My Years in the Folklore World

Chapter 444: Corpse Relics
Jiang Xinghuo looked at the game text. Now that he had explored the yard, it was time to move on to the next place.

"You chose to go to the study to explore."

"You have come to the Kitchen God's study. The room has been unattended for a long time and is covered with rotten dust. Where do you plan to explore first?"

"First, reach out and touch the dusty bookshelf. While touching the dust on your hands, you will also find a few classics collected by the Kitchen God."

"You have obtained a copy of "Stove Fire Compilation" (rare), a copy of "Stove Fire Body Tempering Method" (excellent), a torn copy of "Fire Gathering Method" (excellent), a yellowed portrait of the Kitchen God (excellent), a piece of withered branch (common), a piece of burnt branch (common), and a map leading to the Yan Emperor's Mausoleum (special)."

Jiang Xinghuo looked at the things he found in the study, and his eyes suddenly lit up. There were really some good things, so he immediately counted them one by one.

"Stove Fire Compendium (rare item), a book written and recorded by the Kitchen God himself, which records in detail the tricks and methods of using stove fire."

"Do you want to use this item?"

Jiang Xinghuo chose yes without much thought, and new game text popped up in the game.

"You used Hearthfire compilation."

"You have mastered more ways to use the stove fire."

At the same time as the game text appeared, Jiang Xinghuo also noticed the changes in reality. He felt his head tremble slightly, and the mysterious and complex secrets flooded into the depths of his mind.

These secrets will not enhance the Kitchen God's fire itself, but they can enable Jiang Xinghuo to understand how to use the Kitchen God's fire more skillfully.

This is like a piece of fine iron. If you hit someone directly with it, it can kill them. But if you forge this piece of fine iron into a weapon, its lethality will be increased by more than double.

Jiang Xinghuo closed his eyes and comprehended the secrets in his mind. It took him half an hour to comprehend all the secrets and understand the mysteries contained therein.

"It turns out that the Kitchen God's Fire can be used in this way..."

Jiang Xinghuo opened his eyes. Fortunately, he found this prop here, otherwise he would not be able to experience the true essence of the stove fire.
After using this item, Jiang Xinghuo continued to look at other things.

"The stove fire tempering method (excellent item) is a method of strengthening one's physique by tempering with stove fire. However, it cannot be achieved overnight. It requires perseverance and unremitting training."

"Do you want to use this item?"

Jiang Xinghuo read the description and threw the item into his trick bag, not that he wasn't interested in this ability.

Instead, when he was in Taoyuan Village, he had already obtained detailed methods from the villagers.

He had tried it after he came back, but the results were not satisfactory. The speed of improvement was very slow. Just like what the game text said, it was not something that could be achieved overnight.

After Jiang Xinghuo put away the secret book, he continued to count the remaining harvest.

"Incomplete method of gathering fire (excellent item), a method passed down by the Kitchen God that can condense flames to increase the level of the stove fire."

"But this scroll of secrets has been eaten by insects and is now incomplete. You have the complete method of gathering fire. Do you want to complete it?"

"You choose to complete the incomplete method."

"You have obtained the method of gathering fire (rare)."

"You can sell it to other disciples of the Kitchen God, and I'm sure you'll get a lot of money in return."

Jiang Xinghuo opened the interface of the niche shop and hung the item on the niche shop. Not long after, it was bought by a player.

"You have obtained, Incense +3000."

Jiang Xinghuo nodded contentedly and continued to look at other things.

"The yellowed portrait of the Kitchen God (excellent prop) is a portrait drawn by common people based on the legend of the Kitchen God. Although it has no resemblance to the Kitchen God himself, hanging it at home can also protect the peace of the family."

When Jiang Xinghuo brought the thing into reality, it was just an ordinary painting. The image of the Kitchen God on the paper was similar to that of the God of Wealth. If the two gods were not holding different things in their hands, it would be difficult to distinguish their identities.

Jiang Xinghuo hung the portrait of the Kitchen God on the wall downstairs. It looked like an ordinary folk print, nothing special about it.

Then, Jiang Xinghuo looked at the remaining three things.

"A dead branch (ordinary item), a dead branch that looks unremarkable, as if it was just something that was casually broken off from a tree, but your Tathagatagarbha discovered that this branch seems to have a mystery behind it."

"You have triggered the Tathagata's talent."

"You have seen the true secret hidden beneath this unprepossessing appearance of this branch."

"You have discovered it, Jianmuzhi."

"Jianmu branch (legendary material). Jianmu was originally the most precious treasure in Qingdi City in ancient times. It is said that it not only has the effect of bringing the dead back to life, but also can lead to a mysterious and unknown place in the outer space."

