Lü Jing explained that Lü Jinsheng needed to select three locations with extremely heavy malevolent energy as the formation eyes for the Refining Sha Reincarnation Array.
These three locations were precisely the Shanghang Art School, Ping’an Building, and the Liu family ancestral home.
The Liu family ancestral home had been guarded by Liu Jingkang, a ghost king, for centuries. Ordinary people who spent a night there would fall seriously ill if they didn’t die. The heaviness of its Yin and malevolent energy was self-evident.
Since Liu Jingkang would not passively allow his ancestral home to become a formation eye, Lü Jinsheng directly joined forces with the Bai family to eliminate Liu Jingkang and his associates!
This was also why Yan Shouyi saw the Bai family’s cars heading up the mountain the day he descended.
However, to eliminate Liu Jingkang, the Lü Shan Sect and the Bai family would not send mere underlings.
So, who were the ones who took action?
If it wasn't Lü Jinsheng, could it have been Tong Jiuhua?
At this point, Yan Shouyi had developed a sixty percent trust in Lü Jing’s words.
A’Gong was still in the dark and asked, “What do you know?”
“I’ll explain these things to you later,” Yan Shouyi said. “What’s more important now is to deal with the enemies still lingering here.”
The current Liu family ancestral home was akin to a dragon’s den or a tiger’s lair. Before he knew the strength of the enemies still present, Yan Shouyi felt more pressure than when he dealt with A’Gong.
If the experts who killed Liu Jingkang hadn't left, today would surely be another tough battle.
Yan Shouyi hastily asked Liu Jiaren about the current situation of the Liu family ancestral home, but Liu Jiaren only shook her head. She had been hiding indoors and dared not go out these days, so she didn’t know what was happening outside.
It was only because she sensed the aura of Liu Yiren and Yan Shouyi that she had frantically called for Liu Yiren, hoping for help.
Not knowing the situation outside made Yan Shouyi frown. He had left San Yuan in the real world, otherwise, he could have asked San Yuan to scout around.
At this moment, A’Gong said, “I’ll go check the situation outside.”
“Do you have a way?” Yan Shouyi asked.
A’Gong took out a piece of white paper from his sleeve and folded it casually. The ordinary paper transformed into a lifelike spider in his hand.
He then gave the spider eyes, blew on it, and the paper spider instantly came to life. Its six legs moved together, and it quickly crawled towards Liu Yiren.
Liu Yiren was so startled that she almost screamed and kicked the spider far away. Yan Shouyi quickly stopped her, “If you had kicked a bit harder, you would have crushed this spider to death.”
A’Gong also said, “You couldn’t even get out of bed before, but now you have the strength to kick my spider…”
Liu Yiren blushed with embarrassment, “The spider you folded was too realistic; it was a reflex.”
However, Yan Shouyi noticed a detail: why were the Liu family members’ illnesses cured, yet Liu Yiren was still sick? And if she was as seriously ill as A’Gong said, why did she seem somewhat better after entering this Yin and Yang realm filled with Yin energy?
The schemes and conspiracies of the Lü Shan Sect and the Bai family were too numerous. Although Yan Shouyi had obtained a lot of clues, he still felt lost and couldn’t see the truth clearly.
A’Gong controlled the spider, which crawled out of the room through the door crack and disappeared into the grass.
Then, A’Gong sat down cross-legged and closed his eyes. Everyone else fell silent, and only A’Gong was muttering to himself:
“After leaving the courtyard, head towards the back hall… there are six small ghosts along the way, not strong… but they have a strange token hanging from their waists.”
Judging by A’Gong’s demeanor, he could see through the paper spider’s perspective.
Yan Shouyi asked, “What does the token look like? Is there anything special about it?”
A’Gong was silent for a moment, then replied, “It’s a black token with the character ‘Bai’ engraved on it. The back probably has some kind of talisman to enhance the strength of ghosts. Yan Shouyi, you were right; the Bai family is indeed involved in this.”
There were many talismans that could enhance the strength of ghosts, but Yan Shouyi’s first thought was the Lü Shan Sect’s Vine Armor Yin Soldier Incantation.
The Yin Soldier Incantation was a spell that summoned ancient Yin soldiers to merge with other ghosts. The merged ghosts had clear consciousness, greatly increased strength, and would also gain a defensively strong vine armor.
So, Yan Shouyi asked again, “Are they wearing vine armor?”
“That’s right,” A’Gong answered without hesitation.
Indeed, the Lü Shan Sect was also involved.
The two most powerful forces in Rongcheng had joined forces and directly eliminated the Liu family.
Previously, if the Li family had joined forces with the Liu family, the Lü Shan Sect and the Bai family might have had some reservations.
Now, perhaps no force in Rongcheng dared to oppose them.
