Prayer Power

The Daoist Rebirth Mantra was generally not used to deliver a single individual. It was mostly recited during Qingming, the fifteenth day of the seventh lunar month, or the first day of the tenth lunar month, to pray for the dissolution of all grievances and karmic creditors, and to save all beings from calamity.

Even when used in rites for an individual, it merely carried a certain inclination and focus. If wandering souls and wild ghosts gathered there, the ritual master would generally treat them all equally and guide them onward.

Otherwise, the Daoist Rebirth Mantra would not contain the saying: "All ghosts and specters, the four forms of birth receive grace. Those with heads transcend; those without heads ascend..."

For this reason, the Daoist Rebirth Mantra was generally not to be recited by those without cultivation. Ordinary people lacked sufficient force of will and had no divine protection. If they recited the Rebirth Mantra recklessly, it would be one thing if nothing happened. But if it took effect, it could easily draw the attention of nearby wandering souls and wild ghosts. At best, they would fail to deliver the dead; at worst, they would suffer harm themselves.

Just like now, quite a few dead souls summoned here by the mantra hid underground to avoid the daylight, blankly watching Wang Daoist perform his spirit dance above.

Yu Chen looked at the ground growing ever darker, then at the villagers who had come to help and the children kneeling below. Good thing this fellow isn't stupid. He knows to borrow Incense and Fire Prayer Power. Otherwise, trouble would definitely arise tonight.

In Yu Chen's eyes, every time the surrounding villagers offered incense and the children kowtowed, a stream of prayer power rose up. Following an invisible connection, it descended upon the four gold-and-silver banners. Wishes moved with words. Under the repeated influence of Wang Daoist's Rebirth Mantra, the prayer power gathered upon the banners transformed into glowing flames. As the wind stirred the banners, rings of spiritual radiance shook loose and fell.

Receiving the prayer power, the dead souls hiding underground gradually calmed. Several whose resentment was shallow had their resentment directly washed away. Their somewhat turbid bodies bloomed with faint spiritual light, and after lingering nearby for a moment, they returned to the great cycle of heaven and earth.

Of course, some dead souls burdened by deep resentment refused to leave and did not wish to passively wait for prayer power to fall upon them. They circled the poles of the gold-and-silver banners, coiling around the feet of several people. They devoured the falling spiritual radiance and shoved the other dead souls aside.

Yu Chen took the opportunity to closely observe Old Man Liu. He even deliberately gathered prayer power onto the gold-and-silver banner in Old Man Liu's hand, drawing more dead souls to Old Man Liu's side.

Where dead souls gathered, there was inevitably a trace of yin-cold chill. Old Man Liu only felt an icy current rise from the Yongquan acupoints in the soles of his feet and invade his body. He could not help but shudder, yet showed no other reaction.

Not him? Could Chen Ergou's matter truly have been nothing more than an accident? Yu Chen frowned.

That day, when Yu Chen had obtained the Yin Talisman Treasure Register from Chen Ergou, he had heard Chen Ergou say, "Why is there a cultivator here too? Didn't that guy say this area was very safe?"

At first, Yu Chen had not paid much attention to it. Only after obtaining the memories of Liu the Half-Immortal and the old man from the White Lotus Sect a few days ago did he realize something was amiss.

Chen Ergou's arrival had not been invited by Liu the Half-Immortal, nor had it been part of the White Lotus Sect's scheme. Neither side had even known that a cultivator had appeared within their territory.

Then the reason Chen Ergou had appeared here was worth pondering.

Yu Chen's first suspect was Chen Ergou's relative: Old Man Liu, who in the original story ran a small inn and sold rice paste to the Corpse Mother.

That was why Yu Chen had used prayer power to test him during his own funeral. Yet judging by the current situation, Old Man Liu truly was only an ordinary man. He knew no divine powers or mystical arts.

As Yu Chen pondered, a fierce dead soul suddenly shot toward Old Man Liu, attempting to possess him.

