Turtle Luoshu

Yangcheng, a prefecture under the Great Xuan Dynasty, wasn't the most prosperous city, but it was of a decent size. Even at this late hour, several inns still had their lights on.

Zhou Sheng didn't leave Yangcheng immediately; instead, he checked into an inn.

The room wasn't large, but it was clean and tidy.

He set down his opera trunk, sat cross-legged on the bed, and finally, his taut nerves began to truly relax.

He didn't immediately examine the mysterious old man's gift. Instead, he eagerly closed his eyes, focusing inward.

In his mind, the ancient turtle shell inscribed with the characters 'Luoshu' was glowing brilliantly, a stark contrast to its previous dimness.

This was Zhou Sheng's greatest secret.

In his previous life, he had been a university student in Earth China, living an ordinary life. The only unusual thing about him was his fondness for collecting antiques.

Once, at a street stall selling antiques, he spotted a very old-looking turtle shell.

Its surface was covered in mottled green patina, and the crisscrossing cracks possessed an unusual beauty, as if it might shatter at any moment. The characters 'Luoshu' in the corner immediately caught his attention.

The vendor claimed it was the legendary 'Turtle Luoshu,' said to have emerged from the Luo River during Da Yu's flood control efforts. A divine turtle appeared, bearing divine patterns on its back that recorded the mysteries of all things in heaven and earth – this was the 'Luoshu.'

With the Luoshu, Da Yu was able to comprehend the secrets of mountains and rivers, redirect rivers, and reshape the world.

Seeing how much Zhou Sheng liked it, the vendor asked for a million.

Zhou Sheng offered a hundred, and the vendor sold it.

He thought he had overpaid...

But as it turned out, this turtle shell was indeed extraordinary. After a car accident, the turtle shell actually brought him to this world, which bore a striking resemblance to ancient China, even sharing much of its culture and history.

For instance, this world also had the Han and Tang Dynasties, but Huang Chao's rebellion succeeded. He stormed Chang'an, secured his rule, and established the Great Qi Dynasty, which lasted for 174 years.

After that, the river of history branched out, leading to entirely different outcomes. After numerous dynastic changes, the land was now ruled by the Great Xuan.

During this process, many famous figures from Chinese history had not disappeared; most still made their mark in historical records.

Take Lord Bao, for example. Although he had passed away centuries ago, his reputation and influence among the common people grew ever larger, surpassing even his standing in China.

However, the era he lived in was no longer called the Song Dynasty but was named the Great Gan.

After the Great Gan came the current Great Xuan.

Yet, more than three hundred years after its founding, the Great Xuan now showed signs of a declining dynasty. A tyrannical ruler sat on the throne, officials were corrupt, land was being hoarded, and natural disasters and man-made calamities plagued the land. People often gathered in the mountains to become bandits.

On his way to Yangcheng, Zhou Sheng had casually killed a group of mountain bandits who were robbing travelers.

Thinking of this, he felt immense gratitude towards the turtle shell. He remembered that when he first transmigrated, he had become a child who had starved to death while fleeing famine. When he woke up, he saw people starting a fire to cook soup...

The terror of that moment was something he could never forget.

Just as those people were salivating over him, a wolf demon, which had become sentient from consuming too much human flesh, attacked and killed them.

Zhou Sheng escaped in the ensuing chaos. Guided by the turtle shell, he encountered someone in his moment of despair.

It was the Ghost Opera Performer, Yu Zhensheng.

He had witnessed firsthand how the lightning-fast, bull-like wolf demon was effortlessly slain by Yu Zhensheng.

Spirit Officials spewed fire, and Divine Generals wielded their blades!

That night, he ate delicious roasted wolf meat.

Afterward, he was determined to become Yu Zhensheng's disciple. The latter initially refused vehemently, but again, with the guidance of the turtle shell, Zhou Sheng followed him for three days and three nights.

Yu Zhensheng looked at the tattered, wobbly, yet stubbornly determined child and finally softened.

So, late at night when no one was around, he would casually sing a few lines.

Zhou Sheng then began to practice those lines diligently. He already possessed good talent, and coupled with his hard work and diligence, he finally moved Yu Zhensheng.

