The two elderly people chatted as they walked back, and before they knew it, the topic of how to save Zhao Youliang's life came up.
"Alas, although both are ways of accumulating good karma and cultivating oneself, the old woman's divination is only suitable for women. Uncle Sun, your 'nailing coffins and building tombs' takes too much time to achieve success."
"I'm afraid the child will be harmed before the time is right and he can save his own life!"
"Taoist priests and Buddhist monks certainly have real skills, but where can we find them in such a hurry... After much thought, the only way is to 'offer incense to spirit mediums'!"
Manager Sun had said something similar to Zhao Youliang during the day.
Therefore, after hearing what Granny Mi had said, he sighed and then spoke.
"Older sister, you should know that even if we want to get a large quantity of horse-head incense, it's not easy."
"First, we need to see if he has a connection with the immortals, and second, he needs a good master to help him set up a shrine."
"Putting aside any talk of divine favor, finding a good master is difficult... In our vicinity, only Master Zhang from Willow Grove is capable?"
Upon hearing the name "Zhang the Half-Immortal," Granny Wenmi was taken aback.
However, he nodded immediately afterward.
"Okay, it's settled then!"
"You should go to Willow Tree Gully yourself tomorrow and ask Zhang Banxian to come and take a look at Youliang."
"If he's destined to be a shaman, let him give it a try!"
Upon hearing this, Manager Sun nodded slightly, and only after seeing Granny Wenmi home did he head back to his own shop.
Looking at Manager Sun's retreating figure, Granny Wenmi couldn't help but look puzzled.
"Logically speaking, Manager Sun should know that Zhang Banxian's own place is just a 'wicked shrine,' so why would she ask her to help that kid Youliang...?"
The book implies:
The Northern shamans in the "Southern Mao and Northern Ma" tradition do not actually perform "spirit rituals" as ordinary people might imagine.
A legitimate shamanic practice has a strict "process" and division of labor.
Putting everything else aside, at the very least, there must be proper flags, seals, commands, and swords; the "four pillars and eight beams" must be complete, and all troops must be in their proper positions.
The Four Beams refer to the Four Great Immortals: Hu, Huang, Chang (Python, Snake) and Qingfeng, the leader of the sect.
The first position is the top beam, which is mostly held by the Hu family.
After all, Grandpa Hu and Grandma Hu were the top shamans in the world, so the Hu family's status naturally rose accordingly.
The second is Tuotianliang, where a member of the Huang family serves as the leader, solely in charge of Huang Xian.
The third is Shuntianliang, whose leader is a member of the Chang family.
The Chang family was known for its ruthlessness; their members were the military officers of the branch, responsible for charging into battle.
As the saying goes: Snakes gather herbs and refine elixirs, while pythons conquer the land.
Therefore, the power of a shrine depends entirely on the ancestral spirits who reside there.
Fourth is Yingtianliang, also known as Fenshuiliang (Qingfeng Sect Master, Ghost Immortal).
It is usually performed by the spirit of a deceased elder in the family.
The Ghost Immortal Cult Leader travels between the underworld and the mortal realm, and also oversees all the money burned by his various shrines.
It's worth mentioning here that Master Qingfeng is also the cornerstone of the entire sect's stability.
After all, in essence, he is the true family member of the shamanic disciple!
As for the eight pillars outside the four beams, they are the eight departments of sweeping, watching, connecting, protecting, connecting heaven, returning to earth, obstruction, and scouting.
Sweeping the hall refers to the process of managing the spirits within the hall, keeping the good ones and expelling the evil ones.
"Watching the hall" refers to a spirit that stays in your hall and doesn't go to other spirit homes.
Chuan Tang; the department responsible for coordinating the visiting spirits within the hall.
Many spirit mediums are registered in multiple shrines, and they come to whichever family has a problem.
Protector of the hall; belonging to the category of Dharma protectors, protecting the safety of the hall and its disciples.
Tongtian; responsible for conveying and retrieving information from above.
Returning to the underworld; responsible for conveying and inquiring about information to the underworld.
Obstacles; responsible for settling disputes and clearing obstacles, more accurately described as a public relations officer who also acts as a enforcer.
Scouts; an intelligence unit that is also responsible for sending distress signals and relaying information in times of crisis.
Like the Guidi Temple, this temple is usually managed by evil spirits.
Each of the above eight departments is overseen by a deity who commands their respective troops.
These deities are of equal status, so disciples who practice shamanism must worship them individually.
Having discussed orthodox shamanic practices, let's now talk about unorthodox practices like those of "Zhang the Half-Immortal."
The so-called "evil shrine" is a shrine that is not run by orthodox shamans, but by some "demons and monsters".
They disregard accumulating merit and doing good deeds, only seeking to rapidly increase their magical power and spiritual cultivation.
Therefore, they often invade other people's shrines, cause trouble and make a scene. If they encounter a smaller shrine, they will flatten it, take away the spirits, and sweep away all the good things.
They especially liked to rob large flags and seals.
Because they were not a legitimate organization, they did not have proper flags, seals, commands, or swords, so they had no choice but to rob.
Furthermore, the evil shamans not only harm other shamans and those who come to "see things," but they also do not spare their own shaman disciples.
They specifically seek out disciples whose minds have fallen into depravity, then possess them to cultivate and devour their essence, energy, and spirit.
It also helped the disciples develop some magical powers and supernatural abilities, enabling them to see many human affairs, and helped them amass wealth, thus fueling their greed and lust!
Once the disciple's primordial spirit and vital energy have been completely devoured, they will abandon it and seek the next target.
At this point, the disciple, being both human and demonic, has committed numerous evils, and his fall into hell is inevitable.
It can be said that if one's inner demons do not arise, external demons will not be attracted.
Zhang Banxian is an evil spirit herself. If she were to help Zhao Youliang by performing rituals, one can only imagine what kind of shrine she would establish.
So isn't this a scam?!
However, Zhao Youliang was unaware of all this and slept soundly through the night.
What's most remarkable is that he didn't have any nightmares that night—the kind where paper figures surround his bed and watch him!
"Oh my god, the wind is howling and the bed is cold!"
Zhao Youliang glanced at his watch, then impatiently sat up.
There was no other way; we had to open for business before the first rays of sunlight appeared.
But the moment he got out of bed, he felt something trip him up.
He yelled and fell down, hitting the door frame and getting snot and tears streaming down his face.
"Ouch, it hurts so much!"
When I reached out and touched my hand, I saw that it was covered in blood. It turned out that my nose had been cut open!
"Oh no, what tripped me up?!"
Looking down, Zhao Youliang was immediately startled.
There was a person lying on the ground!
In this situation, Zhao Youliang disregarded his pain and immediately rushed into the kitchen to grab the cleaver.
"What are you doing here? How did you get in?!"
"Speak up, stop pretending to be dead!"
The man seemed to wake from a deep sleep, and upon hearing this, he slowly stood up.
The moment he stood up, he immediately outshone Zhao Youliang.
He was well-built, about 1.85 meters tall.
Every move he makes is like a cheetah poised to pounce, full of power.
What made Zhao Youliang feel most inferior was that this person was just too handsome, so handsome that he was practically inhuman!
He had sword-like eyebrows and bright eyes, and a face as handsome as jade.
The only strange thing was that the other party was wearing a golden "costume", just like... just like a young emperor who stepped out of a TV series!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
