Chin The Conqueror

Chapter 8: The Sacred Shrine

"His Highness has been claimed by the heavens and may his soul rest in peace." The high prince's chamberlain wailed out audibly through the palace and within a matter of minutes, the entire nation heard of the tragedy.

Before the body of the king who was never crowned could be taken to the west hall fountain, the palace attendants prepared the traditional rites. According to imperial custom, he was meant to be set ablaze at the fountain to connect him with the spirits of his forefathers, because it was believed that the faster a royal went through this last ritual, the faster and more seamless it would be for him to navigate the spirit realm and reunite with the ancestors.

The Queen Mother wanted nothing more than that. But Chin stepped forward to intervene. His brow furrowed and his face darkened as he gave a firm command, demanding that the body be taken instead to the Sacred Shrine in the Land of Stone.

This decision was connected to a previous revelation from the priest. It was through this priest's specific insights that the royal family had first learned about the real cause of the high prince's illness.

In respect to this, the priest had explicitly requested that if anything should happen and the prince passed away, they must bring him directly to the Land of Stone rather than following the standard ritual at the spirit fountain.

There was an imperative need to follow this specific path, even if the hidden purpose behind the priest's request remained unrevealed to the rest of the court. It was crucial to do what was needed for the dead prince's body at this moment.

Amidst all the sprawling grief, Chin looked over at the Queen Mother and noted how strong she was. Her scrupulous adherence to the plan and her unshakeable composure gave them the authority to execute the journey without further delay. Her stance remained firm as they prepared for the short journey ahead.

An imperial herald arrived first at the Sacred Shrine and formally announced the passing of the crowned prince. The news did not come as a shock to the priest, because he had already anticipated this outcome, but his calm reaction was a normal, how the rest of shrine servants behaved as well.

Not long after the messenger's arrival, the King and the Queen Mother finally reached the Land of Stone. The shrine itself was located in a barren land right in the heart of the capital, sitting just about an hour's distance away from the four spirit fountains.

When the priest saw the body of the deceased prince, his brow furrowed and he immediately frowned. The Queen Mother saw his grim reaction, her face darkening as she shared a brief glance with Chin.

The young king was dressed in a striking black and crimson royal attire, which was the traditional imperial clothing worn exclusively by the monarch during times of mourning as it served a clear purpose, letting anyone who looked upon the King know instantly that he was in a state of lamentation. It was a visual signal for the people to offer their heartfelt condolences and deepest reverence toward whosoever the King had lost.

After a brief silence went over the sacred stone room, the priest nodded slowly and broke the quiet. "The soul of the late prince will not wander for too long in the realm of the spirits," he murmured, his voice was steady. The priest abruptly went quiet, his eyes fixed on the form of the prince while the royal family waited in suspense for the rest of his words.

Chin snarled with a stunted sigh of frustration at the sudden pause, but he kept his composure out of respect for the sacred grounds.

It was clear that the old man possessed a profound understanding of the situation, yet he seemed to chose his next words with caution.The priest had held the hands of the dead body and done a final ritual on it to understand the true state of his spirit.

Using one of the shrine's most sacred spiritual relic,a long silver needle tipped with a dark jade bead—the old man carefully pierced the center of the dead prince's palm to draw out his internal energy map.

A faint, glowing line of residual Qi surfaced around the metal tip, allowing the healer to examine the dead man's spiritual condition and read his final fortune before he spoke a single word to the waiting royals.

"What is this?" the Queen Mother asked, her face darkening with concern as she stepped closer to the stone platform where the body lay.

Shrine priest walked back toward the side altar and removed a single droplet of fluid from the tip of the relic and dragged back to face the royal family, his brow furrowed as he delivered his grim findings. "The lotus bay nightmare and the fall of the king happen to be connected," he stated solemnly.

He, reached out to check Chin's palm in the same way he had just examined the high prince by sliding the sharp relic against his skin."I am afraid, my lord, you will end up sharing the same fate as the dead prince," he said bluntly

.It was no shocking news to the young king, because the priest had already said the exact same thing during the initial revelation ritual.

The only matter that truly confused them now was that after the previous cleansing ritual had been completed, the priest had confidently predicted a long life and great longevity for the late prince.

A Revelation ritual was a highly specialized situation where an ill person would get induced into the spirit realm to speak directly with the ancestral spirits or the guardian souls. It was always performed with the hope of receiving a divine response or a vital warning from their forefathers.

This arcane practice was known to be full time draining, and the sudden failure of the prince's predicted survival cast a portentous question over the shrine.

When Seeking answers to their questions through this process ,it was similar to the forbidden arts of necromancy. The only fundamental difference was that this special induction came from the side of the living world rather than pulling a soul back from the underworld.

Because of its intense spiritual strain, the sacred revelation ritual was strictly carried out once in every two generations.

In the past, the kingdom possessed many grand spiritual rituals, but most of this formation activity in respect to their spirituality had been severely restricted and vitiated after a divine imperial edict was formally brought to the fire harvest.

Thus, this precious opportunity occurring once in two generations was permanently lost for the average person, and it did not occur for everyone who sought it.

On the opposite side of the stone room, two female shrine servants quietly held a brass container between them. When they finally arrived at the central platform with the vessel, they dropped it at the foot of the priest.

The old man reached down and sprinkled a giant portion of sacred grey powder into the container before he turned and walked over to the young King.

Chin stared at him blankly, his brow narrowing and his face darkened .To be honest ,. He could not shake the memory of the day the illiness took root.

The true outside cause of his brother's death had started only after Chin began to hear those bizarre, high-pitched ringing in his ears, an experience that had prompted his brother to step in and help him with a Qi assessment to balance his unstable energy.

According to the priest's sudden explanation, the tragic predicament of the dead prince was inextricably linked to Chin, but it was still not connected directly to his own essence, nor was Chin the active source.

Meaning,the dark energy he carried was just the accidental trigger,acting as a catalyst .

The Unbeknownst to those at first, the few aware believed that these strange occurrences were only connected to the secret Order of the Silver Crown.Ubtil their oblivion was cut through to the fact that the ancestral spirits would choose to drop hints connected to the ruling king instead.

Chanting a ritual spell over Chin was the time he carefully handed him the clay pot from the brass container."The spirit of the prince is still lingering inside his carcass," The explanation was done in a continuous line while looking at the king to gauge his reaction.

"With this specific ritual, you can commune with him directly, but you must take heed because the spirit of a deceased person possesses a dangerous spiritual essence immediately after death. This raw energy makes the soul incredibly capricious and unstable.