In the one year since Lu Yuan transmigrated to this world, the strongest evil entity he had ever encountered was a ten-star.
That had been a Hanging Ghost.
Back then, when he went deep into the mountains to look for ginseng, he had almost been strangled to death alive by that thing. If the old man hadn't arrived in time, he would already have been nothing but a pile of dry bones in the forest.
From that day on, whenever Lu Yuan saw things like nooses or ropes, his calves would unconsciously tense up.
That became a shadow he would carry for the rest of his life.
But one must understand this clearly—
The star rating shown by his [Demon-Slaying System] is relative to his own strength!
As his cultivation improved, that ten-star Hanging Ghost from back then, if he looked at it now, would at most be a six-star.
But the thing in front of him now—
This "Human-Faced Two-Legged Sheep"—
Eight stars!
This was absolutely the most terrifying evil entity Lu Yuan had encountered so far!
Moreover, the Human-Faced Two-Legged Sheep was not a ghost, but a demonic creature.
This type of evil being was often more brutal and harder to deal with than ghosts of the same cultivation level.
An eight-star demon…
Lu Yuan silently evaluated it.
This thing's strength was probably already comparable to a three-star Celestial Master!
What the hell!!
What exactly is Zhao Qiao'er trying to do?!
She even managed to attract an eight-star monster here…
About an hour later.
Wang Chengan led a group of people back up the mountain.
At the front was a white-haired old man, the client for this job.
When the old man staggered to the grave and only took one glance into the pit, he immediately fell to his knees with a plop, bursting into tears.
"Father!!"
Behind him, a whole group of sons and grandsons also knelt down in unison.
The sound of wailing mixed with the smoke from burning paper money, drifting in the cold mountain wind.
Lu Yuan and the other two stood to the side, eyes on noses, noses on hearts, like three emotionless stone statues.
After one stick of incense burned out and the crying gradually subsided, Lu Yuan stepped forward together with Wang Chengan and helped the old man up.
It was time to settle the payment.
Ten yuan each for the three of them as labor fees.
Additionally, fifty yuan as incense money for True Dragon Temple.
"Daoist…"
After paying, the old man stared at Lu Yuan with his red, swollen eyes and asked in a trembling voice:
"My ancestor… from now on, will he truly be able to rest in peace?"
Lu Yuan slightly shook his head.
As the faces of the entire Xu family turned pale, he calmly took out a folded, yellowed talisman from his sleeve and slowly unfolded it.
"The corpse is destroyed, but the resentment has not fully dissipated."
Lu Yuan's voice wasn't loud, but it clearly suppressed the howling mountain wind.
"The thing Old Master Xu turned into was not an ordinary corpse demon. It was born from earth-vein stagnant qi combined with blood-relative obsession."
"Ordinary offerings would instead nourish the remaining resentment and cause it to revive."
The moment he said this, the entire Xu family was horrified. The old man's lips trembled, and he almost knelt again.
Lu Yuan immediately supported him and said directly:
"From now on, you must use the 'Three Abominations, Four Seasons Purification Rite.'"
"This method does not use incense and does not burn paper money. What you offer is not worship, but 'transform resentment into peace, turn baleful energy into blessing.'"
What is the Three Abominations, Four Seasons Purification Rite?
Normally, an ordinary Daoist would deliberately stop here and say nothing.
The meaning would be obvious: asking for more money.
But Lu Yuan was different.
He didn't ask for more money and instead continued:
"Every year at Frost's Descent, at the third quarter of the Zi hour — this is when the murderous qi of heaven and earth is at its strongest and can suppress yin spirits."
"The altar must be set at the northwest 'Wound Gate' position of the residence. The zombie arose from earth, so you must use a baleful position to vent its remaining malice. Do not set it near the ancestral hall."
The Xu family listened with eyes wide open, afraid to miss a single word, nodding desperately.
Lu Yuan continued:
"Three offerings: one liter of aged glutinous rice measured with a bronze scoop, seven rusty iron nails taken from the coffin, and a sealed bamboo tube of clear water."
"Glutinous rice suppresses corpse qi, iron nails lock the soul's steps, bamboo water connects to the Nine Netherworlds."
"After the ritual, scatter the rice into a dry well, bury the iron nails three chi beneath a locust tree, and the bamboo water must be drunk halfway by the eldest son, the rest sprinkled around the altar."
