Blue, Red and White Dark Abyss Cauldron

After a day of joy, the formal ancestor worship ceremony begins.

After noon, Bai Qizheng, the clan leader of the South Village, and Gao Chiqian, the clan leader of the East Village, held jade pieces in their hands and led the adult men in the village respectively. The host was in the east and the guests were in the west. They divided into two long teams and walked solemnly around the twenty-eight stars, praying every three steps and bowing every ten steps, and slowly walked towards the ancestral temple.

Except for the clan leaders of the east and west villages, everyone else also held various auspicious items such as jade, jewels, pearls, corals, shells, etc. in their hands to pray for blessings.

Chu Xiaomu held a colorful shell in both hands and followed the long line, praying solemnly like the adults.

The other women and children on Baihua Island did not participate in the worship. Bai Yixing, Qin Gang and other Snow Country people just watched from behind. Although they found it novel, they also thought it was too complicated and made them feel anxious.

It took nearly two and a half hours for two teams of nearly two hundred people to reach the entrance of the ancestral temple to pay their respects.

The ancestral temple was built at the highest point of the village. It was constructed with thousands of huge trees. It is also the tallest and largest building in the village and can accommodate four or five hundred people for worship at the same time.

Bai Yixing, Qin Gang and others also followed the team into the ancestral temple, but saw a two-foot-high wooden platform on the north side, with dozens or even hundreds of tablets placed at different heights behind the platform.

In the center of the tablet, there was a wooden statue slightly larger than a real person. It was carved very roughly, but judging from the clothes and hairstyle, it could be seen that it was a young woman.

Bai Yixing stood at the end of the crowd and asked, "Brother Qin Gang, this is strange. Why is there a statue of a woman in the middle of the spirit tablet? Is this woman more important than their hundreds of ancestors?"

He was tall and slender, so it was easy for him to see the statue standing on the stage.

Qin Gang said: "The Cangmu Kingdom has the same custom as our Baixue Kingdom in worshiping the Lord of Gods or the Spirit King, but they don't only worship the Lord of Gods and the Spirit King, but more often worship some good spirits. It is said that Jinyang City worships the Luan Spirit, and Yutuo City worships the Camel Mother, both of whom have great kindness to the world."

Bai Yixing asked again: "Who is this spiritual statue they are worshipping?"

Qin Gang shook his head and said he didn't know.

Bai Yixing was about to ask more questions when he suddenly heard Bai Qizheng and Gao Chiqian singing a prayer in a loud voice, as if asking and answering. After the two sang a few lines, everyone followed suit and then fell to the ground, bowing their heads in greeting.

The ancestral temple was filled with the sound of voices, creating a prosperous and lively atmosphere.

Qin Gang, Bai Yixing and other Snow Country people did not follow the people of Baihua Island to kneel and pay respect. He looked forward and suddenly saw something. He couldn't help but be shocked: "Could this be the legendary thing? How...how could it be here?"

About ten feet away from the feet of the wooden statue, there was a two-foot-high black and blue four-legged tripod. It had a simple style and mottled patterns. There was a faint dark blue glow flowing from the body of the tripod, which was quite mysterious.

Bai Yixing also saw the ancient tripod and said, "Brother Qin Gang, the tripod is very finely crafted. It doesn't look like something from this island."

Seeing that Qin Gang remained silent for a long time, he turned his head to look at him, only to see that he was frowning slightly and clenching his teeth, as if he was thinking about something difficult to understand.

Bai Yixing didn't care and concentrated on watching the ceremony of the Baihua Islanders.

After everyone on Baihua Island bowed for a while, they finally finished praying. Bai Qizheng said loudly: "The people of Qi respect King Ling, and King Ling also protects the people. Everyone, please stand up..." Everyone on Baihua Island stood up together.

