Invasion Myth: Starting with the Schoolteacher

Chapter 491 Da Nuo drives away the epidemic
Lunar New Year's eve.

Imperial capital, royal palace.

Emperor Jin stood on the high platform, his feelings a mixture of anticipation, fear, and greed.

It looks very similar to the day the divine elixir was bestowed.

The Imperial Advisor looked at the palace gate with a face full of apprehension.

The shaman, who worshipped the Heavenly Emperor and the spirits, prayed for blessings and warded off disasters, and also engaged in divination and astrology, was the most important person by the emperor's side and the predecessor of the position of national advisor.

Its inner workings are extremely mysterious, and it has left behind many awe-inspiring figures throughout history.

Below, one hundred and twenty disciples of the Yellow Gate, all aged between ten and twelve, were gathered. They wore red turbans and black robes and carried large drums.

At this moment, the Jin emperor's confidant, the palace's high priest, came out.

After consuming the divine pill, he felt invigorated, his body brimming with power, and even his spirituality had surged dramatically.

He took a deep breath, took out a golden four-eyed Nuo mask, put on a bear skin, wore a black robe and a red skirt underneath, and held a spear to subdue the evil spirits in the forbidden area.

When he puts on the mask, he is no longer a human sorcerer, but a god who drives away plagues for the country.

When the Yellow Emperor was touring the world, his wife died on the way. The Yellow Emperor ordered Mo Mu to take care of her and appointed her as the Fangxiangshi (a high-ranking official).

The Great Nuo is a ritual in which the gods are invited to reenact the process of Fang Xiang leading his servants and children with peach bows, thorn arrows, and earthen drums, shooting at them while also throwing red pellets and wine made from five grains.

As for the plague demons that were driven away, they were the sons of Zhuanxu.

Emperor Zhuanxu had three sons, who died at birth and became plague demons. One lived by the river and became a tyrannical demon; one lived by the Ruoshui River and became a demon of the Net-and-Two Realms; and one lived in a corner of a human palace and was good at frightening children.

Yes. In ancient times, many of our enemies were the sons and daughters of the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors.

It's clear that even a sage emperor cannot remain detached from worldly affairs when it comes to his children's education.

Once these legends are passed down, no matter what kind of plague demons they are now, the Great Exorcism will sweep them all away.

In front of the main hall, court officials gathered, including the Attendant-in-Ordinary, the Minister, the Censor, the Attendant-in-Ordinary, the Tiger Guard, and the Feathered Forest Guard, all wearing red turbans and standing guard, while the emperor rode in his carriage in front of the main hall.

The atmosphere was solemn. Nuo ritual was the most influential and solemn of the three major ancient sacrificial rites.

The "Great Nuo" ritual was performed by commoners throughout the country, and no one dared to act recklessly.

Even the most domineering Jia Chong stood obediently in the crowd, not daring to have any wild thoughts, for fear of being discovered by the gods.

Jia Nanfeng, on the far east side, led the noble ladies, princesses, and women of the imperial clan to establish themselves as empresses in turn, and everyone was waiting to cry.

In this large-scale sacrificial ceremony, everyone has a basic role, which is to prostrate themselves and weep.

The Grand Herald announced that he was crying, and all the officials wept. The Three Dukes, in particular, were expected to weep loudly.

Everyone was ready; this was a contest of acting skills.

The Imperial Attendant reported, "The mortal is ready; please expel the plague."

Then the Yellow Gate proclaimed, and the Divine Child said: "Jia eats evil, Wei eats tiger, Xiongbo eats demon, Tengjian eats misfortune, Lanzhu eats calamity, Boqi eats dreams, Qiangliang and Zuming eat the dead and parasites, Weisui eats Guan, Cuoduan eats the giant, Qiongqi, and Tenggen eat the Gu. All twelve gods will chase after evil and calamity, tear at the woman's body, pull at her trunk, dissect her flesh, and pull out her lungs and intestines. If the woman does not leave quickly, the latter will become food!"

The character "女" is composed of "汝" and means "you".

