A master of comedy!

Discovered?

Zhou Sheng was suddenly startled. His 180 years of cultivation were like a great river about to break through the ice, stirring restlessly in his dantian.

The three dragon veins, Yazi, Chiwen, and Suanni, also sensed the danger and suddenly opened their three pairs of dragon eyes.

However, Zhou Sheng suppressed the urge to attack, flapped his wings and continued flying, finally managing to fly into the gap of the bronze gate before the giant bear paw arrived.

boom!
The black bear spirit did not wake up, but seemed to sense the sound of mosquitoes flying by in its sleep, so it instinctively reached out and swatted them.

Even so, wherever his palm touched, a fierce wind howled and the earth shook.

Without looking back, Zhou Sheng continued flying forward, quickly passing through the gap and finally entering the mysterious treasure vault.

As soon as he entered, he was overwhelmed by the strong scent of incense, and it seemed as if countless voices were echoing in his ears: devout prayers, sorrowful weeping, and desperate curses...

It was as if I had suddenly fallen into a swamp. Under the pollution of various emotions, I found it difficult to maintain my seventy-two transformations and revert to my true form.

He lost his footing and fell from the sky.

Whoosh!

Zhou Sheng felt as if he hadn't fallen to the ground, but rather into a pile of... cold, hard metal?
When he climbed out and saw what was happening, his pupils dilated in shock.

Money, endless money!

His head, body, and hands were covered with copper coins, and these were not ordinary copper coins, but extremely precious... incense money!

The entire mountain was hollowed out and then piled with incense money!

A handful of these could be enough for the entire Zhou Family Band to perform for several days, and here it seems endless, with "gold mountains" as far as the eye can see.

Zhou Sheng had always thought he wasn't greedy, but now he suddenly felt that he had become materialistic. This incense money... it was really tempting!

The last time he went to Lao Gui Zhai, he was surrounded by a dazzling array of good things, and many of the treasures were very tempting to him, but unfortunately he was short of money.

But if you had the money here, wouldn't you be able to buy whatever you wanted?
Good heavens, have I stumbled into the God of Wealth's treasure trove?

For a moment, Zhou Sheng's heartbeat quickened slightly, but he was no ordinary person after all. His primordial spirit was powerful and his will was firm. He used his extraordinary self-control to restrain the greed in his heart.

Because the old man of Niushan once said that he must first take Zhong Kui's magic gourd, and then, if there is enough time, he can take other things.

Up to now, everything the old man Niu Shan said has come true, demonstrating his remarkable foresight.

Business comes first!

Zhou Sheng glanced longingly at the mountains of money, then quickly headed deeper into the treasure vault.

A moment later, he arrived at the very center of the treasure vault. There was no longer any money for offerings; instead, many wooden cabinets were displayed like exhibits, each containing various treasures.

There are medicine bottles that can invigorate you with just a whiff, strange stones that shimmer with moonlight, luminous pearls engraved with mysterious runes, and exotic flowers and herbs that fill the room with fragrance...

Zhou Sheng's gaze immediately fell on the third cabinet in the northeast corner, and sure enough, he saw a purple-gold gourd on the top shelf.

The gourd is entirely dark purple, a glaze that cannot be produced by humankind. It is said that the grievances of the City of the Wrongfully Dead were extracted and mixed with the heavenly fire during the tribulation of lightning, and then burned seven times on the Mirror of Karma in the Yama's Palace to create this eerie light that "can reflect cause and effect, but cannot reflect human images".

It was engraved with lines of thunder-like script and flame-like runes. Just a glance from afar was enough to shake Zhou Sheng's soul and instill a nameless fear in him.

Legend has it that the Celestial Master Zhong Kui once traveled the world with his sword, slaying ghosts and demons, capturing or killing the evil spirits who had escaped from hell, and restoring peace to the human world.

Therefore, he is known as the Holy Lord who bestows blessings and protects the home. As long as you put a portrait of Zhong Kui in your home, even the King of Ghosts will not dare to enter, for fear of provoking this natural enemy.

