Divine Beast Creator

The Blessing Lamps for the Liuyun Ritual were placed on a large wooden platform, as tall as a one-story building, and only on the side facing the river was there a staircase leading up to it.

There were people stationed at the foot of the stairs, and everyone who stepped forward conscientiously prepared their IDs for inspection. Even though everyone felt it was unlikely anything would go wrong, they still followed tradition and verified the identity of every person receiving a Blessing Lamp.

Although Qi Chen was not a native of Maomu City, his ID had been issued there, and when his household registration was entered it was also done in Maomu City, so his place of registration was written as Maomu City.

It was precisely because of this that he could receive a Blessing Lamp without alarming anyone else.

Looking at the Blessing Lamps neatly lined up on the offering table, Feng Yuan imitated the others, carefully lifting one lamp in both hands and tiptoeing toward the riverside.

Some people would murmur a few words under their breath when setting their lamps afloat, but most did not, because the Blessing Lamps were made by designated craftsmen and distributed randomly; in other words, the memorial tablet on the lamp was very likely to bear the name of a stranger.

In that case, naturally they would not be in the mood to whisper anything—of course, that didn’t rule out certain special people; that was another matter.

Following the flow of people to the riverbank, Feng Yuan ignored the winter-cold water and walked along the shallows toward the middle of the river. Of course, he didn’t go very far; he stopped once the water rose above his knees.

He carefully set the Blessing Lamp held in both hands onto the water, and as he watched it drift slowly forward with the current, a faint smile appeared on his face.

The Blessing Lamp floated downstream, the three wicks fixed beside the memorial tablet burning quietly, pushing aside the rippling river as they burned. When the wicks went out, the compressed tablet material turned into a cluster of eerie blue Flames. As the lotus-shaped lamp sank into the water, that blue fireball slowly floated up toward the sky and quickly dispersed, as if a soul were ascending into the Netherworld.

Specks of starlike firelight kept rising from the river’s surface into the sky before vanishing from sight. If one did not know the truth, one might really believe these were Wandering Spirits ascending.

Feng Yuan seemed to understand a bit more why they held this ritual. It wasn’t just because this was Maomu City’s tradition; it was also a comfort for the hearts of the Living Beings.

"It’s really beautiful..."

Gazing at the river ablaze with lamps, Feng Yuan couldn’t help but sigh. Because of Liuyun Temple, the opposite bank of the river was covered in tall trees, all the buildings hidden behind them; only in the distance did a few high-rises barely show their tops. With the height restrictions on buildings around Liuyun Temple, if one lost oneself in this scenery, it would be easy to fall into the illusion of being somewhere out in the wilds.

The already unique surroundings, combined with the dark river, the drifting Blessing Lamps, and the rising Starfire, formed a different kind of beauty. Perhaps it was the brief inner peace this sight afforded that made Veronia, who had followed along simply for lack of anything else to do, lower her voice and say,

"Beautiful, and yet cruel."

Every Blessing Lamp was a name. Even though the lamps also included the contracted Divine Beasts registered under Beastmasters, the seemingly endless lamps still proved that, even with Feng Yuan around, Maomu City had suffered no small number of casualties.

"If you look at it from another angle, maybe we’re already very fortunate—at least... much more fortunate than those people this afternoon."

Dou Yanlan looked toward the river with a bitter smile as she spoke. Feng Yuan turned to her, a little puzzled, and asked,

"Is there something special arranged for this afternoon?"

"We only heard about it while we were offering incense. The survivors from Baiman City hope to take part in this ritual, so... there’ll be even more Blessing Lamps this afternoon. They’ve been busy for days just preparing for today’s ceremony."

Turning her head to glance in the direction of Liuyun Temple, Dou Yanlan spoke. Although this was different from previous rituals, everyone could understand.

Compared to Baiman City, Maomu City was practically too lucky. At least, in terms of casualties, their number of dead was only a fraction of the other’s.

"Are they also doing one lamp per person?"

Thinking of something, Feng Yuan asked in some surprise. Though Baiman City was not as prosperous as Maomu City, it was still a city; with nearly half the city’s population killed, if they were to set a lamp for each victim, even covering the river entirely with lamps might not be enough.

"They hope to, but it’s impossible. Aside from those who have relatives or friends coming to request lamps for them, the rest—Baiman City plans to continue setting lamps slowly in the latter half of our ritual."

"Even so, there will still be people who get left out, but that’s the limit of what they can do."

