Please control me, my divine being!

To be honest, Zhou Qing couldn't understand Nuo opera at all.

The Su family troupe had clearly done a lot of rehearsals for today's performance, and their makeup, costumes, and makeup were all carefully prepared.

But this thing really doesn't have anything appealing about it, and it's far behind the competition in terms of appeal.

After everyone else had left the garden, Zhou Qing delivered his prepared speech: "Master Su, last time you said that Nuo opera originated from ancient shamanism?"

The two walked side by side in the back garden, the atmosphere relaxed.

Su Tangyu thought the prince would ask about something else this time, but she didn't expect it to be about Nuo opera again.

The rumors outside are all false; this prince is genuinely interested in Nuo opera.

"To be precise, it originated from ancient shamans and was a dance used during sacrifices to pray to the gods for the exorcism of evil spirits and plagues, and for good weather and abundant harvests. Later, it gradually evolved into opera."

Once the conversation turned to her old profession, Su Tangyu immediately started talking non-stop.

Zhou Qing listened attentively and guided the conversation until the time was right, at which point he naturally asked, "It seems that Master Su has a deep understanding of sacrificial customs. I would like to learn more about the upcoming Dragon King Festival so that I will not be completely ignorant of it."

"Sacrificial rites naturally involve setting up an altar to invite the gods, and then offering three kinds of sacrificial animals to the deities..."

"Hmm, is this the only method of sacrifice?" Zhou Qing interrupted, "I've read quite a few books that say sacrifices evolved over time. I've heard that ancient shamans could communicate with the gods and request their blessings during sacrifices?"

Su Tangyu pondered for a moment, "Indeed, there is such a saying. Sacrifices to mountains and rivers, to heaven and earth, are all expressions of the desire for favorable weather and national peace. But sacrifices to specific deities to ask for blessings are different from these."

"What's the difference?"

"This involves some fallacies and heresies among the people, which is also the reason for many evil shrines, licentious temples, and wild associations. The imperial court prohibits them, and ordinary people dare not speak out."

"Since it's just the two of us here, let's talk about metaphysics without any reservations."

Su Tangyu hesitated for a moment before organizing her thoughts: "These sacrifices, which seek blessings, mostly point to righteous gods, such as the City God, the Earth God, and the Kitchen God. They belong to the Mountain and River Temple Gods and are righteous gods recognized and appointed by the imperial court."

Even if there is no response after the sacrifice, no disaster will occur.

However, the number of believers in the true gods is large, and the requirements for sacrifices are quite high.

Therefore, many people turn their attention to evil spirits, demons, and strange creatures. These rituals often elicit effective responses, but they also frequently end in tragedy.

"Then how should one obtain blessings when offering sacrifices to the gods?" Zhou Qing continued to ask.

Su Tangyu's eyes flickered slightly. "No matter what kind of sacrifice it is, the altar diagram, offerings, and honorific names are indispensable. The more complete the sacrificial process, the easier it is to attract the attention of the gods."

The design of altars varies greatly, with different schools having different styles; there is no fixed rule.

The ceremonial diagrams, on the other hand, need to be drawn with the finest cinnabar.

However, folk ancestral worship often depicts scenes with one's own blood.

This is more likely to attract the attention of the object of worship than cinnabar, making it the best material for drawing.

The honorific name clarifies the purpose of the sacrifice and prevents it from deviating from the intended goal.

The most important thing is the selection of offerings; one must know the gods' preferences for them to bestow blessings.

"Isn't the choice of sacrificial offerings the three kinds of animals?"

Zhou Qing feigned curiosity.

Su Tangyu continued, "This kind of sacrifice does not have any requirements on the type of offerings. They are not specific items, but rather depend on their 'value'."

In other words, the emotions entrusted above, and the "value" to people, must be something important and something that is hard to give up.

Things like money are mundane and meant to be consumed, so they are not difficult for people to give up.

