Half-Immortal Xu's Incense

In the darkness of night.

On a straight government road, a party of riders was galloping wildly.

Under cover of night, Half-Immortal Xu, who had vanished for several days, was among them, unmistakable excitement in his eyes.

He had never imagined that a bunch of men who had not even reached Body Tempering and had no other legacy could amass wealth that even he coveted through sheer ruthlessness and banding together.

That young man who had lost an arm had been right. Their opponents knew only underhanded tricks; as long as they were even more underhanded, nothing could go wrong.

But that young man was a ruthless one himself, daring to use himself as bait. If not for that, Half-Immortal Xu would never have taken this risk.

Still, all things considered, the outcome was good.

Half-Immortal Xu rode with practiced skill, muttering inwardly.

Wait for me, boy. Once I get back, we can make incense. Evil-Repelling Incense, Ghost-Controlling Incense-it's in the bag!

The guards beside him rode on, seven or eight horses pounding out rolling thunder, dust flying as they sped toward the county town.

In the blink of an eye, the night passed.

Zhou Muzhi stayed home today instead of going to the Li Residence to learn kicking techniques. He could practice those techniques himself; the main thing was waiting for his master's booklet of formulas.

Beside the flower beds in the front courtyard, the fragrance refreshed his mind. His legs moved like flying blossoms, weaving and alternating, his whipping kicks like wave after wave of water.

Linked together, the simple moves displayed considerable power. Moreover, these were all improved versions Li Jingfei had worked out, killing moves concealed within ordinary ones. Once the sequence connected, it was enough to kill.

Xiaozi waited to one side with a dry cloth for wiping sweat draped over her arm. When Zhou Muzhi finished practicing and approached her, she handed it over.

He took it, wiped his hands, and asked, "Any fresh news?"

Xiaozi nodded and said, "Yes, Fourth Young Master. Someone in the northern part of the county has an old object, supposedly a short sword handed down from his ancestors. He won't sell it. He said he wanted to meet you first."

"Oh?"

News of an old object had come so quickly. It seemed that using the family's resources to search was indeed the right approach.

"Good. Make the arrangements. I can go now." As he spoke, he handed the dry cloth back.

Xiaozi took the cloth, then picked up a cup of plain tea and brought it to Zhou Muzhi. She seemed to have more to say.

"There's another important matter. The guards sent word that Half-Immortal Xu is back and asked you to visit as soon as possible."

Gulp!

He drained the tea in one go.

Zhou Muzhi was delighted. Good, good. This is all good news. Half-Immortal Xu's return could mean only one thing: they could start making incense.

This was also part of his plan. The supernatural encompassed the divine and the strange, and were uncanny things not also a category of the strange?

This was also the conclusion he had reached after studying the Nine Hells Origin-Resolving True Intent in depth.

That way, if it truly worked, he could not only collect wronged souls but also advance his martial cultivation.

This matter took precedence over everything else.

"Is the carriage available?"

"Yes, Fourth Young Master."

"Then let's go to Half-Immortal Xu's first."

Once he finished speaking, Xiaozi went ahead to make arrangements. By the time he reached the entrance of the Zhou Residence, a brand-new carriage stood before him.

The two horses pulling it were taller and stronger, the carriage's exterior was much brighter in color, and its design was new as well.

The driver was still the same man. At the sight of Zhou Muzhi, he immediately climbed down and set out a stool, attending to him as though serving an immortal.

The carriage left the Zhou Residence and headed toward the street where Half-Immortal Xu lived.

Youhe Street.

Inside Half-Immortal Xu's home, the scent of sandalwood spread, its cloying sweetness filling the air.

Half-Immortal Xu held a leaf fan as he directed Zhou Muzhi in making incense.

"Fool! Your order was right, but your timing was wrong. Incense powder made this way will be considerably less effective. Add that Graywood Powder too."

All sorts of materials were laid out on the wooden table reserved for incense-making. Half-Immortal Xu had long since finished the Evil-Repelling Incense. What they were making now was incense for controlling ghosts, which consumed enormous amounts of essence, energy, and spirit.

This was an even bolder hypothesis than Ghost-Sealing Incense.

To be honest, Half-Immortal Xu did not know whether it would succeed, but the boy before him had given him so many surprises that it was worth looking forward to.

Time flew by.

Even at Zhou Muzhi's current level, making incense left him drenched in sweat. It was as though, with every step he performed, something indescribable within his body gathered into the incense in his hands.

At some point, Half-Immortal Xu stood up and approached the incense table. Watching Zhou Muzhi roll the incense, he nodded to himself.

A genius was a genius. First, he had practiced with ordinary incense, then moved straight on to this kind of major incense, and he was doing a respectable job.

The final stage of processing the materials was to fix them in molds. What they had here were specially made hollow bamboo tubes. After sealing and drying them through a special method and performing the incense invitation, they would be ready for use after a day.

By the time the moon appeared.

Zhou Muzhi wiped away his sweat, his face much paler. Looking at the nearly formed incense in his hands, he felt very satisfied.

"The last step-the incense invitation?"

Half-Immortal Xu nodded without speaking, watching Zhou Muzhi walk up to the statue of the Nine Heavens Supreme Goddess.

He closed his eyes to invite the incense, murmuring the Incense-Inviting Formula.

He was only halfway through the recitation when a cracking sound rang out.

Crack!

Half-Immortal Xu's expression changed. The sound had come from within the statue. But when he saw signs that Zhou Muzhi was about to open his eyes and interrupt the process, he immediately spoke.

"Keep inviting the incense!"

Zhou Muzhi made no further movement.

As the incense invitation approached its end, the disturbances in the statue continued. At last, Zhou Muzhi opened his eyes.

The statue of the Nine Heavens Supreme Goddess stopped stirring at the same time.

The next instant.

The entire wooden statue abruptly split into pieces.

Half-Immortal Xu froze where he stood. Zhou Muzhi also stared at the scene before him, his breathing growing much lighter.

In the candlelight, Half-Immortal Xu's hands trembled slightly. He silently walked over to the shattered statue and gathered the broken pieces of wood with his hands.

"You..."

Zhou Muzhi was about to speak when Half-Immortal Xu interrupted him. "Such is cause and effect. I took this step, and the shattering of the Nine Heavens Supreme Goddess also means this path has been severed completely. Boy, I hope you make good use of this stick of incense."

Zhou Muzhi fell silent, turned his gaze toward the unformed incense, and then nodded.

Seeing this, Half-Immortal Xu continued clearing up the wreckage, then waved at Zhou Muzhi. "Take the incense away. Leave it undisturbed for a day, and it'll be ready to use. Go on. This old Daoist needs some rest."

"All right."

Zhou Muzhi chose not to disturb him and silently left Half-Immortal Xu's home with the two sticks of incense.

Inside a privately owned mansion.

Lamps blazed brightly.

Qian Zhen was in the mansion, its main hall arranged for a banquet.

The Qian Family's eldest young master no longer wore his earlier false smile. Instead, there was a trace of viciousness on his face.

He looked at the many figures below him. These were the talented people of Suming County he had drawn to his side, all figures who had a say in their respective fields.

"Everyone, today is a gathering of my Hall of Outstanding Heroes. If you have any issues, feel free to discuss them!"

The Hall of Outstanding Heroes was a product of his planning, and also the true foundation of Qian Zhen's confidence. It was no exaggeration to say that eighty percent of his affairs were resolved through this hall.