He Yan’s eyes narrowed slightly, his gaze sharp and piercing, his right hand gripping a black blade threaded with gold wire.
Above the blade, visible scorching white mist swirled and rose in waves.
Such searing heat distorted the surrounding air, burning it until it warped and twisted.
The originally chilling, gloomy aura that filled the hall was instantly reduced by more than half under the impact of this rolling heat wave.
“Just as I predicted.”
He Yan’s gaze was fixed intently on the darkness gradually condensing within the mansion, his brow furrowing slightly: “Calamity-level eerie yin energy!”
No sooner had his words fallen than the temperature within the mansion plummeted to freezing point.
In an instant, a bone-chilling coldness rushed forward, rapidly penetrating through He Yan’s flesh and blood, reaching deep into his marrow.
In the blink of an eye, within the hall, visible white ice crystals began to condense out of the air one after another.
These ice crystals glimmered with a cold, sinister light in the dim hall.
And those countless blurry, eerie black shadows slowly converged together from all directions.
Amidst the churning black mist, they gradually condensed into the form of a hunched old man.
The old man was thin and gaunt, his face withered, his eyes deeply sunken, his skin as pale as paper—like a thousand-year-old corpse that had crawled out of its grave.
He wore a tattered long robe, the hem of which moved without wind, emitting a suffocating, chilling aura.
If Yan Chengping were not already dead, he would certainly have recognized this terrifying old man.
He was none other than the already-slain head of the Feng family, Feng Jin!
The hunched old man slowly raised his head, his hollow eyes staring directly at He Yan, the corners of his mouth curling into a strange smile.
This extremely bizarre gaze made He Yan feel utterly creeped out.
Without a moment’s hesitation, He Yan’s eyes suddenly widened, and the gold-threaded black blade in his hand trembled slightly.
The scorching white mist above the blade grew even more intense, as if it were about to ignite the surrounding air.
The next moment, He Yan’s aura burst forth without reservation.
The pressure of a martial artist at the Great Accomplishment of the Inner Qi realm swept out, like a scorching torrent, pressing directly toward that eerie old man, using it to resist the opponent’s terrifying yin energy.
After doing all this, He Yan had no intention of pausing—he chose to strike first!
Immediately after, He Yan swung the blade in his hand fiercely, charging toward the horrifying old man ahead.
The blade light was like a rainbow, scorching as fire, the blazing blade pressing directly toward the eerie old man’s body.
However, just as He Yan swooped in, the eerie old man’s body suddenly trembled.
Countless blurry, eerie black shadows surged wildly from within his body, pouncing toward He Yan.
Those black shadows twisted and deformed, like ferocious faces, carrying endless resentment and killing intent, lunging straight at He Yan.
As if they wanted to devour He Yan completely!
“Hmph!”
He Yan snorted coldly, the blade in his hand suddenly quivering, and the scorching white mist on the blade burst forth in an instant.
Extremely fierce inner qi transformed into a blazing blade light, pressing directly toward those eerie black shadows.
“Boom!”
After the blade light and black shadows collided in midair, a deafening roar erupted.
Those black shadows were torn apart by the blade light, emitting shrill screams, as if they had been ignited by roaring flames.
Subsequently, in less than a dozen breaths, most of the bizarre black shadows were burned into plumes of white smoke, completely dissipating into the air.
However, the number of eerie black shadows truly exceeded imagination—dense and packed, as though there was no end to them.
Even though the blade light He Yan’s blade swung out could easily annihilate these yin energies.
It was still difficult to destroy them all in the blink of an eye.
After He Yan’s blade qi slash fell, although it could burn away most of the eerie black shadows, in an instant new eerie black shadows would fill in again.
At the same time, more mysterious black shadows, as if gushing from an endless abyss, poured ceaselessly from within the eerie old man’s body.
The eerie black shadows were like a surging, inexhaustible tide, pouring overwhelmingly toward He Yan, attempting to completely submerge him.
Seeing this scene, there was not the slightest trace of fear or retreat in He Yan’s eyes—instead, the aura around him grew even more powerful.
He turned his wrist, and the blade edge flowed as freely as a nimble swimming dragon.
In an instant, dozens of scorching blade qi carrying rolling heat waves howled out from the blade.
“Boom! Boom! Boom!”
Blazing blade light, sharp sword gleams, and bone-chilling eerie black shadows ceaselessly collided fiercely together.
The hall erupted with deafening roars, as if it wanted to completely shatter this already dilapidated house.
The air throughout the hall emitted sharp, piercing whistles.
The walls, already covered in scorch marks, under the impact of this violent energy, continuously peeled off, rustling down.
The scorched black stone slabs on the ground finally could no longer bear the burden, shattered by the shock, turning into countless tiny stone fragments that splattered everywhere in the wild wind.