Therefore, their "value" is extremely low among sacrificial offerings.

Those evil and unorthodox worship practices always like to use flesh and blood as offerings to please the gods.

Because flesh and blood themselves represent 'value'.

Moreover, compared to the strange and unusual offerings, they are readily available everywhere.

Offering sacrifices of sufficient 'value' may yield blessings from the deity being worshipped.

This is the essence of sacrificial rites.

This method of sacrifice, passed down from ancient times, has been strictly prohibited by the imperial court. Now, official sacrifices are offered to heaven and earth, mountains and rivers, without seeking anything in return.

This flood of information made Zhou Qing understand why some things could be used as sacrifices, while others were useless.

Value to people!

These past few days, the broken bones Li Qinghe dug out of the monster's corpse, the pottery shards buried under the tree, and the old talismans were not precious in themselves, but their former owners had placed deep emotions on them, and even after death, their obsessions did not dissipate, which is why they had "value".

This kind of value is very small, and even the most discerning gods would not like it, so the people of the Dharma sect did not collect it.

That being said, the value of a living person is obviously greater than that of a dead person.

The dead only have obsessions, but the living have seven emotions and six desires!

"I gained a lot from discussing ancient and mysterious topics with Master Su today. These evil gods and wild cults use human lives as sacrifices, causing countless tragedies of families being destroyed and people dying. They should have been banned long ago."

"But it is still difficult to stop, after all, there are gods watching over us, and people in the world have too many desires and regrets, and want to rely on the power of the gods."

Hearing the hidden meaning in Su Tangyu's words, Zhou Qing smiled faintly and did not reply.

As the two walked to the entrance of the garden, Zhou Qing casually said, "It won't be long before you become the head of the Suzhou opera troupe. Your troupe is still waiting. If it takes too long, it will inevitably attract gossip and cause unnecessary trouble."

Hasn't His Highness been the subject of much gossip outside?

Su Tangyu sighed inwardly, but still bowed respectfully and took her leave.

As soon as she stepped out of the palace, the Nuo mask on her waist began to tremble impatiently.

"You bastard, are you trying to kill your father with anger! He's already testing me..."

In a short time.

All the Nuo masks hanging on the opera robes trembled at the same time, exuding a sinister aura.

"Shut up!"

Su Tangyu slapped the Nuo mask on her waist: "Dead people, behave yourselves!"

After waiting a moment until the Nuo masks calmed down and the chattering voices in her mind disappeared, she quickly put on a smile and walked towards the Su family troupe.

...

"Value, so this is the key to choosing offerings!"

Furthermore, this value is linked to emotions; the more difficult and important something is to part with, the higher its value as a sacrifice.

Friends, family, children, and even one's own flesh and blood are all excellent offerings!

According to information gleaned from the game, all the extraordinary power gained by cultivators originates from sacrifices to the gods.

Therefore, any cultivator must have performed a ritual.

Every extraordinary power comes at a price, and the gods may not accept it or bestow their blessings upon it.

The cultivation practices in this world are even more insane than I imagined.

Zhou Qing was filled with a myriad of thoughts.

The good news is that, because of the game, you can play the role of a god and are not picky about offerings. When believers receive blessings through sacrifices, you can also receive them.

Therefore, he does not need to rely on faith in or worship a deity in the real world to obtain extraordinary things.

The bad news is that compared to other gods, this god is practically nonexistent, and he only has one follower, a "little genius" girl.

"But now, we need to consider how to conduct the second sacrifice."

The ritual diagrams for the sacrifice require the finest cinnabar. I don't know if the Fajiao sect has any. Other gods are picky, but I don't need to worry about that at all. Last time in the study, I drew the ritual diagrams myself with ink, and didn't I succeed?

Procedures such as altars and ritual diagrams can be simplified, avoiding formalism.

The important thing to pay attention to is the offerings, as these determine the amount of divine power obtained.