Golden Shackles and Silver Locks

"Luoshu, can you complete this Immortal's Cloud Mica Pill recipe?"

Having tasted the benefits, Zhou Sheng immediately wanted to perform Turtle Shell Divination.

After all, this medicinal recipe was excellent, but it could only be taken twice. Having experienced the feeling of cultivation advancing a thousand miles a day, it was often difficult to accept the slow grind of time afterward.

What's more, the profession of Ghost Opera Performer was too special. Associating with ghosts and spirits all day was like walking on a tightrope in the dark night sky, with the constant risk of eternal damnation and a difficult end.

Most Ghost Opera Performers were considered remarkable if they lived past thirty.

And he was already twenty-one this year.

Therefore, he had to improve his Dao cultivation and increase his cultivation as quickly as possible, and taking medicine was undoubtedly a good choice.

In his sea of consciousness, the tortoise shell Luoshu trembled slightly, its light flickering, but ultimately, it failed to produce the golden flame.

This was a sign of insufficient energy, rendering divination impossible.

However, Zhou Sheng's eyes lit up with excitement. This meant that as long as he could accumulate enough energy for it, he could obtain the true Immortal's Cloud Mica Pill recipe through Turtle Shell Divination!

Luoshu's divinations could also fail, but failures were divided into two types. One was complete inability to divine, such as when Zhou Sheng had previously asked where to find Mysterious Skill Manuals or Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures.

To these, Luoshu had no reaction.

It seemed it could only divine things that had already become connected to his real life.

The other type of divination failure was due to insufficient energy, just like now. Luoshu trembled and flowed with light, attempting to condense golden flames, but ultimately failed.

This indicated that it was possible to divine the information, but energy needed to be accumulated first.

Zhou Sheng was already very satisfied.

The "castrated" version of the Immortal's Cloud Mica Pill recipe was already so potent. If the core part were not lost, what astonishing effects would it have?

For a moment, his heart was filled with motivation.

However, Zhou Sheng also knew the principle that haste makes waste. He still had an opportunity to take the medicine in seven days, so there was no need to rush before then.

It seemed it was time to leave Yangcheng, but before leaving, he had to go somewhere.

"Guest, would you like something to eat?"

In the inn, the waiter, seeing Zhou Sheng descend the stairs, immediately stepped forward and asked enthusiastically.

He couldn't tell if it was an illusion, but he felt that the young man before him seemed to have undergone some kind of change compared to last night.

It was hard to describe, yet difficult to ignore.

"Waiter, I've heard much about Duke Lu. I'd like to offer some incense to the City God. Do you know how to get there?"

"Heh, you've asked the right person. Our City God is very efficacious. That's Duke Lu. I heard that during his lifetime, he most enjoyed listening to Bao Gong plays. So, every year on Duke Lu's birthday, the government invites a troupe to perform Bao Gong plays at the City God Temple..."

Mentioning the City God, the waiter's eyes were filled with respect, and he chattered incessantly.

But a diner sneered and said, "If Duke Lu were truly efficacious, the troupe that performs for him every year wouldn't have been shut down for over a month now."

"Shen Jinhua was such a good Green-Robed Actress. Her voice, her posture, it's truly a shame. I heard she often used her own money to help orphans during her life. How can such a good person not have a good reward?"

Upon hearing this name, the expressions of others clearly changed.

"Hush, don't speak carelessly. Recently, I heard that things have been very chaotic in the troupe. Last night, the stage was broken, and some passersby seemed to have heard... someone singing Dou E..."

Although it was afternoon and the yang energy was abundant, mentioning this matter seemed to cast a chill over the entire inn.

People shook their heads and quickly changed the subject.

Zhou Sheng didn't linger any longer. Following the waiter's directions, he soon found the City God Temple of Yangcheng.

The blue bricks were mottled, and the atmosphere was solemn and majestic. The three to five halls had incense constantly burning, and the stone steps at the entrance were imprinted with the knee marks of believers.

He didn't enter immediately but waited quietly for a long time until dusk, when the sun set and the place became deserted, before walking up.

The stone lion at the entrance had a half-toed missing from its paw, and moss-like spots on its body resembled ink splashes. The ball under its paw was filled with prayer coins, which could be taken with a simple reach, yet no one dared to steal them.

As Zhou Sheng stepped forward, he felt, perhaps it was an illusion, that the stone lion's eyes seemed to be watching him.

An invisible deterrence washed over him, making him feel a strange pressure, as if he had been silently targeted by a ferocious beast in the dark.

Ghost Opera Performers, who constantly dealt with demons, ghosts, and malevolent spirits, often carried residual yin energy with them and could not easily enter temples, as it might disturb the deities enshrined within.

