Folk customs begin with the entire funeral procession

Chapter 207, Yin Patterns, End of Chapter! (Two Chapters Combined)

Chen Miao was skeptical of the old man's assessment that the life-saving item he carried was worthless.

Putting everything else aside, can a high-quality spirit-suppressing talisman really be considered junk?
Seemingly sensing Chen Miao's dissatisfaction, the old man smiled and took out a fine spirit-suppressing talisman, dabbing a little blood onto Chen Miao's still unhealed finger.

The talisman was activated and flew directly from the old man's hand, heading straight for the mummified corpse stuck to Chen Miao's back.

Although Chen Miao could no longer see the effects of the high-quality spirit-suppressing talisman, he was still unable to move.

"A jack of all trades, master of none."

The old man chuckled.

Chen Miao remained expressionless.

Looking at Chen Miao's appearance, the old man laughed and said, "Young man, I originally came here to test Suo Kun, but that guy was scared out of his wits."

"It's not easy to come all this way, we can't let it all go to waste, can we?"

"Someone as particular as you, do you think what I said is right?"

Looking at the old man's smiling face, Chen Miao felt a chill in his heart.

From beginning to end, he was unable to perceive any malice or goodwill from the old man.

But now, Chen Miao had a feeling.

After answering this question, he will get the answer he wants from the old man.

Chen Miao's mind started racing.

From the very beginning, the old man's attitude towards him was different from his attitude towards Sokun.

The old man could have killed him just like he killed Sokun, but the other party didn't.

Not only did they not kill him, they also talked a lot of nonsense.

Chen Miao initially thought this was a member of the Curse Cult, or perhaps it was just the old man's quirk—he needed to chat for a while before killing someone.

But now, Chen Miao has discerned something.

Perhaps the old man didn't want to kill him?
But why?
Chen Miao isn't a genius like Yue Xiaodao or Xiaobai, so the old man couldn't possibly have developed a fondness for him.

As for strength?

Compared to the old man, his strength was probably nothing more than trash in the old man's eyes.

The only possible explanation is that Chen Miao combined the Suppressing Yang Talisman, the Concealment Spray, and his stealth abilities while in a peek-a-boo state.

After all, he had been walking in the dark right in front of Sokun, so he was only discovered when he was three meters in front of Sokun.

But if the other party is interested in this, shouldn't they just resort to torture?
So it's not that either.

Could it be a windmill?

The old man was impressed by the trap he set with the windmill, which led him to consider not killing him.

But that's too far-fetched. Is there any other reason?

If he can find the reason, then he will have some confidence in what he will do next.

what is it then?

What is it...? Hmm?

Suddenly, the scene of the old man tearing up the spirit tablet flashed through Chen Miao's mind.

Is it it?

Is it a spirit tablet for pacifying the soul?
Chen Miao's eyes lit up; it seemed that among all the possibilities, this was the most reliable!
The old man believed that because he used the "Great Compassion and Soul-Suppressing Vow Sutra" to make a memorial tablet, he did not reject the curse cult, or that he had been taught by members of the curse cult.

That's why the old man talks so much nonsense.

Probably!

Chen Guokun and Qi Ning both said that the Curse Cult is a target of the Administration Bureau. Anyone associated with the Curse Cult will be dealt with by the Administration Bureau, even if it means killing the innocent.

So when the old man discovered that he was using a spirit tablet to suppress souls, he had a problem with him?
So, the old man had actually checked the spirit tablet before he took action, otherwise he wouldn't have brought him to this room!

The more Chen Miao thought about it, the more likely it seemed!
So now, what kind of answer does this old man want for his question?
"What? You think I'm wrong?"

The old man looked at Chen Miao with a smile on his face.

But Chen Miao was taken aback.

For the first time, he felt malice from the old man!
Instantly, he knew how to answer.

“The old man is right. Even taxi drivers know to charge double the price if they go to remote places, let alone you, sir.”

“I’m a man of principle. Since Sokun was frightened by me, it’s only right that I compensate the old man for his loss.”

The old man chuckled and said, "Oh? How will you compensate me?"

Without the slightest hesitation, Chen Miao said with a firm look in his eyes, "I've decided to compensate the old gentleman."

"Do you think I'm any better than Sokun?"

The old man smiled, and the malice in his body vanished.

"You young man, you are indeed a man of principle!"

After the old man finished laughing, he suddenly pulled a needle out of his body.

It's the same kind of needle that pinned the flying skull and the ghost baby to the wall before.

