There are only about thirty elderly people, a few women and a few children in the village. The able-bodied men have all gone out to work, some with their families. Very few villagers remain in the mountain village, and most of the houses are empty.
In Xu Zifan's eyes, the entire village was gloomy, with a deathly aura that seemed to swallow the village whole. The deathly aura was heaviest in the northwest. He tugged at Chen's father and asked softly, "What place is that over there?"
Mr. Chen looked over in confusion. "That's over there. That's the village's ancestral hall. It used to be a cemetery."
Is the ancestral hall under anyone's care?
"Yes, my third uncle is in charge. He lives over there and rarely interacts with people. I heard that when he was young, he went to work outside and had a bad experience. After he came back, he didn't talk much. Because he was bold, he got this job. Later, he was the oldest in the village, so he has been in charge ever since."
In this village, everyone consults him on any important matters. Oh, and Uncle San also oversees the funeral arrangements. Nannan will be troubling him again this time. I'll go ask him what needs to be prepared later."
They walked further into the village when Chen Yuling suddenly jumped out of the urn, hid behind Xu Zifan, and trembled, saying, "It's so scary, this place is too scary. I feel like there's something very powerful here."
The black cat bristled and screeched, its body arched as it stared intently at the northwest, as if it had encountered an enemy.
Xu Zifan pressed his temples and frowned, saying, "Stop arguing."
Mr. and Mrs. Chen were taken aback. Xu Zifan waved his hand and said, "I'm not talking about you. Something's not right in this village. Don't tell anyone my real identity. Just say that Xin Xin and I are Chen Yuling's good friends. Remember to take good care of Chen Yuling's urn and don't lose it."
Jiang Tianxin quickly said, "If you trust me, may I keep it safe for you?"
Before they could speak, Xu Zifan interrupted, "Xin Xin, you have too much yang energy. If the urn is kept by you, Chen Yuling won't be able to go back. But you can spend more time with Mrs. Chen, so that any unclean things won't dare to approach her."
"Oh, okay, Master." Jiang Tianxin felt a little frustrated. It seemed that since becoming a junior disciple of the Xuanmen sect after being a policewoman, she hadn't accomplished anything. Perhaps she hadn't been diligent enough in her cultivation? She definitely needed to intensify her training when she got back.
After walking for a while, they encountered an old man with white hair and a white beard. Chen Yuling and Black Cat immediately tensed up, but Chen's father, oblivious to everything, quickly stepped forward to greet him, "Third Uncle, how are you? I'm Xiaodouzi from the Chen family."
Third Uncle squinted at them, his gaze lingering on Xu Zifan's shoulder and behind him for a moment before staring at Xu Zifan and Jiang Tianxin for a long time before asking, "Who are these two?"
Remembering Xu Zifan's instructions, Chen's father said nervously, "Third Uncle, they are my daughter's good friends. I don't bring strangers here casually. This time... my daughter died in a car accident, and I brought her back for her burial. They came to help send her off. Third Uncle, I promise I will leave after burying my daughter and will not disturb the peace of the village."
Uncle San looked at him suspiciously, "Both of them are your daughter's friends?"
Xu Zifan sensed his suspicion and took Jiang Tianxin's hand politely, saying, "Hello, sir. My girlfriend is Yu Ling's best friend. I came with her. I hope we won't be too much of a bother."
Jiang Tianxin said with a hint of sadness, "Yu Ling left us so suddenly. I wanted to come and see her off. Is that alright? We'll leave right after her burial and won't bother you any further."
Third Uncle nodded, which made no sense. He glanced behind Xu Zifan and said in a deep voice, "Alright, three days from now is an auspicious day. We'll bury them on that day. Xiao Douzi, settle them in first."
"Yes, thank you for your trouble, Third Uncle." Father Chen bowed slightly, and Third Uncle walked away slowly with his hands behind his back.
Mr. and Mrs. Chen had not returned to the village for several years, so they had to ask the old village chief for help and rented rooms from his two sons. They were both working away from home, and the rooms were empty and very clean.
