I slay evil in the Department of the Supernatural

After pondering for a moment, Xu Lindong, still feeling apologetic, declined Houtu Niangniang's offer.

"Senior, I can't even get to the ninth floor now, let alone the first floor. I really can't open the tunnel door on the first floor."

"I'm not in a hurry right now."

A flat, cold female voice came from behind the door. She took a few light steps in her high heels and continued:

"It's not too late to open the door once you've advanced to Sequence Three and truly taken control of this tower."

"Right now, you only need to offer a little merit to help me loosen the suppression and regain some consciousness."

"In return, I can teach you to comprehend sequences, digest extraordinary matter, choose the best sequence path to play, and gain stronger abilities."

For example, how to utilize the Tower of Babel to combine the abilities of different top-tier guardian deities such as Shen Tu, Yu Lei, and Zhong Kui, and how to become the underground emperor of the land.

I can also occasionally help you suppress dangerous entities of the lower and middle sequences, and help you send them to be imprisoned in the tower..."

"how?"

"this......"

Xu Lindong swallowed hard, inwardly exclaiming "Holy crap!"

Many messages were completely beyond his comprehension, shocking his fragile mind.

The abilities of different gatekeepers can be combined in this way?

Especially Shen Tu and Yu Lei, who are the earliest martial gods recorded in the Classic of Mountains and Seas, plus Zhong Kui, are all real mythological figures.

I heard that these kinds of door god stickers have been lost for a long time. Is it possible that we can find them all and stack them together for use?

Moreover, can the Earth God become the Underground Emperor?

How large an area would that be? Wouldn't that be competing with gods and humans for territory? That would be a bit outrageous.

"If I could master all of these, I'd definitely be different from everyone else in the same sequence... but obviously it's not that simple..."

He suppressed the turmoil in his heart.

Sugar-coated bullets, a beauty's allure.

He knew he was no hero, and the other party was probably not a beauty either.

Making a deal with such a dangerous and terrifying entity may bring temporary gains, but the consequences could be endless.

Putting everything else aside, just considering the Tower of Babel, this supreme treasure, is she really not tempted?

If she ever manages to escape, will she seize the tower and suppress him instead?

These are all potential risks, and he has to be wary of them.

Seeing Xu Lindong remain silent, Houtu Niangniang seemed to see through his thoughts and said calmly:

It's normal for you to be wary of me; there's no need to rush to respond.

Time will tell...

You will cooperate with me sooner or later.

"To show my sincerity, I will first reveal some information about the two paths of heaven and earth, which should help you to better understand and master the sequence. You can also verify it yourself."

"Trying to lure me in?"

Xu Lindong's mind raced. "Should I just quit the Tower of Babel now and completely ignore it? Or should I listen and silently take advantage of it for free?"

Knowing that he would eventually have to enter the Tower of Babel, and that there was no point in running away, he quickly made a decision.

Why not take advantage of it for free?

Even if the other party is fishing, he will simply put on his helmet, go through the motions, and not take the bait.

With Xu Lindong's tacit approval, Houtu Niangniang, inside the first underground room at the top of the tower, continued:

"The two paths of Heaven and Earth, the zombies in the Earth path are not just simple tricks of manipulating corpses; they truly touch upon the 'pivot between life and death' in the Earth path."

"If we're talking about superior role-playing cultivation methods, this sequence can be divided into two types: corpse-driving and corpse-refining..."

"The pivot of life and death... two methods of role-playing: corpse driving and corpse refining? A superior role-playing cultivation method?"

Xu Lindong's heart stirred, and he did indeed become somewhat interested.

He had indeed heard of superior acting techniques.

After all, the Xia Kingdom still retains some ancient Taoist sects that have continued since the Xia Dynasty.

What about Longhu Dao, Laoshan, Maoshan, Tianshi Dao, Wudang Mountain...?

These names sound just like the sects and lineages in a fantasy novel.

These sects' methods of performance are all claimed to be "superior" and are not passed down to anyone other than their direct descendants.

Therefore, Xu Lindong has always been able to rely on the basic role-playing methods provided by the internal network of the Divine Bureau to explore and cultivate.

Understand the essence of the corresponding profession sequence, and then master the abilities and digest extraordinary substances.

But at this moment, after hearing the Earth Goddess mention the two superior acting methods of "corpse driving" and "corpse refining", she was deeply moved.

He suddenly realized that the other party probably did have some skills.

"Wait a minute, Chen Xuanli in the ancestral hall sinkhole in the ancient town... isn't he the corpse raiser? It's said that he started raising corpses before he became a transcendent being..."

Xu Lindong's heart skipped a beat.

It was as if they had vaguely grasped Chen Xuanli's identity and background.

At this moment, the voice of the Goddess Houtu continued to come.

Information about "corpse driving" originally came from the "spirit moving" custom in the Miao ethnic group's shamanistic culture in western Hunan.

The corpse driver shakes the soul-capturing bell at night, steps in the Seven Stars style, and uses the Chenzhou talisman to suppress the souls of the dead. This is not to control the corpses, but to help the deceased complete their journey home.

This is the true essence of the "corpse-driving performance method": to have compassion in one's heart and to become a guiding light.

"...When you first start playing the role, you can make the corpse move in time with the sound of the bell. Once you become skilled, you can walk swiftly under the moon, with the shadow of the corpse always following you."

Because you have grasped the essence of "sending it back," the corpse's obsession has not yet dissipated, and you are the boat that carries it across the river...

"The boat that sends people back...across the river..."

Xu Lindong felt he was gradually gaining some understanding.

