Midnight Worship Ghost Mountain

"Wah! Wah!"

In the dead of night, crows flew in disarray.

Dense forests intertwined, and candlelight flickered from lanterns.

Perhaps it was due to the sheer number of buried dead, but this Mass Burial Grounds wasn't desolate. Instead, it was lush with green trees and exceptionally dense wild grass.

Yin mist rose, obscuring figures more than a hundred meters away.

The light was dim, and the ground, slick from rain, caused people to fall frequently.

There were no shortage of timid individuals in the group.

As they walked, they scanned their surroundings, always feeling as if something in the dim, misty gloom was watching them, making their scalps tingle.

But remembering Wang Dao Xuan's instructions, no one dared to speak.

Li Yan, naturally, walked at the very front.

He kept his left hand on his saber hilt and held a bamboo pole in his right.

The advantage of his Olfactory Mystical Power was most apparent at this moment.

The surrounding mist was thick and the darkness absolute, yet he could easily distinguish various scents through his nostrils.

He could smell decaying leaves, the poisonous insects scurrying through the grass, the venomous snakes coiled on branches dozens of meters away, and even the rats burrowing a few meters underground couldn't escape his nose.

To him, this dark forest was no different from broad daylight.

But what caught Li Yan's attention even more was the Yin Energy here.

He had visited Xianyang City several times. It was a place with a thriving populace and, as a millennium-old imperial city with many temples enjoying abundant incense, it was very suitable for people to live in.

Only a few wells and hidden passages retained faint traces of Yin energy.

Here, in the Mass Burial Grounds, however, the Yin Energy was very pronounced.

Unlike the Cold Altar Rampaging Soldiers of the past, this was a cold, dead, and decaying scent that permeated every corner, seeped into the ground, and clung to the vegetation along the roots.

This was why the plants here were unusually vigorous, and dense fog persisted even on sunny days.

"Splash! Splash!"

As the bamboo pole stirred, various poisonous insects and snakes were startled and fled.

Wang Dao Xuan naturally knew of Li Yan's abilities. He focused on surveying the terrain, simultaneously holding a lantern and observing the compass's movements.

The art of Feng Shui and geomancy was profound and extensive.

One who could divine Feng Shui might not necessarily be able to create a Feng Shui formation.

Wang Dao Xuan dabbled in various methods, but mostly only had a superficial understanding or was a beginner. Only in Feng Shui and divination had he invested significant effort in his research.

Before long, he found a suitable spot. After passing through a dense patch of woods, he waved his hand, signaling everyone to stop.

This was a peculiar area.

Close to the dense forest, not a blade of grass grew. Many jagged rocks stood around, like inverted halberds, resembling a natural, dilapidated temple in the mountains.

Li Yan twitched his nose, his eyes also showing curiosity.

He could smell the Yin Energy converging here, like an undercurrent in a river, swirling and circling, faintly forming a Momentum.

As soon as they stepped into the clearing, the temperature around them dropped several degrees.

Li Yan understood; this was likely what Wang Dao Xuan called "Momentum"!

Between heaven and earth, Firm Qi and malevolent energy circulated, forming "Momentum." Further progress could lead to the formation of a "Formation."

The main difference between "Momentum" and "Formation" was that one was like a whirlpool or undercurrent, still relying on external conditions, while the "Formation" created a closed environment.

These were merely designations, with no inherent superiority.

The "Momentum" of grand mountains and rivers was majestic, like a celestial being wielding a sword, standing tall on the earth, far more powerful than the "Formation" found in obscure corners.

All formations, Feng Shui, and even treasure locations in the world were related to this.

This was clearly a good place to perform a Ritual.

But Wang Dao Xuan was not in a hurry. He stepped forward a few paces, circled the area with his compass, then used a shovel to dig away the loose topsoil, grabbed a handful of dirt, and put it in his mouth.

"Ptooey!"

After tasting it, Wang Dao Xuan quickly spat it out. He then stood up, picked up a branch, drew a circle on the ground, and nodded at everyone.

Sha LiFei immediately stepped forward, bringing several people to unload their burdens.

Inside were wooden boards and poles with mortise and tenon joints. In a few simple steps, they assembled a square table. Then, they spread a yellow cloth, talismans, and the Five Offerings – namely incense, flowers, lamps, water, and fruit – immediately creating a temporary altar.

Finally, Troupe Leader Zhou cautiously stepped forward.

He also carried a wooden chest on his back, covered with red cloth. After carefully opening it, a vividly painted clay idol was revealed inside. It wore a red bellyband, held a shadow puppet stick, and had an endearingly naive smile.

This was the ancestral idol of the Spring Breeze Troupe.

Li Yan could smell only the faint scent of incense on it. It was clear that something had been worshipped here before, but it had since dissipated.

This situation was not uncommon.

Whether it's a statue of a god or a City God Temple, to some extent, it's also a form of "momentum" or "formation," just one dominated by divine Firm Qi.

If fate runs out or souls are not strong enough, and the incense offering is interrupted, the "momentum" will dissipate.

Fierce entities like the Cold Altar Rampaging Soldier will even cause trouble and harm people.

In the morning, Wang Dao Xuan had already opened the statue, cleaned it carefully, fumigated it with pine resin incense, and then placed beads symbolizing internal organs and huai wood inside.

This is "Filling the Statues."

It's not comparable to temple statues, but if a sufficiently powerful entity is invited and receives daily incense offerings, it can also protect the Spring Breeze Troupe.

