Chapter 40: The New Year's Eve Rite

Liu Shan paused for a moment before continuing, "The so-called 'Welcoming the Year' is actually the process of extracting and sealing the power within the malevolent spirits."

"Preparations begin right after the previous year’s 'Year-End Ritual.' Through a formation, we draw the primal power from the malevolent spirits suppressed by the Stone Buddha and seal it within the bodies of the Mountain-Guarding Beasts."

"Only a naturally divine dragon-kin can withstand such a massive influx of malevolent energy without losing control."

Wu Chang glanced at the penned-up Mountain-Guarding Beasts and asked, "Once the beasts have absorbed enough of the malevolent energy, what happens next?"

"Then comes the second step: 'Suppressing the Year,'" Liu Shan explained.

At the mention of "Suppressing the Year," Wu Chang’s brows twitched, and he instinctively thought of red envelopes. However, judging by the solemn tone Liu Shan used, the "Suppressing the Year" performed during the ritual had nothing to do with gifts of money.

"Suppressing the Year?"

Liu Shan continued, "Suppressing the Year involves selecting the three young Mountain-Guarding Beasts that have absorbed the most malevolent energy, slicing them open to extract their hearts, and then having three strong, robust young villagers consume those hearts—steeped in malevolent energy—raw."

"Using one's own vitality to suppress the malevolence is what we call 'Suppressing the Year.'"

Wu Chang: "..."

The "Suppressing the Year" in Huaigu Village was far too hardcore. No wonder the Mountain-Guarding Beasts reacted the way they did when they saw Liu Shan.

"After 'Suppressing the Year' comes the third step: 'Watching the Year.' This step requires the Four-Direction Palace Lantern you just retrieved, Hero Wu."

"During 'Watching the Year,' we must use the Year-Fire from the lantern to ignite a massive bonfire. The three 'Year-Suppressors' must sit around the fire for a day and a night, using the Year-Fire to aid in refining the malevolence."

"After that comes the 'Year-End.' The village will select fifteen villagers to dress as underworld envoys. They will hold locust tree branches and whip the Year-Suppressors until they spit out black ash, signaling that the malevolent energy has completely dissipated."

Having heard the entire ceremony, Wu Chang pondered at which stage the ritual might fail. He first ruled out "Welcoming the Year" and "Suppressing the Year." Though the Mountain-Guarding Beasts seemed extraordinary, they were ultimately common beasts, not divine creatures. Having been raised by the villagers and gone through the ritual many times, they should be unable to resist.

During the "Watching the Year" stage, the Year-Fire and the ritual formation protected those nearby, ensuring they wouldn't die and could endure for a day and a night. The most likely point of failure was the final "Year-End."

"What happens if, during the 'Year-End,' the Year-Suppressors do not spit out black ash and the malevolent energy is not refined?"

Liu Shan was silent for a moment, then said, "Battling demons always carries the risk of sacrifice. Those who volunteer to be Year-Suppressors are the finest young men in our village. If they cannot refine the malevolent energy..."

"They will be cast into the Year-Fire, so the fire can refine the malevolence directly."

Wu Chang asked, "Is there anything I can help with?"

Liu Shan flattered him, "We are but simple mountain folk and do not understand those mystical arts. Your presence to oversee the ceremony is the greatest help possible."

Wu Chang organized the information he had gathered. There were two ways to complete the main quest, "Guard the village and complete the Year-End Ritual."

One approach was to achieve the objective by simply eliminating the malevolent spirits. If he could lure the spirits out and destroy them with the Soul-Cleansing Banner, the ritual would be considered complete. However, he wasn't entirely sure if simply killing the spirits was equivalent to completing the ritual.

The other method was to ensure all four steps—Welcoming, Suppressing, Watching, and Ending the Year—were carried out perfectly. This mode was more rigid, but the criteria for completion were more lenient. If he scrutinized the wording, the main quest only required him to complete the ritual, not necessarily kill the spirits. He could technically complete the ritual in form without actually posing a threat to the core of the malevolence.

But as a dungeon on the brink of collapse, could things really go according to plan with either method?

The entire village of Huaigu accelerated its operations, preparing for the ritual in just one day. That evening, the villagers prepared the three sacrificial animals, and Liu Shan, accompanied by two elders, recited prayers to the ancestors.

After the sacrifice, the three youths chosen as Year-Suppressors emerged from the crowd. They were bare-chested, wearing only simple shorts, with animal-hide headbands. The villagers formed three circles, each acting as a crude arena where a Year-Suppressor fought a chosen young Mountain-Guarding Beast. This step wasn't strictly necessary, but the villagers believed that hunters had an innate dominance over prey they captured themselves, and this predator-prey dynamic helped refine the malevolence more easily.

Relying on agile movements and superior martial arts, the three youths quickly killed the beasts. Liu Shan and the two elders performed the dissection amidst the cheers of the villagers. After drinking wine mixed with the beasts' blood, the eyes of the three youths turned red, and heat began to steam off their skin. They then took the hearts of the beasts and, like wild animals, tore into them, swallowing the black, bowl-sized hearts saturated with malevolent energy in a few gulps.

The stages of "Welcoming" and "Suppressing the Year" were now complete. Having swallowed the malevolent energy, the complexions of the three youths changed drastically, with black mist swirling between their brows. Seeing that something was wrong, Liu Shan shouted, "Light the fire!"

Liu Wei carried the Four-Direction Year-Fire Lantern and hurried to the giant bonfire prepared in advance. Without needing manual control, the Year-Fire surged out like a snake, igniting the massive pile of wood.

The three Year-Suppressors sat cross-legged in a triangle around the bonfire. Bathed in the Year-Fire, the black mist on their faces subsided, and their brows gradually smoothed out. Seeing everything on track, the villagers breathed a sigh of relief.

Except for Liu Wei.

As the most vocal supporter of accelerating the ritual and the one who had personally lit the fire with the lantern, his expression was the most awkward. He naturally knew why his brother, Liu Wu, had left the village. He never expected that just after Liu Wu left, Wu Chang would return with the lantern, and the events at the Chen Family Village would push the progress of the ritual to such a degree. Even if Liu Wu could return safely, he would likely miss the main event.

As the most radical proponent of the "early" faction, it was too late to change his stance and demand a postponement. All he could do now was pray for a mishap to delay the ritual by two or three days so Liu Wu could return.

The giant bonfire burned from sunrise to sunset, and in the blink of an eye, twelve hours had passed. The ritual had proceeded smoothly; the accident Liu Wei had hoped for never occurred. The fifteen burly villagers were in position, holding three-meter-long locust branches, their faces painted in black, white, and red—looking like fierce ghosts.

Seeing that the time had come, Liu Wei gave up, no longer hoping for a twist. However, just as the fifteen "ghost envoys" raised their whips, waiting for Liu Shan’s command to strike, the three Year-Suppressors, who had been sitting with their eyes closed, suddenly opened them.

Their eyes were no longer clear; they were covered in a hazy, black mist. The black energy spilled out, covering their bodies and hardening into scales. Accompanied by their wails, their limbs transformed into claws, and fangs sprouted from their mouths.

Before the villagers could react, the three beast-like Year-Suppressors flashed toward the "ghost envoys." With a few swipes of their claws, they shredded the fifteen envoys into forty or fifty pieces in mere seconds.

Liu Wei, who had been praying on the sidelines, widened his eyes and slapped himself hard. It hurt—it wasn't a dream. His prayers had been answered; a disaster had truly occurred!