readytorunbook Chapter 153 The Prayer Ceremony at the Ten Thousand Ren Cliff
Chapter 153 The Prayer Ceremony at the Ten Thousand Ren Cliff
Lin Ni smiled apologetically: "Chief of the Great Jin Clan, I'm sorry to have troubled you! I've never attended your Wanren Stone Cliff's blessing ceremony before, so please make the arrangements."
Standing next to Da Jin, a tall, dark-skinned middle-aged woman said, "Isn't this just causing trouble? We usually only hold a blessing ceremony once a season, but we specially prepared another one for you to come and pray today, making me come all the way from the tribe!"
Lin Ni glanced at her disdainful face, then at her protruding belly, realizing she was pregnant. She simply smiled and remained silent. She had indeed troubled them, but she hadn't asked them to go to so much trouble! She wanted to come and see for herself, and they had made such a fuss, and now they were blaming her? However, she didn't want to argue with a pregnant woman, so she let her talk.
Da Jin gently nudged his partner: "They're guests who've come from afar! You should start organizing things."
The woman looked reluctant, but Da Jin coaxed her several times before she stepped forward and loudly announced, "Please come to the center, everyone. We are about to begin the prayer!"
The chatter gradually quieted down, and the orcs who were sitting or leaning against something stood up. Unlike the tiger beast tribe, where the males retreated to the surrounding area, everyone stayed where they were, standing still and waiting quietly.
Lin Ni looked at Yao, who smiled encouragingly at her, and the two held hands and waited in place.
Da Jin's partner, Sang, shouted, "Pray!" Then, leading everyone, they knelt down with their hands clasped in front of their chests, and bowed three times before the stone tablet. After bowing, Sang raised his head and said loudly, "We pray to the Beast God from the towering cliffs, hoping that the Beast God will bless us!"
All the beastmen chanted in unison: "We pray to the Beast God from the towering cliffs, hoping that the Beast God will bless us!"
Then all the orcs, including Xuan and Ling, transformed into their beast forms. There were only a few ferocious beasts left on the scene, mostly bird-like orcs. They then looked up at the stone tablet and let out a series of cries. The cries were somewhat sharp and piercing, giving Lin Ni a headache.
Only Lin Ni and a few others did not transform into their beast forms. Lin Ni did not have a beast form, Yao forgot that he could not transform into his beast form, Ye had never participated in the blessing ceremony before due to his background, so he did not have this kind of on-site reaction, and Bai only participated when he transformed into human form, and since his companions had not transformed, he also did not transform.
Flame, who transformed into a beast among them: Why do I feel like I'm the odd one out?
Fortunately, the orcs only cried out for less than a minute before they all turned back into human form. They knelt down on the spot, made an OK sign with their hands, placed their left hand on their right chest and their right hand, palm up, on their right abdomen, closed their eyes, and began to pray.
Lin Ni and the others also knelt down, followed everyone else's posture, and closed their eyes.
The blessing ceremony at this towering cliff is basically the same as that of the Tiger Beast Tribe, presumably because the two places have a close connection.
At the southern end of the towering cliffs, this ancient stone tablet, also round at the top and square at the bottom, floats several hundred meters above the ground. Because they are now high in the mountains, they don't feel far from the tablet. The tablet is about ten meters high and five meters wide, without any patterns or carvings. Behind the tablet, there are layers upon layers of clouds, exactly like the tablet amidst the towering mountains.
The two places, "Layered Mountains" and "Towering Cliffs," are quite closely connected. Faced with two identical stone tablets, it's no wonder they've always believed they are the same Beast God Tablet. So, is it the Beast God Tablet or the Vermilion Bird Tablet that Lin Ni has always thought it is? The verification is about to begin, but before that, Lin Ni decides to calm down and pray with everyone.
Lin Ni hadn't meditated properly in a long time. After calming herself down and mentally praising the Beast God for a while, she entered a state of introspection.
Linni discovered that the red light on her body had returned to its brightness, and the white power of the Beast God was even more pure and bright, visibly flowing through her body. The red light representing Yao was actually the same thickness as the white light, but compared to it, it appeared dim and lackluster. The energies representing Ye and Yan were also brighter than before. Because Feng was dead, his partner imprint showed no reaction during internal observation, just like other parts of the skin, only visible to the naked eye. She no longer possessed his energy or aura; as some say, when a person dies, nothing remains.
Linni observed the scene again. There were dozens of halos representing females, but they were all low-level and mid-level. Apart from herself, there was not a single high-level female. She didn't know if they hadn't come or if the two largest tribes of Wanren Stone, the Eagle Beast Tribe and the Falcon Beast Tribe, had really declined.
Linni wasn't discouraged when no blessing from the stone tablet occurred, though she was a little hungry.
Linni opened her eyes and found that many beastmen were silently observing her, which was completely different from the atmosphere in the Tiger Beast Tribe where everyone was focused on praying for blessings!
Many orcs had already become restless. Seeing that Linni had opened her eyes, many began to stand up. Sang was the first to rise; she was pregnant, and kneeling for so long was indeed bad for her health. With one person taking the lead, the others followed suit, and within five minutes of Linni opening her eyes, everyone was standing.
Seeing this, Linni felt it was inappropriate to remain seated, so she stood up as well. Once Linni and her companions were all up, the prayer ceremony was effectively over. Linni heard the beastmen whispering again, but she didn't want to pay them any attention. She took Yao's hand and decided to try to awaken the stone tablet. Although she was convinced in her heart that it was the Vermilion Bird Tablet, everything before had just been speculation; the answer was right before her eyes!
Lin Ni took a deep breath, mustered her courage, hesitated for a long time, but still couldn't bring herself to say it, with so many people watching her!
Yao patted Lin Ni on the shoulder encouragingly, "Lin, it's okay!"
Lin Ni gripped Yao's hand tightly, looked up at the massive stone tablet, and suddenly cried out, "Awaken, Vermilion Bird Tablet!"
Apart from her few companions and Xuan and Ling, all the beastmen on this stone mountain looked at Lin Ni as if she were crazy: "Has this little female gone mad?"
"Why did she name the Beast God Stele the Vermilion Bird Stele? Isn't she afraid of divine punishment from the Beast God?"
……
Amidst the laughter of the crowd, Lin Ni couldn't help but blush a little, but Yao's tightly clenched hand gave her courage. She forced herself to remain calm and stared at the stone tablet: the ancient stone tablet, which stood majestically in mid-air and had remained silent, its surface already faded, suddenly emitted a dazzling red light.