After hearing about Chen Yuling's situation from Chen's father, the old village chief sighed and urged him to have another son as soon as possible. Xu Zifan, who was standing nearby, asked a couple of questions and found that the old village chief had not noticed anything unusual in the village. He then excused himself and went back to his room to rest.
Jiang Tianxin shared a room with him. After closing the door, she asked in a low voice, "Is there something wrong with Master's third uncle? I got goosebumps when he got close just now."
Xu Zifan frowned. "I suspect he can sense the locations of Chen Yuling and the black cat's souls, and he can also see that you and I have special destinies. The biggest problem in the village lies with him. Given the concentration of death energy in this village, if we don't deal with it, there could be unimaginable consequences. We must find out the truth."
To avoid arousing his suspicion, we'll pretend to be a couple for the next couple of days. Don't give yourself away.
Jiang Tianxin was very confident about this. "Master, don't worry. I've been an undercover agent, I won't be exposed. So, Master, when shall we go investigate?"
"Let's go tonight after everyone else is asleep."
"Okay, Master, may I begin cultivating?"
Xu Zifan was taken aback, not expecting his little disciple to still be thinking about cultivation at this time. He said speechlessly, "You used to like martial arts, now you like magic. If you find out in the future that someone is more powerful than me, you won't betray your sect and run away with someone else, will you?"
Jiang Tianxin immediately declared his loyalty with a firm expression, "No, a teacher for a day is a father for life, I definitely won't run away!"
Xu Zifan looked at her silently, "Xin Xin, I'm only a year older than you."
Jiang Tianxin hadn't expected him to care about this, but looking at his young and handsome appearance, she couldn't bring herself to call him "father."
He finished speaking and assured them, "I consider my master one of my own. You know I would never betray my own people. I swear."
Xu Zifan laughed and said, "I was just kidding. Alright, go ahead and cultivate. No one can see through the techniques of our Qingfeng Temple. If you cultivate next to him, he will think you are just putting on an act. Otherwise, he would have seen through our cultivation levels just now."
Jiang Tianxin was pleasantly surprised. "So the cultivation technique my master taught me is so powerful! I will definitely work hard to cultivate it!" With that, she ran to the corner of the wall and sat cross-legged to cultivate.
Xu Zifan looked at her for a while, thinking of the scene he had seen when he held her hand earlier.
He saw Jiang Tianxin in a cave, her whole body tied to a wooden pillar, surrounded by dozens or even hundreds of evil spirits that swarmed up and overwhelmed her.
He didn't see what happened next, nor did he know if Jiang Tianxin fought back or escaped. He was the one who brought her here, and he would never let her get hurt.
Xu Zifan composed himself and had Shao Hua scan the area within a 500-meter radius. The village was sparsely populated; aside from his third uncle, everyone lived near the old village chief's house, so the 500-meter radius encompassed everyone.
Through Shao Hua's physical monitoring, Xu Zifan confirmed that these people were all tainted by death energy and had some health problems, especially the elderly who had lived in the village for decades. Their internal organs were failing and they probably wouldn't last more than a year before they died.
But none of them noticed anything was wrong, and they all went about their lives normally. Only a few young people were not happy about staying in the village and were somewhat impatient with everything they did.
After learning the general situation, Xu Zifan lay on the bed with his eyes closed, browsing through the virtual library to find similar cases and to see if there were any suitable magical artifacts for Jiang Tianxin.
Time flew by, and in the dead of night, everyone in the village was asleep.
Xu Zifan drew two concealment talismans and affixed them to himself and Jiang Tianxin, quietly reminding them, "These talismans can only conceal our aura so that people, animals, or anything else can't detect us, but if someone sees us face to face, they can still find us, so be careful."
"It's like she's stopped breathing? I understand!" Jiang Tianxin said, indicating that she was ready. It was her first time "investigating a case" as a member of the Xuanmen sect, and she felt inexplicably excited.
The two people, the ghost, and the cat quietly left the courtyard, circled around to the empty house, and ran towards the northwest cemetery. This village required everyone to be buried in the cemetery after death, and the atmosphere was so deathly; there must be something fishy about it.
