Chapter 605 | Demonic Beings? Obviously Auspicious Omens!

A system notification chimed at the perfect moment.

【You have obtained a lost ancient text, 《Sacrificial Song: Heavenly Questions》.】

【An ancient sacrificial song long thought lost, written in divine script and created by Yun Shao, the ancient Righteous God of Music.】

【Chanting this song allows one to communicate with heaven and earth, sense deities, and enhance the success rate and precision of divination techniques. It can also soothe the souls of the deceased, purify resentment, and transcend malevolent ghosts.】

【Note: This song reaches its maximum efficacy when accompanied by spiritual creatures proficient in music.】

Chen Zhou’s eyes lit up.

This was a treasure.

He just happened to have the Mingchan Clan under his command, who were experts in the ways of music and divination.

Cicadas were spiritual creatures that bridged heaven and earth; their song could reach the highest heavens and descend into the deepest underworld.

Previously, during the third trial of the Xuandu Ghost Mansion, he had conveniently chosen two divination-related talents: Star Orbit Deduction and Peering into Heaven's Karma.

Furthermore, his Authority of Cloud Sea Resplendence was now complete, allowing him to remain immune to the backlash of a single divination attempt.

He was about to head to Qingzhou soon. Wouldn't this be perfect for divining the background of the Central Province’s Xuan Cai?

Chen Zhou held the thin booklet, opened the title page, and stared at the winding divine script for a few breaths.

The characters seemed alive, flowing slowly before his eyes, each one emitting a faint golden shimmer.

He attempted to recite the first line.

The sound emerged from his throat, but it did not resemble his usual voice. It was a strange sound, as if coming from a very distant place, carrying an indescribable sense of desolation and antiquity.

As the sound met the air, the atmosphere vibrated slightly. The surrounding spiritual rhythm seemed to be stirred by something, beginning to rotate slowly.

Chen Zhou stopped and raised an eyebrow.

This was interesting.

Duke Wu looked at him with an expectant expression.

“Exalted One, can you understand this book?”

Chen Zhou nodded.

“I can understand some of it.”

“This is an ancient sacrificial song. It can be used to communicate with heaven and earth and enhance divination techniques.”

Duke Wu’s eyes suddenly lit up, shining with a frightening intensity.

“Divination?!”

“Exalted One, you also know divination?!”

Chen Zhou glanced at him.

“I just learned it.”

Duke Wu: “...?”

What did he mean by “just learned it”?

But before he could ask, Chen Zhou had already handed the booklet over.

“Take another look.”

Duke Wu took the booklet, flipped to the title page, and stared at the winding characters for a long time. His brow furrowed so deeply it could have crushed a fly.

“I... I still cannot understand it.”

“Though I am not as scholarly as Duke Wen, I consider myself to have seen many types of script, yet I have never seen characters like these.”

Chen Zhou said, “This is divine script. It is indeed illegible to mortals.”

Duke Wu choked on his words.

But Chen Zhou quickly added, “However, even if you cannot read it, you should be able to understand the sound, right?”

“I have heard that in your previous life, you were a subordinate of Purity and Filth, overseeing the Witch Department and the Medical Department. The Witch Department’s greatest specialty was divination and sacrifice.”

“The Mingchan Clan are natural masters of music. I wonder if your clan is interested in learning this new sacrificial song?”

Duke Wu was overjoyed. He turned to leave immediately, intending to return to Tianchi Province overnight to gather his clansmen. But halfway there, he suddenly stopped and looked back.

“Exalted One, if I may be so bold as to ask... are you intending to divine something specific?”

Chen Zhou looked at him and spoke calmly.

“The Central Province’s Xuan Cai.”

Duke Wu’s expression shifted slightly, but he quickly returned to normal.

He nodded without further questions and strode toward the teleportation array.

He moved so fast that Chen Zhou was momentarily stunned.

Duke Wu trotted all the way through the streets of the City of the Wrongfully Dead toward the massive Jianmu at the city’s center.

