out of time

Chapter 942: Holy Ritual
When Xu Qing saw the puppet, his face was expressionless, but his heart was filled with emotion...

He knew this puppet.

That was a birthday present his brother gave him when he was a child in Wushuang City.

Then, in that catastrophe, when he was only six or seven years old, he held the doll and cried in the blood rain, calling for his father, calling for his mother, calling for his brother...

Afterwards, he fainted.

When I woke up, the doll was gone.

Today, it appears here.

The meaning contained in it...

"He sent this to me so that I could think about it..."

Xu Qing was silent.

He knew that he was confused about some things, such as the memory that appeared in the purple crystal during the battle with Chimu in the Moon Sacrifice Realm, which was inconsistent with his own memory...

In the picture, the palm falling on his head was captured without any pause.

But in his memory, no hand appeared, and he fell into a coma instead.

Another example is this puppet that once disappeared and now reappears, stitched together.

Why did it break?

After a long time, Xu Qing closed his eyes.

He didn't take the doll, but placed it at the door, lying there alone...

As time passed, the night wind blew, picking up the dust on the ground and sprinkling it on the puppet.

The chill in the wind also invaded from all directions, and along with the wind, it made the stitched-together puppet seem to shiver.

Just like the boy who huddled up and shivered in the cold winter in the slums back then.

One day passed.

When there were only twelve hours left before the ancestor worship, all the princes and ministers chose to bathe in their respective residences.

This is a ceremony to worship ancestors.

This must be done regardless of whether you are qualified to go to the Ancient Emperor Star with the Human Emperor.

Because ancestor worship is divided into internal and external.

It’s formal inside the Ancient Emperor Star, and ceremonial outside the Ancient Emperor Star.

And one needs to wait for the moment of sunrise in the Taimiao three hours before the time of ancestor worship.

The Taimiao does not exist on ordinary days.

Only three hours before the ancestor worship ceremony would it appear in a specific area outside the imperial palace, as if in time.

Eight hours later, in the dark night, Xu Qing left the mansion.

After stepping past the doll, he paused and stared down.

After a while, Xu Qing withdrew his gaze and walked away.

He calculated the time and arrived in front of the Temple of Heaven on time the moment it appeared.

Although the sky was pitch black, it was still mixed with brilliant colors at this moment.

A vast and magnificent temple emerged from time and stood to the east of the imperial palace.

Xu Qing was not the first one to arrive. To be precise, everyone stood here solemnly at the same time.

As the king, Xu Qing naturally stood at the front.

King Zhenyan was beside him.

After the King of Heaven came the Marquis of Heaven, and then all the ministers. There were thousands of them, but there was complete silence.

All eyes were focused on the front.

There, six figures appeared from nothingness.

It was the Human Emperor and the prince who had obtained the qualification to accompany him!

Today's Human Emperor is dressed in unprecedented luxury and solemnity, and his majesty is even greater.

Behind him were the eldest prince, the fourth prince, the fifth prince and the twelfth prince.

Although Ning Yan has been in seclusion, he must attend today's training session, no matter how important it is.

Both he and the other princes were dressed differently from the past. Their clothes were gorgeous and ceremonial.

But what surprised everyone was that there was a fifth prince next to the twelfth prince Ning Yan.

That's the tenth prince!
The reason why he could stand here was naturally because he was specially allowed to participate by the Human Emperor, but before this, there was no imperial edict.

But since it was a matter concerning the prince, it was not appropriate for others to say more. Although Xu Qing's identity as the tutor could be inquired, given the current situation, he no longer had the heart to inquire.

More than ten breaths later, under the gaze of everyone, the Human Emperor's eyes swept over the ministers.

At this moment, the Human Emperor seemed to be in a different mood from usual.

In the past, there was no color in his eyes, but at this moment... there seemed to be some ripples in them.

It was as if he took a last look at his ministers, at the mountains and rivers, at the human race, and at the statue of the emperor in the distance.

Then, the Human Emperor took a deep breath, and both his expression and eyes returned to their usual state, and turned around.

As the five princes lowered their heads and retreated, he looked up at the Taimiao from afar, raised his feet, and walked towards it step by step.

Not until he had walked more than ten feet away did the five princes behind him follow him solemnly.

During the last three hours, according to the etiquette of ancestor worship, the Emperor must sit cross-legged in meditation in the Taimiao, waiting for time to pass. The princes who are allowed to worship ancestors together must accompany him, kneeling in the Taimiao, waiting for the sunrise.

There was silence inside and outside the Taimiao during these three hours.

Even the imperial capital was extremely quiet at this moment.

As time passed, the night sky gradually faded, and it seemed as if there was a flame burning on the horizon, forming a sea of ​​fire, burning the night.

Until the next moment, the red color spread, as if a giant who could support the heaven and earth raised his hand and lifted the veil of the night sky.

Then, in an instant, the rosy rays of light shot out in all directions, covering the sky and the earth, and sprinkling down on the earth.

"It's time for sacrifice!"

At this moment, there were passionate cheers that spread throughout the heaven and earth.

Outside the Imperial Ancestral Temple, everyone from the Emperor to the lower officials knelt down at that moment.

"Royal Star Qi!"

Along with this sound, there are bursts of magnificent chime music, forming a solemn sound that echoes.

In the rosy glow of the sky, the dragon transformed from the destiny of the human race swam in the light, circling the sky of the imperial capital, spitting out bursts of auspiciousness.

At the same time, the shadows of the ancestors of the human race also formed on the sky, and they all bowed towards the direction of the imperial palace.

Naturally, the one being worshipped is not the contemporary Human Emperor, but... the Ancient Emperor Star.

