The princess arrives and the prosperous Tang Dynasty begins

After leaving the strange forest, Lin Xiao and Li Xuan continued their adventure. This time, they came to a well-preserved ancient village that has existed since the Tang Dynasty. The villagers have lived here for generations and have preserved many ancient customs and cultures. Lin Xiao and Li Xuan were full of curiosity about these traditional cultures and decided to stay here for a while to gain a deeper understanding of these ancient knowledge.

As soon as they arrived at the entrance of the village, they were warmly greeted by the village chief Liu Bo. Liu Bo was an elderly man with wrinkles all over his face, but he was energetic and his eyes were full of wisdom. When he heard that they were adventurers who came to study the culture of the Tang Dynasty, Liu Bo seemed very happy.

"You have come at the right time," Liu Bo said, "Our village is about to hold an annual sacrificial ceremony. This ceremony has a history of thousands of years and is one of the most important traditions of our village."

Lin Xiao and Li Xuan were very interested in this ancient sacrificial ceremony and decided to stay and participate. They followed Liu Bo into the village and found that the villagers were busy preparing various items needed for the sacrifice. A huge altar was built in the center of the village, on which were placed various offerings and sacrificial utensils, which looked solemn and sacred.

"This sacrificial ceremony is to commemorate the ancestors of our village," Liu Bo explained. "The ancestors were priests in the imperial court during the Tang Dynasty. Later, they fled here due to war and founded this village. We hold a sacrificial ceremony every year to pray for the ancestors' blessings."

Lin Xiao and Li Xuan were filled with awe for these histories and traditions, and they decided to help the villagers prepare for the sacrificial ceremony. The villagers welcomed them very much and introduced them to various details and processes of the sacrifice.

The night before the sacrificial ceremony, the village was decorated with lanterns and the villagers wore festive costumes, and the whole village was filled with a festive atmosphere. Lin Xiao and Li Xuan were also invited by the villagers to wear traditional Tang suits, and felt a wonderful sense of connection with history.

On the day of the sacrificial ceremony, the villagers gathered in front of the altar at dawn. The ceremony was presided over by Liu Bo, who stood in the center of the altar holding sacrificial instruments with a solemn and dignified look. The villagers surrounded the altar and waited quietly for the ceremony to begin.

Liu Bo read the sacrificial text aloud, praying for the protection and blessing of the ancestors. Then he lit the incense on the altar, and the smoke rose up, emitting a fragrant aroma. The villagers came forward one by one, offering sacrifices to the ancestors to express their respect and gratitude.

Lin Xiao and Li Xuan also participated in the sacrifice. Following the guidance of the villagers, they presented offerings to their ancestors and prayed devoutly in front of the altar. They felt a mysterious and powerful force, as if the souls of their ancestors were watching them, giving them strength and courage.

The sacrificial ceremony lasted for several hours. The whole process was solemn and sacred. After the ceremony, the villagers began to celebrate. They built a big stage in the center of the village and prepared a sumptuous banquet and various performances. The villagers sang and danced, enjoying the joy of the day.

At the banquet, Lin Xiao and Li Xuan communicated with the villagers and learned more about the culture and customs of the Tang Dynasty. The villagers enthusiastically told them the stories of their ancestors and introduced the history and traditions of the village. Lin Xiao and Li Xuan listened with great interest and felt deeply the richness and profoundness of these traditional cultures.

After the banquet, the villagers invited Lin Xiao and Li Xuan to visit the village's ancestral hall. The ancestral hall is a place to worship ancestors, and many ancient cultural relics and utensils are displayed in it, each of which records the history of the village and the stories of the ancestors. Lin Xiao and Li Xuan carefully visited the ancestral hall and felt a deep sense of awe.

Liu Bo showed them some precious documents and scrolls, which recorded many historical events and cultural customs during the Tang Dynasty. Lin Xiao and Li Xuan were very excited, knowing that these documents were of great value to the study of Tang Dynasty culture.

"These documents are the precious heritage of our village," Liu Bo said. "We hope you can spread this knowledge so that more people can understand our history and culture."

Lin Xiao and Li Xuan gratefully accepted the documents and decided to take them back for further research. They knew that the documents contained many unsolved secrets that required them to explore and interpret them carefully.

On the last day in the village, Lin Xiao and Li Xuan decided to explore the mountains and forests around the village. Liu Bo told them that there were some ancient relics in the mountains and forests, which might be related to the sacrificial activities of their ancestors. The two were full of curiosity about these relics and decided to find out.

