Master of Strange Dao

Yu Ziqing concealed all his aura, his hands forming a Seal, hiding his figure as he watched the crows that looked like a dark cloud once again soar into the sky, converging into a black serpent, proudly moving forward.

As the massive black serpent rose to a distant mountain, for a fleeting moment, Yu Ziqing felt as if the mountain had come to life.

A giant hand reached out, grabbed the serpent by the neck and with a "pfft," the sky full of black crows dispersed, a blood rain scattering down, falling into the mountain.

After a moment, everything returned to normal, those scattered black crows flew away again, continuing their hunt elsewhere.

Blood qi, Evil Qi, and a strange aura spread between heaven and earth for a brief instant.

Yu Ziqing was walking when suddenly, a large river appeared in front of him, which he had not noticed from high up in the air when it was daylight.

The river water reflected fluorescent light under the moonlight, looking pitch black.

An awning boat was active on the river surface.

At the bow of the boat was an incense burner about three feet in diameter, with a piece of incense as thick as a human arm inserted on top.

Accompanying the splashing water sounds, the oars creaked, and behind the awning boat, the surface was covered with large bubbles, as if a large group of things were following behind.

The lit faint smoke, mingled with the falling moonlight, continuously dropped into the water.

Yu Ziqing stood on the shore, looking out over the river surface, his expression chilling slightly.

His Yin God opened its eyes and saw a completely different scene.

In the incense burner, the incense was made of fingers, eyeballs, viscera, and other parts haphazardly molded together.

Following behind the awning boat were Water Ghosts, all scrambling for the incense fire that carried the scent of blood and Evil Qi laced with resentment.

The boatman, as if sensing Yu Ziqing, suddenly turned his head to look this way, showing his dark eye sockets and opening his mouth to smile, revealing two missing teeth, as he brought the boat over to Yu Ziqing's side.

"Brother, do you wish to cross the river?"

"How much is the fare?"

"Very cheap," the ferryman held up a finger.

"One what?"

"Just one incense stick will do."

"An incense stick like this one?" Yu Ziqing pointed to the incense burner at the bow.

"No, no, no, just a regular incense stick will do.

I provide offerings to the River God; only I can ferry people across this river. Without me, you won't be able to step into the Earth Spirit's domain.

That's the rule, anyone who comes here must follow it.

Even if you're from the court, it doesn't matter."

Yu Ziqing took out a Spirit Jade.

"This is all I have, if you don't want it, there's nothing I can do, my incense is not something you can handle."

The ferryman glanced at the Spirit Jade and reluctantly accepted it.

"Fine, Spirit Jade it is, better than nothing."

Yu Ziqing stepped onto the awning boat, and with the creaking of the oars, the boat slowly headed towards the opposite shore.

Yu Ziqing could clearly sense an asphyxiating feeling, as though he was passing through the river itself while crossing.

When he reached the shore, he suddenly heard a cacophony of human voices and could sense many people's presence.

Yet, when he looked from high above earlier, there was no one here.

After landing, Yu Ziqing looked to the side, and not far from the shore stood a Temple, bustling with noise and cries of vendors, incessant to the ear.

It seemed like a very ordinary place, but through the eyes of Yu Ziqing's Yin God, he saw an entirely different scene.

All those people were emaciated like kindling, their faces pale, someone gnawing on a sesame cake, but in reality, they were holding one incense stick, ceaselessly drawing in its fragrance.

In front of that temple, people kept entering, lighting incense to worship.

Amidst the quasi-presence of the Earth Deity's breath mingled the scents of blood, Evil Qi, and resentment...

Yu Ziqing, listening to the conversations of those people, knew this was the River God Temple, and they were all here to worship the River God.

A sense of being almost watched appeared, and Yu Ziqing immediately closed the Yin God's eyes.

Everything within view returned to normal, the crowd with rosy cheeks, looking as if they were attending a temple fair, participating in celebration activities.

Yu Ziqing didn't go over there; he headed towards a distant town instead.

At the entrance of the town stood a two-story archway, engraved with Shao Family Town.

It was nightfall, yet the streets of the town bustled like daytime, with people hawking their wares, others making purchases.

All shops were open, with large white lanterns hanging at the door, and coupled with moonlight, the place looked exceedingly strange.

No sooner had Yu Ziqing entered the town than someone approached to ask,

"Guest, do you need a place to stay? There's only one inn in this town."

"Lead the way," said Yu Ziqing.

Yu Ziqing was led all the way to the town center, to the front of a Land God Temple that was well-built and covered a vast area.

"Here?"

"Right here, the inn is just behind the Land God Temple. But to stay here, you must first offer incense; it's the rule."

After the man spoke, outside on the bustling street, the crowd suddenly fell silent, and everyone turned their heads in unison, looking expressionlessly at Yu Ziqing.

"Oh, alright, since it's the local custom, I shall comply," Yu Ziqing smiled and stepped into the Land God Temple.

In an instant, the street returned to its hustle and bustle, teeming with noise and activity.

Yu Ziqing's Yin God slowly opened his eyes, he saw the temple was built with bones for walls, and human skin for facades.

The hanging white paper lanterns were none other than screaming skulls burning with soul fires.

Inside the temple, the Golden Body statue was a fierce old man, with offerings before him consisting of flesh and blood, and the incense too was condensed from flesh and blood, with faint screams audible as it burned.

Yu Ziqing silently sighed, facing such an unworldly scene upon entering.

Earth Deity turned into an Evil God, living men feeding on incense fire.

Such earth-shattering changes had never been seen even in "An History Book."

The affairs of this place seemed to be a little tricky.

Yu Ziqing flipped his hand, took out stored incense, lit it, looked at the statue, pinched the incense in his hand, bowed slightly, and inserted it into the incense burner.

Tendrils of blue smoke rose, and the fierce-looking old man took a light breath, the incense burning rapidly, turning into two wisps of smoke that were inhaled into his body.

The next moment, outside the temple, people with pale faces and bearing weapons appeared.

Others outside were sharpening knives, preparing stools, and placing a wooden basin before the stools.

Yu Ziqing knew they were ready to slaughter him for fresh flesh and blood.

Suddenly, the fierce old man seated on the Divine Platform changed expression, reaching out to grab his own throat. His face turned black as he struggled to stand but then suddenly fell from the Divine Platform.

"The Earth Spirit is dead!"

A cry of alarm came, and people on the outside scattered in all directions.

The old man, fallen to the ground like a dying fish, grasped his own throat, writhing intensely.

With one hand, he kept pounding his chest, trying to vomit out what he had just swallowed.