This scoundrel is a bit of a swordsman.

Chapter 127 Survival by Amputation, Destroying the Corpse and Covering Up the Evidence

Regarding the matter of the Demon Festival at Shenxianlou, Xiao Xingchen appeared indifferent and unconcerned on the surface, but in his spare time, he searched Xiao Jianren's memories with suspicion.

In his previous life, this mysterious Immortal Pavilion was like a beautiful woman hidden away in her boudoir, never revealing her true face to the world. Even Xiao Jianren's understanding of it was like seeing only a part of the whole picture.

He secretly speculated that either this sacrificial ritual did not exist in the previous Immortal Pavilion, or this ritual was like a ghost in the dark, quietly carried out without anyone noticing.

If he hadn't inadvertently caused such a huge uproar, the Immortal Pavilion would probably still be as stable as Mount Tai.

However, if the second guess is true, and the Immortal Pavilion has been secretly carrying out the Evil Spirit Sacrifice, then what is its purpose?

And then there was the upcoming gathering of poets, which later generations actually named the event the Earth Worship Ceremony.

Is there any connection between the names "Demon Festival" and "Earth Festival"?

This series of mysteries, like a fog, lingered deeply in his mind, impossible to shake off.

At this moment, he was preoccupied with his own problems, like a clay bodhisattva crossing a river, and had no intention of causing any other trouble.

The atmosphere within Yong'an City underwent a dramatic transformation with the sudden collapse of the Immortal Pavilion.

Panic and chaos swept in like a surging tide, pushing the once peaceful and tranquil capital of the Great Qian Dynasty to the forefront of the storm.

As more and more inside information about the Immortal Pavilion is exposed, the Evil Ghost Festival has become the primary target of public criticism.

Sacrifices have been performed since ancient times, including offering sacrifices to Heaven and Earth, but offering sacrifices to ghosts is unheard of.

If it weren't for the collapse of the Immortal Tower, ordinary people might never have known about this strange sacrificial ritual in their entire lives.

To trace the origins of this ritual of worshipping ghosts, one must mention a record that has long been lost to the annals of history—the Kingdom of Human Sacrifice.

In that era, the people of the Human Sacrifice Kingdom would perform divination and sacrifices in any situation, such as when it rained, went to war, went hunting, or when they migrated or planted crops.

However, divination back then was different from today. Now, divination uses tortoise shells and sacrificial animals, but in that era, tortoise shells were used to make up for the lack of human bones, and pig and cow heads were also used as supplements when there weren't enough human heads.

In fragments of ancient texts, descriptions of human sacrifice kingdoms have been discovered. Skilled craftsmen would cut away the flesh of people, then saw the skull open along the eye sockets and ear canals, preserving its bowl shape. The remaining body parts would be cut into different shapes and decorated with different patterns. After these limbs were prepared, they would be placed on the altar according to certain patterns.

As for the sacrificial offerings that couldn't be processed in time, some were beheaded, some were split in half, some had their skin peeled off, and some were simply burned. These sacrificial offerings were called "sacrificial offerings" or "human sacrifices," the same as "human livestock."

When nobles held drinking parties, they would sacrifice one or two people to enhance the atmosphere. Ordinary people would also buy a few human sacrifices after building a house and bury them in the front and back yards to worship the local earth god. Some would even hang the human sacrifices in the corridor to dry, praying for good weather and a bountiful harvest. There were even performances of torture and slaughter of human animals in the market, and onlookers enjoyed watching the screams and miserable state of the sacrificed animals.

Even in the aristocratic curriculum for royal children, there were specialized courses on the torture and killing of animals.

This is a past that words cannot fully capture, yet now, with the sudden collapse of the Immortal Pavilion, the scenes that have been exposed are exactly the same as those records, as if they were made in heaven.

Despite the swift action of the Dragon Pattern Imperial Guards, a large number of people had already gathered near the Immortal Tower. In the instant the building collapsed, the naked mummies, human heads, and those gruesome and indescribable severed limbs were still seen by many.

As the truth about the Oni Festival continues to be uncovered, all the signs perfectly match what is being seen.

When the news of the resurgence of the sacrificial kingdom spread like wildfire, the horror it brought was unimaginable. It was an absurd era, and even a few words about it were chilling, let alone the fact that it actually happened in front of them.

Accustomed to the peace and tranquility of the Great Qian Dynasty, no one was willing to be sacrificed as a human offering, and no one would compare themselves to animals.

It is precisely for this reason that the Immortal Pavilion has brought an indescribable fear to the Great Qian Dynasty and even the entire world.

"The Immortal Pavilion must be destroyed. The sins of the royal family in worshipping the immortals are blatant. Killing them is not enough to appease public anger."

