As soon as he entered, Zong Luo saw the Emperor Yuan standing on the altar in the center of the witch temple, with his eyes closed, and the Great Witch on the side holding up the bone staff, muttering obscure blessings in his mouth.
The Witch Sacrificial Ceremony was the most important ceremony for every monarch of the Great Yuan, without exception.
The preparation for this grand ceremony actually started when each monarch ascended to the throne. Now it’s just going through the process again, and every step required the participation of Emperor Yuan.
The witch leading him bypassed the altar and came to the Wansui Tree. (TL: previously translated as “Thousand-year old tree”)
There were several wooden plaques stained with blood hanging on the tree, and below was a mysterious dark green puddle.
The witches wearing ghost masks and cloaks gathered together, silently staring at the wooden plaque in the center, their lips moving, as if they were silently chanting something.
The witch whispered, “Third Highness, please drop your blood on this wooden plaque.”
Zong Luo took the beast bone dagger she handed over, shook his right hand, and directly cut a wound on his left forearm.
The blood flowed down, gathered into a string, and dripped onto one of the wooden plaques marked with “Three”.
Almost in an instant, this wooden plaque made from the main trunk of the Wansui Tree glowed slightly, absorbing the blood that had passed over the wooden plaque like magic, adding a bit of blood color.
“It’s done.” The witch picked up the silk thread on the wooden plaque, carefully picked it up with the beast bone staff, and carefully hung it over the puddle.
From bleeding to absorption, there were no extra accidents.
Everything was the same as in the previous life.
Zong Luo took the witch medicine and skillfully applied a layer on his arm.
In the next few days, not only the Great Witch, but these witches also have to work day and night here.
The calculation of national destiny involved a lot, and the preparation time naturally couldn’t be one or two days. In fact, it started seven days ago. It’s just that the results would be out on the day of the Witch Sacrificial Ceremony.
One day after the ceremony, these wooden plaques would be sealed in a box, next, put on a death seal, and placed on the altar. It could only be opened on the last day of the grand ceremony to see the final result inside.
In fact, in Zong Luo’s eyes, the culture of the witches was not only mysterious, but also somewhat eerie.
Because they were different from the cultivation novels he read before transmigrating inside the book, the methods of the witches tended towards equivalent exchange.
For example, during the Witch Sacrificial Ceremony, if one wanted to calculate the national destiny, not only did the Great Witch need to give up their own lifespan, but also some fresh beasts were needed to be killed.
Behind the Great Witch Temple, many fierce and strange beasts were kept, and their blood was used to activate the altar.
It was said that in the primitive period, human sacrifices were used, and the power of the witches could be even greater. Nowadays, there were still some places in the folk that were practicing such barbaric witchcraft.
Thinking about this, Zong Luo turned around and wanted to leave.
Just at this moment, the ceremony on the altar also came to an end.
Emperor Yuan washed his hands in the clean basin that was brought over, and after drying them, he turned around. Just as he was about to ask about the whereabouts of the Third Prince from Yuan Jia who was standing by his side, he made eye contact with Zong Luo who was about to walk out of the main hall.
“Have come back?”
The war in Yu Country was victorious, leaving only Wei Country, Emperor Yuan’s mood had been good these two days.
Just waiting for his good eldest son to come back from the front line, and after the Witch Sacrificial Ceremony, be crowned as the crown prince, but he didn’t expect to see the scene of his third son’s hair becoming all white, his sword eyebrows immediately frowned.
Zong Luo had just stood still, and hadn’t made psychological preparations yet, when he saw the emperor in a black robe hurriedly walk down from the altar and came straight to him, asking in a deep voice, “What’s the matter with the hair?”
Hearing Emperor Yuan’s voice, Zong Luo’s heart choked.
‘Senior brother, do you want to know how Emperor Yuan died?’
The words Yu Beizhou had just said seemed to echo in his ears again.
Zong Luo couldn’t imagine that the Father Emperor in his previous life was actually infuriated to death.
As long as he thought about this, he was in unbearable pain and was unsteady.
“What’s wrong?”
Emperor Yuan noticed that his face was wrong, his face turned cold, and he ordered loudly, “Someone, go and call the imperial physician!”
In an instant, almost all the servants who could move in the main hall surrounded him.
Even the Great Witch who had just collected the bone staff was pulled over.
In a daze, Zong Luo only felt that these noisy voices seemed to be far away from him. Everyone was surrounding him, but he felt like he was separated by a layer of frosted glass and couldn’t hear clearly.
Having shed his previous resentment, he could clearly see the concern and anxiety in Emperor Yuan’s sharp eyes behind the Mian Diao, and even the fine lines at the corners of his eyes, none of them were false.
But why. Why. He was fake.
Zong Luo thought that the wound could heal itself. He worked hard for several months before he broke free from the suffocating pain that seemed to strangle his spine.
When he really faced this scene, the collapse was only in an instant.
Seeing Zong Luo’s red eyes, Emperor Yuan’s expression became more serious, wishing that the old imperial physician could grow wings and fly to the Great Witch Temple now.
Just as Emperor Yuan’s eyebrows were locked, he suddenly noticed a tugging force coming from the sleeve of his dragon robe.
The white-clothed prince stood in place, and the black and white pupils finally found the focus.
He choked in a low voice, “Father Emperor, I have something to say to you.”
