Half an Incense Stick

In this wilderness settlement, the young ones all believe in growing wild.

The fight between Hu Ma and Cui Xie'er showcased Hu Ma's dominance. The snide remarks among the youths lessened, replaced by more awe.

As the Old Woman's grandson, his status with Second Master was already transcendent, and he possessed a certain mysterious aura. Coupled with his spar against Cui Xie'er, the most skilled in the village, his bizarre and uncanny methods, and his brutal, ruthless attacks, made everyone wary of him.

"They say the Old Woman raises ghosts. Could he have a ghost following him?"

"..."

Recalling these rumors, their gazes toward Hu Ma were now filled with a sense of awe.

The next morning when the porridge was being served, the person in charge of ladling had changed. As soon as he saw Hu Ma, he gave him the largest portion.

As for Zhou Datong, he admired Hu Ma even more.

Among those learning skills from Second Master, he was the second laziest, with Hu Ma being the absolute laziest.

He had even taught Hu Ma his skills, so he knew deeply what level Hu Ma had reached.

But so what?

The guy knew dark magic!

They were not skilled enough to see the crux of the matter, only finding the fact that Cui Xie'er tripped every time he got close to Hu Ma terrifying.

Even those close to Hu Ma were now viewed with awe by the youths, and they got into fewer fights.

Hu Ma, however, dared not relax. He understood his current state deeply, knowing that with the Blood Food abundant, the most important thing was to quickly build up a vigorous fire in his furnace as much as possible.

Due to his physical condition, he couldn't train as hard as the other youths every day, but he still diligently studied the skills Second Master taught him.

Xiao Hong Tang continued to bring him food, and with ample Blood Food, his furnace fire grew even more vigorous.

Second Master took him to the woods again to visit his godmother.

He offered three sticks of Incense, used two steamed buns as offerings, and then returned with four or five willow branches from his "godmother."

And because his furnace fire was too strong, he had to change his Talisman roughly every two to three days.

Moreover, each time he changed the Talisman, the Yin energy consumed was more than before. The first time he changed the Talisman for Hu Ma, he only needed a small section of a willow branch to draw it. The second time, he used an entire branch, and the third time, he needed several branches combined to draw it.

Second Master often clicked his tongue in amazement but did not dare to be negligent.

If they ran out of willow branches, he would just take Hu Ma to his godmother's place to get more.

After a few such trips, one time when they arrived, they suddenly couldn't find the godmother by the stream.

Second Master and Hu Ma searched for a while, finally finding the trembling godmother behind a large tree dozens of meters away.

"Why are you running around?"

Second Master was displeased. "I brought your godson over for a visit, and I couldn't even find your home."

He then went and broke off a bundle, and fearing the godmother would run off again, he tied her with a red string.

After a few more times, even Hu Ma felt a bit soft-hearted and cautiously said, "Second Master, if you keep breaking off branches, she'll become bald..."

Second Master replied, "It's fine. At worst, we'll change her title later and call her 'godfather'..."

A chilling wind blew, and the old willow tree, with only a few leaves left, shivered and rustled, sounding like it was cursing.

But although the godmother was wronged, Hu Ma's fire grew stronger and stronger. Gradually, his furnace fire blazed, his energy surged, and he seemed to be completely renewed.

Now, he didn't just dare to go out of the village, he even dared to go into the woods alone.

And he diligently studied the skills Second Master taught him, not daring to be negligent in the slightest.

At this point, the only thing that was slightly bothersome was Cui Xie'er.

The day after he was beaten, he lay in bed for half a day, appearing to be severely injured, but by the third day, he was as lively as ever, making one marvel at the effectiveness of that Black Oil Paste.

However, although his injuries had healed, he clearly still harbored a grudge.

The other youths all thought that his first fight with Hu Ma was due to some dark magic and that he would definitely fight Hu Ma again. But unexpectedly, he suddenly became docile.

Second Master saw the key to the situation clearly, and Cui Xie'er himself clearly saw it too, not daring to truly trouble Hu Ma.

He just occasionally stared at Hu Ma menacingly from behind.

But Hu Ma didn't care. Ever since he arrived in this world, how often had he been spied upon?

This bit of pressure was nothing to him.

Focused on cultivating and burning his furnace, about a month after arriving at Second Master's place, after finishing a bowl of Blood Food sent by Xiao Hong Tang, he suddenly felt a premonition. He felt the furnace fire in his lower abdomen surge to an incredible level, like a butterfly breaking free from its cocoon.

To describe it precisely, it was as if the furnace fire was so intense that it was faintly melting something.

At this moment, Hu Ma was lying on his bed, silently cultivating and guiding the fire energy within his body. As this sensation occurred, he felt drowsy, and a dark red mist began to swirl around him.

