Chanting softly to himself for a while, he then stood up, held the One Incense in his hand, and said to Hu Ma: "All set, let's go!"

Hu Ma nodded but suddenly remembered something. He pulled out a One Incense from his sleeve, blew on it until it was lit, and watched the thin smoke floating away. Soon a red shadow flickered, and Little Hongtang emerged from the nearby woods, hugging Hu Ma's arm.

Ever since visiting Granny in Shangjing, Hu Ma had been busy, so he left Little Hongtang at the ancestral hall to keep her company.

Now, with other things to attend to, he called Little Hongtang over.

"Little Hongtang, do you recall once saying you came from a big black house?"

Hu Ma glanced at her and saw that after staying with Granny at the ancestral hall for a while, she seemed to have gained some weight.

The incense at the ancestral hall, now carried by the Hu Family, was quite special, and Little Hongtang greatly benefited from it.

Luckily, she was called back; otherwise, would she become a little chubby girl? 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝒆𝒘𝙚𝓫𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

"Yes..."

Little Hongtang nodded earnestly: "There were lots of people there, so fierce!"

"Granny picked up Little Hongtang. Granny is different from those people, Granny is a good granny."

"..."

Hu Ma smiled and nodded: "Well then, if you were to go back once more, would you dare?"

"No way!"

Usually very obedient, Little Hongtang did everything from delivering messages to fighting, stealing, or moving Blood Food without question.

But now, hearing this, her face changed, showing a look of fear. She clung firmly to Hu Ma's arm: "Brother Huma shouldn't go either."

"Don't worry."

Hu Ma patted Little Hongtang's head and smiled: "I'm strong now, not afraid of them."

Then he turned to Calculation: "First, let's go to Da'ai Mountain."

Calculation's gaze moved away from Little Hongtang. It wasn't his first time seeing this little ghost, but strangely, the more he looked, the more he felt she looked different from others.

Especially when he saw the direction Hu Ma's One Incense smoke drifted, seemingly towards Shangjing. But Shangjing's incense wasn't something ordinary little ghosts could enjoy.

This girl, she even got fatter?

This is where jianghu experience kicks in—if you don't understand, don't ask.

He just nodded briskly and followed the direction in which his One Incense smoke drifted.

Hu Ma followed behind, experiencing the mysterious event before the ancestral master, seeing how something as simple as One Incense could guide them in varying directions depending on the changing winds.

Calculation walked wherever the incense smoke went, and mysteriously, his movements began resembling the flickering of the incense's flame. Gradually, his figure seemed to become somewhat elusive.

Hu Ma found he needed to focus intensely just to keep up, gradually ignoring the scenery passing by.

He vaguely felt like he had only walked for the duration of One Incense.

As Calculation's One Incense was about to burn out, he saw Calculation halt his steps, and the final wisp of smoke floated toward a mountain ahead. Hu Ma, carrying Little Hongtang on his shoulder, stopped before the mountain.

He suddenly realized he stood before an unfamiliar mountain, surrounded by dense pines and cypress, with strange rocks and formations.

Looking around, he saw vast clusters of mountains and valleys as if the mountain stood alone, isolated from the world.

"Is this Da'ai Mountain?"

Hu Ma surveyed for a moment and spoke softly, but in this desolate place, his voice was startlingly clear.

Calculation shrank back a little and whispered: "I think it is."

"This mountain isn't on any map; only the One Incense before the ancestral master's tablet can guide us here."

"I knew the Method but it's my first time coming."

"..."

"Then follow me."

Hu Ma gently took Little Hongtang off his left shoulder, holding her hand.

Little Hongtang remained very wary, but seeing that she wasn't heading to the big black house of her memories, she was somewhat relieved.

Following Hu Ma, she slowly stepped forward along a moss-covered stone path, gradually climbing up the mountain, noticing how silent the mountain was, not even a bird's cry.

Though they thought they would directly ascend the mountain, unexpectedly, halfway up, they encountered a line of dilapidated stone houses and an area of grassy stone slopes. Hu Ma stopped and saw, on the stone slope, the State Preceptor facing away from him, bowing towards the incense table.

With his cultivation, it's likely the State Preceptor knew Hu Ma was approaching when Hu Ma was still at the mountain's base.

Yet now, he performed his rituals with great reverence, bowing to the incense table with meticulous care.

This simple scene, common among the folk, was quite surprising to Hu Ma. The State Preceptor, once the Main Sacrificial of the Daluo Dharma Sect, was now the most powerful person in the human world, arguably unmatched.

The ghostly gods worshipped by the common folk are merely like a wisp of shadow to him, dispersing at the slightest touch. Even the Evil Sky and Ghost Land are only manageable or exploitable to him.

Yet now, he lights Ten Incense Sticks and bows. What could command such reverence from him?

Although perplexed, Hu Ma adhered to etiquette, remaining silent during the incense offering, waiting quietly by the slope.

Once the Ten Incense Sticks were done, the State Preceptor slowly turned towards Hu Ma, glanced at Little Hongtang beside him, and then began to walk ahead.