Transform into ancestral tablets and create a supreme immortal clan.

Shen Changqing shook his head vigorously, trying to banish these distracting thoughts and focus all his attention on maintaining the formation.

He is a member of the Shen family, and protecting his family is his responsibility!

However, he did not know that in a secret room in the Bei family's residence, Bei Haishi was sitting cross-legged in front of an altar, on which was placed a straw figure with Shen Changqing's birth date and time engraved on it and his hair wrapped around it.

Bei Haishi formed hand seals, chanted incantations, and his eyes gleamed with a ghostly light.

"The Soul Planting Technique works subtly and gradually, like spring rain nourishing all things."

"Shen Changqing, the more you exert your power and the more your mind is stirred, the deeper my 'soul seed' will take root... When the time is right, you will be the sharpest nail I have in the Shen family!"

The Kunyuan Mountain-Protecting Array? Destroying it from within would be the most fatal mistake.

Bei Haishi could vaguely sense Shen Changqing's inner struggle and the negative emotions that were gradually being stirred up, and a cold smile appeared on his lips.

With the Blood Corpse launching a fierce attack from the outside and its inside accomplices lying in wait, the destruction of the Shen family was already foreseeable.

What he needs to do now is wait patiently, wait for Shen Changqing to be completely controlled, or wait for the old ancestor of the Shen family, Shen Jiuyang, to be forced to take action.

Inside the ancestral hall, Shen Xiao's spiritual consciousness enveloped the entire ancestral land.

While the attacks from external blood zombies worried him, he was more concerned that the warnings the system had given him through the causal link between him and his family had not faded.

If the blood corpses attacking from outside the formation are blocked, then the problem must lie within the family.

Therefore, this is an "internal hidden danger".

The Bei family is known for its unpredictable methods and their spells, many of which originate from demonic sects, making them virtually impossible to defend against.

If they can even use unorthodox spells like the "Crimson Sky Soul Control Spell," it's hard to say they don't have other tricks up their sleeves.

He carefully "scanned" the condition of each clansman, especially those disciples in key positions.

Most of the clansmen only experienced a depletion of magical energy and mental tension, without any other abnormalities.

However, when his spiritual sense swept across the southeast corner node and landed on Shen Changqing, Shen Xiao sensed a very subtle spiritual fluctuation that was of the same origin as the "Crimson Sky Soul Control Curse" that Shen Mingzhou had been hit by before, but was even more insidious and deeply hidden.

"System, check Shen Changqing's status!" Shen Xiao immediately ordered.

[Detection complete. Target Shen Changqing has been afflicted by the "Soul Planting Technique," a more insidious technique that initially only subtly affects the mind, but later can completely control behavior.]

[Removal requires a Tier 3 "Barrier-Breaking and Heart-Cleansing Talisman," or the heart's blood of a direct blood relative used as a catalyst, combined with a special incantation to forcibly remove it. A Tier 3 Barrier-Breaking and Heart-Cleansing Talisman costs 500 spirit stones (50 offering points).]

Fifty offering points!

This is really bad. His offerings didn't come from thin air, so how could they withstand such a waste by the Bei family?

Shen Xiao looked at his remaining seventy-one offering points, and his heart sank once again.

He had already spent twenty points to treat Shen Mingzhou, and now, if he were to immediately eliminate the hidden danger of Shen Changqing, it would almost cost him most of his savings.

Moreover, a third-tier talisman would inevitably cause quite a stir, easily alerting the enemy.

As for the blood of one's closest blood relatives...

Shen Changqing's parents had already perished in a family conflict many years ago.

"Bei Haishi... he really knows how to scheme!" Shen Xiao's anger rose.

This was an open strategy, forcing him to make a choice.

Or perhaps, Bei Haishi originally intended to force Shen Jiuyang, a Foundation Establishment cultivator from the Shen family, into a trap.

Unexpectedly, this pressure has now fallen on Shen Xiao's shoulders.

They could either immediately spend a huge sum to save Shen Changqing, but that might expose his ability to see through the secrets of the Soul Seed Technique, allowing the Bei family to come up with another plan.

One option is to remain patient and observe secretly, looking for a better opportunity. But during this time, Shen Changqing is like a time bomb, ready to explode at any moment.

Shen Xiao pondered for a moment before making a decision.

He cannot act immediately; the offerings are precious and must be used wisely.