Chen Yuling lived in the village until she was twelve years old before leaving, so she knew the village roads very well. In no time, she led them to their destination without disturbing her third uncle.
The graveyard was eerie at night, but fortunately, Xu Zifan now had cultivation to protect him, so he didn't feel cold like he did when he first transmigrated.
Jiang Tianxin wasn't afraid of these things, and her yang energy was abundant, so she naturally felt nothing. Her mind was full of trying to solve the mystery of this place. The two of them wandered through the graveyard without feeling any sense of terror.
Chen Yuling and Black Cat, on the other hand, felt comfortable in the cemetery, but also had a sense of fear, unable to say whether they wanted to leave or stay.
Xu Zifan walked around the graveyard, looking at the surrounding mountains, rivers, and trees, and frowned. "This is a formation. Xin Xin, can you figure out what kind of formation it is?"
Jiang Tianxin carefully looked around again by the moonlight and exclaimed, "It's a Yin Gathering Formation! The Yin energy at the center of the Yin Gathering Formation is extremely strong, and it will absorb Yin energy from the outside world year after year. Being in the center can nurture fierce ghosts, zombies, demons, and evil weapons. No matter what it nurtures, it will be a great disaster."
"That's right, it's the Yin Gathering Formation, and it's been around for a very long time. This whole cemetery is located within the formation, and the grave in front is the center of the formation." Xu Zifan pointed it out to them and walked over first.
Chen Yuling and the black cat didn't dare to go near the grave before they even reached it. It was there that they felt terrified, a kind of chilling sensation that made their hair stand on end.
Chen Yuling gazed at the tombstone and suddenly exclaimed, "It's my eldest cousin's grave! One year when he returned to the village, he slipped and fell down a hillside, hitting his head. He died because he didn't receive timely medical attention. Our family even came back to attend his funeral that year."
Her voice trembled slightly, and she seemed very frightened. "Master, what does it mean that my eldest cousin is in the center position? What will happen to him? Has he been reincarnated? Why does it feel so scary?"
Xu Zifan calculated for a moment, then shook his head regretfully, "He didn't reincarnate, and his soul's condition probably isn't very good either. Was he buried ten years ago?"
"Yes, yes, Master, you must save him! He's such a good person. When he earns money outside, he buys lots of things for the elderly in the village. The last time he went back to the village, he brought down jackets for the elderly, one for each of them. They were all good brands, and he bought them all himself. Everyone in the village praises him." Chen Yuling couldn't help but cry.
Jiang Tianxin looked around and asked, "Master, did you see any ghosts? Could you find a few to ask?"
Xu Zifan's expression was solemn. He stood up and looked at the empty cemetery. "There are no ghosts here. It's impossible for a normal cemetery to be without ghosts, especially since there's a Yin-gathering array here, which is the most comfortable place for ghosts. Even if they're afraid, they'll stay. Unless, someone has captured them!"
[Shaohua: Host, that Third Uncle has gone out. We suspect his destination is in the direction of the old village chief's house. Is he going to cause you trouble? Should we go back now?]
Xu Zifan immediately smiled, grabbed Jiang Tianxin's wrist, and in an instant, they arrived at the entrance of the ancestral hall.
[Such a good opportunity is definitely to destroy his stronghold; it's far more useful than playing along with him. Shaohua, mark the locations of all the treasures in his house.]
[Shaohua: Marked. There's a trap. Host, be careful.]
[Got I'm.]
The ancestral hall has a protective barrier.
Xu Zifan's current cultivation level wasn't high enough to break the barrier easily, but he had plenty of treasures in his space. He took out a bronze knife and slashed it fiercely at the barrier, which then shattered like a bubble, without making a sound or any disturbance.
A chilling aura enveloped them, as if the house were a haunted cave, yet there wasn't a single ghost inside. Xu Zifan quickly led the way, watching the virtual screen, and entered the old man's room. There, on the altar, was a portrait of a zombie drought demon!