In the frigid lands, after my exile, I began to slay demons and monsters.

Chapter 176 Spring Ploughing Ceremony

Spring plowing day, three days later.

Ning Xiaoxi and Ming Luoying went out of the city to watch the excitement, slowly walking out of the south gate with the crowd. That day, the weather was also very kind to them; the sky was a clear blue without a single cloud, and the breath of spring wafted over them along with the green grass sprouting from the black soil outside the city.

Outside the city gate, constables and soldiers worked together to guide the flow of people leaving the city to designated viewing spots.

A constable saw Ning Xiaoxi and led her to a platform next to the altar. This was a round wooden platform built around the altar, about two zhang above the ground and about one zhang lower than the altar.

On the left and right sides of the platform, there is a tall cowhide drum.

These two large drums are over a meter tall, their bodies made from thick, single pieces of logs, the wood grain clearly visible, exuding a rustic and mellow aura. The cowhide covering the drumheads, polished smooth by time, is decorated with patterns of grains. A ring of copper nails is inlaid around the drum body, shimmering golden in the sunlight, contrasting with the dark brown drum body and adding to its solemnity.

Ning Xiaoxi saw Commander Liao and the Earthly Lord on the platform. Her brother and Liu Xing stood side by side behind the Earthly Lord. She also saw her father standing behind an old man with a long beard, surrounded by people dressed similarly to the old man or her father. Behind these people were merchants in fine clothes, but they were almost at the edge of the platform; if it weren't for the railing, they would probably have been pushed off.

The altar was supported by sturdy, neatly arranged logs, and was laden with colorful offerings of grains symbolizing a bountiful harvest, as well as sacrificial animals—pigs, cattle, and sheep—to heaven and earth. Around the altar, vibrant flags fluttered in the wind.

The entire city was dressed in their finest attire, their faces beaming with enthusiasm and anticipation. The elderly supported one another, their eyes filled with reverence; children ran and laughed, weaving through the crowd, curiously observing everything. The city teemed with people, bustling and lively, their laughter and chatter mingling together.

The constables were responsible for guiding, and the soldiers were responsible for guarding.

As the sacrificial ceremony was about to begin, two strong drummers strode towards the large drum. They gripped thick drumsticks tightly, the heads wrapped in thick red cloth. The drummers took a deep breath, raised their drumsticks high, and then brought them down heavily. "Boom—boom—," a deep, powerful drumbeat instantly resounded, like rolling spring thunder, making the earth tremble slightly. With each strike, the drumhead vibrated violently, causing the surrounding air to vibrate as well. The drumbeats were rhythmic, one after another, as if conveying to heaven and earth the people's longing for a bountiful harvest.

As Bai Qingting, the county magistrate dressed in a dark blue official robe, stepped onto the altar, the people instantly fell silent, all staring at him with eyes full of awe.

Bai Qingting held incense and candles, solemnly bowing and praying. The smoke curled upwards, carrying people's hopes for a year of favorable weather and abundant harvests.

Just as Bai Qingting was inserting the incense sticks into the incense burner, he heard the sound of drums coming from afar again.

"Boom!"

"Boom!"

"Boom!"

The once azure sky suddenly underwent a strange transformation. Large swaths of auspicious, multicolored clouds slowly rose from the horizon, as if meticulously woven by an invisible hand, intertwining and entwining. The red clouds were fiery and passionate; the gold shone brightly and dazzlingly; the purple glowed like the sunset, mysterious and noble. These clouds shifted and changed unpredictably, sometimes transforming into graceful, seven-colored divine deer, neighing as they soared through the sky, bursting forth with rainbows; sometimes into soaring phoenixes, spreading their magnificent wings, radiating a soft and sacred radiance; then into lions and tigers, leaping, roaring, and finally into herds of winged horses, traversing the entire sky and soaring into the clouds.

Even more breathtaking was that after the Pegasus soared into the clouds, beams of dazzling light shot straight toward the altar. Within these beams, countless tiny starlight seemed to twinkle and leap, creating an ethereal, dreamlike scene.

The beam of light also landed on the altar in Fufang County, shining on Bai Qingting, who was so shocked he couldn't speak.

The people looked up in astonishment, stunned by the sudden phenomenon. The once noisy crowd fell silent, their faces filled with awe and shock.

At this moment, one by one, the people knelt down and kowtowed to the sky, seemingly out of nowhere.

Right after the people knelt down.

The beam of light began to expand gradually, and the surrounding air seemed to be dyed with a magical color. The interplay of light and shadow created a strange and dreamlike space.

Within this fantastical realm, ancient and mysterious scenes gradually emerged in the sky. In these scenes, mountains and rivers surged ceaselessly, fish leaped from the water, dragons swept across the heavens carrying mountains and rivers, and towering waves rolled. Golden waves of wheat rippled in the breeze, layer upon layer, undulating like waves, symbolizing endless harvests and abundant granaries.

Then, the scene shifts to a group of immortals dressed in flowing white robes, their garments billowing, holding magical implements, scattering golden light from the clouds, seemingly praying for the mortal world. The interplay of light and shadow, sometimes clear, sometimes blurry, seems to tell stories sealed away by time.

At the same time, melodious celestial music drifted from among the immortals, the sounds of flutes, pipes, and pipa, delicate and ethereal, lingering in the ears of the people. Interspersed within this music were faint phoenix cries and the sound of cascading water, as if transporting them to a secluded, dreamlike fairyland.

At this moment, the kneeling people seemed to have gone mad, their expressions obsessive, kowtowing incessantly. Those who were originally standing couldn't help but kneel down as well, joining the ranks of worshippers. Even some of the merchants on the platform and the guards and soldiers couldn't resist kneeling down and kowtowing repeatedly.

As the music slowly faded, the light and shadow shifted, gradually dimming until they dispersed across the sky, revealing a clear blue sky once more, without a single cloud.

Everything felt like an unreal dream, yet it was deeply etched into everyone's hearts.

At this time, apart from the county magistrate Bai Qingting on the altar, the officials on the platform, a few merchants, a small number of runners and soldiers, there was no one standing at the entire sacrificial ceremony site outside the city.

Bai Qingting's face was extremely ugly, but he couldn't say a word.

Di Kui's expression shifted, revealing neither joy nor anger, but one could sense his shock and disdain.

The four members of the Ning family stood motionless in their respective positions, as if they had not seen the strange sight just now, their eyes closed and their minds at peace.

Liao Wenju's eyes darted around, looking up, down, left, and right, his pupils darting about as if they couldn't keep up.

Gradually, the worshippers began to rise, seemingly still immersed in the beautiful illusion they had just experienced, their expressions filled with excitement and piety.

Bai Qingting's expression remained grim; he knew that things were about to change!