting sun. After walking for more than ten steps in this way, he had reached the foot of the altar. Everyone followed him unconsciously, but saw that he had already reached the edge of the cliff, but he still didn't stop, as if he didn't realize that he was in danger.
When everyone saw this, most of them exclaimed in surprise. Someone stepped out and tried to rescue the white-bearded man, but before he could take a few steps, he was stopped by the official in front. The man was about to question him, but he saw Young Master Yu turning around and gently shaking his head, indicating that he should be silent.
After such a moment of delay, the white-bearded man had already reached the edge of the cliff, held the sun in his hands, and leaned over the cliff to fall. Seeing this, all the living beings were as dumbfounded as chickens, but the accompanying people were not at all anxious. Instead, they cheered and danced, extremely happy.
Such a shocking sight made everyone's hearts tremble with fear. Although Wang Li was fond of teasing, he no longer had anything to laugh at. He only murmured: "This place is really evil."
