Chapter 148: Chapter 127: Foundation Establishment Calculates Karma, Mortals Become Sacrificial Offerings

Outside Hanyang Prefecture City, the river’s waves churned and flowed.

The night was deep. A crescent moon, like a delicate eyebrow, rose over Goose Mountain, casting a faint, clear light.

Song Chou, dressed in an Immortal Crane Cloud Pattern Robe, rode a flame high in the sky. He bowed respectfully to a gaunt Daoist with three wisps of a long beard and said flatteringly,

"Elder Huang, your Ghost and God Capturing Skill has actually reached Perfection! It not only stirs up dark thoughts but can also plant a demonic obsession that is impossible to shake. That’s nearly the level of a Foundation Establishment True Master’s Magical Power."

An ancient Copper Bell hovered above the gaunt Daoist’s head. With every chime, it shed a clear light that dispersed the layered astral winds.

Seeing Song Chou approach, he did not rise, but remained in his seated meditation posture. His voice was flat as he asked,

"Elder Song, what brings you here?"

"The Ghost Dao has been initiated, and Fengdu is about to emerge. This concerns not only your Opportunity for Foundation Establishment, Elder Huang, but also whether our sect can secure another high-grade Resource Land."

Song Chou’s attitude was quite courteous, his face showing a clear intention to curry favor.

"The Sect Leader specifically sent me to assist you, Elder, to ensure nothing goes wrong."

He knew perfectly well that while this Elder Huang was not from the Direct Lineage of the Fu or Kang Clans, he had married a woman from the Kang Clan as his primary wife, making him practically one of their own.

More importantly, the man had condensed Third Grade True Qi and had a strong chance of achieving Flying Foundation Establishment. He was a bona fide True Master in the making!

’How could I possibly afford to offend a Dao Material of the Dharma Lineage with such a boundless future and limitless path?’

Song Chou knew his own limits. For someone like him, with a lacking background and an incomplete Dao Inheritance, it was a stroke of luck to have clawed his way to the Qi Cultivation Twelfth Layer. This was his limit.

If he wanted to advance further, to make his Life Essence Complete and reach the Flying Foundation Establishment Realm...

...he would either have to stumble upon a heaven-sent Opportunity or win the favor of a True Master who would make long-term plans for him and manipulate causality on his behalf.

Otherwise, he would remain hopeless for the rest of his life, destined never to take that step.

This was why Song Chou had humbled himself. He wasn’t respecting Elder Huang himself, but the man’s path to Foundation Establishment.

"This Opportunity has been destined for my Shangyu Huang Clan for two hundred years,"

Huang Laozi said with a faint, confident smile.

"Our clan’s Foundation Establishment Elder Ancestor calculated the karmic threads and, before his passing, left a twenty-character prophecy—’To know the True Master’s surname: a field, eight, twenty, and one. To know the True Master’s name: a pointed top hides a square mouth.’"

"The first line breaks down to form the character for ’Huang,’ and the second line combines to form the character for ’Shang.’ It points directly to me."

A muscle twitched on Song Chou’s face. The version he’d heard was that after the Shangyu Huang Clan deciphered this prophecy, Elder Huang’s father had specifically named him "Zishang" to match it.

Such methods of "forcing a prophecy to come true" were ancient and not at all uncommon.

The so-called "prophetic conclusions" were simply a way of aligning with causality and pandering to fate. It wasn’t always a case of destiny being foretold; more often, it was the other way around, with people creating prophecies to fit their desired fate.

It was said that among the Eight Sects True Monarchs, the masters of the Daoist Lineage, there were some who were exceptionally skilled in Dou Shu.

They could even reverse cause and effect, their Divine Techniques possessing an unimaginable might.

Song Chou hurriedly chimed in,

"Of course. The sect has watched over Hanyang Prefecture for over a century, taking great pains to elevate the Huang and Wang Families to the status of Fifth-Grade Clans, helping them spread their branches and accumulate destiny. Now, the time for harvest has come."

Huang Zishang’s eyes flickered like candlelight, reflecting the mansions of the Huang and Wang Families in Hanyang Prefecture.

He could see dense masses of destiny gathering above them, blazing like oil on a fire, a sign of their peak prosperity.

"Two hundred years of bitter waiting and watching, all to let this side branch grow strong. It truly wasn’t easy."

’Back then, a clan elder had unexpectedly obtained a Ghost Dao artifact and learned it was the key to opening Fengdu. He was ecstatic.’

’That was a vast Daoist Lineage that had once been subordinate to the glorious Divine Dao!’

