Chapter 112 A Glimmer of Hope

A crisp sound, as if from the depths of the heart.

Wu Yu's footsteps abruptly halted.

The sound in his ears slowly dissipated, its after韵 lingering. He almost thought it was his own hallucination. Holding his breath, he slowly turned his head, his breathing suddenly heavy. Then, he saw a figure enveloped in light emerge on the ancient altar, passed down through generations of Yin Shang people.

He saw the simple bronze jue beside him, the ancient ding with its patterns of dan bird. Waves of bronze-colored flames burned around him, emitting an ancient aura like that of a god. At least, that burning light was similar to that of ghosts and gods. Perhaps the change was too far beyond his expectations. Wu Yu was momentarily lost, his disbelief even greater than his elation. After several breaths, he murmured:

"Are you… 'The Emperor'?"

Wei Yuan barely understood his words. He shook his head, not concealing anything, and explained in a frank and peaceful tone:

"I am not the Emperor you believe in."

"I am just a, well, a human who likes to collect antiques and stories. To you, I am just a passerby, who by chance, made contact with you. That's all…"

Not the Emperor?

The hope in Wu Yu's heart sank uncontrollably. He looked at the radiant figure and the power similar to the aura of ghosts and gods in the records. He looked at the bronze sacrificial vessels depicted in the inherited classics, but doubt arose in his heart.

Wei Yuan did not delve too deeply into the question of identity.

Nor did he reveal that he was from Shenzhou. He had not yet confirmed what attitude these surviving Yin Shang people held towards those from the land of Shenzhou. Some things had to be kept secret. He paused and smiled in the language he knew, "I just heard you mention a topic that interests me very much."

"You want to restart the blood sacrifice?"

Wei Yuan was now quite grateful that the language of the late Shang dynasty was not too different from that of his own time, the late Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors period. He could still communicate with Wu Yu. Otherwise, perhaps no one in this era could communicate with these surviving Yin Shang people.

Of course, the girl Jiao, who had lived for who knows how many years, was certainly not included.

Blood sacrifice… very interesting.

Wu Yu's heart sank upon hearing this. His mind was a little dazed. After a long time, he said, "Yes… Emperor, no, are you really only interested in the blood sacrifice?" He wanted to question this Emperor, but the words of his friend swirled in his mind. Wu Yu finally lowered his head and said with difficulty, "Then, we will sacrifice blood to you, imploring your response."

No, I'm here to stop this nonsense. Wei Yuan's expression was peaceful and serene. He said, "No, I am not interested in blood sacrifice. I am here to stop you, and… solve your problem." He paused and asked a question that he had always found strange, "What exactly did Di Xin do back then?"

"What trouble have you encountered?"

Di Xin…

Addressing him by his name?

Wu Yu slowly exhaled, organizing his stiff thoughts. After a long time, he replied:

"That was a long time ago."

"Back then, Shang was beset by internal and external troubles. Ji Fa's army was closing in on the city of Zhao Ge. There were beings similar to ghosts and gods in their army. The King decided to preserve the flame of Shang, so he opened the forbidden underground palace and used the method created by King Yu to try to send the real city of Zhao Ge out of the human realm, to wait for future generations to return."

"But the King did not leave with us. He chose to stay behind with General Elai to hold off Ji Fa's army. Our ancestors waited for nine days and nine nights, but the King did not return. So we knew that the King and the General had fulfilled their duties and died in battle. We had no choice but to let the city of Zhao Ge leave the current human world, to avoid the flames of war."

"We must inherit the legacy of our ancestors, cultivate ourselves, and wait for the day when we can return to the human world."

"At first, we prepared for decades, even saving resources. Those stored supplies could last for a hundred years. But a hundred years passed, and we could not find a way back to the human world. That's when we realized we had encountered a bigger problem."

Wu Yu's tone was painful, and Wei Yuan could infer from their current situation what they had probably encountered back then. He sighed inwardly.

Sure enough, Wu Yu barely managed to compose himself and said in a low voice:

"We lost our way and direction."

"Most importantly, food and water were not enough. We had to look for them outside. Finally, with the efforts of the ghosts and gods, we managed to connect Zhao Ge to another 'territory' after struggling for two hundred years, finding land and water to live on."

"But soon, the fierce beasts from the *Classic of Mountains and Seas* appeared."

"That's when we realized that we had arrived at the place where King Yu had exiled the creatures of the *Classic of Mountains and Seas*. It was a barbaric era, and there were even monsters as powerful as ghosts and gods. We were the descendants of those who had exiled them, and they were full of hatred towards us."

"We fought, built barriers, and finally managed to gain a foothold."

A sad and helpless look appeared on Wu Yu's face. He said:

"But at that time, another contradiction became increasingly prominent. Sacrifices require blood. The initial tradition was to use slaves, prisoners of war, to please the ghosts and gods. But the King sent us out, leaving only the seeds of Shang. How could we use our own people for blood sacrifices?"

"At that time, everyone was divided into two tribes. One part supported continuing the blood sacrifices to reproduce and thrive, while the other part decided to support each other and abolish the barbaric practice of blood sacrifice. The two sides went through a long struggle, and finally, two thousand years ago, completely abolished blood sacrifice."

"The ancestors of each generation constantly improved the sacrificial rites. Finally, they were able to use the fierce beasts of the mountains and seas that had been killed for blood sacrifice, which could also please the ghosts and gods and receive blessings. We were finally able to live here. But later, we began to realize that something was wrong. The blessings of the ghosts and gods became weaker and weaker."

