Chapter 40: The Life-Bound Spirit Temple
Chapter 40: The Life-Bound Spirit Temple
A shiver ran down Hu Ma's spine as he found himself standing in the dilapidated temple shrouded in red mist. On the altar before him, the incense in the burner had already been lit, with a wisp of smoke extending out from the mist and attaching itself to the tip of the incense.
"Hmm?"
Hu Ma was surprised. He hadn't lit the incense himself this time, nor had he responded to any call. How had the connection been made?
And the voice sounded familiar. He felt a bit startled and asked, "Ergoutou, is that you?"
"Ha ha, it's me."
The voice chuckled, "I came to thank you."
"But how did you...?"
"Ah, you're a newbie. Once you've connected with someone, as long as you're within a certain range, you can communicate directly."
Ergoutou seemed to sense Hu Ma's surprise and explained with a laugh, "Of course, if you don't like being disturbed, you can also disconnect."
Hu Ma was clueless about these methods but felt happy to hear his friend's voice again.
"You're out?"
"..."
"Yes."
Ergoutou's voice laughed, "That girl is a bit high and mighty, speaks coldly, but she gets things done."
"She found the tomb I told her about in Fox Coffin Village. Instead of rushing to claim the treasure, she first rescued me. Together, we dealt with the corpse fox, broke the tomb, and got the item inside. We split it fifty-fifty."
"At first, I thought I was just lucky to run into such a treasure hunter."
"But it wasn't until we were about to part ways that she revealed her identity and said you had passed on the message to her, which saved me from that predicament."
"If you had gone with her, we could have split the treasure among the three of us."
"But you didn't go, so I couldn't just owe you such a big favor. I've been recuperating for a few days and rushed up here to thank you for saving my life."
"..."
"Great."
Hu Ma had been thinking about Ergoutou ever since they last spoke. He had just arrived and hadn't learned any skills to help him. The young lady from Caoxin Hall never mentioned what happened after that.
Even the carriage they left at Dayang Village was taken away by the bearers without a word.
Now that he saw Ergoutou was safe, he felt much more at ease. "There's no need to be so formal. It was just a small favor."
"Heh, what's a small favor to you is a big deal to me."
Ergoutou laughed, "If you weren't such a righteous person, you could have hidden my information, not told anyone, and waited a few months. Once I couldn't hold on and died, you could have come and taken the treasure for yourself. Wouldn't that have been better?"
"Huh? There's such a method?"
Hu Ma was taken aback, "I underestimated it..."
"I heard it from that Miss White Wine."
As Hu Ma was reflecting on his mistake, Ergoutou's voice rang out again, laughing, "It seems you reincarnated into a village and haven't been having the smoothest time lately?"
"Brother, great favors don't need thanks. You helped me through a crisis. If you need anything, just let me know. I've been in this world for over thirty years and have experienced more dangers and events than you."
"..."
"Need help?"
Hearing Ergoutou's hearty voice, Hu Ma's heart stirred.
First, he learned that Ergoutou had been in this world for over thirty years, which was longer than he had been alive here.
So, they were indeed from the same era?
Thinking about it, he asked, and Ergoutou laughed, "You really are a newbie. These are basic facts, and I can teach you about them."
"I've discussed this with other reincarnated people. We are all from the same world and the same era. Even our birthdays are mostly concentrated within a few decades."
"But no one knows why we reincarnated here at different times."
"The oldest reincarnated person I know has been in this world for over eighty years. But in our original world, if we met, he would still call me 'Brother'..."
"..."
Hu Ma listened carefully, feeling increasingly amazed.
Meeting Ergoutou made it convenient to ask questions he hadn't understood before. The most important question was about his unique reincarnation method, but it wasn't appropriate to reveal everything.
He thought silently and said, "I grew up in Old Yin Village and never left the village gates. Before connecting with you, I thought I was the only one who had reincarnated into this cursed world. I really don't know much..."
"Do all reincarnated people have this connection ability?"
"..."
"Yes."
Ergoutou laughed, "The incense in our burners is actually a manifestation of our life force."
"You can think of it as our vitality, not our surnames."
"This vitality is life energy. The stronger the life energy, the higher the cultivation. Once the life energy is burned out, we become dead."
