Chapter – 132 - A Wedding Between Two Cultivators

The marriage ceremony was being held in a large and lavish open pavilion surrounded by elegant gardens. The cobble-stone path meandered around the grounds before circling towards the pavilion. Large trees bordered the path, forming a shady canopy over the road, and bright red and blue flowers shone down through the patches of lush green.

The bride entered the scene on a Bedequin, something similar to a very long necked swan. The swan flew over the pavilion in circles, squawking loudly to announce its arrival, before the bride picked up the hem of her dress and jumped into the air. The skirt of her bright blue wide-sleeved dress spread out in the air, acting like a parachute as the bride slowly floated downwards.

The groom had already entered riding on a large Guaracos, which looked like a blend between a lion and a snake. As the bride floated down, the groom tapped on the side of the Guaracos, which sprung high into the air, and the groom caught the bride in his arms. The Guaracos landed back on the ground without making a single sound, and the bride was sitting on the lap of the groom when the dust settled.

Cultivators were not really that fastidious about marriages, and many preferred living in open ended relations. The child would anyway belong to the clan - either to the clan which was stronger, or to the cultivator who was more powerful, and both men and women were free to choose what kind of a relation they wished for.

So the people who did choose marriage loved going all out and putting up a spectacle the people wouldn't forget easily. Rihanna looked at the deep blue long dress rustling on the ground, covered by a thin, translucent red gauze robe for the woman, and the dark green clothes of the man, similarly covered in a translucent shimmering robe. But the color of his robe was black.

As Ye Luo had explained, the colors of the robe represented the elemental energy powers of the two people. Thus she could conclude that the woman was a water and fire user, whereas the man was a wood and poison user. This was a very interesting concept of wedding clothes.

The groom jumped off the back of the Guaracos with his bride in arms and walked towards the center of the pavilion where a rectangular dais had been put up for the wedding rituals. The Bedequin circled around the pavilion a few more times, slowly alighting at the corner of the open space. Two people from the bride and grooms side came forth, bringing the two beasts away to another part of the field, to await the end of the ceremony.

The Clan Head was waiting on the dais. A long platform floated on one side of the dais, and a six sided translucent cup was placed on it.

"That cup is named the Hamus. It is made from the fossilized bones of the Giant Jalanae, a flying creature which existed a long time ago. It's bones can be found only when one is very lucky during an excavation of ancient tombs. All the corpses of Jalanae excavated were found to be in pairs. Thus, it is believed that the Jalanae mated for a lifetime, and lived and died together. Using a cup made from the fossilized bones of the Jalanae are said to bring great luck and blessing to a marriage."

"That is a very interesting reason."

Indeed, Rihanna was intrigued. Just as marriage ceremonies on earth had their own logic and reasoning's, and followed varied rituals and beliefs, so did these people. And their concepts seemed so different and refreshing.

Two of the five elders were also standing on the dais, behind the Clan Head. As the groom put the bride down, one of the elders picked up the Hamus, while the other Elder picked up a short but sharp dagger from the side of the platform. The bride and groom put out their left and right hand out respectively. The Elder unsheathed the dagger, then made a sharp and long cut on the palm of each. Making loose fists, the bride and groom held their fists over the Hamus, allowing drops of blood to pour into the cup.

As the blood mixed together, the Clan Head took out a tiny bottle out from his loose sleeves, and added a few drops of some king of blue liquid to the blood. The blood turned dark red, then took on a golden hue, merging completely.

Next, the bride and groom sat down on the dais, cross-legged, facing each other and placing their hands on top of each other. The Elder holding the Hamus brought the cup to the right hand of the couple, and poured the slightly coagulated blood onto the palm of the bride whose hand was on top. Keeping the right hand below the blood, they raised the other pair of hands, forming two arcs with their palms, one below the blood, and one above.

The bride started pouring in her water and fire energy into the blood, and simultaneously the groom started inserting his wood and poison energy. As the different energies started merging into the blood, the blood changed color continuously, till it finally stopped changing after turning a deep shade of blackish-red. Meanwhile, the blood had solidified into a tiny ball, and grown in size till it was as big as a tennis ball. Once the hues stopped changing, the ball slowly disintegrated, forming two equal streams of liquid energy, circling around each other for a while, before they slowly penetrated the dantian of the bride and groom and disappeared.

