Incense offerings

Fang Weiyan had no idea how long he had slept. He snapped his eyes open; outside, the sun was already sinking.

Fang Weiyan felt as though his body had grown much warmer.

"Was it because that female ghost put her hand on my shoulder last night?"

Recalling how he had felt while basking in the sun earlier, Fang Weiyan could not help wondering about it. He felt that must have been when something had gone wrong.

Hadn't some of the supernatural stories he had read before described problems arising after an encounter with a ghost? All the more so in his case, with a ghost actually putting her hand on his shoulder.

Gurgle...

Fang Weiyan suddenly realized that he had not eaten all day. At that thought, he wanted to get something to eat from the kitchen.

His parents had gone out on business, leaving him alone at home.

It was just as well. Otherwise, seeing him unconscious for an entire day would have worried them to death.

Fang Weiyan walked into the kitchen in a few strides, intending to make something to eat while considering what he should do if he returned to that world. But the next moment, that familiar sensation came again.

The moment Fang Weiyan felt it, his expression changed in alarm. "I'm going back again?" Was whatever he thought of coming true?

Having transmigrated twice already, Fang Weiyan was thoroughly familiar with this sign that he was about to transmigrate back.

At the thought of the utterly terrifying female ghost still waiting for him where he had been, Fang Weiyan instantly turned pale.

The familiar sensation grew stronger and stronger. If he did not find a solution quickly, going over there would mean certain death.

"The Earth God... that's right, the Earth God!"

Fang Weiyan suddenly remembered that an Earth God had saved his life in that eerie world.

But that Earth God seemed to have run out of divine power and could no longer protect him.

There was an Earth God here, too. Although he did not know whether it would actually work, Fang Weiyan could no longer afford to worry about that.

Without even taking the time to put down the instant noodles in his hand, he hurried toward the hill behind the village.

The village where he lived had always preserved certain traditions. On the first and fifteenth of every lunar month, during the Shangsi Festival, or when paying respects to their ancestors, they would also worship the Earth God together.

Fang Weiyan was the only son in his family. Whenever a festival came, his family required him to take part in the worship, lest he forget how to do it in the future.

As such, Fang Weiyan could not have been more familiar with the Earth God's location.

A short while later, Fang Weiyan arrived at the Earth God's shrine. Seeing the divine image inside, he reached for it without a second thought.

Something I'm holding should be able to transmigrate with me, right?

Just before Fang Weiyan's body vanished, this question suddenly popped into his mind.

Not long after Fang Weiyan disappeared, some villagers heading down the hill were chatting and laughing on their way home. As they passed the Earth God's shrine, one villager suddenly glanced over out of the corner of his eye, then froze.

"Which damned bastard stole the Earth God?!!!"

His anguished howl startled countless birds into flight.

It was still the familiar grove, and the distant sun had already set, leaving only a trace of twilight.

Fang Weiyan instinctively looked down at his hands. He was holding a packet of instant noodles in one hand and an image of the Earth God in the other.

At the sight, Fang Weiyan briefly breathed a sigh of relief, only for his heart to rise into his throat again.

Who knew whether the Earth God from his world would be of any use?

Fang Weiyan looked at the divine image in his hand, then glanced at the Earth God's image beside him.

Just then, the Earth God's image, which had already lost almost all its divine essence, stirred.

"Child, where did you get that divine image? It actually has some Incense Offering Qi. Would you give it to this old man?"

A faint voice rang out. It was none other than the Earth God from before.

Hearing this, Fang Weiyan's heart stirred. "If I give it to you, Earth God, will you be able to deal with that female ghost?"

"That she-devil's cultivation is extremely high. This old man cannot kill her, but I can keep you safe."

The Earth God's voice grew weaker still. Seeing this, Fang Weiyan hurriedly placed the divine image before him.

Whatever the case, he had saved Fang Weiyan's life earlier. Even if this was only repayment for that kindness, it was something he ought to do.

The divine image had barely been placed before him when Fang Weiyan caught the same scent of incense and candles he had smelled during past offerings.

Fang Weiyan remained silent. Had he attained the Dao through incense offerings?

Or did he use incense offerings to sustain his divine power?

Fang Weiyan did not quite understand, but merely watched in silence.

While Fang Weiyan watched silently, Fude began directly absorbing the Incense Offering Qi before him. Yet the moment the Incense Offering Qi spilled out, he froze.

As the Incense Offering Qi was drawn out, it revealed a deep green color. Fang Weiyan could not see its color.

Fude, however, saw it perfectly clearly.

Third-tier, high-grade Incense Offering Qi!

At the sight of Incense Offering Qi of such quality, even Fude's divine image could not help trembling.

Incense Offering Qi was divided into five tiers, progressing through black, yellow, green, blue, and purple, with each tier divided into three grades.

The Incense Offering Qi Fang Weiyan had given him was third-tier, high-grade.

Now that the Divine Dao had declined and could no longer protect the Human Race, the Human Race was being slaughtered in great numbers by demons and monsters. The Incense Offering Qi they gathered was merely black: fifth-tier, low-grade.

What use was Incense Offering Qi of that level?

After all, Incense Offering Qi reflected whether the people of a nation lived in peace and contentment.

To gather Incense Offering Qi of such quality would probably require the people of several major cities in the Jiang Kingdom at its height to offer incense together, wouldn't it?

In the past, when the Divine Dao flourished and could shelter the Human Race, the Human Race had been able to live in peace and contentment, and naturally could offer them better Incense Offering Qi.

The two complemented each other. By now, he no longer knew how long it had been since he had tasted Incense Offering Qi, much less any of this grade.

The Incense Offering Qi behind the divine image was soon absorbed completely. A golden light shone forth, seemingly dispersing much of the surrounding Yin Qi at that moment.

A white figure suddenly appeared before them.

Set in the rotting head above the white robes were two large, lychee-like eyes. After glancing at Fang Weiyan, she turned her attention to Fude.

"Fude, your divine power was clearly about to run dry. How did you suddenly recover?"

The female ghost stared at Fude, her eyes filled with disbelief.

She did not understand how he had done it. By all rights, his Divine Dao should have come to an end today.

"Thanks to this young friend's blessing, I barely managed to preserve my divine station."

Fude gave a muffled snort. He had no liking whatsoever for this she-devil.

He had been locked in battle with her for a long time, and had expended considerable divine power because of her. Naturally, he could not bring himself to like her.

"Him?"

The female ghost immediately frowned at his words, and the look she gave Fang Weiyan changed at once.

Earlier, she had planned to ambush and kill him when he came down the hill. Never in her wildest dreams had she expected him to suddenly disappear, then turn around and actually stabilize Fude's divine station.

It instantly left her teeth itching with hatred.