Chapter 348: Mid-Yuan and the Yin Mountains

There are three major ghost festivals in the Divine Land:

Namely the Qingming Festival, the Mid-Yuan Festival, and the Cold Food Festival.

Qingming originated from the ancient spring sacrifice. During the Zhou Dynasty, it was the rite of "grave sacrifice." During the Spring and Autumn period, the Cold Food Festival emerged to commemorate Hong Jie Zhitui, and the customs of the two gradually overlapped.

Since the Tang Dynasty, Emperor Emperor Taizong officially issued an edict to change the Cold Food Festival to the Qingming Festival and designated it as the day for sweeping graves and sacrificing to ancestors. From then on, it gradually developed, with customs such as spring outings, grave sweeping, swinging, and kite flying...

The Cold Food Festival originated in the Zhou Dynasty. As the *Classic of Poetry* says, "The seventh month brings the flowing fire, the ninth month brings the clothes." Therefore, on this day, one must acquire winter clothing, sacrifice to ancestors, sweep graves, and burn winter clothes for the ancestors...

Therefore, by comparison, the Mid-Yuan Festival is the true ghost festival.

In the Mystic Sect of Daoism, the Three Primordial Festivals are the birthdays of the Three Official Great Emperors. Therefore, the Upper Primordial Festival is for the Heavenly Official to bestow blessings, the Mid-Yuan Festival is for the Earthly Official to pardon sins, and the Lower Primordial Festival is for the Water Official to resolve calamities.

In the Buddhist school, the disciple of Shakyamuni, Venerable Mulian, in order to save his mother from the suffering of the Hungry Ghost Realm, established the Ullambana Assembly on the fifteenth day of the seventh month to provide offerings to the monks of the ten directions.

Therefore, during the Mid-Yuan Festival, whether in the Mystic Sect or among the common people, sacrifices are held.

The common people sacrifice to ancestors, burn paper money, and release river lanterns...

The Buddhist school holds Ullambana Dharma Assemblies, chanting scriptures, reciting the Buddha's name, holding mantras, and performing the "Flaming Mouth" ritual to pray for the deceased, wishing them an early rebirth in the Pure Land. The common people donate food and clothing to provide for the monks participating in the assembly...

The Daoist school likewise holds Dharma Assemblies to transcend the souls of the deceased...

…………

On the Shen Family Dam pier, many commoners gathered, and grass boats and paper boats lit with candles drifted into the river in dense numbers.

In the distance, river lanterns also drifted from all directions, the flickering candle flames like the reflection of the starry sky on the black lake surface.

A Dharma altar was also set up by the river, with incense smoke swirling above it and many offerings piled up. Wang Wang Daoxuan, dressed in a Daoist robe, struck a wooden fish and chanted in a low voice: "Qingling Qingling Dongyang, in the Northern Capital Palace, the four dozen and two offices, together with ninety million followers, govern the three realms, the ten directions, and the nine lands, mastering the Five Sacred Mountains, the eight poles, and the four dimensions..."

What he was chanting was the Precious Proclamation of the Earthly Official, the Rite of Sincere Refuge.

Many people in the Shen family died this year. Shen Shen Jinghong's father and eldest brother were able to be buried, but the people of the second and third branches did not dare to make a big fuss and only dared to bury them secretly, waiting until the family business was stable before revealing the matter.

Although the two sides had a very ugly falling out, they were after all from the same family, and Shen Shen Jinghong did not feel good about it, so he greeted them in advance and invited Wang Wang Daoxuan down the mountain to perform a Dharma ritual during the Mid-Yuan Festival to transcend the wandering souls.

In front of the Dharma altar, the surrounding commoners prayed sincerely, took some offerings from the offering table, broke them into pieces, and threw them into the river.

What they did not know was that the thunder punishment some time ago not only struck the "Meat of Vision" to death but also struck all the vengeful souls and fierce ghosts that had accumulated in Lake Lake Liangzi for thousands of years into ashes.

The offerings thrown into the water were all fed to the fish and shrimp.

After the "Meat of Vision" died, the charred flesh left behind, although foul-smelling, was indeed a top-grade delicacy for all kinds of creatures in the lake, even attracting fish and shrimp from the surrounding river channels and lakes.

As the offerings were sprinkled, the fish schools suddenly became prosperous.

