Transform into ancestral tablets and create a supreme immortal clan.

The ancestral hall fell silent again, with only the flame of the eternal lamp flickering gently in the barely perceptible airflow, casting an intermittent glow on Shen Xiao's memorial tablet.

The spiritual consciousness, like invisible mercury, slowly spread from the ancestral tablet, easily penetrating the thick walls and restrictions, enveloping the entire Shen family ancestral land, and finally accurately "landing" in that heavily guarded side courtyard.

Shen Changqing lay on the simple wooden bed, his eyes closed, his face ashen, and his breath so faint that it was almost imperceptible.

The restrictive talismans personally set up by the patriarch Shen Shichu covered the four walls of the room, flickering with a dim spiritual light, ensuring that he could not mobilize any magical power or make any contact with the outside world.

But Shen Xiao's spiritual sense was more acute. He "saw" the dark red curse mark between Shen Changqing's eyebrows, which pulsated slightly as if it were alive.

Subtle, ominous fluctuations were attempting to penetrate the barrier, slowly draining Shen Changqing's nearly depleted life force, and pointing towards some unknown distance.

"Not only the Soul Seeding Technique, but also the Heart-Eating and Bewitching Curse... It really is the work of the Bei family." Shen Xiao's thoughts flowed silently, and his cold analysis replaced his initial scrutiny.

This curse is extremely insidious. In the early stages, the mind of the person under the curse is gradually eroded, turning them into a pawn of the curse caster. Once awakened or actively activated by the curse caster, the curse can briefly seize control of the person's body and even peek into some of their memories.

In the later stages, when the caster is exhausted, their remaining life essence and spiritual power become the best tonic for the caster, or are used to perform some kind of high-cost secret technique.

As expected, this is a common tactic used by the demonic sects. The Bei family's lineage must be related to some demonic sect.

The Bei family suffered a great loss this time, losing a Foundation Establishment cultivator and destroying their foundation. They will never let this go.

Shen Changqing, this pawn, is both a tool for their revenge and possibly some kind of "material" for their attempt to turn the tide.

"Do you want to connect via a cursed seal, activate it remotely, or ultimately make use of what's left?"

Shen Xiao's spiritual sense carefully examined every fluctuation of the curse seal, and combined it with the rudimentary information about curses that he could exchange for with his limited life points, he quickly deduced various possibilities.

"This curse mark is connected to the soul of the one who cast it. If it is forcibly removed, Shen Changqing will surely die, and the one who cast it will also be severely injured, but... it will not be fatal."

He needs more.

The goal is not only to save the unworthy son of the Shen family, but more importantly, to use this ready-made trap to make the mastermind pay an even heavier price.

There are 32 offerings and 36 life points remaining. You cannot consume them at will.

A clear plan gradually took shape in Shen Xiao's mind, cold and efficient.

He did not try to touch or stimulate the curse mark, but instead slowly infiltrated his spiritual sense into the edge of Shen Changqing's almost silent sea of ​​consciousness.

The place was in chaos, filled with traces of being corrupted by magic, as well as Shen Changqing's own intense fear, resentment, and feeble struggle.

Shen Xiao carefully avoided the areas directly contaminated by the curse mark, and like the most skilled craftsman, began to weave.

He did not input his own thoughts or commands, as that would be easily detected by the being behind the curse seal.

He merely used his spiritual sense to very slightly "sort out" and "guide" the remaining fears and survival instincts that belonged to Shen Changqing in his sea of ​​consciousness.

It subtly connects with concepts such as "family," "ancestors," and "protection," giving it a stronger sense of direction.

At the same time, he simulated a faint illusion that the "restraint was gradually loosening due to the continuous resistance against the curse seal," and slowly "leaked" this illusion along the obscure connection of the curse seal.

This consumed 10 of his offering points.

This is bait.

It appears to be a bait that the Shen family attempted to seal but failed, resulting in a slight "gap" in the curse seal, which may have the opportunity to re-establish a more stable connection and could even have a reverse effect on Shen Changqing.

