Free Web NovelChapter 866: Chapter 120: The Soul Returns
Things seemed to become easier.
As long as Qi Xiao was willing to speak up, what difficulty would there be in safeguarding Zhu Bijing?
The excitement in his heart flared for just an instant before Jiang Wang snuffed it out.
If things were really that easy, Jiang Wuyou wouldn’t have kept completely silent about it beforehand.
One only needed to think about it, would Qi Xiao, a True Man of the Age and Town Guard General of JueMing Island, possibly go in person to the End of the World Platform to challenge the standards of the sea ceremony for a disciple of Diao Hai Building who had been stripped of cultivation?
Not to mention Jiang Wang didn’t have that kind of influence. Even for Jiang Wuyou, it was still far too difficult.
The only explanation for Jiang Wuyou not mentioning this was that she wasn’t sure if Qi Xiao would come.
They had discussed beforehand that she initially went to JueMing Island to try to arrange for military generals close to her to represent JueMing Island at the sea ceremony so that they could speak for Zhu Bijing at the critical moment.
And the Xia Shi Army Commander Qi Xiao was not in their plan at all.
Jiang Wuyou couldn’t see Jiang Wang among the crowd and couldn’t communicate with him privately at this moment, but she sat dignified in the main seat, her demeanor calm alongside the True Men.
No matter how unexpected, things were developing in a good direction after all.
Jiang Wang rapidly made deductions in his mind—
For some reason, Qi Xiao decided to personally head to the End of the World Platform, and that reason might be the same as that of Yang Feng from Yang Valley. Now, probably only those at their level understood what it was.
And Jiang Wuyou seized the opportunity, managing to accompany Qi Xiao by virtue of her status as the Lord of Hua Ying Palace. This was undoubtedly a successful leveraged move.
No matter what everyone on the platform from all sides was thinking.
On the main seat, Chongguang Zhenren looked straight ahead, his voice calm yet clear, reaching everyone’s ears, "Since Generals Yang and Qi have both arrived, and with the high moon rising, let us formally begin the sea ceremony!"
A tall, thin elder stepped forward before the main seat and loudly called, "Begin the music!"
This person was Hai Jingping, the Fishing Tower Sect’s Protector Elder, one of the four elders in charge of the actual affairs of the sea cermeony.
Boom boom boom, boom boom boom!
The heavy war drums sounded following his call.
Then came the desolate sounds of the horn echoing through the night sky.
One urgent sound following another, spreading across the entire Crescent Island.
After nine consecutive horn blasts.
On the End of the World Platform, and throughout Crescent Island, countless voices opened their lips, singing out.
Thousands and thousands of soft singing voices gathered from all directions, merging into one, becoming grand, vast, and heart-stirring.
The song proclaimed—
"Vast are the clouds that veil the sky, vast is the journey back.
I wish to wield a long rein, today I fight the Furious Sea.
Though my battle armor shatters, why should I fear?
To cherish life, pity my fate—what brings me here? freewebnøvel.com
I’ve bones of iron, each dismantled to beat the war drums fierce.
I’ve blood burning in my veins, cast into the sky—a true delight!
A mother loses her son, a child bereft of embrace.
Where does the soul return? A jade shattered on the spirit’s platform!"
This dirge, titled "When Souls Return," is a call for the Heroic Spirits to return, yet it is sung from the perspective of a warrior.
The warrior fights bravely against the Furious Sea, unafraid of sacrifice. With bones of iron and blood that burns, he gives his entire life to the sea frontier.
But does he truly harbor no regrets?
His mother, having lost her son, wants to sew him clothes but knows not whom to give them to.
His child, having lost a father, longs for his embrace but can never have it again.
And yet, and yet.
But even so, there is no need to ask where "my" soul will return.
"I" died right here, in complete clarity, in complete freedom, as pure and immaculate as jade, dying on the sea boundary.
