Greed knows no bounds

After closing the chat channel, Tang Zhixue lowered his head and considered the feasibility of the Big Dipper Ghost-Slaying Incantation.

The incantation was not long, and Tang Zhixue quickly memorized it, but the specific arrangement of the Ritual Altar left him somewhat stumped.

He knew which direction was north, and he had once looked up the shape of the Seven Stars of the Northern Dipper out of curiosity. He had a table, rice, and clean water, and even the bowls could be replaced with simple bamboo tubes.

The problem was that he had neither oil lamps nor candles!

"What should I do?"

Tang Zhixue sat on the stool, frowning in thought.

He surmised that oil lamps or candles were required for the flames they produced-or rather, their light.

"Then can I just use fire directly?"

He then cut all the bamboo he had previously traded for into suitable tubes, leaving a node intact at only one end.

"They're this thin?"

Tang Zhixue picked up one of the bamboo tubes and frowned. "Looks like I'll have to hurry."

He usually filled the bamboo tubes with water and rice, particularly water, which was why he could set them over flames or charcoal without worry.

First, he cleared away the clutter on the north side of the Shelter, then moved the only table in the entire Shelter to the north, right against the wall.

Fortunately, the Shelter's entrance faced due east, while the Junweng apparition was to the northeast. Otherwise, even if he wanted to use this method against him, he would not have been able to point the Northern Dipper Hand Seal at him.

He arranged seven bamboo tubes on the table in the shape of the Seven Stars of the Northern Dipper, with the bowl of the dipper pointing down and its handle pointing up.

Next, he placed some dry twigs in the bamboo tubes. The twigs were short, reaching just to the tops of the tubes; he also used only a few, to prevent a lack of oxygen from keeping them from burning properly.

Finally, he placed a suitably sized piece of glowing charcoal into each of the bamboo tubes.

Whoosh!

Under the intense heat of the charcoal, the dry twigs inside the bamboo tubes soon burst into flame.

Watching the flames, Tang Zhixue's expression tightened, and his hands involuntarily sped up.

He took another bamboo tube and placed it at the central position he had calculated in advance, then poured clean water into it and added seven grains of rice.

Once that was done, Tang Zhixue ignored the pain and dropped to both knees in front of the table.

He formed the Northern Dipper Hand Seal with both hands.

He hooked his left ring finger around his right little finger, while hooking his right ring finger around his left little finger. Each thumb pressed down on the ring finger of the same hand. He kept the index and middle fingers of both hands straight. Finally, his hands came together in a palms-joined posture, symbolizing communion with the Lord of the Northern Dipper.

Holding the hand seal, Tang Zhixue chanted, "Seven Origins of the Northern Dipper, your divine energy commands the heavens. Great Sage of the Celestial Dipper, your majestic radiance shines in myriad rays. Ascend to heaven and descend to earth, sever and destroy the source of evil. Should there be Demons, bind them and send them to Fengdu. By the command of Lord Lao, let it be done with all haste in accordance with the law. Slay!"

The first recitation brought no response, nor did the second or the third.

Tang Zhixue immediately grew somewhat anxious, chanting faster and faster.

The fourth attempt failed, and so did the fifth... until the ninth!

As he began the ninth recitation, the seven bamboo tubes serving as oil lamps gradually lit up, growing brighter and brighter.

By the middle and latter portions, the bamboo tube in the center also lit up, though it was the seven grains of rice in the water that were emitting light.

Watching the unusual scene before him, Tang Zhixue immediately felt reassured and loudly chanted the final words, "...By the command of Lord Lao, let it be done with all haste in accordance with the law. Slay!"

At the same time, he thrust the hand seal forcefully toward Junweng.

In an instant, the dry twigs and charcoal in the seven surrounding bamboo tubes turned into streaks of light, which shot off along with all the other light from the Ritual Altar in the direction indicated by the hand seal.

"Roar!"

Tang Zhixue could not see what was happening outside from within the Shelter, but he heard the piercing scream that followed with perfect clarity.

He grinned at that. "It worked!"

He stood and brushed the dust from his knees.

[Congratulations on successfully slaying the apparition Junweng. Your probability of encountering Junweng today has been greatly reduced.]

???

The smile immediately froze on Tang Zhixue's face. "What do you mean, my probability of encountering Junweng today has been greatly reduced? You mean I could still run into Junweng?"

Even after the text disappeared before his eyes, Tang Zhixue had yet to recover.

At that moment, he really wanted to swear.

"Whew..."

Letting out a long breath, Tang Zhixue tried hard to steady his emotions. "Perhaps it's because my proficiency in the Big Dipper Ghost-Slaying Incantation is still too low."

With a thought, Tang Zhixue quickly opened his information panel.

[Name: Tang Zhixue]

[Level: first tier]

[Talents: vitality absorption, diligence makes up for lack of talent]

[Crafts: bow and arrow crafting · uninitiated (0/1), game processing · proficient (40/200)]

[Skills: Blazing Tiger Fist · proficient (1/200), Linked Pearl Archery · master (11/1000), Pure Heaven and Earth Divine Mantra · expert (33/500), Big Dipper Ghost-Slaying Incantation · beginner (8/100)]

"The Ghost-Slaying Incantation is only at beginner level. That's normal, perfectly normal," Tang Zhixue reassured himself.

Swish!

Tang Zhixue pushed open the door and cautiously walked toward where the Junweng apparition had been.

Although he had already been destroyed, wasn't there still a chance of encountering him again?

The place where the Junweng apparition had stood was now empty, save for a card floating in midair and emitting a faint white glow.

"He actually dropped an item, too." Tang Zhixue cautiously stepped forward and took the card. "That's an unexpected surprise."

After getting the card, Tang Zhixue did not linger outside. Without even looking at any of its information, he turned and ran straight back into the Shelter.

Bang!

After shutting the Shelter's entrance, Tang Zhixue sat back down beside the fireplace.

"Let's see what kind of card this is."

[Item: Supply Card]

[Level: second tier]

[Description: Tear open the card to obtain a Balanced Pocket Watch.]

"Second tier? Balanced Pocket Watch?"

Tang Zhixue curiously tore open the card in his hand. The next moment, an exquisite hinged pocket watch with the word "Balance" engraved on its surface appeared in his hand.

[Item: Balanced Pocket Watch]

[Level: second tier]

[Description: Any being stronger than the holder that enters a ten-meter radius of the holder will have its strength forcibly suppressed to match the holder's. Beings weaker than the holder are unaffected. (Can only suppress beings whose strength does not exceed the second tier.)]

"Well, this..."

Tang Zhixue looked at the pocket watch in his hand with very mixed feelings.

He could hardly call it useless, since it could suppress those powerful beings to a level of strength equal to his own.

But if he called it useful, the watch could only suppress beings whose strength did not exceed the second tier.

"Forget it, forget it. At least it can suppress the second tier down to the first tier. That makes it somewhat useful."

If its upper limit could be raised to the third tier, Tang Zhixue would not have had any negative feelings at all. Perhaps this was what it meant to have boundless greed.