"What about that Tie Zhu?"
"Just let him stay in the house for now. This house is full of protective talismans, so there's no need to worry about his safety."
With these questions and answers, the two slowly walked out of the small courtyard. Compared to the drizzling rain when they came, the Qian family's old house was now filled with fine drizzle. Moreover, this rain seemed a bit different; even when using magical power to block the rain, their clothes still got wet.
"This is called spirit rain, and it's filled with pure Yin energy," Yan Gongli said, reaching out to catch the rain and looking at Jiang Wen.
"It seems there's something extraordinary hidden in the Qian family's old house."
"That Old Master Qian is very ambitious. He seems to think he can manipulate us." Jiang Wen felt a fire in his heart when he thought about the embroidered shoes.
Such terrifying things were only done to satisfy his inner desires. Could it be that after raising an adopted daughter for more than ten years, he had no feelings for her at all?
"Looks like you're very angry," Yan Gongli said, blinking her eyes. She picked up a strand of her hair and slowly played with it in her hand. "There are many people like him. If you encounter them again, you'll be furious."
"I think people who do such things should be punished," Jiang Wen said, frowning.
"What if there's more than just him?"
"Let's see if there's any place to hide ahead," Hongluan said, glancing at him.
Hearing Yan Gongli's words, Jiang Wen nodded. He looked at the tree trunk and flew towards it.
The corpse horde was like a black tide, boundless and endless. Even the heavy rain couldn't hide their figures. It was unknown if this was unique to the Yin realm or if they had stumbled into a trap.
Jiang Wen flew on his sword, and the monk sat on his kasaya. Hongluan was even more extreme, spinning her twin blades like a flaming wheel, revolving under her feet as if on fire.
"They're here too?" Jiang Wen was surprised. However, thinking about what the two had said, he understood that they were here for this tree.
"This locust tree is probably nine thousand years old and has already formed its own Yin realm. If you want to find the locust spirit, you still have to look inside the tree," Yan Gongli said. The monk beside her laughed loudly, and then he also entered the tree like Hongluan.
"It seems we have a lot of trouble," Jiang Wen sighed.
"But can you really manage everything in the world? Haven't you heard that the emperor is preparing to select women for the palace? Do you think those selected women aren't pitiful? Although they won't lose their lives, are their circumstances much better?" Yan Gongli said. "If you want to interfere, you can even interfere with the Son of Heaven."
As soon as her words landed, Jiang Wen and the monk vigilantly looked at the entrance. Being in an unfamiliar place, they dared not be careless.
"These Poison Soul Toads shouldn't attack people casually, right?"
Hongluan tightly gripped her twin blades, her palms wet with sweat. She nervously watched the toads' every move. Leaning against Jiang Wen's back, she whispered, "If they jump over later, we'll jump down."
"Probably only Old Master Qian himself knows," Yan Gongli said indifferently.
"Because some people always have to do some things, otherwise, how bleak would this world be," Jiang Wen sighed. He led Yan Gongli out of the courtyard.
"These monsters run really fast," Jiang Wen said unhappily, looking back at the pursuing corpses. If he hadn't retreated quickly just now, he would have been buried alive by a group of corpses.
Outside, a thick fog blurred everything in the distance.
"The locust spirit is a rare treasure in the world, so naturally everyone wants to obtain it. Whether you can get it depends on your ability," Yan Gongli said, putting her hand on Jiang Wen's shoulder, her eyes smiling.
The group quickly passed through the rain, and large splashes of water were stirred up in the muddy puddles. Before the splashes could land, they had flown dozens of feet away. A moment later, countless corpses swarmed in, like leeches that couldn't be shaken off, giving them a headache.
The endless corpses surged like raging waves, their hoarse throats emitting sounds similar to hunting dogs.
"Of course, but if you want to refine this treasure, someone must willingly offer their family's luck. Once the ultimate Yang item is refined, the family will be doomed, with no descendants. Such a vicious technique, few in the world are willing to do it," Yan Gongli thoughtfully explained.
"Amitabha, greetings, benefactor," the monk said with a friendly smile.
But one could see that the plants and trees on the ground were flourishing, seeming to grow very well.
"So we just let them chase us like this?" Jiang Wen asked in confusion.
"This is a Poison Soul Toad. It is said that the poison on its body is enough to make a person's soul fly away and scatter. Even a cultivator with the Fire of Life will suffer if they get the venom on them," Yan Gongli said.
