“The so-called Five Ghosts Carrying Method is actually a colloquial name. Its true name is the Five Ghosts Chaos Heaven Technique. This method requires finding five individuals whose fates are respectively aligned with the five elements: metal, wood, water, fire, and earth. Their birth and death times must also correspond to specific astrological signs. After their deaths, their skulls are collected. On a day marked as Gui in the Chinese sexagenary cycle, a Six-Jia Altar is constructed, and the skulls are ritually refined for forty-nine days before they can be used. When activating the technique, talismans must be inscribed on paper, folded into small human figures, which then can transport valuables. If any problem occurs during transportation, the talisman paper is destroyed, which is called a ‘minor death.’ The skulls must then be ritually refined again on the next Gui day before they can be used once more.”
“The Five Ghosts Carrying Method is not considered a legitimate cultivation technique. True disciples of the righteous path would never cultivate such a thing. Even among cultivators of the dark path, few would bother to practice it. Only those with specific intentions, such as stealing treasures from others, would go to the trouble of cultivating this technique.”
“The advantage of the Five Ghosts Carrying Method is that it can penetrate almost any place where the five elements are not completely sealed. Moreover, its spiritual energy fluctuation is extremely subtle. Unless someone is deliberately searching, it is nearly impossible to detect.”
Mei Qing nodded thoughtfully, recalling how he and Bi Zhen had discovered the Five Ghosts Carrying Method. At the time, Bi Zhen’s cultivation level was far superior to his own, yet she had sensed nothing. Meanwhile, his own cultivation was shallow and his knowledge limited, yet he had detected the fluctuation of spiritual energy caused by the ghosts. Thinking back, it seemed quite incredible.
Sixth Master glanced at Mei Qing and continued, “At the time, I was also very surprised and immediately attacked, knocking down the five little ghosts. However, my knowledge of spells was limited back then. I merely managed to strike down the five low-level carriers of the ghosts but failed to harm their true forms.”
“The next day, Lu Zhong and I presented the five paper figures to the Prince to report the incident of the Five Ghosts Carrying during the night. The Prince was quite surprised and couldn’t imagine who would do such a thing. At that moment, Master Mao Yang, who was watching nearby, suddenly said that he had a way to use the five paper figures to retrace their path from the previous night and find the hiding place of the mastermind behind it all.”
“Of course, we agreed. So Master Mao Yang performed a spell, summoning the five paper figures and sending them slowly flying outward along the path they had taken. The incantations he recited were very strange, completely unfamiliar to me, and I was quite impressed at the time.”
“The paper figures floated slowly, not very quickly. They started from the back courtyard of the mansion and headed straight out of the city. We followed behind, led by the Prince, accompanied by over a dozen guards.”
At this point, Sixth Master suddenly chuckled, “The scene was quite amusing. Although the five paper figures floated in the air, to avoid drawing attention, an illusion technique was applied so that ordinary people couldn’t see them. As a result, the entire city of Anlu watched the Prince’s heir walking in a line down the street, staring intently ahead, moving extremely slowly, as if possessed, becoming the laughingstock of the city.”
Uncle Zhong, listening to Sixth Master’s account, couldn’t help but smile as he said, “Don’t talk about it. You were the one who kept staring straight ahead and accidentally stepped on someone’s donkey’s hoof, apologizing to it.”
“You’re one to talk!” Sixth Master replied, “I remember you bumped into a young lady and scared her half to death, not knowing what you were up to. Anyway, what’s the point of talking about this? At the time, we didn’t care what others thought and continued on like that until we left the city. We walked another dozens of miles into the mountains.”
“Truth be told, we walked quite slowly that day. By the time we reached the mountains, it was already past noon. Watching the paper figures float and drift, turning around slowly, the sky gradually grew darker. The weather had been fine earlier, but somehow it turned overcast. At that moment, I felt something was off, as if there was an ambush formation. However, Master Mao Yang assured us that everything would be fine with him around, so we continued forward.”
“After some time, the five paper figures turned toward the base of a mountain cliff and suddenly flew straight toward the rock face, disappearing into the stone.”
“At this point, we all knew there was something mysterious behind the cliff. I carefully examined the area while Lu Zhong and others searched around. At this moment, Master Mao Yang acted again, unlocking the hidden mechanism, and we discovered that the place was actually a hidden valley.”
“As soon as we entered the valley, I was stunned. The entire valley was covered with plum blossoms. Normally, it wasn’t yet the season for plum blossoms to bloom, but perhaps the valley was warmer, and the blossoms spread like a sea, blooming everywhere, filling the entire field of vision.”
“The Prince and others stood there stunned for a while, but I felt something was wrong. The valley was filled with an intense yin energy. Although I had already achieved a high level of cultivation, the bone-deep cold made me feel extremely uncomfortable. Strangely, the Prince and others didn’t seem to notice anything. Even that young Lu Zhong was completely oblivious.”
Uncle Zhong snorted from the side, saying, “Who knows what was going on in there? At the time, none of us felt anything, but after we returned, all the brothers fell seriously ill. Even I felt listless for several days.”
