Sneak Attack

"Sir, please, please save my husband..."

The disheveled peasant woman, sobbing and tugging at the old man's clothes, looked quite panicked.

Several kind-hearted villagers, seeing that the man who had been possessed by Fox Immortal remained unconscious, felt it was not right to leave him lying naked on the ground.

They covered the man with a straw raincoat and carried him into the house using a sturdy door panel that had been salvaged from somewhere.

Left with no other option, the old man could only try to appease the peasant woman.

Lu Bai, on the other hand, remained silent, pulled up a small stool and sat down to the side. He was somewhat curious about how these incense sticks would exorcise evil spirits.

The village elder standing nearby was clearly uneasy, wanting to stay away from Lu Bai, yet afraid that doing so would anger him.

He still believed that Lu Bai was some kind of immortal being, and even suspected that Lu Bai was the one who caused all this trouble.

Soon, the old man's three apprentices returned one after another.

They offered incense and circled the village, but found no trace of the Fox Immortal. For some reason, the incense sticks were scattered, making it difficult to pinpoint its exact location.

After reporting this information to the old man, he remained silent for a moment, then turned to the village elder and said, "Please trouble you to invite all the villagers out."

Since they were still in the village, he assumed that the Fox Immortal must have possessed one of the villagers.

The village elder had no objection; in fact, he was quite pleased to be able to get away from Lu Bai for a short period of time.

Watching the village elder leave, the old man turned to Lu Bai and asked, "What is your opinion on this matter, Young Master Lu?"

Lu Bai chuckled and waved his hand, "I don't know anything, you figure it out yourself."

The old man nodded.

In his view, as long as this mysterious Young Master didn't cause trouble, he was confident in his ability to exorcise the evil spirit.

Indeed, the ability to possess someone means that this member of the Hu Men Immortal has reached the level of a top-level immortal, also known as Altar Immortal.

But he had dealt with deities of this level before during his years as Incense Officer, so he figured nothing unexpected would happen.

The village elders were quite efficient, probably in order to quell the unrest in the village as quickly as possible.

Before long, the villagers gradually gathered in the open space.

The entire Liu Family Village has fewer than a hundred households, and the total number of villagers is only a few hundred, so it doesn't feel crowded when they gather together.

The villagers were all talking at once, making the scene look chaotic.

The old man, unfazed, stepped forward, bowed to the villagers, and said loudly, "Thank you for your hard work, folks. Please wait a moment."

The murmurs subsided a bit; it seemed everyone recognized this incense stick vendor.

The old man walked around the crowd once, and then walked to the front of the crowd.

He paced back and forth, lighting incense as he went.

"My name is Tao Gui, and I serve as Incense Officer under Master Lord Bai the Fourteenth. May I ask which deity has come forward to speak with me?"

The inexplicably heavy atmosphere caused the crowd to fall completely silent.

"..."

The old man frowned slightly.

"Regardless of whose family you belong to, you're being a bit insensible."

The crowd remained quiet.

The village elder silently took two steps back, vaguely realizing that this matter was probably not going to end well.

"No matter where you moved from or where you used to live, you can't harm people, can you?"

After the old man finished speaking, he immediately fell silent.

Three attempts to persuade him were already more than enough.

If they still persist, then they are evil spirits.

The old man took out four incense sticks and lit them all at the same time.

As four wisps of smoke rose, the old man bowed four times in a certain direction.

Lu Bai clearly saw that the old man's originally bright eyes gradually became somewhat lost and dejected.

Then, for no apparent reason, the old man yawned and started humming a song.

Lu Bai couldn't understand it, but he was greatly shocked. So he grabbed the obedient apprentice and asked, "What's going on?"

Upon hearing Lu Bai's question, Liu Sheng hesitated for a moment before explaining, "Gaze Incense to cure illness."

Lu Bai then asked, "What's the explanation?"

Liu Sheng looked embarrassed. Logically speaking, he shouldn't reveal such inside information; these were things they had only learned after several years of apprenticeship.

But considering the old man's attitude towards Lu Bai, although he hesitated, he still lowered his voice and began to explain...

There are many ways to burn incense, the two most common being the top and the bottom.

The process of Top Incense is a state of fascination, as if possessed by Altar Immortal, and the incense burner becomes confused and disoriented. This is generally referred to as "curing illness with Top Incense."

In contrast, Gaze Incense appreciation does not require fascination; one only needs to enter a state of "Commune with Spirits."

If the Altar Immortal does not possess the body, and the person holding the incense remains fully conscious throughout the process, this is called healing by Gaze Incense.

There's not much to say about the method of burning Top Incense; its strength depends solely on the spiritual attainment of the deity being worshipped and the suitability of the Incense Officer for possession.

However, there are many things to consider when Gaze Incense.

There are the most intricacies involved here.

Yawning, singing, and changing accents are all considered forms of deep concentration. Generally speaking, the more obvious the influence, the greater the burden on the incense burner.

The most legendary and supreme enchantment technique has no effect on the person Top Incense, but it can perfectly utilize the magical Mana of the immortals.

Of course, a local official like Grandpa Tao, who was in charge of a dilapidated village, would not be capable of such an obsession.

However, it's usually enough.

After chatting for a while, Grandpa Tao's singing grew louder and louder, and then he suddenly let out a loud shout.

"Lock the Door."

Upon hearing the shout, Liu Sheng and another apprentice quickly ran to the left and right corners, lit an incense stick, and then began to dance wildly.

The chubby apprentice took a rusty, peeling bell and rhythmically struck it behind the old man.

The two apprentices' dance moves were hardly graceful, yet they possessed a strangely ancient and harmonious beauty.

Snap

Grandpa Tao slapped his forehead with his left hand, and dozens of strands of hair flew out, seemingly avoiding the villagers and searching for their target.

The next second, a gust of gloomy wind, whose shape was indistinct, swept out from the crowd, trying to escape towards the village entrance, but was bounced back by an invisible door.

Upon closer inspection, it becomes clear that it is a gray fox with some human-like features.

The villagers screamed and scattered, while strong men with hoes and rakes rushed forward, intending to beat him to death.

The gray fox let out a mournful cry, its broom-like tail sweeping across, stirring up a cloud of sand and stones.

Lu Bai narrowed his eyes slightly. Something didn't seem right.

He had to admit that he was not an expert in exorcism.

But he felt that this gray fox was clearly different from the one he had seen before, and why would this thing cause confusion in the navigation?

The situation did indeed change.

The disheveled peasant woman suddenly lunged at Grandpa Tao from behind, her long fingernails like sharp claws aimed straight at the back of his head.

A strong gust of wind swept in, and without thinking, Grandpa Tao instinctively rolled over.

The attack missed its mark, and the peasant woman let out a piercing fox-like cry, startling Grandpa Tao, who was still standing, into a daze. He was about to die from the sneak attack.

Fortunately, Lu Bai realized there was a problem beforehand and was prepared to take action.

So when the peasant woman suddenly attacked, he just managed to rush over and kick her.

The kick was powerful and heavy; whether it injured the possessing Fox Immortal is unknown, but it certainly injured the peasant woman.