Lu Yuan paused and swept his gaze over the crowd.
"When performing the rites, recite the 'Stagnation-Releasing Mantra':
'Great Yin opens the path,The Earth Official grants pardon,Corpse dust returns to soil,Obsession turns to clear wind.'
Recite it three times only. One more time will cause yin echoes to return; one fewer time and the spell will fail."
"If, during the ritual, frost appears on the offering table and the iron nails begin to tremble on their own, it means the baleful energy is dispersing — you must immediately burn this talisman."
At this point, Lu Yuan handed the talisman to the old man's trembling hands.
"But if the bamboo tube bursts or the rice turns black… that means the resentment is rebounding."
"The entire family must避 move to the eastern 'Life Gate' for seven days, keep doors tightly shut, and do not light lamps at night."
Looking at the terrified Xu family, Lu Yuan concluded slowly:
"After performing this ritual for twenty-four years, the remaining resentment will fully transform into ancestral blessing."
"Only then may you move the tablet into the ancestral hall. That will be true peace."
When Lu Yuan finished speaking, the Xu family was so grateful they were about to kneel again.
To be honest, although they had heard of the 'White-Robed Young Daoist' of True Dragon Temple, seeing three seventeen- or eighteen-year-old youths show up still made them a little doubtful at first.
They were simply too young.
But now?
This wasn't a Daoist.
This was practically a living immortal!
The old man was trembling with excitement and wanted to kneel again, but Lu Yuan stopped him.
"One more thing. If in the future any Xu family descendant has a birthday that falls on a 'Double Mourning Day', you must add one peachwood clasp to the offerings."
"Old Master Xu was born in the Year of the Tiger and transformed in a Tiger year and Tiger month. Tigers fear peachwood. This is called 'using life to restrain death, using kinship to bind resentment.'"
At this point, the job was perfectly completed.
And after Lu Yuan said this final part, the old man excitedly gave another thirty yuan as incense money.
"Daoist, you are truly compassionate! This is just a small token of the Xu family's gratitude. Please, you must accept it!"
Lu Yuan accepted the money without any hesitation.
Ever since he followed the old man and became a Daoist, he had always done things this way.
He believed that if you take someone's money, you must finish the job properly.
You can't deliberately leave some loose end just to squeeze more money later.
If someone has no money and can't pay for the "extra," then leaving a hidden disaster behind is no different from not solving the problem at all.
Lu Yuan always explained everything up front.
If the client had money and was willing to give more, he would accept it — nobody in this world fights with money.
But if they didn't, that was fine too.
He would never deliberately hide things and leave trouble behind.
It was precisely because of this integrity that in just one year, Lu Yuan had become famous throughout Fengtian City.
At this time, Xu Erxiao and Wang Chengan had already packed up all the tools and stuffed them into the box.
Now the three of them could go down the mountain, eat a bowl of hot wontons, and find a place to sleep, then continue their journey early tomorrow.
Before leaving, Lu Yuan turned his head and glanced in Zhao Qiao'er's direction.
Hmm?
At some unknown point, a Kongming lantern had risen from that distant mountain.
Just like the one Xu Erxiao had lit earlier.
Kongming lanterns aren't actually very useful for subduing evil.
Their main purpose is warning—
To tell ordinary people from afar: something strange is happening here, a ritual is being performed, keep away.
Just like corpse drivers at night shouting "The dead are traveling, the living avoid."
But besides warning…
Kongming lanterns have another purpose.
That is…
Calling for help.
Not every Daoist has Lu Yuan's [Demon-Slaying System].
Not every Daoist can estimate the enemy's strength in advance.
And even Lu Yuan himself can't guarantee that every job will be safe.
Because no one can guarantee that accidents won't happen.
When someone from the Daoist world encounters a danger they cannot handle, they will change the color of the Kongming lantern.
They will turn its light from warm yellow to blood red!
For example—
Right now.
The distant lantern's warm orange glow was suddenly soaked in thick crimson, without any warning.
Buzz!
A blood-red lantern hung high in the night sky, radiating a terrifying aura of calamity!
They are asking for help!!
Calling all Daoists who can see this blood-red lantern to come and assist!!
Something huge has happened.