Bodhisattva, please help me in my spiritual practice!

Chapter 160 Ramming the King's Ship

The parade of deities takes place on the sixth day of the first lunar month.

Just as Ao Peng was visiting the Fuzhu Temple, dozens of villages and hundreds of pagoda skeletons gathered together to consult with the Heroic King in Changle. Then, a lion dance was performed, firecrackers were set off, and long red incense was laid all over the road, welcoming the gods along the ten-mile-long street.

This year's procession was exceptionally lively, with over 100,000 people from the Changle area alone. The celebratory firecrackers started at 10 a.m., and there was continuous singing and dancing along the way. Young people carried the pagoda bones as the procession, marching through the streets and alleys.

However, this also presents a challenge, because there are too many villages involved this time. In theory, the procession of deities needs to visit all the villages and pray for each one before returning to the temple. As a result, the procession can last from dawn to dusk.

Li Wanghuo was one of the young men carrying the tower bone. He had been in the Old Earth Game for more than two months, but carrying such a large tower bone for more than ten miles still exhausted him.

Some people wanted to switch shifts, but he took on a mission in Yangfu Town. He could get a reward if he could carry "Prince Zhao" through all the villages in the procession. So he gritted his teeth and persevered.

What he didn't see was that a phantom figure was actually sitting atop the enormous tower bone he was carrying, which was what made him...

Even physical education students with strong physiques couldn't withstand the strain.

The people carrying the bones are believed to be possessed by spirits, so they cannot speak during the procession. However, modern young people always find ways to cope; not being able to speak doesn't mean they can't use their phones.

"Uncle, how many more miles do we have to walk?"

Li Wanghuo's legs were really weak, so he sent a message with one hand to ask his team leader's uncle.

The uncle took out his phone and checked it; then he replied, "Go through two more villages, past Zhao Family Village, and take a shortcut back, it'll be quick."

Li Wanghu carried the tower skeleton with one hand, took out his other hand to play on his phone, and checked the time. "It won't be until one or two in the morning by the time we finish walking this route."

The uncle quickly replied, "There are more people this year, and the gods also like excitement. I heard that although the processions of gods in other regions have ended, the gods don't want to go back and are now running laps around the temple."

As he spoke, the uncle sent a link.

Li Wanghuo opened the box and found it was a procession of deities from the Chaoshan region. Although those processions usually ended around 5 PM, this year, for some reason, the deities didn't want to return to their temples. So, they resorted to divination using the Holy Grail and spirit mediums, and the deities themselves seemed to be in a playful mood—some wanted to go to the movies, others wanted to go for a swim in the sea.

Everyone's just having fun, so as long as the requests aren't excessive, everyone's doing what's asked, which will extend the joy of this religious gathering for a while.

Of course, there are also some tough guys among this generation of young people. In some places, the gods are unwilling to return, and the young people have managed to find a reasonable and well-founded ritual to throw the gods away.

It means to take the statue of the god and smash it on the ground as hard as possible. The harder you smash it, the greater your blessings will be. First, ask the god if he is willing to respond. If he is not willing, smash it on the ground once. Ask him again if he is willing to respond. If he is still not willing, smash it twice.

This method turned out to be the most effective in the rituals of inviting the gods back to their palaces during the various regional processions. As a result, young people online are now commenting, "These gods really are bullies who prey on the weak."

The groom leading the procession circled the incense burner and led the way. When he saw Zhao Family Village, he relaxed, knowing that the procession was finally over.

However, a strange thing happened as soon as they arrived at the entrance of Zhao Family Village.

Hundreds of villagers from Zhao Family Village, regardless of age or gender, were dressed in theatrical masks and carrying a huge palanquin. The palanquin was covered with a large red cloth, resembling a large ship, and they seemed to be trying to cut in line to enter the procession.

This greatly worried the coachman who was leading the way.

The procession of deities was finally about to come to a successful conclusion, so what kind of trouble is Zhao Family Village causing?

If they really wanted their village's deity to participate in the procession, they should have reported it together when they went to the Temple of Heroes this morning to worship. There's no rule about interfering in the procession only after the procession is over.

The coachman gave a signal, and the people maintaining order at the procession were about to step forward to stop Zhao Family Village. Li Wanghuo's uncle was one of them. He led his men to the crossroads, just about to tell the village chief that they couldn't break the rules.

But little did they know that the people of Zhao Family Village were as stubborn as turtles eating a weight, determined to squeeze into the procession as soon as they saw the procession arrive.

"Stop them! Stop them!"

He shouted loudly to maintain order, realizing there was definitely a problem, but for now he could only have the people around him form a human wall to stop the people from Zhao Family Village from rushing in.

But today, the people of Zhao Family Village were incredibly strong. Although there were only a dozen or so young men, they marched out like a massive army, and the human wall formed by ordinary people couldn't stop them at all.

Moreover, the tourists who came to watch the excitement didn't mind the commotion. They thought it was a local folk activity and took out their phones to take pictures, cheering enthusiastically on both sides.

Just as the palanquin of Zhao Family Village was about to crash into the procession of gods, a tall palanquin was suddenly carried out by a village next to Zhao Family Village. This palanquin was divided into three layers, each decorated differently. The bottom layer had ghosts and spirits, the middle layer had lights of thousands of homes, and the top layer had the Big Dipper. Through the lowered curtain, a little god of war sat in the palanquin.

There were as many as sixty-four people carrying the palanquin, each dressed in dark yellow robes with fox-faced makeup, their kind smiles tinged with a hint of eeriness.

The lead guide shouted, "General Wu is on his tour!"

As he spoke, he recklessly rammed into the people of Zhao Family Village, blocking their path toward the procession.

As the two groups of people clashed, a sudden gust of wind swept in from nowhere, causing the incense sticks along the road to fly everywhere. In the darkness, the flames turned into fireflies, and the ashes of the burnt incense blinded everyone, revealing a bizarre and surreal scene.

In the vast black sea, a magnificent five-story royal ship, which should have been sailing towards the crowd according to the predetermined route, was blocked by General Wu Gong's palanquin in the mortal realm. Instantly, waves surged on the black sea, and the colliding human energy and incense smoke transformed into a raging wind.

In the real world, it only dazzles people's eyes.

However, upon falling into the Netherworld Ocean, it instantly transformed into a colossal wave.

"Stay calm, stay calm!"

Zhao Heng's eyes were bloodshot. He was possessed by the Ghost King and his powerful magic was trying to bless the people of Zhao Family Village from across the realm. But it was no match for Ao Peng, who was waiting in the real world.

Although Fu Bowang's accumulated power over hundreds of years far surpassed that of Ao Peng, the people of Zhao Family Village were unable to break through the human formation composed of the five immortals due to the separation of realms in the spellcasting. Instead, they were thrown into chaos and disarray.

Suddenly, the huge royal ship that the young people of Zhao Family Village were carrying crashed to the ground, and the red cloth was directly ripped off, revealing a blue-faced and fanged god statue inside!

As soon as the statue appeared, the ordinary people realized that Zhao Family Village definitely did not want to invite a righteous god to tour the village. No wonder they chose to forcibly break in at night. Unfortunately, they were blocked by the suddenly appearing "General Wu Gong" and were knocked down.

In the real world, the ritual was interrupted, the royal ship was capsized, and in the deep, dark sea, the magnificent five-story royal ship also capsized instantly. Countless ghost soldiers struggled in the waves, leaving only the resentful rage of a ghost king, who cried out, "I will return!"