His gaze turned cold. With a thought, Yu Chen's spirituality instantly connected with the surrounding prayer power. Using the Golden Light Mantra as its foundation, he formed a beam of pale golden radiance that descended and entered Old Man Liu's body directly through the crown of his head. It purified the invading dead soul and, incidentally, examined Old Man Liu's body.

Nothing wrong! Yu Chen's expression shifted slightly. He thought no further on it, instead directly controlling the prayer power gathered nearby and invoking the strength of the Daoist Rebirth Mantra. He condensed streak after streak of spiritual radiance, delivering the dead souls that had gathered around them.

"Senior, your compassion is boundless!" A somewhat shrill voice sounded from the side. Yu Chen lowered his head and saw a small black snake slither out of the grass.

Yu Chen did not answer its question. Instead, he casually asked, "Have you reached an agreement with the Huang Family?"

The black snake nodded. Looking at Yu Chen, it transmitted, "Yes! The Huang Family has agreed to my request. In a few days, they will hold a worship ceremony for me. But the Dragon-Slaying Sword has been placed under a spell. I will still need Senior's help..."

"I will deal with the Dragon-Slaying Sword. But judging by the weather lately, I'm afraid there will not be heavy rain. Have you thought of a solution, or do you intend to force a flood?"

"Forcing a flood would inevitably stir changes in the water veins and shake the earth veins! It would be a taboo, something I would never dare do. Over the next few days, I intend to return to the mountains and draw in water vapor, slowly building momentum. Once the proper time arrives, I will release the water vapor and act in accordance with heaven's course, increasing the rain seven days from now by about double. That will be enough for the preliminary requirements of my flooding. As for afterward..."

The black snake did not finish, but Yu Chen understood what it meant.

Once the flood-dragon snake successfully unleashed the flood, it would naturally draw the surrounding water vapor together and bring wind and rain to its aid. Nothing more would be needed.

"In that case, while you are gathering water vapor over the next few days, bring some fertile soil down beneath Clearwater River and mix it with the river mud. When you unleash the flood, carry it to the banks..."

"Yes! Does Senior have any other instructions?" Though the black snake found Yu Chen's request strange, it said nothing further. Once it learned that Yu Chen had no other orders, it turned and vanished into the grass.

After watching the black snake leave, Yu Chen continued remotely controlling the prayer power gathered above the funeral.

It had to be said that although the path of shamanic cultivation had been cut off, the system as a whole still possessed many worthy aspects.

In particular, its tempering of spirituality, as well as its use of sacrifices, prayer power, curses, and blessings, was closer to the source than the divine sense and spiritual sense of immortal-path cultivators. It held an absolute advantage.

By the terms of the game world from his previous life, the spirituality of those who cultivated the shamanic path naturally carried some traits of divinity. In areas such as sacrifices, prayer power, curses, and blessings, it took precedence over divine sense and spiritual sense.

After Yu Chen understood the core of the shamanic path, his spirituality underwent a certain degree of sublimation. This was also an important reason why he could now so easily manipulate the prayer power at this funeral.

After delivering the surrounding dead souls, Yu Chen gathered all the remaining prayer power. He separated out a small portion to grant blessings to Aunt Wan and her husband, along with the Corpse-Born Child. The rest he used to refine his ritual artifacts.

The prayer power carrying positive auras such as blessings and tranquility was used to refine the Azurewood Heartguard Bell, easing the conflict between its internal restrictions. The negative prayer power bearing grief, resentment, terror, and dread toward death was used to refine the Five Calamities Fan, sublimating the power of "widowed, bereaved, orphaned, solitary, disabled."

This allowed ritual artifacts that ordinary cultivators would need several months to refine and master to fall into Yu Chen's hands in a very short time.

After mastering these two ritual artifacts, Yu Chen began studying the workings of their internal restrictions and the changes brought by the infusion of prayer power. All this information was recorded in his golden finger, filling out and perfecting his own cultivation system.