He Yan stood not far from the eerie old man, his gaze cold and profound.
The gold-threaded black blade in his hand trembled slightly, the scorching white mist on the blade growing ever more intense.
The next second, He Yan’s gaze suddenly focused—he seemed to have already caught a hint of a flaw in the eerie old man.
His figure suddenly flashed, like an invisible ghost, instantly appearing behind the eerie old man.
He Yan looked on indifferently, the muscles of his right arm instantly tensing, veins bulging.
The gold-wire-wrapped black blade in his hand was swiftly raised, carrying the force of a thousand catties, violently slashing down with the momentum of a thunderbolt.
For a moment, blade light flickered, afterimages layered heavily, carrying an indomitable momentum, cleaving forcefully straight down toward the eerie old man’s crown.
“Crack!”
The blade edge sliced through the air at extreme speed, emitting a piercing tearing sound.
The scorching white mist on the blade shot skyward, the air temperature soaring to its highest point.
Even the hunched, withered body of the eerie old man ahead was scorched and warped by this blazing force.
A cold light flashed in He Yan’s eyes, and with a low shout, his arm raised high.
The blade in his hand, carrying surging inner qi, violently chopped down in midair.
The blade rose and fell, the movement completed in one fluid motion, the blade edge slicing through the void, emitting a sharp whistle.
As a martial artist at the Great Accomplishment of Inner Qi, He Yan’s full-powered strike was terrifying in its might.
The eerie old man had no time to put up any resistance whatsoever—his hunched, withered body was instantly split in two by this fierce blade light.
The next moment, in the center of the eerie old man’s severed body, thick, ink-like black mist began to churn and twist violently.
It was as if an invisible force was trying to piece it back together, to condense it once more.
This black mist was like a living thing, constantly writhing and struggling, attempting to restore itself to the eerie old man’s original form.
Just then, a series of “sizzling” sounds suddenly rang out, and wisps of scorching white smoke curled up from the cut edges.
It was the scorching inner qi that He Yan had infused into the blade that was taking effect.
Extremely hot inner qi was relentlessly burning the churning yin energy.
Under the roasting of this terrifying high temperature, the yin energy on the eerie old man’s body continuously dissipated and drained away, utterly unable to fully restore to its original form.
Finally, the eerie old man could only struggle in agony within the scorching white mist, emitting “sizzling” wails.
Immediately after, a tearing roar that only He Yan could hear rang out.
That sound was shrill and agonizing, like a wail from the depths of hell, carrying endless resentment and unwillingness.
“Kill!”
“Kill!”
“Kill!”
Mechanical voices devoid of any human emotion echoed continuously in He Yan’s ears, carrying endless killing intent.
He Yan’s gaze was cold and profound, the blade in his hand suddenly quivering, the scorching white mist on the blade growing ever more intense.
“Dust to dust, earth to earth!”
Before his words finished, the blade in He Yan’s hand had already swung out again, the blade light aimed directly at the eerie old man split in two.
Although the old man’s body had already been cleaved apart, it still emitted an unsettling, chilling aura.
It seemed to still be struggling, refusing to completely dissipate between heaven and earth.
The blade edge sliced through the air, stirring up a blast of scorching heat.
The old man’s hunched, withered body, within He Yan’s blade light, began to gradually crumble, then turned into specks of ash, drifting away into the air with the gentle breeze.
He Yan stood in place, the blade in his hand still emitting a high-temperature aura.
The surroundings within the hall finally returned to silence.
Only the steaming white smoke slowly dissipated in the air, as if nothing had ever happened.
He Yan slowly sheathed his blade, the scorching white mist on the blade gradually dissipating, and the surrounding chilling aura completely vanished along with it.
His gaze was cold and stern as he scanned the surroundings, until he confirmed there was no longer any trace of yin energy.
Only then did He Yan turn to look at Su An, Liang Cheng, and Lu Yunqing outside the door.
“Su An, you three go to the county office tomorrow. After handling the Feng family massacre case, return to the prefectural city!”
“Yes!”
Liang Cheng and Lu Yunqing responded almost in unison, excitement shining in their eyes. They agreed extremely quickly, afraid that He Yan might go back on his word.
For the past half month, they had been cooped up in the prefectural city, spending every day either cultivating techniques.
Or sparring in martial arts—life was monotonous and dull, their nerves stretched nearly to the limit.
Now, following Brother Su An out on a mission was, for Liang Cheng, an unexpected delight.
Perfect—after dealing with that Fu Songde, he could go with Cousin Yunqing and Brother Su An to find a fun place to relax.
Liang Cheng thought this way, but did not notice at all that He Yan had already seen through their thoughts.
