“My memory is still very fragmented, I can’t remember many things clearly!” Yuan Ming shook his throbbing head, murmuring to himself with a hint of bitterness.

This time, the incense burning in the censer triggered a possession, stimulating his lost memories and reminding him of some relatively recent events.

Yuan Ming felt that if he could possess Wang Shun once more and return to the general’s mansion, he might be able to recover all his memories, even those of the person who had betrayed him.

However, judging from his first possession of the young emperor and the second possession of the groom Wang Shun, the targets of possession seemed to be random. Whether he could possess Wang Shun again was uncertain.

But from the information revealed in his conversation with the round-faced man, there was a common point between the two. Both were people Yuan Ming knew. If he thought further, both seemed to have a good relationship with Yuan Ming. Yuan Ming was once the study companion of the young emperor, and the groom cared deeply for Yuan Ming’s safety. Their relationship must have been good.

“Could it be that the targets of possession can only be people I know or those close to me?” Yuan Ming pondered in his heart.

From the gains, the first time he was still in the vast mountains, facing a life-and-death moment where he could not cultivate magic power, the Nine Elements Formula he obtained solved the urgent need and became an important reliance for his current cultivation. As for the second time with the groom… there didn’t seem to be much substantial gain. If he had to calculate, it was just some clues related to his own life.

“Perhaps the target of possession is related to my thoughts and situation?” Yuan Ming’s thoughts turned, and he thought of a possibility.

All of these were just his initial guesses, after all, he had only tried twice.

However, he believed that the third possession might allow him to figure out more rules.

This made him inexplicably excited. Every time he thought about the next possession, he felt warm in his heart, and he was really itching to try!

With this thought, Yuan Ming didn’t care about anything else, immediately took out a spirit stone and held it in his hand, running the Nine Elements Formula to restore his magic power.

Half a day later, Yuan Ming’s magic power was restored, and he immediately transferred his magic power into the censer without stopping.

However, just when his magic power was about to be exhausted, he suddenly found that the censer began to reject his magic power. No matter how he tried, the subsequent magic power could no longer be transferred into it.

At this time, only a part of the Great Ultimate pattern on the censer was lit up, which looked like about one-seventh of the entire pattern.

“Is this the limit of magic power infusion? Can’t I light up the Great Ultimate pattern by infusing more magic power?” Yuan Ming had many guesses in his heart, but he could only give up for now.

Fortunately, the next day, when Yuan Ming tried to infuse magic power again, he found that the censer was absorbing his magic power again.

However, just like the previous day, only about one-seventh of the Great Ultimate pattern could be lit up before it began to reject Yuan Ming’s magic power. This meant that it would take at least seven days to light up the entire Great Ultimate pattern by infusing magic power.

This also meant that in five days, Yuan Ming would be able to possess again.

After confirming this, Yuan Ming looked at the last stick of black incense in the censer and fell into deep thought.

He only had this last stick of incense left. Once used, he would lose the opportunity to possess again. At present, Yuan Ming had not figured out the operating mechanism of this possession, and could not guarantee that one possession would give him the answers he wanted.

So, he decided to wait until he got more black incense before continuing to light the incense.

The next day, early in the morning.

Yuan Ming arrived at Qingfotang early.

A young deacon disciple saw this and immediately came forward.

“Brother, I want to buy some incense.” Yuan Ming got straight to the point.

“Incense? Is it the incense used for calming the mind and aiding cultivation?” The young deacon was taken aback and asked uncertainly.

“No, I just want ordinary incense… the kind used for offerings.” Yuan Ming explained.

The young deacon stared at Yuan Ming for a while, confirming that he was not joking before shaking his head:

“Our sect does not worship gods and spirits, and we don’t sell incense. If you want to buy it, I’m afraid you’ll have to go to the market outside.”

“Can I see the incense you mentioned?” Yuan Ming thought for a moment and said.

“Wait a moment.”

The young deacon called out and quickly returned with a palm-sized round wooden box.

“This is Ningxin Incense. When you meditate and cultivate, it can calm your mind and improve your concentration.” The young deacon explained as he opened the wooden box.

Yuan Ming saw a layer of dark red powder inside, emitting a faint sandalwood scent.

He sighed and left directly.

This thing was too far from the incense he wanted.

If Qingfotang didn’t have it in the sect, it was even less likely to be available in other places.

After leaving Qingfotang, Yuan Ming had the idea of leaving the sect and going outside. After all, he was a little restless without finding a clue for this matter.

He returned to Huolitang, went straight to the fire workshop, and saw Brother Fang Ge.

“You’ve only been in the sect for a short time, why do you want to travel outside?” Fang Ge was somewhat surprised.