He still remembered the day he finished singing the twenty-sixth rendition of "The Case of Executing Mei." His throat was practically bleeding, and a hand covered his mouth.

"If you want to learn Ghost Opera, you must protect your voice. Otherwise, you won't get through the Molting Season (puberty), and even the gods can't save you."

Yu Zhensheng picked him up, his movements gentle, but his voice was indifferent.

"Remember, you are the one who insisted on learning Ghost Opera. If you end up dying in the streets or your corpse is left in the wilderness... don't blame your master."

The past flashed before his eyes, and Zhou Sheng couldn't help but smile.

Although learning Ghost Opera was arduous, tiring, and dangerous, it gave him the means to survive in this chaotic world and allowed him to touch upon another bizarre and wondrous realm.

Cultivation, Longevity, Ghosts and Gods!

With the turtle shell in hand, he was confident that he could forge his own path to greatness in this mysterious and perilous world!

"Luoshu, who was that old man just now?"

Zhou Sheng silently asked the turtle shell in his mind.

The next moment, the turtle shell radiated light, and faint golden flames appeared at its base, seemingly baking the shell.

Zhou Sheng could faintly hear an ancient song, like the shamanistic music of ancient sacrifices, possessing a majestic, grand, and mysterious aura.

Legend had it that shamans of the Shang Dynasty often used turtle shells for divination, a practice known as 'Turtle Shell Divination.' They would bake the shell until it cracked, and then the high priest would interpret the will of heaven.

Therefore, the Records of the Grand Historian - Treatise on Divination by Tortoiseshell records that shamans, when performing turtle shell divination, would chant incantations, referring to the turtle as "Jade Spirit Master" and saying, "It ascends to heaven, descends to the abyss; of all spiritual calculations, none are as trustworthy as you."

With a faint, crisp crack, a mysterious fissure appeared on the turtle shell within Zhou Sheng's mind.

The next moment, a surge of information flooded into his brain.

"Lu Bingyuan, courtesy name Shoujiang, a man from the Mingjing era of the Great Gan Dynasty. He once served as the governor of Bing Prefecture in Pingyang Prefecture. In the thirty-seventh year of Mingjing, rebel forces attacked the city. Lu Bingyuan, to cover the evacuation of the common people into the bunkers of the Lüliang Mountains, led his troops in street fighting, blocking the enemy with his blood, fighting to the death without retreat."

"Later, the common people gathered his remains, pieced together his broken body, revered him as Duke Lu, built a temple, and offered sacrifices. His incense has never ceased. He now serves as the City God of Yangcheng."

Zhou Sheng opened his eyes, his gaze flashing. As expected, he was indeed the local City God!

A City God is an Underworld Official, responsible for all major and minor underworld affairs within a region. Under his command are six departments of Underworld Generals, Ghost Messengers, and Ghost Soldiers. They are genuine True Gods.

Fierce Ghosts like Shen Jinhua, though seemingly powerful, were nothing compared to the City God. Any Underworld Messenger or Underworld General could easily apprehend them.

But the problem was, the City God's attitude towards this matter was extremely ambiguous.

Based on his experiences in life, Lu Bingyuan should have been an upright person. Yet now, even though he knew Shen Jinhua had died unjustly, he did nothing.

Perhaps it wasn't that he wasn't doing anything, but that even a City God felt powerless?

Thinking this, a chill ran down Zhou Sheng's spine. He hesitated, and ultimately did not ask Luoshu who the true culprit behind the scenes was.

This was because every divination performed by Luoshu consumed a certain amount of energy.

That energy would automatically accumulate with the rising and setting of the sun, but very slowly. It would only increase dramatically when he slayed demons and eliminated monsters.

This was why the turtle shell had glowed when he killed Shen Jinhua.

Moreover, the more significant the question and the more heavenly secrets it involved, the greater the energy consumed during divination. Therefore, Zhou Sheng would not waste it carelessly.

After some thought, he took out the small box made of Golden Silk Nanmu from his embrace.

It was a gift from the City God; he wanted to see what treasure it truly was.