300: Chapter 45: Gathering Wishes Sacrifice (End) 300: Chapter 45: Gathering Wishes Sacrifice (End) In the silent streets at midnight, demons gathered in front of the wooden stage, where the scenery resembled the backdrop of a ghost story, yet what unfolded was a dance ritual to worship the benevolent Direct God.
The folding fan danced along with the grey sleeves, bells chimed within the elegant music, and a pretty girl dressed in grey and a golden crown chanted ancient legends through her dance steps.
In the distant past, there was a beautiful woman on Zero Island named Yidou Nengmai.
She was kind and wise, possessing much knowledge, and she taught the people how to cultivate beans.
With her help, the life of nearby residents greatly improved.
The priests worshiping the Gods heard rumors and came to investigate.
They set various tests to see if she indeed had the rumored superpowers, but all were easily resolved.
Yidou Nengmai’s intelligence and kindness earned everyone’s trust, and they unanimously elected her as the new leader.
Thus, Yidou Nengmai became the ruler of Zero Island and served as the chief witch for the Huojin God.
Under her governance, everything was orderly, and everyone wore a smile.
However, everything in the world follows the law of vortex, and it is destined that prosperity will decline.
Over centuries, the cycle between Huojin and Zhi Pi lost its balance, and the power of calamity accumulated to its limit.
The Huojin God informed his witch that he would descend on the divine peak to reorganize his kingdom through a purifying ritual.
The chief witch conveyed his will, and the people of Zero Island were in immense grief.
The descent of the Calamity God would take many lives, and no one knew what the world would become!
Yidou Nengmai could not bear to see the devastating suffering of the living beings.
She decided to perform a ritual to worship the God, sacrificing herself who had gathered the power of Direct force to exchange for peace in the vortex.
Thus, Yidou Nengmai gave up her life, her soul returned to the underworld, becoming the wife of the Huojin God.
The golden light of Zhi Pi returned with the witch, and the Huojin God did not descend upon the island.
Zero Island finally found peace, but the people lost their kind witch.
Everyone on the island wept over Yidou Nengmai’s passing, and their cries continued unabated for six days and six nights.
The Huojin God in the vortex heard everyone’s cries and was moved by their emotions.
He granted Yidou Nengmai divine status, allowing his witch to return from the underworld.
Reappearing before the people, Yidou Nengmai wore the grey witch’s garb and a golden crown.
She was both the wife and the messenger of the God.
From then on, Yidou Nengmai became the God of good fortune and kindness.
To commemorate the witch and to thank the God, people held a festival to worship the Gods each year at the same time.
The rulers offered gifts imbued with the force of Direct, to bring the vortex back to balance.
People’s lives continued, and this became the origin of the Calamity God Festival.
“With the golden thread of Zhi Pi bestowed by Yidou Nengmai returned from the underworld, those who are kind to others will always have good fortune…”
With these words, Rina concluded her dance performance that lasted nearly half an hour.
She walked back in front of the fox god, bowed as she had done at the beginning of the Sakura Dance, and exited the stage.
The fox god, looking at the sparse audience below, smiled and said, “This year’s Wish Gathering Festival can undoubtedly be considered an unprecedented success.
To the humans who have endeavored for us, I offer my thanks.”
The hidden gods below responded in unison.
Gongsun Ce whispered, “Let’s go and find the old man.”
“I’m worried about my glasses.”
As the Superpower User arrived at the blacksmith’s shop, the old blacksmith had finished the items and placed them on a cotton cloth.
Shiyu Ling’s arrows looked unchanged, and Gongsun Ce’s glasses were coated with a shining gold layer.
He put on the glasses and awkwardly said, “They kind of give me that sort of ‘scholarly degenerate’ vibe…”
“Ha!” The old blacksmith laughed at this comment, “Listen up, I’ve fixed An Xin onto these glasses.
With a thought, the protective power for your mind will naturally arise, once a day, keeping your mind at peace.”
Gongsun Ce was about to thank him when he realized the old blacksmith hadn’t finished speaking.
“There’s another intention fixed to them.
In moments of great peril, it might just save your life…
But as for how this intention works, or how often you can use it, even I don’t know.” The old blacksmith, puffing steam, concluded, “Your good fortune today should probably start here.”
The grey-haired young man solemnly thanked him, “Thank you, sir!”
Ta Bei lit an oil lamp and said to Shiyu Ling, “Try yours out!”
Shiyu Ling shot an arrow toward the road illuminated by the firelight.
The moment the arrowhead hit the ground, a shadow approximately one meter in radius appeared around it.
“That’s excellent,” the female Hunter exclaimed.
“This way, I can pretend to shoot an arrow, and use the growing Shadow Orchids for hidden transport!”
“I thought you wanted to teleport, but that’s quite an elaborate use from the start!”
A weak girl teleporting next to an enemy would be sending herself to her death!”
After finishing the transaction, the old man spoke no more.
The grey-haired young man examined his glasses for a while before asking, “Sir, did you use to do business on Dahe Island?”
“Shuriken, shuriken, katanas, armor, Ninja attire…
I’ve dealt with quite a few there,” Ta Bei self-deprecatingly added, “But in recent years, with the world changing, no one likes the old craftsmanship.
It’s all about living mechanical augmentation, electronic prosthetics, bio-modification, direct nerve connections…
Such nonsense, where lies the intention in these?
I fell behind, couldn’t stay there.
In another hundred or two years, it’ll naturally be time to return to the earth.”
Old man, you’ve swung the hammer for over a millennium; it’s not about being outdated anymore…