Houtu Niangniang said, "The story of 'corpse running' is written in the ancient book of strange tales, 'Zi Bu Yu'."

In reality, the corpse driver uses his own yang energy as a candle to illuminate the way back to the underworld; this is called "playing a role," rather than simply "driving."

If you can master this role-playing method and the power to control zombies, commanding this zombie inside the Tower of Babel will not be difficult..."

Xu Lindong immediately sensed the temptation in her words.

The other party only explained the surface of the corpse-driving performance method; true understanding obviously requires more intricacies.

This is bait; we're just waiting for him to ask us questions.

"The method of corpse refining is completely different... It is not the transfer of spirits in western Hunan, but originates from the ancient Nuo shaman's 'refining the form and guarding the soul' tradition."

"In the past, before the extraordinary era, some Maoshan Taoist priests practiced corpse refining by following this path."

"But without the support of extraordinary divine power, this path was ultimately impassable at that time."

"The process of refining a corpse requires bathing in cinnabar and peach soup. The purpose is not to create a malevolent spirit, but to temper one's own Dao heart through the process..."

Xu Lindong's heart skipped a beat, and a message suddenly appeared in his mind, which he couldn't help but blurt out:

"I once read a book called 'The Corpse Transformation,' which mentioned that craftsmen used their blood as a bond to cultivate some kind of 'immortal body.' The more the corpse was refined, the more resilient it became, while the mind became clearer and clearer..."

Houtu Niangniang paused slightly before continuing:

"He has some understanding."

The corpse is like a mirror, reflecting your steadfast adherence to your own 'existence'.

"This is the highest realm of corpse refining: using the corpse to prove one's heart, preserving vitality and one's true nature in silence..."

"In other words, if I were to learn the art of corpse refining and create my own zombie, I must stay true to myself and remember that I am a living person, not a real zombie."

"But at the same time, one must cultivate by getting close to zombies in every way... It's extremely difficult to strike the right balance; a slight misstep can easily lead to being caught between two evils and suffering the consequences..."

Xu Lindong understood something deeper, but then suddenly became alert.

Before he knew it, he had become somewhat hooked and started communicating with this Houtu Niangniang.

A soft chuckle suddenly came from upstairs.

"Would you like to hear 'The Kitchen God' again?"

After saying that, she continued without waiting for Xu Lindong to refuse.

The "Sacrificial Rites" section of the Book of Rites records "the Kitchen God in the Central Hall," which is not just the folk saying "telling on someone behind their back."

The best way to play the role of a kitchen official is to "observe the fire and understand the heart".

The fire in the stove reflects the smoke from the cooking fire, revealing the joys and sorrows of human life.

Those with shallow understanding can discern the nature of good and evil through the everyday experiences of life.

Those who gain deep insight can open the "heart's mirror stove," reflecting the true nature of good and evil from the fire within their hearts, thus touching the authority of the stove god and becoming able to report on others...

"Heart fire?"

Xu Lindong was stunned for a moment, feeling even more that the depth of the sequence was unfathomable.

He had long understood the arrival of the Kitchen God, but he had not yet figured out what the Heart Fire was, let alone how to open the Heart Mirror Stove.

Even a small sequence of ten contains profound knowledge.

The reason why many kitchen officials often suffer from the backlash of extraordinary matter is probably because they have too shallow an understanding of their own sequence and have not explored it enough.

Houtu Niangniang's tone turned calm.

"Remember, the key to corpse driving is 'delivering', the key to corpse refining is 'guarding', and the key to the kitchen official is 'observing'."

These three things are not superficial; they lie in the alignment of one's inner self with the sequence of pathways.

The essence of the role-playing method lies in "sincerity" rather than "skill".

If you reflect on the corpse with your heart, the corpse will become your fellow Daoist.

"Fire illuminates the heart, and fire is a mirror..."

Xu Lindong's heart skipped a beat, and he blinked: "Those last two sentences are a wake-up call for me."

"If you can 'reflect on the corpse with your heart,' you can understand the method of corpse-driving performance."

If one can "use fire to illuminate the heart," one can grasp the true essence of the Stove God, using the fire of the heart to reflect the heart's mirror stove, reporting good and evil in the human world above, and bestowing blessings below... reporting on others...

He took a deep breath, his expression solemn.

Although he believed in his heart that Houtu was no benevolent person and did not want to owe her too many favors.

But just now, my body was unusually honest.

He got every single word from the other party for free, and he's heard it all now.

He doesn't want to give the money, but he wants the goods.

The key point is that the other party did indeed pull out the real deal, and every word was precious.

This is all information that he cannot find on the internal network of the Department of the Supernatural or learn on his own, perhaps because he currently lacks sufficient access.

Regardless, he now has no choice but to accept this favor.

"Thank you for your guidance, senior."

After a moment's thought, Xu Lindong raised his hand in salute, then spoke after a moment's hesitation:

"However, merit is also very important to me. If too much is consumed, I myself may be suppressed in this tower... Please understand, senior."

This is a matter I will certainly consider carefully in the future.

He didn't leave anything out entirely.

Besides feeling indebted, it was also because they didn't want to offend this person directly.

It is indeed necessary to observe Houtu Niangniang for a while longer before making a decision, lest this great deity of unknown depth be released.

Even if he were to take any action in the future, he should first test the waters to see if the Empress Houtu is truly harmless before releasing her directly.

Otherwise, if this guy comes out and casually crushes him to death and takes the Tower of Babel, then we'll be in big trouble.

It seems the other party is clearly controlled by the Tower of Babel and needs his help, which is why they're being so agreeable...