"Usually, we just need to light the incense at our Life Spirit Shrine to connect with other reincarnated souls. This allows us to exchange information and support each other by consuming our life energy."
"..."
Hu Ma listened intently. These were the details he had always wanted to understand, but the last time, the White Grape had been difficult to communicate with, so he couldn't ask such specific questions.
Seizing the opportunity, he quickly asked, "You mean the Life Spirit Shrine is...?"
"Since you're in a dream, you might not have noticed, but doesn't the place you're in look like a temple?"
Ergetou chuckled, "We call this the Life Spirit Shrine."
"Every reincarnated soul has their own temple. We don't know if it's a mental space or a dream, but inside the temple, there's a peculiar incense burner. When you light the life incense, you can search for other reincarnated souls within a certain area."
"Under normal circumstances, it can cover an entire city. If there are other reincarnated souls within the city who are also burning life incense and are willing to answer, the two can connect."
Compared to the Miss White Grape, Brother Ergetou was more than willing to share information. He was even a bit chatty.
He clearly thought Hu Ma had been reincarnated in a remote mountain area and hadn't eaten the flesh of the Evil Deity, so it took him a long time to develop the ability to connect, making him very unfamiliar with the process. So, he patiently explained, "Behind the incense altar is our Life Stone Statue."
"I heard from a senior that this is our mental reflection. The skills we learn and the progress we make in this world are all reflected in the statue."
"Even certain issues with our cultivation can be reflected in the statue, allowing us to more intuitively identify our problems..."
"...This is also why reincarnated souls often have excellent cultivation talents."
"..."
"Ah?"
Hu Ma's heart skipped a beat.
Fortunately, he had practiced his acting skills in front of his grandmother, so he didn't give himself away.
He was indeed different from other reincarnated souls.
In their temples, they could see the stone statues behind the incense altars, which were their own likenesses?
But when he looked behind his own incense altar, he saw only darkness. The altar was in ruins, surrounded by ominous red mist. Behind it, there was only a faint outline of a statue, shrouded in thick, dark red mist, making it impossible to see clearly.
He gazed at the statue, feeling as if it was also looking back at him.
His heart raced, and after a long moment, he cautiously asked, "So, you also remembered your past life after the age of three?"
"Isn't that always the case?"
Ergetou laughed at Hu Ma's simple question, "Mostly at three, though some have exceptional talent and might remember earlier or later."
"Usually, between the ages of three and ten, we are suddenly awakened by a voice, remembering our past lives. As we grow older and our life force strengthens, we discover our Life Spirit Shrine and find other reincarnated souls."
"..."
"Voice..."
Hu Ma listened carefully, hesitated for a moment, and then asked cautiously, "The voice you heard, was it also...?"
"Yes, a very strange voice."
Ergetou sighed, "We don't know who it was or what it specifically said, but it vaguely warned us to be careful about our situation and not to reveal our identities."
"We've discussed it with others, but no one knows what it is, so we just call it the 'Awakener.'"
"..."
"Confirmed..."
Hu Ma's heart trembled as he realized how different he was from the others.
The other reincarnated souls seemed like true reincarnated souls, but he felt like a latecomer.
Everyone had a Life Spirit Shrine where they could see their own progress, but his shrine looked dilapidated and long-abandoned.
Everyone was awakened by a voice, but he was awakened by his grandmother...
He confirmed his differences from the other reincarnated souls, and the questions he had been hesitant to ask became even more daunting.
Ergetou, seeing his contemplation, understood that as a newcomer, he had a lot to digest. He smiled, "Our experiences are quite strange, but there's nothing we can do about it. Just accept it, brother. Take your time to process it, and if you need any help, just let me know."
"I'm eager to repay your favor."
"..."
Hu Ma sensed that Ergetou was sincere and not just being polite. He gradually came to terms with the fact that, regardless of how different he was, things were as they were, and he could think about it later.
But there was still an important issue troubling him.
After a moment of thought, he carefully formulated his question and slowly said, "Actually, I do have a question I'd like to ask you..."
"Have you ever heard of someone who tends a fire pit?"
"..."
"Someone who tends a fire pit?"
Sure enough, Brother Ergetou, being well-informed, laughed and said, "That's the skill of a Year-Guardian, isn't it?"
(End of Chapter)
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