Divine Transcendence

Chapter 121: Worldly atmosphere

"Could it be... I was originally from here?" A thought struck Yuan Ming, and he couldn’t help but speculate.

The feeling seemed to come from the depths of his soul, unlike the sensation of merging with the original host’s memory.

About half an hour later.

The caravan arrived at an open area in the south of the city, where the City God Temple stood.

On the square outside the temple, a large crowd had already gathered. However, due to the temple doors being closed, everyone was holding incense sticks, waiting outside. The crowd was bustling, yet surprisingly quiet.

When the general’s wife’s caravan arrived, the crowd was immediately parted by the soldiers, leaving a wide passage in the middle.

The temple priest, an old Taoist with white hair, immediately came forward to greet the general’s wife upon her arrival.

Yuan Ming, along with others, stepped aside and waited quietly.

At this moment, the general’s wife descended from her carriage, her magnificent robe trailing behind her.

A guard leader stepped forward, holding a delicate sandalwood box. He opened it and took out three thick and long black incense sticks, offering them to the side.

Only then did the temple priest hurriedly open the temple doors.

The lady, holding the three black incense sticks, entered the temple. The rest of the people, merchants and civilians, followed behind according to their respective offerings. They also began to enter the temple.

Those accompanying Yuan Ming, except for the guard leader, had to wait outside.

As the incense ceremony began, the sound of bells and chanting drifted out from the City God Temple.

The people in the square outside, each holding their lit incense sticks high, began to kneel and bow.

Yuan Ming leaned against the carriage, looking around.

The City God Temple was popular enough to attract the general’s wife, which was quite telling. Looking at the respectful and solemn expressions of the crowd, it was clear that their reverence was heartfelt.

A solemn and dignified atmosphere permeated the surroundings.

Yuan Ming looked at the ancient City God Temple, watching the smoke rising from within. For a moment, he felt an urge to put his hands together and bow in respect.

He turned his gaze towards the other end of the street, where there was a lively performance of various acrobatics and stilt-walking. The cheers were constant, and the atmosphere was equally lively.

It was only then that he felt somewhat relieved. Although this possession didn’t provide him with cultivation methods like the last time, it did comfort his long-wandering heart in the South Border.

The worldly atmosphere was the most comforting to ordinary people.

At this moment, he felt like the most ordinary person in the city, briefly enjoying the long-lost worldly atmosphere.

At this time, the round-faced man approached him again.

"Wang Shun, what’s the matter with you today?"

"What do you mean?" Hearing the question, Yuan Ming looked at him and asked.

"You seem distracted today, something’s off. Are you feeling unwell?" The round-faced man asked with a hint of concern.

"I’m fine, probably just didn’t get enough rest," Yuan Ming replied casually.

"Are you still worried about the young master’s safety? I told you not to think too much. The lady came to offer incense today, probably to pray for the young master," the round-faced man said.

"The young master... sigh!" Yuan Ming sighed deeply, following the man’s words.

His sigh seemed to touch the round-faced man’s emotions, who couldn’t help but sigh as well, "Just think about our young master, the only son of General Yuan, who has been lost for so long. Even if he’s still alive, who knows how much he has suffered?"

The only son of General Yuan, lost and away for over a year?

Yuan Ming’s heart trembled, immediately catching the key point in his words.

He was considering how to phrase his questions to find out more information when the round-faced man continued:

"It’s said that even the emperor was deeply grieved by this. The young master had been accompanying the emperor since he was a prince. He had a promising future, but now..."

Hearing this, Yuan Ming wished he could directly ask, "What’s the young master’s name?" But he couldn’t ask that, or he would be considered insane.

"If the young master hadn’t gone there, none of this would have happened..." Yuan Ming carefully chose his words, making a noncommittal comment.

"Given the imperial command, it was an honor to be sent to the South Border. How could he not go? Besides, the young master needed this mission to earn merit and accumulate experience," the round-faced man said. Yuan Ming’s mind buzzed at his words, and he was momentarily stunned.

Seeing Yuan Ming’s dazed expression and his silence, the round-faced man sighed and shook his head, not saying anything more.

...

Around noon, the general’s wife returned to the mansion.

Yuan Ming drove the carriage back, listening to the scattered chatter of the people along the way. He finally confirmed that the bustling city he was currently in was the capital of the Great Jin Kingdom.

As the capital of a country, it was naturally prosperous and wealthy.

When the caravan returned to the general’s mansion and unloaded the carriage, Yuan Ming led the three horses back to the stable.

According to the original host’s duties, he should first wash the horses and then feed them bean cakes and fodder.

He planned to walk around the mansion after returning, looking for anything related to General Yuan’s only son.

