Ye Huohuo and Lu Yao looked at Zuo Qingya with some confusion, "There's something else in the coffin? What is it?"
"Based on the situation you just described, Lu Yao saw a pair of blood-red eyes. That vengeful spirit could still find you while sealed, which means it is indeed a blood-clothed vengeful spirit. Even for someone as powerful as Miaofeng, sealing such a spirit would require extraordinary means. Sealing its soul within her corpse, using the body as a container to restrain it.
Otherwise, ordinary containers and talismans would easily be broken by it, allowing it to escape the seal. Not only would it fail to provide Yin Sha energy to the green-line snake, but it could also backfire." Zuo Qingya explained.
"You mean, the coffin contains the corpse of the girl who turned into a blood-clothed vengeful spirit?" Lu Yao couldn't believe it, her eyes widening, making her look quite cute.
"I'm afraid it contains more than just one girl's corpse," Zuo Qingya added.
"Uncle-Master, do you mean that the corpses of the previously missing girls are all in there?" Ye Huohuo's mouth widened unconsciously, almost large enough to fit an egg.
Although the coffin was quite large, it was astonishing to think it could hold several corpses. The corpses would have to spill out of the coffin, and she and Lu Yao had just stood on the lid and looked down. If there were so many corpses, how could they not have seen anything? What made it even more unbelievable was that if there were indeed several corpses in that coffin, as Zuo Qingya said, wouldn't the coffin be even heavier, making it even more impossible for Miaofeng to teleport it away.
This completely subverted Ye Huohuo and Lu Yao's understanding.
"Uncle-Master, how is that possible? How could you think the coffin contains several corpses?" Lu Yao asked.
"Don't you remember that our Maoshan sect has the art of observing qi? Although I haven't achieved great mastery, I can still observe ordinary qi. Although I haven't been here long, I've noticed this coffin. Just now, I noticed that extremely strong Yin energy was spreading outwards from inside the coffin, just as you said, it's the Yin Sha energy of a vengeful spirit. What's special is that it's not the Yin energy of just one vengeful spirit; it's the condensed Yin energy of at least three vengeful spirits, or even more, as I didn't have time to look closely in the hurry.
If Miaofeng's method of sealing vengeful spirits' souls is truly as I suspected, sealing them within corpses, then the coffin must contain at least three corpses, possibly more," Zuo Qingya explained in detail and with patience.
"How is that possible? If there are three or more corpses, not to mention whether the coffin can hold them, preservation alone would be difficult. As Uncle-Master just said, this detention center has one suicide every two months. If all those corpses are in there, the oldest corpse in this coffin would be from half a year ago.
Wouldn't it have rotted long ago? How could we not smell the odor of decay?" Ye Huohuo pressed.
"No, didn't you notice how unusually cold it was here when that coffin was present? When Yin Sha energy reaches a certain level, it can substantially lower the surrounding temperature, even below freezing point, to nourish corpses for a long time. Let alone half a year; many corpse-nurturing grounds can cultivate corpses that remain uncorrupted for a thousand years. This method is used." Zuo Qingya explained slowly.
However, as he spoke, his eyes kept scanning the surroundings.
"I knew it, why was it so cold here? I initially thought it was because we were affected by the Yin energy, but it turns out it was real?" Lu Yao said with disbelief.
"So, there really are three or four corpses in the coffin? That would fill it up. But Lu Yao and I just jumped on the lid and looked inside. It was dark and looked empty, as if there was nothing there," Ye Huohuo said. Although she trusted Zuo Qingya, she trusted her own eyes more and couldn't believe the coffin was full of corpses.
"Did your master never tell you about the Void Art, a technique in the Xuanmen?" Zuo Qingya's expression turned serious, and the imposing aura of a strict teacher emerged.
Lu Yao flinched. Although she had seen Zuo Qingya from afar at the Maoshan sect before, she had never seen him so serious. He looked quite intimidating. She glanced at Ye Huohuo from the corner of her eye and saw her staring directly at Zuo Qingya, her eyes filled with curiosity, not fear.
