My Years in the Folklore World

Chapter 527: Anchor Point of Return

"Where are you going next?"

Jiang Xinghuo looked up at the time. It was almost ten o'clock. Some anxious families were already setting off firecrackers outside to welcome the gods.

So, Jiang Xinghuo chose to go directly to Ping'an Village.

"You activated the teleportation function of the Beiping Shrine, and in a flash you crossed thousands of mountains and rivers. When you opened your eyes again, you were already outside of Ping'an Village."

"Under the moonlight, the air is filled with the lingering smell of gunpowder. The huge village is brightly lit, and every household has a lantern. However, the village is very deserted. You can only hear a faint noisy sound coming from the end of the village. Do you want to go over and take a look?"

When Jiang Xinghuo came here earlier, he happened to catch up with the village's Dragon Festival, and also met Si Yeshen, a follower of the Night Wandering God.

At that time, Jiang Xinghuo had some guesses about this in his mind, suspecting that Ping'an Village was the anchor point for the Night Wandering God to return from nothingness.

But no definite evidence has been found, and I don’t know if some clues can be found tonight.

"You walked into the village. Although the village was brightly lit, you could sense a strange and eerie atmosphere. The lanterns around you dispelled the darkness, but instead of making you feel at ease, you became even more uneasy, as if something bad was waiting for you ahead. Do you really want to continue going deeper?"

"If you regret it now, you can still leave this village. However, if you continue to go deeper, no one can be sure what you will encounter. It is even uncertain whether you can come out alive."

"Are you going to keep going?"

Jiang Xinghuo was not scared by the words in the game text and still chose to move forward. The worst result was to die here. If he could find out the truth about Ping'an Village, then it would be worth it even if he died a few times.

"Alas, greedy exile, you are ultimately blinded by the desires in your heart. Sometimes the more you know, the more dangerous it is for you. But since you have made a decision, I can only wish you good luck."

"According to the secular almanac, the Kitchen God is on duty. You have received the Kitchen God's blessing. Your luck has been temporarily improved by +5."

"Attention, before midnight, your luck will be blessed by the Vesta, the event trigger rate will be temporarily increased, the event branch will be temporarily increased, and the event interaction will be temporarily increased..."

"Event triggering will be improved. When you experience events in the secular world, the probability of triggering events will increase. At the same time, the probability of discovering hidden events will also increase."

"Event branch improvement. When you experience events in the secular world, the probability of triggering event branch options will increase. At the same time, the probability of obtaining props when exploring the map will also increase."

"Event interactions are enhanced. When you experience events in the secular world, more interaction options will be triggered, thereby increasing the probability of various events occurring."

Jiang Xinghuo noticed the prompt in the game text, three consecutive attribute enhancements, each of which was a rare attribute.

The only pity is that it is only effective on New Year's Eve, the day when the Kitchen God is on duty. After tonight, everything will return to normal tomorrow.

If he could maintain these enhanced attributes, Jiang Xinghuo would rather give away 70% of the things in his magic bag.

But this is just a thought. Perhaps only when he collects enough golden law fragments can he completely obtain these enhanced attributes.

"You continue walking along the road, and suddenly you notice a dark shadow flickering in a house on the side of the road. What are you going to do now? Go over to see what's going on, or pretend you didn't see it and continue to the end of the village?"

Is it effective so quickly?

Jiang Xinghuo raised his eyebrows and chose to go over to check.

"Before you came to that room, you smelled a faint stench of decay. This smell is not unfamiliar to you. Is it the smell produced by a rotting corpse?"

"Do you want to push the door open?"

"You pushed the door open and walked in, only to find that the room was empty. But when you turned around, you found a stiff figure poking out from behind the door. It turned out to be a zombie wearing a flower-feathered official robe, with a sharp mouth and fangs!"

"When this zombie saw you, a glimmer of light flashed in its cloudy eyes, and it immediately jumped towards you, whimpering. Only then did you realize that this zombie was actually condensed from Zi Buyu by you."

