It is not uncommon for lightning to strike the altar during heavy rain. With the rumbling sound of thunder and the blinding lightning, no one dares to check the situation on the altar, let alone get close to it.
What is even more strange is that during the thunderstorm, one could hear some beast roars and creepy screams on the platform, making no one dare to approach.
However, the imperial guards of the Yang world did not dare to guard the area around the altar, but under the appearance invisible to the naked eye, the gods of various departments of the City God of the Capital Prefecture and the underworld officials had already blocked some entrances and exits inside and outside the altar.
They naturally don't need to go up to the platform to catch people. Apart from keeping an eye on one or two, to be on the safe side, they will also check again one by one the "mages" who escaped from the platform to see if there are some evil ones who have managed to sneak in among them.
As for those innocent practitioners who really just want to take the opportunity to get the title of "Heavenly Master", as long as they are not entangled with hostility and resentment, even the monsters and ghosts can turn a blind eye and let them go temporarily. At least they can safely get through the period of nine days and ten meetings.
Normally, it would be impossible to let go of the spirits and monsters, but this time the immortals, demons and gods have gathered together, and the underworld in Gyeonggi Prefecture is happy to give them this face.
In fact, there were some people like this when Emperor Zhengyuan was seeking immortality. They had shallow cultivation skills and even no hope of making progress, so they used some tricks to fool people and try to reduce their involvement with the heavy imperial aura, while at the same time being able to use the emperor's mouth to get a title.
Then, as long as you find an opportunity to escape, you can work hard to improve your practice.
However, this kind of thing is also very risky. The royal extravagance is the most "poisonous" worldly trend in the world. Even for a short time, such practitioners with shallow cultivation and not necessarily good concentration can easily get lost.
But understanding is one thing, and reality is another. Even though people know it is dangerous, there are still people who cannot resist the temptation. Everyone says that they will be the "exception", but if you really are the "exception", with such character and perseverance that you can be ordained and escape, then how is it possible that the path of cultivation requires the use of this method to turn things around
In contrast, it is the spirits and monsters who have not achieved anything but persisted in practicing hard that may be more likely to seize this opportunity. If they can be granted a title, the first thing they would think of is to find a chance to slip away without thinking twice. Most of them would not dare to stay in the city knowing that it is under the jurisdiction of the underworld.
Of course, in addition to these people with low Taoism skills, there are inevitably some masters hiding among the crowd. After all, the magic platform formation is only aimed at evil people. If they are righteous, they can naturally leave.
All parties in Dazhen, including Ji Yuan, cannot tolerate evil people stirring up trouble, but as for the righteous people, they should not act too outrageously, as they will definitely be frightened. However, since they have come to participate in these nine days and ten meetings, they may not be scared away, just like that old beggar.
. . .
In a teahouse about two miles away from the platform, a dozen mages who had left the platform were hiding from the rain, and there were also some imperial guards here.
Some of them were wearing half-wet clothes, while others simply took off their wet clothes and were shirtless, without any image of "masters". However, the imperial guards would not take off their armor even if their inner lining was wet.
When hiding from the rain, everyone's attention was focused on the direction of the distant platform. Looking at the lightning that was striking, many people were still frightened.
"Oh my! If I hadn't run away just now, I might have been struck to death by lightning!"
"Yeah, weren't there a few people killed on the platform?" "Well, maybe the platform was built too high."
"No, no, I think the way the present emperor holds the ceremony is correct!"
"Oh? What do you mean?"
A group of mages gathered together to discuss a seemingly profound topic, and even some of the resting imperial guards pricked up their ears to listen carefully.
"Why do you think there was a sudden thunderstorm and lightning? I guess it might be because they are dissatisfied with the emperor..."
"How dare you! How dare you speak ill of His Majesty!"
Some imperial guards stood up immediately, and many of them put their hands on the hilts of their swords, scaring some mages so much that their faces turned pale.
"General, General, calm down. How dare we disrespect His Majesty? Just listen to me, just listen to me!"
Seeing that the imperial guards had relaxed, the man breathed a sigh of relief. It must have been very uncomfortable to feel the evil spirit rushing towards him just now.
I couldn't help but think, it is said that the soldiers in the imperial city are bloodless, who the hell made up this rumor? If these imperial guards have never seen blood, how can they have such a strong murderous aura!
Almost everyone else in the teahouse was also attracted by him, and telling magical stories on such a rainy day created a special atmosphere.
"I didn't mean to be disrespectful to His Majesty just now, but why do you think that God is unhappy? Think about it, His Majesty wants the Great Zhen Dynasty to be forever stable, and he also wants himself to be wise and famous for generations..."
