Who is spreading rumors that my filial piety towards them has changed?

"I've heard of it. The story I've heard is called 'Rotten Axe Mountain Story,' about a woodcutter named Wang Zhi..."

Elder Wei Youshi had only mentioned it casually to elicit his own words, but unexpectedly, everyone at the table started listening to Chu Mingkong's story, and they found it quite fascinating.

Although the Taoist sects in the two worlds are somewhat different, they share some similarities in their core principles.

After hearing the story, Yun Nongyu was even more moved. Coming to her senses, she asked, "Why have I never heard of this story before? Where is Rotten Axe Mountain? Who are the old man and the boy playing chess in this mountain? Which immortal is it?"

Although ordinary people call these cultivated beings "fairies," only they themselves know that they are merely cultivators and cannot be considered immortals.

Wei Qingning had just recovered from the grief of losing her beloved child to her mother, and now, upon hearing this story of "accidentally gaining a chance to become an immortal, unknowingly escaping the mortal world, and losing loved ones," she felt a little sad.

"Is this kind of predestined connection with the immortals a good thing or a bad thing?"

Chu Mingkong realized he had steered the conversation off-topic and couldn't answer the questions, so he said awkwardly:

"I heard it by chance, so why would Elder Shi bring up such a story?"

The old man with a braided beard slapped his forehead and said:

"I almost forgot the important thing. According to the tradition of witchcraft, this situation is actually the arrival of the 'yin hour'. The living cannot recognize the dead, and the dead do not know that they are dead. It is as if they have been in a dream for a long time. When they wake up, the sea has dried up and the rocks have crumbled, and the years have changed."

In reality, these people were truly dead, but they woke up due to the 'yin time' (a period of yin energy).

This record is related to a lineage of witchcraft that believes death is not the end, just as wandering spirits exist in the world. The creators of this lineage received inspiration from the 'yin time' and created a kingdom of witches.

Chu Mingkong felt something was off about the description. Could it be that those dead people, like the dog emperor, the crown prince, the fifth prince, and the Cui clan chief, were going to come back to life and attack him?

"Is there really a Kingdom of Witches? What is this lineage called?" he asked.

Elder Bamboo Beard's expression was solemn. He hesitated for a long time before finally speaking:

"I don't know, this really is just a legend, just like the Rotten Axe Mountain that Your Highness mentioned."

Chu Mingkong: "..."

Then why are you talking about it like it's really true?!

Chapter Thirty-Seven: The System of Witchcraft

Chu Mingkong was skeptical that this was just a legend; there might actually be a system similar to necromancy.

However, if the description of "yin time" is only at this level, then Chu Mingkong is still completely confused.

"I'd like to know more clearly about one thing: what impact will the Day of Supreme Yin have on this place? Will it be haunted by ghosts or something else? Will there really be fake dead people running around everywhere?"

This time, it was the elderly man with the mustache who responded:

According to the records of the witchcraft tradition, our ancestors never regarded these special days as dangers, but rather as opportunities, special chances to understand and perceive.

However, one thing is certain: because of this chaos of life and death, many large tombs will be opened, and those places where the dead are buried may indeed produce some "rotten axe men" (a legendary figure known for his unorthodox methods of survival), and secondly, some ghosts and spirits.

Elder Vesatu's statement is actually quite correct. Special times mean special opportunities. We cannot only focus on the dangers that come with opportunities. If there were no dangers, would it be called a special opportunity?

If it were just Chu Mingkong alone, he wouldn't care. No matter what happened, he could treat it as an opportunity to get a share. If some important person fell from grace, he might even be able to get a seat at the banquet.

But we haven't reached the point of disregarding Xiling yet; we can't just think about whether something will happen to us.

"Then we might really need to implement some kind of household registration system to distinguish who are our own people and who are 'outsiders' in the future. Could it be that ID cards are just for preventing time travelers?" Chu Mingkong muttered.

If Tianyalou were to struggle with this, he would surely come up with a solution: a token made of jade or a special metal, much like a sect elder's token.

Relying on this certification method, although Xiling's population is not large, given its productivity level, it's questionable whether everyone can have a certification plaque, mainly due to insufficient materials.

Never mind, let Tianyalou worry about this. If it's not difficult, why would they need to think about it?

