Late at night, Hongfu Garden.
Zhang Fan returned ho, subconsciously glancing at the clock hanging on the wall—it was exactly eleven o'clock.
Usually at this hour, Li Yishan had already co ho and shut himself inside.
This was a habit cultivated over many years; he had to admit, the strict family discipline bordered on eccentricity.
"Match-3 Puzzle Funeral Ho!?"
Zhang Fan caught sight of a business card on the table from the corner of his eye.
"Liu Xingyu!"
Zhang Fan picked up the card; it was one he'd brought back with Sui Chunsheng and others on their last visit to the Match-3 Puzzle Funeral Ho.
Zhan Xinyue had said that this "Corpse Burner" was quite popular on Little Yellow Book. Compared to the Thousand-Year-Old Demon, he was much better at marketing and building his persona.
A young cutie, skilled in Daoist Magic, burning corpses and collecting ashes at the funeral ho in the dead of night, encountering all kinds of strange events…
That kind of persona and posts definitely attracted traffic and drew in a crowd of fans.
In reality, Liu Xingyu was genuinely exceptional.
Lately, Zhang Fan had heard from Bai Buran that Liu practiced a particular Fire Technique from Zhenwu Mountain, called Crimson Palace Li Fire. Though he boosted it with Heart Fire—a bit opportunistic—it was impressively powerful.
Last ti, Zhang Fan had seen it for himself at Match-3 Puzzle.
Bai Buran also said Liu Xingyu counted as a disciple of Zhenwu Mountain, and each year he returned to the mountain for ditation.
Of course, their ditation was free of charge.
Furthermore, Liu Xingyu had an older brother nad Liu Xingtui, whose cultivation was even deeper, and both worked at Match-3 Puzzle.
In fact, the various Daoist Sects all had industries in the mundane world. Disciples sent down to gain experience, spend three or five years to accumulate credentials, and on returning to the mountains, could receive training.
Naturally, not everyone made it. So, once imrsed in the Red Dust, were consud by desire and impurity, making no further progress in Daoist Skill. Those who failed ended up managing the sect's businesses—an efficient use of resources and talents.
Among them, if a disciple passed the trial of Refining the Heart in the Red Dust, and with a Dao Heart hardened amidst the sea of desires, a Primordial Spirit forged in golden fire, then on returning to the mountains for bitter cultivation, most achieved considerable success.
The most famous of these was the youngest of Zhenwu Mountain's three Celestial Masters—Liu Nanxu.
He had spent nearly twenty years in Yujing City.
Twenty years refining his heart in the Red Dust, yet never tainted his pursuit of the Dao; his cultivation improved, his Divine Techniques vast, counted among the upper echelons of Daoist masters in the world.
"How did I end up connected to a crematorium?" Zhang Fan's expression turned odd.
Li Yishan's stepmother returned to Yujing City, and sohow got involved with Match-3 Puzzle Funeral Ho.
Admittedly, Zhang Fan really had so fate with this crematorium.
"But I don't want that kind of fate."
Zhang Fan curled his lip, returned to his room, took a deep breath, gathered his thoughts, adjusted his breathing, and sat in ditation.
His enlightennt at the Jiangnan Province Daoist Alliance had given him much. Especially Li Linglong's orally transmitted thod, which let Zhang Fan see hope for breaking through to the High Skill rank.
"Killing to Life, a lotus in the fire."
Zhang Fan's Primordial Spirit erged, delving into hidden mysteries.
Clang… clang… clang…
Suddenly, in Zhang Fan's Primordial Spirit Inner Scenery, a series of heavy, mysterious chain collision sounds rang out.
Imdiately after, an image seed to project across space, light and shadow congealing—it was a building shaped like a coffin.
"Match-3 Puzzle Funeral Ho!?"
Zhang Fan's forehead throbbed; his Primordial Spirit sensed an odd fluctuation, transmitting straight from the glowing image.
Especially on the top floor of that tower, in a certain room, mist spread everywhere—a haze shrouded in mystery, chaos tinged with terror.
As Zhang Fan's Primordial Spirit looked, within the strange fog sat a shadowy figure, cross-legged, and behind him pressed a field of darkness. Sensing it, the chain collision in Zhang Fan's Inner Scenery beca even more intense.
Whoosh…
At that mont, Zhang Fan snapped open his eyes; his Primordial Spirit returned to the acupoint, waking from that bizarre state.
"What's going on!?"
Zhang Fan's expression was grave. Since descending Zhenwu Mountain to embark on Daoist cultivation, he'd never encountered anything like this.
His Primordial Spirit was restless and uneasy, as if warning him—felt a danger unlike anything before.
"Match-3 Puzzle? There really is sothing wrong with that place, but why do I feel so uneasy?"
Zhang Fan's eyebrows twisted into a 'chuan' character. He walked to the window, looking toward the direction of Match-3 Puzzle.
He'd heard from Bai Buran that the funeral ho's director was nad ng Qingtong, who'd cultivated bitterly at Zhenwu Mountain for years, ca to Yujing City ten years ago, and took over Match-3 Puzzle Funeral Ho.
Although Bai Buran and he shared the sa teacher, they hadn't interacted much.
ng Qingtong was solitary, like a lonely old man, rarely connecting with the Jade Capital City Daoist Sect scene.
Otherwise, the funeral ho had nothing special about it—after all, it was just an industry under Zhenwu Mountain.
"Clang… clang… clang…"
Even with his Primordial Spirit returned, those mysterious, intangible chain collision sounds kept echoing in Zhang Fan's mind, leaving him restless.
"Unusual things an a demon is at work, huh."
Zhang Fan murmured softly, grabbed a jacket, and walked out the door.
...
Yujing City suburbs.
The moon was exceptionally round tonight; on the branches, cold crows gazed at the moon, letting out strange "gu-gu" cries.
When Zhang Fan arrived at the Match-3 Puzzle Funeral Ho, powered by Five Spirits Rainbow Light, he saw the area cordoned off with warning tape, emblazoned with the insignia of Jiangnan Province Daoist Alliance.
"Sothing's definitely wrong—it's been sealed off?" Zhang Fan was stunned; before he'd even stopped his car, four or five staff mbers surrounded him, each holding a gleaming Talisman, True Yang surging, ready to activate them at any mont.
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