Chen Xuanlin stood in front of the Dead Sea Communicating Monument, while Chen Qiuluo and Chen Ganer stood beside him, looking at the monument together.
Chen Ganer took two steps forward and said,
"Is this the monument you were talking about?"
As he spoke, he stretched out his uninjured hand and touched the surface of the monument, but the monument did not react at all.
Chen Ganer said dissatisfiedly,
"Although it looks quite magical, why is there no reaction at all? What's the use of this monument?"
Chen Qiuluo shook his head and said,
"Elder Ganer, the Dead Sea Communicating Monument requires cultivation to use."
"We mortals cannot use it. This is something that only exists on islands with cultivators."
Chen Ganer asked in confusion,
"Elder Qiuluo, how did you know?"
Chen Qiuluo sighed,
"It's in the clan's 'Chen Family Chronicles.' Elder Gan Er, when you have time, you should read more of the clan's collection."
Chen Gan Er waved his hand and shook his head.
"No, no, I don't have time to read. I'm too busy fishing on weekdays. Reading books is a waste of time. It's enough for the clan to have Brother Xuanlin to study and teach."
Chen Qiuluo simply shook his head and sighed, without refutation.
While Chen Qiuluo and Chen Gan Er were talking, Chen Xuanlin had already shifted his gaze from the communication stele to the sacrificial stone.
His eyes flickered.
...
During nightfall, on the coast.
The Chen family members who had been transporting supplies had gradually returned to the island. Two elders and several others were busy counting their catch.
Chen Xuanlin simply stood by, observing the busyness, not joining in.
Just then, a child who looked to be about ten years old ran towards them, carrying a strange fish that weighed five or six pounds and had only one eye.
Behind him was a bouncing black dog.
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The child ran, holding up the strange fish in his hand and excitedly saying,
"Dad, look, Xiao Hei and I caught this together. Hahahaha, we can have grilled fish tonight!"
The black dog behind him barked twice, as if responding to the child's words.
Chen Xuanlin saw the child running over, and a smile broke through his expressionless face. He shouted,
"Xingye, why are you here?"
Chen Xingye ran up to Chen Xuanlin, holding up the fish in his hand as if to show off, saying,
"Mom said you were here, so Xiao Hei and I came to find you. Dad, look, Xiao Hei and I are amazing, aren't we?"
Chen Xuanlin nodded and smiled,
"Amazing! Xingye has grown up."
It was then that Chen Xingye noticed Chen Xuanlin's much older face and exclaimed in surprise,
"Dad, how come your hair has turned so white?"
Chen Xuanlin shook his head and didn't explain, simply saying,
"You've grown up, and Dad has naturally grown old."
Seeing his father's much-aged face, Chen Xingye's joy at catching a fish suddenly disappeared. He lowered his head and said,
"I always prayed to the stone sacrificial spirit to bless us to catch more fish. Next time, I will pray to the sacrificial spirit to bless Dad to live a hundred years."
Chen Xuanlin touched Chen Xingye's head and said,
"Ye'er, do you know what a sacrificial spirit is?"
Chen Xingye didn't know why his father suddenly asked this. After thinking for a moment, he said,
"I don't know. I only know that the stone in the center of the village is our sacrificial spirit. The elders said that the sacrificial spirit is the deity who can bless our Sanyin Island with good weather and good harvests."
Chen Xuanlin continued,
"Then do you know the origin of the sacrificial spirits?"
Chen Xingye said honestly,
"I don't know."
Chen Xuanlin stood with his hands behind his back, exuding the aura of a teacher. He continued,
"A long time ago, our ancestors began to perform sacrifices in order to consolidate their beliefs and give their people a place to place their faith."
"Some sacrificed to the heavens and the earth, the sea, some to certain objects, trees, or even to certain non-existent beings."
"Those sacrificed objects, because of the convergence of many beliefs, gave birth to consciousness and possessed many magical powers. This is the origin of the sacrificial spirits."
"With the cohesion of beliefs and concerted efforts, a family, an island, or even a country will prosper."
"Therefore, when the sacrificial spirit dies, the family declines, and the same is true for our Chen family."
Chen Xingye said thoughtfully:
"In that case, the stone sacrificial spirit in our village is the gathering place of our Chen family's faith. But except for Dad, few people in the clan usually worship it. Is it because our stone sacrificial spirit has not appeared for a long time?"
Chen Xuanlin explained patiently:
"The sacrificial spirit is not effective because it was not long after our Chen family came to Sanyin Island that the sacrificial spirit belonging to our Chen family became silent." "
Of course, it is also due to the changes in the world. Now many islands no longer rely on sacrificial spirits, and all kinds of methods can still make the family prosperous."
Chen Xingye's eyes turned, and said:
"Since Dad said that sacrificial spirits are spirits born from the gathering of faith, if we want the Chen family to prosper, then we should worship the stone sacrificial spirit more often, then our sacrificial spirit will wake up again."
Chen Xuanlin looked towards the Chenjia Village. At this time, the night had completely darkened, and the village was lit with a few fires of firewood. However, this little fire was really insignificant compared to the endless sea of death and the strange gray fog.
Chen Xuanlin shook his head and said,
"The families or islands that have sacrificial spirits are all large islands or families with populations of thousands. Sanyin Island has a population of only dozens. This little faith is unlikely to give the sacrificial spirit consciousness again."
Chen Xingye asked puzzledly,
"But I still often see Dad worshiping the stone sacrificial spirit. If the sacrificial spirit can't manifest again, why do you still worship it every day?"
Chen Xuanlin's tone was a little erratic.
"After all, it belongs to our Chen family's sacrificial spirit and is the spiritual heritage of the Chen family."
Chen Xingye clenched his fists and said,
"Does our Chen family's sacrificial spirit have a chance to manifest again?"
Seeing Chen Xingye's excitement, Chen Xuanlin smiled again and said mysteriously,
"I haven't told anyone else yet, so I'll tell you first. In fact, our sacrificial spirit has awakened."
Chen Xingye's face flashed with shock.
"Really? Master Jiling has awakened? Then he can bless us to eat fish and vegetables every day from now on!"
Chen Xuanlin chuckled,
"Of course. This time, we're seizing resources under Master Jiling's protection."
"Who knows, our Chen family on Sanyin Island will shock all the other islands again. You must worship Master Jiling more often in the future."
Then, Chen Xuanlin added sternly,
"Xingye, remember this: from now on, no matter what Master Jiling does, the Stone Jiling is the Chen family's Jiling. It is the sole faith of all the Chen family members on this island. Regardless of whether it's a former Jiling... or some other entity, we must defend it with our lives."
Chen Xingye didn't quite understand Chen Xuanlin's words, but nodded obediently.
Tonight, a rare bonfire was lit in the central open space of Chenjia Village.
Because the resources of the adjacent islands were plentiful and the looting was substantial, Chen Xuanlin agreed to light a bonfire to celebrate.
This was intended to boost the long-slumping morale of Sanyin Island.
Someone cooked a large pot of fish soup over a campfire.
A lot of green vegetable leaves could be seen floating on the surface of the soup, a rare treat for the residents of Sanyin Island.
All the residents of Sanyin Island gathered around the campfire, some gazing longingly at the pot of fish soup, while others chatted with one another. This
brought a rare sense of liveliness to Sanyin Island.
Several elders of the Chen family sat on the other side, staring at Chen Xuanlin without saying a word.
After a while, Chen Ganer spoke first,
"Brother Xuanlin, have you become a cultivator?"