"As for Gui Chong, this is actually easy to handle. There are quite a few disciples from Xiaoxiang Qin Academy and Wenqing Pavilion who have been stationed here. In the future, we can ask them to keep an eye on these situations."

These are the only two things I can think of for Xiling right now; anything more will have to wait and see.

After figuring it out, Chu Mingkong felt much more at ease. As for himself, he should focus on expanding his network of information sources and paying close attention to any signs of trouble or unusual activity emanating from the ancestral graves of others.

As soon as he gets any news, honest man Chu Mingkong has to dig up other people's ancestral graves!

He discussed the first two points with those around him to see if there was anything to add. Yun Nongyu and the two elders of the Wei family had no objections. Chu Mingkong immediately wrote a message to Tianya Tower, telling the elders of Tianya Tower to deal with the trouble of losing hair!

"By the way, why are two elders from the Wei family here? Could it be that the knowledge of the Wei family is all mastered by one person?" Chu Mingkong looked at the two elders, Wei Satu and Wei Youshi, with curiosity.

They didn't seem to have come together just to catch a glimpse of him; if that were the case, the Wei family had several elders.

The old man with the pigtail and mustache smiled and said:

"It's not that I had anything to do, but I heard from Li Lu that Your Highness encountered an ancient shaman, and I figured Your Highness would want to learn about the various systems of shamanism. Vesatu's explanation of these systems is rather biased, too biased towards the lineage of summoning spirits and ghosts, so that's why I came along."

As soon as the old man with the pigtail said that, the man with the mustache got angry and said:

"What do you mean I'm biased? If the lineage of summoning spirits and ghosts isn't strong, would our ancestors have focused solely on this lineage? Ancient texts record that the lineage of summoning spirits and ghosts is the strongest in terms of combat power. What's there to say!"

Chu Mingkong's lips twitched. This guy was definitely strong. If he could really summon any random god to help him, just one surprise attack would give his opponent a headache. The opponent would have no idea what kind of guy he would invite, or how strong the guy would be.

However, as strong as it is, the price is also "strong". Now, Uncle Wei Zhong is running around everywhere to pay off his grandfather's debts. He can't even talk about the details of the debt repayment, or his descendants will be implicated.

If paying off debts is "contagious," then Chu Mingkong would definitely use it as a despicable and shameless means to deal with his enemies.

Anyone who offends him will be "leaked," and his enemies will also be dragged into the mess to pay the price.

“Elder Wei Satu is right. I have experienced the power and wonder of the invocation ritual, and it is indeed unique.” Chu Mingkong softened his tone and then said to Elder Xiao Bianzi, “However, I would like to learn more about the witchcraft system. I would appreciate it if Elder Wei Youshi could introduce it to me.”

Elder Wei Youshi changed the tea several times. During this time, Elder Wei Satu would occasionally emphasize, "The 'Inviting Gods' school is the most powerful. Other schools should not be arrogant."

I can understand his feelings.

Despite trying out all sorts of weapons, Chu Mingkong prefers heavy weapons, even his spears are usually the heavier, more cumbersome type.

Through the "harassment" of the old man with the mustache, Chu Mingkong gained some understanding of the once mainstream witchcraft system.

Why "once mainstream"?

Because the existing traditions of witchcraft have basically been lost.

But he couldn't withstand the intense yin energy of the day; those old, dead things might rise from the dead and attack him!

The mainstream forms of ancient witchcraft included:

The generalization of "summoning gods and ghosts" is somewhat vague, because "summoning gods" and "summoning ghosts" are actually separate sub-categories. In simpler terms, it's about summoning creatures; the more you fight, the more enemies appear on the other side.

The practice of "cultivating Gu and researching poison" simply means combining Gu worms with pharmacology and toxicology. However, poison and Gu are inseparable, and pharmacology is essential to cultivating more powerful Gu worms.

Divination by talismans and incantations involves creating talismans, casting spells, and predicting good or bad fortune.

These three categories are basically the mainstream, but there are also some rare branches, such as the mysterious branch that was inspired by the "yin time" mentioned earlier.

As for the hierarchical division of the shamanic tribe in ancient times, this is a rather regrettable and confusing matter.

At that time, status often became prestigious because of the individual. If a priest suddenly became the strongest in that period, then "priest" became the highest-ranking symbol, and the ranking system could change at any time.

So when the Goddess of the Moon River mentioned "wizard," what level of power did this refer to...?

