Chapter 104 - 100: The Birth of the Nuo God

Chapter 104: Chapter 100: The Birth of the Nuo GodThe Nuo ritual began smoothly, except for those carrying the coffin and accompanying the spirit, the others wore Nuo masks and dressed in colorful costumes, parading through the streets. Their steps were those used in the Witch Clan’s rituals, exuding a wild and uncanny vibe. The four senior brothers each held a corner of the coffin, while a dozen other masters held the remaining wooden arms of the coffin. As they walked, the coffin swayed slightly, so they didn’t notice the movement of Zhou Xuan’s body inside. Zhou Lingyi was waving a paper banner for Zhou Xuan, leading the way to the ancestral tomb. Traditionally, the eldest son would wave the banner, but Zhou Xuan, with no one besides his sister, couldn’t follow all the customary rituals. The actors of the Zhou Family’s Troupe created a lively atmosphere, originally walking forward, then suddenly bowing like a leopard searching for food, suddenly thrusting the Nuo masks toward the children watching from the roadside, frightening them into cries, causing them to hide behind their parents, which made passersby laugh, and the children laughed along too. The Nuo ritual wasn’t a somber funeral; every inch of the street passed had to bring joy and entertainment to the onlookers. These genuine joys accompanied the deceased to their final resting place. Xu Li scattered paper money into the sky, and every time he looked up, he could see a white lantern hanging ten meters above the ground. The lantern bore the pattern of a feathered arrow. Holding a photo of his apprentice, Yuan Buyu looked at the lantern in the sky and said to Zhou Lingyi, "It’s just a Nuo ritual, why has the Day Patrol Deity taken notice?" Zhou Lingyi, who was watching the road, hadn’t looked up, but upon hearing Yuan Buyu, she also lifted her head, glanced once, and said, "Not sure; this lantern is not just any Day Patrol Deity, it’s Lord Jian, whose real name is Teng Jian." Yuan Buyu, having been with the Zhou Family’s Troupe for many years, had already guessed Zhou Lingyi’s true identity and didn’t keep secrets, asking, "In your God Traveling Department, are there lords as well?" "Not many, just two: Lord Jian oversees the Day Patrol Deity of the Ping Shui Prefecture, called Sun Traveling God, and Lord Jiu oversees the Night Patrol Deity of the Ping Shui Prefecture, known as Night Traveling God. Lord Jian seldom patrols, and today, who knows why he showed up." "Never mind; as long as he doesn’t disrupt my apprentice’s funeral, it’s fine. Otherwise, I don’t care what lord he is..." Since comprehending the seventh incense, even though the incense was unstable, Yuan Buyu had become much more overbearing in his conduct. "Master Zhou, after my apprentice’s funeral, do you really intend to let Nuomian swallow your Sukuna Power?" Yuan Buyu was concerned about Zhou Lingyi. "There’s no escaping it, even if I flee to the ends of the earth, the Sukuna Power will always be connected to Nuomian." Zhou Lingyi seemed indifferent, and said to Yuan Buyu, "Be it gone; I might as well live anew as a wreck, and stop caring for the Zhou Family’s Troupe, I’m tired after so many years." After Zhou Xuan’s death, Zhou Lingyi grew even more exhausted, with no one left to confide in. "The Zhou Family does not recognize me, so I will return what they gave me, and from then on, we will part ways." "I don’t think it’s feasible; after my apprentice’s funeral, if those Nuo masks are of no use, I’ll smash them all, and without them, no one can bully you." Yuan Buyu wanted to stand up for Zhou Lingyi, but she didn’t want Lao Yuan to step into this mess: "They can’t be smashed; we’re all people who walk the Yin path and worship gods, and understand the logic that a Tangkou can’t uproot itself." Each Tangkou is linked behind to alien ghosts and gods. In ordinary martial arts world vendettas, alien ghosts and gods won’t bother much, but if you aim to sever the roots, they will step in. If it’s a small Tangkou, and the alien ghost behind it is not powerful enough, even if they show up, they’re no match for someone like Yuan Buyu the Great Divine Man, so naturally, there’s nothing to fear. The Zhou Family’s Troupe, though lacking in numbers, has the Nuo God behind them, which is beyond the reach of incense offerings like seven incense sticks. "If I smashed the Nuo masks, it’s at most a family matter; the Nuo God, turning a blind eye, might allow it. You smash a mask, it counts as a