As he got closer, Chen Miao suddenly realized that the needles looked somewhat familiar.

Like... bone needles used in necromancy?

As Chen Miao pondered, the mummified corpse behind him, along with his left arm, stretched forward and stopped in front of the old man.

The old man rolled up the clothes on Chen Miao's arm, then took a needle and pricked the withered arm.

When he pulled it out, Chen Miao seemed to see that about half a centimeter of the needle tip was stained black.

Before Chen Miao could react, the old man grabbed his arm and swiftly stabbed him with a bone needle.

Chen Miao initially didn't think that a needle piercing his skin would hurt much, but he was wrong.

After the bone needle pierced the skin of his arm, an extremely cold sensation spread throughout his body from the point of insertion.

But the coldness was only a physical sensation; a feeling also rushed into his mind!
Immediately, a jumble of chaotic thoughts flooded his mind, making him dizzy and disoriented.

If he weren't currently in Ice Heart state, Chen Miao felt he might have fainted from the shock.

Despite this, the old man did not stop!

Or rather, the old man didn't care about Chen Miao at all; he only cared about what he was doing!

As the old man repeatedly inserted needles into the ghost's arm and Chen Miao's arm, a pattern gradually appeared on Chen Miao's arm.

Chen Miao's mood sank to the bottom after just one glance.

A full hour passed before the old man finally finished the last stroke.

The old man smiled as he looked at the headless Taoist tattoo on his arm.

"As expected, the tattoos of our Cursed Path are still the best looking."

As he spoke, the old man was about to put away the needles in his hand.

Just then, the old man looked up and saw Chen Miao's bloodshot eyes.

The old man was startled; he truly hadn't expected Chen Miao to still be awake.

After the initial shock came a surge of joy.

"You're quite impressive, young man!"

The old man pondered for a moment, then looked around before walking to the ghost infants impaled on the wall. Chen Miao saw the old man seemingly do something, and then one by one, the nine ghost infants were sucked into the bone needles.

Carrying nine bone needles, the old man trotted over happily.

"I haven't seen a young man like you in a long time. Very good!"

"Watch me get you a nice tattoo!"

The old man picked up a bone needle that had absorbed the ghost infant and pricked it into the ghost's arm again. Then, the tattooing continued!
This time, the feeling was different from before, and Chen Miao experienced a new shock.

The cries of the ghostly infant and feelings of despair and pain kept flooding into his mind, affecting his thinking.

Moreover, with each bone needle the old man replaced, the voice entering his mind grew stronger, his consciousness was affected more deeply, and his emotions became increasingly unstable.

When the old man changed to the fourth needle, Chen Miao felt like his head was about to explode.

But at this moment, the old man still had five needles in his hand!
When the old man picked up the fifth needle, Chen Miao's eyes were already bloodshot, but there was still a hint of persistence hidden within them.

The moment the fifth bone needle fell, Chen Miao activated the temporary storage of negative emotions.

After a brief buzz in my mind, everything became crystal clear.

Chen Miao felt his soul tremble with pleasure, but this pleasure quickly disappeared as the new bone needles were inserted.

However, thanks to the buffer from the previous attack, the remaining four attacks were still within Chen Miao's tolerance range.

After the old man finished pricking, he nodded with considerable satisfaction.

After looking at his work for a while, the old man suddenly remembered something and looked up at Chen Miao.

When the old man saw Chen Miao's fierce gaze fixed on him, he smiled.

"Haha, young man, you're really good. It's been a long time since I've met a young man who can make me feel so comfortable. Not bad, really not bad!"

As soon as the old man finished speaking, the mummified corpse behind Chen Miao actually released him!
Without the support of that damned thing, Chen Miao's body went limp and he collapsed to the ground.

Just then, he saw the mummified corpse turn into a cloud of bloody mist and enter the old man's abdomen.

“Since you have the Yin mark of my Curse Cult tattooed on your body, you are a member of my Curse Cult.”

"You're a good young man, so let me remind you, don't go into the Administration Bureau. There's something there that can make the Yin marks on your body show."

“They won’t listen to your explanations; they’ll just drag you into jail and make you spill everything about the cult.”

“You understand the Great Compassionate Soul-Suppressing Vow Sutra of the Cursing Buddha lineage, that’s an indisputable fact, so once you go in, you can’t possibly come out.”

"Believe me, what you go through inside is much more painful than when I got my tattoo."

The old man looked at Chen Miao and said with a smile.

