Chapter 115: The Uses of Divine Power?

The shaman took the paper figure, holding it in her hands as she examined it for a moment, then frowned and asked, “Where did you get this paper figure from?”

Shang Lu explained its origin: “You remember the case involving the funeral parlor, don’t you? This paper figure was confiscated from the corpse driver who killed the entire funeral parlor family.”

“So it was crafted by a corpse driver. No wonder their methods are unorthodox, filled with sinister tricks.”

The shaman snorted coldly, her tone dripping with disdain.

She began chanting an incantation softly, then used her long fingernail to lightly trace the paper figure’s surface.

Instantly, the paper figure, stained with the corpse driver’s blood, reacted: dark red and black fine lines appeared, resembling veins and meridians, radiating from the chest outward along the limbs and entire body.

Its appearance became even more bizarre and uncanny than before.

“What are these?” Shang Lu leaned closer to inspect, his brow furrowing.

He recognized those dark red-black lines—they looked remarkably like human blood.

No, not just resembling human blood—they were definitely drawn using human blood.

“The corpse driver painted these veins on the paper figure.”

The shaman took this opportunity to give Shang Lu a lesson.

“People like corpse drivers and spirit controllers do not learn orthodox skills. Their methods may seem strange and eerie, but their power is limited and different from standard magic.”

Shang Lu nodded slightly.

Indeed, compared to the paper figures forged by Qiu Haishan, both in power and intelligence, these crafted by corpse drivers were far inferior.

Had they encountered Qiu Haishan’s paper figures during the strange happenings in the city, by now a full seven days would have passed, and if fortune smiled, he might even have married San Niang...

Still, despite their weakness, corpse driver paper figures could be very effective if used at the right time and in the right way.

The key point was that Shang Lu wanted to learn some methods of controlling these figures through the shaman.

If in the future he could obtain other items—such as shadow puppets or wooden puppets—he could apply similar principles learned from paper figures to figure out how to use them, avoiding confusion.

“See these veins? They are drawn with a special ink made from human blood, corpse oil, and other ingredients,” the shaman explained, pointing to the figure.

“These veins are the critical runes of the paper figure...”

“So, to break the paper figure, you must target the center of these veins and destroy them with vital energy. Otherwise, even if the paper figure is damaged, it will quickly regenerate and remain fully functional.”

Shang Lu nodded again, having experienced this firsthand in his previous battles with paper figures.

After explaining how to break the paper figure, the shaman then taught its uses: “You have never learned how to create or control paper figures, so there are only two ways for you to use it.”

Shang Lu sat up eagerly and cupped his hands respectfully. “Please, honored shaman, do teach me.”

The shaman did not hesitate: “The first method is to place the paper figure in a bowl of rice, changing the rice daily and offering incense and candles. After forty-nine days of nurturing, you may try to infuse your vital energy into the veins of the paper figure, nourishing it until a connection is established. Once connected, the paper figure will be successfully controlled and serve your will.”

“But this method has a significant drawback.”

“Because paper figures made by corpse drivers are crafted using human ink and curses—dark magic—they tend to attract evil spirits and malevolent ghosts. Feeding them incense and candles only increases the risk of drawing danger.”

Shang Lu was not particularly afraid of attracting evil spirits.

If he did attract them and they were not strong enough, he could capture and kill them. It would be a good opportunity to prove himself, especially since he was about to be promoted to county captain—his first official assignment, a chance to make a name.

Moreover, due to recent explorations and developments at Yunhua Mountain’s secret realm, several spirit officials had arrived in Luoshui County.

Ordinary evil spirits would hardly dare to show themselves; if they did, they would be swiftly eliminated.

As for the powerful ones, they would be focused on the secret realm and unlikely to bother with a mere paper figure.

Shang Lu carefully memorized the first method and then asked, “What is the second method?”

“The second method is something you cannot use for now.”

Though she said this, the shaman still revealed it.