"Void Art? Master never mentioned it. Which sect is it from?" Ye Huohuo's master taught his disciples everything he knew. When Ye Huohuo was young, he told her stories about the secret techniques of various sects. That's why she knew about the teleportation technique Miaofeng used earlier, but she had never heard of this Void Art from her master.
Seeing that Ye Huohuo's attitude clearly indicated she had never heard of it, Zuo Qingya's expression softened slightly. "It seems your master disdains this technique, and indeed, no one has used it for nearly a hundred years. I also thought it was lost."
"Void Art? I did hear my master mention it," Lu Yao mumbled from the side.
"What is it?" Hearing Lu Yao say that, Ye Huohuo became even more curious. Since her master knew about it, why didn't he tell her, but Lu Yao's master told her? What was going on?
Zuo Qingya sighed softly, "It seems Senior Xuanjizi protected you very well, not even telling you about techniques like the Void Art. Your master did not do as well as Senior Xuanjizi in this regard."
He said this to Lu Yao, "Otherwise, you wouldn't have stolen forbidden books and betrayed your sect."
Lu Yao did not expect Zuo Qingya to bring up old grievances at this time. Her face flushed and paled, and she opened her lips as if she wanted to say something but hesitated.
Zuo Qingya didn't dwell on Lu Yao's matter, only sighing meaningfully, "Alright, since Senior Xuanjizi didn't tell you, I'll briefly explain the Void Art to you. It is one of the forbidden arts that has been sealed by the Xuanmen for a long time. Its function is to expand a very small space. Simply put, it can expand a space as large as the coffin to the size of this room, or even larger.
So she could completely put many things in a space as small as a coffin, a few corpses would be nothing."
"That's amazing! Then why did it become a forbidden art? This is like the divine storage bags used by immortals in legends; a small bag can hold treasures filling a room. It's a traveler's blessing!" Ye Huohuo was fascinated by Zuo Qingya's description of the Void Art and longed to learn it herself, so she wouldn't have to carry a large bag every time she went ghost or demon hunting and couldn't carry much.
If she knew the Void Art, she could carry all her magical instruments, treasures, and talismans in a wallet-sized bag. How awesome would that be!
"Dream on! If it were as good as the legendary divine storage bags, it wouldn't have become a forbidden art. That's because the things needed to achieve this function go against the will of heaven," Lu Yao said, rolling her eyes at Ye Huohuo.
"What is needed? Going against the will of heaven, is it very serious?" Ye Huohuo naturally knew that anything classified as forbidden art must have some drawbacks for cultivation. However, if it wasn't too serious, she would still want to learn it. But seeing the expressions of Lu Yao and Zuo Qingya, and remembering that her master hadn't even mentioned this technique, this going against the will of heaven must be very serious.
Xuanjizi understood Ye Huohuo's nature very well; she was full of curiosity about strange and unusual things and always liked to get to the bottom of things. By not telling her, he obviously didn't want her to start meddling and causing trouble. Therefore, it was safer to not let her know.
But by chance, Ye Huohuo learned about the Void Art this time, and her curiosity was indeed piqued. It was like the most gluttonous person encountering the most delicious food; her eyes were shining, radiating a kind of eager light.
Looking at Ye Huohuo's shining eyes, Zuo Qingya felt a pang of regret, wondering if he had done something foolish by mentioning the Void Art. But since the words were already spoken, and seeing Ye Huohuo's determined look, he clearly wouldn't give up without a clear explanation.
"Fine, I warn you, whatever is used to cultivate the Void Art, you are not allowed to have any ideas about it, nor are you allowed to practice it on your own. And you too!" The latter part was directed at Lu Yao, who after all had a past record and was no longer considered a disciple of the Maoshan sect.
However, Zuo Qingya's attitude clearly indicated that he still treated her as his junior disciple and was disciplining her.
Lu Yao hadn't been treated as one of their own by her fellow disciples for a long time. Her heart suddenly felt warm, and her eyes reddened. She quickly lowered her head, forcing back the tears that were about to fall.
Ye Huohuo's attention was now entirely on the Void Art, "What exactly is used?"