Porter's Immortal Cultivation: I Have Level 5 Full Inscriptions

Chapter 163 Incense and Candle Gathering

Lately, he has felt that the path ahead for Dao Xiu is becoming increasingly difficult.

The main problem wasn't a lack of Taoist cultivation techniques. Thanks to She Nu, she had absorbed the Taoist master from the Wu family, so she still had a few techniques in her mind.

Among them are many of the Wu family's secret teachings.

What Yang Silang lacked was an elixir to aid his cultivation.

In cultivation, besides absorbing the essence of heaven and earth, the sun and the moon, one must also consume a large number of elixirs made from various precious materials of heaven and earth.

Just like a martial artist, who trains their skin, bones, and internal organs, they also need to use materials from demonic beasts such as the woolly rhinoceros, the thousand-bone snake, and the golden toad liquid, along with herbs to make pills to aid their cultivation. If they simply rely on eating to replenish their own essence, it would be impossible to succeed in their training.

For example, Yang Silang is now trying to break through to the Mercury Blood Grandmaster realm. He takes Blood Horseshoe Crab Pills, which cost 300 taels of silver per dose and are made from deep-sea blood horseshoe crabs. The blood of this demon is blue and it has great strength. It is an irreplaceable main medicine for blood-training martial artists.

The same principle applies to Taoist cultivation.

Yang Silang broke through several realms in one go, including meditation, astral projection, and wandering soul, thanks in part to the calming incense made from a mixture of oil from the brain of a golden trout. Otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to cultivate so quickly.

For low-level cultivators, the need for resources is not yet apparent, but if they want to break through to the Manifestation and Possession Realm, they need a pill called the Blazing Sun Pill to replenish the Yin Soul's lack of absorption of the sun's essence.

Previously, the main ingredient of this kind of pill, Blazing Sun Grass, could be found in the secret realms of the four major families. It grew in large patches on the hillsides, but Yang Silang could not buy this kind of pill in the outside world.

Among the caravan that She Nu robbed, there were three Blazing Sun Pills, but that was far from enough.

Without sufficient elixirs, Yang Silang would have to expend the precious medicinal power of the Yellow Jade Fruit within his body to cultivate Taoism, which would be too wasteful. He had prepared everything, but if he couldn't find a way to supply it, he would have no choice but to devote all his energy to martial arts training.

When he heard Shu Miaosheng say that he actually had a small circle of fellow cultivators who exchanged resources, his eyes lit up. Wasn't this exactly what he needed?

"Tell me in detail..." Yang Silang said.

Shu Miaosheng dared not conceal anything and told them the whole story of their small organization's origins.

This organization is called the Incense and Candle Society.

It has existed for an extremely long time, reportedly over a hundred years. It is a long-established independent cultivation organization in the provincial capital, hidden and low-key, and not well-known.

Once, an old member of the organization was trapped by a forbidden spell while digging for treasure underground. He was about to starve to death underground when Shu Miaosheng happened to find the place.

The two reached an agreement: Shu Miaosheng, who possessed the ability to escape from the earth, would rescue him, and he would in turn introduce Shu Miaosheng to the incense and candle gathering.

In the incense and candle ceremony, the organizer is designated as the first incense burner, followed by the second incense burner as the final incense burner, and the third incense burner as the offering incense.

The three people who were chosen for the sacrificial ceremony were elderly. Shu Miaosheng had rescued the sacrificial incense in the first place. More than ten years later, the old sacrificial incense died in an accident, and his code name was naturally used by others.

In short, people came and went at the meeting, but the code names remained unchanged.

Shu Miaosheng wore a mask with the number nine on it because his code name was Jiuxiang (Nine Fragrances). There were several people behind him, and at most, the line reached the nineteenth fragrance.

Many rogue cultivators have died in recent years, and the last one left is Thirteen Spices.

In any case, the location and time of each gathering are determined by the first incense offering. Then, a secret message is written under the sign in a private room of a teahouse. When the time comes, everyone can put on their magical masks to conceal their soul light and escape into the night to attend the gathering.

