Chapter 10: Night Worship of the God

"Grandpa, you seem to be in a good mood today."

"That's true. I don't know why, but today my chest isn't stuffy, and I don't feel stifled. Many things suddenly opened up; it's really strange..."

"A person's life is just like that!"

Grandpa Li Gui's state today was very strange. Seeing the plaque damaged, he didn't get angry, and he even went to the fields at the village entrance for a few strolls, no longer squatting at the door puffing on his pipe like in the past.

Li Yan naturally understood in his heart.

The plaque was damaged, the Three Talents Demon-Suppressing Money inside fell out, the victory-winning evil curse against their family was broken, the three sharp blades hanging over their heads disappeared, and the human heart was naturally refreshed.

This kind of influence wasn't on the surface.

The old man could also feel it more or less.

It seemed to be because of his good mood, after eating dinner, Li Gui squatted at the door, puffed on his large tobacco pipe, and roared out an old Qin opera he hadn't sung for a long time:

"Wearing a gold circle and a rope hat, wearing a Nine Palaces Eight Trigrams robe. Waist tied with silk, returning to the Yang grass, wearing cloud-climbing shoes on the feet..."

"Mysterious, mysterious, mysterious, wonderful, wonderful, wonderful, I have traveled to the three mountains and five sacred mountains. If you ask my name and surname, turn my head and crack my neck, Shen Gongbao!"

Qin opera, Yellow River Array.

This world also has the Legend of the Investiture of the Gods, and it is widely circulated.

"Yellow River Array" is even more of a repertoire loved by young and old in Guanzhong.

In the room, listening to the Qin opera roared by his grandfather, Li Yan squatted on a stool, holding the Guanshan blade, grinding it on the whetstone one by one.

*Clang! Clang! *

The rough Qin opera and the grinding sound merged into one.

The sun set in the west, and Li Yan held the blade and looked carefully.

The sharp edge flashed!

The Earth Temple, also known as the Fortune Temple, originates from the ancient belief in the God of the Soil.

The *Book of Rites, Spring Officials* states: "Outside the Great Earth, there are Earth Gods and Land Gods, which are the names of the Earth Gods of later generations. The God of the Five Soils is the Society."

It can be said that it runs through folk beliefs from ancient times to the present.

Even the current imperial court issued a decree stipulating that for every one hundred households in a neighborhood, an altar should be established to worship the gods of the five soils and five grains.

Therefore, Earth Temples are spread all over the Kyushu territory.

Of course, the scale is different, and the prosperity of incense also varies.

The commoners in the Guanzhong territory mostly make a living by digging in the soil. They are not afraid of hardship or fatigue, but they are most afraid of the unpredictable wind and clouds of heaven.

Therefore, the incense at the Earth and Dragon King temples is very prosperous.

The Earth Temple in Li Family Fort is the same.

The Earth Temple here is not large, just built with blue bricks and yellow mud on the side of the road, building an earthen house more than one person high, with length and width not exceeding five steps.

It's called a temple, but it's more like a shrine, only barely able to shelter from wind and rain.

Inside are enshrined the Earth God and Earth Grandmother. Although their smiles are kind and approachable, because the painting is mottled and peeling, it is inexplicably eerie under the moonlight.

The incense ash and residual candles in front of the altar are piled like a mountain, and the surrounding trees are tied with red cloth strips for praying for blessings, which shows that the incense is very prosperous on ordinary days.

Today, the bright moon is like frost, and the night mist is dense.

A spark of fire came from the village, from far to near.

The person who came was Li Yan.

He was in coarse black cloth garments, with leg wraps, a Guanshan blade at his waist, a basket in one hand, and a lantern in the other.

To prevent being seen, he also wore a rain hat.

Walking alone in the dark night, there was inexplicably a sense of mystery.

Arriving in front of the Earth Temple, Li Yan raised his head slightly, his gaze like a torch under the rain hat, the cold intent terrifying.

Grinding the blade in the afternoon, wasn't it also honing the killing intent?

