Chapter 63: Chapter 63: The Raven Ritual
Translator: 549690339
Early morning, the first sun breaks through the fog.
The first raven cultist of the Raven Sect had wasted no time after bidding farewell to Zhao Huai, leading a huge procession, touring around the inner and outer city of Jinzhou again and again.
Not a single street or alley was left untouched, all were covered.
Thanks to the efforts of the whole morning, many people followed from behind, but most of them looked thin and yellow-skinned, dressed in shabby clothes, and seemed to be refugees. Only a very few of them were dressed more luxuriously, looking more normal, with interest and curiosity in their eyes.
“Please follow me.”
The leading cultist turned his head to face the crowd and smiled gently.
He led the crowd through the streets to an open courtyard. This place was located on the border of the inner and outer city, with a spacious area.
The courtyard was just the tip of the iceberg, as this was actually a mansion. This mansion included a courtyard, warehouses, an ancestral hall, etc. The original site was an ancient Taoist temple from a previous dynasty. The Taoist temple was overgrown with weeds during the time of chaos, leaving it to decay. After the Raven Sect took residence and renovated, it finally regained its former grandeur.
The cultist leader walked ahead, passing through the courtyard and arrived at an ancestral hall.
Located in the center of the ancestral hall was a lacquered gold bronze statue of a crow-headed man stepping on a cloud, with three heads and six arms, standing more than ten meters tall. The eyes of the crow head were sharp and looked forward, the human body was sturdy and strong, with the six arms wielding various weapons.
“This is our worshiped Crow Immortal.”
The cultist leader stood in front of the statue and performed a respectful ceremony, laughing as he explained.
“Dong! ”
With melodic bell sounds ringing out, a series of prayers came from the depths of the Mansion.
Seeing the confusion in the eyes of the crowd, the cultist leader reassured them in a soothing tone: “The ceremony is about to begin, and the Saintess is leading the members of the sect in offering blessings.” “What ceremony? Who is the Saintess?”
A man in the crowd asked curiously.
The cultist leader smiled and replied, “Once you participate in the ceremony, you will become a true member of the Raven Sect.”
“As for the Respected Saintess, you will know soon.”
Everyone ventured deeper into the Mansion, arriving at a Main Hall.
The space inside the hall was vast, and a woman surrounded by raven cultists in the center.
The woman was dressed in a loose black robe adorned with silver raven patterns, with a circle of copper bells on her bare left foot. She wore a white veil, with silver hair faintly visible through the robe.
When the people devouring their food almost finished, the table was swept clean with shiny plates.
“Let the ceremony begin.”
At the command, the raven cultists around scattered, guiding the crowd to the center of the Main Hall.
Many people looked around curiously, wondering what the ceremony was about.
The black-robed woman’s body exuded a faint silver qi, and the surrounding air suddenly became cold.
In the dim Main Hall, her body slowly rose, like a rising sun. Her eyes flashed with a hint of dark blue light, and she shouted:
“Activate the formation.”
An unparalleled brilliance erupted from the ground in the Main Hall, revealing the intricate formation engravings.
Everyone gazed at the crow totem above their heads in awe.
They stood inside like mere ants. A massive ball of light floated in mid-air at the center of the Main Hall. Within its dazzling glow, a faint silhouette of a crow seemed to appear.
After the formation was activated, invisible faith energies were drawn out from their bodies.
And entered the luminous crow totem.
At this moment, the raven cultists dared not make a sound, kneeling on the ground and praying devoutly.
Then the black-robed woman recited an incantation, initiating the second phase of the mysterious ceremony.
One blue light orb after another entered the people’s bodies, causing great changes.
“My head hurts! It feels like something got in!” “My whole body is itchy! What’s growing on me!”
“What’s happening to me!”
The crowd began to wail and moan in pain. Complex markings grew on each person’s body, forming the shape of a crow when connected.
Each of them was marked with the raven’s imprint. The symbols on their skin flashed, and their eyes all changed.
Their muscles bulged inexplicably, and their veins popped out, as if their entire bodies had been greatly enhanced. This was another means of the Raven Sect exchanging life for faith.
Burning their life force to gain power.
After a long while, the ceremony ended. The black-robed woman looked at the transformed people below, nodded satisfactorily, and said with a smile: “Welcome, everyone, to officially join the Holy Raven Sect.”
The people in the ranks, with fanatical eyes like they had been brainwashed, shouted loudly:
“Believe in Lord Crow Immortal! Destroy the Nia! Seize the land!”