Chapter 295: Was I Overthinking It?

"The rewards are quite substantial—this isn't just about eliminating malevolent spirits, but also about uncovering the little devils' conspiracy." Feng Xue felt the feedback from the devotional energy, nodding thoughtfully. He had to admit, in a world where heaven watches and ancestors know, it was comfortable: doing good required only action, while those who did evil had far more to consider.

Yet this system wasn't without flaws, for the human dao varied by region—people in war-torn areas had weaker moral standards, and their human dao's spiritual momentum was naturally more lenient; cultivators living under such conditions, upon arriving in peaceful regions, still remained attached to their original human dao system until they fully integrated into the local one.

This meant they could be far more ruthless than locals—that's what's meant by "foreign monks chant better sutras."

"Doesn't matter. If the human dao can't handle it, the Netherworld will. A bunch of little devils causing trouble on Jin Shen Zhou soil? The big bosses down below will deal with them. I'll just focus on how to spend this devotional energy."

Feng Xue shook his head, no longer dwelling on the little devils, walking toward his new home while pondering how to use his newfound wealth.

If this were when he first transmigrated, he'd have毫不犹豫 fed it all to the Jade Rabbit (though back then he didn't even have one), but now he still had over twenty years of lifespan, the Jade Rabbit still had the Sea World's faith reservoir, and Xiao Lingdang's "Magic Power Calculator" and "Artificial Intelligence" systems were still under development—no need to rush growing it.

Gidora, meanwhile, was meant to be an Outer Dao Nascent Soul; feeding it as a prop to grow it would be wasteful, and Xiao Lingdang had never lacked anything to begin with.

After much deliberation, Feng Xue decided to seal it away for now, waiting to see if research into impure devotional energy made progress before deciding how to use it.

Though it was already the first day of the New Year, Feng Xue felt no real sense of it, having been constantly on the move; moreover, entertainment in this world was extremely scarce, leaving him with absolutely no feeling of celebration.

Feng Xue turned Liu Yunxi back into human form and told her to prepare some late-night snacks, then resumed his previous research—first and foremost, the Transformation Technique, which had lacked a proper experimental environment in the online game world.

"But I can't borrow my own intellect—if it turns into a dumb 【哔——】 that can't even react, that'd be too stupid. Better to draw from Huiye's wisdom; she's got no brains anyway, and a few extra questions won't hurt."

Thinking thus, Feng Xue lit incense and candles, designing a ritual to "share the wisdom of the Moon and the God of Longevity with all beings," following Mei Luo's data combined with certain fasting and sacrificial rites—it wasn't overly difficult.

But like writing code, it was fundamentally a physical task; before he noticed, nearly an hour had passed.

"This should be enough. Though crude, there are plenty of big shots in this world—better not draw too much attention, to avoid misunderstandings."

Gazing at the offering table, its surface scribbled and scratched like a primary school desk passed down for decades, Feng Xue found a window where moonlight could enter, placed the incense and candles just right, ensuring the moonlight fell precisely on the table's center, then retrieved the exquisitely carved jade statue of Su'e Huiye.

The sculpture had been painstakingly shaped by Feng Xue using the Jade-Unlocking Method: still depicting a fairy in palace robes, feathered cloak draped over her shoulders, long hair flowing—but Feng Xue had subtly adjusted her posture to both hands cradling a medicine jar, as if offering precious medicine.

He placed the jade statue where the moonlight shone, and beneath the slightly tilted jar, set a Bai Yu cup.

Gently stimulating the spirit of the mindless虚空神, Feng Xue slowly released his cultivation energy, under Xiao Lingdang and Mo Ying's coordination, forming square, precise characters.

Compared to the ritual, the symbolic weight of the characters was heavier; in a sense, this was an act of "activating homogenized cognition in heaven and earth"—for example, the middle finger gesture carried insult in most cultures; here, on land where Hanzi was universally used, the characters themselves carried the finest ritual symbolism.

Moonlight and Feng Xue's cultivation energy slowly merged, guided by the characters, flowing through the ritual and pouring into the Su'e Huiye jade statue.

The statue, carved from the finest sheep-fat white jade, glowed with a soft luster, as if brimming with moonlight, about to radiate outward—but the moonlight did not truly disperse; instead, it obeyed Feng Xue's pre-set ritual, gradually condensing until it gathered entirely within the medicine jar held by Su'e Huiye's hands.

Translucent, milky-white, like nectar, like jade dew, yet seemingly congealed into paste, emitting a refreshing, soul-soothing fragrance.

"Worked? Feels different from what Mei Luo described." Feng Xue studied the drop of liquid, its appearance exquisite, frowning. Even Mei Luo himself could produce several bowls of Transformation Fluid to sprinkle into the sea—Huiye only gave him this much? Was it because of low intellect?

"Dinner's ready, come eat some… Huh? Where did you get Emperor's Flow?!"

Feng Xue was about to collect the "IQ Supreme Drop" when Liu Yunxi suddenly cried out—he froze, glanced at the statue, then at her, and asked blankly:

"Emperor's Flow?"

"Of course! What else could it be?" Liu Yunxi stared at the drop in the statue's hands, her expression growing increasingly complex. Feng Xue seemed to realize something, nodding:

"How do you preserve this?"

"You can't preserve it—or if you could, demons wouldn't be so rare. Aside from demonic lineage inheritance, only those who happened to encounter Emperor's Flow and absorb it during the one night every sixty years could awaken their spirit and become demons. Even elders wanting to awaken their descendants couldn't collect it—they had to take them out to receive it directly. Honestly, I'm surprised your statue can even hold it!"

Hearing this, Feng Xue waved his hand:

"Then forget it. Let's eat."

"Got it!"

…

"Why so much?" Feng Xue grinned at the table, piled high with enough food for twenty people. Liu Yunxi replied matter-of-factly:

"It's New Year's Eve dinner—should be lavish. Besides, with the Food Absorption Technique, nothing goes to waste. Still, we'll leave some leftovers—'surplus every year,' you know?"

"I know, I know." Feng Xue nodded, thinking: No wonder she's a snake from the Northeast Fox Sect—her speech was identical to those Northeast buddies from his past life.

But as he ate, Feng Xue sensed something off. He narrowed his eyes, scrutinizing Liu Yunxi:

"What's going on with today's dishes?"

"?" Liu Yunxi tilted her head. "Nothing unusual—all ingredients were delivered by the broker. I checked them—no problems."

"That's not what I mean." Feng Xue sighed, picking up a round, plump slice of meat.

"What's this?"

"Copper coin meat!"

"And this?" Feng Xue picked up another slice, cut into flower patterns and stir-fried with squid, its color brownish.

"Lamb kidneys!"

Feng Xue picked up a shell-covered item…

"Oysters! Freshly harvested—super fresh!"

"… " Feng Xue stared at Liu Yunxi, utterly unbothered and unaware of anything strange, and finally shook his head, dismissing it as his imagination—but inwardly he still muttered:

"That broker's got issues—why deliver nothing but these things?"

Yet upon reflection, it made sense—cultivators' cultivation inherently drained primordial energy; they did have a genuine need for yang-nourishing ingredients.

"Maybe I really am overthinking?" Feng Xue thought, then decided to eat. Honestly, the taste was quite good.

But…

"Wait—you came to my room wearing that sheer black silk qipao… am I imagining things again?"

(End of Chapter)