Mythology Returns! Starting with Folklore and Strange Tales

Although each stage has its own tasks to complete.

No amount of postnatal supplementation or correction can ever be as perfect as being born full-term, but perfection is contingent on being alive...

Of course, since the Taoist cultivation method that Zhang Wei took was only basic (free), he only wrote about the first three realms and only briefly mentioned the Earthly Branches, saying that this realm involved the destiny of all things in the universe, but he had not yet learned more about the specifics.

The Four Seasons Qi Cultivation Method can indeed lead directly to the Yin Spirit, but this thing belongs to an ancient tradition, and its description of the cultivation realm is even more vague. Its description of the realm is only that the foundation is well-established, one cultivates with a focused mind, one's magical power is overflowing, one's Dao body is formed on its own, and then the Yin Spirit emerges!

To put it simply, once you've established a foundation in the seasonal energy, you can simply accumulate magical power and cultivate your mindset. In your spare time, read more Taoist scriptures and learn a few spells. When things naturally fall into place, your three souls and seven spirits will naturally condense into a Yin spirit.

It's a completely foolproof method. It's so simple that as long as you can cultivate the most difficult foundation of the solar terms, and if you have enough lifespan, you can condense your Yin spirit and follow the path of corpse liberation even if you sleep all day.

Of course, it was this method of cultivation, which was difficult at first and easy later, that enabled Master Yiming to reach the edge of immortality in Chizhen, where the vital energy of heaven and earth was almost cut off.

Between the two, the Qi-absorbing method is definitely stronger. After all, once the foundation is established, the magical power within the body will naturally generate, and magical power is a power that only immortals and gods can talk about. But this does not mean that the cultivation system in the modern world is necessarily useless.

Ultimately, Zhang Wei was just a greenhorn. Although he had his master's help and avoided many detours, without the guidance of a master who lived with him day and night, it would have been more cost-effective for him to refer to or directly use the current cultivation system.

The accurate understanding of the realm and the various abilities derived from that realm provide a significant supplement to the tedious and laborious process of cultivating Qi before the Yin Spirit.

Based on the current cultivation system, various resources and techniques used to accelerate cultivation can help him accumulate the necessary resources for the transformation before becoming a Yin God more quickly, instead of relying on the changing seasons to accumulate magical power year after year.

Of course, more importantly, Zhang Wei had placed memorial tablets in his dormitory. The scene of the patriarch and his prospective master fighting each other confirmed to Zhang Wei that his whereabouts were always under the watchful eyes of these two.

The fact that his elders didn't stop him proves that he chose the right path.

Even if there are mistakes, the deviations will not be too large and can be easily corrected.

Although it sounds a bit shameless to say this, in reality, how many people can get to where they are without relying on any external forces and rely entirely on themselves step by step?

To be precise, it's uncertain whether there are any people on this road at all.

Even the Hongwu Emperor, revered as a role model for ordinary people, rose to power through his in-laws' connections, and later, thanks to Empress Ma's influence with a large number of civil and military officials, he transformed from a beggar into the emperor of the Ming Dynasty...

"..."

"Cool!"

High in the sky, the magical power accumulated within his body flowed gently like a mountain stream. The small amount of magical power supported Feng Xu's method of controlling the wind, making Zhang Wei's flight posture more stable and less energy-consuming.

After getting used to the perspective from high above, Zhang Wei manipulated the evil energy to rotate it a few times in all directions. Then, he used the night vision ability brought by his enlightenment to observe the surrounding situation.

As far as the eye could see, one barren mountain after another of varying sizes stretched out in a continuous line, until the very end of his vision.

That's not surprising.

The Loess Plateau, the Loess Plateau, what would you call a plateau if it weren't high in elevation?

The rules for the arrival of silhouettes are also quite traditional. Except for a very few extra-large silhouettes that may span several regions, medium and small silhouettes will generally arrive at the location corresponding to their mortal world and present world.

The current [Evil Rat] is also a town-level dungeon, so it naturally falls within the scope of the Taihang Mountain atmosphere.

The undulating mountains greatly obscured Zhang Wei's view, and he was too far from the source of the smell. The scent had faded and there was no olfactory enhancement from his nasal passages, so he naturally couldn't quite grasp it.

"The source is quite far from us; it might be a long walk. I'd like to go and investigate first. What do you think?"

An Yixi: "Okay, Brother Zhang, you go ahead first. Don't worry about my safety, I can take care of myself."

Remember to turn on the walkie-talkie and let me know if there's a change in direction!