Jiang Xinghuo suddenly remembered that after he obtained the origin of the Volcanic Hell, in order to increase the influence of the Volcanic Hell in the world of the living, he used Zi Buyu to condense a large number of ghosts and monsters, and placed them in the mortal world, thinking that after they made a big trouble, he would use Zi Buyu to condense ghost runners and bring them back.

In this way, the reputation of Volcanic Hell can be spread, thereby expanding the influence of Volcanic Hell in the secular world, and then helping oneself to quickly establish a landmark.

However, this kind of thing cannot be accomplished overnight, so I didn't take it seriously and thought I would wait a year or two before deciding on it.

Unexpectedly, a zombie actually ran to Ping'an Village.

Fortunately, this kind of zombie has thick skin and flesh, and a body of iron and steel, otherwise it would have been swallowed by the evil spirits wandering around.

"Through your communication with this zombie, you learned what happened in the village not long ago."

"According to the zombie's description and narration, the villagers of Ping'an Village are preparing a ceremony in the back mountain at the moment. It seems that they are going to summon someone. That kind of aura makes it very uneasy, so it hides in this room. There are also a few paper figures coming with it. They are not afraid of the threat of this aura and followed quietly. You can go find those paper figures and see what they have found."

"What are you going to do with this zombie now?"

"Should we take it back to Zibuyu, or let it leave Ping'an Village and continue to stir up trouble in the secular world?"

Jiang Xinghuo chose the latter without hesitation. As long as his own interests were not involved, he didn't mind being a goody-goody.

However, the existence of these demons and monsters is closely related to the establishment of his own beacon in the future. Jiang Xinghuo is not interested in being a goody-goody anymore. Instead, he hopes that these demons and monsters will cause trouble so as to expand his influence in the secular world.

"You let this flower-feathered zombie go, and told it to do more bad things and try to achieve its goal of becoming notorious."

"Then, you followed the direction pointed by the Flower Feather Zombie and headed for the altar on the back hill of Ping'an Village. However, on the way to the back hill, you saw a lot of white debris on the roadside. You walked over and took a closer look, only to find that they were actually a few shredded paper figures. Their bodies were torn into coin-sized pieces of paper, and there were many signs of burning, but no signs of fighting at all. It was as if these paper figures were torn to pieces in an instant."

Jiang Xinghuo narrowed his eyes slightly. If nothing unexpected happened, the paper figures that were destroyed should be the ones that came with the zombies. They originally came to investigate the villagers, but they didn't expect to encounter an unexpected incident.

Although these paper figures were condensed by Jiang Xinghuo using his magic power, not everyone can move them, at least not gossips, opium addicts, drug addicts and other evildoers of their level.

Could it be those Siye gods who did this? ?

There are a large number of Night Gods wandering around in this village. They are monsters born from the blood of the Night Wandering God and are not comparable to those rubbish ghosts and gods.

If they acted secretly, it would not be a problem to deal with these paper figures.

While Jiang Xinghuo was thinking about it, another game text popped up on the screen.

"You found a paper man's hand in a pile of weeds on the side of the road. The five fingers were clenched into a fist, and it seemed like the palm was holding something. Do you want to go over and take a look?"

Ok?
Sensible!
Jiang Xinghuo felt quite relieved, thinking that after all, his own child knew to leave things behind at the critical moment.

"You walked over, pushed aside the weeds, and picked up the severed hand. After a flash of fire, the severed hand turned into a puff of ash and disappeared, leaving only an exquisite ivory carving with a majestic image of a god."

"You have obtained the ivory carving of the Night Wandering God."

"According to folk legend, the Night Wandering God once fell asleep after drinking and accidentally lost the eight ivory carvings he was carrying. Those were treasures carved from his own teeth. As long as you absorb them into your body, you will receive the Night Wandering God's blessing."

"Blessing of the Night God (status), after night falls, physical fitness and various abilities can receive a 20% increase bonus."