vendetta in the martial arts world, not a big deal, but if you smash them all, that would be big trouble." Yuan Buyu sighed; the reasoning was indeed sound. "These old Nuo masks, they are lucky to have a good master." ... The Nuo ritual procession moved closer and closer to the ancestral tomb, where no more onlookers were present. The Zhou Family’s Ancestral Tomb was a prime piece of feng shui land; the tomb mountain had a river in front, twenty meters wide, with no bridge, necessitating a boat to cross. When the group reached the other side of the ancestral tomb river, there was no boat in sight. "Elder Brother, where’s the boat?" "The time was agreed upon, so why hasn’t it arrived?" Yu Zhengyuan, taking a disciple with him, went along the river to find the boatman, lamenting as he walked, "I should have left someone here to watch; this boatman is unreliable—don’t delay Xuanzi’s auspicious time for burial." Without a boat, everyone could only set down the coffin. Meanwhile, inside the coffin, Zhou Xuan’s body grew still, his wounds completely healed. Lord Jian’s white lantern still hung over their heads. The funeral procession waited for nearly half an hour before Yu Zhengyuan returned, out of breath. "Elder Brother, is the boat here?" Zhou Lingyi asked while holding her pocket watch, looking at Yu Zhengyuan. "Master, something major has happened!" After taking a sip of water handed over by Xu Li, Yu Zhengyuan caught his breath and lamented. "The boatman isn’t willing to come? Is it a wage issue?" "No, it’s not about money. Even if the boatman were to wrangle us for money at this point, I’d pay it—but the boat can’t come." Yu Zhengyuan pointed to the river and whispered in Zhou Lingyi’s ear, "The boatman said today is extremely bizarre; whenever the boat approaches within a mile of our ancestral tomb, whirlpools form in the water, blocking the progress, unable to move an inch, I’ve even checked with several other boatmen, and none are able to approach our ancestral tomb. Some even spread rumors, saying there’s a water ghost haunting the river in front of the tomb." Zhou Xuan being escorted to the ancestral tomb, when strange events occur, *Zhou Lingyi even began to wonder if the ancestral tomb didn’t recognize Zhou Xuan either?* *She sighed, gazing at her brother’s casket, when she inadvertently noticed the ancestral Nuo masks hanging on the coffin—twenty-five in total—all suspended there, and now, they seemed to be mocking her and Zhou Xuan.* ... Inside the coffin, Zhou Xuan’s lips began to gain color, and his eyelids twitched. After a moment of twitching, his eyelids suddenly stopped and snapped open. ... Outside the coffin, the people of Zhou Family’s Troupe were waiting for Zhou Lingyi to decide. Zhou Lingyi gritted her teeth and said, "I’ll go find a boat!" She intended to find a boat and personally escorted it over, to see what exactly was causing trouble in the water. *Just as she made her first move,* suddenly, the lantern that had been hanging several meters high in the sky descended rapidly until it floated three meters above the coffin, its light flaring brightly. Yuan Buyu became alert, holding his gavel. The sudden anomaly with the lantern symbolizing Lord Jian was certainly not a good omen. "Whoosh!" As Yuan Buyu observed his surroundings, a piercing arrow whistle swept down from the sky. A golden feathered arrow appeared from who knows where, drawing an arc through the air before it embedded itself with a "thud" onto Zhou Xuan’s coffin lid. The arrow’s tail wobbled and shook. "Damned thing, nailing my apprentice’s coffin," Yuan Buyu was about to generate a dream to find out where Lord Jian was hiding. Being a Night Patrol Deity, Zhou Lingyi understood and persuaded Yuan Buyu, "Elder Yuan, don’t be in a rush. This is Lord Jian’s ceremonial arrow; he came to assist with my brother’s procession." "Whoosh!" Another golden arrow, slicing through the air, descended, embedding in the middle of the coffin lid. "Whoosh!" The third golden arrow fell, with a "thud," onto the upper part of the coffin lid. The three arrows formed a vertical line, piercing from the head to the tail of the coffin. The feathered arrows, uncontrolled, started forcing their power, with their tails shaking vigorously, leading the arrowheads, breaking open a crack in the coffin lid. The crack widened gradually until it was as thick as a finger, causing Yuan Buyu to feel a great discomfort, as if the arrows were piercing his own heart, prompting him to attempt to pull the feathered