The time is approaching evening. The Qingshuihebaek Festival is about to begin. The people of the seven cities who were watching the scene consciously quieted down and scattered in a certain order, without making too much chaos. After some consideration, Tao Tie blended in with the people of Tianshui City and became inconspicuous. The supernatural powers of the physical body are based on the physical body. Even if they are not actively used, the abilities of sight, hearing, smell, etc. are still outstanding. The figure of Qiao Mao, a young man from Tianshui Qiao family, was soon discovered by Tao Tie. "You didn't stand in front?" Tao Tie was puzzled and paid attention to see what this man was planning. As a prominent family in Tianshui City, the Tianshuiqiao clan and its members stand at the forefront of the people of Tianshui City. A few days ago, Tao Tie heard a lot of anecdotes about Tianshui City and the entire Qingshui River Basin in the Dead Mountain. He knew that Qiao Mao had the inheritance rights of Tianshui Qiao family.

Therefore, there must be a reason why Qiao Mao did not stand with the middle-aged man who was looking at him that day, and did not stand with the other members of the Tianshuiqiao clan. It is most likely related to today's main sacrifice, Qiao Mao's fiancée Yun Yi. Otherwise, either Qiao Mao would not come, or if he came he would stand at the very front, as Qiao Mao had completely let it go and had no resentment. After a while, a few more people quietly squeezed over and stood with Qiao Mao. As time went by, priests from the Qingshuihe Temple arrived one after another to make the final arrangements for the altar and offerings. More and more people gathered around Qiaomao. These people had one thing in common, that is, they all lowered their heads slightly and did not let their eyes fall on the altar. In other words, these people dare not reveal their eyes. "Revenge? Or rescue?" Tao Tie thought about it and soon came to a new conclusion. It is impossible to save people. The moment the women on the altar became sacrifices, their fate was sealed. Isn’t this a mysterious secret of heaven? Instead, human sacrifices must be processed in advance to suit the taste of the evil god. From her body to her soul, the woman on the altar has been completely "corrupted". Even if he could be snatched from the altar and escape the great sacrifice, he would not be able to save his life. Moreover, as long as these women are in the Qingshui River basin, they will be targeted by the Qingshui River God at any time and cursed to death from a distance. Unless they could instantly hide in a dead mountain or a similar spiritually isolated area, cutting off the spiritual perception of Qingshui River Lord. "So, you mean to overturn this grand ceremony and prevent Qingshuihebo from ascending to a higher position?"

When Tao Tie entered Tianshui City, he didn't just wander around, but was collecting information. Through a large amount of collection and comparison, Tao Tie extracted several very useful pieces of information. The most important information is that the mainstream cultivation system in this strange world is the god-priest system. God is the god of mountains, rivers and stars, and spirit is the spirit of the ancestors of humans and ghosts. Priests worship the gods and receive blessings from the gods, becoming extraordinary and possessing great powers. Qingshuihebo is the god of mountains, rivers and stars, and governs the entire Qingshui River basin. There are seventeen large families in the seven cities, and they all worship their own ancestral spirits. The ancestral spirits of the big families are vassals of the Qingshui River Lord. The Yun family of Tianshui City, which was exterminated by the high priest Qingshuihebo, worshipped an extremely powerful ancestral spirit, which ranked first among the seventeen ancestral spirits in status and combat power. The result of such a powerful attack was that the Yun clan was destroyed and the ancestral spirits of the Yun clan were swallowed by the Qingshui River Lord. The purpose of today's grand sacrifice with Yun Yi and other virgins from the Tianshui Yun family as sacrifices is to help Qingshui Hebo digest the power of the Yun family's ancestors faster and better and be promoted to the Dragon King. The dragon is where the energy of heaven and earth is concentrated, and where the dragon veins of mountains and rivers are transformed. After being promoted to Dragon King, he is no longer just the god of a river! "dragon." Tao Tie recited this word in his mind and had some ideas. In the world where Dayong Dynasty is located, there is only one dragon, the dragon in the Icefield Demon Realm! There is no dragon in the sea without beginning and end, there is no dragon in the sea without heaven and earth! There are no dragons in the mountains and rivers within the territory of the Celestial Empire! There are no dragons in the millions of mountains or the desert of monsters! Therefore, Tao Tie, who has embarked on the path of becoming a god, cannot truly fulfill the power and authority of the Great Emperor Taiyi in the world of the Dayong Dynasty. Taiyi Great Emperor is in charge of the unpredictable wind and rain, and all the dragons and gods in the world are under his command. The Taiyi Great Heavenly Emperor who has no dragons under his command, can he be called the Taiyi Great Heavenly Emperor? Tao Tie had some ideas about Qingshuihebo, but he was not in a hurry to make plans. There are still many things that are not clear. For example, why is the god-priest cultivation system in this strange world so similar to the ancestral worship of the human race in the millions of mountains? same! It’s just that the upper limit of the sacrifices to the ancestors of the Million Mountains human race has been cut. For example, besides the cultivation system, what other areas in this strange world are worthy of the attention of Emperor Fengdu/Emperor Ziwei/Emperor Dayong? Just as Tao Tie was thinking about it, the high priest of Qingshui River came. Without any pomp or ceremony, the high priest dressed in gorgeous clothes, leaning on a scepter in his left hand and holding a thick jade book in his right hand, walked slowly out of Tianshui City and walked steadily towards the nine-story pyramid altar. Without waiting for the high priest to approach, the crowd of more than 100,000 people consciously split into two and made way for them. Qiao Mao and others buried their heads even lower.