Such a scene had not been seen in previous years. Seeing this, the surrounding commoners thought that the vengeful souls and fierce ghosts had turned into fish to snatch food, so they hurriedly recited scriptures silently to transcend the souls.

On the other side of the riverbank, far from the crowd, Sha Sha Li Fei looked at the lantern boats in the distance and asked with some surprise: "Those places are Miao villages, right? Do they have this custom too?"

Shen Shen Jinghong beside him hurriedly explained: "These are 'cooked' Miao. They deal with the Han people a lot. Although they are quite guarded, they have also intermarried for many years, and their customs are already similar."

After saying this, he asked somewhat absent-mindedly: "Can Young Hero Li really not come tonight?"

He invited Wang Wang Daoxuan to perform the Dharma ritual, but he also had some small thoughts, wanting to invite Li Yan and the others to dinner to build a good relationship.

Sha Sha Li Fei laughed, "Brother Li Yan has other important matters and it is inconvenient to disturb him. To tell you the truth, we will leave tomorrow or the day after. Coming down the mountain this time is also to say goodbye on the way."

"Ah, are you all leaving?" Shen Shen Jinghong felt a little flustered.

Sha Sha Li Fei shook his head and said: "We are people of the martial world, accustomed to drifting in all directions, and there is always a day of parting."

"During this time, thank you, Young Master Shen, for your care. Brother Li Yan asked me to tell you one thing: if the Shen family wants to prosper in the future, build a good relationship with those officials in the Ministry of Works and wait for the opportunity..."

Shen Shen Jinghong was stunned, "What opportunity?"

The main offices of the Ministry of Works are concentrated in the capital. Although officials and minor clerks are appointed in various places, they are all managed by the prefectural government.

To be honest, even if the Shen family has declined, it is still a member of the hottest chamber of commerce today. He really couldn't figure out what the benefit would be of building a good relationship with those minor clerks who have no real power.

"Heavenly secrets cannot be revealed."

Sha Sha Li Fei didn't know either, so he had to muddle through with a sentence.

…………

Tens of miles away, in a river channel in the mountains.

Splash!

The river water surged, and a huge black fish surfaced. With a flick of its head, a wet package landed on the grass by the bank.

Lu San hurriedly stepped forward to pick it up. After opening the package, it contained several pieces of gloomy wood, with a delicate texture, emitting a gloomy and evil aura.

He put the package away and muttered a few words in a foreign language. The black fish flicked its tail, dived into the water, and disappeared.

Lu San put the things away and placed them in the large backpack behind Wu Ba. Inside, it was densely packed with all kinds of stones and spiritual wood branches.

The black fish just now was the wild god of the lake, the Black-Headed Great King.

After Lu San got to know this wild god, he also got to know many mountain and river spirits and wild gods nearby.

These things do not have deep cultivation; they are just in this remote place. If they were near a big city like Near Wuchang, they would have been suppressed and killed long ago. Even so, they only dare to practice secretly on weekdays.

Seeing that their cultivation was not easy, Lu San had an idea and introduced all these wild gods and spirits to the Tuo Master.

The Tuo Master is seeking the position of the Water God of the Han River, helping the imperial court fight against various old demons on the Yangtze River, and he is short of people under his command.

With the addition of these mountain spirits and wild monsters, he can save a lot of trouble. And after the imperial court confers gods in the future, these spirits and wild gods will also have a place to stand.

Therefore, don't look at Li Yan and the others hiding in the mountains to practice, they can also grasp a lot of information from the outside world.

Besides this, the Tuo Master also has something to ask for.

Knowing that they were going to Mount Mount Wudang, the Tuo Master sent his disciples and grandchildren to search for spiritual materials everywhere, wanting to exchange them for a treasure on Mount Mount Wudang.

This matter still needs Li Yan and the others to act as go-betweens.

After doing all this, Lu San turned his head to look at the mountain hollow in the distance.

Looking into the mountain hollow, the cliff face was densely packed with holes, housing ancient and dilapidated coffins. At this moment, a cold wind whistled, and one could vaguely hear singing in the wind that sounded like weeping and complaining.

Inside a pit on the cliff, the entrance was blocked by a wall of rubble and mud. Inside, lotus lanterns were densely placed. Li Yan sat cross-legged, with the Gou Die, the Divine Tiger Order, and the Dust-Severing Blade placed in front of him. Six Soul-Severing Flying Blades were inserted into the ground around him, vaguely forming a Bagua formation.