Looking at the movement outside, Jiang Wen's expression became serious upon hearing Yan Gongli's words: "This wind is strangely strong. Is this the Yin realm within the locust tree? I feel like something's not quite right."
Before long, the two arrived under the big tree, and from a distance, they could see the towering trunk like a pagoda. Under the huge roots, a woman in red and a monk were standing in front of the tree.
"This humble monk thinks so too," the monk said with a smile.
The Poison Soul Toads croaked in unison, then neatly made way, as if waiting for someone to arrive.
Hongluan and the monk also happened to be here, both looking at the outside with puzzled expressions.
"Croak—"
"I have heard of a secret technique that says that as long as you refine an extremely Yin item into an ultimate Yang item, you can achieve the method of transforming Yin into Yang. This kind of magic is extremely vicious and requires a prosperous and wealthy family to assist with luck. Sacrificing the family's luck can eventually obtain the ultimate Yang treasure. This treasure can cut off luck, intercept blessings, and even cause the dragon vein to deflect," Yan Gongli popularized thoughtfully.
The Qian family's old house was very large, with three courtyards on both sides. You needed to ride a horse back and forth to quickly deliver messages. If you were just walking, it might take an ordinary person half an hour to walk from east to west.
The corpse horde chased relentlessly behind them, and the group ran very fast.
As the group was about to say something, they saw dark clouds suddenly rise outside, and the wind that stirred up dispersed the thick fog. Standing in front of the house, they could see the darkness devouring the earth in the distance, like thousands of black warhorses rolling in a long stream.
Looking back at the depths of the cave, countless pale blue eyes glowed in the darkness. They gradually approached Jiang Wen and the others, revealing their brown-black skin.
"If I have the opportunity to encounter it, I am willing to manage it," Jiang Wen said, standing in front of the eaves, looking at the distant towering tree. "If you encounter something that you feel is inherently wrong and are unwilling to take action, then what is the purpose of this cultivation? Is it for immortality or for one's own desires?"
"So what exactly is the Qian family plotting?" Jiang Wen didn't understand.
"The situation in this Yin realm is complicated. If we act alone, it may not be so easy," Hongluan said slowly, squeezing the rainwater from her body and looking around at the group.
"There's baleful aura!" Hongluan said cautiously, her eyes scrutinizing the outside, as if something was approaching.
"So, this is the Yin realm within the locust tree?" Hongluan muttered, rummaging through the items in the house.
"You also covet this locust spirit? But don't expect me to show any mercy." Hongluan said coldly, brandishing her curved blade. "I've been searching for this locust demon for ten years, just waiting for today."
"Let's go!" Jiang Wen shouted, summoning his flying sword to cut down several corpse puppets. He embraced Yan Gongli and flew out of the house. Hongluan, wielding her long saber, let out a sharp cry against the wind and rain. The clear blade cut through the downpour, like silver light falling on the edge, unleashing a beam of white light that severed several corpse puppets crowding forward.
The world instantly changed, and when Jiang Wen regained his senses, he was standing in a thatched hut.
The group leaped out of the narrow window like nimble cats, and the monk casually grabbed a bamboo hat from the house, placing it on his head as he fled outside.
"Then let's rely on our own abilities; our fate depends on luck." Hongluan said, turning and walking along the tree root towards the trunk. Before Jiang Wen could figure out what she was planning, Hongluan disappeared beneath the tree.
"This is troublesome." Hongluan muttered, picking up her twin blades and watching the creatures emerging from the cave: countless giant toads covered in warts.
"Don't provoke them, or things could get tricky." Jiang Wen held his sword in front of him. He had seen groups of toads before, but never a whole nest swarming out like this.
It was just a cave, but they never expected to stumble into someone else's lair. With so many toads taking a bite, everyone here would probably be unable to escape. Truly, misfortune never comes singly; perhaps they didn't consult the oracle before coming out.
They jostled each other, crashing towards the torrential waterfall, but before they could get close, they were scattered by the immense force. Then they struggled to regroup and continued to rush towards the waterfall.
The suddenness of the strong wind surprised everyone, who marveled at the power of nature.
"When the time comes, we'll see who's truly capable." Hongluan shrugged. "As a disciple of the Wan Shi Sect, I can take it or leave it. If I lose, you can do whatever you want with the locust spirit."
"What are those things? How did we provoke them?" Jiang Wen asked, looking at Hongluan.
