From Paper Craftsman to World-Suppressing Immortal

"Level 5, unlocked innate divine ability!"

Zhang Zhixuan muttered to himself, delighted, and at the same time, he also gained an understanding of the future of Taoist priests, pawnbrokers, and other professions that had not yet been activated.

"So, when other professions reach level five, they will also unlock their own innate divine abilities?"

"I remember Pei Shouzhen saying that the vast majority of magic users can only awaken one innate ability in their entire lives, and similarly, they can only awaken one innate supernatural power."

"It seems that, with the Book of a Hundred Trades, these are not my limitations at all..."

Thinking of this, Zhang Zhixuan felt both joy and worry.

What makes me happy is that with the knowledge of all trades, I have unlimited possibilities for the future.

The worry is that if he were to reveal that he possesses multiple innate supernatural abilities, it would likely cause a huge uproar in the circle of magic users and inevitably attract the attention of various forces.

"Forget it, we'll deal with whatever comes our way. Before absolute power, who cares if it's a god or a demon!"

Having figured all this out, Zhang Zhixuan stopped overthinking and began to seriously review all the skills of the paper craftsman who had just reached level four.

Subsequently, Zhang Zhixuan expanded the original paper puppet soldiers to four, and then made new weapons such as bows and arrows and spears, equipping them on the paper puppet soldiers.

After completing these tasks, he then created a white tiger puppet and a black tortoise puppet based on the blueprints in the Hundred Trades Book.

Each of the four celestial puppets has specific attributes and skills. The White Tiger has the most offensive methods and the fastest speed, while the Black Tortoise has the strongest defensive capabilities and can wade through water.

"We'll head to Linshuigu tomorrow, and the Xuanwu puppet will definitely come in handy." Zhang Zhixuan felt even more confident as he looked at the completed white tiger and black tortoise.

The two puppet figures are enormous, each over a meter tall, and can be used as temporary mounts in addition to being driven normally.

Before he knew it, he had been busy until late at night. Zhang Zhixuan's head was spinning and he was feeling sleepy. Thinking that he would have to meet up with Qingxuan and Wuming early the next morning, he packed his things and quickly went to sleep.

He slept soundly without any dreams, and woke up early the next morning before dawn.

Rubbing his sleepy eyes, Zhang Zhixuan looked outside and saw that the ground was wet and muddy, and he didn't know when it had rained last night.

The dirt road was particularly difficult to travel on after the rain, so Zhang Zhixuan simply rode the white tiger puppet to the agreed location.

When he arrived at the destination, he happened to see Wuming and Qingxuan waiting there in a mule cart they had hired.

The dirt road from Wuliu Town to Linshuigu was also soaked by yesterday's rain and became muddy. Along the way, mud mixed with gravel stuck to the wheels of the mule carts, accumulating thicker and thicker. Every time the cart rolled over a mud pit, it made a "squeak, squeak" sound.

The young Taoist priest Qingxuan would occasionally glance around at the roadside, muttering to himself, "This godforsaken place is only twenty or thirty miles from Jin City, how come it's so desolate?"

Wuming clasped his hands together, his eyes filled with sorrow: "Amitabha, the world is too chaotic, the people are struggling to survive, and without the people to cultivate the land, it will naturally become barren."

The mule cart creaked and groaned as it traveled for who knows how long, when it suddenly encountered a group of refugees fleeing famine.

They were in similar situations to the group Zhang Zhixuan had encountered before; they were all with their families, emaciated, and their eyes were filled with numbness and despair.

These refugees, carrying tattered bags, some holding dying children in their arms, others supporting elderly people with faltering steps, trudged forward step by step through the muddy ground.

"Beep! Beep!"

Just then, they heard car horns and engine sounds behind them. A truck full of soldiers sped by on the muddy dirt road, its wheels kicking up mud and water that splashed all over the refugees.

Many refugees were so startled that they fell into the mud, covered in mud and dirt. Only after the truck had driven away did they dare to slowly get up, wipe the mud off their bodies, and continue on their way.

Seeing this scene, Zhang Zhixuan couldn't help but sigh.

Ten years have passed since the fall of the previous dynasty, yet the world is still in complete chaos.

Various warlords occupied territories and ruled their own lands, caring only about seizing money and territory, and had no regard for the lives of ordinary people.

In addition to the war, various forms of exorbitant taxes and levies were imposed, exploiting the people at every level. The people were destitute and displaced. Even the surrounding areas of major trading ports like Tianjin were in this state, not to mention the inland areas ravaged by the war, where cries of despair were probably already everywhere.

The mule cart creaked and groaned as it struggled along the muddy dirt road for over an hour before finally, the driver reined in the mule and brought it to a stop.

The driver turned to the three men and warned them, "Gentlemen, we've arrived at Linshuigu! But, if I may add something, I've heard this town is haunted lately, really eerie. You can hear crying at night, and people keep disappearing. If you're done with your business, you'd better leave before dark and not stay overnight, lest you get into trouble!"

"Okay, thanks for reminding me."

With that, the three of them got off the carriage. Qingxuan paid the fare, and the driver drove the mule cart back without looking back, afraid that if he stayed even a second longer, he would be entangled by the evil spirit of the town.

Zhang Zhixuan and his companions walked to the vicinity of Linshuigu Ferry on their own.

The ferry crossing, which should have been bustling on ordinary days, was now deserted.

"It must be because the ferry crossing has been haunted for the past two weeks, and the boatmen are afraid to operate their boats."

Wuming clasped his hands together, his fingertips twirling the prayer beads, and softly murmured "Amitabha," his voice filled with compassion.

"Lingshuigu is a town that relies on the water for its livelihood. If boatmen don't operate their boats and fishermen don't dare to cast their nets, the people in the town will lose their livelihood. They will either flee to Tianjin or hide at home and dare not go out."

As the three talked, they walked into the town again. After strolling around for a while, they couldn't help but frown.

It was the height of the afternoon sun, which should have been the busiest time in town, but the main street along the river was deserted and eerily quiet.

Nine out of ten shops on both sides of the street had their doors closed, and most of the doors had yellow talismans for warding off evil spirits pasted on them.

There were hardly any pedestrians on the street. Occasionally, a grocery store would open its doors, and the owner would peek out from the street with a wary look in his eyes.

Zhang Zhixuan approached, intending to ask a few questions. Upon seeing strangers, the shop owner immediately slammed the shop door shut with a loud "bang," locking it completely, as if they were some kind of ferocious monster.

The entire town was shrouded in a suffocating sense of panic. Even the sound of the wind whistling through the streets carried an indescribable eeriness, as if something was secretly watching them from the corners.

In addition to the dampness of the soil, there was also a faint fishy smell in the air, which made people feel uneasy.

"The yin energy in this place is indeed ridiculously heavy."

Qingxuan put away his usual carefree attitude, and a solemn expression appeared on his face. As he spoke, he took out a compass from his pocket and opened the lid.

The compass needle spun wildly, sometimes clockwise, sometimes counterclockwise, unable to find its direction and showing no discernible pattern whatsoever.

"Look, the compass needle is all messed up. Either the feng shui here has been broken and the earth's veins are disordered, or there is a powerful evil spirit causing trouble in this town. The yin energy is disrupting the surrounding energy field, and even the compass is malfunctioning."