After the era when gods and humans lived together ended, the Shang Dynasty still practiced the worship of spirits and deities—whether in war, grazing, farming, or praying for rain—all required divine guidance.
It wasn’t until the ergence of the Haotian Taoist Sect that worship of spirits gradually shifted to the worship of Haotian, the sky itself. And the Cultivation thod in the world also shifted from bloodline inheritance to cultivation based on the Spirit Vein.
Because of that ancient history involving the secretive origins of the Haotian Taoist Sect, successive Heads of the Haotian Taoist Sect spared no effort in covering up and eliminating information, keeping secrets locked away within Taihao Mountain. This also led to the stagnation of the Central Plains Dynasty’s understanding of history prior to the Shang and Zhou dynasties, remaining fixed at the stage of myth and legend.
In fact, one reason the Supre Mysterious Sect was able to begin studying the Golden Stone Study ahead of others was because of their imnse power and secretive actions.
Another reason was that during the Pre-Sui Period, several Heads of the Haotian Taoist Sect died prematurely, either unnaturally or due to misfortune. This caused incessant turmoil within Taihao Mountain. The most likely candidates for succession, the Priests, kept attacking one another internally, severely weakening their control over worldly dynasties, which allowed sects such as the Supre Mysterious Sect to grow unchecked. This, in turn, led to the expansion and eventual empowernt of the Academic Palace, emboldening them against the Haotian Taoist Sect.
Yu Yong showed little interest in this historical secret, but Ji Xingwang, who had been studying the Golden Stone Study, was extrely excited.
He gently brushed his palm over the inscriptions, rubbing out a substance resembling a thin paste and murmured, "Baiji Water..."
"Has Brother Chu been here?" Guan Anyan asked excitedly.
The *baiji* herb, when dissolved in water and boiled, becos a viscous glue and is one of the tools used for making impressions in the Golden Stone Study.
The imprint of Baiji Water was still clear, aning that not long ago, soone had co here to make an impression on the Stele—evidently Chu Haoman.
"Um. Haoman arrived here before us and must have also obtained so information. Now, we just need to figure out the text on the Stele."
Ji Xingwang crouched down, parsing the text on the Stele word by word, sentence by sentence, with difficulty.
Guan Anyan asked, "Teacher, what does this Chewed script an?"
"Jia Wu divination... Zhen... do not... today... use... *ér*..."
Ji Xingwang shook his head, stood up, and said, "It’s no use. These characters have eroded away quite a bit; they cannot be fully read. We can only make rough guesses.
In this sentence, Jia Wu is the date of divination.
Zhen refers to a diviner who specifically queried deities in the Shang Dynasty.
And *ér*, according to the *Zuo Zhuan, Second Year of Duke Xuan*, ans ’to cook until tender.’ It sounds like on the day of Jia Wu, they consulted a deity, received a certain result, and cooked sothing thoroughly."
"Did people in the Shang Dynasty need to divine even for cooking and eating?"
Yu Yong frowned. Before Ji Xingwang could explain, the sound of drums and music approached from afar.
Those Qi Shui villagers, holding lanterns and carrying fishing nets, were walking up the mountain.
"Let’s hide."
Ji Xingwang imdiately retreated with the two of them deep into the dense forest, setting up a soundproof talisman and other talismans to conceal their presence, quietly watching the villagers’ actions.
Dusk had arrived, and the Qi Shui villagers seed even more stiff and numb, so with twisted limbs and hazy outlines, just a step away from turning into evil ghosts.
Yet, still driven by a force in the netherworld, they rigorously followed the ceremony protocol, as if performing for non-existent gods and tourists.
Those villagers, dressed in ragged clothes and appearing as their refugee ancestors, circled the lake several tis, continuously emitting dreamlike moans, sotis falling and then standing.
And the drum band, intensely focused, played loud, chaotic music.
It was unclear whether the dance was originally like this, or if it was because the perforrs had already turned into evil ghosts, but the entire process exuded an abnormal, chilling atmosphere. The three hiding in the shadows felt an icy chill run through their bodies, their senses trembled, and an inherent disgust, annoyance, and fear surged within them.
After an unknown amount of ti, the dance finally ended. The villagers brought out a heavy, square wooden table covered with a red cloth—the shape of sothing bulky was clearly outlined beneath it.
Soon, Ji Xingwang and the others knew what it was, as one villager lifted the red cloth, revealing several neatly arranged platters of mixed grains on the table.
The villagers poured the mixed grains into the lake, causing splashes in the water, and the nurous black fish that had been swimming there quickly surfaced, eating the grains.
