Chapter 479: What a big joke

When Hu Yulin saw those corpses, his whole body trembled uncontrollably.

"They are the elders of the clan."

These elders were the last ones guarding Hu Sanmei.

None of them survived.

But the question is, given that the other side had absolute control of the situation at that time, how did the Grand Elder manage to escape?

According to reason, if they had the ability to save one person, that person would definitely be Hu Sanmei, not the Grand Elder.

Moreover, it is more subtle that the other side's secret, kept for many years, was completely leaked at the critical moment, and the Grand Elder, clinging to his last breath, told us everything without reservation.

This degree of control... is really just right.

At that time, our emotions were extremely tense, and the moment the Grand Elder appeared, he successfully drew all our tense emotions toward him.

We were naturally led by the nose.

Those involved are confused.

Hu Yulin was the most deeply implicated, and even now he still hasn't reacted.

I stepped over the corpses of several elders and walked toward the depths of this underground ancestral tomb.

As I walked, I lit the oil lamps on the earthen walls along the way.

After passing through the long burial corridor, I saw several coffins buried haphazardly, and moving forward, a strong burst of Yin Cold Qi hit me in the face.

In the deepest part reachable by the light, I saw a familiar small red-wood coffin.

I walked over confidently and confirmed again that it was indeed the kind of small coffin used to hold Cinnabar Spirit Bones.

Before I approached, its surface was still shrouded in a layer of blood mist; after I approached, the blood mist vanished.

Hu Yulin had also seen this kind of red-wood small coffin and knew what was inside.

He finally began to suspect: "Everyone, including the Formation Array, has disappeared—why was only the Cinnabar Spirit Bones left? Could such an important thing also be forgotten?"

"It wasn't forgotten; it was deliberately left for us."

I stepped over the red-wood small coffin and continued forward.

Up ahead it was too dark, there were no oil lamps on the earthen walls, a single breath seemed able to freeze into ice, and the matchstick instantly went out.

Hu Yulin instinctively grabbed me, fearing that something might leap out of the darkness to attack us.

"It's fine, there's nothing ahead." I remained utterly calm in my heart: "If I'm not mistaken, this chill should be the remnants of the Formation Array they left when they departed, and also the location where the Ten-Tailed Fox's Yin Pill was previously kept."

I summoned Feng Wu, drew the bowstring to full, and several flames shot out.

The flames quickly burned in the air ahead, swaying up and down, and soon the chill dissipated.

I relit the matchstick, walked forward, and soon reached the end of this side.

Not a trace was left behind.

Hu Yulin transformed into a white fox, darting throughout the ancestral tomb, and upon returning, he said wearily: "Xiao Jiu, it seems we have indeed been led by the nose all along."

Yeah, what a big joke.

Having discovered the Four Great Ferocious Beast Formation Array, we exerted all our strength to overcome it.

After a trip to Mount Song, we turned our attention to the situation of Buddhism in the Zàng Qū and the Nine Dragon Baptism.

Then we discovered the Cinnabar Spirit Bones……

We seemed to have won again and again, but we never imagined that our victories were actually… apparently permitted by the other side.

All of this that happened tonight is too obvious.

The Grand Elder who broke through the encirclement left behind a red-wood small coffin in the ancestral tomb…… I turned back, picked up the red-wood small coffin, and was startled by its weight.

Hu Yulin reached out to take the red-wood small coffin, exclaiming: "How can it be so heavy?"

But we tacitly agreed not to open the coffin lid.

Without the Soul-guiding Lamp, we cannot be sure whether opening the coffin lid would release blood mist and poisonous gas.

"Let's go back to Dang Pu first."

The Yin Mountain Fox Clan lies in desolation, with the wounded gathered in the Jiǔyàn qū; for now it is impossible to reorganize.

Hu Yulin lacks the energy, after all, Hu Sanmei's whereabouts are unknown.

Returning in Hu Yulin's car, I sat in the back seat, one hand propping my chin as I looked out the window, unusually quiet.

The red-wood small coffin was placed beside me.

Hu Yulin glanced at me several times in the rearview mirror, but I was immersed in my own thoughts, blocking out everything around me.

I can't quite recall, but when we first discovered the Cinnabar Spirit Bones, I and Liu Junyan had estimated how many pieces of Cinnabar Spirit Bones the Yin Dang Hang would demand from me.

But I understand that, regardless of the number, this red-wood small coffin obtained tonight contains them all.

It's not because we were lucky, but… the time has come.

For over a year, we have been like headless flies, analyzing and attacking each independent clue.

We also once gloated, whether the other side sought to become a god or a Buddha, or to achieve immortality, the several lines they had painstakingly laid over many years were all destroyed by us.

But looking at it now, becoming a god or a Buddha and achieving immortality may not be in conflict.

Even these two lines are themselves merely side branches.

Now, the time has come to merge these two side branches.

At the critical moment, Liu Junyan did not choose to forcibly rescue Hu Sanmei, but instead disappeared together with the other side's Formation Array; his choice was keen and correct.

It can also be said that this is, for us so far, the first genuine act of proactive breakthrough.

He was responsible for tracking, while I…… I leaned back in the chair, pressing hard on my brow with my hand.

Emptying the limited thoughts, stepping out of the original mindset to see, what am I in the other side's scheme?

Just a pawn.

Now is the time to use this pawn of mine, so he left the red-wood small coffin.

After I brought back the small redwood coffin, the Yin Dang Hang's assignment will be issued shortly.

On the fifteenth of next month, when I return the small redwood coffin to the Yin Dang Hang, this transaction should be completely finished.

After all the debts Feng Wu Jiu owed back then are repaid, what will greet me?

It's Nirvana!

Yes, no matter how many obstacles I encounter along the way, I will ultimately return to the Feng Clan, to Mount Cangwu to undergo Nirvana.

And after Nirvana?

What does the other party need to obtain from me?

Or rather, when I go back to undergo Nirvana, what will they do?

There are only twenty-odd days left.

Before I go back to undergo Nirvana, I must settle all my affairs.

Even if I don't come back then, the Dang Pu must not fall into disorder.

"Hu Dage, let's not return to the Dang Pu; let's go to Huicheng."

I gave the address of the ancient town where my senior sister's Funeral Shop is located.

I had promised my senior sister that I would help her go back and take a look.

Coincidentally, I also wanted to go check on a few things.

Hu Yulin asked nothing, set up the navigation, and drove me away at high speed.

Standing in front of that small Funeral Shop, I took several deep breaths, then opened the shop's door.

Inside, the place where that netherworld ferry had been kept was empty.

On the counter, that gold ingot was still there.

Beneath the gold ingot, however, something was pressing down.

I walked over, picked up the gold ingot and had a look; it was indeed that genuine gold ingot.

I set down the gold ingot, picked up the thing it was pressing on, and felt a chilling yin chill.

It was a commission death notice exuding heavy yin energy.

On the commission death notice's signature space was a seal bearing the name Yu Nian…