The members of the Incense and Candle Society exchange cultivation resources, techniques, information, magical artifacts, and so on.

It's a small, mutually supportive circle.

Among them, the three who were the most skilled were all experts in the Manifestation and Possession Realm. The rest were all wandering in the Wandering Soul Realm. After all, without becoming a Wandering Soul, it would be impossible to silently escape into the void to attend the gathering.

Yang Silang went straight to the question he cared about most.

"Is it possible to buy the Blazing Sun Pill needed for the Manifestation Realm?"

"Sure, but it'll be 30% more expensive than the market price!" Shu Miaosheng replied decisively.

"The three people who are in charge of the first sacrifice can provide a stable supply of pills, and the quality is not bad. Everyone who has used them says they are good."

Yang Silang asked curiously.

"Who are these three people? How could they possibly have a stable supply of medicine?"

Shu Miaosheng shook his head.

"Sir, I don't know."

"Perhaps they are remnants of aristocratic families whose previous dynasties were overthrown, or major sects that were wiped out, and they have one or two secret realms that produce stable resources."

"I've also guessed that it might even be that some of the major families in the provincial capital want to make some private wealth."

"However, this gathering is called the Incense and Candle Gathering," said Shu Miaosheng. "Once, the old incense master and I had a private get-together and drank too much. It seems he accidentally revealed that there were people behind him when he incense was lit."

"It's supposedly called something like 'Pig Ear Candle'."

"Anyway, the first incense offering can provide a stable supply of medicine, and most of us independent cultivators who joined the association did so for these resources."

Yang Silang was overjoyed.

That's what he's missing.

"You said this mask can block out the light of one's soul; would it be alright if I went to the meeting in your place?"

Shu Miaosheng was taken aback and shook his head.

"Master, this may be difficult to handle."

"People with incense and candles are reluctant to inquire about each other's true identities, so they use masks and magical artifacts to conceal their true identities."

"However, to prevent people from impersonating others, the first incense offering is to keep a spirit-eating beast. Each person must contribute a portion of their demonic power to feed it at each gathering."

"However, to prevent people from impersonating others, the first incense offering is to keep a spirit-eating beast. Each person must contribute a portion of their demonic power to feed it at each gathering."

"The Qi-eating beasts don't have much combat power, but they have the most discerning palates, able to taste the different kinds of magical power from different people."

"You should know that even if the cultivation method is the same throughout the world, the results will still be different for each person."

"For example, sir, your demonic powers are completely different from mine. How could you impersonate me?"

Yang Silang pondered for a moment, then suddenly clapped his hands and laughed.

"If that's the case, then it's easy!"

"Tell me in detail about each person's temperament, preferences, and taboos."

"By the way, open your soul again. I need to observe your soul to see how you traded before."

Yang Silang didn't know the Soul Searching Technique, but fortunately, She Nu and Shu Miaosheng were servants under the system, so he could see their past memories as easily as looking at the lines on his palm.

However, cultivators have complex memories, and without the aid of a soul-searching technique, it would be a complex and extremely time-consuming process.

Fortunately, there was still an hour before the gathering, and he only needed to review his memories related to the meeting, so he could cram and hone his skills at the last minute.

If one wants to play it safe, then of course one should not attend this gathering; however, Shu Miaosheng said that the first incense offering at the incense and candle gathering is very cautious. If one suddenly cancels a planned attendance, then one will inevitably face more scrutiny and probing next time one attends.

After some thought, Yang Silang decided to take the risk and give it a try.

If we're exposed, we can simply burrow into the ground and escape. If that culprit keeps chasing us, we won't be able to beat them or escape.

Yang Silang was then forced to use his ultimate move—She Nu's attack.

However, doing so might mean losing a stable supply of medicines, which is a last resort and the worst possible option.

As Yang Silang perused the memories of Shu Temple, he was already calling out to She Nu in his heart.

As long as the two people are not too far apart and are not blocked by barriers, they can communicate across the distance.

After a while.