After walking for several hours in the forest, they found an ancient stone tablet. The stone tablet was engraved with complex runes and patterns, as if recording some important historical events. Lin Xiao carefully studied the runes on the stone tablet and found that they were somewhat similar to the documents seen in the village ancestral hall.

"The contents recorded in these runes are very important," Lin Xiao said, "We need to record them, maybe we can find some useful information from them."

They stopped in front of the stone tablet and began to carefully record the contents of the runes. The runes revealed a mysterious power, as if telling the past and secrets of this land.

As they were recording the runes, they suddenly heard a faint sound of footsteps in the distance. The two stood up alertly and looked in the direction of the sound. They saw an old man in white clothes appear in front of them. The old man had a kind face, but there was a mysterious light in his eyes.

"Hello, young adventurers," the old man said, "My name is Bai Shi, and I am the guardian of this forest."

Lin Xiao and Li Xuan were very surprised. They didn't expect to meet a guardian in this forest.

"Old Man Baishi, we are here to explore the secrets of this forest," Lin Xiao said, "I wonder if you can provide us with some help?"

Bai Shi smiled and said, "The fact that you can come here shows that you have extraordinary courage and wisdom. I will take you to see the wonders of this forest."

Bai Shi led them through the mountains and forests, explaining the characteristics and uses of various strange plants and relics along the way. They saw many magical plants, some of which could heal wounds, some of which had powerful attack power, and some of which could enhance people's strength and wisdom.

Bai Shi also took them to a mysterious lake. The water was so clear that you could see the bottom, and there were many crystal plants growing in the lake. These crystal plants sparkled brightly in the sun, as if they were conveying some mysterious power to them.

"These crystal plants have powerful healing abilities," Shiraishi said, "As long as the potion made from them is used, it can heal almost any injury or illness."

Lin Xiao and Li Xuan were very shocked. They didn't expect that such magical plants would be hidden in this strange forest.

"Old Man Bai Shi, these plants are truly amazing," Li Xuan said, "Can we collect some and take them back for research?"

Bai Shi nodded and said, "You can collect some, but be careful not to destroy their growth environment."

Under Bai Shi's guidance, they carefully collected some crystal plants and other exotic plants. They felt the powerful power coming from these plants and knew that these plants would definitely play an important role in future adventures.

After leaving the lake, Bai Shi led them to the deepest part of the forest. Here, they found an ancient altar. On the altar was a huge crystal ball, which was shining with strange light, as if it contained endless energy.

"This crystal ball is the core of this forest," said Bai Shi. "It contains all the power and secrets of the forest."

Lin Xiao and Li Xuan approached the altar and felt the powerful force coming from the crystal ball. Li Xuan said, "This crystal ball must be hiding an important secret. Maybe it has some connection with the strange plants in the forest."

Bai Shi smiled slightly and said, "Your guess is not wrong. This crystal ball is indeed closely related to the strange plants in the mountains and forests. Only through it can the full power of these plants be released."

Lin Xiao and Li Xuan were full of curiosity about the crystal ball, so they decided to take it back for further research and exploration.

After returning to the village, Lin Xiao and Li Xuan felt an inexplicable fatigue. They found an inn in the village and began to sort and classify the various plants they collected in the mountains and forests. These plants exuded a strong medicinal fragrance, filling the entire inn with a fresh breath.

The next morning, after Lin Xiao and Li Xuan woke up, they immediately started a new round of research and experiments. They used various methods to extract and process these plants, trying to discover more of their magical effects.

After several days of hard work, they finally developed some effective potions and medicines. One of the potions can quickly heal wounds, and another can improve people's physical strength and wisdom. Lin Xiao and Li Xuan are very satisfied with these results. They know that these potions and medicines will definitely play an important role in future adventures.

On the last day at the inn, Lin Xiao and Li Xuan decided to go back to the mountains and forests for adventure again. They took the potions and medicines they had just developed and prepared to continue exploring and adventuring in the mountains and forests.

Bai Shi was waiting for them in the forest, and he greeted them with a smile on his face.

"Your efforts have paid off," said Shiraishi, "These potions and elixirs will be great helpers in your future adventures."

Lin Xiao and Li Xuan were very happy with Bai Shi's praise, knowing that they had reaped rich rewards in this mountain forest. They decided to continue to explore the wonders in the mountain forest with Bai Shi and discover more hidden secrets and treasures.