The song of eating ghosts sung by 120 young men means that the twelve divine beasts, namely Jiazuo, Jiwei, Xiongbo, Tengjian, Lanzhu, Boqi, Qiangliang, Zuming, Weisui, Cuoduan, Qiongqi, and Tenggen, are to eat eleven kinds of ghosts and plagues, namely ghost tiger, plague, demon, misfortune, blame, dream, death by dismemberment, parasite, Guan, giant, and Gu.

All the ghosts and demons Xu Xuan encountered in Jiangnan were included in the eleven types of ghost plague.

The ancients were very meticulous, taking into account the individual tastes of the mythical beasts.

It has already taken an hour to get to this point.

And what comes next is the highlight.

The shaman, wearing the mask of the Fangxiangshi, began to dance with the twelve beast shamans behind him—ancient, primal, wild, and frenzied dance. He activated his spirituality to its peak, resonating with heaven and earth, with the gods, and with the fate of the nation.

The courtiers cheered three times, each time giving it their all, their foreheads covered in sweat.

During the Twelve Beasts Dance, the dynasty's fortune began to rise.

The emperor, his courtiers, and imperial relatives represented the most powerful force in the entire Nine Provinces during this dynasty.

The ceremony, which brought together the highest-ranking figures in the entire country, is granting the golden dragon of destiny above the capital a terrifying level of authority.

Ang~~~
In a realm unseen by the world, the golden dragon of fortune began to expand rapidly at an accelerated rate.

It quickly surpassed the size of the capital and began to spread outwards.

Its body meanders and coils, like the undulating mountains and rushing rivers, full of endless vitality and life.

It actually occupied the skies of Jizhou, Yanzhou, and Yuzhou within an hour, and its size continued to grow.

Its claws had already pressed down on a corner of Xuzhou, and its tail had already swung towards Qingzhou.

The golden dragon's eyes, like two blazing suns, looked down upon the mountains and rivers below, its gaze fixed on the demons and monsters still causing trouble. When the ritual reached its final stage, it would descend and traverse the land of Kyushu, sweeping away all the plague demons in one fell swoop.

Meanwhile, the great figures of the cultivation world in the blessed land of the mountains are observing the golden dragon of destiny using special magical artifacts. This is a rare opportunity to observe the destiny of the human world.

Using this to infer the continuation of the Great Jin's fortune is a clever and harmless method.

Some Taoist priests even deliberately chose today to refine elixirs and craft weapons, taking it as a day of renewal and rebirth.

Even Bai Suzhen watched from the top of Leifeng Pagoda.

Aside from the initial few times I had seen it over the past thousand years to satisfy my curiosity, this was the first time I had observed it closely.

She believed Xu Hanwen's judgment; something unexpected was bound to happen today.

Not daring to use his divine eye to analyze it, the Party Secretary could only observe the appearance with the water mirror.

It seems that this year's Golden Dragon is a bit too imposing.

Why did the Jin Dynasty develop in almost the opposite direction from peace and prosperity?
An unnamed old monk in the ancestral temple sighed, "The golden scales hide in shadows; this shouldn't be the case."

A sense of unease crept into everyone's hearts.

As the Nuo dance continued, the atmosphere became increasingly solemn and mysterious, and the golden dragon continued to expand its body.

When Jia Nanfeng led the noblewomen, princesses, and women of the imperial family in the first cry, the crowd followed suit and wept bitterly.

Amidst the deafening cries, Jinlong finally set foot in Yangzhou, his dazzling eyes locking onto his enemy.

This is the largest evil spirit in Yangzhou, but unfortunately, it is not among the eleven plague demons.

Even with its immense power, the golden dragon, guided by Fang Xiangshi, was unable to attack the petty thief.

The shaman is the one who controls heaven and earth and nature, so naturally he would not allow any accidents to happen.

The auspicious golden dragon could only resentfully cover the entire Yangzhou.

Xu Xuan looked down at the massive, imposing figure and felt a little guilty; the imperial dynasty's fortune was truly fierce.

The world is already in such a chaotic mess, yet it still has such great potential.

The power level in Nuo dance has surpassed the limits of the human realm; even immortals can only temporarily avoid its edge.

Maybe this time we'll get through it safely, and our intuition won't always be so accurate.

(End of this chapter)