This feels like an unsolved mystery; let's just assume it's upper-middle class for now.

However, after Elder Xiao Bianzi explained it to Chu Mingkong, he did feel that many things of the Witchcraft Department had not been interrupted. The internal systems of Kunlun Daoist sect, such as invoking gods, alchemy, and talisman making, all showed the influence of the Witchcraft Department.

Before we knew it, the night had deepened.

Chu Mingkong escorted the Wei family back to their newly settled residence and returned to Qingxin Mansion.

"Come to think of it, I haven't looked for Madam Zhen since I came back from the Snow Mountain Tribe. I said I would make up for it later, but I've been having trouble finding peace everywhere."

Chapter Thirty-Eight: Go to Yongzhen and explain the ticket situation twice!

The ghostly incident at home was finally over, and the Gu family breathed a sigh of relief.

The family sat in the hall, listening to the maid read aloud the letter that Gu Jungui had sent back, and all of them beamed with joy.

Although they had breathed a sigh of relief when they learned that the female ghost Qiao'er had returned to the path of reincarnation, the story of the small town that Chu Mingkong then mentioned to them was still quite frightening.

The old master of the Gu family has decided that no clansmen are allowed to run around. They must sign in at a fixed time every day, for fear that those unclean things that are hard to distinguish between humans and ghosts will disguise themselves as clansmen and enter the Gu family mansion!

It's only been two days, and Chu Mingkong has already resolved the matter in that small town. Now he can finally relax.

The Gu family was filled with emotion. Even the maid who read the letter felt relieved the moment she finished reading the result, as if a weight had been lifted from her heart.

"It's truly bizarre. Something that looked so terrifying in the town was actually caused by a little child missing his mother... I feel like I'm no longer afraid of ghosts."

"This is not good. Jun Gui learned from that girl from the Wei family that many ghostly beings may have indeed suffered injustices in their lives, but cases like this are ultimately rare. Just because a ghostly being wronged in life doesn't mean he can kill or injure people at will after death, right? We still need to be more vigilant against ghostly beings!"

The old man interrupted the discussion and said loudly:

"However, we cannot be too careless. Jun Gui mentioned in his letter that His Highness mentioned that there will be a 'yin time' in a few days, which is a day with heavy yin energy, and ghostly occurrences will still be more frequent during this period."

For now, let's stick to the previous arrangements. We'll check on everyone twice a day, morning and evening, to make sure everyone is safe and sound!

After the old man finished speaking, he happily crossed his legs and savored the aroma of the tea.

Gu Wenkai was taken aback; the situation in the small town turned out to be a false alarm.

"So that means those people in the town won't turn into other people and do evil? Then I just got shocked for nothing?!"

Just as the maid reading the letter was about to put it away, another letter tucked inside the envelope suddenly fell out.

Huh? There's a letter inside?

"Wait a moment, sir, there is another letter inside."

Grandpa Gu, who had just picked up the birdcage and was about to take his bird for a walk under the moonlight, stopped and sat back down: "Nian, why are there two letters here?"

The maid glanced at it briefly, then her expression changed slightly, and she read aloud, awkwardly but politely:

"The haunted brothel that Wen Kai's son-in-law accidentally entered was controlled by a male evil spirit that crawled out of a grave. He only had a wet dream after entering. That haunted brothel is specifically designed to lure men in, absorb their essence, and help them rebuild their physical bodies. Three Taoist priests tried to enter to slay the demon, but they were caught in the trap. I hope Wen Kai's son-in-law will take good care of his health. Zi Xuan, please don't be too disgusted. He was just having a dream under the control of the male evil spirit."

The part about the Taoist priests going in to slay demons and monsters is Gu Jun Gui's embellishment of the trio of Taoist priests. Yun Nong Yu is in Qingxin Mansion, so we still have to give her some face and can't say anything too harsh.

The entire Gu family was silent...

Grandpa Gu originally wanted to take the opportunity to teach him a lesson and warn the clansmen to keep their eyes open and not to venture into those strange places again.

But the thought that Gu Wenkai had been voted into a trap by a male evil spirit, and that he was even dreaming about being controlled by that evil spirit, was truly...

Gu Wenkai froze on the spot.

Although it involved a ghost, it could at least be described as a one-night stand, but I never expected the truth to be like this...