Chapter 57 Attending the Ceremony

In the early morning, after finishing his breakfast and running through a set of body-forging exercises, Feng Xue stepped out of his front door. He glanced back at the small two-story villa, which looked as though it had just endured a massive earthquake, and began his posture training.

His nutritional intake was already superior to that of ordinary people in this era. Combined with the regimen of dietary supplements and body forging, it provided a solid foundation for stationary stance training.

Although referred to as a stationary stance, it was essentially the common horse stance, with only minor technical variations. Broadly speaking, it involved maintaining a fixed posture for an extended period to refine physical balance and coordination, while also serving as a discipline of mental focus.

The core principle was to use the stillness of the physical body to perceive the flow of internal energy and blood.

Once one could clearly sense the circulation of energy and blood through prolonged standing, one could progress to dynamic stances, transitioning from passive perception to active control over one's internal circulation.

At this point, Feng Xue had no idea what internal energy and blood actually were, and he wanted to avoid confusing them with magical power or primordial breath. Rather than rushing for quick results, he simply followed the instructions recorded in the manual, assumed the posture, and quieted his mind.

Despite his ordinary physical baseline, Feng Xue possessed first-rate mental concentration. After standing for just a few minutes, he slipped into a trance-like state of detachment. It bore some resemblance to the meditative absorption of profound practitioners, yet carried a restless warmth that made his entire body feel feverish.

Following the manual's guidance, he adjusted his posture to ensure the warm current remained steady and balanced. Without realizing it, Feng Xue held the stance for half an hour.

When he finally snapped back to reality, his waist and legs were sore and numb, heat rose from his head, and despite the bitter winter cold, he was drenched in a fine layer of sweat.

Unfazed by this reaction, Feng Xue limped back to his room and summoned Liu Yunxi to help him bathe—which meant turning her into a showerhead.

By the time he had finished dealing with this ordeal and dressed properly, it was already past eight o'clock. He repacked his belongings, preparing to head out.

After all, since the rented house had been reduced to its current state, he needed to inform the real estate agency. Whether he decided to rent another place or purchase this one and renovate it, the agency's assistance would be required.

Before he had walked very far, however, a hurried shout rang out behind him:

"Mr... Mr. Feng! Please wait!"

"???" Reflexively, Feng Xue reached out to touch the ring that Liu Yunxi had transformed back into, while turning toward the voice. He saw the soldier who had visited him yesterday running toward him in a frantic dash.

"What is it?" Feng Xue composed himself and asked cautiously. The soldier replied with a tone far more humble and ingratiating than before:

"Mr. Feng! The magistrate invites you to attend today's suppression artifact installation ceremony. Furthermore, in recognition of your primary contribution in slaying the demon yesterday, the magistrate has already prepared your reward..."

"Ah, this..." Feng Xue felt somewhat speechless. Yet, since the matter had been brought up this way, it would be inappropriate for him to refuse. Moreover, he was genuinely curious about what this suppression artifact actually was, so he nodded and said, "Lead the way."

...

Following the soldier the entire way, they arrived at the Chenghuang Temple... which happened to be located right next to the magistrate's yamen.

"Good grief, putting the City God Temple right next to the government office... well, I suppose that's fairly common." Feng Xue recalled his world before transmigrating, realizing there was nothing particularly unusual about it.

In this cultural setting, who was to say the City God didn't occasionally borrow the magistrate's courtroom to judge a few ghosts in the middle of the night?

As his mind wandered, Feng Xue heard a greeting. Looking up, he saw several profound practitioners cupping their hands toward him with respectful expressions.

Though he did not recognize most of them, Feng Xue could only return the gesture in kind. Passing through the memorial archway and entering the inner courtyard, Feng Xue finally spotted a familiar face.

At that moment, the elderly Master Yijing was locking wide-eyed stares with the young-looking Daoist priest he had seen the previous night. A closer inspection revealed that both men bore an exhaustion so deep it could not be masked even by their profound cultivation levels.

"Good grief, could this suppression artifact require high-level masters to consecrate it? Did the magistrate call me here hoping I'd help consecrate the thing? I have no idea how to do that!"

