Folk Customs: Starting with Locked-In Affection

A thousand years ago, every terrifying legend from the old books of the strange became reality overnight.

Painted-skin ghosts peeled off human faces and walked among the living. Wherever drought demons appeared, a thousand miles of land turned barren. Mountain imps gathered in the depths of the hills, devouring villages and towns...

Ordinary people huddled for survival in fortified cities protected by wards against evil. The vast wilderness beyond the walls had long since become a hunting ground for demons and monsters.

After transmigrating to a folk-horror world consumed by darkness, Yao Cun looked at the monsters covering the ground and felt like he had drawn a hell-level mission.

That was until he obtained a fragment of the [Book of Myriad Forms: Spine], which could permanently lock any one state of anything in place, including a monster's submission, an ordinary person's trust, and even... a female demon's infatuation with you.

So, while cultivators from all walks of life avoided the corrupted willow demon at all costs and fought for their lives, Yao Cun stood before it, studying it seriously for a long while.

"I must say, this willow demon... still has quite a bit of charm."

Collect the scattered pages of the Book of Myriad Forms and lock every advantageous state in place, freezing the fear, submission, and obsession of demons and ghosts at the exact moment he needs them.

Years later.

Yao Cun stepped out alone from one of the Nine Forbidden Zones, followed by a long procession. A bewitching fox immortal held an umbrella over him, the Black Mountain Old Demon cleared the way, a painted-skin ghost changed his face, and a drought demon guarded the region for him.

Countless cultivators stared in horror at this terrifying lineup, powerful enough to overturn the mortal world, their faces drained of color.

Yao Cun opened the ancient scroll in his hands, now mostly restored, and said softly:

"The myriad forms of the Nine Domains, the countless ways of life, are no more than a page in this book, turned over and left behind."