If you encounter any demons, kill a few for me while you're at it!

"good!"

After the communication was completed, Zhang Wei didn't waste any more words and directly rode the Blood Wind into the sky, leaving An Yixi to run wildly through the mountains alone behind.

It was less than a minute before they parted ways.

Swept along by the gale, Zhang Wei had already traversed a straight-line distance of about two or three kilometers, bypassing the winding mountain roads, and arrived at a mass grave in the mountains, a place crisscrossed with dead trees and mounds of earth.

This is the source of the fishy smell he had previously detected in the fierce winds brought by the malevolent energy!

With the lingering airflow weakened, Zhang Wei stood high in the sky and looked down.

The entire mass grave is situated between two mountain ridges, forming a V-shape, with the lowest point roughly the size of a dozen or so houses.

The hillsides on both sides and the valley floor are densely covered with many low mounds of graves, which are scattered haphazardly and without any order.

But it's always good to be surrounded by graves. Among the many graves, and even on the mounds of earth around the graves, Zhang Wei saw many skeletons of corpses lying scattered in the wilderness.

Scattered and fragmented.

Only those relatively intact skulls, along with a few vertebrae, pelvis, and other parts, can allow people to recognize the origin of these bones.

In other words, once the Yazi Method connects with the outside world, it will directly search for and extract the surrounding evil energy. The denser the evil energy, the stronger the extraction force. This is why a trace of energy was leaked from the mass grave in the deep valley and reached the starting point of Zhang Wei and An Yixi.

Otherwise, without a familiar person to guide you, and without the ability to interpret feng shui and weather patterns, you simply wouldn't be able to find such a secluded place.

In the still of the night, in the desolate mountains where not even a small animal could be found, as the malevolent wind gradually subsided, maintaining only its basic lifting effect, a faint, crisp crackling sound traveled along the cold, silent night wind to Zhang Wei's ears.

Although the sound was faint, it touched upon Zhang Wei's not-so-distant memories.

The crisp sound was not exactly the same as the sound of a wolf spirit gnawing on something that he had heard late at night in the cave dwelling of Liujia Village, but it was not far off!

Was there really something hiding in the mass grave stealing food, or was the noise deliberately made to scare away or attract Zhang Wei, who was standing so high up, and had already been discovered?

You can't tell just by looking.

If you want to know, just go down and take a look!

Of course, this is also because Zhang Wei has initially mastered the ability to fly, and he has the Yazi magic to defend against most illusion and miasma-type spells. That's why he had this idea. If he lacked any of these, he would have chosen to plan carefully rather than rushing into the enemy's territory in this somewhat reckless way!

The next moment, the wind dispersed and his feet touched the ground.

The ground beneath his feet thudded with a muffled thud due to the force of inertia.

With Zhang Wei's arrival, the scattered gusts of wind brought a unique sense of life to this desolate mass grave!

As soon as he landed, Zhang Wei looked around.

Although the mass grave at the bottom of the mountain valley was huge, messy, and still reeked of the fishy smell he had smelled earlier, it was surprisingly devoid of any yin energy.

This is very wrong!

Mass graves, also known as unmanaged burial mounds, are mounds of earth where people bury their dead without any management.

To put it bluntly, this is the burial place for people who died in various accidents, died in large numbers, or had no ancestral land and no relatives to help with their burial.

Regardless of the reason, any of these factors are sufficient for the dead to harbor resentment, providing the foundation for them to transform into monsters.

The fact that so many people who died unexpectedly are buried in mass graves is a typical example of strange occurrences and a gathering place for eerie creatures.

Even places that never get sunlight will accumulate a certain amount of yin energy, let alone the lair of vengeful spirits and wild monsters!

But everything before their eyes defied common sense.

The mass grave had no yin energy or vengeful spirits, but unexpectedly, it was filled with a strong malevolent aura.

Just a few breaths after Zhang Wei landed, as he surveyed and observed this illogical mass grave, pairs of blood-red eyes quietly lit up on the hillsides on both sides.

"Awoo~"

A sudden, desolate howl, followed by a long, drawn-out wolf howl, echoed from the shadowy graves.

The wolf's howl broke the deathly silence of the mass grave and made Zhang Wei's gaze, which was scanning his surroundings, suddenly freeze.

Following the sound, I saw a faint red light emanating from the mounds of earth beneath the graves on either side of the hillside behind me, and extending forward.

The peaceful mass grave suddenly began to surge, with grave mounds rising and bursting open, and dozens of shadowy figures appearing amidst the flying debris shattering the silence of the mass grave.