In its journey of vanquishing demons in the mortal realm, besides the most renowned Demon-Slaying Sword, the Purple-Gold Gourd is undoubtedly the most powerful in subduing demons.

Also known as the Soul-Collecting Gourd, it contains a vast microcosm within, imbued with the power of thunder and fire. Once a demon is captured, a gentle shake is all it takes to unleash a torrent of earth fire and a thunderbolt from heaven; even the most powerful ghost king will vanish into nothingness. Zhou Sheng gazed at the gourd with piercing eyes, his gaze sharp and intense. Looking at this legendary treasure was like witnessing lightning or standing before a fiery abyss; the overwhelming force of thunder and fire shook his three souls and made his seven spirits restless.

What an amazing treasure!

Without any hesitation, Zhou Sheng silently calculated the time while reaching out to grab the purple-gold gourd.

No one came to stop it, and there were no formations or restrictions to protect it, but the accident still happened.

Zhou Sheng's hand grasped at empty air.

Whoosh!
The purple-gold gourd actually transformed into a stream of light and disappeared, landing on another wooden shelf and avoiding his hand.

The treasure is sentient, and it clearly does not recognize Zhou Sheng, hence its avoidance.

Zhou Sheng naturally wouldn't give up, and reached out to grab it again, this time even faster, leaving behind afterimages in the air.

But the faster he went, the faster the gourd went, like a dark purple lightning bolt flashing and crisscrossing all around, incredibly fast.

Zhou Sheng had mastered the zombie technique and possessed nearly two hundred years of cultivation. Even without using the earth-遁法 (earth-遁法 is a type of magic that allows one to escape from the ground), his speed was as fast as lightning. Yet, he just couldn't catch it.

Several times my fingertips almost touched the gourd, but I just missed.

After missing his target once again, the gourd stood on top of the wooden cabinet, twitching slightly, its mouth curving downwards as if silently mocking Zhou Sheng.

It seems to be playing a game of hide-and-seek.

On the one hand, Zhou Sheng marveled at the spiritual power of the magic gourd, and on the other hand, he began to seek help from the Luoshu (a divination book) to find a way to subdue it.

The magic weapon of the Celestial Master Zhong Kui involves a great deal of karma, and therefore consumes a great deal of energy, causing Zhou Sheng considerable financial pain.

However, the method presented surprised him.

"The divine object possesses a spirit and awaits its former master. One can perform the Zhong Kui Yin Opera to summon it on its own. However, once the Yin Opera is performed, the Taiyin Talisman will be broken, and an incantation must be recited immediately, or one will be trapped in a deadly situation..."

Zhou Sheng never expected that the way to collect the gourd was actually to sing the song of Zhong Kui.

However, this method is extremely dangerous. Once the Yin play is performed, the Taiyin Talisman on his body will become ineffective. At that time, his aura will be exposed, like the sun hanging in the night sky, which will alarm countless demons.

He touched the dragon-binding lock around his waist. The rope not only automatically lengthened but also became transparent, and its existence could only be felt when touched with his hand.

Zhou Sheng took a deep breath, his gaze hardening.

He knew that the most dangerous and severe moment was yet to come. This time, there was no more advice from the old man of Niushan; he could only rely on himself.

I'm taking the gamble!

Black iron branded his face, fire swallowed his eyebrows; his pupils cleaved the night, judging yin and yang.

A stroke of cinnabar cracks the palace pillar; a copper spring hangs upside down, bought at impermanence.

As that precious moment was about to pass, Zhou Sheng had already painted the Zhong Kui face and prepared his emotions.

To deceive the magic gourd, the act must be convincing and realistic; one must not be careless.

He slowly opened his indigo-colored yin-yang eyes, and between his brows were two black flames burning skyward, their tips mixed with lapis lazuli powder.

With a thunderous roar, he made his grand entrance and established his presence.

"A leopard's head with piercing eyes, his aura like a rainbow; an iron face and a bushy beard that shake the heavens. In life, he did not drink the blood of treacherous officials; in death, he forever carries a ghostly lamp!"

...(End of this chapter)