Fortunately, at this time, all the people watching the ceremony bowed their heads to show their respect for the high priest. The same is true for Tao Tie, who adapts to local customs. The high priest's steps seemed to have been measured, and the distance between each step was controlled very precisely, without any error. Every step you take is three feet. In this way, although it was a long way from the Tianshui city gate to the Qingshui River, the high priest took a short time with his slow steps. In less than a quarter of an hour, the high priest arrived at the bottom of the nine-story pyramid. Holding the scepter in his left hand and the holy book in his right hand, the high priest could not kneel down for the full ceremony, so he bowed three times instead. Then the high priest stepped forward and went up the stairs. Hundreds of thousands of people watching the ceremony all turned their eyes to the high priest. Tao Tie looked at him calmly, not feeling guilty at all about wanting to see through the other person. Even though the [Knowing All Things] and Taiyi Xuanzhu's analytical functions were sealed, Tao Tie's own ability to comprehend the Great Dao was still there. Otherwise, he would not be able to compare the deity-priest system with the ancestral worship system. Tao Tie is becoming familiar with the laws of this strange world, and his fighting power is returning. Even though the Taoist's magic power cannot be unlocked for a long period of time, Tao Tie is confident that he can rival the third-grade cultivators of the Dayong Dynasty with his strong body that has been washed by the water of the origin of all things in the universe for several months! This is also the reason why Tao Tie dares to walk around in this strange world in person. As long as he doesn't do anything reckless and attract the attention of truly powerful beings, it shouldn't be difficult for him to protect himself. The high priest of Qingshuihebo is very powerful. In Tao Tie's opinion, he is comparable to an ordinary third-grade cultivator of the Dayong Dynasty. The five ghosts must work together and use the Five Elements Formation under the Balanced Dao Principle to ensure victory. Without the Balanced Five Elements Formation, it is hard to say who will win. The nine-story pyramid has one hundred and eight steps. It took the high priest quite some time to reach the top of the tower. Tao Tie was unable to see through the high priest completely and only managed to get some useful information. For example, the priests’ extreme dependence on the gods. In essence, the high priest is a mortal, a mortal who has not practiced Taoism. His physical body and true spirit had not undergone any true transformation. Just relying on the power and authority bestowed by Qingshui River Lord, he possessed the combat power comparable to that of a third-grade cultivator. It was like a mortal wearing a powerful armor and claiming to be on par with gods. Without the divine power and authority bestowed by the Clear Water River God, the high priest was like a mortal without his armor. He could be killed with the slightest harm. This is pseudo-supernatural, not real supernatural! "So, there must be someone in this world who cultivates the spirit with his own body! Or..."

Tao Tie had some new judgments. "Other extraordinary cultivation systems!" Based on these two judgments, Tao Tie divided his attention into two parts, observing the sacrifice ceremony on one hand and Qiao Mao and the people around him on the other. He wanted to find out if there were any traces of other extraordinary cultivation systems on these people. I didn't find any traces, but I did discover a point that I had previously overlooked. Including Qiao Mao, there were a total of twenty-one people with strange behavior. Tao Tie had heard that the seven cities in the Qingshui River Basin, including Tianshui City, originally had three prominent families in each city! Thirty-seven turned into twenty-one, and now there are only seventeen left. Among the four families that lost their seats was the Tianshui Yun family. "It seems that Qiao Mao and his people did not necessarily act individually. It is very likely that they were deliberately allowed to do so by the powerful people in the big families." "The question is, what's the point of doing this?" "If something really happens to obstruct the high sacrifice, the High Priest Qingshuihebo and Qingshuihebo will not listen to any 'ignorance' arguments given their style." "The seventeen families will definitely be wiped out directly." "So, what do these seventeen big families want to test?" "What else can you rely on?" Ideas popped up one after another. Tao Tieyou had just arrived and had not yet integrated into this strange world. He had no good channels to get information, so he could only guess blindly and could not make a real analysis. Therefore, Tao Tie simply stopped analyzing to avoid going astray and just wait and see what would happen. On the top level of the nine-story pyramid, the high priest walked before the statue of Qingshui River God with a snake's head and a human body. Without giving a speech or even following any formalities, the high priest suddenly raised the scepter in his left hand. A few bangs. Nine balls of emerald green fire burst out from the scepter and landed on the nine young virgins who were offered as sacrifices. This move obviously exceeded everyone's expectations. Tao Tie clearly saw that Qiao Mao trembled all over and almost raised his head to look directly at the high priest. If not for someone nearby who was quick-witted and quick-handed, he would have pushed Qiao Mao’s head down. Once that tangible hatred falls on the high priest, it will definitely be sensed. At that time, the high priest would not need to do anything. Just a thought would be enough to kill them. In the Qingshui River Basin, as long as the Qingshui River God does not take back his gift, the high priest is equivalent to a smaller Qingshui River God and has supreme power over life and death. If the big families in the seven cities want to rebel, they must find a perfect opportunity.

