Red Strings and Glutinous Rice Still Remain Today

Back in the little courtyard, Qing Mo tossed Da Bai to Liu Yurou and told her to help Da Bai improve his cultivation, warning her not to disturb him before the auction began.

"Host, how about traveling to another world and stirring up some trouble before the auction starts?"

"Sure! How do we do it?"

"When I chose you as my host and traveled through all those planes, I used up too much energy. You're so powerful—go over there and help me suppress that world's will while I absorb its world origin to replenish my energy."

"Mm, sure. What kind of worlds are we talking about?"

"The worlds from the movies, TV shows, anime, and novels you watched back on Blue Star!"

"Great! That was my youth!"

"How long will we be gone? It won't delay things here, right?"

"No. You can return whenever you want."

"Then let's begin."

An interdimensional passage opened, and Qing Mo arrived in a dense forest. The spiritual energy in this world was so thin that it was almost impossible to sense.

Suddenly, dark clouds filled the sky. Qing Mo felt a pressure descend upon him—it was this world's will, rejecting him as an outsider.

"Host, it wants to kick me out of this world. Just knock it unconscious so I can absorb the world origin."

Qing Mo released the faintest wisp of divine sense. The world's will could not withstand it and fell dormant.

"System, where is this? Why is the spiritual energy so sparse?"

"Red strings and glutinous rice still remain today, but Taoist Lin is nowhere to be seen."

"So it's Uncle Nine's world. No wonder the spiritual energy is so sparse. This is already the End of Dharma Era."

"What point in Uncle Nine's timeline is this? What's the time ratio?"

"One day here equals one month there. The town ahead is Ren Family Town."

"The boys who watched Uncle Nine catch ghosts and slay zombies back then have all grown into handsome men and beautiful women! Only the author grew up to be a dumbass!"

"Host, what are you talking about?"

"Nothing. Will we affect the plot?"

"No problem. This world's will has no intelligence and acts purely on instinct. Once I absorb its origin, I'll effectively become it."

"Alright, then."

Qing Mo strolled to the entrance of Ren Family Town. Looking at the architecture from that era, he was overcome by a sense of nostalgia. He noticed corpse qi and some ghost qi on a nearby hillside. That should have been Old Master Ren's grave and Xiao Yu's grave. He wandered casually through the streets, wanting to see what the food and drinks of this era were like.

Then it hit him. Damn. I don't have money from this era! The spirit stones on me can't be used here!

"Oh my, the island next to this country has been doing pretty well! I definitely can't take from my own people, but who would notice if I took from someone else's?"

Even the system could not stand it anymore. It seemed the host it had chosen only remembered Wei Wu Heroic Spirit. Did it really need a reminder for something this trivial?

Hearing the system's words, Qing Mo smiled happily. With a thought, he collected all the precious resources and mineral deposits from the neighboring island, then casually sent a tsunami their way to help them reach paradise sooner.

"Oh my, this is the first good deed I've done since becoming invincible. I suddenly feel so much nobler! Being Lei Feng feels great!"

"Alright, now that I have money, let's get to it!"

Qing Mo found an inn. After eating and drinking his fill, he began sensing the world around him. This was Ren Family Town. There was a Western church next door, a foreigner underground, and Taoist Priest Simu was still visiting the Public Mortuary.

"System, how long will it take you to absorb the origin?"

"I'm at two percent right now. Sixty percent will be enough. Even if it wakes up midway, you can still suppress it. Once I absorb enough, I won't need to fear it anymore."

"Then when we travel to other worlds next time, can we bring other people along?"

"In theory, yes. As long as they can withstand the tearing force inside the interdimensional passage."

"Then why didn't I feel anything when I came through?"

"If you could feel it, others would die without even knowing how. But what I'm doing is similar to smuggling across worlds. I'm worried that the other world's will might ambush me during future crossings!"

"After all, when I open the passage, that world's will may notice. It can't do anything to you, but I'm vulnerable. We're connected now, so if I get hurt, you'll be injured too."

