Master of Strange Dao

The time was winter turning to spring, just as everything was coming back to life. The annual day for Queue No.1 to reveal its true form was fast approaching.

On this day, for ease of remembrance and to be able to tell a story to Juice that made some sense, one that he himself believed, Yu Ziqing called it Insects awaken.

And all of this had already been widely spread through the Jade Tablet.

The Jade Tablet was indeed useful, but no matter which world, information shared casually to entertain and amuse would more easily attract more people's attention.

On the Jade Tablet channel in Dadui, many listened to fixed channels to learn knowledge, but the most popular were actually the channels of pure entertainment and relaxation at fixed times.

And the channels for cultivators to listen to basic cultivation content should, by reason, have many people, yet in reality, their audiences were noticeably fewer compared to other channels.

Just because something isn't high-end doesn't mean there will be a lot of people interested, even if it's about cultivation.

The information Yu Ziqing wanted to spread was mostly hidden in entertainment channels. It was only on more traditional channels, when the general spread of the information was nearly complete, that it would be mentioned on specific days.

For instance, Insects awaken was approaching.

"Insects awaken marks the beginning of the year, the most important festival. With the first thunderclap of spring, it represents the revival of all things, signaling the start of the busiest time of the year...

Today, around Dingmao City, many citizens have already begun their rituals and sacrifices..."

A voice with a serious tone came out of the Jade Tablet, and Yu Ziqing listened with a strange expression, feeling somewhat of a déjà vu.

To speak frankly, he had never bothered with the issue of this broadcast tone.

Yu Ziqing, traveling with Zhang, reached a small town outside the city and saw crowds bustling, with countless vendors lining the streets, streams of people flowing towards another direction.

Upon inquiry, Yu Ziqing realized that after winter rest, this was the first large market of the spring, lasting five days, with people from all over the region coming here.

On one hand, it was for purchasing all kinds of items needed after the start of spring, and on the other hand, to enjoy this rare hustle and bustle.

The place being headed to now was the local Land God Temple. For decades, such large events relied on the temple and the surrounding area as venues.

Yu Ziqing and Zhang followed the crowd forward, with Zhang quietly conveying some information.

"Actually, in the beginning, it wasn't here, nor was it the local land that wanted to do anything.

But he was afraid of any potential issues, so upon seeing Jia Shisi, he proactively suggested hosting the large market here.

Even if there were indeed any problems, the local land could step in immediately to ensure no significant issues arise.

This land is one of the very few within the Dingmao City radiation range that hasn't been eliminated by Jia Shisi yet.

It still shows some responsibility..."

Yu Ziqing nodded, for in Dadui, there wasn't a single Earth Deity who didn't fear Jia Shisi now.

The one person they least wanted to see was Jia Shisi.

Seeing Jia Shisi appear before them, in the vast majority of cases, meant a very miserable end.

Because the chaos of the Earth Deities had not long passed, if anything went wrong anywhere, the first to be scrutinized was the local Earth Deity, to see if they had been negligent.

And then local officials would be examined; whomever made mistakes would pay the price, and those above couldn't escape unscathed if those below erred.

Yu Ziqing never thought this weakened the authority of the officials.

Continuing inward, they reached the Land God Temple, and saw a Divine Granny serving as the temple priest.

These days just happened to be the annual festival for beating matchstick figures to pray, something Yu Ziqing had not been much involved with, as such strongly ritualistic things naturally became part of the festival.

Moreover, Yu Ziqing hadn't mentioned matchstick figures in the information he spread, and it naturally evolved over time.

Until today, somehow it had turned into, oh, the upcoming festival is called Insects awaken.

And the beating of matchstick figures was part of it, so they would be together.

Further evolving had it turning into, Insects awaken involves beating matchstick figures.

Originally meant for Queue No.1's activities, the matchstick figure had inadvertently benefited from the attention, borrowing the heat of Insects awaken.

On the third day of the spring market, the Divine Granny appeared in full regalia to commence the beating of matchstick figures.

With increasingly complex procedures and prayers filled with curses, even though they had nothing to do with rituals, it made the spectators believe even more, their minds becoming more agitated.

The black matchstick figure was beaten by the Divine Granny, and Yu Ziqing could clearly feel the much stronger power gathering compared to the last time he personally observed it.

Past year's sufferings and hardships, along with the best wishes for the new year, formed a force that rose into the air, then vanished.

This was a power that could easily transcend a sealing, spreading its message to the outside world.

Or rather, this was one of the very few methods that could transmit information across a sealing.

In the Health Club of Almsgiving Town, the black matchstick figure knelt on the ground, quietly receiving the continuous flow of power falling from the Void.

The pains and hardships enabled him to empathize, healing the itch permeating his consciousness, and after the pain, came the most beautiful wishes for the future.

The mortals' purest joys and sorrows were among them—that was his source of power.

His pure black body slowly filled up, turning into a vibrant red.

This time, the power was even more than last year, forcing him to redirect the excess back, transforming it into a force of blessing.