Chapter 1316: The Prayer Festival Commences

The Prayer Festival held immense significance in the Snowy Plateau Region.

Local devotees found it difficult to reach Sangha Monastery and participate in the core area's ceremonies, let alone outsiders.

However, this time, they were going with Pagyi Gesang and could proceed directly to the center of the festival.

No one wanted to miss such an opportunity.

Therefore, they made a request to Zhang Yi, asking if they could follow by his side that day instead of staying inside Mu Yan's Shadow Space.

"Although we can see from inside the Shadow Space, it's like the difference between watching TV and seeing the real thing. We still want to see it with our own eyes!"

Zhou Haimei smiled brightly, looking at Zhang Yi earnestly.

Even Lu Keran blinked his big eyes, his face full of expectation even though he didn't speak.

It had been over two years since the Apocalypse began.

In this frozen world, everywhere was a dead silence, making it rare to have such a large-scale gathering.

Who wouldn't want to go and see it in person?

"I heard there will be performances then!"

Yang Siya whispered.

Looking at their expressions, Zhang Yi couldn't help but sigh.

"You all stand out too much, easily drawing attention. You know I've always preferred to keep a low profile."

For safety reasons, before coming, Zhou Ke'er had used her [Physical Alteration] ability on everyone, slightly adjusting their contours.

But this method was only a minor tweak, not enough to drastically change a person's physique or appearance.

Especially the women, who all loved beauty, so even after adjustments, they remained pretty.

It must be known, the women in Zhang Yi's household were all extraordinary, either big stars from the entertainment industry, noble ladies from prestigious families, or top-tier geniuses.

Their looks were indeed too prominent for the current Snowy Plateau Region.

"What's there to worry about? Sangha Monastery is full of lamas, aren't they supposed to be detached from worldly desires?"

Yang Siya hugged Zhang Yi's arm and cooed, "Just let us go take a look! Anyway, with you here, we don't have to worry about safety."

Zhang Yi gave her a sidelong glance with mock annoyance. "Monks these days are all businessmen, you really think they stay away from women?"

Although he said that, Zhang Yi still agreed to their request.

He just told them to cover their faces when the time came, follow behind him, and not wander around.

Zhou Ke'er and the others immediately jumped for joy.

It was clear they were extremely excited about attending the Prayer Festival.

Zhang Yi stroked his chin, thinking to himself that when he had time, he could organize some people in Tianhai City to form a song-and-dance troupe.

If they were short on personnel, he could borrow some from Blizzard City.

Zhu Zheng would still give him that face.

Moreover, Frog and Totoro were ready-made band members; pairing them with some extra hands would also make them happier.

...

On the day the Prayer Festival commenced.

Zhang Yi and the others followed Pagyi Gesang's motorcade towards Sangha Monastery.

Although it was to attend a religious festival, Pagyi Gesang's Private Soldiers still followed, fully armed, with Suolang Deji sticking close to Pagyi Gesang's side.

Zhang Yi and his group traveled in their own vehicle, right behind Pagyi Gesang's car.

When they reached the outskirts of Sangha Monastery, they saw from afar a dense, black mass of moving heads.

The cold wind was biting, the outside temperature likely already reaching minus seventy or eighty degrees Celsius, a state where exposing any inch of skin was extremely dangerous.

Yet, the devotees of the esoteric sect, with near-fanatical fervor, piously knelt and prostrated outside Sangha Monastery.

They wore dirty, tattered padded clothes, kneeling on the snowy ground, holding incense burners in their hands, murmuring prayers under their breath.

Tens of thousands knelt before the monastery, like a flock of lambs knocked to the ground, awaiting skinning and slaughter.

An image from Zhang Yi's childhood, of a slaughterhouse near his hometown, surfaced in his mind, and he couldn't help but draw a connection here.

The difference was that the lambs were forced, while these people were willing, even taking pride in it.

With so many people, naturally, there were Monk Soldiers maintaining order.

They held long whips in their hands, immediately lashing out to drive any devotees blocking the way to the side.

A broad, straight path opened through the crowd, leading directly to Sangha Monastery.

Their motorcade was forced to stop outside; out of respect, they had to proceed on foot into the monastery.

Zhang Yi and the others got out of the car. Everyone was bundled up tightly in cold-weather gear, so they didn't feel the cold.

After walking for a long time, they finally arrived at that most sacred monastery of the Snowy Plateau Region.

Around the periphery of Sangha Monastery sat a circle of monks. They came from smaller, outer monasteries and weren't qualified to enter and participate in the festival.

Zhang Yi said calmly to Liang Yue and the others, "Keep an eye on the surroundings. If superhumans from outside the region come here, I believe they'll show up too."

After the Prayer Festival concluded, the major powers would head to the Great Snow Mountain.

Therefore, this grand event was extremely crucial; those mysterious Epsilon-level beings would likely not miss this festival.

Hearing this, everyone began carefully observing the people around them.

Following Pagyi Gesang into the monastery, the scene inside was indeed magnificent and resplendent.

The inside and outside of the monastery were two completely different worlds.

Every beam and pillar here was imbued with a sacred and ancient aura, but this aura was built with vast amounts of time and money.

Pagyi Gesang reminded Zhang Yi, "When the festival commences, by tradition, monks from all monasteries gather to discuss Buddhist teachings. This process is quite lengthy and dull, taking at least half a day. Please be patient."

Zhang Yi nodded. "It's fine."

The Prayer Festival typically lasted three to five days, after all, people from the entire Snowy Plateau Region would come to worship.

Pagyi Gesang left first. As a local chieftain, he had to pay respects to the Lord of the Charnel Ground, plus there were many other formalities.

Knowing Zhang Yi disliked trouble, he had several subordinates accompany Zhang Yi to look around nearby.

He just instructed Zhang Yi not to go too far or easily enter the Buddha halls, to avoid causing offense.

Zhang Yi nodded.

Coincidentally, the place was bustling now. With people coming from all directions, monks from various places gathered together and began their so-called discussions of Buddhist teachings.

Zhang Yi and the others moved closer to watch the spectacle.

The esoteric sect's Dharma debates were quite interesting, similar to a fighting ring format.

The ring holder sat at the front, waiting for other monks to come challenge the ring. If they lost the debate, they could only slink away in defeat.

Seeing this scene, Zhang Yi thought it looked exactly like old ladies in the countryside quarreling. Because their tone wasn't forceful enough, they had to accompany it with intense gestures to make their argument seem stronger.

Although the process was boring, fortunately, the content of the debates varied.

Zhang Yi and the group wandered around nearby, watching many rounds of debates, just like watching neighbor aunties argue.

With Zhou Ke'er, Liang Yue, and the others keeping him company, he didn't find it boring.

Yang Siya pulled out some sunflower seeds she had roasted herself, shared them with everyone, and they all cracked seeds while watching the show.

Author's Note