Born Saints: Starting from Liaozhai

Chapter 109 Prophecy and Imperial Edict: Mist Mountain God Lord

Soon, the villagers of Wushan saw from afar an astonishingly large group approaching at a leisurely pace.

Leading the procession were armored soldiers on horseback, followed by a long convoy of carriages and attendants.

"Who are these people?"

Some villagers couldn't help but exclaim in surprise.

This is no ordinary person!

Not long after, some soldiers came to the village to inquire about the situation. Ah Niu and the others learned from the soldiers that the person who came was actually the king.

Furthermore, the king is prepared to personally go to the foot of Mist Mountain to hold a sacrifice to the god of Mist Mountain!

Ah Niu and the others were stunned, their eyes wide open.

The crowd looked at each other, their faces filled with shock.

They never expected that they would alarm the king, who would even come to offer sacrifices in person.

at the same time.

In the center of the group.

King You of Zhou and Bao Si gazed at the misty mountains from afar.

The mountains were shrouded in mist.

The entire mountain was shrouded in a hazy white veil.

And atop that misty mountaintop.

A faint golden light was shimmering.

Seeing this, King You of Zhou and Bao Si were filled with astonishment.

Shen Wu and the others were right!

King You of Zhou's expression hardened.

He had initially been skeptical, but now that he had witnessed this extraordinary phenomenon, his initial disdain dissipated considerably, and his expression became serious.

"This Misty Mountain is truly wondrous—" Bao Si gazed quietly at the golden light emanating from the mountaintop, her beautiful eyes filled with a hint of amazement.

Soon.

Under the arrangement of the priest, everyone set to work, and a magnificent altar was built on the open ground at the foot of the misty mountain.

A white sacrificial cloth was laid on the altar.

The bronze ritual vessels were neatly arranged.

The tripods, gui vessels, zun vessels, and jue vessels gleamed with a heavy bronze luster in the morning light.

Before the altar.

The sacrificial offerings, including the three kinds of animals, were also brought up.

Black oxen, white sheep, and fat pigs —

The armored soldiers stood solemnly around them.

The banners swayed gently in the morning breeze.

Officials, honor guards, court attendants, and ritual personnel surrounded the procession.

A solemn and dignified atmosphere permeated the entire foot of the mountain.

Under the watchful eyes of countless people, the priest, dressed in a black sacrificial robe and wearing a tall crown, slowly walked up to the altar and bowed deeply towards the direction of Wushan.

Then, he loudly called out to the surroundings, "Silence!"

"The sacrificial ceremony is about to begin!"

As his voice faded.

The surroundings immediately fell silent.

Even the villagers watching from afar held their breath.

The officiant then took a scroll of sacrificial text from the attendant, unfolded it, and read aloud, "O God of Wushan."

"The spirit of mountains and rivers".

"Today, the Zhou emperor has led his ministers here to offer sacrifices and fine wine to the mountain spirits."

His voice echoed through the valley.

"The other day, the king sent an envoy to climb the mountain to investigate the mysteries within."

"Mortals are foolish and do not recognize the power of the gods."

"Offending the gods."

"We have prepared a lavish offering of three kinds of sacrificial animals to atone for their transgressions."

"May the mountain god have mercy and calm his anger."

"Protecting the mountains and rivers, bringing peace to all directions —"

Soon, the eulogy was finished, and the officiant proclaimed loudly, "Offer the sacrifice!"

Several priests immediately stepped forward.

The bronze wine vessel is filled with clear sake.

The wine was slowly poured onto the ground in front of the altar.

The aroma of wine filled the air.

Then, black oxen, white sheep, and fat pigs were presented in turn.

The brazier was lit.

Wisps of smoke rose into the air.

The officiant proclaimed again in a loud voice, "The Emperor prays!"

King You of Zhou walked to the front of the altar and took a bronze wine cup from the attendant.

Looking up at the misty mountains, King You of Zhou said in a deep voice, "The god of the misty mountains is above, and I am the Son of Heaven of Zhou."