Having done all this, Shen Xiao's spiritual sense slowly withdrew from the memorial tablet. He waited quietly, like a hunter lurking in the darkness.

Deep within the ruins of the Bei family's ancestral home in Mingzhou.

Inside the makeshift, rudimentary cave dwelling, the stench of blood mingled with the smell of medicinal stones.

Bei Haishi sat cross-legged on a tattered jade futon, his face sallow and his breathing uneven. There was a deep wound on his left arm that exposed the bone.

Although the wound had stopped bleeding, the remaining Yin Sha Corpse Poison continued to erode his meridians, and each circulation of spiritual energy brought him needle-like pain.

A palm-sized, dark red bone mirror floated before him. The mirror was murky, and a faint light emanated from its center, echoing the distant view. It was the key magical artifact connecting the Heart-Devouring and Bewitching Curse within Shen Changqing's body.

"The Shen family... Shen Jiuyang..." Bei Haishi's eyes flashed with extreme resentment.

The death of our ancestor Bei Qingshan, the loss of more than half of the family's elite forces, and the damage to our spiritual veins—all of this is thanks to the Shen family!

If it weren't for that strange appearance of the ancestor, if it weren't for that damned diversion of disaster...

He licked his chapped lips, his gaze fixed intently on the bone mirror.

The curse mark inside Shen Changqing's body was planted by him personally, originally intended to serve as a long-term hidden agent, or to deliver a fatal blow to the Shen family at a crucial moment.

Now that the Bei family has suffered a significant loss of power, this pawn has become even more important.

If a stable connection can be re-established through the curse seal, even if it's just a temporary control over Shen Changqing, it will be possible to learn about the current situation of the Shen family from within, especially the background of that mysterious "ancestor".

Perhaps... we might even find an opportunity to deal a heavy blow to the Shen family!

In the past few days, he had been trying to strengthen his connection with the cursed seal, but the Shen family seemed to have set up an extremely strong restriction, which severely blocked the connection.

Just now, the faint light on the bone mirror suddenly brightened slightly, and although the sensation it transmitted was still weak, it seemed... to be a little smoother?

"The restrictions have been loosened?" Bei Haishi's spirits lifted, but he immediately became wary again.

"Could it be a trap?" He carefully sensed every fluctuation transmitted through the bone mirror.

The cursed seal was indeed more "actively" drawing on Shen Changqing's life force, attempting to establish a connection, while simultaneously feeding back a faint sense of fear and rejection of the family's restrictions that belonged to Shen Changqing himself.

It didn't seem like a deliberately set trap. It was more like the restrictions set up by Shen Shichu, the head of the Shen family, became unstable due to the continuous erosion of the curse seal and Shen Changqing's own weak resistance.

"An opportunity!" A fierce glint flashed in Bei Haishi's eyes.

He was seriously injured and urgently needed medical resources, as well as a chance to turn the tide for his family.

Shen Changqing is currently the most direct way for him to access the inner workings of the Shen family!

Without further hesitation, he channeled his remaining pure magical power, mixed with a wisp of his own divine soul power, and carefully injected it into the distant curse mark through the bone mirror.

He wanted to strengthen the connection, try to perceive Shen Changqing's state more deeply, and even try to plant new instructions—for example, to find an opportunity to destroy the Shen family ancestral hall, or to find out the true situation of Shen Jiuyang's seclusion.

His spiritual power, connected by the curse seal, traversed vast distances and gradually seeped into Shen Changqing's sea of ​​consciousness...

Shen Family Ancestral Hall.

Just as Bei Haishi's divine soul power touched Shen Changqing's sea of ​​consciousness through the curse seal!

On the incense table, Shen Xiao's memorial tablet suddenly shone with a faint, almost imperceptible light!

"They've taken the bait."

Shen Xiao's spiritual sense had long since become like the most sensitive spider web, covering every node connecting Shen Changqing's sea of ​​consciousness and the curse seal.