Unbeknownst to him, in his daze, he had once again arrived at that secluded, dim temple. His body pushed through the mist, and he saw a stick of Incense standing in the censer before him.

The last time he exited this dream, he clearly remembered pulling out the Incense.

But now, looking at it, he saw that a stick of Incense was still standing in the censer, about three feet long, with faint golden patterns on it.

A flicker of flame appeared and disappeared intermittently, and the surrounding dark red mist seemed to have thickened considerably.

"Huh? Something's wrong!"

Hu Ma found it strange and glanced to the side. To his surprise, he saw another incense stick next to the censer, about two or three fingers long, dark red and slender. It was the one he had pulled out last time.

"I was one incense stick, and now there are two?"

He vaguely felt that the incense's change was probably related to the feeling he just had.

It seemed that his own progress had reached a certain level, entering another realm. The incense in this temple had also reached its limit, and another stick had actually grown.

"Could it be that this incense is related to the Taisui I eat every day?"

He suppressed his excitement and moved closer to the censer, examining it carefully.

As if the flame on the incense could illuminate the surroundings, he saw a large area of deep shadow behind the altar. Within it, the vague outline of a statue behind the altar was faintly visible, though he still couldn't see it clearly.

He wanted to walk around the altar to get a clearer look, but found that as he moved, the mist flowed with him, and space shifted. It seemed he would never be able to reach the front of the statue.

Hu Ma could only slowly stop his steps, but his doubts only grew:

"One incense stick became one and a half. If I continue to maintain this progress, will it become two incense sticks, or even more?"

"What exactly is this temple?"

"The Reincarnator I connected with last time said that many people like me have come to this world..."

"Were they also summoned here by mistake like me?"

"..."

These questions surfaced in his mind involuntarily, but unfortunately, no one could answer them now.

He also didn't know if every Reincarnator had a temple like his own.

"This Incense has become so thick and long, has the ability to communicate with others also become stronger?"

He moved slightly, observing the Incense stick.

The one standing in the censer was as large as a fist and half a meter long, a far cry from the slender appearance he had seen at first.

The smoke emanating from the incense had also become much denser, drifting faintly, mingling with the red mist, and disappearing somewhere unknown.

Although he knew this would likely burn the Incense stick, Hu Ma had no intention of pulling it out.

Logically, the Reincarnator from Old Yin Mountain should be in hibernation now, and he was unlikely to find anyone else. But he still held onto some hope, much like keeping his phone turned on even when he knew no one would contact him.

Perhaps someone would find him?

Moreover, his experiences in the dreamscape three times had made Hu Ma vaguely realize that the Incense would burn continuously when he was in this temple, as if searching for its own kind to connect with.

But when he woke up, the Incense would actively stop burning.

So, by placing this Incense stick in the censer now, was it equivalent to turning on his phone and waiting for someone to contact him?

In this strange and alien world, he yearned so much to hear the voice of his own kind again...

"Rustle..."

While Hu Ma was immersed in that strange temple, pondering the connections, the door of the side room where he was staying was quietly opened. A figure crept into the room. It was Cui Xie'er, who was sleeping in the other side room.

His tall, thin frame landed silently. His movements were stiff and awkward, and he moved inch by inch, like a puppet, quietly approaching Hu Ma's bedside.

Looking at the sleeping Hu Ma, his face grew even paler, his eyes seemingly overflowing with malice and ferocity.

He slowly raised his hands, holding a rusty knife.

The tip of the knife was aimed at Hu Ma's sleeping face. He raised it high above his head, a strange cruelty flashing across his face.

"That guy trapped in Fox Coffin Village said he could hold on for a month, but half a month has already passed."

Hu Ma was still in his dream, thinking: "Although I've learned some skills now, it's barely enough for self-preservation, let alone saving someone. If I could 'connect' with a third Reincarnator, I could find help for that guy, but there's no movement!"

"Should I just forget about this guy for now and look for other Reincarnators to understand the situation once I get out of this mountain?"

"..."

From their brief conversation last time, he knew that Reincarnator understood a lot.

If he could talk to him again, many of the questions in his mind could be answered.

But he had encountered trouble, and Hu Ma himself was in no small amount of trouble. How could he help him?

"Hiss..."

But just as Hu Ma was pondering all this, the dark red mist around him, at some unknown time, began to flow quietly. And the speed of this flow was actually increasing faster and faster.

By the time he noticed, he was shocked to find that the mist was like a tide under a storm, rolling and spreading. Within it, a sharp blade could be vaguely seen, suddenly stabbing towards his face.

He woke up abruptly, opening his eyes.

Upon opening his eyes, he was immediately startled to see Cui Xie'er's pale face right in front of him.

And the sharp knife he held in both hands, aimed at his face.