Moreover, maintaining the "Kun Yuan Mountain Protection Array" also requires exchanging for mid-grade spirit stones.

Perhaps... this "bomb" can be used in reverse at a crucial moment?

He focused his mind and spirit, carefully separating a wisp of extremely faint, calming, and tranquil light, and silently sent it toward Shen Changqing.

This wisp of light cannot dispel the Soul Seeding Technique, but it might help Shen Changqing maintain a sliver of clarity at crucial moments, delaying the process of him being completely controlled, and also buying Shen Xiao more time to observe and respond.

At the same time, he secretly conveyed the news that Shen Changqing had been implanted with a soul technique, as well as his initial plans, to Shen Shichu.

As the head of the family, Shen Shichu must be informed and make corresponding contingency plans.

Upon receiving the message from the ancestor, Shen Shichu was fully focused on presiding over the grand formation. He felt as if each attack from the blood corpse was shaking his very core, which put him under immense pressure.

Upon learning of such a hidden danger within, he felt a chill run down his spine and nearly lost control of his magical powers.

He forcibly suppressed his surging blood and the shock and anger in his heart, and glanced calmly at the southeast corner. When he saw Shen Changqing's slightly pale profile, a trace of regret and determination flashed in his eyes.

"The Bei family... this is an irreconcilable feud!" Shen Shichu vowed in his heart, then focused even more intently on controlling the great formation.

He knew that the most important thing now was to withstand the attacks of the blood corpses and protect the great formation.

As for Shen Changqing... since the ancestor has already noticed and made arrangements, he can only choose to believe and prepare for the worst.

If it weren't for the scarcity of cultivators in the Shen family and the shortage of manpower to oversee the grand formation, Shen Shichu would probably have had to painfully eliminate his own family members immediately.

However, now that Shen Changqing has stepped down, the Kunyuan Mountain Protection Formation will inevitably have loopholes and may even be unable to function properly, which would be a greater loss than gain.

That Bei Haishi probably even included this in his calculations.

Externally, the attacks of the blood corpses became increasingly frenzied, and the light shield of the Kunyuan Mountain Protective Array seemed to dim slightly under the continuous crimson impacts.

Although the spiritual energy provided by the six mid-grade spirit stones is enormous and can be replenished by drawing upon the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, the rate at which it is consumed is far beyond imagination.

Internally, a potential crisis is brewing like an undercurrent in the shadows, quietly surging in the corners where no one is aware.

The fate of the Shen family hangs by a thread.

Meanwhile, Shen Xiao, inside the ancestral hall, calmly calculated every step amidst this desperate situation of internal and external troubles, searching for a glimmer of hope.

His gaze seemed to pierce through the barrier of the ancestral hall, landing on the Bei family on the western foothills of Beipan Mountain, and also on the unknown future that concerned the survival of the Shen family...

The roars of the blood corpse grew increasingly violent, the sound seeming not to come from its throat, but from countless vengeful spirits rubbing and colliding in the depths of hell.

It seemed to realize that the yellowish-brown tortoise shell in front of it was no ordinary shell, and that it could not be shaken by ordinary attacks.

It abruptly stopped its continuous attacks on the shield, hovering in mid-air, its viscous blood-red aura churning violently.

The northern foothills of Beipan Mountain, where the Shen family is located, were originally a place where the earth's veins converged, and the ground contained wisps of thin but fierce "earthly evil energy".

At this moment, under the conscious guidance of the blood corpse, the earth veins within a radius of several miles trembled slightly, and wisps of gray-black air currents, imperceptible to the naked eye but unsettling to the mind, rose from the ground, converging towards the blood corpse in the air like rivers flowing into the sea!

"Not good! This beast is drawing evil spirits into my body!" Shen Shichu, who was in charge of the formation, changed his expression drastically.

Once the earthly evil energy is absorbed by a blood corpse, its ferocity will surge, and it will also pollute the surrounding spiritual energy, causing the formation to stagnate.

Sure enough, as the earthly evil energy continued to pour in, the blood corpse's form seemed to expand by a size, and the blood light around it was mixed with an ominous gray-black color, and the pressure and resentment it emitted increased several times over!

It let out a long, menacing roar and then swooped down.

This time, it was no longer a random collision, but rather a torrent of blood and malevolent energy that slammed into the same point of the Kunyuan Mountain Protection Formation!