A wisp of yin energy entered the tree hollow, landed and transformed into a beautiful cook. Upon seeing Yang Silang, she bowed down and called him "Master."

When Shu Miaosheng saw She Nu, he was so frightened that he almost collapsed to the ground. He was a rat demon who had attained enlightenment, and he was most afraid of his natural enemy, the snake demon. Tonight, when he faced Yang Silang, this was partly due to this reason. Seeing that his natural enemy was weak, he wished he could go up and slap him to death first.

Yang Silang instructed She Nu to hide a short distance outside the gathering place. If anything happened inside and he couldn't escape, She Nu would immediately come to his aid.

Everything is arranged properly.

Yang Silang slapped the Shu Temple.

"Come, I will teach you a method today."

"You probably used to do a lot of worshiping Buddha at the Dharma Protector Temple, didn't you?"

"I also offer my respects today. This great being is named Ruyi Tianzun!"

"If you bow well, you'll obediently serve as my lackey; if you don't bow well, you'll be reincarnated, and perhaps in your next life you'll be a true monk, how about that?"

The stranger in the Shu Temple looked terrified. He didn't know who the Ruyi Tianzun was, but since it concerned his life, he immediately nodded like a chicken pecking at rice.

"Sir, I bow!"

"I prostrate myself in worship, bow down completely, and devote myself wholeheartedly!"

"I will certainly satisfy the master and make the Heavenly Venerable feel my sincerity!"

Yang Silang laughed and said, "I hope so."

-

After a while.

A wisp of yin energy drifted out from above the tree hole. Under the moonlight, it left no shadow on the ground, merging into the wind and flying into the distance.

Yang Silang has already put on the Nine-Character Mask, a magical artifact.

He held the newly acquired vajra in his hand, and his body was filled with demonic energy. Judging from his aura alone, he was no different from Shu Miaosheng.

Transform the barbarians into myself and add one more.

The Heavenly Venerable Ruyi was delighted to have a new petitioner, and he also gained three supernatural powers from the Shu Temple.

Tracking: With six long whiskers on the side of its nose, it can detect all kinds of human scents and has a keen sense of smell, allowing it to track lingering aromas.

Plague Poison: Extremely poisonous, it damages the human body and can even corrupt the soul.

Go underground: to move underground, especially good at digging downwards.

Of these three supernatural abilities, the sense of smell was something Yang Silang lacked, while the other two were supplementary abilities. They overlapped somewhat with the supernatural abilities that She Nu had acquired earlier, but each had its own differences.

For example, burrowing underground and snake escape are both considered escape techniques. One specializes in underground, especially vertical digging; the other can be used both in the sky and underground, but is best at straight underground escape.

With his powerful spiritual memory, Yang Silang memorized all the relevant memories of the incense and candle gathering.

Fortunately, this Shu Temple Master was also a bully who preyed on the weak and feared the strong.

He used to be a coward in the temple, but after joining the incense and candle association, he was initially ranked last among the incense burners. However, as the people above him either died or had accidents, he was eventually moved to the ninth incense burner.

Among the Thirteen Spices, he was only ranked ninth, which tells you what kind of person he was. He was usually quiet and reserved in the meeting, so he wasn't too difficult to disguise.

Yang Silang rode the wind and soon arrived at a small hill.

The clan cemetery of this nearby village

He immediately spotted the largest and most imposing grave. A small beast was perched on the tombstone. This beast had a peculiar appearance: its ears were small like holes, its eyes were narrowed into slits, its mouth was narrow, and only its two large nostrils occupied half of its face. It had the body of a cat and the head of a demon, and its entire body was blue.

Yang Silang's spirit flew over, invisible to normal people.

The little beast turned its head and stared at him with its nostrils, without a doubt.

This is the Qi-eating beast kept by the head of the Incense and Candle Association. It has little combat power, feeds on Qi, and has a discerning palate, able to taste the differences in magical power among people.

At this moment, the Qi-eating beast stared at Yang Silang, making a gurgling sound in its throat.

Yang Silang calmly flicked his finger, and a stream of demonic power descended.