However, just as he was about to reach the courtyard where the stable was located, Yuan Ming suddenly encountered two tall, peculiar-looking middle-aged men coming out from another courtyard.

Both of them were wearing unique leather armor, like red-brown vests, protecting only their chest and abdomen, with their arms uncovered.

On the vest-like leather armor, there were clearly visible rune marks, either pressed or carved into it. It was obviously a magical artifact worn by cultivators.

The man on the left looked no different from the people of the Central Plains, except for his slightly darker skin. He had strong, angular features and disheveled shoulder-length black hair.

The man on the right had a round face, flat nose, wide mouth, and large ears. He was bald on top, with a ring of short hair around his head. He wore two large rings on his ears, looking very much like a person from the South Border.

The reason Yuan Ming noticed them was mostly because of the latter.He was somewhat puzzled. Why would a person from the Southern Border appear in the General’s Mansion in the capital of the Great Jin Kingdom?

Before he could get a clear look, the two figures had already disappeared from his sight. Yuan Ming had no choice but to lead his horse back to the stable.

Just then, Yuan Ming felt a buzzing sound in his ears, his mind sank, and he fell to the ground, feeling as if the world was spinning around him.

......

In the blink of an eye, Yuan Ming woke up leisurely in his own room.

"I’m back..." Yuan Ming murmured, feeling a sense of loss.

On the bed in front of him, an ancient green ceramic incense burner was placed in front of him. A slender black incense stick was inserted on it, and another one had almost burned out, leaving only the last spark gradually extinguishing.

As all the light completely extinguished, the incense burner turned into a stream of starlight and flowed into Yuan Ming’s arm, disappearing.

Yuan Ming felt a slight headache. After a brief rest, he couldn’t wait to mobilize a strand of magic power into his arm and took out the incense burner again.

This time, although he didn’t manage to possess the young emperor again and didn’t get the lower part of the "Nine Elements Formula", the information he obtained gave him a great shock.

"No, I have to try possession again and figure out who I really am," Yuan Ming frowned deeply. He now strongly suspected that he was the young master of the General’s Mansion who had been lost in the Southern Border.

Looking at the Great Ultimate pattern on it that had become dim again, he moved his mind, and the magic power flowed out from the palms of his hands, pouring into the incense burner again.

As the magic power surged in, a hazy light lit up on the Great Ultimate pattern of the incense burner, flickering like a firefly.

Yuan Ming gave it his all, pouring all his magic power into the incense burner without reservation, until all the magic power in his body was exhausted. Suddenly, everything in front of him turned black, a severe pain came from his head, and then, he passed out.

In the midst of the darkness, he suddenly had a chaotic and lengthy dream.

In the dream, he saw himself dressed in a gorgeous brocade robe, in the style of the Central Plains, standing on the deck of a luxurious ship that was seven stories high, looking into the distance.

The ship was extravagantly decorated with carved beams and painted rafters, and there were many soldiers around, holding halberds and swords, looking majestic.

Even though he knew it was a dream, Yuan Ming could still feel his own spirit in the dream.

However, before he could enjoy it for long, the scene in front of him suddenly changed. He jumped off the ship in a wounded and disheveled state, and a short-haired young man in a double-breasted short robe was chasing him with a bow.

In desperation, he had to jump off the ship and fell into the rolling flood, drifting away.

After that, he saw himself lying on a muddy beach, a burly man with a tiger head tattoo on his chest was bending over him, rudely stuffing something into his mouth.

Through his blurry vision, he could vaguely see a group of people standing not far away, watching this side. Among them was a slender woman in white, wearing a bamboo hat and a white veil covering her face.

Yuan Ming tried hard to open his eyes, wanting to see the woman’s face clearly. Unfortunately, before he could get a clear look, the scene changed, and he found himself in the familiar dark cave.

Inside the cave, he was chained together with a group of Southern Border savages, one after another with handcuffs and shackles.

He looked up and saw Hu Zha, bare-chested, carrying a big knife on his shoulder, ordering, "Kill them, kill them all..."

The next moment, Yuan Ming suddenly opened his eyes and woke up.

He woke up drenched in cold sweat, his chest heaving, gasping for breath, his head still aching slightly.

The scene of possessing someone else just now did not become blurry because of his awakening, but was imprinted in his mind clearly, as if it was his lost memory, waking up.

"That was really happening..." Yuan Ming murmured.

At this moment, he was almost certain that he was the only son of General Yuan who had been sent to the Southern Border. He just didn’t know why he was chased and fell into the water, and after a series of twists and turns, he ended up in the Bi Luo Cave.

(End of the chapter)