"Do you want to fuse this ivory carving?" After looking at the description in the game text, Jiang Xinghuo sneered, thinking that if this ivory carving was lost accidentally, he, Jiang, would chop off his own head and let the national football team kick it around.

Jiang Xinghuo flipped through the text records again and found the text records about the Night Wandering God Tooth Sculpture. When he was in the map of the Half Ghost Village, he obtained a Night Wandering God Tooth Sculpture, but Tathagata Zang saw the clues...

…………

"You have triggered the Tathagata's talent."

"You have seen through the secrets hidden beneath the surface of this ivory carving and the truth behind it."

"This ivory carving was originally a creation that the Night Wanderer deliberately left in the secular world, with the intention of allowing others to find it and integrate it."

"But once someone fuses with this ivory carving, it will become the cauldron anchored by the Night Wandering God, and it can seize the body of the person who fuses with the ivory carving at any time."

…………

Tathagata Zang made it very clear through the game text that once the ivory carving of the Night Wandering God is fused, it will become the cauldron anchored by the Night Wandering God, and can take over the body of the person who has fused the ivory carving at any time.

According to the text, the Night Wanderer lost a total of eight ivory carvings. Counting the one in his hand, he has obtained two ivory carvings.

But he left the first one in the real Half-Ghost Village, which is a region outside the secular world. There is an insurmountable gap between it and the secular world, and it is basically impossible for it to appear in the secular world again.

As for the ivory carving in my hand...

Jiang Xinghuo looked thoughtful. There was an ivory carving in the Bandui Village, plus the one in his hand, which meant that there were still six ivory carvings that were missing.

However, he guessed in his heart that the remaining ivory carvings were most likely on other Night Gods. If he could get all the ivory carvings, perhaps he could do something with them. If he was lucky, maybe he could even trick the Night Wandering God.

Of course, the prerequisite is that all the ivory carvings can be found.

"What are you going to do now? Are you going to keep going?"

Jiang Xinghuo naturally would not choose to refuse, and still chose yes, controlling the game character to continue moving forward.

But before that, Jiang Xinghuo opened the skill panel, found Yufenglu and chose to use it.

"You have activated the Wind Control Record."

"You have merged yourself into the ethereal night wind. Although your figure cannot be detected by the naked eye, the Night Gods are the darlings of the night and are very sensitive to everything at night. They are likely to discover your trace."

Jiang Xinghuo didn't care. The reason he activated the Record of Controlling the Wind was because he was worried that those Si Ye gods would discover him in advance and then escape.

Once he finds those Si Ye gods, he will have no more worries. Even if he wants to run, he can't outrun his divine movement and thunder magic.

"You rode the wind and soon arrived at the altar in the back mountain. Although you were mentally prepared, you were still shocked when you saw the scene in front of you."

"All the villagers of Ping'an Village stood upright in front of the altar with their heads down, like puppet zombies. A dozen Siye gods surrounded the altar, chanting something and sticking spells on it. The most eye-catching thing was the ivory carvings on the altar. They glowed faintly under the moonlight, as if they could turn into human form and come alive at any time."

"However, if you count carefully, there are only five ivory carvings on the altar. Even if you count the two you found, there are only seven ivory carvings. The whereabouts of the other one is unknown."

Jiang Xinghuo frowned slightly, thinking that this was not a good thing. His original idea was to collect all the ivory carvings, and then find an opportunity to trick the Night Wanderer and try to kill him completely.

But now that one is missing, things have become uncertain. What if I fail to kill the other party? Wouldn't he come after me for revenge?
But now that things have come to this, it would be a bit unwilling to give up just like that. If the Night Wandering God is really resurrected with the help of the ivory carving, it may not be a good thing. It may also have a great impact on the real world.

After thinking for a while, Jiang Xinghuo came to the living room and found Jiang Miaozhen who was watching Douyin, and asked her if she knew about the existence of the Night Wandering God.

The answer learned from Jiang Miaozhen also prompted Jiang Xinghuo to make a choice.

