The Chongming Pavilion housed the most numerous ancient wood scroll paintings. As flames swirled, the smoke coiled as if to engulf the entire pavilion.
Temple attendants bustled about, fighting the fire. Qin Sanxiang, seeing that none of their guards remained, immediately got up and shook awake Xi Menhongchun.
"Wake up quickly, our chance has arrived."
Xi Menhongchun's injuries were much more severe than Qin Sanxiang's. He bit his tongue, the pain sharp enough to jolt him fully awake.
"I'll go check the restrictions here."
Seeing that he was awake, Qin Sanxiang went to inspect the tightly shut stone door ahead.
To prevent their escape, Ming Shenshi had not only assigned guards but also set up a confinement formation around the stone door. Xi Menhongchun knew nothing about formations, but Qin Sanxiang, having ventured out more, had some understanding of them.
"This confinement formation is the same as the silencing array in the temple. While its effect is significant, its design is quite crude. It’s merely meant to trap us here. To undo it is both simple and difficult."
Xi Menhongchun coughed a couple of times. "What do you mean?"
He suspected it wasn't that easy. If it were truly simple, why was Qin Sanxiang frowning so deeply?
Qin Sanxiang spread her hands helplessly. "If someone from outside could push the door open, this formation would be broken."
Unfortunately, there was no one outside at the moment.
Moreover, even if someone were present, with their current cultivation levels, neither she nor Xi Menhongchun could directly influence them to help open the door. They could only resort to trickery.
Qin Sanxiang let out a wry smile. She had seen hope, yet felt an uncontrollable despair. Even she, usually so carefree and straightforward, couldn't help but feel dejected.
"Perhaps this is just heaven's way of playing a joke on us."
Xi Menhongchun's normally stern face remained expressionless. He simply closed his eyes for a moment, a flicker of struggle crossing his features. Then, he opened them and said, "I will try to force the door open."
The Xi Men family possessed innate great strength, and he was blessed with a supreme lightning spiritual root. If he used the Xi Men family's secret technique to forcibly recover his cultivation, he believed he could break through the door.
Seeing Qin Sanxiang's disapproval, he said sternly, "This opportunity is rare. If we miss this, we don't know when the next one will be. By then, if we're made sacrifices, it will truly be too late."
He was not a man of many words, and speaking so much to Qin Sanxiang was already an extreme.
Xi Menhongchun walked to Qin Sanxiang's side, joined two fingers, formed a hand seal, and chanted a spell. Just as he was about to proceed, he heard Qin Sanxiang's restraining voice.
"Wait! Xi Menhongchun, look quickly, doesn't this little leaf look familiar?"
From the crack of the tightly shut stone door, a small vine leaf suddenly emerged. The leaf was neither perfectly round nor oval, its green as deep as a clear pool, and incredibly translucent.
As if hearing Qin Sanxiang's words, the leaf even seemed to wave its petiole at her.
"Am I seeing things?" Xi Menhongchun was a little bewildered.
This vine, wasn't it Bai Shengyi's contracted spiritual plant?
Qin Sanxiang slapped Xi Menhongchun, ignoring his grimace of pain, and laughed heartily, "See things? Of course, Shengyi has come to save us!"
Thus, a few incense sticks later, a man and a woman, clad in temple attendant uniforms and followed by a vine, furtively slipped out of Chongming Pavilion.
The Central Domain Temple was vast and immense. Due to various reasons that often led temple attendants to be consumed by silencing arrays, the flow of personnel within the temple was very high. Even when Qin Sanxiang and Xi Menhongchun, dressed in conspicuous black robes, walked through the resplendent temple, appearing as strangers, no one suspected them.
"Where are we going?"
Qin Sanxiang asked.
However, she wouldn't need an answer for long.
Dawn arrived, and golden light bathed the temple, brilliant and sacred. Countless black-robed temple attendants emerged from the four great halls. Before the attendants marched groups of female slaves, their expressions either numb or filled with fearful reluctance. Some female slaves attempted to turn and flee, but their limbs refused to obey. As the attendants recited divine pronouncements, the force controlling them forward never ceased.