"When the Kitchen God was young, he went to Qingdi City with his father as a guest. The Lord of Qingdi City gave him a piece of Jianmu branch. I didn't expect that this piece of Jianmu branch would fall into your hands."

"This thing can be used to strengthen weapons, and can also be used as a material for refining pills."

"In addition, Jianmu branches are also used as materials for building the Kitchen God statue. If you want to build the Kitchen God statue in the future, it is best to save this Jianmu branch and not use it casually."

Jiang Xinghuo looked at the prompt in the game text and quickly made a decision in his mind. He put the Jianmu branch on the second layer of the magic bag.

Although no one knows what will happen in the future, it is always better to prepare for a rainy day than to sharpen the knife at the last minute. What if the time comes and you want to build the statue of the Kitchen God but you lose this dead branch? It is better to keep it for now.

Then, Jiang Xinghuo looked at the burnt branch again.

"You have discovered the thousand-year-old firewood."

"Thousand-year-old firewood (rare item), the dead branches used by the Kitchen God to continue the fire. Over the past thousand years, it has continued to grow and spread, containing the power of the wishes of thousands of families."

"You have obtained the clue of the Kitchen God's Dojo."

"Clues to the Kitchen God's Taoist Temple: In the distant ancient times, the Kitchen God's fire burned throughout the secular world, blessing the humans on the secular earth."

"But since the disappearance of Fire God City, the Kitchen God's Dojo has also disappeared from the world, leaving only a few fragmented clues hidden in the corners of the secular world."

"You can use the firewood in your hand to search for those scattered clues. Perhaps you will have a chance to find the lost 'Kitchen God's Dojo' and enter it to obtain the Kitchen God's treasures from the past."

"I have detected that you have firewood left by the Kitchen God. Do you want to merge it together immediately?"

Jiang Xinghuo thought about it and remembered that when he was exploring the Bashu Ghost Market, he found the same props in the Kitchen God Temple in the Ghost Market.

"You choose to fuse the firewood."

Jiang Xinghuo was thinking in his mind, but his hands were not idle either. He directly chose fusion. After a moment, the new game text popped up.

"The fusion is complete."

"You have obtained the clue to the Kitchen God's Dojo."

"You can go to the Yan Emperor's Mausoleum and look for the map left by the Kitchen God. It clearly records the whereabouts of the Kitchen God's Taoist temple."

Mausoleum of Emperor Yan?
Jiang Xinghuo's eyes flickered slightly as he looked at the last thing he found in the study, which was the map of Emperor Yan's Mausoleum mentioned in the text.

Coincidence?
Jiang Xinghuo shook his head slightly, thinking that it was unlikely.

This must have been done intentionally by the Kitchen God, otherwise he could have hidden the map of Yan Emperor's Mausoleum somewhere else. There was no need to leave it here.

Leaving it here is to let people find it later. As for why the Kitchen God did not directly tell people where the Taoist temple was, but insisted on having people go to the Yan Emperor's Mausoleum, Jiang Xinghuo did not know the reason.

Jiang Xinghuo clicked on the game text and checked the detailed description of the map.

"The Mausoleum of Emperor Yan, the site was selected and supervised by the God of Cooking himself. Emperor Yan was buried there after his death."

"This map can guide you to the location of the mausoleum, but it does not indicate the mechanisms and ambushes inside the mausoleum. It seems that everything depends on your luck."

"Do you want to explore the Yan Emperor's Mausoleum immediately?"

Jiang Xinghuo thought about it for a while. Although he really wanted to go over and explore immediately, he finally suppressed his curiosity.

Anyway, the map is already in hand, so there is no need to rush. It will not be too late to explore there after the mission here is completed.

At this point, the things found in the study have been counted, and the most valuable one is the map of Emperor Yan's Mausoleum.

"Where are you planning to go next?"

Jiang Xinghuo took a look at the sub-map provided by the game. There were still several places in the mansion that had not been explored, so he might as well go and explore them now.

Maybe the treasures are hidden in the Kitchen God’s study, or maybe the game is a malicious mechanism targeting players.

When Jiang Xinghuo went to explore other places in Sheng Mansion, he found almost nothing valuable, just some inconspicuous junk.

Jiang Xinghuo had been mentally prepared for this, so he didn't feel too disappointed.

"Where are you planning to go next?"

Jiang Xinghuo looked up at the time. It was already past eight o'clock in the morning. He still had to go to the suburbs to check out the house today. He also had other things to do during the day, so he simply decided not to open up a new map and wait until he was done with his work in the evening.

