RNP Chapter 3420 "Shadow of Hem" and Sacrifice
Chapter 3420 "Shadow of Hem" and Sacrifice
Chapter 3420 "Shadow of Hem" and Sacrifice
Because the sacrifice ceremony had to be valid before sunset, the elders quickly prepared.
The group took off directly from the courtyard of the Snow Mountain Hall. The two elders relied on the power of the wind to fly faster than Shade. Of course, the unicorn Ellie flew the fastest.
Seeing that Shade was a little slow, and the unicorn seemed to want him to sit on it, Claire grabbed Shade's hand in time:
"Let me pull you to fly, Shade. Where did you learn the flying skill? Although it's stable, the speed is too slow, isn't it?"
Xia De learned the art of flying through [Dragon Feast].
Flying directly upwards from the foot of the mountain, in half an hour they had already reached the second peak of the snow mountain, "Shadow of Hem".
However, the elders did not lead everyone to land directly on the peak, but landed on a small path not far from the peak:
"We're not far from the top, let's go up."
Shad understood the elders' respect for the "Holy Mountain". After he landed carefully carrying the coffin, he heard Ellie's uneasiness in a low voice - Shad gradually began to understand the unicorn's emotions.
The azure eyes looked uneasily at the layer of cold fog above the old steps. The white cold fog was thicker than Shade had imagined. It was still afternoon, and the light snow that started in the morning was still falling. Although the sun could penetrate the clouds, it could not completely penetrate them.
"This cold fog is dangerous for ordinary people, but it's only slightly cold for us. Come on, I'll lead the way."
Elder Wilda walked in front, and Elder Harald waved to the young people, signaling them to follow.
The steps meandered along the side of the cliff, and it was only slightly colder after entering the cold mist. After walking up less than a few hundred steps, the steps suddenly went up all the way, extending straight up to the heights on the steep ridge.
The cold fog becomes thicker here, which is definitely not a natural phenomenon. As for the cause of this supernatural landscape, Shad is speculating whether it is related to Chloe, and then speculates whether the key to the castle may be here.
The highest point of the "Shadow of Hem" is not a platform, but a standard peak, so the highest point cannot be reached in a normal way. The place where the Fatu people perform sacrifices is actually below the cliff on the side of the peak. There is a platform concave in the cliff here, which seems like someone cut a small piece off the side of the complete peak.
This is the end of the stone staircase path hidden in the cold fog. It looks very similar to the "Temple of Night" on the cliff side of the Randall River Valley.
But the Temple of Night is long and narrow, with the sky above it; whereas this Fatu sacrificial site is roughly semicircular, with a thick gray rock layer above it.
The end of the stone steps is at the intersection of the semicircular "arc" and the "straight line", and outside the "arc" is a thousand-foot cliff, and the "straight line" is a rock wall.
Numerous wooden stakes less than 30 centimeters high were nailed to the edge of the cliff of the sacrificial site, with red silk ribbons tied to the stakes; faded murals of long snakes were painted on the walls of the sacrificial site, which were the remnants of the ancient Fatu people's snake worship.
"But there is also a theory that the mural existed before we moved here."
Elder Harald said as if he knew what Shade was thinking.
There was no wind here, and the cold fog was thinner here than on the stone steps. After entering the sacrificial site, one could barely see the snow-capped mountains outside the cliff, but when one came to the edge of the cliff and looked down, one saw thick fog that no supernatural power could penetrate.
In other words, even if you look down when throwing the offering, you cannot see the offering disappear.
There was a rough stone platform near the cliff at the sacrificial site. The elders asked Xia De to put the coffin there first. That was also the place where sacrificial offerings were piled during each sacrifice.
After the coffin is placed, Elder Harald and Elder Wilda will carry out some preparations, including but not limited to lighting the flame, praying and some ritualistic procedures.
They asked the young people to stand aside and not disturb them. When Shade and Miss Larson wanted to take a closer look at the murals, they stopped the witch:
"Claire, you stay and watch how we do it. It just so happens that you're here this time, so next time you'll do it."
"Got it, Grandfather~"
She had no choice but to stay, while Shade and the white-haired girl had already found Ellie under the rock wall. It seemed a little afraid of the cliff over there. But it was definitely not because of fear of heights. The unicorn was very happy when it flew.
The light of its horn was more conspicuous in the cold mist than in the darkness. If Emilia were here, she would tell everyone that it was its instinct to protect itself. However, in addition to going to class today, the elf was also captured to try on a dress for the coronation ceremony, so it did not appear in the snowy mountains.
