As the fifteenth approached, the moon, like a jade plate, gradually ascended to its zenith, casting mercury-like moonlight through strands of thin mist.
Chen Ku listened to Kou Ming and his master Yang Luochen’s words and agreed. Soon after, Kou Ming also prepared a set of Night Wear for him.
"The clothes can provide camouflage, but what about our Martial Arts?" Chen Ku asked curiously. "And what Weapons should we use?"
Kou Ming first showcased the Sleeve Arrows hidden in his sleeves, then said, "Junior Brother Chen, if you don’t mind, in the storage of our Medicine King Hall, there are two Watermelon Bright Silver Hammers. Each weighs three thousand pounds, and together they are six thousand pounds."
"Hammers, eh? Although I haven’t practiced Hammer Technique, just smashing with brute force should be enough," Chen Ku had no objections.
With that, he followed Kou Ming to retrieve the pair of hammers.
They were entirely silver-bright, and each hammerhead was as large as a human head, truly like a giant watermelon.
Yang Luochen looked at the pair of hammers Kou Ming brought out, a reminiscent expression in his eyes, and said, "These hammers were used by a ’Silver Hammer Young General’ I encountered many years ago on the western route. We fought, hammer against staff, for three hundred rounds, nearly an equal match. Eventually, he was a step too slow and died under my staff. After returning to Baojiao County, I kept these hammers in the Inner Treasury. For decades, few have been able to wield them. Since you can wield my Water-Fire Dragon Head Staff, these two Watermelon Bright Silver Hammers should also be manageable for you."
Upon hearing this, Chen Ku weighed them in his hands. The pair of six-thousand-pound Watermelon Bright Silver Hammers felt effortless under his Divine Power.
He figured that even if he wasn’t skilled in Hammer Technique, a sneak attack from behind, smashing with all his might, would be enough to kill any expert at the Mystic Barrier Peak, given his Qi Power and this weapon.
"Everything’s ready then. Let’s set off."
Thus, the three of them donned their Night Wear and stealthily made their way towards the City God Temple.
Along the way, Chen Ku was still asking, "Senior Brother Kou, how can you be sure that Ma Mingfeng and a group of Fish and Dragon Association experts will definitely be at the City God Temple tonight? Couldn’t he just buy the City God Temple’s Incense Ash with money?"
"Junior Brother Chen, there are a few things you don’t know." Kou Ming, using his movement technique to flit across the rooftops, continued speaking to Chen Ku via Sound Transmission into Secret. "First, if the poison afflicting Ma Mingfeng isn’t neutralized within twenty-four hours, he’s beyond saving, so they can’t afford any delay.
"Secondly, to neutralize the poison Ma Mingfeng has, within Baojiao County, only inhaling the incense from the City God Temple as a medicinal catalyst will be effective. The object in the City God Temple that can hold the incense is definitely the ’bone relics’ of City God Lord Duan Mingbi, encased within the deity statue. In other words, to detoxify, Ma Mingfeng needs to use a part of the City God Lord’s bone relics. This simply cannot be bought with money. Even if they offered money to the City God Temple, they wouldn’t sell. So... they have only one option left: steal or rob.
"Also, that incense is a source of power for City God Lord Duan Mingbi. Whoever steals it, no matter where they go, can be traced by the City God Lord through his divine power. Therefore, the best method is to use the incense bone relics to detoxify on the spot, absorb them into the body, and then slip away without leaving any trace."
Under the moonlight, Chen Ku listened to these words, a chill in his heart. The rightful source is novelꜰire.net
He had seen those incense bone relics before. It was thanks to the Transformation Diagram’s reminder that he knew they needed to be completely refined before they could be sacrificed. Now, hearing Kou Ming’s more detailed description of the incense leg bone, he felt even more fortunate that he hadn’t been greedy enough to take it last time; otherwise, he truly would have been pursued by the City God Lord.
At that moment, he gradually understood. "So, you’re saying that tonight, some people from the Fish and Dragon Association will definitely try to sneak into the City God Temple to steal the Organ Placement Object from one of the deity statues? What’s our plan?"
Kou Ming’s voice, vibrating with Inner Qi, traveled like a thread into Chen Ku’s mind as he explained, "Although the City God Temple is an abode for the Yin Sacrifice Official, it’s also sanctioned by the Imperial Court. Moreover, our county’s City God Lord, having received over eighty years of incense from Baojiao County, has proven his power. If we use the grades for Ghost Gods from our neighboring Yuan Country—First Realm of Gathering Thoughts, Second Realm, Leaving the Acupoint, Third Realm of Night Travel, Fourth Realm of Day Travel, and Fifth Realm Control...
"Our county’s City God Lord has already reached the Fourth Realm, ’Day Travel.’ He can move about in daylight without fearing his soul being dispersed by yang energy. He also possesses some abilities like Illusion Technique, Nightmare Suppression, Materialize through Smoke, and Incense Descending."
This was the first time Chen Ku had learned about the grades of Ghost Gods.
Gather Thoughts, Soul Departure, Night Travel, Day Travel, Object Manipulation... This seems to be a complete path of Divine Soul Cultivation. Since Ghost Gods can cultivate it, we humans should be able to as well, he immediately grasped. This path seems somewhat more orthodox than the Evil Skills of the Peace Path’s Summoning God Scripture.
At that moment, his master Yang Luochen’s voice transmitted to them. He had apparently heard Kou Ming’s Sound Transmission into Secret and Chen Ku’s words, and said from ahead, "Don’t dwell on such things. Firstly, within Daji Country, all people are forbidden from practicing any Divine Soul Skill. Violators are considered ’Evil Path Demon People.’ Secondly, City God Lord Duan Mingbi’s Divine Cultivation system, the ’Incense Becoming God Path,’ is completely inaccessible to ordinary people. To walk this path, you must first gather faith. In the Daji Dynasty, gathering faith means gathering the populace. If you try to compete for believers with the officially sanctioned ’community, millet gods, city gods, and local deities,’ you’ll instantly be branded a rebel and a Cult.
"The Peace Path is a blatant example."