Chapter 712: Extra Chapter 2: Not Far from the Truth

Li Qingying uttered a low curse, circulated her qi; a flash of merit golden light at her fingertips made the black qi vanish without a trace.

Just now her finger was scorched by the yin sha qi.

How could such strong yin sha qi come from inside the small temple?

Investigate! I must get to the bottom of this! Previously I couldn't manage it, but now this place is under my jurisdiction; anyone practicing such evil arts within my jurisdiction, I'll dig three feet deep to uncover the mastermind!

Li Qingying went to summon the person in her hand.

Xiao Jiu broke off a finger-thick tree branch, gently lifted my father's spirit tablet, revealing another tablet behind it.

I leaned over and glanced at it, discovering that the tablet bore my grandfather's name.

After lifting my grandfather's tablet, what was revealed behind it was my great-grandfather's tablet.

The fourth row of tablets is already deep inside; inside it's filled with dark qi, making it impossible to see clearly.

But it's basically confirmed that the tablets enshrined in the small temple are all of our Fu family.

The arrangement follows from the youngest generation, one generation after another.

Xiao Jiu asked, "Wanwan, when you were alive, did this small temple exist here?"

I shook my head: "I'm sure not, because every Qingming and Ghost Festival I return to pay respects to my ancestors; this area was originally our village's burial ground, with my grandparents' and great-grandparents' graves to the east."

As I spoke, I pointed to the exact location.

Xiao Jiu stroked her chin, pondering: "In other words, this small temple was built after your death; the question is, who built it? Who is enshrining these tablets? What is the purpose?"

She thought for a moment and said, "Could it be... this is a ritual site for borrowing yin lifespan?"

The possibility is high.

Xiao Jiu immersed in her thoughts: "If all this is only targeting your family, why is the whole village deserted? Did the villagers later move away? Or were they implicated and the village wiped out? If they were implicated, what kind of existence is the mastermind?"

I listened, heart pounding.

Xiao Jiu suddenly lifted her head and blurted, "Wanwan, who exactly has your family offended?"

I answered blankly, "My parents are honest and kind, my grandparents passed away early, and I've never heard anyone in the village speak ill of them; I think the problem shouldn't lie with our few generations."

As I was speaking, my soul body swayed.

Xiao Jiu's face changed; she reached out to pull me, but her hand passed straight through my soul body, unable to touch me.

Since my ghost cultivation reached an advanced level, my soul body has become nearly as solid as a human body; as long as I don't deliberately dodge, they can touch me.

But now... in such a short time, I have actually regressed to this extent!

Xiao Jiu immediately took out the Soul-guiding Lamp and said, "Wanwan, go hide inside the Soul-guiding Lamp for a moment; Qingying and I will continue investigating, quickly."

"No, Xiao Jiu, I can't hide." I said resolutely, "Even if I'm scattered to ashes, I must uncover this matter myself."

Xiao Jiu lightly scolded, "Silly, letting you enter the Soul-guiding Lamp isn't sealing you; inside the lamp you can still see the outside situation and hear us speaking."

That... seems to be the reasoning.

I once stayed in the Soul-guiding Lamp for several months, so I can confirm Xiao Jiu is correct.

"Xiao Jiu, trouble you again."

Upon entering, I will inevitably absorb the merit within the Soul-guiding Lamp; the longer I stay, the greater the loss.

Xiao Jiu didn't care at all: "Merit can be earned back after use, but if you're scattered to ashes, there's truly nothing left; Wanwan, to get to the bottom of everything, first protect yourself."

I felt moved in my heart and flashed into the Soul-guiding Lamp.

The Soul-guiding Lamp now is petite and exquisite, yet brimming with merit power.

It is hidden in Xiao Jiu's sleeve; through the cuff, I can indeed see everything outside.

Just then Li Qingying approached and said, "I've uncovered some past events; if I'm not mistaken, this small temple was built by Wanwan's parents with their own hands. Soon after the temple was completed, the couple both died. The villagers thought the temple was evil and wanted to destroy it, but the temple remained unscathed. Then a plague swept through the entire village, not even the dogs survived."

Xiao Jiu frowned: "Plague? Are you sure it was a plague?"

"The information I found is like this, but what actually happened back then—perhaps even those villagers aren't clear about it." Li Qingying continued, "Later, several groups wanted to develop this land; as soon as construction began, strange things kept happening. Moreover, the land's location is indeed rather remote, so over time no one paid it any heed."

Xiao Jiu said, "When we first came into contact with the Jiǔyàn qū, it was much the same story; in short, this area is plagued by evil spirits, and to this day no one has been able to resolve it."

I listened to their conversation, my heart burning with anxiety.

In the next instant, I heard Xiao Jiu say, "Qingying sister, this is your jurisdiction; you have the authority to handle this small temple, right?"

Li Qingying immediately understood: "Of course!"

As she spoke, she had already drawn her Red Tassel Whip.

Only a bright whip crack was heard; the Red Tassel Whip sliced through the air and came down directly from above the small temple.

Instantly, a crack appeared on the roof of the small temple.

The yin wind rose suddenly.

Black qi poured out from that crack in a steady stream.

Even though I was inside the Soul-guiding Lamp, I still felt a powerful impact.

If I were still outside the lamp, I would certainly be implicated.

It wasn't from being whipped by Li Qingying's Red Tassel Whip, but from the impact on me caused by the tremor of the spell formation when the small temple was destroyed.

Of course, not just anyone swinging a whip could split the small temple.

If it were that easy, the villagers back then would have long since leveled the small temple to the ground.

Li Qingying is a flood dragon!

Having leapt over the Dragon Gate and ascended, she became a flood dragon!

She has returned bearing an appointment.

For ordinary objects, Li Qingying could probably shatter them with a single whip.

But the small temple merely managed to break open a crack.

Immediately after, whip sounds rose and fell.

Each whip strike on the small temple produced an impact not to be underestimated.

I followed along in the Soul-guiding Lamp, swaying back and forth; later I felt my mind was somewhat unclear.

I immediately sat cross-legged and circulated my qi.

"Enough."

Xiao Jiu finally spoke up to stop it.

Li Qingying immediately retracted her long whip.

At this moment, the roof of the small temple had already become fragments; amidst the swirling black qi, the countless spirit tablets enshrined on the offering table all appeared.

Xiao Jiu summoned the Soul-guiding Lamp, held it in hand, and approached the fourth row of spirit tablets.

I stared intently, yet I did not recognize the owners of the names written on the tablets.

My gaze swept over each tablet; besides my parents, grandparents, and great-grandfather, I did not know anyone else.

I told them about this.

Li Qingying said: "Xiao Jiu, take Wanwan back to Dang Pu first; I'll go to the Chenghuang Temple, from there I can surely find detailed information about these names—I feel we're not far from the truth."