As for the mural on the rock wall behind Ellie, time has made the colors and pigments mottled, but it is still recognizable that it is a large snake. The snake's back is black and its belly is white. The whole snake is coiled in a circle, but it is not in a "tail-biting" state, because the snake's head is biting towards a glowing "gem" in the center.
Because of the severe discoloration, Xia De could only understand it as a "gem", but it could also be something else.
He moved closer and reached out to touch the mural directly, but didn't find anything unusual. When he withdrew his hand, the unicorn immediately came over and rubbed Shade's hand with its side face. Shade somehow thought of the cat who was probably basking in the sun on the windowsill at home.
"Ms. Larson, can you see anything?"
He asked. The white-haired girl shook her head and turned to look at the three Fatu people who were busy preparing for the sacrifice at the edge of the cliff. Then she lowered her voice and asked Xiang Xiade:
"Now the Fatu people use silk cloth and wood carvings for sacrifices, but long ago, I'm afraid these were not what was thrown down from here?"
Shade made a gesture to keep quiet, and touched Ellie's furry face again, comparing the difference between the touch of a unicorn and a cat in his mind:
“I have a thought that before the ancient Fatu people appeared on Fatumonster Island, they did not believe in snakes. It was only after they came to the island and experienced certain things, or saw the relics here, that they gradually developed the belief in snake worship.
The early Fatu people should even have gained some benefits from this belief, otherwise this belief would not have been integrated into the culture of the entire tribe, and rituals such as the sacrifices at this time and the sinking of corpses in the dark lake in the cave would not have been developed.
Therefore, I am really curious about the Fatu people's forgetfulness of snake worship. Since they have never moved away, even if they no longer gain any benefits from these ancient rituals, they should not completely forget this belief. The belief in the snow mountain is still there, but the snake worship has disappeared. It is as if someone cast a forgetfulness spell on everyone in the tribe at some point in time. "
Miss Larson offered a very plausible idea:
"Is it because of the change of eras? All kinds of strange things can happen during the change of eras."
"It's possible, but isn't it just a coincidence that the tradition of snake worship has been lost? Or is this also some kind of destiny?"
Six blazing bonfires were lit around the stone platform where the offerings were placed. Then two elders prayed before the sacrifice and explained to Xueshan the reason for this temporary sacrifice.
After the process was completed, they called Shad and Miss Larson over, and Ellie followed reluctantly.
"There's no need for so many rules for a temporary sacrifice. It's almost done now. Who will come? Just throw the sacrifice down. There are no other precautions."
"Since I can't see the sacrifices falling if I jump down, what will happen if I jump down with them? Will I be able to see the sacrifices disappear?"
Xia De asked this question because he was worried that something might happen to the coffin during the falling process, but in fact, there was no need to worry about the sturdiness of the sealed coffin.
"This is quite disrespectful to the sacrificial process, but it has been tried before. No, it wasn't intentional, he just threw himself down when he threw the offering. But when we found him later, he said he didn't remember anything, his memory only stayed in the few seconds just after he fell."
So Xia De gave up the idea of following him:
"Then I'll wait up there for ten seconds and then go find the coffin. It would be bad if we let the Infinite Snake go. Miss Larson, come on and throw the coffin down. Claire, the two of us will throw the other offerings."
The elders stepped back and watched the three young men stand side by side on the edge of the cliff. Although Miss Larson looked petite, she was at the level of Six Rings after all, and could easily move the coffin, but Shade still helped her move the coffin to the edge of the cliff.
Short wooden stakes were nailed into the ground and connected with chains. Xia De then placed one end of the coffin on the stakes.
Claire was holding a piece of silk, and next to Shad was a small bamboo basket filled with wood carvings. These were from the prepared offerings for All Souls' Day. Although the quantity was not large, both the silk and the wood carvings were quite exquisite.
Claire nodded to Shad, and with a solemn expression, threw the silks off the cliff one by one. Shad then picked up each wooden sculpture in turn and threw them forward.
From a topographical point of view, there is a real thousand-meter-high vertical cliff below the "Shadow of Hem" cliff. Even if the scattered offerings did not disappear, it would be difficult to find them below. After all, it is hard to say where these light things will go when blown by the wind.
Finally, Miss Larson pushed the coffin held by the black skeleton forward with force. When the coffin disappeared from the sight of the three people, they all had a strange feeling that the coffin was falling into the abyss.
Xia De suppressed his curiosity and didn't look down - although he couldn't see anything, after counting down for ten seconds in his mind, he jumped up and jumped down.
PS: Graduation is approaching, and the author still hasn’t found a job (looking up at the sky), so I may add updates from time to time recently.