The Jianmu avatar had now grown into a giant tree that towered into the clouds. Its canopy obscured the sun, and its trunk was so thick that dozens of people could not link hands around it.

Duke Wu leaped onto a massive leaf of the Jianmu and activated the array. With a flash of white light, his figure vanished.

The next day, before dawn, the City of the Wrongfully Dead became lively.

Beneath the Jianmu at the city center, a high platform had been erected.

The platform was built of white jade, consisting of three tiers with nine steps each. The surface was carved with intricate array patterns that emitted a faint glow.

Surrounding the platform were eighty-one bronze mirrors. Facing the platform, they reflected the morning light, illuminating the entire structure.

Duke Wu stood on the top tier, leaning on his staff with a solemn expression.

Behind him stood thirty-six cicadas.

They were all elites he had handpicked from the clan overnight, the finest singers among the Mingchan.

The rest of the Mingchan were scattered around the platform. Their wings vibrated in perfect unison, their buzzing merging into a deep prelude.

Chen Zhou approached from the direction of the altar. As he walked, the ground vibrated slightly, as if something were writhing beneath the surface.

He reached the base of the platform and ascended the steps.

With every step he took, the array patterns on the platform grew brighter.

By the time he reached the top, the entire platform was glowing. The white jade surface had become translucent, revealing the array patterns flowing slowly beneath.

Chen Zhou stood in the center of the platform with his hands behind his back.

Duke Wu stepped forward and bowed respectfully.

“Exalted One, all thirty-six members of the Mingchan Clan have arrived.”

“Thirty-six are masters of music, twelve are proficient in divination, and eight are experts in sacrifice.”

“Please give us your instructions.”

Chen Zhou nodded, took out the 《Sacrificial Song: Heavenly Questions》 from his sleeve, and opened the first page.

The winding divine script drifted off the paper, hovering in the air like golden stars.

Chen Zhou looked at the characters and began to recite calmly. The sacrificial song sounded like a lament and a prayer, echoing like thunder falling from the highest heavens and a reverberation rising from the deepest underworld.

The moment the first syllable left his lips, the wings of every cicada paused for a split second before vibrating at an even higher frequency.

The buzzing transformed into a steady tone—deep, resonant, and heavy, like the heartbeat of the earth itself, shaking the soul.

Chen Zhou finished the first section and paused.

The golden characters in the sky had already arranged themselves into a massive array that covered the entire City of the Wrongfully Dead.

The array rotated slowly. With every revolution, the spiritual rhythm within the city grew denser.

Chen Zhou took out a piece of pitch-black black plate.

This was the item Xuan Cai had sent to him via the Longevity Deer. Though called a token of faith, Chen Zhou knew it carried Xuan Cai’s aura.

Using an object to divine its master.

This was the most fundamental and effective method in the path of divination.

Chen Zhou placed the black plate into a groove in the center of the platform, then sat cross-legged and closed his eyes.

He activated 【Star Orbit Deduction】.

Within his mind, a starry sky emerged. Countless stars moved slowly according to a specific rhythm. Every star represented a possibility; every trajectory pointed toward a future.

Following the aura on the black plate, he searched for the corresponding star in the celestial expanse.

He searched for a long time.

The starry sky was too vast, the stars too numerous, and Xuan Cai’s aura was too faint.

But Chen Zhou was not in a hurry.

He had plenty of time.

The voices of the Mingchan echoed in his ears—deep, resonant, and lingering. They were like an invisible thread, pulling his consciousness through the starry sky.

Finally, at the edge of the celestial expanse, he found a dim star.

That star was nearly extinguished, with only a final glimmer flickering in the darkness. Chen Zhou’s consciousness drew near.

Chen Zhou activated 【Peering into Heaven's Karma】.

Causal lines extended from the star in a dense web. Chen Zhou followed the lines backward, tracing through countless nodes, people, and events, crossing the barriers of time and space.