The Right to Use Old Chain

Huang Shaozi's words were inserted at just the right time.

Now that Zhou Laogou has eaten the offerings and is influenced by the ripples of the Fat Mirror Lamp, the possibility that he will make a decision that benefits Zhou Yang has greatly increased!

Zhou Yang looked at Zhou Laogou expectantly, his heart pounding.

In Guan Village, there are five families with unique heirlooms.

His Zhou Family, had a family heirloom "Old Chain"!

The ghost of the Zhou Family often used this Old Chain to tether the dog puppies of the Dog King Family.

However, Zhou Yang guessed that this was not the correct way to use the Old Chain.

Just like the dogs in the Dog King Family, which are not meant for ghosts to sniff out the scent of the living—ghosts use the righteous method in reverse. If this method falls into Zhou Yang's hands, he can use it correctly!

Upon hearing Huang Shaozi's words, Zhou Laogou's face turned expressionless.

A pair of brown eyes stared intently at Zhou Yang.

He said slowly, "The Heigou loves me, A-Yang doesn't. But you are both my sons."

"Now that Heigou isn't home, it's only natural that I'm passing the Old Chain on to A-Yang..."

"But something doesn't feel right to me."

As Zhou Laogou whispered, Zhou Yang's heart skipped a beat!

There's definitely something wrong with this.

He, Zhou Yang, is not Zhou Laogou's biological son at all!

Seeing that the Laogou was about to bring up old matters, Zhou Yang immediately said, "Father! You are my only father. You have three sons. The chain is yours. You can pass it on to whomever you want. We sons have no right to interfere in how your things are distributed!"

"But no matter who you pass the chain on to, I will still respect you the same."

"We'll take care of you in your old age and see you to your death!"

Zhou Yang's words made Zhou Laogou laugh.

The smile was cold, very cold.

He laughed as he looked at Zhou Yang: "A-Yang, are you really filial to your father? Can you be as filial to your father as Heigou?"

There was a hint of expectation in the Laogou's eyes.

Zhou Yang was deeply shaken!

Even though the three offerings temporarily suppressed the demonic tendencies within the Laogou, and even though the Fat Mirror Lamp added to the Laogou's humanity, his true nature seemed to inherently possess a bloodthirsty characteristic similar to that of a demon!

At this moment, Zhou Yang tried everything he could, but he couldn't completely awaken the Laogou's human side!

Or perhaps, some people are inherently more animalistic than human.

Zhou Laogou belongs to this category.

Zhou Yang would never again use the puppet stomach to please the Laogou.

Therefore, he could only politely refuse the Laogou's request. "Dad, Heigou and I, as well as my elder brother, are all different people."

We each have our own ways of showing our respect and filial piety.

"Just you wait and see, I'll definitely be one of your sons who will be there for you in your old age and see you off in your final days!"

"Good boy..." Zhou Laogou chuckled a few more times upon hearing Zhou Yang's words.

That smile looked mocking no matter how you looked at it.

Seeing this, Zhou Yang sighed inwardly.

It seems we can't get the Old Chain after all.

But then Zhou Laogou said, "Old Chain, you can use it for now after your Revelation Ceremony."

"Give it to me again when the Heigou comes back."

"You can continue cooking dinner for the family as usual; I won't give you any more money."

This means that Zhou Yang's subsidy has been cancelled, but at the same time, the right to use the Old Chain has been granted to Zhou Yang.

Since it's all a business with no initial investment, we might as well make a profit.

Getting the Old Chain is already a Da Le win!

Zhou Yang immediately responded, his face still full of gratitude. "Thank you, Father!"

The family thoroughly enjoyed their dinner. Afterwards, Zhou Yang returned to his room and, behind the clay stove in the corner, began to build a "Mani pile" using stones and clods of earth.

For sky burial practitioners, mani stones serve as a bridge for communication with the deceased.

The soul and wishes of the deceased can be projected into the mani stones, either through mud offerings or directly.

This object can be considered a relatively simple altar.

Zhou Yang also asked Aji how the tantric practitioners and lamas set up their altars and mandalas, but setting up such an altar required too many things, and with Zhou Yang's current resources, it was impossible for him to gather them all.

In comparison, mani stones are actually the easiest to build.

For Zhou Yang right now, this is also the most cost-effective option.