Speaking of that house, the project has gradually gotten on track. The general framework has been almost repaired, and the next step is the various details, which are the real time-consuming, labor-intensive and costly parts.

Jiang Xinghuo watched the excitement outside for a while and chatted with the masters for a while. However, just when he was about to leave, he heard a scream coming from inside the house.

"Something happened?"

Jiang Xinghuo was slightly startled, thinking that one of the masters had accidentally fallen and bumped into him, so he immediately walked into the house.

But when he walked into the house, Jiang Xinghuo realized that the problem was not with the people, but with the house itself.

The cause of the incident is also very simple.

After all, this house is quite old. Even though the workmanship and materials used at the time were the best, some problems are inevitable after hundreds of years of wind and rain.

So the workers wanted to check the foundation to see if there were any signs of collapse or sinking.

But who would have thought that as they dug deeper, they found a large upside-down water tank underneath.

"Boss Jiang, what do you think we should do?"

An elderly master came over and asked for the opinion of Jiang Xinghuo, the owner of the house.

"Please continue digging to see what this thing is."

Jiang Xinghuo said to the workers.

Then, Jiang Xinghuo looked at the old master beside him and asked:

"Master Chen, based on your many years of construction experience, what could be under this tank?"

This old master is somewhat famous in the construction world. Although he is not a graduate of a formal school, his many years of experience in renovating ancient houses is unmatched by those who have received formal training.

"It's hard to say... But I feel like I've seen a record of this situation in a book..."

Master Chen shook his head, as if he was recalling something. Jiang Xinghuo did not disturb him and just waited quietly by the side.

"I remembered!!"

Master Chen suddenly slapped his thigh, dragged Jiang Xinghuo to a deserted place, and whispered, "Boss Jiang, do you believe that there are gods in this world?"

"immortal?"

Jiang Xinghuo raised his eyebrows and did not directly answer Master Chen. Instead, he asked, "What did you say?"

Master Chen took out a thin brass pipe from his pocket, lit it, took a few puffs, and then said:

"When I was young, I followed my master to learn the craft and saw this situation in an ancient book."

"I remember the book said that in the 22nd year of Emperor Kangxi's reign, a large pit suddenly collapsed in the residence of Yu Chenglong, the governor-general of Liangjiang, and inside the pit was a large upside-down vat."

"Yu Chenglong immediately asked people to hire workers to dig deeper along the side of the vat. As a result, they found that there was not just one large water vat, but two..."

"two?"

Jiang Xinghuo was also a little strange.

Master Chen puffed on his pipe and nodded.

"Yes, two water tanks, one above the other, inverted together, looking like a covered clam shell, sealed in the middle with molten iron."

"What happens after that?"

Jiang Xinghuo asked.

Master Chen knocked on the pipe in his hand, extinguished the scattered fireworks in the pipe, and continued:

"Later, Yu Chenglong ordered his men to open the two upside-down water tanks and discovered that there was actually a person trapped inside them."

"He was a Taoist priest, sitting cross-legged in a jar, with white hair and beard. The strangest thing was his nails, which were said to be about two feet long and curved, like the horns of an argali, curved into several curls."

"Yu Chenglong asked someone to quickly invite a Feng Shui master, and the Feng Shui master said that the Taoist priest was a practitioner who had achieved enlightenment and was about to achieve the state of corpse reincarnation."

"The Immortal Classic says: 'The superior ones raise their bodies and ascend into the sky, and are called heavenly immortals; the middle ones travel in famous mountains, and are called earthly immortals; the inferior ones die first and then shed their bodies, and are called corpse-transmigrating immortals.'"

"This Taoist is cultivating the state of corpse transformation, and he is almost there. As long as his fingernails grow to three feet and six inches long, he will be able to complete his merits and be transformed into an immortal. This is in line with the Taoist theory of thirty-six days."

"But the Governor-General of Liangjiang was a scholar who always scoffed at the idea of ​​gods and ghosts. He immediately ordered people to find a large amount of dry branches and firewood, and burned the Taoist priest to ashes in front of the people of the whole city."

"So... you mean there is also a corpse-reincarnating immortal in this jar?"

Jiang Xinghuo understood the meaning of Master Chen's words.

While the two were talking, the workers also stopped what they were doing.

Jiang Xinghuo went over to take a closer look, and just as Master Chen had just said, the two large vats were turned upside down on each other, sunk in the pit like clam shells, and the middle was tightly sealed by molten iron.

The only difference is that the jar above is slightly smaller and looks a bit like a big gourd.

…………

(End of this chapter)