“If your power is strong enough, you can skip the nurturing stage and directly force your energy into the veins of the paper figure, forcibly establishing a connection that makes it an extension of your senses and limbs.”

Shang Lu’s heart stirred.

His strength might be lacking, but inside him was the divine power he had stolen!

If he could infuse divine power into the paper figure’s veins, perhaps he could bypass the nurturing phase and control it directly.

He planned to try this as soon as he returned.

If it worked, it would save him much trouble and give him a new use for the divine power.

Next, the shaman taught Shang Lu some methods for manipulating the paper figure.

However, most of the expertise would have to come from Shang Lu’s own experiences after successfully controlling one.

The shaman was skilled primarily in necromantic and soul interrogation arts, so while she understood paper figures and puppetry to some extent, she was not a master.

Even so, Shang Lu felt he had gained much.

He thanked the shaman sincerely and decided to repay her with a gift later, hoping to continue learning from her in the future.

Unfortunately, he had little spiritual liquid or essence to offer, unlike Feng Boyuan, who was generous in his gifts.

He had some dragon liver and meat, but those were inappropriate to give as presents; doing so would attract the attention of spirit officials from the Discipline Department.

After much thought, he decided to give gold, silver, and fine cloth, hoping the shaman would not mind.

After bidding the shaman farewell and leaving the temple, Shang Lu went straight home.

“I’m back!”

Pushing open the courtyard gate, Shang Lu greeted cheerfully.

The previously dim courtyard brightened instantly at his return.

The thick canopy of branches overhead seemed to shift, adjusting their spacing to let sunlight pour into the courtyard through the gaps.

As Shang Lu stepped over the threshold and entered, the gate behind him closed by itself.

He was now used to such occurrences.

“The inspection is over. The spirit officials from the Discipline Department found nothing, and instead, I benefited by having the heart-spirit of the Five Organs Temple activated…”

Shang Lu happily shared the unexpected good news with San Niang.

Then he saw San Niang bring out a pair of wax figures and three incense sticks.

“Almost forgot—the incense for the heart-spirit statue hasn’t been offered yet.”

Shang Lu smacked his forehead, took the incense from the attentive San Niang, and quickly swallowed them.

Having consumed incense many times recently, Shang Lu had learned a trick.

Eating incense is like taking medicine: it must be swallowed as quickly as possible. Don’t savor the taste; the faster you swallow it, the less unpleasant it feels.

After ingesting the incense, Shang Lu used his inner vision technique to observe the Five Organs Temple.

The incense smoke gently wafted into the heart-spirit statue, imbuing it with vitality and animation.

So far, Shang Lu had not noticed any other benefits from activating the heart-spirit.

But he was not worried.

With experience from the spleen and liver spirits, he knew the heart-spirit’s effects would manifest at the right time.

Finishing his inner vision, Shang Lu chatted briefly with San Niang, sharing some of his recent experiences, then took out the paper figure.

Without the shaman’s magic, the paper figure returned to its original appearance.

All those strange, menacing veins had vanished.

Shang Lu could not make the veins appear again, but he had another method.

He sacrificed a portion of his vital energy to the liver spirit, then felt a refreshing coolness in his eyes, very pleasant.

Looking back at the paper figure, the previously “disappeared” veins reemerged.

These veins were drawn with the special ink made from human blood and corpse oil.

Though the corpse driver had employed means to conceal them, under the liver spirit’s blessing, Shang Lu could still discern their faint traces—enough for his purpose.

Holding the paper figure, Shang Lu channeled the divine power stored within the liver spirit statue, directing it out from the Shangyang and Zhongchong acupuncture points on his hand into the paper figure.

Immediately, a brilliant radiance burst forth from the figure.

“This might work!”

Filled with joy, Shang Lu followed the shaman’s instructions, guiding the divine power from the paper figure’s center along the veins, spreading out across its limbs and entire body.

As the glow dimmed, Shang Lu successfully infused the divine power throughout the paper figure.

At that moment, he felt himself enter a profound, mysterious state...