Gou Zai Wu Dao Chao Shi Xing Nian Da Gong

Chapter 61 Evil Arts (Seeking First Subscription)

Several days later, late at night, in the alchemy room.

Zhou Futu pinched out a foot-long incense stick from the incense mold.

This is the Spirit-Seeking Incense he created based on the River God's Spirit-Seeking Treasure Method. The incense is orange-yellow with a hint of red and emits a strange fragrance.

The moment he succeeded in making it, he instantly grasped the secret method of making this incense to a perfect level. If he were to make it again, he would be able to do so with ease and produce the best-quality incense.

However, he did not continue making more, but instead prepared to try out the incense in front of him.

Zhou Fugan took the incense to the practice room, found an incense burner, inserted the incense sticks, and lit them.

Then, he closed his eyes, sat in meditation, and began to communicate with the unseen beings through the secret art of incense meditation.

"Sobbing, sobbing~~~"

Unintelligible chanting filled the room. Gradually, he felt his mind become confused, as if his soul had left his body. In a daze, a wisp of his consciousness floated away.

In his hazy state, he seemed to fly out of the room, across the courtyard, and westward, finally arriving at an abandoned courtyard, where he suddenly plunged into a dark, deep well.

Zhou Futu jolted awake, feeling dizzy, mentally exhausted, and covered in a cold sweat.

His expression shifted between light and shadow. This secret technique seemed to possess some mysterious power.

The moment he fell into the deep well, he seemed to see a glimmer of light within it. If he wasn't mistaken, that light must have been some kind of aquatic treasure. Whether it was or not, he'd find out tomorrow.

Moreover, this secret technique is quite mentally taxing. He hadn't felt this exhausted even after practicing martial arts all day.

Zhou Futu brought up the virtual interface, and sure enough, a new prompt appeared on it.

"The host has cast a spirit-seeking evil spell. Effect: Slightly strengthens the soul and allows the host to seek out aquatic treasures."

"Price: Frequent use will cause mental breakdown and madness. It will attract evil spirits to follow you."

"An exemption can be activated without incurring a cost, while retaining its effectiveness."

"Evil magic? Evil objects?"

Zhou Futu was taken aback. He had been cultivating for quite some time and had taken many tonics and precious medicines, but this was the first time he had ever seen something like this. He had heard of it in folk tales before, but those were just stories and not to be taken seriously.

"And it can even strengthen the soul?"

He had never seen any martial arts technique that could strengthen the soul. He never expected that this mere treasure-hunting secret method would have such an effect.

Although Zhou Fugan didn't know the benefits of strengthening his soul, he figured that older people like him often suffered from poor mental health, and strengthening his soul should improve his mental state, which might indirectly have the benefit of prolonging his life.

But where does such a great benefit come from? After all, it's just a secret technique that ordinary people can also perform.

"Firstly, the meditation technique seems to be some kind of astral projection method, which consumes a lot of mental energy. Secondly, the Spirit-Seeking Incense uses herbs that calm and nourish the mind. This is equivalent to consuming mental energy while simultaneously replenishing it. The effect of strengthening the soul may be achieved through this simple cycle of consumption and replenishment."

After pondering for a while, he roughly understood the principle behind this secret technique for strengthening the soul.

However, he still had some doubts: even if his soul left his body, how could he find the treasure fish and the medicine?

He couldn't understand the principle behind it, but fortunately, no matter how bizarre this evil magic was, it still couldn't escape the immunity of the cheat and had no effect on him.

However, Zhou Fugan was still very worried.

He wasn't afraid of this evil art, but his son, Zhou Guangshun, would definitely be. The best solution was to never come into contact with it again. However, he also knew that his son was stubborn, and if he forbade him from doing it, he would probably become depressed.

"Frequent use?"

Zhou Fugan studied it carefully again and quickly understood its meaning.

Ordinary people can only use this technique once every two weeks at most, during which time they can nourish their soul with the Spirit-Seeking Incense to offset the cost of using evil magic. However, for martial artists, it depends on their cultivation level; the higher the cultivation level, the more frequently they can use it.

"In that case, remind Guangshun to limit it to once a month at most; it shouldn't have much of an impact on his mental state. As for attracting evil spirits, with the martial artists on the ship protecting him, it shouldn't be a big problem."

After some thought, Zhou Fugan decided to go along with Zhou Guangshun for the time being. He could stop him later if he found anything amiss.

The next day, Zhou Fugan told Zhou Guangshun about the drawbacks of the secret technique and repeatedly warned him that this secret technique should not be used too often, once a month, no more.

"Father, don't worry. I mainly use the experience that my great-uncle taught me when searching for treasure fish. I only use this treasure-hunting secret method occasionally when it's crucial."

