For ten years I practiced Gu poison in Southeast Asia; all living beings revered me as a deity.

Luo Feng composed himself, still utterly shocked, his scalp tingling. Judging from Diao Wudou's words, could this Nine Incomplete Ancestor be an evil spirit?

Moreover, his own feeling was that the Nine Incomplete Ancestor was a hundred times more ferocious and terrifying than any ghost he had ever seen before!

"alright."

Diao Wudou took a drag on his cigarette and exhaled a thick cloud of smoke.

"After paying respects to the Nine Incomplete Ancestors, please get up... In our sect, this is considered the completion of the initiation. Next, I will examine your face and physiognomy to predict your fate."

As he said this, he took out two more items from the altar. One of them was a wooden ruler, like the kind a carpenter uses, with many complex and profound characters on it.

The other item was an ordinary iron abacus.

According to Diao Wudou, one of these two items was used to examine bone structure and facial features, while the other was used for divination and fortune telling.

"This wooden ruler was passed down by the temple priests of the past. It is called the Mysterious Woman Ruler, which is over nine inches long... It has two sides, Yin and Yang, and can explore the mysterious and measure the strange. Its wonderful uses are endless."

The old man gently kicked with his right foot, hitting the back of his knee.

Luo Feng involuntarily knelt on one knee. Before he could struggle, Diao Wudou pressed down on his shoulder and pressed one hand against his face.

"Disciple, don't move."

The old man took out the Mysterious Woman Ruler and held it up to his face, gesturing to indicate his name.

This wooden ruler has the characters for "benefactor," "natural disaster," "heavenly wealth," "official rank," "loneliness," and "assistant minister" printed on one side, and "ruler," "minister," "people," "things," "yin," "yang," "military," and "elephant" printed on the other side. Each character occupies one square. Each square has four smaller squares representing different destinies and fortunes: auspicious, inauspicious, yin, and yang.

Diao Wudou squinted slightly and muttered to himself, "Alright, the face isn't bad, but what about the bone structure?"

He withdrew the ruler, pressed his right hand against Luo Feng's head and face, and pinched it a few times.

Finally, the old man touched the top of his head and pressed his thumb against his jawbone, as if searching for something.

Then, Diao Guangdou shook his head and reached out to touch the back of his head.

"what?"

The old man's voice sounded somewhat surprised and uncertain.

"Why is there a dent in the back of your head? It wasn't like this before, was it?"

"It's dented?"

Luo Feng recalled for a moment and murmured, "It seems like I was pushed before and hit the back of my head. This area looks a little different than before..."

"..."

Upon hearing this, Diao Wudou remained silent.

"Master, is this a good thing or a bad thing?"

Luo Feng saw that he didn't say a word.

"hey-hey."

Diao Wudou was amused upon hearing this.

"Good news, of course it's good news, a great thing... You should know that the indentation at the back of your head is shaped like a lotus flower, and it's called the Lotus Indentation. People with this kind of bone structure in the world are either born with a childlike destiny or are destined to have auspicious stars in their lives."

"As far as I know, folklore holds that neither of these two types of fate is a good thing, right?"

"That's true for ordinary people, but for us Datuks, it's a great thing."

Diao Wudou smiled.

"Lotus hollow, lotus hollow, only immortals and gods sit in hollow... Only immortals and bodhisattvas sit on lotus platforms. Having this lotus hollow proves that it will be much easier for you to cultivate the 'immortal techniques' of this sect than for ordinary people."

"But I didn't have this 'Lotus Hollow' before?"

Luo Feng smiled wryly: "It's just from falling down that the back of my head is like this."

"There aren't that many coincidences in the world. Besides, it's not like a dent in the back of your head makes it a lotus flower dent. Your 'lotus flower dent' on the back of your head is the real deal..."

At this point, the temple keeper took out an abacus, asked Ding Miaosheng for his birth date and time, closed his eyes, and moved a bead with his finger, calculating his birth date and time in his mind.

After a series of clattering sounds from the abacus beads, Diao Wudou suddenly opened his eyes wide.

His hand movements slowed down considerably, and his fingers, which were used to move the abacus beads, moved more slowly.

At the same time, the old man looked at Luo Feng with astonishment and a hint of doubt.

How strange!

With a soft snap, the beads collided with the abacus and finally came to a stop.

Old Man Diao pursed his lips, and his expression returned to normal at that moment.

"Teacher, is there a problem?"

"Your destiny and fate..."

Old Man Diao stopped mid-sentence, as if he wanted to say something but then stopped.

"Yes or no……"

Luo Feng pressed further, "Is there something wrong with my destiny?"

"Not really. It's just that your destiny indicates you face three major hurdles, each very dangerous. However, as long as you can overcome them, you will turn misfortune into good fortune and avert disaster!"

Diao Wudou's expression also became serious.

"Fortunately, your first hurdle is still three years away, so we have time to prepare."

"Yeah?"

Luo Feng thought that three years later, there was nothing to worry about. He then asked, "Within the Eight Characters School, which branch should I join, and which Yin Master should I study under?"

"Well..."

Old Man Diao looked troubled.

"Your bone structure and destiny are quite unique. You could try the 'Separation Gate' and invite Master Daoliang; or you could try the 'Harm Gate' and seek help from Master Hekou... However, finding a spirit master depends on fate and which spirit master is more suitable for you."

"it is good."

Luo Feng nodded.

The old man laughed again.

"We're going to the mass grave tonight to hold the ceremony of invoking the Yin Master... I'll take this opportunity to teach you the incantation for invoking the Yin Master, along with the Lotus Step, the Seven Star Step, and some basic techniques."