“A’Gong, keep searching. See if you can find the bronze cauldron they used to refine ghosts,” Yan Shouyi reminded him.
Since the Lü Shan Sect and the Bai family were refining the Liu family’s souls in the bronze cauldron, this cauldron must also be a clue, and it might even be related to the Refining Sha Reincarnation Array.
If Yan Shouyi and the others could intercept this bronze cauldron, they might be able to directly disrupt their plan!
A’Gong frowned and searched for a while longer, finally finding something, “The bronze cauldron is still here, in the front courtyard where you fought with me!”
Upon hearing that the bronze cauldron was still there, Liu Jiaren became sad and distressed again. All her relatives were in that cauldron, including her beloved great-grandmother.
Yan Shouyi comforted Liu Jiaren for a while.
A’Gong said, “The bronze cauldron is guarded by twelve Vine Armor Yin Soldiers. Besides them, there are also two Faceless Ghosts whose appearances cannot be clearly seen. There are three patrols of Vine Armor Yin Soldier squads of two people each throughout the entire Liu family ancestral home!”
With guards and patrols, it was likely that the other side knew there were still survivors in the Liu family ancestral home.
What particularly caught Yan Shouyi’s attention were the Faceless Ghosts mentioned by A’Gong.
Faceless Ghosts were not created by the Lü Shan Sect but were an evil method passed down through the ages among the folk. This evil method was also recorded in the Lu Ban Book.
To refine a Faceless Ghost, one had to find people born on a Yin moon, Yin day, and Yin hour. During the ninth month when the ghost gate was wide open, their faces had to be peeled off, and they were then locked in a coffin to bleed to death. This way, the deceased ghosts would have extremely strong resentment and were considered very powerful among malevolent spirits. Afterward, their souls would be locked in the coffin, and someone would chant incantations for forty-nine days. Once successful, the Faceless Ghost would obey its master’s every command!
Compared to Vine Armor Yin Soldiers, Faceless Ghosts were much more powerful. Their strength was equivalent to the two red-eyed zombies raised by Zhong Qi, and they were even more troublesome than red-eyed zombies.
After all, zombies had a physical form, while Faceless Ghosts did not. Yan Shouyi, with all his strength, might not be effective against Faceless Ghosts.
“Is that all?” Yan Shouyi asked. “Are there any other people from the Bai family or the Lü Shan Sect?”
“Let me look again.”
A’Gong began to control the paper spider again.
The paper spider jumped onto one of the patrolling Vine Armor Yin Soldiers. This Yin Soldier had a long braid and was likely a descendant of the Bai family from the Qing Dynasty.
This Yin Soldier said to another Yin Soldier accompanying him:
“I wonder when we can return to the ancestral home. The feng shui of this Liu family ancestral home is far inferior to our Flying Phoenix Mountain. Staying here for too long will probably damage my cultivation!”
The other Yin Soldier said with a wry smile, “Yes, Liu Jingkang was also killed so easily because he stayed in such a place for too long. Otherwise, it wouldn’t have been so easy for us to succeed!”
“Hey, recently, your descendant, Bai Yusheng, is in the spotlight. Even you must be gaining some prestige from it, right?”
“Don’t mention it. Although Bai Yusheng is my descendant, this kid is a cold-blooded and heartless fellow. He doesn’t show any mercy to anyone useless to him!”
“However, Bai Yusheng seems to have gotten into trouble recently. It’s said to be a kid named Yan Shouyi, a descendant of Lu Ban. Bai Yusheng has fallen into his hands several times.”
“There is such a thing. The Old Ancestor also instructed us to try not to provoke Yan Shouyi. The title of Lu Ban’s descendant is quite formidable!”
“You think we’ll encounter Yan Shouyi while guarding this Liu family ancestral home?”
“Bah! Don’t be a jinx. If we really meet Yan Shouyi, the two of us won’t be enough for him to kill!”
“But those two Faceless Ghosts should be able to deal with Yan Shouyi…”
As the two Vine Armor Yin Soldiers chatted, they revealed a lot of information. A’Gong relayed their conversation entirely to Yan Shouyi.
After hearing this, Yan Shouyi realized that the Bai family had noticed him long ago, and they were also very wary of him.
The reason why Bai Yusheng didn’t bother Yan Shouyi later was likely because the Bai family’s Old Ancestor had given the order. Before completing the Refining Sha Reincarnation Array, they didn’t want to cause any more trouble. Provoking a Lu Ban descendant would definitely lead to a lot of complications.
Liu Yiren murmured, “So you’re that powerful?”
Yan Shouyi smiled, “What do you think, little niece?”
“Get lost!”
Liu Jiaren stopped the two who were bickering and asked, “The bronze cauldron is still here. What are you going to do?”
Yan Shouyi and A’Gong exchanged glances and said in unison, “Naturally, we have to get it back!”