These were the powerful words of the Left Prime Minister in the imperial court. In the past, every murder case was thoroughly investigated, but this time, the officials didn't even bother with the investigation, directly demanding an execution order.

The anger spread rapidly like wildfire, not only among the common people, but also among the civil and military officials, who for the first time unanimously turned their anger towards the Emperor Wu sitting on the dragon throne.

Emperor Wu had nowhere to vent his anger. He knew a little about those offerings and had even reminded them that everything should be done in secret.

It was precisely for the sake of secrecy that he specially built a celestial pavilion, but who could have imagined that it would be presented to the world in such a blatant way? The moment he heard the news, he knew something was wrong.

Sure enough, in just half a day, if the Dragon Pattern Army hadn't acted decisively to seal off the scene, it's hard to imagine what kind of storm would have been stirred up.

Just as Emperor Wu was hesitating, the Second Sage descended. The Confucian Temple had always remained detached from worldly affairs, but this time, the Second Sage broke with tradition for the first time.

"The practice of human sacrifice must never be allowed to rise again. Even if the Confucian Temple abandons tradition, it must suppress human sacrifice, let alone such a heinous act as sacrificing people to ghosts."

This was undoubtedly the immense pressure that the Quasi-Saint exerted on Emperor Wu. Even in the imperial court, the Quasi-Saint's surging aura was released without restraint, giving the impression that a fight was about to break out at the slightest provocation.

Faced with the human sacrifice, the Great Qian court surprisingly united to resist Emperor Wu's majesty, which greatly exceeded everyone's expectations.

It is said that after the court session ended, many ministers' legs were as weak as if they were being shaken, and even the left and right prime ministers walked out of the palace trembling with fear.

As the saying goes, "When an emperor is angry, millions will die," and this is by no means an exaggeration.

At this moment, they dared to openly challenge Emperor Wu's authority, which was undoubtedly a desecration of his imperial majesty. Under the multiple pressures of public anger, civil and military officials, and the Supreme Sage, Emperor Wu ultimately chose to compromise.

No one knew what turbulent emotions were brewing in Emperor Wu's heart. With just one word, "Kill," he sentenced the royal family members who served at the Divine Immortal Pavilion to death.

Before sunset, the Dragon-Patterned Imperial Guards received the imperial decree and, like hungry tigers pouncing on their prey, wiped out everything in the Immortal Pavilion.

On this day, the people of Yong'an witnessed a scene that left them speechless.

Before the Immortal Pavilion, experts swarmed like clouds. Sub-Saints, officials, sword immortals of unparalleled strength, and the Dragon Pattern Army, like a swarm of locusts crossing a river, all made their moves, slaughtering everything in their path. The screams of agony echoed throughout Yong'an, like weeping and lamenting. Even the Flower Language Pavilion, several miles away, could smell the pungent stench of blood that permeated the air.

Xiao Xingchen and the others from Huayulou stood on the eighth floor, gazing silently at the war-torn and smoke-filled Shenxianlou.

Flames soared into the sky, like a fire dragon taking flight, burning all evil to ashes.

The fire burned fiercely for a day and a night before gradually dying down. The pungent smell of burning corpses lingered for three days, haunting people's minds like a ghost.

However, all of this seemed particularly solemn to Xiao Xingchen.

"Ruoxue, you once said that what the eyes see is not necessarily the truth. Do you think that is also true of what is happening before our eyes?"

He couldn't help but mutter to himself, the distant flames shooting straight into the sky like sharp swords, seemingly about to tear everything to nothingness.

But Xiao Xingchen's intuition told him that things were not so simple. A figure like Emperor Wu, who only saw interests and value, would not easily compromise because of a group of people's coup.

Do you think all of this is too simple?

Ruoxue responded,

"Yes, how can such a momentous matter be resolved so hastily? Is it not a bit too rash to make a decision to annihilate them based solely on a few ancient records from the Human Sacrifice Kingdom?"

"What were the identities of the dead in the Immortal Pavilion? What was the so-called Ghost Sacrifice? Who were the leaders worshipped by the royal family? Without any investigation, the Immortal Pavilion was burned to ashes. It feels more like they were trying to destroy the evidence."

Xiao Xingchen was filled with suspicion. This method might fool ordinary people, but he didn't believe that the Sage and the Prime Minister wouldn't see through it. This fire burned away all the clues, leaving only a cloud of doubt.

It seemed like he had given the world an explanation, but the initiative remained firmly in Emperor Wu's hands.

Xiao Xingchen couldn't help but admire Emperor Wu's methods immensely; his decisive and ruthless actions were truly astonishing. Based on his understanding of Emperor Wu, he knew this was all part of Emperor Wu's strategy of sacrificing an arm to survive and destroying the evidence.