Please control me, my divine being!

Red represents bloodshed and disaster, blue represents good fortune, so does black represent bad luck, or does it have some other meaning?

It looks sinister and eerie; it probably isn't a good thing.

"Well done," Zhou Qing praised, then offered a reminder:

"Qian Siliang, your business has been doing well lately, but there are many merchants and the industry is very complex in Jiang'an. Be careful in your actions."

Qian Siliang lowered his head and repeatedly agreed.

For some reason, when he looked into the eyes of the young prince today, he felt a chilling sensation, as if there were thorns in his back.

He stayed in the main hall for a while, feeling somewhat dazed, and didn't even know how he got out. However, the prince's advice kept echoing in his mind.

His Highness's reaction today clearly shows that he is quite satisfied with the gifts and is in a very good mood.

Therefore, these words are not a suggestion, but a real warning!

Qian Siliang felt worried and quickly walked out of the palace. He didn't linger on the street and rushed to the house he had just bought in Jiang'an City, intending to talk to his precocious daughter, who was the person in charge of the family who made the decisions.

After Qian Siliang left, Zhou Qing quickly picked out the special item from the box of antiques he had brought.

This is a knife-shaped coin.

Also cast in bronze, it is covered in rust and has an ancient feel to it.

Before the Great Wu Dynasty had established its rule over the world, various warlords were vying for power, and each region had its own currency, including knife-shaped coins.

Nowadays, however, these items are mostly used for collection and decoration.

Zhou Qing toyed with the knife-shaped coin in his hand and asked Zheng Chi, "This merchant from the north, Qian Siliang, has he established himself so quickly? Are these intricate local merchants and guilds able to accommodate him?"

Zheng Chi explained, "Young Master, he was a big merchant in the North, specializing in antiques and collectibles. He had many regular customers and knew several people from large trading companies. He had a good network of connections."

From what I understand, he also has connections with some tomb raiders, so he's quite well-connected in that line of work.

But don't worry, even if he had ten times the courage, he would never send you anything of dubious origin.

A tomb raider?

Aren't they just tomb raiders?

This line of work often deals with tombs, so maybe that's where the black aura above Qian Siliang's head came from.

Zhou Qing said, "Zheng Chi, do you think he often deals with those tomb raiders? Could he come into contact with some unclean things?"

I've been reading the tabloids sent by the government lately, and they're mostly filled with strange and supernatural tales, written with great seriousness.

Zheng Chi's face turned serious: "Young Master, the tabloids are just sensationalist nonsense."

The court has repeatedly tried to suppress matters of ghosts and spirits, but to no avail. The Prince was furious before, which is why he sent you back to the Jiang'an Prince's Mansion. You must never again venture into such matters or listen to these strange and superstitious tales.

Zhou Qing's heart skipped a beat.

This was the first time he had ever seen Zheng Chi so serious.

It seems that the previous incarnation must have done something extremely unorthodox to provoke the prince's fury, and this matter was also related to ghosts and gods.

Zhou Qing did not ask any further questions. He returned to the warm pavilion and, as before, drew up the ritual diagram.

Sacrifices, concerned about the amount of divine power, would try to choose better rituals. However, when offering sacrifices to oneself, without worrying about the efficiency of the conversion of divine power, there is no need for such trouble.

In the very center of the image, a knife-shaped coin is placed.

Zhou Qing began chanting the name of the Lord of the Blue Sea, and then the dizziness he had felt before returned.

This kind of ritual, which transforms real-world objects into game props, clearly consumes a lot of one's mental energy.

Perhaps adding more mental attributes could change this situation.

However, the offerings for the sacrifices were not easy to find, and the more points were added later, the more divine power was required.

Zhou Qing had already used up the two points of divine power left over from the last sacrifice on his spiritual senses.

The reason is simple: Intuition can make the game text more detailed and provide more information. Furthermore, the Intuition node connects three skill point allocation paths, making it very flexible.

Whether you advance towards the common skill "Tongue Toss," choose another path to obtain the common skill "Black Pact," or directly move to the next level of the skill tree and choose a higher-level common skill, it won't make a difference.

The only downside is that choosing to bestow the blessing "Spiritual Awareness" a second time, even for a small node, requires consuming two points of divine power.

The amount of divine power consumed by the three attribute nodes is positively correlated with the number of times blessings are bestowed.

This relatively free and growth-oriented approach to self-improvement also reflects, from another perspective, just how chaotic and difficult the path of spiritual practice truly is.

He's alright; he can make his own choices.

Other cultivators can only rely on luck to perform rituals, hoping that the gods will bestow worldly skills upon them.

Whether it's good or bad, it all depends on appearance.

After a bout of dizziness and tinnitus, the ritual was completed.

Zhou Qing immediately entered the game, and sure enough, on his item table next to the Destiny Dice Cup, there was a shrunken knife coin.

[Ancient Dynasty Knife Coins: These knife-shaped coins, imbued with a strong aura of battle and warfare, possess extremely powerful energy.]

The description of the bronze wine vessel last time was somewhat vague, but the description of the knife coin this time is surprisingly straightforward.

Zhou Qing speculated that this was probably due to the different efficacies.

With an extra item, Zhou Qing felt more confident about the rest of the game. He refocused his attention on the game and kept an eye on the progress of his only follower.

Upon closer inspection, there was indeed an unexpected bonus.

You travel with the convoy on the dirt road leading to the county town.

The oxcart moved slowly along the road.

The villages on both sides of the road were almost empty due to floods, evil sores, the suppression of religious sects, and the rampage of weasels. Although it was mealtime, no smoke rose from any of the chimneys.

As the county town approaches, more and more animals are active among the ruins of the villages, with weasels occasionally scurrying out of the grass.

You are on an oxcart when you suddenly hear faint cries for help coming from a deserted village.

As a cultivator blessed by the gods and who has undergone two sacrificial rites, this journey is not very dangerous for you.

Of course, you can choose to ignore this and continue on your planned route, but you might miss out on some extra rewards...

The options below are listed one by one.

Zhou Qing's eyes flickered slightly.

This is the first time the word "harvest" has appeared in the text, clearly stemming from the influence of heightened spiritual awareness.

The girl's combat power is now quite high, and she can control herself. In addition, she has game props as a trump card, so she naturally cannot let go of such unexpected events in the game text.

Seize every opportunity to become stronger.

Neither Qin Hongshi nor the Huang family are easy to deal with. They are likely to encounter danger when they enter the city, so they need to make more preparations.

Zhou Qing immediately decided to go into the village to investigate.

Li Qinghe, who was dozing off in the carriage, suddenly felt his body move against him and jumped off the oxcart.

The driver hurriedly called out, "Hey, young lady, we're almost at the county town! What are you doing getting off here alone? Let me tell you, it's not safe out here!"

Seeing that Li Qinghe ignored him, another person next to him urged in a low voice, "Don't worry about it. Anyone who dares to go to these deserted villages alone must be either crazy or have some tricks up their sleeve. It's better to avoid trouble. Let's go."