Dou Yanlan explained with a trace of sorrow on her face. It was precisely because they had taken part in the rescue that they knew what Baiman City had gone through. It was no exaggeration to say that if not for sheer luck, Baiman City might not have had so many survivors left at all.

Relying only on the survivors and the registration records of the residents still in the city, omissions were inevitable, but there was nothing to be done. This was all that they could manage.

"Are you planning to wait until the afternoon? I was thinking of walking around nearby later. If we run into the Special Duty Team here... heh."

Scratching his head, Feng Yuan spoke with a hint of guilty conscience. It wasn’t that he intended to do anything bad; he just felt those people might find his presence here somewhat suspicious.

"The afternoon will be mainly for mourning the victims of Baiman City. It’s enough to watch from afar; getting too close might actually be inappropriate."

Dou Yanlan fell silent for a moment before speaking. She was also curious what the scene would be like in the afternoon, because compared to Maomu City, Baiman City had suffered far more. Of course, the ones who suffered the most were still those cities where almost no one had survived.

"To be honest, I don’t really understand you humans. These are just spiritual crutches, nothing more."

Long Boduo watched the Blessing Lamps flaring up and fading out one by one, and spoke in puzzlement. Precisely because it was a Divine Beast of the Netherworld, it understood the world after death all too well.

Not every dead person left behind a soul—or rather, those souls were only the ones who lingered. As for Blessing Lamps and the lovely vision of reincarnation, in its eyes they were nothing but a vague, illusory promise.

"Because we can’t let go, we pin our hopes on things we maybe don’t even truly believe in. We keep thinking that the loved ones we parted from will one day be reunited with us. Clinging to that hope is the only way to make ourselves feel a little better."

Looking out at the flickering river of lights, Feng Yuan said quietly. Veronia let out a soft sigh and echoed,

"That’s really true. Sometimes... I also wonder if he did it on purpose. Knowing I couldn’t let go, he deliberately did things this way, just to make me miserable."

With a wave of her small hand, the power of the World of Mirrors stirred; a Blessing Lamp condensed out of thin air. But unlike the others, the memorial tablet on this lamp was inscribed in a script even Long Boduo could not read.

With just a glance, Feng Yuan understood whose lamp this was. Using Divine Script on purpose—Veronia must truly care.

Transforming into her Crystal Stone Queen form, Veronia held the lamp carefully in both hands and walked toward the river. Since they had deliberately stepped aside after placing their own lamps, they were now a bit removed from the main area where lamps were being set afloat.

Veronia didn’t mind, though. Like Feng Yuan, she walked on until the river water rose above her knees before stopping. She bent down and carefully placed the lamp on the water’s surface. Watching the flickering candlelight drift slowly away, Veronia murmured softly,

"It took thousands of years for you to see the new me. I really am... awful, aren’t I."

"I hope you won’t mind this memorial that comes thousands of years too late..."

"And also..."

"Thank you..."

"Even though... maybe it would have been better if I’d stayed in the old era. It’s a pity I only understand now that burdening me with a heavy responsibility I never wanted to accept... wasn’t your doing. Even without you, He would probably still have made me stay..."

"Back then, I wouldn’t even have had someone I could throw a tantrum at and scold..."

Veronia’s muttered words were so quiet that even Feng Yuan couldn’t make them out, but he could guess she was talking about something very private, so he couldn’t be bothered to listen.

Her rambling went on until the Blessing Lamp vanished, and even then she hadn’t finished. After quite a while, Veronia finally returned, floating back in her original form. Seeing her apparently in a good mood, Feng Yuan said in some surprise,

"Seems like it actually works pretty well."

"It really is quite mysterious. There’s clearly no Energy involved, and yet somehow... I feel much lighter."

She gave a slight smile and did not continue on that topic. Once the lamps were set, Qi Chen suggested they go to the venue to have lunch. After all, the commercial area around Liuyun Temple was underdeveloped; if they didn’t want to walk too far, only there offered a decent variety of food.

"That’s strange—did I just see Feng Yuan?"

Just as they were leaving, Liao Yu, who had just come on duty to relieve the previous shift, walked over. He scratched his head in puzzlement as he watched Feng Yuan’s departing back. Because there were so many people here, Feng Yuan’s figure vanished into the crowd almost at once, and Liao Yu couldn’t be sure he hadn’t mistaken someone else for him. After all, how could that guy possibly be interested in something like this?

Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!