After speaking, Diao Wudou cleared his throat.

"Let me first teach you the incantation to summon the Yin Master: The sky is vast, the earth is yellow. A glimmer of spiritual light hangs in all directions, the gentle breeze and bright moon invite me to come..."

Next, the old man taught him the incantations for summoning the spirit master for the "Separation Gate" and "Harm Gate" gates, and explained the basic skills of the Datuk lineage of shamanic practitioners, and then stepped forward to demonstrate them himself.

Luo Feng diligently memorized the incantations, footwork, and various ritualistic movements, learning them all in one go.

Diao Wudou was quite skilled at teaching his apprentices, explaining things in a simple and easy-to-understand way.

Luo Feng was also a smart man with a good memory, and by dusk he had learned almost everything.

"Alright, these are some basic skills for the frivolous boy."

Diao Wudou ordered him to stop.

"You learn quickly, but when you consult a spirit medium, you need to be bold and careful. Simply memorizing quickly isn't enough; you must thoroughly understand and master this knowledge..."

The temple keeper said in a deep voice, "You can continue practicing here. I'll have Uncle Dumb prepare some food for you. After you finish your bowl, go practice in the outer hall... If you get tired, take a short rest. There will be more work to do after midnight."

Diao Wudou ordered him to continue practicing these basic skills and then left.

After finishing his meal, Luo Feng studied quietly for a while, and then the mute old man arranged for him to sleep in a place. When the second watch of the night approached, he was woken up again.

"Disciple, it's almost midnight!"

Diao Wudou patted his face.

"Get ready, we're about to set off... Also, bring your eating bowls."

After saying that, he took his pipe and went outside.

"Yes."

Luo Feng got out of bed, put on his outer coat, and followed behind Diao Wudou, still holding the rooster bowl in his hand.

……

……

Mass grave.

A burst of gongs and drums rang out.

"On this auspicious day and time, when heaven and earth are in harmony, let us burn incense on the spot, its smoke rising gently, for the immortals will surely arrive..."

In front of the joss paper basin, Diao Wudou was standing in front of an eight-immortal table, burning paper money with both hands.

Before the desolate mountain tombs, a gust of wind swept by, scattering the half-burnt paper money into the sky, where it turned into clusters of star ash upon landing.

"We beseech the Heavenly Court above, and the Underworld below, and the Five Directions and Five Earthly Dragon Gods, the Tang and Fan cross-sea Dadu Gong, and in between, the left and right tomb neighbors of the underworld, and the right worshippers, some riding the wind, some riding horses and cracking whips, some rowing boats. Every palace must come, every temple must come... We beseech from across mountains, and they will respond; we beseech from across land, and they will respond; we beseech from a thousand mountains, and they will respond; we beseech from ten thousand mountains, and they will come!"

After reciting the incantation, Diao Wudou took a breath, some sweat on his forehead, a hint of fatigue in his eyes, and his gaze fell on the joss paper basin.

The iron basin was burning fiercely, and the paper money floated into the air, falling like snowflakes.

A lot of paper ash had fallen onto Luo Feng's hair. He was kneeling in front of the iron basin, holding a rooster bowl filled with wine in both hands.

At this moment, he was also secretly looking around. On the octagonal table, there was a large tray with fruits and offerings.

In front of the tray was a small incense burner with a few sticks of incense burning, and next to it was a long white candle, burning softly.

Luo Feng looked behind him and saw eight long banners. On the black banners were printed flutes, cloud-shaped clappers, lotus flowers, fans, fish drums, flower baskets, gourds, swords, and some crooked runes.

"Master Diao, if you are tired, I may invite a spirit medium for your junior brother."

Behind Diao Wudou, a hoarse voice rang out. A middle-aged man lowered his voice and said, "You can rest for a while."

The speaker was a man wearing a gray long gown. He had short hair, graying temples, a backpack slung over his left shoulder, and thick-soled cloth shoes on his feet.

The man's right hand held a wooden stick wrapped with white silk, the kind of mourning stick used in folk tradition.

The middle-aged man's name was Liu Guangyang, and he was also one of Diao Wudou's disciples.

Liu Guangyang had the appearance of a kind and generous person, and he always respected Diao Wudou. He noticed that Diao Wudou was a little tired, so he offered some words of advice.

"No need, this little thing won't tire me out."

Diao Wudou waved his hand expressionlessly and said, "A Shou, come here and bring the things over."

At his shout, another tall disciple came over, carrying a tray in one hand and a rooster in the other.

"Master Diao."

The disciple, known as Ashou, handed over a tray containing scissors, joss paper, and a copper coin, along with the chicken.

Diao Wudou didn't take the tray; he simply reached out and picked up the chicken. With his free left hand, he grabbed a pair of scissors from the tray.

A hint of murderous intent gleamed in his cloudy old eyes.

At that moment, the rooster seemed to sense its future fate and let out a series of unwilling "cluck cluck cluck".

Unmoved, Diao Wudou slit the chicken's throat with a single snip of the scissors. He then dripped the rooster's blood into the rooster bowl in Luo Feng's hand, who was kneeling on the ground.

"Holding a golden rooster, I offer sacrifices to all spirits. The golden rooster crows, changing the sun and moon. This rooster is no ordinary rooster; it is the rooster that crows in the blessed land of immortals... With this rooster, I nourish all spirits, and I pray to the heavens. With my master by my side, the celestial evil returns to heaven, the terrestrial evil returns to earth, the yearly evil returns to the year, and the monthly evil returns to the month..."

The chicken blood dripped into the wine, turning the rooster bowl red.