Deities: Rulers of Nature

Time slips away silently like sand through our fingers.

Before we knew it, the day of the grand festival in the 544th year of the divine calendar arrived.

Under the guidance of High Priest Qingdao, Ji Xuan's three clans gathered in the central square of Xishan City.

What will happen next is unclear, but over the past year, the people from the three newly established satellite villages have all returned to Xishan City.

Before the ceremony even began, tens of thousands of believers gathered together, and despite their restraint, the atmosphere was incredibly lively.

"Are the offerings all prepared?" Qingdao asked Qinglu in a low voice again to confirm.

"Don't worry," Qinglu replied in a low voice, meeting Qingdao's gaze, "Chihong just checked it again, and everything is ready."

Logically speaking, Seido shouldn't have had such concerns.

Since he became high priest, he has presided over countless sacrifices, both large and small, and he could go through the process with his eyes closed.

But this time it was different. Qingdao added many new steps, firstly to express gratitude for Ji Xuan's protection, and secondly to establish a complete set of sacrificial rituals.

In this way, as more and more villages are built in the future, the bishops who are sent to various places will have a way to follow, and will not be completely clueless.

Indeed, barring any major events, this will likely be the last time the clans hold such a grand sacrificial ceremony together.

In recent years, although Qingdao has mainly taught Jinchen and promoted Yaowen, he has also trained a group of excellent bishops in his spare time.

Among these bishops are snake people, cherry blossom spirits, and spider people. Their combat strength may not be great, but their faith in Ji Xuan, their ability to preside over a church, and their ability to solve the problems of believers are all sufficient to make them stand alone.

As the Ji Xuan clan continues to expand across the Central Continent, establishing new villages and even towns, these bishops will be sent there.

On the subsequent major sacrificial day, they would hold sacrificial activities on the same day in their respective settlements.

With the increase in the number of dependents, this is an inevitable trend of development.

Seido's gaze fell on the altar, which was already filled with offerings. They had been preparing these offerings for two months.

Green and Crimson personally went to the East Sea to hunt down a Bronze-rank Helicopter Shark, which is now placed in the center of the altar.

To the left of the Helicoprion is a Blackscale Boa, which is over ten meters long. Although it can no longer devour the Blood Orchid, the natural resources in the Gray Mist Swamp are abundant enough that over the years, several Blackscale Boas have broken through to the Bronze rank.

However, they are no longer the overlords of the Gray Mist Swamp, and many other bronze-level creatures have also emerged among them.

To the right of the Helicoprion Shark is a Bronze-tier Brown Rock Tiger, which Bai Qian led a team to hunt deep in the Green Ridge Mountains. It was once a dominant force that almost killed Qinglu, but is now just one of the powerful races.

The remaining Black Iron Rank wild beasts were placed around the altar, but none of them could match the three above in terms of size or power.

In addition to these, the altar was filled with other offerings, including rare minerals mined from the depths of the cave, beautiful corals brought back from the ocean, various ornaments carefully woven by the Snow Spider People, and exquisite utensils crafted by blacksmiths.

Even more remarkably, a shipbuilder personally guided the carving of a small model of a ship.

Looking up at the sky and seeing that it was almost time, Qingdao got up and went to the altar. He gently tapped the ground with the Staff of Nature in his hand, and a soft ripple spread out from Qingdao to the entire central square.

Wherever the ripples passed, everyone fell silent, their expressions solemn.

Seido surveyed the central plaza with gentle eyes. He didn't deliberately raise his voice, but with the blessing of the Staff of Nature, Seido's friendly voice clearly reached everyone's ears.

All things are born of nature, grow in nature, and will return to nature after they die.

"Today, we gather here to offer our most devout sacrifice to our Lord!"

As Seido finished speaking, tens of thousands of people in the square raised their right hands in unison, clenching their fists naturally over their hearts, and chanted in unison, "Hail to you, great God of Nature!"

At this moment, Seido raised the Staff of Nature high and proclaimed loudly, "The ritual begins!"

"Waaah~"

A horn made from the bones of wild beasts was sounded, and a team entirely composed of cherry blossom spirits flew out from the crowd, hovering in the air around the altar.

"Knock knock!"

As the deep drumbeats began, the cherry blossom fairies danced to the rhythm, scattering petals and pollen with their movements, instantly filling everyone's nostrils with a refreshing fragrance.

"Knock knock!"

As the drumbeats suddenly intensified, a group of snake-man warriors joined in, all of them bare-chested and adorned with various ornaments made from the claws and teeth of wild beasts.

These all come from wild beasts they hunted themselves, and are symbols of bravery.

The snake people's dance movements are full of wildness. Unlike the cherry blossom spirit's gentleness, every move of the snake people shows absolute bravery.

Then, the Spider-Man team joined in, performing a unique dance.

The three clans each have their own distinct dance styles, yet they blend together perfectly.

To be honest, these dances aren't particularly graceful, but they have a primal feel to them.

Not just anyone can become one of these dancers; the prerequisite is that they must be the elite of their respective races, and then the Seido Society will select those who are powerful and devout in their faith in Ji Xuan.

Only someone like that is qualified to represent all the relatives in presenting gifts to Ji Xuan.

……

As the sacrificial ceremony proceeded, golden-green specks of light began to appear in the sky. These specks quickly converged into a golden pillar of light, enveloping the entire altar area.

One by one, the wild beasts began to change, first the black iron-tier wild beasts, and then the three bronze-tier wild beasts.

To everyone's eyes, the enormous bodies of these wild beasts gradually became shriveled and transparent.

Ji Xuan extracted and purified strands of essence, but instead of absorbing them, he mixed them with divine power and transformed them into a shower of light that fell from the sky.

The light rain directly merged into the believers' bodies, flowing through their entire bodies, nourishing them while repairing the hidden injuries left from the battle.

"Praise be to you, great God of Nature!"

"..."

The frenzied shouts of tens of thousands of people merged together, creating a deafening roar.

From Ji Xuan's perspective, strands of pure faith rose along the thread of faith, and after being further purified by the natural oak tree, they flowed into Ji Xuan's body.

However, Ji Xuan did not convert these faith points into divine power, but instead injected them into the natural oak tree to help accelerate the forging of the divine essence.

Ji Xuan, who stood silently above the clouds, did not appear. He watched as Qing Dao led everyone through each step of the process.

Ji Xuan was very satisfied with Seido's actions during this grand festival.

It wasn't that He liked these rituals or enjoyed tormenting believers, but rather that each step not only calmed the believers' distracting thoughts but also heightened their emotions. The direct result was that Ji Xuan received wave after wave of faith points.

How could He not be satisfied with Seido?