"Even with constant training, the results of cultivation could not compare with the original effects. These changes could not be seen in one year or ten years, but after a thousand or two thousand years, they became increasingly clear. Especially in the last hundred years, for some reason, those fierce beasts of the mountains and seas have become more and more violent, while we have become weaker and weaker."

"Not to mention comparing with the ancient ancestors, we can't even compare with the people of three generations ago. Before, we could still rely on bronze mechanical beasts and exotic beasts from the mountains and seas to resist, but now the fierce beasts are getting stronger and stronger, our harvests are getting smaller and smaller, and the quality is getting worse and worse. If there are not enough sacrifices, we can't please the ghosts and gods, which leads to the next generation having worse and worse aptitude."

"If this continues generation after generation, we merchants may die out in less than a hundred years."

Wu Yu's face was full of pain and unwillingness. Wei Yuan finally understood why they had chosen blood sacrifice.

They had been forced to the brink and had no choice but to make this last attempt.

Wei Yuan frowned slightly, analyzing the reason for this situation. He had experienced several lifetimes, and he had been involved in and understood the methods of the pre-Qin period and the earliest Taoism. In addition, the Heavenly Master's Mansion was now open to many classics, so he could be said to be at an absolutely profound level of knowledge.

Of course, the most important reason may be that he had done too much to destroy temples and idols.

Your deadliest enemy knows you best.

The reverse is also true.

Those evil gods and licentious sacrifices all imitated the ghosts and gods sacrifices of the Shang.

Through cruel methods such as live sacrifice and blood sacrifice, they pleased the ghosts and gods, and then transferred part of the power of the sacrifices to the person presiding over the sacrifice as a reward, while the other part was swallowed by the ghosts and gods as the foundation of their existence.

Those rewards may be vitality or cultivation.

This may also be one of the reasons why prisoners of war were used as sacrifices.

Those were all elites on the battlefield, and their vitality and strength must have reached a certain level. After the sacrifice, part of their vitality was transferred to the person presiding over the sacrifice, which could greatly help the latter's cultivation. If this logic is used to analyze it, then the decline of the Yin Shang immigrants becomes very clear.

Their cessation of blood sacrifice was equivalent to depriving the ghosts and gods of the foundation of their existence.

Without sacrifices to replenish them for a long time, even the most powerful ghosts and gods would gradually weaken and eventually dissipate into the world.

Wei Yuan could even judge that the ghosts and gods of Yin Shang had definitely dissipated now.

Wu Yu had just said that after the constant exploration of the ancestors, they were able to complete blood sacrifices with exotic beasts from the mountains and seas. According to the existing logic, this was likely a ritual that did not require ghosts and gods to preside over, but simply used vitality to strengthen the human body's functions and aptitude. However, without the guidance of ghosts and gods, the conversion efficiency of this ritual would inevitably be very low.

It was only because there were still strong people in the human race at that time who could kill powerful fierce beasts that the strength of those fierce beasts made up for this point. However, as generations continued, each generation was weaker than the last, making it difficult to kill powerful fierce beasts. Without using powerful fierce beasts for tempering, the next generation would be weaker, forming a vicious circle.

Until now, the riot of exotic beasts had completely forced them into a desperate situation.

Wei Yuan pondered slightly and suddenly thought of a possibility—

The riot of exotic beasts from the mountains and seas also happened in the last hundred years.

The resurgence of spiritual energy also happened in the last hundred years.

Could there be a relationship between these two things?

Wu Yu could hardly restrain the sadness and helplessness in his heart. His face was full of pain as he said, "Whether you are the Emperor or not, please help us. Once the blood sacrifice begins, will we have to fall back into an era where we must kill each other to survive?"

Wei Yuan was silent, thinking. Since the Yin Shang ritual was missing because of the lack of a ritual host.

Then, all that was needed was to find a way to replace the role of the ghosts and gods.

He thought for a moment and asked, "Are there still mountains and rivers in the city of Zhao Ge that have been sacrificed to for generations?"

The Shang dynasty had a record of 'sacrificing to the Emperor of Heaven, sacrificing to the Six Sects, offering sacrifices to the mountains and rivers, and offering sacrifices to all the gods'.

Therefore, under normal circumstances, their sacrifices could not lack mountains. However, the current situation was special, so Wei Yuan asked.

Wu Yu hurriedly said, "Yes, there is an ancestral vein that has been sacrificed to since the time of our ancestor, Shang Tang."

At this moment, the Shinto nature of Sakura Island was about to be completely burned out. After Wei Yuan received Wu Yu's answer, he breathed a sigh of relief and no longer hesitated. He placed his fingers together on the bronze plate, concentrated slightly, and wrote down the edict he had created in one breath. Then, he opened his palm slightly, and the seal appeared, slowly imprinting a mark on it.

The edict rippled with light.

Then, this extremely extravagant edict, directly consuming Shinto nature, passed through the bronze plate.

It directly appeared on the altar.

Wei Yuan felt a large consumption of power in the seal, and the Shinto nature of Sakura Island was consumed even faster. Even he himself felt a sense of fatigue. Wu Yu saw an edict that he had never seen before appear on the altar. It had an aura as heavy as a mountain and as far-reaching as the wind. Then, it slowly fell into his palm.

His breathing almost stopped. He carefully held the edict in his hands. The image on the altar slowly began to disappear. Wu Yu heard the voice say:

"In the sacrifice before the blood sacrifice, place this edict between the positions of all the Emperors above and below, and then…"

The voice paused slightly and said calmly:

"Then, recite my name."

"Yuan."