"The day before yesterday, my men were ignorant and mistakenly offended the divine might. Today, I offer sacrifices of cattle, sheep, and pigs, along with clear wine, and personally go to the foot of the mountain to make this offering."

Speaking of it.

King You of Zhou paused slightly, then slowly poured the wine onto the ground, the liquid seeping into the soil.

"If there truly are gods in the mountains."

"Please calm down and stop your anger."

"9

"Forgive the mistakes of ordinary people."

After he finished speaking, he bowed slightly.

Upon seeing this, the surrounding officials also bowed in respect.

"May the mountain god appease his anger!"

"May the mountain god appease his anger!"

The sound echoed through the mountains and forests.

A wisp of smoke rose and drifted slowly toward the misty mountaintop.

It was as if they were making a wish, about to be sent to the place where the mountain spirits reside.

At this moment, everyone couldn't help but look up at the misty mountain, waiting for the mountain god to respond.

Mount Wushan.

With such a commotion at the foot of Fog Mountain, Su Chen naturally wouldn't have been oblivious to it.

Looking at King You of Zhou, Ji Gongnie, who was holding a sacrificial ceremony, his lips twitched, and he was speechless.

He truly hadn't expected that King You would personally come to Wushan to hold a sacrifice this week. Was he really not afraid of death?

However, considering that King You of Zhou lit the beacon fires to amuse Bao Si, his presence here now seems reasonable.

At the end of the Western Zhou Dynasty, when King You of Zhou ascended the throne, the Western Zhou Dynasty was already in decline, beset by internal and external troubles. Earthquakes and droughts occurred frequently in Guanzhong, causing people to be displaced. The country's strength was further weakened by the failure of its campaigns against the Quanrong.

To win a smile from Bao Si, King You of Zhou adopted the strategy of the treacherous minister Guo Shifu, repeatedly lighting the beacon towers without cause and falsely claiming that the Quanrong had invaded.

The feudal lords led their troops to the rescue, only to discover it was a deception, and gradually lost trust in King You of Zhou.

Bao Si laughed heartily after witnessing the disarray of the feudal lords. King You was overjoyed and rewarded Guo Shifu handsomely. After that, the feudal lords were deceived many times but no longer fell for it.

When the Quanrong actually breached Haojing, King You of Zhou lit the beacon fires again to call for help, but the feudal lords no longer trusted the signals and no one sent troops to rescue him, leading to King You's death, Bao Si's capture, and her tragic end.

The story of "The Boy Who Cried Wolf" from the Western Zhou Dynasty.

However, the story of "lighting the beacon fires to amuse the feudal lords" has many suspicious points, and it seems to be fabricated by later people to smear King You of Zhou.

Just like King Zhou and Qin Shi Huang, who were also vilified, the victors have the final say in how the story is fabricated.

A more plausible reason would be that King You of Zhou favored Bao Si, deposed the original crown prince, and made Bao Si's son the crown prince.

The original crown prince's maternal grandfather was Marquis Shen, who was furious and allied with the Quanrong to attack and capture the capital, Haojing.

In 771 BC, the Quanrong invaded Haojing, the capital of the Western Zhou Dynasty, and King You of Zhou fled to Mount Li where he was killed.

This event directly led to the demise of the Western Zhou Dynasty and the beginning of the Eastern Zhou, Spring and Autumn, and Warring States periods.

Su Chen was deep in thought.

However, regardless of what King You of Zhou was thinking, personally inviting the priests to apologize did show some sincerity.

Normally, the Zhou emperor, as the ruler of all under heaven, only offered sacrifices to Heaven, Earth, and his ancestors.

Mountain gods, being local deities, are generally not worshipped.

Su Chen shook his head.

He was too lazy to care about the change of kings, but considering that King You of Zhou had come to apologize and held a grand sacrifice, he thought it best to give him a slight reminder.

As for whether the other party can escape their fate, that's none of his business. King Zhou You, Zhu Guan, and the others waited for a while, but they didn't see anything unusual about Wushan, nor did they see the legendary God of Wushan respond.

