“Are you calling us two?”
Yun Xuzi thought for a moment, then hesitated as he asked He Xiuyuan.
“Yes, both Fellow Daoists seem to be from an acquaintance’s sect. Please come up and have a chat.”
Hearing this, Yun Xuzi was slightly startled. After some thought, he nodded and led his Junior Brother upstairs.
A moment later, both of them stood before He Xiuyuan.
The leftovers on the table in front of He Xiuyuan had already been cleared by the waiter, leaving a clean table.
“May I ask who the acquaintance Your Excellency mentioned is?”
Yun Xuzi looked at He Xiuyuan and asked, a little puzzled.
“Just now, I overheard your conversation. You two should be from Qiyun Temple. Then, do you two know Fellow Daoist Songfeng?”
Fellow Daoist Songfeng?
Hearing this, Yun Xuzi’s expression immediately relaxed. “Fellow Daoist knows my Senior Brother?”
“So Fellow Daoist Songfeng is your Senior Brother. I had a brief encounter with Fellow Daoist Songfeng before, and this time I specifically came to pay him a visit.”
He Xiuyuan smiled and nodded in response.
Yun Xuzi’s heart brightened upon hearing this, and he then pulled his Junior Brother to sit down.
He had just been wondering about He Xiuyuan’s address, but now it made sense.
Since it was an acquaintance, he would not stand on ceremony.
“So that’s it. Fellow Daoist must also be here to participate in Qiyun Temple’s Heaven Offering Ceremony, right?”
Heaven Offering Ceremony?
He Xiuyuan’s expression was surprised upon hearing this. What was that? He had never heard of it before.
Seeing He Xiuyuan’s expression, Yun Xuzi was immediately full of surprise. “Fellow Daoist isn’t here for the Heaven Offering Ceremony?”
He Xiuyuan shook his head in response. “I am only here to visit an old friend, which is why I came. I have never heard of this Heaven Offering Ceremony.”
This time, it was Yun Xuzi’s turn to be astonished. However, a moment later, Yun Xuzi smiled. “Then Fellow Daoist has certainly come at a fortuitous time. This Heaven Offering Ceremony is our Qiyun Temple’s most grand ceremony. Typically, it only happens once every few decades.”
He Xiuyuan was immediately a little surprised. “Then, what exactly is this Heaven Offering Ceremony?”
“Oh, this Heaven Offering Ceremony, as the name suggests, is to offer sacrifices to Heaven and Earth, to seek the Spiritual Qi of Heaven and Earth, and thereby gather Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi to strengthen our Qiyun Temple.”
Knowing that He Xiuyuan was likely a cultivator, Yun Xuzi had no intention of concealing anything.
He Xiuyuan’s face immediately filled with curiosity. “Such a method, is it effective?”
He knew that the Seven Stars Grand Formation could gather Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi, but he had never expected that this Heaven Offering Ceremony could also have such an effect.
“As the saying goes, Heaven and Earth have spirits, so it is naturally effective.”
Yun Xuzi smiled faintly, appearing very confident.
The young Daoist disciple beside him, hearing this, blinked his eyes and then looked at his Senior Brother with a strange expression, asking, “But Senior Brother, didn’t you tell me before that this sacrificial ceremony stopped working a long time ago?”
Yun Xuzi’s expression stiffened, and he looked at his Junior Brother, somewhat speechless.
After meeting He Xiuyuan’s curious gaze, he pondered for a moment before letting out a long sigh. “Indeed, it stopped working a long time ago.”
He Xiuyuan was originally surprised that this sacrificial ceremony could have such an effect. Now, seeing Yun Xuzi’s answer, he was also somewhat astonished.
“Why did it stop working?”
“Alas… I heard it’s because the Heavenly Dao is incomplete. Fellow Daoist should know about this, right?”
Yun Xuzi sighed in response.
He Xiuyuan nodded. Of course, he knew about this. He heard that many Seniors and Fellow Daoists had gone to seek ways to mend the Heavenly Dao.
Yun Xuzi continued, “A long time ago, our Qiyun Temple’s method of sacrificing to Heaven and Earth was extremely famous. Every time it was time for the sacrifice, countless Fellow Daoists would come to observe the ceremony. However, later on, this sacrifice to Heaven and Earth stopped working.”
“Later, after many failures, we no longer had the face to invite fellow cultivators to come, as repeated failures were too embarrassing.”
Yun Xuzi briefly explained the situation to He Xiuyuan, who then suddenly understood.
“Since it failed every time, why try again this time? Is it to pin hopes on that elusive sliver of possibility?”
He Xiuyuan thought for a moment and asked, somewhat puzzled.
Yun Xuzi shook his head in response. “Not exactly. If the person performing the Heaven and Earth Sacrifice Ceremony has extremely high Dao cultivation, or if the offerings and sacrificial prayers are excellent, then the probability of success will greatly increase.”
“This time, I heard from Senior Brother Songfeng that the offerings are good. Additionally, the sacrificial prayers that the temple has been refining for many years should also have some effect.”
“Therefore, this time, it might actually succeed.”
So that’s how it is… He Xiuyuan nodded gently. Just as he was about to say something, the waiter whom He Xiuyuan had called over earlier returned with a tray.
“Esteemed guest, your dishes have been re-prepared. Please enjoy!”
After the waiter finished speaking, he arranged the delicacies one by one and then retreated.
Looking at the freshly prepared delicacies, He Xiuyuan extended his hand and made a gesture of invitation. “It seems you two haven’t eaten yet. Why not have some?”
“Uh…”
Yun Xuzi hesitated, but seeing He Xiuyuan’s smiling demeanor and his Junior Brother constantly swallowing, he nodded, expressed his thanks, and began to eat with his Junior Brother.
“Thank you, Fellow Daoist. I’m ashamed to say, if it weren’t for Fellow Daoist, we two would probably be going hungry today.”
Yun Xuzi thanked He Xiuyuan while eating.
“It’s nothing, just a meal. But how did you two end up in such a difficult situation?”
He Xiuyuan asked, somewhat puzzled, while sipping his tea.
Yun Xuzi sighed in response. “Alas, we two were originally on our way back to Qiyun Temple, but as we passed a village, we saw ghostly Qi appearing in the hamlet. Knowing there must be something unclean inside, we entered the village, found that family, and after stating our names, we helped them get rid of the ghost.”
“Everything went smoothly, but that family had been troubled by that wild ghost for quite some time. Everyone in the family was tainted with ghostly Qi, their bodies were weak, and they needed money for medical treatment and medicine. My abilities are not high; I only know how to eliminate demons and ghosts. We were powerless in such matters. Seeing that this family had exhausted all their savings, we left them some silver for their medical expenses.”
“So, after giving them the money, we have been very frugal on our way back, and still, we only have one copper coin left.”
Yun Xuzi said, giving a wry smile.
In doing this ghost-exorcising work, he didn’t earn any money but instead spent quite a bit.
He Xiuyuan suddenly understood. Then his gaze fell on the young Daoist disciple beside him, and his expression was somewhat strange. “And what about this young Fellow Daoist? I observe that he doesn’t seem to have much Dao cultivation. Is he already going down the mountain to gain experience in demon-slaying?”
Looking at the other person, not only did he not seem to have any Dao cultivation, but he was also too young. It wasn’t yet time for him to leave the mountain, was it?