Then, he picked up Chen Miao's bag and stuffed the premium spirit-suppressing talisman that Chen Miao had just called trash into the bag.

Neither the Ghost Cube nor the Bureau's spray was left behind.

After doing all that, the old man picked up his bag and prepared to leave.

Suddenly, he thought of something and looked at Chen Miao, saying:
"By the way, you now belong to the Cursed Cult and the Cursed Way lineage, the thirteenth branch of the Southern School. If you encounter a follower of the Cursed Buddha lineage, you don't need to give them any face."

"Of course, whether you want to give face to someone who has been cursed is up to you. As long as you think you are strong enough, even if you kill me, no one will say anything to you."

"When you're not busy, just focus on doing your job. The cult won't care what you're doing all the time, but when they need you, you'll get what they need."

"At that time, the shadow pattern will guide you to the meeting point."

After saying that, the old man left.

Before Chen Miao could even breathe a sigh of relief, the old man retreated again.

"I forgot one more thing. The Yin Mark will appear when your emotions are fluctuating wildly. I suppose you can control it yourself. As long as you don't expose the Yin Mark or reveal that you know those special spells of the Curse Cult, no one can be sure that you are a member of the Curse Cult."

"If you want to actively reveal the Yin lines, simply let the Yin energy flow to the location of the Yin lines."

"Also, I've modified your Yin markings. There's a ghost infant inside. Remember to feed it with Yin energy regularly. If you don't have enough Yin energy, it will drain your life essence."

"Hmm...it might eat a bit too much. You'll have to work harder. With it, at least we won't have to fight every rotten fish and shrimp we encounter anymore."

"It's not like we're practicing martial arts, why would we need to fight hand-to-hand?"

After saying that, the old man prepared to leave.

But this time, Chen Miao spoke up.

"Who are you?"

The old man glanced at Chen Miao, smiled, and said, "Just call me Old Ghost. If you offend anyone in the sect, don't mention my name, or you'll die even faster."

A layer of red mist rose around the old ghost, and after the mist dissipated, the old ghost was nowhere to be found.

Chen Miao stared at this scene, stunned for a long time.

"So, after cultivating to his level, will one really be able to ride the clouds like an immortal?"

Chen Miao murmured.

After waiting for a full half hour, Chen Miao finally regained some strength and, supporting himself, walked to the object that had been thrown on the ground.

I came with a full set of equipment, but now I only have a few scattered pieces left.

A sealed pouch, a compass, a book, a peach wood sword with an extra black handprint, a black umbrella, and a windmill.

Chen Miao didn't understand why the old man took all the things from the Administration Bureau but not the two filthy creatures.

Does the trash that the old man is talking about also have a distinction between recyclable and non-recyclable?

After a moment of silence, Chen Miao opened the book.

The contents of the book were no longer what he had read, but rather the scenes he had just experienced.

He did survive in the book, but the content of this chapter has not yet been settled.

Chen Miao's heart tightened.

"Could it be that that old ghost can do something else?"

"No... If Old Ghost still wants to do something, then the content in the book won't stop here. This situation is more like the chapter event has ended, but the matter is not yet finished."

Chen Miao suddenly looked up at the flying skulls nailed to the wall in the room.

He stood up, picked up the peach wood sword in his hand, and thrust it toward the flying skull.

Without the talisman's enhancement, and with a black handprint on the sword, Chen Miao's thrust was much less precise.

But he didn't dare to take out the spare peach wood sword from the book now. Who knew if the old man was still hiding nearby? After all, Chen Miao had never sensed the old man's presence from the beginning.

If the book's secret is discovered, Chen Miao might really die.

It took Chen Miao a full five minutes to kill all six flying skulls on the wall, remove the six bone needles, and put them away.

I opened the book again, and this time, it was finally over.

[Chapter 8 Epilogue - The Sorcerer (Completed), Obtained Yin Virtue (1.2 taels), Obtained "Sokun's Sorcery Notes", Obtained "Ghost Scorpion Breeding Manual".]

"Aren't there any fragments of Sokun's memories?"

Thinking of the circumstances of Suokun's death, Chen Miao felt a chill.

"What exactly is that mummified corpse?"

Chen Miao thought of how the mummified corpse had left, and suddenly reached out to touch his abdomen. He remembered the Yin Well in the Nine Apertures that Zhong Cai had mentioned.

"The navel is a yin well that nourishes yin energy?"

"That thing, is it a Yin energy?"

……

(End of this chapter)