In the 586th year of the Great Yu Dynasty, a couple, accompanied by several household servants, established a manor here.
Ji Yuan's gaze swiftly scanned the small print on the book's pages, while he softly said, "Given the sins that obscure their name, let us provisionally call him Anonymous."
According to the opening record of this genealogy, over three hundred years ago, Anonymous, with his wife, traveled the land, eventually arriving at Luohun Slope. He ordered his servants to construct a residence here.
Anonymous himself was a cultivator of considerable power, his techniques of a cold and阴属性 nature. He was also proficient in formations, thus he laid down several layers of them.
These formations, constructed with great effort, could suppress the Yin energy of Luohun Slope, preventing any leakage, and demarcated several points for embedding formation eyes, facilitating the activation of the formations to draw Yin energy.
With the impediment of Yin energy removed, ordinary people could naturally reside in this place year-round. Furthermore, Anonymous possessed ample wealth, and soon, a manor nestled in a remote mountain became increasingly bustling.
The opening of the genealogy recorded up to this point. Further flipping revealed names obscured by black ink.
Instead, tucked within the genealogy was a letter.
"I... have cultivated for over one hundred and seventy years. I established my estate here with my wife. The manor has dozens of household servants and guards. Yet, one day, more than ten powerful beings suddenly appeared outside Qianyu City. In the ensuing battle, the thousand-mile jade veins were destroyed, causing the earth veins for thousands of miles to surge. The formation I had arranged also nearly collapsed. It was at this moment that a supreme treasure was struck into the earth veins. Taking advantage of the incomplete state of the formation, it drilled into the core of Luohun Slope's earth veins, leading to a great increase in spiritual energy and the loss of control over Yin energy..."
After a short while, Ji Yuan placed the letter back into the genealogy's pages and then sighed, lamenting the greed of humankind.
According to what Anonymous had written, the item that had entered the core of Luohun Slope's earth veins was at least a powerful artifact, and one that was ownerless and unrefined.
When treasures descend from the heavens, it is natural not to overlook them, especially when such a treasure falls into one's own backyard.
Thus, in great joy, Anonymous activated the formation to seal off the entire manor, attempting to firmly grasp this fortunate opportunity.
Unfortunately, Anonymous overestimated himself. The activation of the formation caused the Yin energy to gather and remain trapped. While attempting to seize the treasure, he was injured at his very foundation by the sharpness of the treasure itself.
What followed was a tragic turn of events. Severely wounded, Anonymous was corrupted by the Yin energy, transforming into a monstrous being. Within the entire manor, from his wife down to the household servants and guards, all eventually became ghosts.
Only his eldest son, who was playing in Qianyu City at the time, was fortunate enough to escape.
"Could that Li Mufeng be a descendant of the eldest son who narrowly escaped?"
Ji Yuan muttered with a frown.
Hearing this, Song He shrugged, offering no opinion but with a complex look in his eyes.
Whoosh~~~
Just then, a gust of Yin wind swept through the building, extinguishing the oil lamps in their hands.
The two were startled, wondering how a gust of Yin wind could appear in a library filled with pure and righteous energy.
But in the next moment, they felt that the rich and dense righteous energy in the library had inexplicably diminished by nearly half.
"Not good!"
Ji Yuan seemed to realize something and quickly turned to rush to the second floor.
At this moment, the stern-looking man was darting wildly between the bookshelves, constantly touching books that had been placed there for over three hundred years.
However, these books were made of ordinary materials and had long since lost their form over the years, now only being held together by a thread of righteous energy.
Upon being touched by the stern man, these books, which recorded martial arts and techniques, instantly turned into a pile of dust, vanishing completely from existence.
Along with the disappearance of these books, the righteous energy they nourished also vanished.
"Crack! Crack!! Crack!!!"
As Ji Yuan was about to question him, he suddenly heard a faint, crisp sound, as if something was breaking.
The young Daoist's face immediately changed. He said no more, urging Song He to quickly leave the library.
The maiden, who had witnessed everything, showed a flicker of expression before gritting her teeth and stamping her foot. She rushed forward, grabbed her nearly frenzied senior brother, and forcefully dragged him to follow the other two.
As the four of them exited the library, the three-story building immediately let out a creaking sound, as if it could no longer bear the weight. The righteous energy nurtured by countless Daoist scriptures poured out, and the building collapsed and fell amidst a cloud of dust.
The library, in the eyes of the four, turned into a pile of ruins, strewn with decaying wood and broken bricks.
"Look at the mess you've made!"
Ji Yuan suddenly turned, furiously berating the stern man with vacant eyes.
Anyone could tell that this library was extraordinary, and the righteous energy it had nurtured for centuries was crucial for suppressing the ghosts in this place.
Why did Anonymous, over three hundred years ago, move the genealogy, which should have been placed in the ancestral hall, to the third floor of the library?
It was to use the righteous energy to suppress the immense sins that were constantly eroding the spiritual energy!
Indeed, as the library collapsed, a spectral light shot up into the sky, its direction pointing towards the ancestral hall in the manor's backyard.
In an instant, the Yin energy throughout the entire manor surged several times. Wisps of white mist converged, filling the air.
In the courtyard, a gust of Yin wind stirred, and whispers filled their ears, like the wailing of a large number of women, lamenting their pain and misfortune.
Ji Yuan's expression turned extremely grim. He turned his head, as if sensing something, his gaze falling upon a pond that was as still as dead water.
As the surrounding Yin wind swirled, a large amount of Yin energy rose from the pond, condensing into patches of white mist in mid-air.
The previously placid surface of the water suddenly rippled, and then pale arms emerged from the water, struggling as if drowning.
"Ah!!!!"
The maiden could no longer bear it, letting out a near-breakdown scream. Her face turned deathly pale as she stumbled back several steps, her body trembling uncontrollably.
Even the "experienced" Ji Yuan couldn't help but change his expression, a tingling sensation spreading from his scalp to his entire body.
"Myriad Blessed Ones!"
The young Daoist shouted, grabbing a handful of talismans from his sleeve and scattering them like a shower of petals.
The yellow paper talismans transformed into balls of fire in mid-air. They shot through the air, and after a few breaths, they landed in the pond, immediately stirring up a large amount of mist.
However, as the Yin wind blew, dispersing the mist, the dozens of arms in the pond were not harmed in the slightest. Instead, thick black hair slowly began to surface from the water.
In just a moment, the entire pond was filled with black hair, and naked bodies, their clothes long rotted by the pond water, began to emerge from the water.
About twenty lifeless female corpses, their heads bowed and long hair hanging down, stood quietly on the surface of the water.
"Don't... don't come near... Ah!!!!!"
As the group held their breath, daring not to make a sound, the nearly broken maiden could no longer endure it. After a loud cry, she crouched on the ground, hugging her head, screaming in terror.
"This is bad..."
Ji Yuan's heart sank. He turned to look back at the pond, only to see the female corpses silently raising their heads, their eyes filled with coldness as they looked towards them.