“How audacious.”

The worries of those in the know within the town were indeed coming to pass. As the vibrant life force of Stone Horse Town surged and drew attention, the young master in azure robes and the Iron Steed Hall official patiently waited.

As time ticked by, they waited for the arrival of midnight. Yet, observing the commotion in the town, faint sneers appeared on their faces. "Humans have three souls: karma, corpse-guarding, and reincarnation. Similarly, the world has three foundations: luck, blessings, and fate."

"Mortals can only be determined by heaven. If they dare to interfere, they must suffer divine punishment."

"This One-Coin Church nurturing evil to gather blessings is already defying heaven's will. If we hadn't happened to arrive here, and this blessing had passed, they might have truly cultivated some luck."

Each memorial tablet bore a single character: illness, injury, pain, grief, fright, despair, sorrow, bitterness.

"Whether they hold this Lantern Blessing Ceremony, deceive these foolish men and women, or even truly forge swords and rebel, a swing of the blade will cleanse it all."

"Some matters need not wait until we enter the town to be dealt with!"

Fanning himself, drawing the sounds from outside into his ears, his expression swiftly turned astonished. "The divine platform has stopped. There are cries outside!"

"Heh, Lord Iron Steed thinks lightly of it. I admire the skills of you Night Watchmen, but that Heterarch is likely still in the town, and the thief who stole the General's Token is of unknown origin. I fear things may not go as smoothly as you imagine."

The movement was minimal. The smoke mingled into the yin winds and night, unnoticed. But between heaven and earth, a faint dimming occurred, and even the brilliant stars in the sky suddenly lost their luster.

Throughout the town, the festive lanterns were veiled in shadow.

The four Dharma Kings on the divine platform grew increasingly nervous, feeling as if the porcelain bowls in their hands were growing heavier, almost too much to bear.

Originally, the Sect Leader had said that nothing would go wrong with this Lantern Blessing Ceremony, and he was merely sitting here, waiting for most of the day with nothing to do. But at this moment, he suddenly paused.

The people in the streets, waiting for blessings from the divine platform, each had their own sorrows and sufferings. Some were afflicted with illness, seeking blessings to dispel disease. Others had tragic fates, with little hope for survival, seeking the divine to cut away their bitterness. Some were simply perpetually hungry, hoping to eat a full meal.

But no matter how quickly they bestowed blessings or how much water they sprinkled, a somber and oppressive feeling lingered, rising like mist and gradually enveloping more people.

"Rules must be kept."

The Iron Steed Hall official seemed uninterested in the commotion in the town. Listening to his words, he merely lowered his eyes slightly and said blandly, "Our Night Watchmen have no special abilities, nor do we calculate these ethereal numbers. We simply wait for the hour and proceed to carry out our duties."

Some silent changes were secretly breeding within this lively blessing ceremony, spreading silently like yin winds passing through the crowd, imperceptible.

On the other side, in the main altar's residence, the One-Coin Church Sect Leader, Myo-Seon Fairy, having changed into her Daoist robes and wearing a large copper coin on her chest, sat beneath the old elm tree, chanting incantations.

"Sect Leader, something's not right..."

Yet, one place alone, originally filled with suppressed emotions, suddenly felt a surge of excitement.

Just now, sobs had occasionally emanated from the ten large vats, and Myo-Seon Fairy had paid them no mind. But now, laughter suddenly emerged from within, startling her.

With Stone Horse Town as the center, strange altars had been set up in eight directions throughout the desolate mountains and fields. Maids and servants dressed in green each held a memorial tablet, kneeling rigidly toward Stone Horse Town.

Before he could finish speaking, Myo-Seon Fairy abruptly opened her eyes and stared intently. Her expression changed drastically as she saw faint movements emanating from two of the large vats, as if something were struggling inside. Blood slowly seeped from the rims of the vats.

But at this moment, inexplicably, the stomach that had just been filled with soup suddenly felt hungry again, and increasingly so. It was as if years of hunger had concentrated at this moment, as if a starving ghost resided within her body, impossible to satiate no matter how much she ate.

On the divine platform, a Dharma King standing in the northeast corner was looking down at a dirty peasant woman holding a crying baby in her arms. The baby was purple and blue all over and wailing. The peasant woman was constantly kowtowing to him, mumbling prayers.

Seeing this, the Dharma King on the divine platform looked somewhat surprised and apprehensive. He hurriedly dipped his fingers in the "nectar" and sprinkled it on the baby. Unexpectedly, even after sprinkling several drops, the baby continued to cry, its voice growing louder.

His face paled, and his voice trembled slightly, "This... this thing is laughing?"

The Dharma Kings standing at each corner of the divine platform also noticed the change in the atmosphere. Anxious and burning with impatience, they dipped water from their porcelain bowls and sprinkled it on the surrounding people, their movements noticeably faster than before.