After confirming that there was no one around, Li Yan unloaded the basket in his hand, took out the fruit offerings and incense candles, and even a piece of roast meat and a jar of wine.

He placed them in order and lit the candles.

Li Yan rubbed his face, bloomed a brilliant smile, opened the mud seal of the wine jar, and said in a low voice: "Earth Grandpa, I've come to see you."

"To tell the truth, you watched me grow up. How should I say it? You count as an elder. I haven't come to burn incense before, it's my fault, but I can't just let that evil thing cause trouble..."

"Borrowing your precious land tonight, let's join forces to eliminate the evil. What do you think?"

Knowing that this world wasn't that simple, Li Yan naturally changed his face.

He was too lazy to burn incense on ordinary days. Whether it was useful or not, he had to say some nice words when things came to a head, so as not to have any more trouble later.

Don't say, this Earth Temple is indeed different.

A hundred meters away, he could smell the rich scent of incense. After he placed the offerings and lit the incense candles, he inexplicably felt a trace of warmth.

It was somewhat similar to the feeling the "Hundred Battles Mighty" plaque gave him, but it was gentler.

And the Three Talents Demon-Suppressing Money blade tassel in the red cloth bag at his waist grew colder and colder.

It seemed these were two completely different forces.

But the two forces didn't clash. According to what Widow Wang said, the Three Talents Demon-Suppressing Money was refined in the previous dynasty and consecrated by incense at the top of Mount Tai, becoming a magical artifact.

Yin and Yang restrain each other, but they can also fuse and complement each other.

Li Yan was still a layman, and he didn't understand the principles behind this.

But he could observe words and expressions, seeing that Widow Wang had no malice but sincerely wanted to eliminate the Cold Altar Chang Soldiers.

Thinking of this, Li Yan chuckled:

"Earth Grandpa, if you don't speak, I'll take it as you agreeing!"

After saying that, he lit three sticks of incense and prayed sincerely.

After inserting the incense, he respectfully kowtowed three times, and then, according to Widow Wang's instructions, unhooked the red cloth bag at his waist, took out the Three Talents Demon-Suppressing Money blade tassel, and offered it in front of the Earth Temple.

This time, he noticed the difference.

Although it looked like there was no movement, he could smell that the warm scent of incense around it was covering the blade tassel.

You know, he wasn't a person of the Mystic Sect and hadn't undergone cultivation.

After the blade tassel was blessed, the Guanshan blade was full of fierce evil qi. He used it for less than half a bag of smoke before feeling his whole body cold, unable to resist.

The blessing of the Earth Temple's incense could allow him to use it for a longer time.

Seeing that there was no accident, Li Yan breathed a sigh of relief, stood up, circled the Earth Temple a few times, and recorded the nearby terrain in his heart.

Fighting at night, with insufficient light, being familiar with the environment was especially important.

This Earth Temple backed onto a small earthen hill, less than a hundred steps from the official road, and there was a poplar forest in the distance. The terrain was flat, with no gullies.

For him, it was an advantage, not afraid of stepping into pits in the dark night.

After doing all this, Li Yan came to the front of the Earth Temple, sat cross-legged, placed the Guanshan blade on his knees, looked at the sky, and then closed his eyes to rest. Behind him, the Three Talents Demon-Suppressing Money blade tassel was still being offered.

According to Widow Wang's instructions, this thing could only be used after the Chang Soldiers possessed him, so as not to scare the other party away and fall short of success.

Incense curled, and the statues of the Earth God and Earth Grandmother still had kind and approachable smiles...

Finally, the hour of the Rat arrived.

This was a very special hour.

Being within the range of the Earth Temple's incense, Li Yan felt it more deeply.

At the hour of the Rat, Yin energy is the heaviest, and even the warmth around the Earth Temple seemed to be suppressed, with cold air surging up from the ground.

However, there was also a trace of Yang energy born, very weak.

At this time, rats would come out to move, so the hour of the Rat belongs to the rat.

!.

There is a folk legend that although rats are small, they are full of vitality and can bite a crack in the chaotic state of heaven and earth, making Yang energy gradually rise, Yin and Yang rotate, so there is the saying "Rat bites heaven open."