The next moment, the Ancient Emperor Star shone brightly, and with a rumbling sound, it suddenly rose into the air, becoming larger and larger in the eyes of everyone, and a sense of shock arose.

The thick fog that originally existed on this star was now churning violently and turned into seven colors, forming a rainbow, spreading towards the Taimiao.

Finally, it is connected to the Taimiao!
The colorful fog became a road and also a bridge.

The Human Emperor in the Taimiao walked out at this moment, rose into the air, stepped onto the colorful fog bridge first, and walked in front.

The five princes behind him, ten feet behind, followed with their heads lowered.

Afterwards, King Zhenyan walked forward with a deep look in his eyes, and all the kings stepped onto the colorful mist bridge at the same time.

Xu Qing was among them, his expression always solemn.

Behind them were the Heavenly Marquis and the ministers, who were divided into several groups according to their ranks, with a distance of ten feet between them, and walked onto the Rainbow Bridge.

From afar, in silence, thousands of people moved forward, led by the Human Emperor, and slowly approached the Ancient Emperor Star.

At this moment, the people in the imperial capital, as well as many monks who were not qualified to come to the Imperial Ancestral Temple, all looked up and gazed at this extremely grand scene for the human race.

At the same time, there were sounds of singing, breaking the silence of heaven and earth, and speaking out one name after another.

"King Zhenyan, King Zhencang..."

These names continued to be heard as people moved forward on the colorful fog bridge.

Not all the kings of heaven are included, and not all the marquises of heaven are called upon. As for the ministers in the rear, the same is naturally true.

The voice paused after calling the ninety-ninth name.

"All of you above have been qualified to enter the Imperial Star and witness the ancestral worship ceremony."

As these words echoed, the Human Emperor's figure reached the end of the fog bridge. Without any pause, he stepped into the Ancient Emperor Star.

Then, the five princes walked over one after another, followed by all the princes and ministers whose names were called out.

And when all the qualified people including Xu Qing walked out of the fog bridge and stepped into the Ancient Emperor Star, the Ancient Emperor Star shook violently, fog swirled inside, and it seemed vaguely that a vast altar rose up on this star.

At the same time, the great formation of the human race's imperial capital was also fully activated at this moment, focusing on protecting this place.

As for those who were not qualified to enter the Ancient Emperor Star, they stood solemnly on the fog bridge and worshiped one by one.

They will witness the ancestor worship together here.

As for the altar rising on the Ancient Emperor Star, it was getting bigger and clearer at this moment, and finally rose into the air above the Ancient Emperor Star.

It became the Temple of Heaven!
"This... is the Ancient Emperor Star."

Under the Temple of Heaven, all those who were qualified to enter were now there. Xu Qing instinctively looked around and murmured in his heart.

The first thing he felt was the incomparably rich power of destiny and the fluctuations of royal blood coming from all directions.

The sky and the earth changed color at this moment, and the wind and clouds surged.

In addition to the fluctuations of luck and royal bloodline, there is also amazing spiritual energy here.

Its concentration has reached its extreme, transforming into streams of spiritual energy that flow through the void of this Ancient Imperial Star like spiritual dragons, dazzling beyond words.

But Xu Qing didn't have time to observe further, the ancestor worship ceremony had already begun.

The sound of singing and nod echoed.

"The Emperor is wearing armor."

Ancestor worship is the ritual of the Human Emperor, so under the gaze of everyone, the Human Emperor walked forward, and rays of light gathered from all directions, forming a coarse linen robe on his body.

"Since ancient times, emperors have received the will of the immortals and ruled the universe. Therefore, they took off the crown and took off the worry-free shoes, which means they returned to heaven and earth."

The sound came again.

The Human Emperor closed his eyes, and the imperial crown on his head flew up by itself, and his own Worry-Free Shoes also turned into nothingness.

An illusory shadow gathered from the luck and took it with both hands.

In this way, the Human Emperor had no obstacles above his head and no hindrances below his feet, and he could walk forward with one step.

"Ignite the incense of the human race's destiny, and let the ancestors come to witness and enjoy."

In front of the Human Emperor, good fortune gathered again, forming a giant cauldron. Three incense sticks appeared out of thin air and fell into the hands of the Human Emperor, who solemnly placed them into the cauldron.

The next moment, the incense stick lit up and wisps of smoke rose into the sky.

Suddenly, the sky roared, the clouds rolled, and thunder flashed, and it seemed as if many illusory doors appeared in the distance.

These doors float between heaven and earth, as if they penetrate different realms of time and space.

At this moment, black gas was emitted from the door, as if some inexplicable existence, sensed the fragrance of luck, and wanted to transform into demons and monsters to break through the door.

But just as these doors were rumbling and shaking, even more terrifying auras suddenly emanated from the depths of the Ancient Imperial Star under the Temple of Heaven.

Their appearance was extremely domineering, surrounding all directions and forming a pressure as vast as the ocean, with waves of inaudible whispers echoing in all directions.

This whisper was so shocking that the moment it was heard, heaven and earth were shaking.

Except for the place where the Temple of Heaven is located, everything in all directions, including those illusory doors, all collapsed and shattered in this terrifying whisper, turning into spiritual rain, sprinkling on the stars and turning into nourishment.

This scene made Xu Qing, who was watching the ancestor worship ceremony for the first time, feel emotional.

As for the Human Emperor, after lighting the incense sticks, he walked slowly and steadily along the steps in front of him towards the highest point of the Temple of Heaven without stopping for the moment.

Behind him were the five princes, including Ning Yan. Each of them was wearing coarse linen clothes transformed by their luck. They took off their hats and shoes and walked barefoot.

Walk up to the Temple of Heaven.

(End of this chapter)