The surrounding people didn't know what the blacksmith shop was doing. Few people bothered them, only knowing that their shop seemed to be afflicted with some evil illness, not stepping outside for more than ten days, disregarding the previous zombie disturbance and the current Lantern Blessing Ceremony.

Iron Steed Hall official listened to him, even showing some indifference, said: "You have to abide by the rules, wait these three days, wasn't that what young master Meng told me?"

Immediately afterwards, moans began to arise from others, and someone couldn't support their body, half-collapsed on the ground.

"Nurturing blessings and suppressing misfortune, atoning for sins and eliminating karma, the cycle of cause and effect, heavenly justice is clear, return to me!"

Some, who were already hungry, had eaten a full meal after arriving in the town. Now, they knelt piously, asking for nothing else, only hoping that they could see grains of rice in the soup they received twice a day.

The Dharma King formed a lotus mudra with his fingers, lightly dipped a few drops of nectar, and sprinkled them on the baby. The baby immediately stopped crying, and the purple and blue on its body seemed to dissipate. The peasant woman was overjoyed and wept.

But unexpectedly, the divine platform under their feet, just about to continue forward, was suddenly struck by a gust of yin wind. The crying that had just ceased suddenly sounded again, louder than before, shattering the silence.

They were full of hope, only wishing to kneel and beg for a few drops of nectar from the divine platform to sprinkle on their heads, hoping that from this moment on, fate would give them a break. But they never expected to first be blown by this faint yin wind.

Just moments ago, the town was filled with joy and a boiling atmosphere. Now, it was inexplicably veiled in a shadow, and cries and moans began to emerge incessantly.

Some, who already had illnesses, had sought medical help and felt much better after the "nectar" was sprinkled on their heads. But after being blown by this yin wind, their pain vaguely resurfaced, and they even moaned in agony.

Myo-Seon Fairy also stood up straight, vigilantly watching the ten large vats in front of her. “I I’m not blind!”

It was difficult to explain this feeling clearly, but it felt as if they were suddenly being watched by something, giving rise to a strong sense of oppression and gloom.

Young Master Meng chuckled softly. The previously polite pair seemed to have developed some displeasure due to Young Master Meng's insistence on refining the Yin General, which had failed before. There was a gap in their words.

A shiver ran down his spine, as if something bad had happened.

Beside her was White Fan, protecting her. He listened to the sounds in the town from time to time, to prevent anything from happening beyond his control.

It wasn't until the little ghosts hopped and skipped, appearing before them to deliver orders, that these people lit four sticks of incense, inserted them beside themselves, and then unveiled the black cloth covering the memorial tablets.

She was just about to breathe a sigh of relief when she suddenly heard violent struggles from the three large vats beside her. It was extremely abrupt, startling her. Just as she was about to look over, she suddenly heard a sinister laugh coming from inside the vat.

White Fan was even more frightened by the laughter and took a step back, looking at the ten large vats with a shocked expression, and trembled, "Sect Leader, something has entered..."

Holding these memorial tablets, they slowly kowtowed towards Stone Horse Town. Immediately, a gust of yin wind rolled up around them, and the smoke from the four sticks of incense suddenly floated from eight directions towards Stone Horse Town in the very center.

That was on the west side of Stone Horse Town, in a blacksmith shop with a large area. The master blacksmith was leading more than a dozen young apprentices in forging knives. They had been busy hammering away for more than ten days, and more than twenty bloodshot eyes had been staring at the knives in the furnace.

Young Master Meng smiled and said: "Lord Iron Steed is waiting for the hour, I will not enter the town before that hour either, but just watching these demons show off their magic and bewitch those villagers and fools, it's really not something I can stand."

As he spoke, he suddenly waved his large sleeve. Behind him, the yin wind billowed, and seven or eight little ghosts, all carrying command flags on their backs, flew out all at once as he waved his sleeve, transforming into a breeze and instantly heading in all directions of Stone Horse Town.

"Red Lantern bestows blessings, expels evil and removes disasters..."

A gleam flashed in Myo-Seon Fairy's eyes, and she waved the horsetail whisk in her hand, then formed a hand seal and pointed forcefully at the two large vats. The blood seeping out of the two vats seemed to be frightened, and slowly receded back in.

Even the divine platform stopped, and the little ghosts leading the way and the kneeling people all realized something and looked up blankly at the crying baby.

Beside her, the ten large vats were filled with gloomy yin energy, with a sob coming from time to time. Some water stains would occasionally condense on the walls of the vats, slowly dripping and evaporating into Stone Horse Town.

The yin wind blew harder and harder, and the entire sky above the town became more and more gloomy. The Lantern Blessing Ceremony, which was originally filled with noise and festooned with lanterns, seemed to be covered by something, becoming more and more oppressive.

It was just now, when the Lantern Blessing Ceremony began, and the nectar was sprinkled from the divine platform, that the entire town was filled with joy, dispelling the haze. But only the master blacksmith, who was in charge of hammering, became increasingly grave, and exclaimed:

"Damn it, why did it have to happen at this time?"

End of Chapter