Zhao Yan didn't understand the meaning of this seat, but since she was offered one, she sat down.
As she sat and saw others staring intently at her, she thought perhaps the stool had bird droppings on it.
She stood up and glanced at the stool again. It was clean.
Wang Xianzhi stood behind Zhao Yan, feeling a surge of pride.
After the short old man administered the pill to Chi Mu, he returned to his seat, which was to the right and opposite Zhao Yan.
The fierce ghost wasn't killed by a single talisman, only losing seven or eight years of its Yin energy.
However, a grudge had been formed.
Zhao Yan didn't care. If Chi Mu hadn't unleashed the fierce ghost, she wouldn't have let Wang Xianzhi use the sixth talisman.
Her principle in life was: if others don't offend me, I won't offend them. If they offend me, then they should just wait for death.
Just watch me deal with you.
Wang Xianzhi dreamed of integrating into the Xuanmen.
Unfortunately, he was self-taught and his skills were unorthodox. He was never truly acknowledged by genuine Xuanmen practitioners. Now, by following Zhao Yan, his status was immediately recognized.
It was like a wild child finding its mother, finally getting registered and no longer being an undocumented resident.
He was so excited that his legs felt weak.
Wang Xianzhi lowered his head and spoke to Zhao Yan about the people present.
Apart from Old Master Long, the others were all Xuanmen masters who had been invited.
He didn't know their specific methods, only their names.
The short old man was named Han Lin, the abbot of Ling Shui Temple, who had many disciples.
Zhao Yan hummed softly. The old man had told her that some Xuanmen practitioners made a living by raising ghosts.
Ghost raisers could be good or evil.
Some ghost raisers captured fierce and malevolent ghosts to deal with other ferocious spirits.
Others used fierce and malevolent ghosts to commit all sorts of wicked deeds.
Old Master Long, sensing the awkward atmosphere, laughed heartily and clapped his hands. "I know everyone's time is precious, so I won't keep you any longer. I didn't have a specific reason for calling everyone here, but your presence is a testament to the respect you have for me."
"Now, I won't beat around the bush. If you follow me, you'll understand the reason for this gathering."
Old Master Long stood up and walked towards the backyard.
Everyone followed, and Zhao Yan went along.
Upon reaching the backyard, Old Master Long moved a vase. As soon as the vase was lifted, the wall in front parted to the left and right, revealing a doorway.
Beyond the door were descending steps, clearly leading to a basement.
The illumination on both sides wasn't from electric lights but from kerosene lamps.
As Old Master Long walked in, Zhao Yan followed.
Upon reaching the basement, the surrounding walls were adorned with candles.
In the center of the basement was a transparent glass coffin.
The basement exuded a deep, chilling aura, illuminated by the yellow candlelight.
Old Master Long sighed and walked towards the glass coffin.
Zhao Yan drew closer and realized that a woman was lying inside the glass coffin.
"Isn't that Old Master Long's young wife? He married her when he was over seventy, and it even made the news. After that, we never saw his young wife again. I didn't expect her to be in a coffin," Wang Xianzhi whispered from behind Zhao Yan.
Zhao Yan remained silent. As she approached the glass coffin, she saw that the woman inside had a bulging abdomen.
The more she looked, the more apparent it became that the woman was not alive but a corpse.
"Her stomach is moving," Wang Xianzhi exclaimed softly from behind Zhao Yan.
Zhao Yan turned and made a shushing gesture.
Old Master Long picked up a handkerchief and wiped his eyes, weeping, "My beloved wife was eight months pregnant when she had an accident and passed away. Her stomach would sometimes move. Doctors were called, and they said the child in her womb was already dead."
"Yin energy entering the body, mother and child both afflicted by malevolence," Zhao Yan murmured to herself, her gaze fixed on Old Master Long.
Looking at him wiping away his tears, Zhao Yan frowned.
If it were a normal death, it wouldn't result in such a dual affliction.
The corpse's neck appeared to have a male Adam's apple. Zhao Yan knew this was merely a blockage of resentment in her throat, causing it to bulge slightly.
Due to the influence of resentment, the fetus in the womb began to form a corpse-fiend.
The best course of action would be to cremate the body.
"Did Old Master Long invite us here to deal with this corpse? It's quite simple to handle, all it needs is cremation," said the short old man, Han Lin.
Old Master Long sighed. "I invited everyone here to ask for your help."
"I cherish this wife dearly. If we cremate her, both mother and child will not be able to reincarnate. I wish for everyone to help me find their souls, to first guide them to peace before cremating the body."
As he spoke, Old Master Long produced a diagram.
"This diagram is called the Yin-Yang Eight Array. It requires eight Xuanmen practitioners to form the array with their Yang energy. Then, my wife's corpse will be placed at the central position as the array's core, and their souls will be found."
Old Master Long handed the diagram over.
One by one, they examined the diagram.
When it was Zhao Yan's turn, she took it and studied it carefully.
As she looked, she let out a soft "tsk."
Was he trying to fool her because she didn't understand formations?
Regarding Yin-Yang formations, Zhao Yan wouldn't claim to understand all of them, but she was proficient in many.
This was clearly not a formation for finding souls.
It used the Yin Xuan Guan as the main array and the Yang Xuan Guan as the auxiliary, inverting the natural order of Yin and Yang.
The positions for the eight people were also incorrect; they were facing away from the corpse instead of towards it.
"This is a treasure-seeking formation that uses a corpse to find treasure," Zhao Yan thought to herself.
She had heard the old man talk about using a corpse to find treasure; it was an extremely wicked art. It would cause the female corpse to generate immense resentment, and then the Yang energy of eight Xuanmen practitioners would be used to activate it.
It claimed to use the female corpse as the array's core, but in reality, it intended to offer the Yang energy of the eight Xuanmen practitioners to the corpse.
Once the corpse absorbed the Yang energy, the fetus in its womb would form a Yin-fiend, and with the external Yang energy supply, it would be a balance of Yin and Yang.
A strong Yang energy would cause the female corpse to desperately seek heavenly treasures and spiritual resources to achieve a form of internal balance.
Heavenly treasures and spiritual resources were abundant, such as thousand-year-old ginseng and other potent elixirs.
Old Master Long was clearly a brute. His wife had not died of an accident as he claimed; more likely, she was murdered.
Furthermore, she had likely suffered inhumane torment before her death, otherwise, her resentment wouldn't be so profound.
This old scoundrel had also trapped the female corpse's resentment in her throat, preventing it from escaping, and causing the fetus in her womb to absorb the resentment and form a Yin-fiend.
Zhao Yan knew this formation was problematic but didn't reveal it immediately. Given what Old Master Long had said, it was clear he intended to deceive her and the other Xuanmen practitioners.
She had only just arrived, and she didn't know if there were others allied with Old Master Long here. Speaking out rashly could put her in danger.
This situation required a stealthy approach, like ghosts entering a village without a sound.