The pain of one person, one family, is to avoid the sorrow of myriads upon myriads of households.
The ordinary sea folks, they hear about a family head battling the unpredictable vast sea for a livelihood. The Transcendent Cultivators in this elegy, however, see generations of Transcendent warriors, fighting and dying on the sea boundary.
With their backs to the Human Race and their faces towards the Cang Sea.
Regardless of gender, age, cultivation level, or status, Jiang Wang saw all the people around him singing this elegy in unison. Some looked passionate, others were in tears.
Surrounded by the singing crowd, he couldn’t help but be infected by a power, and he too began to sing along, matching the tune. He had never heard this song before, nor had he ever sung it. But he naturally merged into it.
There is a vast power present in the depths of everyone’s heart. It is the identification with the "Human Race" identity, a great expectation for the shared fate of mankind.
At the end of the song, many were close to tears.
For thousands of years, generation after generation of Transcendent Cultivators had fought and perished on the sea boundary, battling for the survival and safety of the Human Race.
Compared to this, those personal grudges, those contemptible struggles for power and profit, seem so trivial!
A momentary silence fell over the End of the World Platform as the Transcendent Cultivators present seemed to be momentarily moved as well.
The Fishing Tower Sect’s Protector Elder Hai Jingping spoke again, "The Sea Festival is a grand event for the sea folks! Once a year, Jinghai calms the waves!"
He was talking about the tradition of the Sea Festival.
Ordinary sea folks might not know, only that on the day of the Sea Festival, the sea tends to be calm. But the Transcendent Cultivators present might know a little more.
Every year on the day of the Sea Festival, it is the day when the human world’s strong focus on cleansing the sea boundary.
To welcome the return of the Heroic Spirits, on this day, within forty-four miles of the boundary of the Lost World, not a single member of the Sea Clan is allowed. It doesn’t matter what kind of Sea Clan or how strong they are if they approach within forty-four miles of the human boundary on this day, they will be madly exterminated without regard for the cost.
This rule is known as "Jinghai Calms the Waves."
Of course, the Sea Clan wouldn’t possibly agree to any decision of the Human Race, but with the bloodshed over the years, they have also come to recognize this "tradition."
Although never officially acknowledged, on the fourth day of April each year, the Sea Clan is exceptionally calm.
This day is also the rare day of peace for the ever-warring Lost World.
But every Transcendent Cultivator should know that the sea is not naturally this calm.
Hai Jingping stood at the main seat, facing the many guests.
He proclaimed loudly, "To welcome the return of the Heroic Spirits, we must first sweep clean the dais."
"The road of the Heroic Spirits’ return across the sea shall be honored with the lives of the treacherous and evil!"
Jiang Wang’s heart skipped a beat, knowing that the crucial moment had come, and he could only hold his breath and wait.
But he heard Hai Jingping continue, "In this Sea Festival, there are forty-five people with unforgivable sins, ready to be sacrificed!"
His gaze turned sharp, scanning left and right as if to warn those hearts filled with evil intent, and he said, "This peaceful good day, won by countless predecessors with their blood. These people are ungrateful, disrespectful, treacherous, and completely devoid of righteousness. They should be punished severely, to comfort the spirits of our ancestors!"
He gestured grandly, "Bring forth the sacrificial offerings!"
Thump! Thump! Thump! Thump!
The sound of war drums rose again.
In the center of the End of the World Platform, a stone slab slowly slid open, revealing a square hole and the long stone steps below it.
Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!
The orderly sound of footsteps climbing the steps.
Tall armored soldiers clad in black armor, working in pairs, shackled prisoners with chains, step by step, ascending the stone steps to the End of the World Platform.
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(I’m not going to pretend anymore, this elegy "Soul Returns" wasn’t written on a whim; I pondered over it for quite a while. emmm...
Additionally, as everyone might have noticed, I’ve invested a lot to get a new cover designed. Do you like it?)