Perhaps the Liu family could still be saved?
After all, they were refined in the cauldron, not directly annihilated.
Furthermore, taking away the bronze cauldron would undoubtedly disrupt the plans of the Lü Shan Sect and the Bai family.
Therefore, Yan Shouyi and A’Gong’s plan was very clear.
Liu Yiren worriedly asked, “With so many ghosts outside, can the two of you handle it?”
A’Gong sighed, “I can’t.”
Liu Jiaren’s heart tightened.
Yan Shouyi smiled the next second, “But with me and A’Gong, it’s more than enough to deal with these little ghosts!”
These two hadn’t seen Yan Shouyi and A’Gong fight. If they really went all out, destroying a portion of the Liu family ancestral home wouldn’t be a problem.
Only those two Faceless Ghosts were a bit difficult to deal with, but not unconquerable.
As they were talking, A’Gong’s expression suddenly changed, “Oh no, a Faceless Ghost has discovered my paper spider!”
In the front courtyard of the Liu family ancestral home, a Faceless Ghost blocked a Vine Armor Yin Soldier, making the Yin Soldier tremble with fear.
Then, the Faceless Ghost reached out and grabbed A’Gong’s paper spider from the Yin Soldier’s back.
“Someone has infiltrated the Yin and Yang realm,” the Faceless Ghost said coldly.
All the Vine Armor Yin Soldiers immediately became tense.
The Faceless Ghost easily crushed the paper spider into a ball of waste paper, then sniffed it before picking up a giant wolf-toothed club and heading towards Yan Shouyi’s room!
The other Vine Armor Yin Soldiers also quickly followed, with somewhat excited expressions.
This was because, according to their investigation, there was still a beautiful young woman named Liu Jiaren in the Liu family who hadn’t been caught.
Now that their superiors were not around, if they caught Liu Jiaren, they would definitely be able to enjoy themselves first. After torturing her until her soul was almost scattered, they would then throw her into the bronze cauldron to refine her!
At the thought of this, excitement appeared on the faces of the Yin soldiers.
“This is bad, they’ve found us!”
A’Gong was somewhat regretful. They originally had time to plan properly, but now the Faceless Ghost was heading straight for them, clearly knowing their hiding place.
“When soldiers come, block them; when water comes, cover it. Let them come, get ready to fight our way out!” A sharp glint flashed in Yan Shouyi’s eyes.
…
Outside the door, a Faceless Ghost led twelve Vine Armor Yin Soldiers and had already arrived in front of the room.
The Faceless Ghost kicked open the door. It was empty inside, but the Faceless Ghost knew that this was just a diversionary tactic!
It could smell the scent in this room!
There must be people hiding in this room!
However, strangely, the smells the Faceless Ghost detected were not consistent; it seemed like several smells were mixed together.
But the Faceless Ghost didn’t think too much about it.
Since they couldn’t see, they would smash the entire room. He didn’t believe Liu Jiaren wouldn’t come out!
Therefore, the Faceless Ghost raised its wolf-toothed club and began to wreak havoc on the furnishings inside the room.
The other Vine Armor Yin Soldiers even lit fires and threw them into the room, intending to force Liu Jiaren out!
One of the Vine Armor Yin Soldiers, not knowing its place, stood at the doorway and taunted, “Little beauty, hiding inside is also death. Why not come out? We brothers will have some fun with you and let you experience the joy of being a woman before your soul is scattered!”
The other Vine Armor Yin Soldiers also echoed with sharp, ear-piercing laughter.
However, before their laughter could subside, the mocking Vine Armor Yin Soldier suddenly let out a scream and flew backward, hitting several other Vine Armor Yin Soldiers along the way before stopping.
The Yin Soldier that landed clutched its chest in shock and pain. The other Yin Soldiers looked closely and saw that the vine armor on its chest had completely shattered!
Such powerful vine armor was supposedly impervious to blades and spears, but this time, for some unknown reason, it had shattered directly!
The token on the Yin Soldier’s waist also shattered along with the vine armor. The Vine Armor Yin Soldier, which had been somewhat imposing, instantly reverted to its original form, becoming a frail old ghost, looking like it could be blown away by a puff of breath!
“Who!”
“Who did it! Stand out!”
“You scoundrel, don’t hide in the dark and play dirty tricks!”
The other Vine Armor Yin Soldiers, both afraid and angry, could only shout loudly to bolster their courage.
The Faceless Ghost also became vigilant and retreated outside the house.
There were indeed others inside this house!
The house had been enchanted by Liu Jingkang, so ghosts couldn’t see what was inside. But at this moment, the oppressive aura from the house made these ghosts unable to breathe.
If they still needed to breathe.
The house was now engulfed in flames, and within these flames, two figures slowly appeared.
It was Yan Shouyi and A’Gong!