’If they could obtain it in its entirety, it would be enough for the Shangyu Huang Clan to become the next Zhao You Sect, or perhaps even be elevated to a "Grand Sect" Dharma Lineage.’

But the conditions for initiating the Ghost Dao were far too harsh.

According to the Daoist Scriptures, the word for ghost, *gui*, means ’to return’.

Thus, it is said: the Immortal Dao values life, while the Ghost Dao values the end. The Immortal Dao is ever auspicious, while the Ghost Dao is ever baleful.

To step onto the path of the Ghost Dao meant that the slightest misstep would lead to eternal damnation!

"I’ve heard that the Ghost Dao is a method of ’returning to the origin,’ and it’s extremely difficult to cultivate."

Song Chou was not entirely ignorant; he knew a few details and brought them up now to make conversation.

"It’s said there are two paths: one is to feed ghosts with one’s own body to subjugate and control them; the other is to build temples and consecrate statues to capture, raise, and refine them. I wonder if that’s true?"

"Elder Song is truly learned to know even of these secrets."

A trace of approval flashed in Huang Zishang’s eyes as he nodded and replied,

"When a person dies, they become a ghost. When a ghost dies, it becomes a *ji*. When a *ji* dies, it becomes a *xi*. When a *xi* dies, it becomes a *yi*. When a *yi* dies, it becomes a *wei*. And when a *wei* dies, it becomes formless."

"The Ghost Dao is the ultimate spirit of formlessness, possessing a natural ability to appear, disappear, and transform."

"In a way, ’ghosts’ and ’gods’ are not fundamentally different. Both are born from a mass of qi and lack a fixed form or name."

"This is precisely why the Ghost Dao was able to manifest in the world by attaching itself to the Divine Dao."

He paused, a fervent heat rising in his heart, and continued slowly,

"That Fengdu is the foundation of the Ghost Dao. Within it, ten thousand ghosts lie in wait, endlessly ferocious and malevolent."

"To open it and enter, there are also only two methods."

"One is to transform yourself into a Fierce Ghost or a Fierce Fiend and be guided inside with the key."

"The other is to create a monstrous disaster, earn the heavens’ loathing, and become an Evil Spirit."

Song Chou asked curiously,

"I wonder which method Elder Huang plans to use?"

Huang Zishang smiled faintly.

"I have always sought stability in my actions, so naturally, I have prepared for both."

"The specific methods of implementation are all recorded in an Immortal Scripture, which was deliberately allowed to fall into the hands of the collateral Huang Clan branch years ago. We also arranged for the local Royal Family to assist them, and have been proceeding step by step ever since."

"I’m just waiting for the Fierce Ghost to be born and the Evil Spirit to appear. Then I will use the Seizing Calculation, Taming, and Treating Ghosts Technique to capture them, borrow their power to enter Fengdu, and pluck that Foundation Establishment Opportunity."

After hearing this, Song Chou couldn’t help but sigh internally. Compared to the causal calculations of a Foundation Establishment True Master, his own Ghost and God Capturing Skill, derived from mere Ding Fire, was an amateurish trick.

This entire chess game had been controlled from beginning to end by a True Master. The Huang and Wang Families of Hanyang Prefecture were kept in the dark, completely unaware, still dreaming their pipe dream of "stumbling into an opportunity and becoming a True Master."

"It’s just that with your actions, Elder Huang, the mortal population of Hanyang Prefecture will likely be reduced by a full fifty percent. That will be difficult to explain to the Qianji Sect."

Song Chou reminded him.

The Dharma Lineage assessment is of utmost importance!

How could the Qianji Sect just sit by and do nothing?

"HAHAHAHA, Elder Song, you worry too much."

Huang Zishang cupped his hands in the direction of the Zhao You Sect, his voice brimming with confidence.

"Years ago, True Master Kang already reached an agreement with Liu Huan of the Qianji Sect. He lent Liu Huan the Xushuang Spirit Cave held by our sect, and threw in a great deal of cultivation Resources and Spiritual Mechanism Great Medicine, in exchange for an Inner Sect’s Dharma Lineage Decree."

"In two more years, the Qianji Sect will become a branch family of the Kang Clan. Why would we need to explain anything!"

"As for the sharp decline in the mortal population, there’s no need to worry. When the time comes, we can move a batch of people over from Dangyin Ridge and order every household to have more children. The numbers will be replenished within a few years and it won’t affect the assessment."

’The Qianji Sect is going to become a branch of the Zhao You Sect’s Kang Clan?’

Song Chou was flabbergasted. As a sect Elder, he was completely unaware of this matter; he hadn’t heard so much as a whisper!