According to Jiang Miaozhen, there are records in the archives of the Public Opinion Survey Bureau that the Night Wandering God, like Fengdu, is a creature that survived the last world, but is very ambitious. After Fengdu mysteriously disappeared, he wanted to become the master of the world and control the earth.

In the sixth year of the Ming Dynasty's Apocalypse, the Night Wandering God came to the earth from the mortal world, intending to control the entire world with his magical powers.

As a result, they were stopped by Tiangongye and Riyoushen who also came from the mortal world. After a fierce battle, the two sides died together with Riyoushen and Yeyoushen. Tiangongye left a cave on the earth and returned to the mortal world.

Jiang Miaozhen also specially downloaded an APP for Jiang Xinghuo, which is a special software developed internally by the Public Opinion Survey Bureau, which can read all the files within the Bureau.

This was also the condition that the Poll Bureau promised to Jiang Xinghuo, but he found it too troublesome and never went to the Poll Bureau to check the information.

Now with mobile phone software, you can check it yourself.

"The sixth year of the Ming Dynasty's Qiqi reign..."

Jiang Xinghuo seemed to have thought of something. He opened the archive search bar and searched, and saw a strange event that happened that year.

Apocalypse explosion.

On the sixth day of the fifth month of the sixth year of the Tianqi reign, a bizarre explosion occurred near the Wanggongchang gunpowder depot in the southwest corner of Beijing.

The explosion had a radius of about one kilometer and an area of ​​two square kilometers, causing a total of about 2 casualties.

However, the cause of the explosion was unknown and the phenomenon was strange. It was a change unprecedented in ancient and modern times. Even in modern times, it is still an unsolved mystery. There are many different opinions, but they are all guesses and reasoning. The main reason is that the dead and injured were all naked. It is normal to have casualties in an explosion, but the clothes on their bodies disappeared, which is a bit strange.

The same goes for the survivors. If the death was due to the high temperature and their clothes were burned and vaporized, there would be no survivors in such a high temperature environment.

But if this matter is related to the secular world, then it is normal. Maybe when the two sides were fighting, they used some means to implicate the people around them, such as casting a spell to turn a person into a Vajra Warrior, then the body would suddenly grow in size and the clothes would naturally be torn.

It is also possible that the Ming Dynasty court at that time used space-based weapons on the moon to eliminate the Night Wandering God.

These things cannot be recorded in detail in history books, so they can only be mentioned briefly in the style of the Spring and Autumn Annals.

Of course, all of this is just Jiang Xinghuo's speculation. The internal archives of the Public Opinion Research Bureau only know that the Apocalypse Explosion is related to the Night Wandering God, but no one knows the specific details. After all, more than four hundred years have passed. What exactly happened? Except for Master Tiangong, there is probably no one left alive.

However, there is one thing that Jiang Xinghuo is now basically certain of, and that is Ping'an Village and those ivory carvings are the return anchor points set up by the Night Wandering God for himself.

Perhaps it was a precaution, or perhaps it was because a cunning rabbit has three burrows. In any case, the Night Wanderer God thought that he would die one day, so he left behind these ivory carvings and the Night God. As long as he had these things as anchors, he could rely on the signposts that had not completely collapsed and return to the world from nothingness.

Moreover, the Night Wandering God is not a good guy. Not only does he want to occupy the secular world, he also wants to become the master of the earth.

Then this guy must not be allowed to live. Instead of waiting for him to resurrect and then trying hard to kill him without knowing whether it will succeed, it is better to kill the Night Wanderer now. Even if he cannot be killed, all the ivory carvings must be destroyed to prevent him from taking over another's body and being reborn.

These people of Ping'an Village and Si Yeshen, who was enlightened by the blood of Night Wandering God, should all be the alternative bodies for Night Wandering God to be reborn.

Jiang Xinghuo was ready for a bloody massacre. If he could not stop the Night Wandering God's return ceremony, he would kill all the villagers and the Night Wandering God.

In this way, the ivory carving has no host to fuse with, and even if the Night Wanderer wants to come back, there is no available body.

(End of this chapter)