Most people know the second half of the sentence. The emperor wants to be a god-like emperor and enjoy the power and blessings of the country forever.
"It is no exaggeration to say that this is an act against heaven. Only our wise and powerful emperor can do such a feat!"
The mage who was speaking patted the emperor's horse slightly before continuing with his own understanding.
"If such a heaven-defying thing could not be accomplished, then God would naturally not have any reaction. However, the might of God has reached this point this time, which shows that the method that Your Majesty is seeking is already beyond the reach of Heaven..."
"That makes sense!" "Yeah, it does make sense."
"Master, where in the fairyland are you from?"
"As for me... oops, I have to pee. I'm going to pee first."
The wizard felt the urge to urinate, and he had a long story to tell, so he just kept people in suspense, then smiled and left directly to the toilet at the back of the teahouse.
The toilet was located around the back corridor of the teahouse, and was particularly dark as the sky was covered with dark clouds outside. When the mage came back from peeing, he suddenly felt cold when passing by here.
This kind of cold is very strange. I look around but can't see anything special, and there is no wind outside.
"Something's wrong!"
After thinking it over for a long time and figuring it out, he took out a handful of incense ash from the wizard's pocket, dipped some of his saliva in it, closed his eyes and smeared it on his eyelids.
When he opened his eyes again, the wizard's body shook violently.
There were several Yin messengers with faces that were either dark blue or pale standing next to him. There was also a Yin messenger with a long tongue and thin eyebrows that could not be identified as a man or a woman. He was staring at him with a half-smile on his face.
At this time, a guard happened to come to the toilet. When he passed by, he saw the mage curled up against the wall, motionless, and found it a little strange.
"Master, what's wrong with you?"
Seeing that he looked pale, the imperial guard took a step closer and touched his forehead.
"Oh... You're sweating so much in this hot weather. Looks like you caught a cold. Let me pee first and come back to help you."
The imperial guard withdrew his hand and muttered as he walked away, "Why is it so cold here..."
The wizards here didn't dare to move. They stood stiffly with extremely ugly faces. It was scary to have so many evil spirits surrounding them in broad daylight. They had no idea what they were going to do.
The eunuch with a long tongue and narrow eyes looked the wizard up and down, then waved his hand.
"Let's go, this guy is fine."
After the ghost messengers left the teahouse, the wizard began to gasp for air.
. . .
At some key locations and strategic points in the city, either in the street or on the roof, there are one, two or three monks wearing either feathered robes or long robes. In addition, there are some people with profound magical powers holding the Taixu Jade Talisman and riding the wind and hiding in the air.
Compared to the chaotic atmosphere at the altar, these cultivators all had divine light in their eyes and surging magical powers in their bodies. They were all accomplished practitioners and were some of the immortal cultivators who had left Yuhuai Mountain.
This time, Yuhuai Mountain mobilized a large force, led by five great immortals from Yuzhu Peak who had profound Taoism and great magical powers. The other monks who went out of the mountain also deserved the title of "immortal" in the mountain. Qiu Feng, as a Yuhuai Mountain monk with a close relationship with Ji Yuan, had enough Taoism himself, so he was also among them.
Just looking at the glittering light in the direction of the platform and the thunder in the sky, many people felt that they had no chance to take action.
The heavy rain finally stopped before noon and the dark clouds gradually dissipated.
Yan Chang and other court officials, imperial guards, and some surrounding mages then carefully went up to the platform to check after the clouds dispersed.
However, the horrible scene that had been imagined did not appear. The platform was clean and there was no one left. Even though some wizards had said that people were killed by lightning, there was no corpse on the platform at this time.
Those wizards who escaped said that there were hundreds of people up there, but now there is not a single one left, which is really weird.
But the disappearance of people is a small matter. The failure of the legal sacrifice is fatal. The emperor will really punish you. This matter cannot be concealed. The responsible officials headed by Yan Chang have no choice but to think about how to make it go away.
In the palace, before lunch started, Emperor Yuande received a report from the Ministry of Rites that the entire prayer process was not going smoothly.
Even though he was mentally prepared, Emperor Yuande still couldn't help but get furious, and angrily denounced the Ministry of Rites and Taichang Envoy Yan Chang as trash.
However, his anger only lasted for a short time before it subsided after he heard what the reporting officer said next.
Interestingly enough, the official's subsequent explanation was exactly the same as that of the wizard who was frightened by the evil spirit in the teahouse.
After this analysis, Emperor Yuande felt much better.