This is the reason why the Rat is at the head of the twelve zodiac signs.

Of course, at this time, Yin evil ghosts and demons are

The Yang of heaven and earth is suppressed, and the Yang of the human body is the same, making it most easily taken advantage of by these things.

Suddenly, Li Yan opened his eyes, a cold light burning brightly.

Whoosh~

He saw a sinister wind rise for no reason on the distant official road, sweeping up dust and swirling in place.

Under the bright moon, it was exceptionally conspicuous.

At the same time, Li Yan smelled that icy, fishy stench.

The icy sensation on his back also became increasingly intense.

He knew this was the curse cast by the other party, similar to some kind of mark; even if he ran to the ends of the earth, it would pursue him relentlessly.

Sensing his aura, the whirlwind came toward the Earth Temple.

However, when it approached the range of the Earth Temple's incense, it was blocked outside, struggling to enter.

Whoosh~

The sinister wind whistled, and the icy, fishy stench became even thicker.

The sound of the wind entered Li Yan's ears and immediately changed.

"Child Yan, where are you?"

"Come out quickly, come home with me..."

Weathered and mournful, it was exactly his grandfather's voice.

A cold sneer appeared on the corner of Li Yan's mouth, and he remained unmoved.

Although he was not a member of the Mystic Sect, he had also figured out some patterns.

First, this so-called Cold Altar Chang soldier possesses intelligence and is very cunning, more like a wild beast, following certain primitive rules without the depth of human thought, and also has some limitations.

Otherwise, how could it have been deceived repeatedly over the past two days?

Second, it doesn't know human secrets, but can deceive the human heart and needs to release it through a curse.

His grandfather, who hadn't been cursed that night, couldn't hear anything.

This kind of deception technique is specifically aimed at the weaknesses of the human heart.

For example, because he worried most about his grandfather, the old man's voice appeared.

Using the heart as a mirror, it penetrates everywhere.

Another thing is that the other party is skilled in concealment techniques.

During the day, he circled the village several times and didn't smell the other party's scent at all. Moreover, sneaking into the village didn't disturb those guard dogs.

Only when injured would it be discovered by the village dogs.

According to Widow Wang, this thing is trying to occupy his physical body.

As long as he hides within the range of the Earth Temple's incense power and isn't deceived by the other party, this Cold Altar Chang soldier can only possess him by force.

Sure enough, things changed.

As the sinister wind collided continuously, the Earth Temple also showed abnormalities.

The scent of incense nearby became increasingly thick.

Li Yan only felt warmth flowing in his heart, the icy chill of the curse on his back significantly reduced, and even the calls deceiving the human heart disappeared.

The Earth God is powerful!

Li Yan couldn't help but praise secretly in his heart.

Whoosh~

Who knew, the sinister wind began to retreat slowly.

Looking at the situation, it was actually going to leave.

This won't do!

Li Yan secretly thought it was bad.

He didn't have time to keep wasting time with this thing, and besides, the plaque for suppressing the house had already been damaged; if he missed tonight, he was afraid his grandfather would be in danger.

Thinking of this, Li Yan's eyes rolled, and a plan came to mind.

Without the slightest hesitation, he ran directly to the boundary of the Earth Temple's incense power.

"Don't be in a hurry, let's play some more."

"Hey, I'm out..."

"Hey, I'm back in..."

"Come on, if you have the ability, come get me!"

The naked provocation made that thing completely insane.

Whoosh!

Suddenly, the sinister wind blew violently.

Li Yan felt a secret chill and hurriedly retreated into the Earth Temple.

But after the gale passed, that unique icy, fishy stench had disappeared without a trace.

Did it really run away?

Just as Li Yan felt secret hatred in his heart, he suddenly felt a chill rise behind him.

Rustle!

In the distant poplar forest, a flock of birds was startled and flew away at night.

In the thick fog, a fierce wolf with red eyes slowly crawled out.

Subsequently, more than a dozen wolves of various sizes darted out from different directions, surrounding the Earth Temple...

(End of chapter)