And he sat in the middle, his hands constantly forming seals.

This place was discovered by him by accident.

According to Shen Shen Jinghong, there was once a huge Miao tribe here, rumored to be descendants of the ancient San Miao tribe.

This branch was "raw" Miao, still retaining ancient customs, not dealing with outsiders. During the Daxiang years of the previous dynasty, to avoid war, the whole tribe moved to the Miao border in western Hunan.

This area was their ancestral grave. Because strange things often happened, such as "ghost wall" and evil possession, even the Miao people near Lake Lake Liangzi were unwilling to approach.

When Li Yan arrived here, he immediately found the reason.

According to Miao customs, those who die an unnatural death must be cremated.

Adults who are unmarried and have no descendants, or who die suddenly of illness, must have their coffins placed in deep valleys and distant forests inaccessible to humans or placed on cliffs, which is called wind burial.

And most people need cliff burial.

This area was after all an ancestral grave and should have been protected by Miao deities, but after the Miao people moved away, it formed an ominous place over time.

Lu San had been here with him and said that he could occasionally hear wailing sounds coming from the cremation pottery jars, things singing at midnight on the top of the cliff, and many cliff tombs were occupied by wandering souls and wild ghosts.

And this kind of place is just right for Li Yan to practice.

The *Northern Emperor Yin Mountain Method*, in short, is to artificially simulate the Netherworld Realm and use external forces to practice. As he constantly formed seals, a cold, gloomy, and earthly aura rose from the ground, the gloomy wind whistled around, and white frost quickly formed.

Outside the cave, all kinds of wailing sounds became louder and louder.

Densely packed footprints appeared on the ground, some stained with blood, some charred black. In the hazy gloomy mist, blurred figures also appeared.

In this world, wandering souls and wild ghosts are very pitiful. The daytime is like hell, and they can only come out to move at night. Once the gale blows, their souls will fly away and scatter.

And the Netherworld environment simulated by the *Northern Emperor Yin Mountain Method* is more attractive to them than the warm aura of the living, so they naturally gathered crazily.

Unfortunately, the formation set up by Li Yan's several Dharma artifacts made them unable to approach at all, and they only dared to wander outside the cave.

And Li Yan, as the hand seals changed, only felt the darkness around him constantly pressing in, and the world was silent, with only the dim yellow soul lamp guarding his consciousness from being extinguished.

He entered meditation and came to the meditation space again.

The ocean of gloomy aura below had expanded more than four times since he successfully built the second-story building on Mount Huashan. As the gloomy aura surged, it roared and rumbled.

Mount Luofeng had also grown three times higher, standing majestically in the sea, motionless. The two-story divine palace on the top of the mountain had also grown several times larger unknowingly.

!.

This is the manifestation of a solid foundation.

The thicker the foundation, the higher the building built.

Inside the two-story divine palace, the enshrined gods opened their eyes at the same time, walked out of the divine palace, and looked at the sky.

Because of practicing the *Northern Emperor Yin Mountain Method*, the sky had long been dyed pitch black by the rich earthly gloomy aura, like dark clouds pressing down, ready to crush this space at any time.

This is the danger of the *Northern Emperor Yin Mountain Method*. Practicing with the earthly gloomy aura of heaven and earth, if one cannot hold on, one's consciousness will be shattered.

Li Yan had practiced several times and was already familiar with this scene. Letting the gloomy wind howl around him, his heart remained as still as water, and he slowly formed Dharma seals.

I don't know how long it had passed, under the pressure of the earthly gloomy aura, the ocean of gloomy aura below began to expand again.

And as the ocean of gloomy aura expanded, Mount Luofeng slowly rose, and the divine palace above was also wrapped and gathered by the gang-qi.

Finally, the gang-qi dissipated, and the foundation of the divine palace expanded a little more.

Originally, such violent improvement would make the divine palace very unstable, but the White Emperor's blessing obtained from Mount Huashan, the innate Geng metal aura, formed pillars, preventing the divine palace from collapsing.

Seeing this, Li Yan couldn't help but feel joy in his heart.

According to the Daoists on Mount Huashan, this innate Geng metal aura can be used to enhance the power of weapons and martial arts.

But he absorbed too much, and it was difficult to draw it out. Only in a few accidental situations could he use it.

Now it seems that the power of his thunder method is already fierce enough, and using this innate Geng metal aura to stabilize the divine palace is the most suitable use.

