It was at this moment that Jiu Xian arrived, still in a seemingly drunken haze. Lan frowned at the woman, but she still stepped forward and offered a respectful bow. "Lan greets Jiu Xian."
Jiu Xian burped as she turned to smile at Lan. "Sorry, I’m late."
She then looked around and saw Lu Yin and the others, whom she greeted. "Old Zhan Ming, you're still alive? I remember that, when I was in the Consciousness Megaverse, I heard that you were dead. What a pity."
She then looked at Meng Sang. "Meng Sang? They said that you went missing, but you’re also not dead. That’s even more of a pity."
Finally, she turned to Lu Yin. "And you’re the biggest pity of all. Why didn’t you die with Lí?"
Lu Yin met the woman’s gaze. "We’ll talk after the Day of Offering."
Zhan Ming, Lan, and even Su Shidao were all puzzled by that comment. What could Lu Yin want to talk about with Jiu Xian? She was practically the definition of someone who did not care about worldly affairs. All that was off about her was her rather dark sense of humor.
Jiu Xian burped again as she repeatedly waved a hand. "Don’t bother me. I really don’t know you."
Emperor Wu arrived, and he towered over everyone, his very presence oppressive. His arrival meant that all Seven Seraphs had gathered. Lan led them away, but they did not move towards the Apex Palace. Instead, they approached the edge of the Ascendant Hall.
They reached a location that offered an open view of the starry sky. If they took just one more step forward, they would leave the Ascendant Hall.
The High Seraph was already there, waiting. He stood with his back to everyone.
The Seven Seraphs had arrived.
The High Seraph spoke. "The Day of Offering marks the end of a cycle for the Spirit Nidus. On this day, attitude is far more important than propriety. Last time, the ceremony was conducted in the Lushan Domain, but with all Seven Seraphs present, we have moved it here, to the Ascendant Hall."
He looked up, staring into the depths of outer space. "The ceremony will commence in half an hour."
Half an hour was a very short amount of time.
Very rarely throughout the history of the Spirit Nidus had the High Seraph and the Seven Seraphs all gathered together. In fact, almost every time they had, it had been for the Day of Offering.
At this moment, the entire Spirit Nidus fell silent. Countless cultivators were facing the Ascendant Hall’s direction. Some muttered to themselves, while others bowed reverently. Each person had their own way of expressing their devotion.
At this moment, aboard Boundless, Jiang Qi was wrapped in his blanket, and his trembling grew worse and worse until he was shivering violently.
The Day of Offering was extremely important to the Spirit Nidus, and yet only eight people participated in the ceremony. Those eight people represented the entire Spirit Nidus.
Soon, half an hour passed. The High Seraph raised a hand, and his index finger lightly pressed against the void.
Spaced acted like a smooth glass mirror. At this moment, both time and space froze entirely, and the only sign of movement was the High Seraph’s voice, which rang out, "Tie the Seraph knot!"
Simultaneously, the High Seraph and the Seven Seraphs all started to move, and each person used their own powers to tie a Seraph knot over their heads. While only one knot was tied, it gathered the power of eight of the most powerful cultivators in the entire megaverse.
"The Seraph knot is complete! The offering—"
The Seraph knot flew out into space, where it slowly ignited. Its flames illuminated the entire Spirit Nidus, the light reaching every corner.
All cultivators in the Spirit Nidus saw the burst of flame and dropped to their knees as one, chanting, "The offering."
"The offering."
"The offering..."
"Heart aligned with the circle, the spirit character spanning the heavens, an offering to the great Dao..." The High Seraph's voice spread across the entire Spirit Nidus.
Lu Yin stared at the man’s back. If Hu Wu and Tian Ya were present, would they attack the High Seraph at this moment? The truth was that Lu Yin also felt an urge to attack the man, but the more he understood the High Seraph's strength, the more that Lu Yin understood the gap between them. A sneak attack would be meaningless. If a sneak attack could severely injure the High Seraph, it meant that the attacker was strong enough to directly fight the High Seraph.
Clearly, Lu Yin was still a little short of that.
However, if the Seven Seraphs worked together, they might have a chance.
Emperor Wu, Jiu Xian, and all of the others stared at the High Seraph's back. It was impossible to tell what they were thinking.
Most of the Seraphs had participated in the Day of Offering more than once.
Yuan Qi was the one experiencing the strongest emotions at this moment. His last time participating in this ceremony had been a long, long time ago. He had once thought that he would never participate in it again.
The last Day of Offering had been held in the Lushan Domain, and that reminded Yuan Qi of his home, though he felt no nostalgia. Enough time could wash away everything.
When the Seraph knot was completely incinerated, the thirty-six domains trembled.
Emperor Wu and the others' expressions froze. It was finally time.
For the Seven Seraphs, the part of the Day of Offering that they were most eager to see was when the strange scene occurred. Whether or not they could witness that sight depended on the burning of the Seraph knot.
Most of the Seraphs had participated in the Day of Offering many times before, only to be disappointed each time. Would they succeed this time?
At this moment, even Su Shidao was getting excited.
Yuan Qi's breathing grew a bit ragged.
Lu Yin stared out into space. A strange scene? What could it be?
Right as the thought occurred to him, his eyes bulged, due to the incredible sight before his eyes.
The Spirit Nidus consisted of thirty-six domains that were connected with spirit threads to form the spirit character (灵). At this moment, that character seemed to come to life, and it slowly rose up. It was not the spirit threads rising, nor the thirty-six domains themselves. In fact, everything seemed normal on the surface, but the “灵” character itself was rising. As that happened, seven massive funnels appeared in seven different locations throughout the Spirit Nidus. Those funnels did not descend downwards like normal funnels; instead, they extended upwards. The bottoms faced the deep expanse of outer space, making it look as though the entire megaverse had been flipped upside down.
Lu Yin's eyes flickered as he stared at the scene before him. The seven funnels were located precisely above the seven lands of karma that he had seen before.
The funnels were draining something away. Lu Yin stared and saw that they were absorbing something and pulling it upwards, where a liquid oozed out. The droplets formed massive bubbles, rising slowly into the void.
Compared to the entire megaverse, the seven funnels were tiny. However, if they were compared to humans or even to the thirty-six domains, the funnels were enormous. They split the entire Spirit Nidus into seven sections. The "灵" character rose up again, and it was soon followed by another "灵" character. They rose up continuously, with each character shrinking slightly as they ascended. As the characters rose up, the liquid in the inverted funnels also rose, moving in sync with them.
The spirit character and the liquid in the seven funnels both moved upwards into the empty space. From Lu Yin's perspective, it appeared as though the multiple characters formed a continuous triangular path stretching endlessly upwards.
Throughout the entire process, Lu Yin stared blankly. What was he seeing? None of it made any sense to him.
Beside him, Yuan Qi was observing Lu Yin. The young man’s unusual expression was readily apparent, and Yuan Qi let out a long breath. As expected, only Lu Yin could see the strange scene.