Natal Spirit Temple

With a slight shiver, Hu Ma found himself back in the dilapidated temple filled with red mist. On the incense table before him, the life incense had been lit, and a wisp of smoke extended from outside the mist, directly connecting to the tip of the incense.

"Huh?"

Hu Ma was surprised. He hadn't lit the life incense himself this time, nor had he responded to a call. How had they connected?

Moreover, the voice sounded familiar. He asked with a hint of surprise, "Brother Erguotou?"

"Haha, it's me."

The voice chuckled. "I came specifically to thank you."

"How did you... this time..."

"Hmm, I forgot you're a newbie. As long as people who have connected once are within a certain range, they can communicate directly."

Erguotou seemed to sense Hu Ma's astonishment and explained with a smile, "Of course, if you don't like being disturbed, you can also disable it."

Hu Ma didn't understand these methods at all, but hearing the voice of this old friend made him a little happy:

"You're out?"

"..."

"Yes."

The Reincarnator Erguotou's voice laughed. "That girl is a bit tsundere, her words are cold, but she gets things done."

"She went to Fox Coffin Village and found the Hundred Corpse Mound I mentioned. But instead of rushing to get the treasure, she saved me first. Then, the two of us teamed up, dealt with that Corpse Fox, broke through the Hundred Corpse Mound, and got the item inside. We split it fifty-fifty."

"At first, she didn't say anything, and I thought I was lucky to have run into such a treasure-hoarder."

"I never expected that, until we were about to part ways, she revealed her identity and said you helped me pass on the message. That's how I avoided that disaster."

"If you had gone with her at the time, the treasure would have been divided among our three parties."

"But you didn't go, and I couldn't owe you such a huge favor for nothing. So, after I recovered for a few days, I rushed to thank you for saving my life."

"..."

"That's great."

Hu Ma had kept their previous conversation in mind after he left, but he was new here and hadn't learned anything useful, so he couldn't help him.

Later, the young lady from Cao Xin Hall didn't say what happened.

Even their carriage, which they had stored at Great Sheep Village, was picked up by the sedan bearers. They wouldn't say anything when asked.

Seeing that he had escaped danger now, Hu Ma felt much more relieved and said with a smile, "There's no need to be so polite. It was just a small favor."

"Heh heh, you might think it was a small favor, but it wasn't for me."

Erguotou chuckled. "If you weren't such a righteous person and harbored ill intentions, you could have just hidden my information and not told anyone. After a few months, when I couldn't hold on and died, you would have been prepared and could have come to take the treasure yourself, wouldn't that be better?"

"Huh? There was a way like that?"

Hu Ma was taken aback. "I was careless..."

"I heard from Miss White Wine."

While Hu Ma was self-reflecting, Erguotou's voice rang out again, and he chuckled, "It seems you've reincarnated into a village, and things haven't been going smoothly for you recently?"

"Brother, great kindness needs no thanks. You helped me through a tribulation. If you need any help, just tell me. I've been reincarnated in this damned world for over thirty years. I've been through more dangers and experienced more things than you have."

"..."

"Help?"

Hearing his hearty voice, Hu Ma's heart stirred slightly.

First, he heard this person say he had been in this world for over thirty years, which was even longer than Hu Ma's own age in this world.

So, they were indeed from the same era?

Thinking this, he quickly asked. Erguotou immediately replied with a laugh, "You really are a newbie. These are common knowledge. I can teach you about these things."

"I've discussed it with other Reincarnators many times. We are indeed all from the same world, the same era. In fact, even our birthdays are mostly concentrated within a similar decade or two."

"But no one knows why, we reincarnated into this world at different times."

"The oldest Reincarnator I know is over eighty years old in this world. But in our original world, let's just say, if we met, he would have to call me 'brother'..."

"..."

Hu Ma listened carefully, becoming increasingly astonished.

Meeting this old friend was very convenient for asking questions he didn't understand before. However, the most important of these questions was about his unique reincarnation method, which was different from others.

But this question was not suitable to be revealed so openly.

He pondered silently, then simply said, "I grew up in Old Yin Mountain Village. I haven't even stepped a few feet outside the village gate. Before connecting with you, I even thought I was the only one who had transmigrated to this damned world. I really don't understand anything..."

"Do all of us Reincarnators have this connection ability?"

"..."

"Yes."

Brother Erguotou smiled and said, "The incense stick we burn in the incense burner is actually a manifestation of our own life force."

"You can also understand it as our life force, the 'xing' in 'xingming' like in 'xingfu' (happiness), not the 'xing' in 'xingming' (surname)."