The difficulty of practicing the *Luofeng Sutra* lies in the fact that the cultivation required for each layer of building is far deeper than ordinary methods.

After building the three-story building, one must form a layer of the Six Palaces of Luofeng on this basis, increasing the difficulty again.

And Li Yan finally reached the standard for building the building.

Outsiders only think that he has reached such a realm at a young age, but they don't know that his cultivation method is fierce and the difficulty is even greater.

After the practice ended, Li Yan slowly opened his eyes. The large darkness around him dissipated, and thick white frost had condensed in the cave. Dozens of soul lamps had also burned out.

Outside the cave, the gloomy wind gradually became smaller, but those wandering souls and wild ghosts were unwilling to give up and were still wandering outside.

Li Yan reached out to grasp the Divine Tiger Order, but halfway through, he stopped, shook his head, and said: "Today is the Mid-Yuan Festival, there is no need to make things difficult for you."

After saying this, he got up and took the Cloud Thunder Divine Drum from outside the formation, formed seals, entered the taboo, tapped lightly, and chanted at the same time: "Nuogao! The Heavenly Way saves people, strictly controlling the Northern Capital, the Divine Duke receives the order, universally sweeping away all inauspiciousness. The Eight Might spit poison, the fierce horses spread in four directions..."

This is the *Northern Emperor's Calamity Removal Technique*.

The greatest function of this method is to untie negative states such as curses, evil possession, and ghost possession.

It is called calamity removal, not suppression and killing, but by dispelling resentment and gloomy evil spirits to crack these negative techniques, so it can also be used for soul pacification.

At this point, he had learned all the techniques of the first two layers of the Northern Emperor Method.

Dong dong dong!

With the Dharma mantra and the sound of the drum, the footprints outside stood still one by one and dissipated with the falling leaves all over the sky.

The vengeful souls and fierce ghosts were formed by resentment condensing into gloomy evil spirits. Once the resentment dissipated, their souls naturally returned to the earth...

…………

On the Han River, the shipping lanes were becoming increasingly busy.

Nowadays, there are two places that are the most lively in the Yangtze River water transport.

One is the main channel of the Yangtze River, where the water armies of Dongting and Near Wuchang have to transport grain and fodder to Unlike Yichang, first to support the garrison in Zigui County, and second to communicate with the increasingly serious situation in the Sichuan and Shu regions.

The second is the Han River.

In Yunyang Prefecture, there are now 200,000 imperial troops stationed, which have broken through most of the mountain forest areas of Jingchu, but the daily consumption of grain and fodder is also extremely astonishing.

"Be careful, we're going to crash!"

"I f*** your grandfather, are the people in front crazy!"

On the Han River channel, a transport ship suddenly changed lanes, tilted, and crashed directly into a nearby ship.

With a loud bang, the two ships collided, the bow and flank were shattered respectively, and the boatmen on the ship were shocked and fell into the water.

Also falling into the water were large bags of grain on the ship.

The boatman who was hit cursed angrily, then his face turned pale, and he sat on the deck, wanting to cry but having no tears.

This grain was all to be transported to Yunyang Prefecture.

Once something happened, even if it wasn't his responsibility, he would be implicated. Just paying for it would be enough to make him bankrupt.

Just at this moment, the water on the river surged, and one by one, Tuo dragons surfaced with grain bags in their mouths and came to the side of the ship.

"Thank you, Tuo God, thank you, Tuo God!"

The boat boss was full of surprise and hurriedly kowtowed to thank them.

The Tuo God on the Han River is now the most efficacious, often saving commoners who fall into the water. He didn't expect to run into it today.

After instructing the staff to store the grain and throwing all the pork from the boat into the water, the boat captain, after some words of gratitude, jumped onto the opposite boat in a fit of rage.

This grain had already been soaked in water. When they reached the next pier, they would dry it as soon as possible and then transfer another batch of grain to make up for it, so they wouldn't be implicated.

But the loss involved was indeed not small.

He must make up for it from these idiots!

However, when he jumped onto the ship, he found something wrong.

The ship was dead silent. Whether it was the passengers in the cabin or the boatmen, they were all lying on the ground, motionless.

The boat boss swallowed his saliva and carefully turned one person over.

"Oh my mother!"

The scene in front of him scared him so much that he fell to the ground.

The dead boatman's face was blue, and in a short time, his eyes and mouth were already covered with moss...

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 349 =====