Through their spiritual connection, Mo Chuan knew only that the Sacrificial Dao Furnace could intercept ownerless incense and fire!
Yet through actual experience, Mo Chuan discovered that the Sacrificial Dao Furnace's functions went far beyond that.
Or rather, from the single function of intercepting ownerless incense and fire, all manner of marvelous uses could be derived.
For instance, when incense and fire served as a mirror, it could reveal every minute detail around it.
Since he could not discern the true nature of Steward Zhang's principal wife, why not use the incense-and-fire mirror to observe her closely?
Whether Mo Chuan's appearance came with a halo that naturally inspired goodwill;
Or Steward Zhang was simply clutching at straws in his desperation over his illness.
In any case, Steward Zhang readily agreed to Mo Chuan's request.
Recently, Zhang Manor had prepared an impressively complete assortment of ritual implements and materials to ward off evil. They had even raised several donkeys and black dogs, ready at any moment to cut hooves and draw blood.
Three sticks of incense were naturally no difficulty.
Before long, a servant brought the incense.
Steward Zhang trembled as he knelt before the door, offering incense and praying to Daoist Master Mingchen's Patriarch.
The sight left the two shamans beside him exchanging bewildered looks.
It worked!
As Mo Chuan sensed a faint wisp of incense and fire coming from the Sacrificial Dao Furnace, delight rose in his heart, accompanied by a measure of surprise.
He had seen personal incense and fire before.
For example, Li Guanqi's wife. Though her incense and fire had been weak, it had been extraordinarily resilient—hundreds or even thousands of times stronger than Steward Zhang's.
It seems the Sacrificial Dao Furnace judges the quality of ownerless incense and fire before intercepting it!
No, to be precise, only pure Incense and Fire Prayer Power can activate the Sacrificial Dao Furnace's interception threshold!
A thought flashed through Mo Chuan's mind. His gaze immediately fell into the incense and fire, using it as a mirror to observe the worshipper and the surrounding environment.
When his gaze landed on the principal wife, his expression instantly turned strange.
At the gate of the principal wife's life, he actually saw a bald monk nine inches tall, who was with the wife...
"Fuck!"
A national curse slipped from his mouth before he could stop it.
"Daoist Master..."
Steward Zhang looked over in confusion, utterly unaware that ten thousand horses were already galloping across his head, leaving lush green grasslands behind.
"Ahem. This humble Daoist has discovered the evil spirit!" Mo Chuan said, somewhat sympathetically.
"R-really?" Steward Zhang was overjoyed.
Mo Chuan stepped into the room and shouted sternly, "You bald donkey, get out here! If you refuse to reveal yourself, don't blame this Daoist for summoning Golden Crow blazing fire and boiling you into mud!"
As he spoke, Mo Chuan raised his right hand, and a wisp of sunlight shimmered from his palm.
The principal wife's body trembled. The little monk fell to the ground and kowtowed.
"Daoist Master, spare my life! Daoist Master, spare my life!"
Its true body was a drop of lamp oil. It feared the most rigid and yang energy above all else, and upon seeing Mo Chuan's sunlight, it was like a mouse encountering a cat, terrified beyond measure.
"You filthy thing, jump in yourself!"
Mo Chuan pointed at the teapot beside him.
The monk was filled with terror. Knowing it had no power to resist, it hurriedly jumped into the teapot.
Mo Chuan picked up the lid with a look of disgust and covered the pot.
If he did not still have some doubts that needed verifying, he would have long since cut down this filthy thing with a single sword stroke.
"Daoist Master, th-this is..."
Steward Zhang, standing at the doorway, had long been left dumbfounded.
Only after the little man entered the teapot did he dare to speak and ask.
"Do not panic. It is merely a minor spirit with some cultivation. This humble Daoist has already subdued it. Madam only needs to recuperate for a while."
Mo Chuan spoke with considerable sympathy.
"That's good! That's good!"
Steward Zhang was beside himself with joy. Looking at his wife again, he found that she was no longer gasping for breath and had even fallen into a peaceful, deep sleep.
"The calamity has been resolved. This humble Daoist shall now take his leave!"
Mo Chuan cupped his hands and turned to go.
"Wait!"
Steward Zhang hurriedly called after him.
"Daoist Master, you have lifted Zhang's worries and solved Zhang's troubles. How can you leave without even drinking a cup of tea? If word gets out, people will say Zhang knows no etiquette! Daoist Master, why not stay for a meal, so Zhang may thank you together with his family?"
Hearing this, Mo Chuan replied meaningfully,
"The sun is sinking in the west. This humble Daoist will stay the night at Gathering Virtues Tower. If Steward Zhang truly wishes to show his sincerity, simply send someone to pay this humble Daoist's room fee."
With that, he strode away.
