Chapter 537 The Ceremony Begins

"It should be time."

As if to confirm Haiyan's words, Ichigo and his companions, who were still looking around to appreciate the antiquity and magnificence of the shrine they were in, were soon attracted by the sound of music that gradually began to sound.

Although it was called music, the scale was far from that grand. At least in Ichigo's ears, all he could hear was the obvious sound of flutes, which slowly approached from the main entrance of the shrine behind them.

The long flute sound was a bit sad, monotonous but sacred. As the sound gradually became clearer, a small team of about a dozen people appeared in his sight.

The leader was a woman dressed as a shrine maiden, with her face covered by a white mask. Her hands were covered by wide sleeves, and her steps were light, but she always kept a distance from the musicians behind her.

Behind the musicians were Hongjiang, who was wearing a black hakama with a pattern, and Yoruichi, who was wearing a flawless white dress. The two held hands, with a red paper umbrella on their heads, firmly attracting everyone's attention.

"So beautiful!" Inoue couldn't help but sigh.

-The shrine they were in was shrouded in a layer of white mist, and Hongjiang and Yoruichi walked in it, as if they came from a fairyland.

Of course, the beauty that made Inoue couldn't help but blurt out was not just the scenery. Although the wide hood covered most of her face, she had already placed the most beautiful makeup and smile on Yoruichi's face in her mind.

Hongjiang had a faint but contagious smile on his face. All those who knew him probably had never seen his state at this moment. The happiness that did not need words seemed to be able to be transmitted to everyone's heart. Even Yamamoto, who had a serious face, had a flash of softness in his half-open eyes.

Through the main road, Hongjiang and Yoruichi came to the main hall of the shrine under the attention of everyone. There were two cushions on the ground in front of the leading shrine maiden. The two knelt on the cushions and waited quietly for the ceremony to begin.

No one reminded them, but the people sitting in the viewing seats behind them all lowered their breathing involuntarily. I don't know if it was an illusion or something, Ichigo could hear the sound of a breeze blowing.

The silence was broken by a crisp bell sound. The person dressed as a shrine maiden waved her left hand, and the left hand that was previously covered by her sleeves was holding a golden Kagura bell. As she danced, the pleasant bell sounded rhythmically in the empty shrine.

The shrine maiden's movements were as light as floating catkins blown by the wind. Long and solemn hymns came out of her mouth, accompanied by crisp bell sounds. Although she sang slowly, she didn't make people feel drowsy.

I think this is the ritual that Pingzi and others have been talking about. Even the captain has not seen it a few times. Ichigo was shocked by the antiquity and sacredness of this ritual in his heart, and his eyes were slightly raised, and his attention was attracted by the changes above his head.

The sky of the shrine was a misty white. Of course, it is also possible that its sky has never really appeared in front of people.

As the miko moved and chanted, the sky, which seemed like a white cloth without wrinkles, gradually changed, as if it was folded, forming three obvious fog circles floating above Hongjiang and Yoruichi.

That was definitely not a simple condensation of fog. Ichigo could feel the amazing spiritual pressure contained in the three fog circles. In terms of strength, it was definitely not inferior to the strength of any captain of the Gotei 13 releasing spiritual pressure with all his strength.

But the strangest thing was that the spiritual pressure hanging above the head was as heavy as a mountain, but it did not give people any pressure. It was not goodwill, but at least no one could feel malice from it.

This led to the fact that there seemed to be three mountains hanging above everyone's heads, but people like Inoue, whose attention was completely attracted by the ceremony in front of the main hall, could subconsciously ignore the huge spiritual pressure that suddenly appeared.

Of course, Ichigo was only slightly impressed by the magic of this ceremony. He was not a sensitive person, and he would not be restless because of the huge spiritual pressure hanging above his head.

As the shrine maiden in front finished her chanting, the Kagura bell in her hand fell like a sharp blade, and her body turned slightly. With the abruptly stopped sound of the bell, the golden Kagura bell pointed to a long-handled pot placed on a cushion not far away.

The mist ring in the air with huge spiritual pressure also changed at this time. The outermost mist ring suddenly tilted and rushed towards the shrine like a waterfall.

This movement naturally attracted attention. Ginjo stood up straight, and his legs exerted force as if his body was about to stand up and resist.

But before he made a fool of himself, Shunsui behind him held him down as if he had predicted the future, and also held down other people who were shocked by this scene.

"Don't get excited. Just pay attention to this ceremony."

At Chunshui's whispered reminder, Ginjo and the others focused their attention on the spiritual pressure waterfall falling from the sky. When it was about to engulf the area where everyone was, the waterfall suddenly stopped as if time had stopped, and then it turned in the air as if it had life, and flowed towards the long-handled pot pointed by the shrine maiden with the Kagura bell.

There seemed to be an invisible funnel at the top of the long-handled pot. The violent spiritual pressure flow, like a raging sea wave, was condensed again and poured into the long-handled pot into a stream.

If it was just the huge spiritual pressure mist ring that suddenly poured down like a waterfall before, then the current stream really has the texture of water.

No, it's not just the texture. Ginjo put down his guard and returned to calm again. The sound of water droplets colliding seemed to be flowing in the air.

It was hard to believe that the fog ring that seemed to be able to engulf everyone present would eventually be collected into a small long-handled pot. Just like the forest grows from leaves and the river returns to dripping water, it is unbelievable but it is right in front of us.

The witch moved her feet and came to the long-handled pot as if flying. The Kagura bell tapped the pot lightly and sealed the top of the pot.

Then she held the pot handle with her right hand, turned her body, and appeared in front of Hongjiang and Yoruichi who were kneeling.

There were three small, medium and large red shallow wine glasses in front of the two people. The witch held the long-handled pot in one hand, tilted her wrist slightly, and a drop of bright white liquid slowly fell into the smallest wine glass.

Then the witch tilted her wrist again, but the movement was not as fast as before. The bright white liquid flowed into the wine glass that just covered the bottom of the cup like a thin line.

The witch turned her wrist for the third time, but this time she seemed not to lift the spout of the pot again, allowing the bright white liquid to pour into the shallow wine glass, and only moved the wine pot away when the wine glass was full.

This is the first level of etiquette of the 339th degree ceremony, the ceremony of the spirit king.

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