Chapter 683 - 368: The Ritual of Advancing to Sequence Five, Worshipping Douluo Heaven
Hu...
The fierce wind roared into the Bronze Hall.
"Ying ying ying!"
Small and Big Eyes tossed a stack of Copper Plates into the cleaning basin.
"Ao ao ao!"
Butterfly Knot held a brush, scrubbing a stone jar.
In these past few days, numerous documents and various vessels, pots and jars have been unearthed at Fox Mountain.
Behind the Bronze Table, Bai Mo sipped hot tea, picking up a large square piece of turquoise, examining it from left to right.
"This thing... is it an inkstone? A turquoise inkstone?
"A collection from some Sequence Five [Grass Pill Master] of the Ancient Immortal Dynasty?"
It seems that both ancient and modern people have a liking for these brightly colored stones!
The text inscribed on it, Bai Mo couldn’t understand, it might be written in Sequence Five’s script.
"Not really useful."
He set down the inkstone and picked up a bronze disc, scrutinizing the inscriptions on it.
"Uh... a token of love bestowed by some Master of Communication to his wife?"
Bai Mo casually tossed it aside.
"This is strange, are there no documents related to the ascension ritual?
"What exactly is needed to ascend to Sequence Five?"
The apprentices had dug towards the core area of the Pill Palace, having already excavated the sites related to the six major knowledge domains of Sequence Six. Surely they’ve reached the ascension-related sites by now?
Bai Mo put down his teacup and moved a square piece of bronze stele to the table.
The handwriting seemed somewhat familiar...
"Marquis Qing Yue?
"Documents left by the Marquis?"
[...The cost of constructing a Bronze Altar is substantial, yet Grass Pill Masters are even more precious]
[Cyan Moon Pill Palace encourages everyone to enthusiastically attempt ascension, without sparing the altar]
What does this mean?
Does ascension require an altar?
Is the altar a consumable? A one-time use?
[The Pill Palace encourages ascension without charging the Master of Communication for altar forging fees]
[Once ascension is successfully achieved, then the related costs are settled]
Bai Mo smirked.
What’s the Marquis Qing Yue’s aim here?
Offering a student loan, huh?
And if many altars are consumed without successfully ascending, does it mean you used them for free?
Consistent failure equates to continuous freebies?
[The Pill Palace encourages ascension, but not mindless ascension]
[If uncertain, you may wait and strengthen your foundation first]
[If you fail to ascend three consecutive times, exhausting three altars, you’ll need to settle the related costs]
Bai Mo frowned.
"Heh, as expected, with the Marquis’s miserly nature, it’s nearly impossible to freeload her resources."
But how come the altar is a consumable item?
Is there some reasoning?
What is the trick behind this?
Bai Mo was puzzled.
He was about to sift through the documents for more...
Suddenly, with a "swish," a car screeched to a halt at the entrance.
White Necklace, from the excavation site, jumped out of the car and rushed into the great hall.
"Ying ying ying, ao ao ao ao!"
It waved its Fox Claw, pointing towards the excavation site direction.
They’ve dug out something massive, requiring the master’s presence to check it out in person!
...
Hu...
Under the dark clouds, the wild wind howled, sand and dust swirling everywhere.
In an enormous pit, the soil was excavated, leaving rugged, irregular hollows.
A colossal Copper Tower spanned the pit, stretching over a hundred meters from top to bottom!
Countless tiny scarlet figures, wielding shovels or brooms, were cleaning the soil off it, revealing the characters and patterns on its surface.
"Ying ying ying!"
Quanquan Hu and several fellow apprentices pointed at the carvings on the tower’s surface.
This picture, though simple in brushwork, captured the essence gracefully.
It depicted a ball-shaped Alchemy Furnace hanging under a giant tree.
Under this Alchemy Furnace, a blazing bonfire burned fierce and strong.
Beside the raging bonfire, a series of small figures danced.
"Ying ying ying?"
"Ao ao ao?"
The foxes beamed with grins.
Based on the proportions in the painting, how large would that Alchemy Furnace be?
The small dancers in front of the Alchemy Furnace looked tiny. The Alchemy Furnace must be about as large as the Bronze Hall!
The foxes held a simple philosophy... big equals good! Big equals valuable! Big equals powerful treasure!
But here’s the conundrum... every fox’s eyes lit up with curiosity, eager to know where this Alchemy Furnace was buried.
Where could they dig it out?
...
White Belt and several senior brothers, at a distance of dozens of meters away, observed another scene engraved on the tower.
"Ying ying ying!"
"Ao ao ao!"
They saw a depiction of hundreds of Immortals, gathered in a phalanx around an altar, wearing crowns, donning robes, swaying as if chanting scriptures.
White Belt leaned in, quite yearning!
"Ying ying ying, ao ao!"
These robes looked really nice, it wanted to try wearing them too!
Beside it, Pang Youyou proudly flaunted its belly.
"Ao ao, ying ying ying!"
It once wore such robes!
And it wore them with the master!
Flying in the sky wearing the robe, basking in attention, making a grand display!
While watching the commotion, the foxes cleaned the site.
The tower was laden with writings!
Besides the patterns, it was covered densely with inscriptions. Though they couldn’t comprehend them, they understood that the more words, the more formidable the documentation! This tower surely held immense value!
Finally...
Swoosh!
A car parked not far away.
Black Necklace brought Small and Big Eyes and Butterfly Knot, along with the master, to the huge pit.
The foxes all dashed over, gathering before the master, eagerly awaiting to learn what this thing truly was.
"Ei?
"This thing is rather huge."
Bai Mo surveyed it, reaching out to touch, his Divine Sense dispersed like wind, assessing the object.
"An altar... is this the kind that the Marquis didn’t want to be freely used?"
Though this object was tall and massive, resembling a tower, its top was a platform, perfect for standing atop and reading sacrificial texts!