arrows. Before he could extend his hand, the coffin lid split in two, flying off in opposite directions. With the coffin lid shattered, the white lantern soared back up into the sky, several meters high. From within the lantern, came Lord Jian’s deep voice, "Ping Shui Prefecture, God Traveling Department, Sun Traveling God—Teng Jian, Three echoes of the divine arrow, We welcome the arrival of the Zhou Family’s Nuo God!" Zhou Xuan suddenly sat up from within the coffin. Yuan Buyu was stunned on the spot, feeling a sense of otherworldly illusion, uttering his favorite phrase of confusion: "Huh?!" "My brother, he came back to life?!" With events occurring so abruptly, Zhou Lingyi staggered, feeling dizzy, and barely managed to stabilize herself. At Zhou Xuan’s funeral, Zhou Lingyi, who had remained strong throughout, finally released her emotions, tears flowing uncontrollably, though this time they were tears of joy. Zhou Xuan stood up from the coffin, his body floating lightly down to the ground, heading toward the ancestral tomb. Zhou Lingyi noticed, she saw a mask tied at Zhou Xuan’s waist. The mask flickered in and out of vision. Even she couldn’t see the mask’s design clearly. But she could sense that it was a mask belonging to the grand Nuo, only perceptible to those possessing the power of the Nuo God. "My brother, brother has become the grand Nuo! My brother is the grand Nuo." Zhou Lingyi was overwhelmed with continuous happiness, resembling a little girl like when they chased butterflies, jumping and cheering. "Huh?! My apprentice, how did he become the grand Nuo after dying once?" Yuan Buyu was naturally delighted but also quite puzzled amidst the joy. He watched Zhou Xuan lighting the incense, practicing dream generation, and yet the storyteller became the grand Nuo in the end? "No, it’s not just as simple as the grand Nuo." Yuan Buyu, with the ability to sense certain hidden aspects between heaven and earth, could perceive the presence of God on Zhou Xuan. "There’s the scent of divinity on my apprentice," Yuan Buyu said to the jubilant Zhou Lingyi. "Is there?" Zhou Lingyi, in high spirits, looked carefully and noticed Zhou Xuan’s right hand emitting a faint blue glow. Looking more closely, she felt a sense that she "wanted to obey Zhou Xuan’s command." The aura of the Nuo God inherently caused descendants of the Zhou family to submit. "That’s right; that’s the hand of the Nuo God." Zhou Lingyi recalled Teng Jian’s words— —Welcome the arrival of the Zhou Family’s Nuo God. Only the genuine appearance of the Nuo God was worthy of a welcoming salute by the Sun Traveling God’s divine arrow. Even though her brother only had part of the true Nuo God’s aura. That still made him a Nuo God, rather than merely the grand Nuo! Zhou Xuan did not approach his sister or master to reunite; in his current divine state, he continued to follow the Nuo God’s guidance. "Toward the ancestral tomb, onward to the ancestral tomb." As Zhou Xuan walked forward, the Nuo masks worn by the people of the Zhou Family’s Troupe during the Nuo ritual floated up collectively, forming a bridge of Nuo masks over the river in front of the ancestral tomb. Looking at the bridge, Zhou Xuan was not satisfied, "There are still twenty-five masks missing." Zhou Xuan turned his gaze to the twenty-five ancestral Nuo masks hanging on the coffin. The masks were unwilling to bridge the gap; they had been grand Nuo themselves in life, so why should they form a bridge for the new grand Nuo? Slowly, Zhou Xuan extended his right hand, using a taunting gesture, beckoning with his finger towards the ancestral Nuo masks. The dense aura of Nuo God spread out, a powerful directive, and the twenty-five masks struggled in vain but had to submit. With anger and shame, they flew over the river, becoming part of the bridge, the very first segment. The Zhou Family ancestors, once lofty and imperious, were now trampled by Zhou Xuan to cross the river. Zhou Xuan stomped across the ancestral Nuo masks, viciously crushing them with the humiliation his sister had suffered for years, and with a deep-seated loathing toward the ancestral masks of the Zhou Family. "What of the ancestors? I’ve got to crush those who bullied my sister into the mud, shatter them to pieces!" The Nuo masks merely felt endless humiliation, being stepped on the face by a junior of the Zhou Family, and even more so by an outsider, under the watchful eyes of the Zhou Family’s Troupe... PS: A thousand words thrice a day, thank you, brothers. Muah.