"This life force is the vital energy. The thicker the vital energy, the higher the cultivation. Once the vital energy is burned away, we will become dead people."

"Normally, as long as we ignite life incense in our Natal Spirit Temple, we can use this method of consuming life force to search for other Reincarnators, exchange information, and help each other."

"..."

Hu Ma listened carefully. These were things he had wanted to understand for a long time, but the previous White Wine was not very communicative, making it impossible to ask such detailed questions.

Catching the main points, he quickly asked, "The Natal Spirit Temple you mentioned refers to..."

"You must be in a dream right now, not realizing that your current location resembles a temple?"

Erguotou laughed, "We just habitually call this place our Natal Spirit Temple."

"Every Reincarnator has a temple. We don't know if it's a mental space or a dream, but inside the temple is that peculiar incense burner. By burning life incense, we can search for other Reincarnators within a certain area."

"Under normal circumstances, it can cover about one city. If there are other Reincarnators in the city who are also burning life incense and are willing to respond, the two of them can connect."

Compared to Miss White Wine, this fellow Erguotou was an open book, answering every question.

He was even a bit of a chatterbox.

He clearly assumed Hu Ma had reincarnated in a remote wilderness and hadn't eaten Taisui yet, which was why he was so unfamiliar and slow to connect. With patience, he explained, "And behind the incense altar is our Natal Stone Statue."

"I heard from a senior that this is our spiritual reflection. The skills we learn and the cultivation we achieve in this world are all reflected on the statue."

"Even certain cultivation or personal issues will have corresponding reflections on this statue, allowing us to more directly identify our problems..."

"...This is also why we Reincarnators often have good cultivation talent."

"..."

"Ah?"

Hu Ma's heart suddenly skipped a beat.

Fortunately, he had practiced his acting skills diligently in front of the Old Woman before, so he didn't reveal anything now.

He was indeed different from other Reincarnators.

Did their temples, behind the incense altar, all have statues? And were those statues their likenesses?

But he suddenly looked up, towards the area behind his own incense altar.

The incense altar was dilapidated, surrounded by ominous red mist. Behind the altar, there was only darkness.

Vaguely, he could discern the outline of a divine statue, but it was completely shrouded in the dense, dark red mist, making it impossible to see clearly like the others.

He stared at the divine statue, feeling as if it were staring back at him.

A sudden unease washed over him. After a long while, he slowly probed, "So, you also remembered your past life after the age of three?"

"Isn't that how it is for everyone?"

Erguotou chuckled at Hu Ma's simple question, "Most are around three years old. Of course, some with exceptional talent might awaken earlier or later."

"It's usually during a dazed state, between the ages of 3 to 10, when a voice suddenly awakens them, and they remember their past life. As they grow older and their life force becomes stronger, they discover their Natal Spirit Temple and find other Reincarnators."

"..."

"A voice..."

Hu Ma listened intently, hesitating slightly, and asked cautiously, "The voice you heard, was it also that kind of..."

"Yes, a very strange voice."

Erguotou sighed, "We don't know who it was, nor do we remember exactly what was said, but it vaguely warned us to be careful of our situation and not to reveal our identities."

"We've discussed it with others, but no one knows what it was. We just call it the 'Awakener'."

"..."

"Confirmed..."

Hu Ma's heart trembled slightly as he confirmed the difference between himself and the others.

Other Reincarnators seemed like Reincarnators, but he alone felt like a self-taught individual.

Others had Natal Spirit Temples that could reflect their cultivation, but his Natal Spirit Temple looked dilapidated and long abandoned.

Others were awakened by a voice, but he was awakened by the Old Woman...

He confirmed his uniqueness among the Reincarnators, and some lingering doubts in his heart made him even more hesitant to ask directly.

Seeing his contemplation, Erguotou understood that as a newcomer, Hu Ma had a lot to process. He smiled, "Our experiences are bizarre, but there's nothing we can do. We just have to accept our fate. Take your time to process it, brother, but if you need any help, just tell me."

"I'm eager to repay this favor."

"..."

Hu Ma could tell he wasn't just being polite or dismissive. His mind gradually began to adjust. Regardless of how different he was from others, things had already happened. He could think about it later.

However, there was still an important issue bothering him.

So, he pondered for a moment, prepared his thoughts, and slowly said, "Speaking of which, I do have a question I'd like to ask your advice on..."

"Have you ever heard of someone who ignites a furnace?"

"..."

"Ignite a furnace?"

That brother Erguotou, indeed knowledgeable, smiled upon hearing this, "Isn't that the skill of a Night Watcher?"