Now he was thoroughly convinced, and said with sincere admiration,

"True Master Kang’s plans are so far-reaching, and his considerations so thorough. It is truly admirable."

...

...

"’To know the True Master’s name, a pointed top hides a square mouth!’"

Inside the City God Temple, Jiang Yi mused to himself,

’The "Shang" in Jiang Shang’s name also fits this prophecy.’

’According to the Celestial Book, the Huang and Wang Families in Hanyang Prefecture are creating natural disasters and man-made calamities, establishing living shrines to offer blood sacrifices, and even gathering numerous Loose Cultivators on Goose Mountain to conspire with some Youquan Sect... All of this is to turn their two Qi Cultivation Seventh Layer patriarchs into Fierce Ghosts and Fiends, into Evil and Mysterious Creatures, to pry open the gates of Fengdu.’

Jiang Yi had left behind Majestic Spirit Essence Qi in Hanyang Prefecture as his eyes and ears, and had also planted two agents, Fang Han and Hong Yi.

He pondered for a moment, then lowered his gaze and asked.

[I beg the Celestial Book, show me the fortune and misfortune of my trip to Goose Mountain.]

It still gave a direct answer,

saving the time it would take for a deduction.

[Deduction Result: Neutral. No major ups or downs.]

’Goose Mountain is the most dangerous place outside Hanyang Prefecture. If I can go there and come back unscathed, it means those Loose Cultivators are indeed no real threat.’

’But this Youquan Sect Dharma Lineage... I wonder what their background is?’

This time, Jiang Yi did not beg the Celestial Book, but instead consulted True Master Xuanmiao.

The Cat Master scratched his whiskers. He had wanted to say he couldn’t possibly know about such recent events, but considering how troubled Xiao Jiang had been about his impending tribulation, he answered honestly,

"The Youquan Sect? Similar to the Cyan Demon Sect. One was a remnant of the Ghost Dao, the other a branch of the Witch Dao, and both were wiped out by the Zhongyi Sect."

’Why is it the Zhongyi Sect again?’

’Just how many Killing Tribulation blood debts does Xuan Chanzi’s Dharma Lineage owe?’

Jiang Yi couldn’t help but curse inwardly. Whenever he asked about a Dharma Lineage that had been destroyed in the Three Peaks and Four Waters region, the name "Zhongyi Sect" always came up.

Their fearsome reputation was truly well-earned!

"That’s just how it is with Sword Cultivators."

True Master Xuanmiao was not surprised, sighing as he spoke,

"Everyone knows they need to ’complete their killing tribulations,’ so they are used like a headsman’s axe, specifically to prune and clear out ’outdated Dharma Lineages’ that go against the workings of the great Daoist Lineage."

Jiang Yi had another realization: if a Cultivator wanted Dao Material, they had to join an "Ancestral Sect" Dharma Lineage!

Otherwise, there was no future to speak of.

Heaven knows when your Dharma Lineage might be flattened and eradicated for no reason at all.

"Cat Master, I learned from Jiang Shang that the Huang and Wang Families have been buying up slaves in large numbers these past few years, sending them to Goose Mountain as gifts for the Youquan Sect."

"It’s for some kind of ’Shearing Sacrifice’ ritual."

Cradling the Cat Master, Jiang Yi stepped out of the City God Temple. He didn’t ride a flame into the sky, but simply summoned a Yin Horse from his Black Slaughter Lock to ride.

True Master Xuanmiao tucked his round body into Xiao Jiang’s robes and said in a muffled voice,

"The Shearing Sacrifice is a ritual for making oaths. It primarily involves taking blood without eating the flesh and is mostly used in rites for ’beheading fiends’ or ’expelling evil’."

"It’s usually performed by Thunder Core Cultivators from the Dongsheng Continent, because ’Thunder Techniques are not effective without blood’."

"If the Shearing Sacrifice is being performed here in the Nanzhan Continent, it’s more likely a twisted version of an Ancient Demon Cultivator method: using mortals as live sacrifices to nourish Blood Evil."

Jiang Yi’s eyebrows shot up. ’Using mortals as livestock?’

Truly worthy of Ancient Demon Cultivators. They were all about draining the pond to get the fish and killing the goose that lays the golden eggs.

No wonder that in ancient times, the Demonic Dao only flourished briefly before being stomped on by the Immortal Dao and Buddhist Dao in turn.

On their more pathetic days, even the Beast Dao would join in, kicking them while they were down.

As the man and cat talked, the Yin Horse moved swiftly, and they soon arrived at the foot of Goose Mountain.