In the Bi Luo Cave, it was not uncommon for disciples and elders to travel outside. However, most of them were those who had been cultivating for many years without making progress. They would travel outside for a period of time, calm their minds, and look for opportunities to break through.

But like Yuan Ming, who planned to travel outside less than a year after joining the sect, it was really rare.”Senior Brother, you know me. Although I haven’t been in the sect for long, I’ve been diligent in my cultivation. Recently, I’ve been feeling a bit tired and want to travel for a while. Perhaps when I return, both my cultivation and state of mind will have improved.” Yuan Ming’s voice was somewhat low, and his expression was quite sincere.

“That sounds reasonable. How long do you plan to be away? This needs to be recorded.” Fang Ge said.

Upon hearing this, Yuan Ming hesitated slightly, not having decided how long he would be away.

After all, the black incense was different from ordinary incense. He couldn’t say for sure when he would find it.

“Let me tell you this, unless there are special circumstances, a Qi Refining disciple should not be away for more than three months. Those who fail to return on time will be expelled from the sect and treated as deserters, with a bounty issued by the Law Enforcement Hall, regardless of life or death.” Senior Brother Fang Ge glanced at Yuan Ming, his expression becoming somewhat serious.

“Having the support of the sect is already hard enough, who would be foolish enough to betray the sect and become a wandering cultivator who doesn’t know where his next meal will come from? I’ll take a three-month leave to travel.” Yuan Ming joked, but he couldn’t help but think of the Central Plains cultivator “Ma Xingkong” who had a bounty of a thousand contribution points on the Law Enforcement Hall’s stele.

“That’s fine. But let me clarify in advance, during your travels, the monthly stipend from the sect will be suspended and will only be resumed after you return.” Senior Brother Fang Ge nodded and said.

“That’s only fair.”

“Also, after you leave, remember not to misuse your magic when dealing with ordinary people in the mundane world, and never kill mortals indiscriminately.” Fang Ge reminded.

“What would be the consequences?” Yuan Ming asked.

The reason he asked this was not because he was afraid of taking risks for such behavior in the future, but because he felt that what the Beast Slave Hall had done before seemed somewhat contradictory to what Senior Brother Fang Ge had said.

“Whether they are ordinary people or cultivators, we all share the same world, so it’s impossible to completely isolate ourselves. In fact, most of the mundane world is under the influence of different cultivation sects. Indiscriminately killing mortals can sometimes be seen as a provocation to the cultivation sects, which can bring unnecessary trouble.” Fang Ge said.

Upon hearing this, Yuan Ming finally understood that even ordinary people lived under the influence of cultivation powers.

But thinking about it, did that mean that the Beast Slave Hall’s previous actions, whether hunting wild men or slaughtering villages, were all misdeeds on their own territory?

Thinking of this, Yuan Ming couldn’t help but feel a sense of indescribable disgust.

“The reason I’m telling you this is more to hope that you can discipline yourself and not commit indiscriminate killings.” Senior Brother Fang Ge spoke again, reminding him.

Obviously, he also knew that this kind of restraint was not strong, and it relied more on the self-reflection and self-discipline of the cultivators.

“Yuan Ming will keep Senior Brother’s teachings in mind.” Yuan Ming saluted with his fist.

“By the way, when you go to the mundane world, you can’t do without money. Remember to go to the Qingfutang to exchange some silver coins to take with you.” Seeing this, Senior Brother Fang Ge nodded in satisfaction and then reminded.

After Yuan Ming nodded in agreement, he bid farewell and left.

He went back to make all the preparations. He wanted to inform Silver Cat, but he couldn’t find him.

So, he left a note on the desk by the window, writing “Traveling, will return in three months”, and then left Biluo Cave directly.

……

A few days later.

A man in a green robe, riding a black horse, was slowly walking on a mountain path.

He had a handsome and youthful face, but there was no trace of immaturity. It was Yuan Ming who had left the sect.

At this moment, he was sitting on the horseback, gently holding the reins, his eyes slightly closed, seemingly letting the horse lead him forward. But every time they came to a fork in the road, or the horse walked off the path, he would gently pull the reins to adjust the direction.

Above his head, a black crow was flying over the forest, its eyes scanning the surroundings vigilantly.

The reason Yuan Ming didn’t need to watch the road was because he had the crow’s vision.

The other two crows had also been released by him, one for scouting the road, and the other for practicing his ability to control three crows and view three different perspectives at the same time.

This was actually a kind of cultivation, a cultivation of his soul refining ability and control ability.

Soon, one of the crows found a village built in a valley, with about thirty-seven or eight households, all of which were bamboo houses and wooden buildings.

Yuan Ming’s spirit was slightly lifted, and he opened his eyes.

This was the largest village he had encountered in the past few days.

(End of Chapter)