At those words, Steward Zhang's old face immediately burned with embarrassment!
If he truly cared about his reputation, would not giving gold and silver have been a hundred times better than asking him to stay for a meal?
His invitation to dine was merely because he feared Mo Chuan's treatment addressed the symptoms but not the root cause, and he wanted to observe things a little longer.
After Mo Chuan departed, he went straight to Gathering Virtues Tower and rented a superior room.
After inspecting all around and confirming that the walls had no ears, he set the teapot on the table and said, "Come out!"
The teapot shook, and the nine-inch monk emerged. It landed on the table and bowed its head. "This little monk greets Daoist Master."
Mo Chuan said, "Tell me of your origins!"
The little monk hurriedly replied, "Yes, Daoist Master. This little monk was originally a lampwick grass born of heaven and nurtured by earth. At some unknown time, someone plucked me and made me into a candle. When flames burned all over my body, this little monk was desperate to save his life, so I squeezed myself into a drop of oil and jumped out. That was how I became what I am now."
Mo Chuan asked, "So you are a plant spirit! Then why did you commit such filthy acts?"
The little monk said, "Daoist Master, please see clearly. This is jade flowing like water, pearls rolling like dew; the yin cauldron and yang furnace, a method of dual cultivation."
Mo Chuan smiled without smiling. "You have some nerve, daring to use words to needle this Daoist?"
The little monk's face filled with terror. It kowtowed like a pestle pounding garlic. "This little monk would not dare! Daoist Master has misunderstood me. It was the Steward's wives who were lonely in their chambers and voiced their grievances beneath the lamp. Only then did this little monk dare reveal himself and cultivate with them!"
Mo Chuan sneered. "Sophistry! You are a demon, while she is human. You call this dual cultivation? This is plainly harvesting yin to replenish yang! Tell me, where did you hear of this yin cauldron and yang furnace?"
The little monk said, "In Steward Zhang's study."
Mo Chuan was greatly surprised. "Steward Zhang?"
"Daoist Master, this little monk absolutely dares not lie or deceive you! Steward Zhang is forty-eight, yet he has taken seven wives. His vigor has waned, so he is deeply obsessed with dual-cultivation methods. His study contains many such books. This little monk learned this cultivation method after reading them."
"Is that so? When the half-immortal great master was subduing demons and eliminating evil, not only did you fail to hide, you became even more wanton. Could bedroom arts researched by mortals have such an effect?"
As he spoke, Mo Chuan's eyes shone as sunlight flickered endlessly within them.
"Daoist Master, please see clearly. Th-that truly was a bedroom art recorded in the study! It was only that this little monk found a Daoist art tucked within the layers of one book. It was called Ascending Copy!"
"Oh? Recite it once for me. Do not play tricks. If this Daoist discovers anything, I will immediately cook you down into lamp oil!"
"Yes, Daoist Master!"
The little monk was terrified and hurriedly recited the Daoist art.
When Mo Chuan finished listening, his heart shook violently.
Ascending Copy
—The meaning of rising, the foundation of replication.
That was to say, this art could magnify a certain trait of an object or affair.
For example, it could make flames burn more fiercely.
Unexpectedly, this little monk had used it upon women's lustful fires. No wonder Steward Zhang's wives had experienced pleasure so intense it bordered on agony.
"Is the paper recording this Daoist art still there?"
Mo Chuan asked without betraying any emotion.
"It is, Daoist Master! This little monk will go fetch it for you at once!"
"Tell me the location. This Daoist will retrieve it himself!"
"Yes, Daoist Master."
The little monk did not dare conceal the slightest detail and explained the location from beginning to end.
After listening, Mo Chuan gestured toward the teapot with his chin. "Go back!"
"Yes, Daoist Master."
The little monk was bitter at heart, yet did not dare show it. It could only turn around respectfully and crawl into the teapot.
Seeing this, Mo Chuan immediately tossed the teapot back into the Sacrificial Dao Furnace.
—He had tested it long ago. The Sacrificial Dao Furnace could hold living creatures, so keeping Lampwick Monk inside naturally posed no problem.
After doing so, he rose and left the room.
Not long afterward, in a secluded deep alley, he found an old beggar and paid him half a string of cash to make a trip. From beneath an abandoned Land God Temple, the beggar retrieved a sheet of green paper as thin as cicada wings.
"Sure enough, not a single word differed!"
"That filthy thing probably did not have the ability to fabricate it. If it truly possessed such meticulous scheming, it would not have committed such foul acts in broad daylight!"
"But..."
As Mo Chuan's thoughts shifted, a new idea surfaced in his heart.
There is no need to explain this little monk's origins. Hong Kong films have covered it, and it is one of the ten forbidden books of ancient times. This book has made some secondary alterations, so do not dwell on it.
Before you continue