However, He Yan did not say much—he turned and left.
Watching He Yan’s receding figure, Liang Cheng could not resist lowering his voice to Lu Yunqing: “Cousin Yunqing, the two of us can finally breathe easy.”
“This past half month has really been exhausting.”
Su An stood quietly to the side, his expression calm and unruffled, but deep within his gaze, a hint of contemplation was faintly revealed.
He slightly tilted his head, glancing at the beaming Liang Cheng and Lu Yunqing, and spoke in a flat tone: “You two, do not let your guard down too much.”
Then, Su An paused slightly, and with a solemn mood continued: “These days, the world has become increasingly unpredictable.”
“Those ghostly things originating from heaven and earth have been emerging one after another recently.”
“But if it were only these ghostly things, that would be one matter.”
“Yet now, even the resentful souls of humans who died with grievances and full of resentment—their numbers are growing by the day.”
Having said this, Su An let out a soft sigh, that sigh filled with helplessness and worry.
The most critical and deadly thing was that those ghostly things that reappeared in the human world carrying monstrous resentment had extremely terrifying yin energy.
Those ghostly things transformed from humans had, at minimum, yin energy at the Fierce level.
That is to say, whenever this ghostly thing appeared, several Profound Bird Guards at the Blood Refining realm would need to act simultaneously to ensure nothing went wrong!
However, what slightly reassured Su An was.
The headquarters of the Celestial Capital Profound Bird Guards was also planning to dispatch more Profound Bird Guards at the Inner Qi realm to support the prefectural cities in various regions.
At the same time, the martial arts resources each prefectural city’s Profound Bird Guard could obtain had also increased by more than several times.
This major change was said to be the intention of that Empress in the imperial palace.
“Alas!”
“I truly wonder when these harmful ghostly creatures will finally be completely purged, restoring peace to the human world.”
Finally, Su An let out a powerless sigh—he too felt deeply lost about the future.
Su An secretly pondered in his heart: if anyone could fundamentally resolve this chaos of ghostly creatures, it would be none other than that person.
At this moment, in Su An’s mind, that person’s face clearly surfaced.
Lu Xuan!
Director Lu!
This man who looked down upon the world, who could remain calm and composed even if Mount Tai were to collapse before him.
In the eyes of this Director Lu, it seemed that all things between heaven and earth were trivial matters not worth mentioning.
At least, that was what Su An believed—and naturally, including his master He Yan, others shared this view as well.
Director Lu’s martial arts cultivation was unfathomably deep, reaching heaven and earth. Whether it was those evil spirits born of heaven and earth, or those ghostly things revived by resentment.
Before Director Lu, they were nothing more than ants, easily crushed at will!
Having heard Su An’s reminder, Liang Cheng and Lu Yunqing’s expressions could not help but become somewhat more serious, the relaxed look on their faces fading slightly.
But Liang Cheng was, after all, of a carefree nature. He quickly waved his hand, speaking with a casual expression.
“Ah, Brother Su, you’re just too cautious.”
As he spoke, he shrugged nonchalantly and continued: “Even if the sky falls, there are tall people to hold it up!”
“We little people don’t need to worry about the great affairs of the world!”
At this point, Liang Cheng’s eyes sparkled with pride, his tone filled with extreme pride.
“And besides!”
Liang Cheng raised his voice, the smile on his face growing even brighter.
“If those tall people can’t hold up the sky, isn’t there still my cousin?”
Liang Cheng then stepped forward, patting Su An’s shoulder, speaking with full confidence: “Brother Su, just put your heart at ease.”
“With Brother Xuan here, this sky absolutely won’t fall!”
“With him here, what are these ghostly things worth?”
…………
Yunze County, Taiping Town!
On the banks of the Jinlin River, the once bustling and lively scene had long ceased to exist.
Now, it was a stretch of dead silence, not a single soul in sight—everywhere the eye looked was desolation.
Within a thousand meters of the Jinlin River, the ground was dotted with puddles scattered like stars.
The residual water in the puddles shimmered with a cold light under the sunlight.
The moist ground and muddy traces seemed to suggest that not long ago, this place had suffered a flood.
At this moment, above the Jinlin River, the invisible air suddenly rippled with a strange, divine undulation.
Immediately after, a pitch-black rift, deep as an abyss, suddenly tore open in midair.
A foot slowly extended from the pitch-black rift, its movement unhurried.
Only after that person’s body had completely stepped out from the torn spatial rift.
The Netherworld Python at the bottom of the Jinlin River seemed to sense something—it suddenly opened those enormous eyes!
“It’s you!”
“The little brat who killed Hong Lin back then, and destroyed my Dharma Form!”
Undoubtedly, the man standing above the Jinlin River was none other than Lu Xuan!