The usually solemn and majestic main hall was now decorated to be even more magnificent and grand. With a "rumble," the wall at the very front of the main hall split open, revealing a dark, dense space.
The darkness seemed ominous at first, but under the brilliant golden light surrounding it, it was not so prominent.
No one paid attention to this minor detail.
Because the Great Divine Master, who was rarely seen, had appeared at the sacrificial ceremony.
"Greetings, Great Divine Master!"
Everyone bowed in unison. Xi Menhongchun and Qin Sanxiang exchanged a quick glance and followed suit.
The Great Divine Master seldom appeared in public. Now, he wore a wooden mask, but the mask was etched with an extremely complex formation, preventing even Bai Shengyi from discerning his true appearance through it.
"Great Divine Master, these are this year's main sacrificial Divine Maiden and Holy Son." Ming Shenshi respectfully and cautiously introduced Bai Shengyi and Han Bei to the Great Divine Master. After a pause, he added, "Both hail from the East Temple, and the Divine Maiden Bai specifically from Anyang Village."
"Anyang Village?" The Great Divine Master's gaze fell upon Bai Shengyi.
His gaze appeared remarkably gentle and loving, yet it possessed extreme penetration, as if he wished to see through Bai Shengyi entirely.
Bai Shengyi subtly furrowed her brow, but her face remained smiling. "Indeed."
"Good," the Great Divine Master chuckled softly. "Anyang Village is indeed worthy of being the former dwelling place of the Wood God. It is prosperous and full of outstanding individuals."
He acted like a benevolent elder, patting Bai Shengyi's shoulder and encouraging her, "Little girl, do your best."
After he spoke, Ming Shenshi stepped forward to urge Bai Shengyi and Han Bei to preside over the sacrifice.
"Have you remembered everything I told you last night?"
The main sacrificial ritual of the Winter Moon Festival was lengthy and grand, and the roles of the Divine Maiden and Holy Son were crucial, allowing for no mistakes whatsoever.
Han Bei hesitated to speak.
"If you have anything to say, ask it quickly," Ming Shenshi said impatiently.
Han Bei: "Ming Shenshi, do we really have to use our own spiritual energy to support the entire sacrifice? But neither of our cultivation levels has reached Nascent Soul..."
"That is your own concern." Ming Shenshi's hidden malevolence finally surfaced. He swept his gaze over the two of them. "I warn you, do not cause any trouble during the sacrifice. Otherwise, both the East Temple and your families will be the sacrifices for the next Winter Moon Festival."
Han Bei's heart sank.
After Ming Shenshi departed, he quietly said to Bai Shengyi, "In previous years, the Winter Moon Festival would grant the Divine Maiden and Holy Son seven days to prepare, and the Central Domain Temple would also assist them in improving their cultivation..."
He didn't finish his sentence, but Bai Shengyi understood.
"It's my fault," Bai Shengyi said frankly. "Later, you can just go through the motions. Leave the rest to me."
"That's not what I meant."
Han Bei quickly waved his hands. Although he was shrewd, he dared not scheme against this person. His lips moved rapidly as he explained.
"Divine Maiden Bai may not know, but Ming Shenshi has always looked down on the East Temple. Yet now, the East Temple's prestige has overshadowed the North and South Temples. This sacrifice will not be easy."
As they spoke, faint wisps of smoke suddenly rose within the main hall, and a缥缈 ethereal fairy music suddenly resounded.
Light veils danced gracefully, and then fairies emerged from the smoke, some holding pipa, others playing zither melodies, and some performing graceful dances with flowing sleeves. Following this, myriad flowers bloomed, vegetation flourished, and a seed sprouted from the soil, germinated, branched out, and in the blink of an eye, grew into a sapling, then into a towering ancient tree, bursting with vigorous vitality.
The Winter Moon Festival had begun!