For a moment, their faces were filled with disappointment.

Many people couldn't help but think about it in their hearts.

Does the God of Fog Hill really exist?

Just as they were thinking this, believing that the mountain god would not appear.

Suddenly, the mountain mist began to swirl slightly.

A distant and ethereal voice came from the misty mountains.

The voice wasn't loud, but it seemed to resonate in everyone's heart.

Ethereal and mysterious.

It was as if they were chanting poetry, or reciting some ancient prophecy.

"Zhou Tianzi, the sovereign ruler of the human race, listen carefully—"

"When old sayings are abandoned."

"Those who abandon will invite wolves."

"The north wind will cross the city walls."

"The wolves of the wilderness will enter the royal court."

"The city walls have collapsed, the royal flag has fallen—"

"Remember my words—"

The words faded until they disappeared, leaving one with the feeling that what they had just heard was an illusion.

However, they all knew that this was not an illusion.

There really was a sound just now, echoing in all of their ears!

As for who owns this voice?

They guessed who it was almost without thinking.

"The God of Fog Hill?!"

There really is a God of Fog Mountain?!

Even the god of the misty mountain responded to their sacrifices?

but.

What exactly did the God of Fog Mountain mean by what he just said?

"The God of Fog Mountain—has this been a divine prophecy?"

"A prophecy?"

The priest presiding over the ceremony suddenly changed his expression, and his voice trembled.

As a priest, he had studied sacrificial rites and divination since childhood, so he naturally knew that if the gods spoke, it was mostly a major omen foreshadowing of good or bad fortune.

Those words just now were clearly not a good omen.

Thinking of this, cold sweat was already seeping from his forehead.

What he could think of, King You of Zhou naturally thought of as well.

King You of Zhou's face gradually darkened, and an unsettling unease arose in his heart.

Although the words of the God of Fog Mountain were obscure and difficult to understand, the meaning of some of them was not hard to discern.

The abandoned will bring back the wolves, the north wind will cross the city walls, and the wolves of the wilderness will trespass into the royal court.

These words, when put together, inevitably evoke certain associations.

Could it be that foreign enemies will invade the capital in the future?

even----

Even the royal city will fall?

Thinking of this, King You of Zhou felt a chill in his heart.

north?

He subconsciously looked towards the direction of the northern mountains.

Could it be those barbarian tribes from the north?

Is what the God of Fog Mountain said true or false?

King You of Zhou is uncertain.

However, these prophetic words were like a thorn, deeply embedded in his heart, and he couldn't shake them off.

Finally, the ceremony ended in a somber and oppressive atmosphere.

Above the misty mountain, clouds and mist still lingered.

The faint golden light that shone from the mountaintop gradually disappeared into the mist.

Beneath the altar.

King You of Zhou led his people down the mountain and, with heavy hearts, began his journey back to the capital.

The carriages and horses moved slowly forward.

Banner hunting.

However, the commotion that had filled the crowd before was gone.

Everyone had mixed feelings.

Some were shocked that the God of Fog Mountain actually existed, while others had many doubts.

What exactly did the God of Fog Mountain mean by those words?

Were those cryptic words prophetic, or just playful remarks from the God of Fog Mountain to tease the King?

For a moment, everyone had their own thoughts.

The atmosphere was unusually somber throughout the journey.

King You of Zhou, sitting in his royal chariot, repeatedly looked up, gazing towards the distant north.

More than ten days later.

The caravan returned to the royal capital, Haojing.

Upon returning to the capital, King You of Zhou immediately issued a royal decree.

Mount Wu was designated a sacred mountain, and the god of Mount Wu was given the title of God-Lord of Mount Wu!

He also ordered the construction of a temple to the mountain god, and that the God of Mist Mountain be worshipped with the highest sacrificial rites during the spring and autumn sacrifices each year.

The royal decree was issued.

The name of Wushan and the God of Wushan quickly spread throughout the royal domain.

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