Stone lions themselves had the effect of suppressing evil. Having guarded the gate of the City God Temple for hundreds of years and absorbed the vitality of countless people, they naturally possessed extraordinary divine power.

If ordinary fierce ghosts dared to drift before the temple, they would be devoured by the lion's mouth before the yin soldiers or ghost generals could even make a move.

If it were him before taking the Cloud Mica Pill, he would have turned and fled immediately, likely unable to even pass the stone lions at the entrance.

But now, he withstood the pressure, his posture still upright and graceful, meeting the lion's gaze directly.

The rolling heat from his dantian surged into his eyes, further sharpening his eyesight, which he had honed since childhood, making it as sharp and piercing as a sword polished for ten years.

The stone lion was subdued, sensing that the person before it was not a demon or evil spirit, but a true cultivator with profound magical power, a master with Dao cultivation.

The feeling of being watched by a ferocious beast gradually dissipated.

Zhou Sheng stepped forward and paused slightly as he was about to enter the hall. He then took a deep breath and resolutely stepped inside.

The hall was not large but was tastefully decorated, clean, and tidy, with a strong scent of sandalwood.

The most captivating was naturally the City God statue enshrined in the center, dressed in official robes, looking about seventy to eighty percent similar to the old man seen last night.

Next were the six generals of the City God.

They were Black and White Impermanence, Ox-Head and Horse-Face, and the Golden Shackles and Silver Locks Generals.

Black and White Impermanence and Ox-Head and Horse-Face were well-known to the public, while fewer people knew about the Golden Shackles and Silver Locks Generals.

But in reality, these two generals were not simple.

They were also known as the "Fifth and Sixth Lords," specifically responsible for apprehending the most wicked and evil souls or those with extremely deep karma.

For example, the Hegemon of Wujiang who supposedly committed suicide.

Legend has it that after Xiang Yu died, his soul was fierce and difficult to control, and it was these two generals who ultimately used their implements to guide him.

Zhou Sheng's gaze fell upon the Silver Locks General.

Because the other seemed to be looking at him as well.

The bronze divine statue had a bristling beard, wore a golden fillet, a blue robe, and stood on a demon. In its hand, it clutched a silver chain, binding the neck of the demon beneath its feet.

Through those eyes cast from bronze and iron, he actually felt a certain emotion.

Snap!

The temple door slammed shut, plunging the interior into darkness. Only a few green lamps flickered, illuminating the majestic and terrifying faces of the divine statues.

Whoosh~

Zhou Sheng seemed to hear the rattling of chains. His vision blurred for a moment, and he saw the chain binding the demon slowly loosen.

Immediately after, the stone statue shed its form. The demon beneath the Silver Locks General's feet, freed from its bonds, instantly came alive, transforming into a ferocious ghost with sinister fangs and a terrifying visage.

Zhou Sheng heard an extremely sharp cry. In an instant, a foul wind swept over him, carrying a stench so putrid it was like a corpse that had rotted for months.

He felt a sense of dizziness, but fortunately, his Dao cultivation had improved significantly. A surge of his magical power cleared his head.

This was actually a more terrifying ferocious ghost than Shen Jinhua!

However, Zhou Sheng was no longer the same as before.

In a flash, he stepped through the Qian, Kun, Gen, and Zhen positions, his movements shifting in a celestial formation, his body flickering and elusive, as if moving with the borrowed East Wind, always dodging the ghost's attacks by a hair's breadth.

This was called the Eight Trigrams Steps, the celestial formation Zhuge Liang walked when performing "Borrowing the East Wind." It contained the mysteries of Qimen Dunjia and required the lighting of seven Seven Star Lamps to the rhythm of the drums during the wind summoning ritual.

In the past, Zhou Sheng's Eight Trigrams Steps were always lacking in fluidity and grace. Now, after taking the Immortal's Cloud Mica Pill, his body felt light and agile, allowing him to perform the steps with both spirit and form, avoiding any awkwardness.

Even the ghost found it difficult to touch his clothes for a time.

A moment later, seeing that the Silver Locks General had made no further move, Zhou Sheng frowned slightly and stopped.

"Since the General wishes to test my abilities, I shall oblige."

He flicked his sleeve to cover his face and, with lightning speed, applied the face paint he had drawn beforehand onto his sleeve.

When he revealed his face again, it had changed.

A Samadhi Fire marked his forehead, with crimson phoenix tail patterns.

A cross symbol secured his destiny, his eyes discerning good from evil!

The next moment, a theatrical chant, like thunder and fire, exploded, causing the green tiles on the roof to tremble slightly.

"Thunder and fire refine the palace, shattering the golden gates! I am--Venerable Manifestation of the Great Unity Thunder Sound!"