Seeing the weary states of the two experts, such a thought instantly arose in Feng Xue's mind. But the next second, he relaxed completely.

Are you kidding me? He hadn't even entered the Dao!

No matter how formidable others thought he was, the fact remained that he was uninitiated! If anyone tried to pressure him into contributing, he had a ready-made excuse:

"My magical power was completely exhausted last night!"

Magical power was precious to profound practitioners; anyone who tried to force him to use it would essentially be demanding his life!

With this realization, Feng Xue's anxiety vanished entirely, leaving him free to admire the layout of the City God Temple.

Master Yijing and Daoist Priest Chen, who were anxiously waiting for the arrival of the巳 (si) hour, also noticed Feng Xue. Master Yijing remained relatively composed, but Daoist Priest Chen's expression shifted drastically. He had clearly recognized the white snake ring on Feng Xue's finger!

"He has already reached the realm of effortless transformation! That great demon probably didn't take a shortcut by begging for human blessings; otherwise, it would be utterly impossible to train the art of transformation to such a profound level! To be able to injure a thousand-year-old great demon... that demonic cultivator must be an ancient titan of the demonic path, attempting to use a zombie's body to cultivate the method of yin-malice and turbid karma! It is a blessing that he only sought out an ordinary zombie... No! I'll have to scour the surrounding feng shui blights afterward to make sure any demonic cultivation is done far away! I might even have to invite my sect's patriarch down in person!"

The pressure crushing Daoist Priest Chen's heart was immense. Meanwhile, Master Yijing, who had been dragged around by that obnoxious Daoist priest searching for demonic cultivators the entire previous night, was feeling rather dazed. Unlike Daoist practitioners who sought longevity, orthodox Buddhist practitioners pursued ultimate liberation. With this lifetime offering no hope, they pinned their hopes on the next. Though monks lived longer than ordinary people due to their cultivation, it was merely standard longevity. At his advanced age, running around continuously for days and enduring a sleepless night proved too much for him to bear. Basking in the warmth of the winter morning sun, he immediately began to nod off.

Fortunately, the hands of the wall clock and the sundial ticked forward in unison, finally pointing to the巳 hour. Seeing that the auspicious time had arrived, Master Yijing forced himself to snap awake and looked toward the main hall of the City God Temple.

Under the gaze of the crowd, the temple warden and the magistrate walked out together, each holding a wooden tray.

The magistrate's tray held his official seal, representing his government-sanctioned authority as ruler of the county, while the warden's tray bore a spirit tablet inscribed in gold leaf with the characters: "Spirit Seat of the Protecting Deity, City God of Lucheng County."

Without any explanation needed, every profound practitioner present immediately ceased all movement and gazed respectfully at the tablet. Only three masked shamans in colorful garments performed a bizarre dance.

As the dance continued, Feng Xue's over-the-shoulder perspective caught sight of a multitude of colorful prayer-energy floating up from various corners of the temple, weaving together into a rainbow-like bridge that extended outward from the massive incense burner in the center of the courtyard.

A moment later, a golden-radiant phantom descended upon the spirit tablet. Bathed in sunlight and blended with the prayer-energy, it seemed to condense into a golden apparition above the main hall of the Chenghuang Temple.

"Clang~!"

A crisp, melodious chime that seemed capable of cleansing the soul rang in the ears. The sound did not appear to exist in physical reality, but rather resonated directly within the depths of the heart. Its rise and fall instilled a profound sense of security, as if anyone within the sanctuary protected by this chime would remain entirely safe from all malevolent spirits.

The bell rang seven times consecutively. Daoist Priest Chen's expression finally relaxed. Accompanied by the warden's announcement that the ritual was complete, the golden phantom on the tablet dissolved once more along the bridge of prayer-energy. The profound practitioners, who had been somewhat tense until then, visibly relaxed.

"Is that it? It's over?" Though Feng Xue could roughly grasp what had happened, it still felt somewhat surreal.

Just as he intended to slip away from the temple like the other practitioners, the magistrate's voice suddenly called out from behind him—

"Mr. Feng, please do not leave yet!"