Nezha's Senior Brother, Whom He Had Never Met

Your character "Quarryman" had died. The lore roleplay had ended.

Obtained "Unformed Stone Crone Ghost Eyeball."

Yang He's eyes were dull and lifeless. The pain of near death did not bother him; he had long grown used to it. What truly mattered was that he had discovered the Ghost in the Stone was actually connected to Empress Nuwa.

"Wasn't Empress Nuwa's festival the very beginning of the plot of Investiture of the Gods?"

Yang He had to admit that King Zhou's ability to court disaster ranked among the very best.

At first, the Shang Dynasty in the original work still had its National Destiny, with at least several decades of peaceful days left. Yet during a festival held to worship the realm, King Zhou suddenly lost his mind and set his sights on Empress Nuwa.

That was right. King Zhou not only lusted after Nuwa's statue, but also composed a poem on the wall and let the commoners entering and leaving Nuwa Palace admire it.

If there had been no immortals or Buddhas in the world of Investiture of the Gods, it would not have meant much. The problem was that Empress Nuwa truly existed, and she noticed King Zhou's blasphemy at a glance.

Seeing that the Shang Dynasty's fate had yet to run out, Empress Nuwa summoned evil entities to bring calamity upon the court.

That was what led to Daji's later appearance.

"In the Lore World, Empress Nuwa's festival seems to have become even more sinister."

Yang He exchanged for the Stone Crone Ghost Eyeball and stuffed it into the pouch where he kept his ghost eyes.

Unformed Stone Crone Ghost Eyeball

A yin object derived before the Stone Crone Ghost was born. It could be refined through the "Dao of the Stone Crone." If embedded into rock and watered daily with blood, it would produce a Stone Crone Ghost after ten days.

"Using evil entities to carve divine statues... are you sure you're worshipping Empress Nuwa?"

Yang He swallowed, then summoned the panel again.

Mundane Object: Stone-Born Stone

Associated Lore: "Ghost in the Stone." Consume 1 point of Spiritual Vision to enter the Lore World?

"Continue. The urgent priority is advancing the Pupil Ghost to the Hungry Ghost stage."

The identities "Quarryman" and "Hunter" had died and could not be selected for roleplay.

Quarryman (White): You went to an abandoned mine to quarry stone. When someone found you, your corpse seemed embedded in the rock wall.

Hunter (White): You searched the wilderness alone for isolated prey. The next day, you were found dead at the foot of a mountain, your corpse transformed into a stone statue.

Yang He shook his head. Who knew how many people would die over quarrying stone?

Please select the identity to roleplay in the lore.

The first role was still temple attendant. The information in its description had barely changed, since only a brief moment had passed in the Lore World.

Quarryman (White): As the festival in Chaoge was underway, one hundred and eight divine statues were needed for consecration. A large number of quarrymen headed into the mountains, and you were one of them.

Soldier (White): The mistress of the General's Mansion was pregnant with her third child and had been in poor health. You were responsible for escorting her to Chaoge to rest and carry the child to term.

The quarryman role appeared again, which did not surprise Yang He. What made his eyelids twitch was the identity of a soldier from Chentang Pass.

"All the civil and military officials have to attend the festival. Li Jing will definitely be there."

"Madam Yin won't turn into a ghost in Chaoge, will she? Damn it, Nezha's senior brother, whom I've never even met—you haven't even taken shape yet. Stay obediently in your mother's womb and don't cause any trouble!!"

After considering it carefully, Yang He chose to roleplay as a temple attendant.

Judging from how things had developed, they were still in the early preparation stage before the festival, yet the bizarre Stone Crone Ghost had already appeared.

There was no benefit in continuing to quarry stone. He might as well infiltrate Five Lights Temple early.

There should be a relatively safe stretch of time before the stone materials arrived.

Consume 2 points of Spiritual Vision to impart the Qi Gazing Technique to the identity "Temple Attendant"?

Consume 2 points of Spiritual Vision to impart the Three-Headed, Six-Armed Dharma Body to the identity "Temple Attendant"?

"Confirmed."

Inside the main hall of Five Lights Temple.

The floor was paved with blue bricks, while undulating patterns were outlined across the walls.

An eerie divine statue stood in the center, resembling the remains left after a great fire. Even the offerings before it had turned to charcoal.

