It was broad daylight, with the sun shining brightly, and all around was full of vitality, a warm spring atmosphere.
However, as Li Qi focused his attention on his surroundings, he felt a chill.
Within this vibrant scene, some sort of shadow began to gather.
It surged forward like massive waves crashing over layered mountains.
Li Qi stood at the edge of the altar, holding up a wine cup (爵 júe).
Then, as if drawn by a dragon drinking water, the wine in the cup started to swirl within it, before transforming into a thin stream that silently flew into the air and disappeared.
It seemed to be disintegrating.
Afterward, someone began to eat from the zǔ (俎), placed on the ground altar.
Though invisible to the naked eye, Li Qi could sense its presence through 'qi'. It was a spherical, formless, and strange existence.
This... was this a ghost?
Li Qi continued with the ritual. After witnessing this scene, he sat down, took some pickled vegetables with his right hand, dipped them in meat sauce, and performed the sacrifice between the two beans. The assistant presented millet and foxtail millet, along with sliced lungs to the "corpse".
"The taste is very delicious," a voice whispered in Li Qi's ear.
Even the surrounding temperature seemed to drop significantly.
Li Qi did not respond; he knew this was part of the ritual. He proceeded to move the bowls closer, placing the bowl of millet on the mat, setting the thick meat broth north of the meat sauce, and offering the spine of pork to the "corpse".
At this point, the host—Squire Wang—began to kowtow repeatedly from a distance.
This was what Li Qi had initially instructed, as according to the rites, the host needed to bow to the "corpse" and then offer sacrificial animals to it.
The "corpse" ate three times, announcing that the host had been fed.
The Wu practitioner encouraged the "corpse" to eat again, offering the hind leg bones of pigs, beasts, and a fish to the "corpse", following the same ritual procedures.
The "corpse" ate three more times, declaring that the host had eaten his fill. The Wu practitioner once again encouraged the "corpse" to eat, repeating the previous steps.
Li Qi carefully followed the rituals, knowing that while the "corpse" represented the deceased, it was also something else.
Here, the term "corpse" referred to a person representing the deceased during the sacrifice.
After death, one's body becomes the spirit medium, hence the saying, "Death ends life; the corpse represents the master, thus it is called the final master."
Now, the "corpse" being worshipped was actually a manifestation of the sacrifice, the Wu practitioner, and the ghost itself, united as one, representing the attitudes of these three parties—the "spirit".
If the sacrifice went smoothly, it would signify that the Wu practitioner had successfully communicated with the "ghost".
Squire Wang knelt, trembling with fear, nearly wetting himself.
Because he saw with his own eyes, in broad daylight, something unknown dining and drinking with the Wu practitioner.
The surrounding temperature dropped, even causing the plants to wilt slightly.
The terrifying entity that had destroyed his family was right in front of him.
The intense fear almost made Squire Wang cry out loud.
But, remembering the repeated instructions from the Wu practitioner, he knew he must follow orders. If he messed up the ritual...
He would be doomed.
So, despite his tears and shaking legs, he held himself together, standing still without urinating.
Although Li Qi wasn't as frightened, he remained vigilant.
He concentrated fully on completing the ritual until, after about half an hour, all the complex ceremonies were completed.
The final part of the ritual involved the Wu practitioner removing the host's zǔ, beans, and other offerings, placing them under the eastern sequence. Then, holding his own zǔ, the Wu practitioner left the altar and stood facing east, west of the altar.
The "corpse" rose, drank the wine in the cup, set it down, and Li Qi descended the hall.
At this moment, the Wu practitioner needed to announce to the host, "The ceremony is complete."
Li Qi walked solemnly toward Squire Wang.
Squire Wang couldn't hold back any longer and actually wet himself.
Because this step involved the "corpse" finishing its meal, rising, and the Wu practitioner guiding it towards the host.
Seeing this, Squire Wang nearly collapsed, his face as white as paper.
Though he managed not to fall, he couldn't control his lower body.
If only he hadn't drunk soup for breakfast...
But now, he had to endure.
Li Qi approached Squire Wang with a serious expression.
They were almost done; they couldn't afford to fail now.
The closer to the end, the more cautious they needed to be.
"The ceremony is complete. Please, host, escort the 'corpse'," Li Qi said.
Squire Wang froze in place, unresponsive.
Li Qi, frustrated, used his inner qi to blow a gust of air towards him, glaring.
The forceful breath hit Squire Wang like a slap, snapping him out of his stupor.
Squire Wang hurriedly crawled to kneel before the "corpse" and bowed twice.
After receiving two bows from the host, the "corpse" then bowed to the Wu practitioner.
Following the bow, the "corpse" spat out a wine cup filled halfway with the wine it had just consumed.
Li Qi solemnly accepted and drank it all in one go.
At the same time, Li Qi's vision darkened.
The ritual was complete; he had received an "invitation".
An invitation from the "corpse".
In the darkness, Li Qi felt his spiritual essence being pulled by some force.
He knew the main event was about to begin.
According to Li Qi's understanding, the ritual was essentially a method to communicate with spirits. Through these ancient practices, one could achieve incredible things.
For example, like performing a chemistry experiment, following specific steps such as cleaning test tubes, tightening bottle caps, and pouring solutions.
These sequences paralleled the various elements of the "ritual".
The difference was that he didn't understand the underlying principles behind these rituals, so he could only follow them.
When his cultivation reached a higher level, perhaps he could decipher those principles.
Regarding the matter at hand, through the ritual, the Wu practitioner, along with the ghost itself, formed a "corpse" to receive the rites. The existence of the "corpse" represented the coordination and balance among these three parties.
If the ritual failed, or if the Wu practitioner or the ghost refused, the "corpse" would collapse, leading to communication failure.
However, if the ritual succeeded, it meant that through this channel of sacrifice, the ghost and the Wu practitioner could start communicating.
Drinking the wine spat out by the "corpse" served as proof of the Wu practitioner accepting this communication.
Thus, after drinking the wine, Li Qi's spiritual essence was instantly drawn by the ritual, and simultaneously, the ghost's essence was also drawn!
The two would communicate within the special environment constructed by the ritual!
This was the most famous ability of the Wu practitioners.
Namely, using sacrifices to communicate with heavenly deities, earth spirits, and human ghosts!
When light reappeared before Li Qi's eyes, he realized he had entered a strange black space illuminated by candles lit during the earlier ritual.
In front of him was a chaotic mass of qi!