"Why are you such a weakling?"

Qing Mo was utterly speechless. There was such a catch? Wouldn't that make him the one getting caught in the crossfire?

While Qing Mo chatted idly with the system, night slowly fell, and the plot began. Wencai dressed up as a zombie to scare Qiusheng, causing Taoist Priest Simu's clients to scatter everywhere. Only when Uncle Nine and Taoist Priest Simu appeared did those clients finally calm down.

"Ah... the world only knows Ning Caichen, but how many still remember Qiusheng?"

Qing Mo floated in the air, watching everything unfold at the Public Mortuary. He thought that once Taoist Priest Simu's storyline began, he would definitely save Taoist Priest Qianhe. Back then, Qing Mo had watched him risk his life to save others. Even when he was about to become half-corpse and lose his humanity, he had still wanted his senior brother to kill him—for the justice in his heart, for the Dao in his heart, and so that he would not harm either others or himself.

The next day, Uncle Nine brought Wencai to meet Master Ren. Everything followed the plot, but Qing Mo found it strange. Why was it that, when it came time to inspect things after the ink-line ritual, Wencai would prank Qiusheng and cause the zombie to escape and kill Master Ren?

Later that night, when Uncle Nine inspected the coffin, Wencai knocked something over again and drew Uncle Nine's attention away.

Qing Mo wondered whether he should meet Uncle Nine. In this End of Dharma Era, reaching the Foundation Establishment stage still counted as impressive. He also wanted to learn feng shui. After all, feng shui was rarely used in the cultivation world, where people mostly relied on deduction or scraps of information.

Several days later.

"Everyone, bow with sincerity and respect."

"Uncle Nine, the feng shui master back then said this burial ground was very difficult to find. It's a good site!"

"That's right. This site is called the Dragonfly Skimming Water Grave. It is three zhang four chi long, but only four chi can be used; it is one zhang three chi wide, but only three chi can be used. Therefore, the coffin cannot be buried flat. It must be buried according to ritual."

"Master, what does burial according to ritual mean? A French-style funeral?"

"Stop talking nonsense!"

"So-called ritual burial is..."

Qing Mo concealed himself as he listened to Uncle Nine and the others. He recalled the tension he had felt as a youth when he first watched the zombie emerge from its coffin in this movie, the comedy of Wencai and Qiusheng bickering while supporting each other, and most importantly, the sense of security Uncle Nine brought whenever he appeared.

Once the coffin was pulled out, Qing Mo felt the corpse qi growing denser and denser. Looking at the grave again, he saw that it had already been corroded by corpse qi. The instant the lid was opened, a cloud of black qi surged forth.

A corpse dressed in a Qing Dynasty official's uniform appeared before everyone. Although Qing Mo could erase the zombie before it emerged from the coffin, he sensed a faint karmic connection between it and Uncle Nine. If he forcibly intervened, it would trigger backlash. It would do nothing to him, but it would implicate Uncle Nine. Perhaps Uncle Nine had accumulated blessings through helping people with feng shui, killing ghosts, and slaying zombies.

This was an unseen trial for Uncle Nine. Interfering now would only harm him. Besides, Qing Mo wanted to see why Wencai had ruined both opportunities to prevent the zombie from entering the world.

At worst, he could just move Master Ren away and save him when he was about to die. Qing Mo had thought Master Ren was rather lovable at times when he watched the film. Once the zombie was driven off for the first time, Qing Mo would show himself before Uncle Nine.

"System, do you think I should help Uncle Nine? There aren't many people like him in this era, people who uphold justice and support the righteous path."

"Do as you like! But let me remind you: helping with small matters is fine, but how far he can go ultimately depends on himself. Helping him too much would only harm him!"

Qing Mo glanced at Xiao Yu's gravestone and thought that he would definitely have to go see that fallen girl who was abused by Black Mountain Demon in the future. (＾Ｏ＾)