Mythology Returns! Starting with Folklore and Strange Tales

Chapter 116 The body opens a hundred orifices, Ya Zi opens his eyes

Without the support of the overall atmosphere of the secular world, this is all Zhang Wei can do.

After walking with the crowd for a while, they returned to the Drought Demon's Tomb located in the ravine. Zhang Wei used his Blood Fiend technique to collect the copper coins and some loose silver scattered around the tomb.

Not accepting incense money from villagers is a matter of professional ethics for an inspector.

But he didn't feel any guilt about picking up the zombies' loot.

Moreover, these copper coins and silver coins have been in contact with the drought demon for a long time and have long been tainted by the corpse demon. If an ordinary person gets hold of them and spends them on the same day, they will inevitably fall seriously ill. If they are kept with the drought demon for many years, there is even a possibility that they will die and turn into a corpse.

He didn't feel any burden holding it, after all, no matter how fierce the Corpse Fiend was, could it be more ferocious than Ya Zi?

After tossing a talisman into the graveyard filled with firewood and instructing the villagers to watch the fire die down before leaving, Zhang Wei bid farewell to the villagers, who were heavy with worry.

With a surge of blood energy beneath his feet, Zhang Wei soared into the air, paused briefly at the village entrance, and then sped off down the road.

It didn't fly too high.

After all, although the Yazi method is a righteous path, its special effects look a bit sinister. People who are not familiar with Zhang Wei might subconsciously mistake him for a bad guy.

That's nothing to worry about.

Zhang Wei's real concern was that flying in the sky was too conspicuous. He worried that as he traveled along the way, demons and monsters would run away in advance when they saw him, and even those with some ability would think it was better to avoid trouble and hide away from him.

This won't do!

Others might avoid encountering demons and monsters for fear of wasting their time and effort, but he doesn't have that concern; he likes anything that is not human and is different from others!

I used to worry that I would learn everything but be bad at everything.

But after acquiring the Seven Apertures Exquisite Heart, Zhang Wei could learn anything with ease. Once he got the hang of it, all the remaining difficulties were easily resolved. Otherwise, how could he have emptied the entire library in less than a year?

Although it's just a rough overview, and many of them are just beginners, if it were someone else, let alone a rough overview in a year, they would be considered to have perseverance and patience if they could even read through the whole thing in a year!

Now, the only thing limiting Zhang Wei is time and environment.

The former means that knowing the principle does not mean that you have fully mastered it. Many skills and techniques require constant application to improve. Techniques like Yazi Magic and Blazing Sun require special ingredients to accelerate progress, making them even slower.

The latter is because the natural environment was too scarce during the Qing Dynasty, and even during the Yuan and Ming Dynasties, it was not sufficient. Only by constantly moving forward and reaching the lands of the Tang and Song Dynasties and even earlier could he reach his true comfort zone.

But there's no rush. He's having a tough time, and so is everyone. Under the same sky, he's not necessarily at a disadvantage.

Now, accumulate the blessings of our ancestors and various deities. Only when we reach our true comfort zone can we unleash our full potential.

Moreover, Zhang Wei didn't just spend the year studying magic on the mountain.

When he first obtained the "Blazing Sun" spell, all the acupoints in his body had already undergone a round of burning, making them much more brittle.

On the mountain, after a year of seasonal changes, the magical power within the body doubled, and the ears, mouth, nose, and seven orifices were all refined and opened. All the major acupoints on the spine were opened, the right leg was completed, the left leg was initially opened, the acupoints were initially formed in both legs, and the spine reached the circulation of the heavens.

This further strengthened Zhang Wei's physical body, and his qi and blood surged again. His normal body temperature soared to 43 degrees Celsius, and his efficiency in absorbing and utilizing inorganic matter from the outside world also increased significantly.

All of the above are inevitable results of the enlightenment process, or due to the synergy of spells.

The key point is that after opening some acupoints and connecting them, Zhang Wei felt that his body was also undergoing some subtle changes, changes that were not recorded in the meteorological bureau's data.

On the contrary, Zhang Wei got the answer from his prospective master.

It's not that the weather wasn't recorded, but rather that his situation was special.

Others cultivate various breathing techniques and refine nothingness, extracting mostly crude energies like true qi and spiritual energy. But Zhang Wei borrows from the present to cultivate the past, condensing nothingness through the four seasons to directly extract magical power.

Simply put, although everyone is laying a foundation, it's normal for the final results to be different because of the different materials used.

It's too early to see everything right now. But once Zhang Wei opens all his acupoints and connects them, he'll be able to enjoy things that others can only glimpse after their Yin Spirit has reached a high level.

Although the level of understanding is insufficient, the results are not profound.

However, some things, when obtained in advance versus when repaired step by step, yield drastically different results...

Although Zhang Wei hadn't had time to open the other acupoints yet, with the fiery growth of the blazing sun, all the acupoints, tendons, bones, and flesh of his body were slowly transforming.

Just like just now.

With sheer physical strength, he crippled the drought demon with a single kick—the result of a year's hard work.

Having tasted the joy of opening one's acupoints, and with his prospective master dangling a carrot in front of him, Zhang Wei was even less in a hurry to advance his cultivation level.

"Take your time!"

As Zhang Wei stepped out of the village path and onto the main road, he spoke these words.

Compared to these distant futures, Zhang Wei is now more focused on the changes in the present.

As he watched the Yazi image slowly pacing across his Taoist robe since there were no outsiders around, his mood lightened considerably.

As he slowly made his way to Heshun, he finally had time to take a closer look at the changes in Yazifa.

After slaying the demon, Zhang Wei had gathered the foundation needed for the second upgrade of the Yazi Technique. The original wisp of Yazi True Meaning was now beginning to take shape. The Dharma Eye that Zhang Wei had used before was the ability brought about by the growth of the Yazi Technique.

Although Yazi's eyes don't possess the special abilities of those in myths and legends, they can still discern good from evil and perceive the true nature of a person with a single glance, so they are not weak in comparison.

Correspondingly, the Yazi image on his body, which originally had only a few strokes, now has a pair of lifelike, majestic, and angry eyes!

The Nangyao and Hanba were Yazi's spoils of war, and also served as embellishments to this Taoist robe.

The others were covered in cloud-shaped characters and auspicious beasts, making them look dignified and solemn. But when it came to himself, he was covered in simple line drawings of a Yazi, a ferocious and terrifying insect demon and zombie.

Hmm, something seems off.

Just as Zhang Wei was thinking this, he noticed that Ya Zi, who had been strutting back and forth on his Taoist robe, suddenly stopped moving and stared straight ahead at him with his bright eyes.

About a mile ahead of him.

Along the official road, about a hundred people lay huddled together under the bare, withered trees, their leaves long since stripped and their bark peeled off. All of them were emaciated, suffering from long-term malnutrition, and some even showed signs of illness, with protruding bellies beneath their thin bodies, resembling those of a woman ten months pregnant.

Judging from the packages, baskets, and carrying poles around these people, it seems that an entire village had come out to escape the disaster.

Zhang Wei noticed them.

But they didn't see Zhang Wei.

The prolonged hunger had taught these people a way to conserve their energy. Apart from a few old men who were half-sitting by the trees to keep warm, the rest of the elderly, women, children, and young men lay on the ground with their eyes closed, trying to sleep.

Whether or not you can fall asleep, staying still can at least slow down the exertion.

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