Twenty or thirty people sat cross-legged on prayer mats with their eyes closed. All of them were temple attendants of Five Lights Temple.

Yang He gradually regained consciousness, but his body was still unable to move.

He was one of the temple attendants seated on the prayer mats. He could smell incense in his nostrils, and the two ghosts within him slowly awakened.

"Hm?"

The Pupil Ghost issued a warning, while the Force Ghost restrained its aura and did not dare reveal itself.

Yang He cursed inwardly. The Pupil Ghost could sense yin energy so dense it seemed tangible. Not one of his roles ever began peacefully.

There was a ghost... in the same room as him.

"Miaoyin, how many temple attendants are taking part in the baptism this time?"

"Reporting to Elder Xuanzhao, twenty-four in total."

Yang He narrowed his eyes and noticed a person and a ghost conversing by the doorway.

Or rather, a person and a corpse.

Yang He's heart trembled as he examined the so-called Elder Xuanzhao from the corner of his eye.

He looked seventy or eighty years old, with dark skin covered in burn scars. Whenever a draft blew through the hall, an unpleasant stench of rotting flesh drifted over.

"Hiss..."

Under Spiritual Vision, Elder Xuanzhao's skin did not contain flesh, blood, or bones.

Instead, it was filled with countless twisted faces piled together and wailing. The faces tried to burrow out through the skin, but were held firmly in place, their agony plain to see.

Yang He's scalp went numb.

Unlike cultivators who raised ghosts, this man seemed more like a temporary vessel for sealing ghosts.

And he had sealed away thousands of them.

Ghostly faces packed painfully together beneath his skin, seemingly being kneaded together bit by bit, like lumps of differently colored clay mixed into one mass.

It was nauseating beyond words. It was difficult to imagine what would happen if that skin ruptured.

The other temple attendant, Miaoyin, also had dark skin covered in scars, but there were no ghost faces inside him. He was merely an ordinary old man.

Elder Xuanzhao said, "Empress Nuwa's birthday will arrive in another two months. Do not increase the number of our living immortals. Do not forget that quite a few living immortals have already lost control."

Miaoyin appeared slightly nervous. Breathing heavily, he asked, "What about you, Elder? How is your condition?"

Elder Xuanzhao did not reply. He merely stared blankly at the crescent moon, while the thousand ghosts inside him wailed and desperately battered against his skin, trying to escape.

Yang He clicked his tongue inwardly. Could Five Lights Temple be raising evil entities?

Divine statues made from evil entities, then consecrated by evil entities... Were they afraid the festival would go too smoothly? Would they be unhappy if they failed to summon something sinister?

Yang He quietly looked around and found that the temple attendants present were gradually waking up.

Their expressions were incomparably fanatical. They had clearly known about the baptism beforehand, as though they could attain immortality as long as they survived this night!

Yang He felt that Five Lights Temple carried the flavor of Buddhism everywhere.

In the original work, Buddhism had not yet spread into the Central Plains.

Yet the Western Buddhas had long begun laying their plans.

Many members of the Jie Sect and Chan Sect later joined the West. The most notable was Daoist Rādharana; one had to know that Rādharana was the Chan Sect's second-in-command.

Knock knock knock.

Miaoyin struck a bronze gong, signaling the start of the baptism.

"Great God of Five Lights above, answer with boundless divine might..."

He swayed his head as he muttered nonsense, then took out a coil of incense and hung it from the statue's hand. It needed no flame, yet wisps of smoke had already begun to spread.

Yang He heard the sound of a knife slicing through butter coming from Miaoyin's entire body. His skin seemed to be undergoing scorching heat, and the proliferating scars became increasingly apparent.

Immediately after that.

The twenty-four temple attendants followed suit.

Their skin reddened and swelled, with blisters forming across it.

Most horrifying of all, their internal organs seemed to be soaking and boiling in hot water. This so-called baptism was in fact tormenting them with burning pain from the inside out.

Spiritual Vision: 103.5 points

Yang He's Spiritual Vision began to increase. His organs gradually failed. It seemed the temple attendants had consumed special pills beforehand, so the pain was not intense, but the abnormalities in his own skin still made his hair stand on end.

More precisely, his skin was turning into a ghost!