Zhou Guangshun readily agreed and then hurriedly left home.

Qingshan County, wharf.

Three boats, one large and two small, were moored on the shore, with various fishing nets and gear hanging on them, clearly indicating that they were a fishing fleet.

The fleet doesn't have many boats, but every single one is a masterpiece. Experienced fishermen know that ordinary fishing boats can only be used on the Blackwater River, while only these high-quality boats can safely enter and exit the Blackwater Marsh.

.

Zhou Guangshun strode towards the largest fishing boat.

"Hahaha! Brother Zhou, we've finally been waiting for you."

A hearty-looking middle-aged man on the boat laughed loudly and came forward to greet Zhou Guangshun, warmly welcoming him into the cabin. This man was Wu Chengshan, the third son of the Wu family.

Soon, the sails of the three ships unfurled, and they slowly left the dock, heading upstream along the Blackwater River.

In the distance, Zhou Fugan stood on the side of the street, watching from afar.

He had already secretly inquired about Wu Chengshan's background. He was an upright, generous, and chivalrous man who couldn't stand underhanded dealings. Because of this, he had a very bad relationship with the rest of the Wu family. This time, he was forming a fishing fleet because the Wu family patriarch had given him some resources, cut him off, and left him to fend for himself.

Wu Chengshan and Zhou Guangshun met when Zhou Guangshun was running a fish stall. Wu Chengshan bought fish from Zhou's fleet and they gradually became acquainted. They got along well and became friends.

Now that it seems Wu Chengshan truly respects Zhou Guangshun, Zhou Fugan feels somewhat relieved.

"A father truly worries when his son travels a thousand miles!"

Zhou Futu shook his head and sighed. But keeping his sons by his side wasn't an option either. All he could do was try his best to ensure the other party wasn't taken advantage of.

After secretly seeing his son off, Zhou Fu returned to the city.

Instead of going home, he traveled all the way to the west of the city, wandering through the streets and alleys until he arrived at a secluded alley.

There are about ten households in this alley, each with its own small courtyard, similar to their old house in Xingcang Alley.

Based on the blurry scene he had seen the previous night, Zhou Futu quickly identified the innermost courtyard. The gate to the courtyard was very dilapidated, and the lock on the door was severely rusted, indicating that it had long been uninhabited.

Seeing that no one was around, Zhou Fugan lightly jumped over the wall and entered the courtyard.

The courtyard was even more dilapidated, overgrown with weeds, and half of the houses had collapsed. The scene here was exactly the same as what he had seen last night.

Zhou Fugan spotted the well in the corner of the yard at a glance.

The wellhead is made of old, cracked bluestone, surrounded by overgrown weeds, and the stone walls inside are covered with moss. Looking down from above, one can see a pool of dark water.

Zhou Futu threw a stone into the water. With a splash, water rose, but there was no other movement.

He immediately grabbed a stick, then jumped down, stepping off the well wall to the bottom. The bottom of the well was exceptionally cool.

He took out a tinderbox and shone it on the water, while extending a stick underwater with his other hand.

The well water wasn't deep; the stick only had to go halfway down before it touched the bottom.

"Um?"

Zhou Futu's heart skipped a beat; he felt the stick poke something hard. He poked it with the stick, and sure enough, it was some kind of hard thing occupying the middle of the bottom of the well, surrounded by soft silt.

"Could this be the treasure?"

Zhou Futu pondered for a moment, then suddenly reached down with one hand. The well water was icy cold. His blood and energy were robust, so he didn't pay much attention to the chill. He quickly grabbed along the edge of the object and grasped a hard, flat one. It was extremely cold, like ice.

wow~~

He pulled hard, and the thing was pulled out of the water.

Zhou Futu leaped out of the well in a few quick movements, only then realizing that what he was holding in his hand was clearly a turtle the size of a washbasin. Presumably, it had been kept in the well by the original owner of the house.

The turtle stretched out its head to bite the man, but was smacked hard on the head and then withdrew its head, too afraid to show itself again.

The turtle's shell was covered in moss, and it exuded an icy aura, making it clearly unusual.

"This is a treasure turtle! It must be the highlight of the treasure I saw last night."

"In that case, the River God's method of finding spiritual treasures is still reliable."

Zhou Fugan thought to himself.

The chill emanating from the tortoise penetrated his body, so he circulated his blood and energy to dispel the chill from his hands.

Before long, he felt the tortoise was back to normal and no longer emanating coldness. Upon closer inspection, he found that the coldness was indeed gone, as if he had used it all up.

He thought about it for a moment but didn't pay much attention. Instead, he went back into the well and searched carefully. After confirming that there were no other treasures, he left with the treasure turtle.