The survivors, catching their breath, watched the situation below. Black corpse puppets continuously gathered from afar at the foot of the mountain. Fortunately, they weren't clever enough to find a detour to climb the mountain, so staying on this waterfall was temporarily safe. The group looked at each other, unsure of what to say.
"That's right, this humble monk thinks the same as Miss Hongluan." The monk said with a smile, then looked at Jiang Wen and his companion.
But no matter how they flew, the rain continued, and the thick fog remained, with no end in sight.
After wandering around the residence, Yan Gongli told Jiang Wen that the Qian family's hidden treasure was under that tree. As for why they spent money to hire people to exorcise ghosts, it might not be to exorcise ghosts at all; they might even be raising them.
The Qian family truly lived up to its reputation as the wealthiest merchant in Qingfeng County, ranking among the top in the entire Yangzhou region.
"Clang!"
Jiang Wen snapped his fingers, creating a spark to dry his clothes, and looked at the corpse puppets below, saying, "These corpse puppets have a heavy aura of malice, probably unique to this Yin realm. There seem to be quite a few of them, so it's indeed not suitable to act alone. But we all want to find the locust spirit; what should we do if we find it?"
The rain poured down relentlessly, like a giant curtain sweeping across the sky and drenching the earth.
"If I'm not mistaken, someone is using the Qian family's fortune as a sacrifice to refine such a supreme Yang treasure."
"Let's go in quickly."
"There's a waterfall ahead; we can go up there." Passing through the forest, the roaring sound reached their ears from afar. Through the rain, they saw a waterfall several dozen feet high.
"These things don't seem like ordinary corpse puppets. When I cut them earlier, I didn't see them die," Hongluan recalled.
"They're very close and moving fast. They're coming this way, they'll be here soon, get ready!" Hongluan pressed her hand to the ground, and even in this torrential downpour, she could still distinguish some strange sounds. The chaotic footsteps rushed towards the house, like a pack of wild beasts fighting for food. "They're here!"
"Roar!"
"Cultivation is for longevity; that's what people want," Yan Gongli said with a smile. "I didn't expect you, little Taoist, to have a heart for eliminating demons and defending the Dao."
Upon hearing this, the group slowly retreated towards the cave entrance. Countless toads poured out from the depths of the cave, stacked upon each other like a mound of flesh, their bellies bulging as they stared at them.
They rejoiced and flew towards the waterfall.
"Excuse me for disturbing you. I think we might be in a bit of trouble," Yan Gongli whispered, leaning against Jiang Wen.
"There's such a treasure?" Jiang Wen asked in surprise.
"The weather is changing so quickly; it's about to rain. Be careful; this rain might be heavy," Yan Gongli said softly, sniffing the dampness in the air and embracing Jiang Wen's waist as she looked outside.
Hongluan suddenly pulled open the door, and the gale that had been seeping through the cracks instantly swept through the entire house. Dense rain accompanied the wind, beating against them and soaking the dry materials they had laid out inside.
A sudden gale howled from the ground. The trees in front of the house bent visibly, their crowns rustling in the wind, making one worry that they would break at the roots at any moment. Water droplets were whipped up by the wind, like exploding waves scattering across the sky and earth. The house swayed precariously in the wind, looking as if it would collapse at any moment.
"This is…" Jiang Wen was somewhat surprised.
Hongluan wiped the rain from her face and glared at the house behind her, saying grumpily, "How would I know? I just ran into this as soon as I came in; what bad luck. Let's find a place to take shelter first."
Even with countless corpse puppets watching covetously, it was still a hundred times better than being poisoned to death in this cave. These frogs weren't vegetarians; they had teeth and ate meat just as fiercely as fierce beasts.
"Then we'll deal with them one by one. No matter how many people do this, I still think it's wrong," Jiang Wen said with a cold snort.
Below the cave was a deep pool of water; even jumping down from dozens of feet high wouldn't cause any injuries.
Jiang Wen and the others looked into the dark cave. The dust beneath their feet trembled slightly, as if crushed by a huge creature, and fragments of gravel occasionally fell from the cave ceiling.
Those were such enormous eyes, like washbasins, placed in the darkness like two bright moons. Even Yan Gongli was somewhat astonished when it truly appeared before them.
An enormous Poison Soul Toad; the Poison Soul Toads that ordinary people considered huge were like candlelight compared to the scorching sun, appearing particularly small and cute.
