CHAPTER 346: CHAPTER 224: BONE COLLECTING

The old woman walked into the alley, looking at the bodies of the fat monk, Liao Fan, and the Gothic girl, her expression was extremely gloomy.

The Eight Great Vajra under Li Mian, each cultivated by him personally, had strength enough to hold their own.

But now the entire army was annihilated, and they also lost the Immortal Vine Cultivator Yang Shengsi, how could she explain this to Li Mian when she returned?

"Was it people from the third Speaker?" the old woman frowned.

As she moved her fingers in a ritual gesture, all the eyes on her robe suddenly lit up, and a white Celestial Eye slowly opened at her forehead.

In that moment, the old woman’s entire demeanor seemed to undergo a mystical change.

She walked forward, extended her hand, and forcefully extracted a bone from Liao Fan’s charred corpse, then muttered a series of obscure incantations.

If Sun Yan were here, he would immediately recognize that this old woman was using the witchcraft of ’bone collecting’.

The custom of bone collecting has a long history, originating from the ancient practice of bone burial, according to the records in "Mozi", "South of Chu, there is the Flame People Country, where when relatives die, they rot the flesh and discard it, then bury the bones, thus becoming filial sons."

It is said that in the ancient Flame People Country there was a custom of bone burial. The ancients would first use a coffin to inter the corpse in the ground and then after several years, when the body turned to white bones, they would collect and re-bury the bones.

In the Min Nan region, there is still a folk tale about this practice during the Qin Dynasty: Meng Jiangnu went to the Great Wall to find her husband, but he had died from overworking on the construction of the Great Wall. After Meng Jiangnu found her husband’s bones, she dripped her own blood onto the remains.

Soon, the bones were reborn with flesh. Surprised, Meng Jiangnu went to the temple to seek wisdom from the gods, and the god told her that she should collect and re-bury her husband’s bones.

Following the divine advice, Meng Jiangnu did so, but the newly grown flesh disappeared, reverting to the original white bone state. Infuriated, Meng Jiangnu accused the god of causing her husband’s death. The god replied that the dead cannot be revived, and only this method could bring peace to the spirits of the deceased.

Before opening the coffin, a professional bone collector would first burn three incense sticks in front of the tomb as a form of sacrificial ceremony to the celestial, ghostly, and earthly gods, which is the reason for lighting three sticks.

They seek the protection of heaven, earth, and the spirits to ensure nothing goes wrong when opening the coffin, preventing any supernatural occurrences.

After lighting the incense, the bone collector would speak to the deceased, typically inviting them into the golden urn. The "golden urn" mentioned by the bone collector is a type of ceramic jar used to hold the remains of the deceased.

After saying this, the bone collector can then unearth and open the coffin. If the deceased’s body has not completely decomposed into bones, the bone collector needs to use tools to separate the flesh from the bones. Therefore, people who collect bones as a profession need to have both courage and meticulousness.

Moreover, there is a specific order to collecting bones. The bone collector begins with the hand bones, which symbolizes inviting the deceased to stand up, and then collects in the order from the leg bones to the skull. After completing the bone collection, the bone collector must tally the remains to ensure none are missing.

If there are gold, silver, or other burial items in the coffin, the bone collector also places these in the golden urn.

After these steps, it’s time for the reburial. If the corpse has not fully decomposed, it is considered a feng shui treasure ground, believed to protect the deceased’s body. In this case, the bone collector will re-bury the remains in this cemetery.

However, if the body is completely skeletal, the bone collector needs to find an appropriate feng shui auspicious ground for reburial and ensure the remains are interned at an auspicious time. Failure to follow these procedures could result in the backlash of the deceased’s resentment.

The main purpose of bone collecting is to dispel the deceased’s grievances and during the process, offers an opportunity to converse with the deceased to obtain answers one seeks.

This has a similar effect to Sun Yan’s Magical Artifact, the Soul-Calling Banner.

In ancient times, a bone collector could easily sustain himself with this skill among the populace.

The old woman held the bone in her hand, and under the influence of the spell, a Wandering Soul quickly drifted out from the charred corpse.

"Madam Nie, we failed," Liao Fan said hoarsely.

"Who took that person?" the old woman asked coldly.

"I don’t know. You could ask Maureen; she seems to know that person’s identity."

"Alright, since you cannot find peace after death as a Yansheng Calamity, I’ll help you on your way, sparing you the continued torment in this world."

"Thank you, Madam Nie."

With that, the old woman placed the bone back into Liao Fan’s body and drove in several long nails into different acupoints of his body.

Immediately, a large amount of green mist seeped out of Liao Fan’s body, and as the mist dissipated, he turned into a pile of ash on the spot, without a trace remaining.

With everything done, the old woman stood up and walked towards the Gothic girl, tearing away the beast skin covering her body.

Instantly, the Gothic girl returned to her original form. The old woman reached into her chest and extracted a bone.

"Maureen, tell me what you know," the old woman asked.

The Gothic girl’s spirit appeared, expressionless: "It wasn’t people from the third Speaker; it was a third party force. That person’s strength is formidable, likely a cultivator. Madam Nie, the one who destroyed Master Li’s Artificial Beast is him. It seems that Kaido may have already encountered trouble."

"Do you know where he went? Yang Shengsi must be recovered; the results of the Immortal Vine cannot fall into others’ hands."

"I’ve already left a Soul Fragrance on him, Madam Nie."

"Thank you for your sacrifice, Maureen," the old woman said sincerely upon hearing this.

"For Master Li, it’s all as it should be."

As the Gothic girl’s spirit dissipated, Madam Nie inserted a nail into her body.

Soon, Maureen’s body melted into a pool of oil, and Madam Nie took a stick of incense and dipped it into the liquid, lighting it.

The smoke from the incense head immediately drifted in a guided direction, like a beacon.

Without any hesitation, Madam Nie directly followed the direction the smoke led.

...

In the passenger seat of the Yangwang U8, Yang Shengsi curiously touched the door and seat, unable to comprehend the modern automobile.

"Is this your era’s carriage? How does it move?"

"Explaining that would be quite complicated; you should seek someone else with expertise. For now, I will just take you out of here."

Driving the Yangwang U8 through the streets, Sun Yan said calmly.

Having awoken to find the world completely foreign, and with a group trying to capture him, Yang Shengsi ultimately decided to leave with Sun Yan.

As the Immortal Vine host, the secrets he harbored were immensely significant; if anything were to go wrong, it would be unfair to the efforts placed upon him by Master Xu.

Thus, until Master Xu appeared to find him, Yang Shengsi had to temporarily rely on Sun Yan, this modern man.

Sun Yan planned to first take Yang Shengsi to the graveyard in Gospel Town, as it was his base of operations, and even if the Evil God Council sought him out, it would pose no danger.

Moreover, with three Tomb Guardians there, Sun Yan could inquire from them about the secrets concerning Yang Shengsi.

Even if the Immortal Vine within Yang Shengsi was retrieved by Xu Fu during his expedition to the Overseas Immortal Mountain.

For what remains mysterious to ordinary people, perhaps in the eyes of the three Great Gods, it would be another matter altogether.