Zhou Yang placed a mani stone pile in his home, so that Zhuoma and Sangsang's Primordial Right Consciousness could fall into the mani stone pile and receive temporary protection.

He can also use this to perform homa rituals.

After the mani stones were arranged, Zhou Yang peered into the gaps between them.

The gaps between the stones were empty, unlike the mani stones that Zhou Yang built outside Gonpo's house when he was in Linzang, where streaks of white light, like eels, would swim through the gaps between the stones.

"Aji claims that the mandalas set up by the great lamas, even if destroyed in the material world, will remain in the ' Esoteric Nature Realm ' forever. So much so that when those great lamas set up a mandala again, they can immediately draw upon the various forces remaining in the mandalas that were destroyed in the past."

"Some tantric practitioners' altars can also be directly fixed in human skin thangkas."

"After that, wherever you go, unfold the Thangka, recite the secret mantra, and the altar or temple will appear."

Compared to altars and temples, mani stones are far less functional.

"I cannot even establish a connection between this mani pile in present-day Tibet and the mani pile located in Linzang."

Zhou Yang only thought about it for a moment before dismissing the slight regret in his heart.

In fact, he was quite aware that the place he was in was extremely dangerous.

It is already a rare opportunity to personally set up a mani stone pile today.

One must walk one step at a time, and eat one bite at a time. By managing things step by step, there is a possibility that the mani stones in Guan Village may connect with the various arrangements left behind by the villagers in the future.

After the mani stones were piled up, Zhou Yang brought over a bowl of grease and dipped a cotton rope into it.

Then, a thought flashed through his mind, and a point of white light burst forth from his fingertip, landing in the ointment and igniting it, thus removing the remaining ghostly aura within—the ointment he usually consumed contained very little ghostly aura, Fat Mirror Lamp could remove relatively easily.

However, the fat used to cleanse the giver's cavity during the Revelation Ceremony is obtained from the deepest part of a "Fat Well." Even if the Fat Mirror Lamp can ignite that fat, it may not be able to easily remove the evil spirits remaining inside.

After using the mirror to remove the ghostly aura from the ointment, Zhou Yang brought over an oil lamp and lit a tiny flame onto the cotton rope soaking in the ointment. The cotton rope then caught fire.

Zhou Yang then took off the "wax tiger" from his neck and soaked it in the ointment.

His modification to this wax tiger, which Zhuoma liked quite a bit, involved thoroughly soaking it in fat.

Thus, thanks to the fat's ability to seal away supernatural phenomena, Zhuoma was able to inhabit the body of this wax tiger.

"Sangsang."

Zhou Yang called out to himself at that moment.

As his thoughts shifted, Sangsang's singing voice rang out:

"Om da le, du da le, du lie suo ha..."

The song continued on repeat, and as long as Zhou Yang didn't tell them to stop, Sangsang showed no sign of stopping.

Looking at the burning cotton rope in the bowl of ointment before him, Zhou Yang let Sangsang continue singing this folk song.

This folk song is also a mantra that has been passed down in Linzang for many years. When making Square Offering, two things are of utmost importance: one is the ash from the wick of the oil lamp that the person chanting is facing, and the other is a bowl of blood, whether it is human or animal blood, which must be the residue left after the spirits have consumed it.

Zhou Yang had already found the second item in the woodshed.

It was the blood that oozed from the leftover pig lungs of the Zhou Family.

He was making the first thing right now.

The cotton rope burned for a while in the grease, and Zhou Yang then pushed it upwards to let it continue burning.

This process lasted a long time.

Zhou Yang didn't just wait idly.

Sitting before this tiny lamp, Zhou Yang's eyes were half-open, half-closed as he recalled the mantra for forging Upright Heart. He slowly wove the nine strands of Mindfulness between his brows into one, then dispersed it, practicing in this continuous cycle.

This method of cultivating Upright Heart may have been obtained by Luodu from the Esoteric Treasury Domain, which may involve the terror of the Esoteric Treasury Domain and harbor hidden dangers.

But Zhou Yang was already incredibly lucky to have a way out in the treacherous Guan Village, so he naturally wouldn't complain about anything.

When Zhou Yang first began this practice, he needed to concentrate fully to weave the nine strands of Mindfulness thoughts into one, and then slowly separate them.

After several cycles of this practice, he was able to simultaneously control his Mindfulness to become one, while also diverting his attention to manipulate the cotton rope within the ointment. After several more cycles, he was able to practice while moving around the room.