Now, the time has not come yet and we must wait patiently. The emerald green fire was so powerful that within a few breaths, it burned the nine women into a ball of liquid of different colors. This is the biggest reason why Tao Tie has been watching from the sidelines from the very beginning. The moment they became sacrifices, the nine women had lost their lives, and their human essence. It's useless to save him. It’s not that Tao Tie is really as hard as iron! After nine balls of liquid of different colors swirled around for a few times, the high priest raised high the Jade Book in his right hand. A majestic but not grand voice, but rather a cold and cruel voice rang out: "I am the Lord of Qingshui River, and I shall be the Dragon King!" This is a declaration. As the voice echoed between heaven and earth, nine balls of liquid of different colors gathered together, entangled and rotated with each other. Not long after, a round, yellow ball was born. This ball looks very much like the legendary dragon ball that Tao Tie had seen before. It's just dark in color, not gold or transparent. There was a buzzing sound. The statue with a snake's head and a human body came to life. Qingshuihebo actually appeared in his true form on the nine-story pyramid, opened his mouth, and sucked the dark ball into his body. Tao Tie saw very clearly that the moment the black ball entered the body, the alien force in Qingshuihebo's body immediately lost its resistance and was completely digested. Qingshuihe Bo, who was just one step away from being promoted, was supplemented by this power and immediately met the promotion criteria. The high priest knelt down piously, and at the same time shouted devoutly: "Qiyomizu Ryu-kun!" The priests scattered throughout the nine-story pyramid knelt down and shouted in the same voice: "Qiyomizu Ryu-kun!" Next came the members of the seventeen big families that had come before the people of the seven cities. Like the wind blowing wheat waves, rows of people knelt down. The shouts of “Qingshui Longjun” echoed between heaven and earth. This is the response. A response to the Qingshui River Lord’s declaration, “I am the Qingshui River Lord, and I should be the Dragon King.” The massive force of faith that suddenly gushed out was definitely sufficient in terms of "quantity" as support for the response. It’s this “quality”… "How come it is more mottled than the power of faith of the millions of Dashan people's ancestors?" "Even the dark goblins' faith in the Styx is not as great as theirs!"

"An evil god is an evil god. He likes to use fears such as 'those who don't believe in me will go to hell' to intimidate believers and squeeze out more power of faith, regardless of whether it is pure or not." The reason why Tao Tie, with his thoughts in a mess, was so relaxed and at ease, and did not think about how to avoid kneeling before an evil god, was because Qiao Mao and the others had taken action. "Qingshui Longjun? How dare a loach call itself a dragon?" Qiao Mao's body floated into the air, and a sinister and vicissitudes female voice came out of his mouth. Another twenty people also floated into the air, and together with Qiao Mao, they rushed towards the nine-story pyramid. The bodies were still the same as the previous twenty-one people. The ones controlling the body are no longer the same twenty-one people as before, and their temperaments are completely different. "Calling on a planchette? Inviting spirits?" Tao Tie looked thoughtful. On the nine-story pyramid, Qingshui River God, who has a human body and a snake's head, was well prepared and fearless. It is not easy to transform into a dragon. There will inevitably be a transformation period where the combat power will be weakened. Before entering the transformation period, Qingshuihebo must of course eliminate hidden dangers. Under the high-pressure rule, the biggest hidden danger is the big families in the seven cities. Be it the seventeen families that are still in existence, the remnants of the four families that have been exterminated, or those ancestral spirits, this time, Qingshuihebo will devour them all, thinking they are the nourishment for his transformation into a dragon. "Roar!" Qingshui River God roared, flew into the air, and killed Qiao Mao and others who had invited twenty-one ancestral spirits to possess them. The high priest led the priests and killed the members of the seventeen major families. The hundreds of thousands of people who were watching the ceremony by the Qingshui River fled in all directions in a disorderly manner, pushing, trampling, screaming and crying. In an instant, it was like hell on earth, with dead people everywhere. Tao Tie turned a blind eye to this and focused all his attention on Qingshui River God and the twenty-one possessed ancestral spirits. Weren’t the four ancestral spirits swallowed by the Qingshui River God? Today's grand sacrifice is to absorb the power of the Yun family's ancestral spirits. Why are there still twenty-one ancestral spirits? Could it be that the ancestral spirits in this strange world are also like those in the millions of mountains, and can be replaced at any time? (End of this chapter)