SPLASH—
Seizing the opportunity, the villagers imrsed their fishing nets into the lake, knelt on the ground, and prayed.
"Teacher..."
Guan Anyan whispered, "The shape ford by the placent of that grain..."
"I know, it resembles a person."
Ji Xingwang inhaled sharply. "The head is rice, the body is millet, the heart is sorghum, the arms are wheat, and the legs are beans. It forms a human shape. This is probably simulating the scene when the Qi Shui God initially subrged into the lake at the establishnt of Qi Shui Village..."
"AAAAAH!"
A sharp shriek interrupted Ji Xingwang’s words.
In the lake, the group of fat black fish, after swallowing the mixed grains, did not fall into the fishing nets. Instead, they moved through the gaps in the nets and escaped.
This event seed to have brought imnse fear to the Qi Shui villagers. They stopped their drumming and performances, gathered by the lake, and peered into the water, emitting frightened cries.
GLUG GLUG.
The surface of Qi Shui Lake, like boiling soup, continuously bubbled up. The uneaten grains, carried by the bursting bubbles, splashed towards the shore.
"Is this part of the ceremony, or has the celebration failed?"
Yu Yong asked reflexively.
The water in the lake continued to churn like boiling water, forming a vast flood that extinguished the lanterns, washed away the riverside soil, and broke the trees along the shore.
The black fish in the lake were washed ashore and stranded.
Looking around, countless black fish piled up on the ground, on trees, and on rocks, making one wonder just how deep the lake was and how nurous the fish were.
The Qi Shui villagers, far from being joyful about the bounty of fish, scread in panic. They retreated and, through the fallen and broken forest, saw Ji Xingwang and his two companions hidden in the woods.
"..."
All the villagers froze on the spot, their eyes lifelessly staring at the three outsiders.
"Run!"
Without ti to think, Ji Xingwang threw several talismans forward, grabbed Yu Yong and Guan Anyan with both hands, used the Feather Fall Technique, and glided down the mountain.
Those villagers, having undergone Half-demon ghostification, had seemingly identified them as the culprits disrupting the celebration and furiously pursued them.
The wind whistled past their ears. Ji Xingwang applied a Feather Fall Talisman to both Yu Yong and Guan Anyan, allowing them to glide on their own. He then turned around, his magic unceasing, casting spells at the pursuing villagers who had turned into crazed evil ghosts.
Binding Fire, Earth Splitting, Thunder Strike, Wind Claw...
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
As a Cloud Patrol Realm cultivator, Ji Xingwang went all out. Thunder struck straight down, and fierce flas raged through the forest. Over a dozen pursuing evil ghosts were blown away, but even more used their falling montum to continue their assault.
"Wood harbors yang energy, and when refined, it ignites. Burning endlessly creates Fla Mountain..."
Seeing this, Ji Xingwang’s eyes flashed fiercely. He ford a Magic Formula with his hands and swept downwards heavily from below.
WHOOSH—
A fierce wind followed the trajectory of his hands, blowing up the mountain. As it passed through the forest, it heated abruptly, directly igniting the air and setting the woods ablaze, creating a nearly one-hundred-and-eighty-yard-long fire line on the mountainside.
Cloud Patrol Realm·Fla Mountain Technique
Wind aided the fire’s force, and the fire borrowed the wind’s power. The fire line swiftly spread, distorting the very air, and the evil ghosts plumting downwards were blocked outside it.
"This should buy us a quarter of an hour, perhaps half that much ti."
A pale-faced Ji Xingwang breathed a sigh of relief and landed with Yu Yong and Guan Anyan, his legs involuntarily weakening.
"Hold steady."
Yu Yong supported Ji Xingwang and suddenly heard footsteps approaching from afar.
He sharply turned his head towards the woods, raised his arm, his palm clutching a dagger ready to throw.
"Wait, it’s !"
A frantic Yu Shusheng erged from the mist, panting as he urgently spoke, "I just ca from the gravehill. Liao Kaifeng and Yan Yan, who were with , have already died and turned into evil ghosts.
Liao Kaifeng was killed once, and I also shook off Yan Yan, but he might co over at any mont. We better leave imdiately..."
"Not so fast."
A deep voice ca from the mist. Li Ang stepped forward, casually throwing a fat black fish on the ground.
"You..."
Ji Xingwang looked at the black fish, instantly realizing, "You’ve been to Qi Shui Lake? Was the disturbance in the lake earlier caused by you?"
"Not . To be precise, it was your disciple, Chu Haoman."
Li Ang said lightly, "We should head towards the Qihuai Niangniang Temple now. Yu Shusheng, along the way, you can tell about its origins."
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