Both the bride and groom had their forehead creased, as this sudden penetration of a foreign energy into their dantian caused a lot of changes to their spirit root and body. The two elders sat down behind each of them, slowly supporting them with a continuous flow of their own energy.

Rihanna blinked, then turned to stare at Ye Luo in curiosity. Ye Luo looked at her bright eyes shining with curiosity and rubbed his nose.

"This is another reason why people prefer open relations instead of marriage. Now we have to wait and see if the two bodies will be able to accept this new energy. Though it is mostly successful, but there have been many instances where the spirit roots either reject these new energy cores, or in worse cases, the roots get damaged by the energy."

Rihanna couldn't help raising her eyebrows in shock. Spending a lifetime cultivating, and then losing it all because of one ritual...no wonder people in this world did not find lifetime relations worthwhile! But then....who asked them to create such complicated rituals just for getting married!

"Marriage in our country is rare, but that is why it is also held as a very auspicious life-long event. By binding the energies with the blood, they are allowing their mates to accept their core essence. This also means that they are giving a part of themselves to their mate. This is a very dangerous move, since now their partners will always know their movements, and also their weaknesses and strengths. But there are people who still complete these rituals. But generally only people who are entirely sure of their partners will take the risk. That is why most people opt for open relations."

The crowd gasped softly, bringing back their attention to the center of the pavilion. The bride's face had already returned back to normal, and she slowly opened her eyes. Seeing her partners face still creased in a deep frown, she turned pale, anxiety flooding her eyes. She would have reacted if not for the soft touch of an open palm on her back. Turning slightly, she looked at the calm face of the elder sitting behind her, and slowly her expression too soothed down.

For a while longer, the groom suffered in silence. It was obvious that the fire of the bride was proving to be more volatile than the poison of the groom. But in the end, the man's face calmed down, his clenched jaw loosening, and he heaved a long and heavy sigh.

The bride waited with tears and affection in her eyes. The groom steadied his breathing for a while longer, then finally opened his eyes. Tears and affection shone in his eyes as well. Smiling widely, he reached out and caught the bride's hands in his, his smile growing wider and wider till he was grinning like a fool. Rihanna pursed her lips to hide the smirk at the corner of her lips. Love truly turned you into a fool....whether you were an earthling, or a cultivator!

Perhaps because everyone was in the presence of the Clan Head and the elders, and their presence itself brought a somberness to the entire event, though people looked very happy, they were rather restrained in expressing their joy. The Bride and Groom turned around to face the people, still seated on the dais. One by one, the representatives of each Clan and the branches went up to give their blessing and gifts to the newly married couple.

Rihanna watched the event for a while, since every gift presented was kept in open caskets, visible to every person in the pavilion. Most of them were tools or weapons and armors. Some had special inscriptions, some were embedded with rare and precious gems. There were also many rare herbs and pills. After a while, she started growing bored, and pangs of hunger diverted her attention.

"So....are they not going to feed the guests?"

Ye Luo felt his lips twitching. Her attention was really on the weirdest of things! But then, after knowing her for so long...he should have expected it.

"Let's wait a bit longer. I think the feast will be held on the open space in front of the pavilion."

Just as Rihanna was wondering when the food was going to be served, since the open space was as empty as it had been in the beginning, the ground slowly started shifting, surprising her out of her thoughts. Many of the guests too turned their heads to watch the new spectacle of the grand event organized by the Ye Clan.

The ground was shifting at a fast pace, and soon large blocks of stone emerged from under the ground. The movements came to a stop only when the stones had completely emerged from below. As a low murmuring started going around the crowds of people spectating, the stone blocks cracked in to two, and the upper half started moving upwards. They went up in the air, finally coming to a stop at a height above the height of a person, then gently floated in the air.

"Ahhh! Now I get it. The stone blocks contain food. This is a very interesting way of laying tables!"

Artreya exclaimed rather loudly, pulling the attention of the people standing nearby towards them. Noticing them laughing at him, he smiled in embarrassment, and moved back to hide behind Ye Luo. Ye Luo stared at him, then shook his head helplessly. On the other hand, Rihanna moved a bit forward to view the spectacle more clearly, shaking her head in amazement. Cultivation maybe ruthless and bloody, but it sure had its creative sides. And these clans, with their millenniums of power, wealth and heritage, sure knew how to create grand spectacles!