Bai Qizheng then half-spoken and half-sang loudly: "Four lives and four generals, protect my master, search the western underworld sea, first seek the source of spiritual roots and blessings, second seek the three-color auspicious light of the sun, moon and stars, finally rely on the blessing of the gods, the spiritual master's fortune will be prosperous..."

After the song was over, four people with painted faces and wearing different costumes walked out from both sides of the crowd and walked towards the stage together.

The four people on the left were painted with red and black faces, holding spears, swords and other objects in their hands, and wearing strange armor made of copper and iron sheets. The four people on the right were painted with white and yellow faces, holding sickles, hoes, axes and saws in their hands, and wearing various long and short clothes, some with long sleeves and some with short drawstrings, all different.

After the eight people came on stage, they circled around the wooden statue. Their hand and foot movements looked half like training and half like dancing, while they murmured and half sang at the same time, and this went on for a long time.

Although Bai Yixing could not understand most of what he read or heard, he was still very interested and found the exotic customs of Baihua Island very interesting.

Suddenly, a voice, neither loud nor soft, came into his ears: "This tripod is a rare treasure in the world, a priceless treasure, a priceless treasure..." Turning around, he saw Qin Gang's eyes were dull and he was talking to himself.

Bai Yixing hurriedly pulled Qin Gang and asked, "Brother Qin Gang, what...what were you talking about just now?"

Qin Gang hummed and said, "I didn't say anything."

Bai Yixing asked in a trembling voice: "You...you said this tripod is a priceless treasure?" He pointed at the black tripod under the wooden statue in the front, and his heart began to pound wildly.

Qin Gang seemed to have just woken up from a dream, and said: "It's a pity that the people of Baihua Island don't recognize the treasure and only treat it as an ordinary instrument for sacrificial ceremonies. What a pity..."

Bai Yixing was very excited and kept asking him what the treasure was, but Qin Gang did not mention it again and only signaled him to speak in a low voice and not disturb the islanders who were worshiping their ancestors in the ancestral temple.

The four young men and four generals sang and danced for a while, and then the adult men came to offer auspicious gifts.

The adult men who participated in the worship in the ancestral temple took turns to step forward, bow and salute, and then put the auspicious items in their hands into the ancient tripod in front of the wooden statue. The ancient tripod seemed to have a response, and the divine light gradually grew, until the whole hall was filled with a dark blue, which was very strange.

The Snow Country people were all shocked when they saw this, their mouths opened wide. Hu Yong even murmured, "The God has appeared... The God has appeared..."

Bai Yixing's mind was no longer on the excitement of ancestor worship. He stared at the ancient tripod without blinking, and the only thing left in his mind were the four words that Qin Gang said - priceless treasure.

He felt that the fleet of two or three hundred people he had built with all his family wealth was almost completely destroyed by the tsunami and the mermaids, and then drifted to this beautiful isolated island with the wind and waves. Not only did his life save him, but he also discovered this priceless treasure. It must be that the gods were guiding him in the dark...

A voice kept shouting in his mind: "There is hope for the revival of the Bai family! There is hope for the revival of the Bai family..."

After all the adult men on Baihua Island finished offering sacrifices to their ancestors, Qin Gang led the people of the Snow Country to the stage with the shipbuilding map in their hands and said, "I am grateful to you for risking your lives to save me, and for your hospitality regardless of race. I cannot repay you for your kindness. I would like to present the shipbuilding technology of the Snow Country as a gift of congratulations."

Gao Chi, the patriarch of the Dongzhai clan, received the shipbuilding technology presented by the Qianjianxue people with trembling hands, and thanked them repeatedly, saying that it was a blessing from the gods. From now on, the people of Baihua Island will have hope of crossing the Hongming West Sea and returning to the Cangmu Kingdom in the east to trace their roots. He also said that this was the best gift given to their ancestors in more than two hundred years.

An old man named Lu, who worked as a good worker in Dongzhai, walked out from the crowd, bowed several times to the wooden statue, then turned around and bowed to the people of Snow Country, with tears in his eyes and endless thanks.