There was still room in my mind to think about other things.

Even at the end, Zhou Yang continued his cultivation, sitting by the oil lamp, scooping out bits of burnt wick ash from the bottom of the bowl of melted fat, and mixing it into the leftover pig's blood from the Zhou Family's meal.

A bowl of congealed, dark red pig's blood was gradually dissolved by the grease and ash from the lamp.

The black and red colors mixed in the bowl, eventually turning into a jet-black color.

Zhou Yang carried the bowl of thick, pitch-black liquid, which was as sticky as asphalt, to the corner of the wall. He took a strip of cloth, dipped it in the liquid, and then drew a straight line along the corner of the wall, encircling all four sides of the bedroom to form a square frame.

Every time he passed a corner, he would recite the Six-Syllable Mantra ten times.

"Om Mani Padme Hum..."

After reciting the Six-Syllable Mantra one last time, the square frame drawn around the four walls suddenly began to fade rapidly, as if it had seeped into the rammed earth walls.

Within a short time, the four marks completely disappeared.

Instead, these four walls gave Zhou Yang a special feeling.

It made him feel as if he were inside an iron wall, and even the window opening in the wall facing his bed dissipated much of his unease. -- This is the Square Offering.

Offerings are made from special materials, and a square is drawn around oneself.

Being inside, one is immune to evil spirits.

This offering is especially effective for Tsen Demon. Demons can easily break through the square by stepping into it in a short time. However, the person making the offering will sense the moment the demon breaks through the square.

This allows us to prepare a little earlier.

"Hum mi pa ni ma om..."

At this point, Zhou Yang recited the Six-Syllable Mantra backwards again.

The rammed earth walls on all sides gave it a texture similar to an iron wall, which dissipated in an instant.

Zhou Yang deliberately untied the Square Offering.

He had arranged this offering in advance, and it could only be used in the Guan Village under extremely urgent circumstances.

His house would inevitably be entered and exited by the Zhou Family. If this altar was kept, the Zhou Family would feel blocked when entering, which could very likely bring him trouble.

Only when faced with imminent death could he activate this Square Offering, temporarily forcing the ghost back and giving himself a brief respite. Having done this, Zhou Yang let out a long sigh.

He took the wax tiger that had been soaking in grease and hung it around his neck.

Zhuoma easily blended into the tiger mask.

He told Zhuoma not to be too playful, as she would have to come back to Linzang with him later.

Afterwards, Zhou Yang lay back on the bed, still using Ghost Head Averting God to keep watch for him. He then calmed himself down, reviewed the day's events in his mind, and then thought:

"Although Zhuoma and Sangsang can generate Mindfulness on their own, firstly, they have no physical body to rely on, and secondly, their right Mindfulness is extremely weak in Guan Village and cannot be of much help."

"For now, I have no choice but to take care of them and look after them carefully to prevent them from getting hurt."

"But the Averting God is different; once mastered, it can be used immediately."

"As long as I am not dead, the Eight Gates outside my body will continue to operate as usual. The roots of the Averting God will remain inside the gates. Even if they are destroyed temporarily, there will be a chance for them to regenerate later."

"Now that my Mindfulness has reached its peak, I can proceed with the second gate, the third gate, and even all Eight Gates of Averting God in sequence."

"Next, to refine the Gate of Rest Averting God, one must undergo the ' Three Transformations of White Bone '."

"To transfer the death energy of the newly deceased to me, and then to perform the ' Three Transformations of White Bone of White Bones' magic trick on me, I can then cultivate the skill of 'Gate of Rest Averting God '. As for the ' Three Transformations of White Bone,' I now have the Fat Mirror Lamp Ripple Pattern' available, so performing this trick is not difficult."

"But the deathly aura of this newly deceased... is it going to fall upon the Heigou?"

After thinking it over, Zhou Yang decided that if he had the chance tomorrow, he should go to the fields.

Try to collect the death energy left behind by the Heigou.

At this moment, Zhou Yang thought of something else, immediately opened his eyes, jumped out of bed, and took out the mantis that "Elder Sister Liu" in the alley had given him that morning.

Under his gaze, the grass mantises transformed into clusters of messy lines, enveloped in a purple-blue aura.

"What exactly is this purplish-blue light?"

Why do I have no reaction to it, while Zhuoma and Sangsang seem to reject and dislike it so much?