Sixth Master sighed and said, “At that time, I knew something was wrong, but unfortunately, I followed the path of dual cultivation and focused on cultivating internal elixirs, so my knowledge of talismans was limited. I could only protect the Prince. At this moment, Master Mao Yang suddenly shouted loudly and shot out a beam of white light toward the sea of flowers.”
“At this moment, we saw the sea of flowers suddenly tremble. Between the flowers, a huge blood-red mouth suddenly appeared, instantly swallowing the beam of white light that Master Mao Yang had shot out!”
“From that huge mouth, a stench spewed forth, with a long red tongue flickering. After swallowing the white light, it let out a thunderous roar. Only then did we see clearly that it was a giant snake, as thick as a water vat!”
“Anlu does have quite a few pythons and such, but a snake this thick was something we had never seen before. At that moment, I realized the danger and immediately protected the Prince, quickly retreating backward. The guards were all terrified and no one dared to step forward to fight.”
When Sixth Master got to this point, Uncle Zhong shook his head and said, “A snake that big must have already been close to becoming a spirit beast. Who would dare to fight it, knowing it could cost their life? To be honest, I’ve always been brave, and my temper was hot back then, but I was so scared my whole body went weak. I remember very clearly that the snake’s eyes were very strange, with black spots around them, and the eyes themselves were white and glowing, with just a long thin line in the center. Just looking at those eyes made me feel cold all over.”
Sixth Master nodded and said, “Such a creature was certainly not something ordinary people could handle. Just at that moment, a cold and eerie voice rang out: ‘Who are these outsiders daring to provoke my divine snake!?'”
“That voice was cold and raspy, making everyone’s skin crawl just from hearing it. I was about to step forward to fight when Master Mao Yang had already shouted loudly and started arguing with that person. Soon after, a small figure in a black robe leaped out and stood on the back of the snake, beginning to fight with Master Mao Yang.”
“As soon as the two started fighting, the petals in the air swirled like snowflakes, obscuring the figures of the two men and the snake, making it impossible to see clearly. At that moment, I tightly protected the Prince, thinking only that if things went badly, I would immediately take the Prince and run away. I could hear the shouts, the clashing of weapons, and the strange cries of the long snake. Just as we were trembling with fear, suddenly a loud cry rang out, and we saw a black wind rushing straight toward us.”
“At that moment, my heart was extremely tense, but the Prince was right behind me, so I couldn’t dodge. I gritted my teeth and used my strongest spell, thinking that blocking it for just a moment would be enough. Unexpectedly, when the black wind approached us, it suddenly made a turn and was seen wrapping a clump of plum blossoms and flying far away.”
“At that time, everyone let out a sigh of relief and hurriedly looked for Master Mao Yang. He had already come out from the sea of flowers, looking quite disheveled, but otherwise unharmed. According to him, the opponent was a dark path cultivator whose entire skill was invested in his tamed giant snake. It was estimated that the stolen goods were all used to cultivate the snake.”
“With the situation settled, I suggested that we should return to the mansion as soon as possible to avoid any unexpected incidents. Unexpectedly, the Prince said that since the villain had already been driven away by Master Mao Yang, and we had finally made it to this place, we should at least go inside to see what treasures were hidden here. There might even be some hidden treasures.”
“We all tried to persuade the Prince not to take the risk, even Lu Zhong joined in. However, the Prince was determined. Finally, Master Mao Yang suggested that he would lead the way, I would guard the rear, and everyone else would surround and protect the Prince while entering to take a look. If the situation turned bad, he would hold the front line while we quickly took the Prince away.”
“Seeing that the Prince was determined, we had no choice but to follow his words, arranging our formation and entering the valley. All around were plum trees and a sea of flowers, making it difficult to distinguish directions. We tried to persuade him again and again, but the Prince refused to turn back. Finally, deep within the sea of plum blossoms, a small path appeared.”
“Everyone’s mood was somewhat excited, feeling that we were finally about to make a breakthrough. However, this small path was quite winding. After walking for a long time, the plum trees finally became sparse, and ahead, faintly visible, were bamboo fences and thatched huts—several grass huts, a solitary dwelling.”
“When we approached, we saw that the grass huts were nestled against the mountain cliff, with a shallow stream in front of the door, surrounded by plum blossoms and bamboo, quite elegant and serene. I used my spiritual sense to probe for a long time but found nothing. Master Mao Yang must have also been inspecting the surroundings and said there seemed to be no danger. Only then did we push open the bamboo gate and enter the courtyard.”
“The courtyard was clean and tidy, with no signs of anyone. Directly opposite the courtyard gate were three main rooms, two side rooms to the east, and a small grass pavilion to the west. In the courtyard, there was a well and a few bamboo chairs, nothing else. Lu Zhong shouted a few times, but no one answered. The Prince, impatient, pushed aside the guards and rushed forward, opening the door to the central room, only to be immediately stunned into immobility.”
“At that time, everyone was outside the door, calling to him but getting no response. Not knowing what had happened, we quickly rushed forward to pull him out. At the same time, Master Mao Yang, I, and Lu Zhong charged into the room together. When we saw what was inside, the three of us were also stunned.”
Tai Sui Yellow Amulet Paper FuLu Taoist Love Talisman Traditional Chinese Spiritual Charm Attracting Love Protecting Marriage