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

"Malay sorcery..."

Luo Feng's eyelids twitched violently.

The surrounding air density also changed abruptly. The stilted house burning with green flames, the family of five standing under the eaves—the strange and eerie scenes before his eyes made his face grim and terrifying.

A unique and sinister aura began to emerge, and Luo Feng suddenly trembled.

He had a growing sense of unease.

"Yes, this is an exceptionally powerful form of witchcraft."

Liu Guangyang's tone was very solemn, clearly indicating that he knew the origin of this evil art.

"Junior Brother Miao Sheng, please be very careful..."

This senior brother Liu also felt that eerie and sinister aura, which seemed to be floating in the surrounding air.

The five "human candles" standing there exuded a special aura, and the air was filled with the smell of wax.

This smell seemed to push the surrounding air aside, yet it also enveloped everything around it—between the trees, between the bushes, in the hollows of decaying wood, in the shadows of weeds… In all the darkness, something was slowly approaching, and the plants and trees together emitted a low rustling sound.

Luo Feng clenched his fists, a chilling tension gripping his heart. Despite the sweltering summer heat, cold sweat trickled down his forehead.

"What...what is this?"

The old imam took a step back.

The elderly Malay man's voice was hoarse from fear.

"If I'm not mistaken, this should be a kind of sorcery that only Malay shamans would know. The methods are bizarre, extremely ruthless, and cruel."

He quickly explained that this was a black magic practiced by Malay shamans called "living candle," a spell that could turn the living dead into human candles.

When the candle is lit, it is like a lamp that lures moths, attracting all sorts of restless and wandering ghosts.

"Lonely ghosts shouldn't be that difficult to deal with, right?"

Luo Feng thought of the strength of the Immortal Master Liang he had previously displayed; dealing with ordinary ghosts would have been a one-sided affair.

"That's just an ordinary ghost."

Liu Guangyang's voice became more serious.

"If we attract a vengeful spirit, it will be enough to get us both into serious trouble... The worst part is, if we gather a family of five, their intense resentment and corpse aura could attract something even more ferocious!"

His gaze was fixed on the family of five. The heads of the candles were still burning, but their faces and features had turned into a strangely colored, viscous liquid, dripping down like wax.

Before Liu Guangyang could finish speaking, the old imam let out a scream, cursed a few times in Malay, and stumbled away into the distance.

"Grandpa, don't run!"

Liu Guangyang quickly tried to call out to the old imam.

"You can't walk...you can't run around now!"

His voice did not stop the old imam; the old man was quite fast and rushed into the dark woods in just a few steps.

However, as the old man ventured deep into the durian plantation, a horrifying scream suddenly rang out.

"Hey! Rushing out like this now is definitely going to cause trouble."

Liu Guangyang pursed his lips tightly.

"Forget it, people have to save themselves... In any case, we need to break this evil spell of 'living human wax' first. Junior Brother Miao Sheng, don't move around. Stay here and protect me."

As he spoke, one end of the mourning stick was driven into the ground.

"May the gods of the four directions protect our home, and may the dragon veins of the five directions and five lands rise!"

With a wave of his sleeve, Liu Guangyang scattered colorful pieces of paper, as if they were being blown by a strong wind, making a sound.

Those weren't ghost money or paper money, but rather sheets of paper with colorful patterns. These were similar to paper money for making offerings, and they were decorated with various images of "Manifesting the Way Bodhisattva".

Each of the "Manifestation Bodhisattvas" depicts a smiling face, but it is an eerie smile, stiff and indifferent.

Go!

Liu Guangyang gave a low shout, and the fluttering pieces of paper flew and spun around. Among them, five colorful paper vests seemed to be driven by some invisible force and flew towards the faces of the family of five.

The paper vests were pressed against the faces of the five people, and a strange thing happened: the flames above their heads trembled.

The next moment, the green flame shrank from large to small, hissed a few times, and then went out.

"call!"

Liu Guangyang also breathed a sigh of relief.

He knew the power of this evil magic; the witchcraft and spells practiced by Malay shamans had a completely different origin from those in Southeast Asia.

Liu Guangyang traveled to Kuching and even Borneo for a period of time. He heard some Malays say that Malay shamans practiced spells that could command a kind of ghost called "Zhenni".

According to Islamic scriptures, Jinn (or Jinnat) is a being that existed before humankind when God created heaven and earth and all things.

God created man from the dust, and created Zhenni from black, smokeless flames.

There are many kinds of spirits in the town. Some are like the mountain spirits and tree monsters that Chinese people are familiar with, while others are powerful ghosts.

The most powerful of these are known as the Ifrits, descendants of Iblis, fallen servants of the true God.

This is a deity with evil powers, known in ancient scriptures as "Siddhartha," and regarded by people as a powerful demon.

Those Malays also said that the malevolent beings feared by Europeans and called "demons" originated from the same source as this thing.

"Our Datuk lineage hasn't had much contact with Malay witchcraft either. Whether it's the 'Jinni' or some Iblis, neither I nor the 'Diao Shi' are familiar with these entities..."

Liu Guangyang went through his thoughts in his mind. He didn't know what "Zhenni" was either. The best way was to nip the dangerous situation in the bud.

If we extinguish all the "human candles," we should be able to avert the impending crisis...

"no."

Luo Feng's voice rang in his ears.

"Senior brother, something's coming from the right—"

"What did you say?"

Liu Guangyang looked at his junior brother.

Luo Feng didn't speak; his eyes were fixed on a certain direction to his right.

His talent for danger perception made him feel that something unseen and hidden was lurking in the night of this durian plantation, without a fixed shape or form; it was the night itself of this forest.

As Luo Feng's gaze was fixed on the darkness, he also seemed to be watched by another omnipresent gaze.

blah blah...

A series of chaotic footsteps sounded, and in the next instant, Luo Feng and Liu Guangyang both focused their attention on the direction of the footsteps, which came from deep within the durian forest. As the sound approached, flashes of fire could be seen.

It was a figure walking slowly towards them.

Luo Feng remained expressionless, his eyes narrowing sharply.

Liu Guangyang also pulled out the mourning stick with a slightly nervous expression.

The visitor was the same old imam from before.

Steam rose from the old man's neck, and liquid seeped from his face, turning his features into a sticky, filthy liquid, with the smell of wax wafting over.

Neither Liu Guangyang nor Luo Feng could describe what the smell was; they only felt a kind of decadent, intoxicating sensation.

The old imam, half-dead and barely alive, walked forward step by step.

"...You're here?"

Liu Guangyang also sensed that the old imam himself had become a kind of being, a vessel of some kind of power. Could it be that this evil spell of the living man's wax had not been broken?

He was pondering this.

Hiss!

On the other side, on the stilt house, five corpses stood. The paper talismans pasted on the heads of the five family members burst into flames, burning through the paper talismans, and the five "human candles" reignited.