Chapter 1320: Sky Burial Ceremony

The influence of religion on people is essentially achieved through these methods.

When Zhang Yi witnessed the esoteric sect's dharma assembly, it reminded him of what he'd heard about pyramid schemes.

To build cohesion within a group, one must establish a common enemy, an external crisis.

Then, foster a collective consciousness, making everyone prioritize the group's interests over their own.

As for brainwashing, it's done through large gatherings of many people, spouting vague, grand-sounding principles, making empty promises, and using the booming sound of massive bells to awe and intimidate.

Slowly, people become one among thousands of followers, swept along and turned into believers.

So at this moment, as Zhang Yi looked at the lofty Lord of the Charnel Ground in the center of the square, he felt the man resembled a charlatan.

It's just that this person's expression was indeed sufficiently pious; perhaps he genuinely believed in the Buddha from the bottom of his heart. But that was precisely what made it most terrifying.

Standing before tens of thousands of people, the Lord of the Charnel Ground opened his mouth and began expounding the Buddhist dharma.

His voice was very pleasant, gentle like a spring breeze, sweeping over the crowd and entering everyone's ears.

"Everything is karma. The suffering people experience in this world is all a trial, a test from the Buddha for sentient beings. When you pass the test, you can achieve enlightenment on the spot and ascend early to the Pure Land."

"The reason people suffer is because there are too many desires in their hearts. Greed, lust, gluttony, jealousy, anger... these are the roots of suffering."

"Seek your true nature, do not rely on external things, only then can you attain liberation."

...

The Lord of the Charnel Ground went on for a while, speaking entirely about Buddhist teachings.

The people below listened with tears streaming down their faces. Many even wore expressions of sudden enlightenment, then prostrated themselves fully, lying flat on the ground in a spread-eagle position.

On such a cold day, it was hard to imagine how they could endure it.

However, Yang Xinxin told Zhang Yi and the others, "The power of belief can indeed act like advanced hypnosis, making people forget cold, pain, and hunger."

After expounding the dharma for a while, the Lord of the Charnel Ground retreated back to his throne.

He was dedicated to cultivating the dharma and was naturally not very familiar with the complex procedures of the Prayer Festival.

Everything still had to be presided over by Khenpo Deji.

He strode to the center of the square, his gaze sweeping over the assembled crowd, then turning to the resistance army members tied high on the execution racks.

"Amitabha!"

He chanted the Buddha's name with palms together, then said in a cold, sharp voice, "The world is in great chaos, demons have emerged. The remnants of the Demon Kingdom that once brought calamity to the Snowy Plateau Region have appeared again!"

"They attempt to corrupt people into becoming Demonic People, just like thousands of years ago, and bring immense disaster to the entire Snowy Plateau Region!"

"But under the leadership of the Lord of the Charnel Ground, we will absolutely not allow this situation to happen again!"

Among the believers below, someone immediately raised a fist and shouted loudly, "Kill them! Kill them!"

Once one person started shouting, it soon drove ten, then a hundred, until tens of thousands of people around the entire square were shouting, "Kill them!"

Their eyes filled with hatred as they glared at the resistance army members on the execution racks, as if all the suffering they endured today was brought by these people.

They gnashed their teeth, wishing they could pounce and bite chunks of flesh from their bodies!

"Now, we will offer the flesh and blood of these Demonic People as a sacrifice to the Buddhas and deities right here!"

"This is a declaration of war against the Demon Kingdom! It will represent that our esoteric sect will absolutely not submit to the demons!"

The shouts from below grew even more frenzied.

That kind of insane scene made Zhang Yi and the others feel a layer of fine goosebumps rise on their skin.

The fanatical expressions of those believers were truly horrifying.

Then, Deji waved his hand grandly, and several people wearing uniform attire walked onto the platform carrying knives and tools.

The person at the front was someone Zhang Yi recognized—the Pagyi Family's chef, Pagyi Luodan.

He still had that meticulously styled side-parted hair, which must have been groomed with hair oil, not a single strand out of place.

Zhang Yi thought to himself: It's about to begin!

Undoubtedly, what came next was the execution of the resistance army prisoners.

But the arrival of a chef was truly bone-chilling.

Zhou Ke'er instinctively tightened her grip on Zhang Yi's arm, her voice trembling as she said, "Their so-called execution... could it be that they're going to... these people right here..."

She didn't finish the second half of her sentence, because just thinking about it felt cruel.

At this moment, they finally understood what the large wooden barrels and that massive pot brought to the center of the square were for.

"Gulp." Yang Siya swallowed hard; she was feeling nauseous.

"Zhang Yi... maybe... we should leave first."

Although they had seen the Pagyi Family's methods of treating people like livestock before, that was just a fleeting glimpse.

But now, watching them cook a group of living people right before their eyes—this was truly hard to accept.

"If you don't want to watch, then close your eyes and block out the sound too. If we leave suddenly now, it would be too conspicuous."

Zhang Yi's voice was somewhat cold as he spoke.

He wasn't angry at Yang Siya; it was just that the current scene weighed heavily on his heart.

Especially when he looked at the believers below.

Upon hearing that these resistance army members were going to be slaughtered, their eyes actually revealed a greedy glint, each one subconsciously raising the bowls in their hands.

Only now did Zhang Yi understand why Pagyi Gesang and the others were so accustomed to such things.

Turns out, in the current Snowy Plateau Region, this had already become a completely normal occurrence.

Pagyi Gesang even eagerly explained to Zhang Yi, "This ritual is called sky burial, and it must be handled by professional sky burial masters."

"The sky burial process requires cutting the flesh from the corpses into suitable small pieces, then feeding them to eagles."

"In our Snowy Plateau Region, eagles are considered messengers of the deities, capable of carrying human souls to the Pure Land."

"So this ritual is to purify them."

Zhang Yi looked around; not a single eagle was in sight.

No wonder—any animals still alive in the Snowy Plateau Region wouldn't approach humans.

If they came, they risked being caught and eaten.

Most eagles also couldn't withstand the extreme cold and had long since frozen to death.

"No eagles, so you use people as substitutes instead?"

Zhang Yi asked with a playful tone.

Pagyi Gesang chuckled, "After they die, entering the bellies of esoteric sect believers can also be considered purification."

This method also had a special additional meaning.

After consuming the flesh and blood of the resistance army, the likelihood of these believers being swayed to join the resistance army in the future was greatly reduced.

As the lead executor this time, Luodan meticulously completed the preparations in the center of the square.

Sky burial requires a professional sky burial platform and tools for dividing flesh and blood.

The complete set of tools he brought included everything needed for cutting, chopping, boning... everything was there.

Before the sky burial ritual, prayers must be offered to the Buddhas and deities, wishing that these deceased could be purified and enter the Western Pure Land.

Author's Note