After completing all this, everyone waited with peace of mind.

Without realizing it, the Yin Hour arrived.

With a signal from Wang Dao Xuan, the members of the Spring Breeze Troupe, led by Troupe Leader Zhou, immediately burned paper money and sycee, held three incense sticks, bowed sincerely, and secretly recited the Inviting the Gods Incantation.

Meanwhile, Wang Dao Xuan held a bag of incense ash and sprinkled three nested squares around the offering table.

The three circles of incense ash symbolized the city walls.

This was like building a parasol tree to attract a phoenix.

But Wang Dao Xuan himself was unsure what would be attracted at this moment.

Following the same procedure as before, he stood before the ritual altar, chanted scriptures and spells, paced the Gang and stepped the Dipper, then held water in his mouth and sprayed it out forcefully.

Instantly, wind and water surged, and the entire ritual altar generated "momentum."

But unlike last time, this time the surrounding Yin Energy also flowed, forming a stronger "momentum" around the ritual altar.

Of course, ordinary people couldn't perceive any of this.

But as the surrounding Yin Wind picked up and the temperature dropped again, even Troupe Leader Zhou began to feel apprehensive, holding his three incense sticks and bowing in prayer.

As for Li Yan, he stood far away, holding his saber.

He had another task, and it was crucial to the success of this ritual.

Whoosh~

Suddenly, the surrounding Yin Wind began to strengthen.

A hissing sound echoed in the night mist.

The sound seemed to come and go, yet it clearly reached everyone's ears.

Troupe Leader Zhou rejoiced and looked up at Wang Dao Xuan.

This was a sign that something had been attracted. At this point, all they needed to do was break open a gap in the incense ash circles on the ground, which would signify opening the city walls and inviting the gods to reside within.

They had never had such a smooth process before.

However, Wang Dao Xuan was not in a hurry; instead, he looked at Li Yan.

Li Yan took a deep breath.

He could smell a cold, snake-like scent lingering in the distance.

Judging by the intensity of the smell, it was only slightly stronger than ordinary Yin Souls.

This thing was nowhere near strong enough...

Li Yan subtly shook his head at Wang Dao Xuan.

Wang Dao Xuan understood immediately and ignored it, continuing the process of inviting the gods with the others.

As expected, the snake-like scent lingered for a while before quickly dissipating.

After another half an incense stick's time.

Caw! Caw!

The cry of an old crow echoed in the black mist.

It also seemed to come and go, yet it was clearly audible.

Without Li Yan needing to judge, Troupe Leader Zhou's face darkened, looking extremely displeased.

Old crows were the most inauspicious creatures.

Not only were they birds, signifying that the troupe would suffer hardship and travel far and wide, but their cries also tended to attract Malevolent Spirits, symbolizing death.

Inviting such a thing was tantamount to inviting disaster upon themselves.

The crowd could only continue the ritual with resignation.

But a trace of worry appeared in Wang Dao Xuan's eyes.

There were taboos regarding the number of times one could invite spirits; only three times were permitted.

On the third attempt, no matter what appeared, they had to accept it, otherwise the ritual that night would fail.

Not only would they fail to invite anything, but Malevolent Spirits would attack them on their way down the mountain.

Thinking of this, Wang Dao Xuan felt a sense of doubt.

The location he had chosen was a place where Yin Energy converged in the Mass Burial Grounds, commonly known as the "Old Yin Coffin," and powerful entities were bound to be roaming outside.

If a "trap" was formed, it could even trigger a fight among the malevolent spirits.

All that came were small things, not even a whisper of wind.

Logically, this shouldn't be happening...

Not good, someone's causing trouble!

Wang Dao Xuan instantly understood. Disregarding the many taboos, he went to Li Yan's side and said in a low voice, "Someone's setting a trap to cause trouble. We need to find a way to drive them away, or if some evil thing is attracted, none of us will escape!"

Li Yan nodded and immediately charged into the darkness.

With his Olfactory Mystical Power activated, the dark forest was no hindrance to him. Gripping his saber, he crouched low, moving like a phantom.

Soon, he smelled an unusual scent.

It was the stench of wild dogs, mixed with a strong smell of decay, and there were many of them.

Li Yan immediately changed direction, scrambling up a small slope. He crouched low, hiding behind a tree and looking out.

He saw that below the slope ahead, in the open ground, stood many densely packed wild dogs. They were huge, their eyes glowing with blood-red light in the darkness, dotting the night and looking incredibly eerie.

And behind the pack of wild dogs stood several beggars.

They were in tattered clothes, holding a dog-beating stick in one hand and throwing some dark objects from a tattered cloth bag with the other.

They carried a smell of decay, yet an exotic fragrance wafted from them.

The pack of wild dogs scrambled for them, but made no sound.

It was dead men's flesh!

Li Yan's eyes narrowed, and he immediately recognized what it was.

Although he didn't know why these evil beggars heading west were causing trouble, nor what secret method they used, he understood that the other party definitely had more tricks up their sleeve.

He had to stop them immediately!

With this thought, Li Yan looked around, picked up a stone, swung his arm with all his might, and threw it using the Flying Locust Stone technique.

Whoosh!

As the sound of the stone breaking through the air rang out, a beggar's head split open, and he fell to the ground with a scream.

This move, however, startled the wild dogs.

Woof woof woof!

As if sensing the smell of blood, the pack of dogs immediately went berserk, drooling, and like madmen, they all lunged at that beggar