As a dignified max-level Celestial Master, who am I supposed to explain this to?

Longhu Mountain, Celestial Master's Mansion.

When the Celestial Master Zhang Qingyuan made this decision, his expression was serious.

"Han Xuan, you've been on the mountain for quite some time now, but you've never come down to gain experience."

"Although your current cultivation level is... cough, a bit outrageous, theory is no substitute for practice. I'm ordering you to go down the mountain and handle a supernatural incident, which will also give you a chance to put your skills into practice."

Han Xuan knelt on the prayer mat, his eyes lighting up:

"Master, what happened?"

Zhang Qingyuan pulled a letter from his sleeve and handed it over:

"In Qingxi Town at the foot of Mount Qingcheng, seven people have gone missing in the past half month. They have neither been found alive nor dead. The local townspeople have invited several Taoist priests to investigate. Some said it was the work of vengeful ghosts, while others said it was caused by zombies, but none of the priests were able to resolve the issue."

"The leader of the Qingcheng Sect went to investigate once and said that he sensed an extremely sinister aura, but before he could find the source, the aura disappeared."

He paused, looking at Han Xuan.

"Your mission is twofold: first, to uncover the truth, and second, to resolve the calamity. Remember, do not indiscriminately kill the innocent, nor underestimate the enemy and advance rashly."

Han Xuan took the letter, glanced at it, folded it, and put it in his pocket.

"Master, rest assured, I understand."

Zhang Qingyuan looked at him, and the corner of his mouth twitched.

He was actually a little worried.

It wasn't that they were afraid Han Xuan couldn't win, but rather that they were afraid Han Xuan would blow up the town again if he made a move.

The pit in Leichi on the back mountain from last time still hasn't been filled in.

"And one more thing, my disciple."

Zhang Qingyuan added, "After you come down the mountain, try to... restrain yourself a bit. Don't use the Thunder Emperor Body right away, and be careful with the Heavenly Gang Thunder Technique too."

"Ordinary evil spirits can be dealt with with the Golden Light Mantra; there's no need to make such a fuss."

Han Xuan nodded earnestly: "Disciple will remember, keep a low profile, keep a low profile."

Looking at his serious expression, Zhang Qingyuan felt that something was not quite right, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it.

"Go."

Han Xuan stood up, bowed, and turned to walk out of the Daoist chamber.

Zhao Xiaofan was waiting outside the door. As soon as she saw Han Xuan come out, she immediately rushed over, her eyes sparkling.

"Senior brother, senior brother, Master wants you to go down the mountain? Can I come with you?"

"no."

"Why?!"

"Because you're stupid."

"You called me stupid again!" Zhao Xiaofan snapped. "I only got 70 on the Scripture Pavilion exam this time!"

"Even a score of 70 is stupid."

"..."

Han Xuan patted him on the shoulder and said earnestly:

"Xiao Fan, practice your skills diligently on the mountain. When you can withstand one of my Heavenly Thunder Techniques, I'll take you down the mountain."

Zhao Xiaofan glanced at the golden arc of electricity in Han Xuan's palm that had not yet completely faded, and silently swallowed the words that were about to come out.

"Goodbye, senior brother. Have a safe journey and take care."

Han Xuan smiled and shook his head, then turned and walked towards the mountain gate.

Behind him, Zhao Xiaofan suddenly called out, "Senior brother! Remember to bring me some local specialties!"

Han Xuan waved his hand without turning his head.

The morning light bathed the bluestone steps, and Han Xuan's figure gradually receded into the distance, disappearing beneath the archway of the mountain gate.

This was the first time he had come down the mountain since his rebirth.

This was also the first time in his entire life, both past and present, that he descended the mountain as a "max-level" character.

Han Xuan was in a good mood.

How good is it?

He hummed a tune as he walked, a popular song from who-knows-when, completely off-key, but he was oblivious to it.

It's about 200 li (about 100 kilometers) from Longhushan to Qingxi Town.

Han Xuan could have used his lightness technique to arrive in half a day, but he decided to walk.

Firstly, he wanted to see the world thirty-five years from now.

No, it's the world from thirty-five years ago. He was reborn and returned to the past, so what he saw should be the world when he was young in his previous life.

It's a wonderful feeling, like flipping through a long-forgotten photo album, with familiar yet unfamiliar scenes on every page.

Secondly, he wanted to test his current cultivation level in actual combat.

Although he destroyed the silver-armored corpse in the back mountain and killed the flying zombie with a single punch in front of the mountain gate, those were all head-on confrontations.

True exorcism often requires tracking, searching, discerning aura, and setting up a trap.

He had these abilities in his previous life, but he needed to re-verify them in this new body.

With this expectation of "I'm going to make a name for myself", Han Xuan embarked on his journey to Qingxi Town.

The first day's itinerary went smoothly.

He passed by a small village, where several old men were playing chess under an old locust tree at the village entrance.

He went over to ask for directions, but before he even got close, the old men's expressions changed drastically, and they dropped their chess pieces and ran away.

Han Xuan was stunned for a moment, then looked down at himself.

He wore a simple Taoist robe, a peach wood sword at his waist, cloth shoes, and carried a water gourd in his hand.

It's normal, why would it scare people away?

He chased after them, wanting to get to the bottom of things, but the old men ran even faster, shouting as they ran:

"Master, spare us! Master, spare us! There are no evil spirits in our village! Really, there aren't!"

Han Xuan: "..."

He had no choice but to continue on his way.

At dusk, he passed by a mass grave.

In his past life, when he passed through such places, he always had to be careful and conceal his aura, for fear of disturbing anything underground.

This time, after thinking it over, he decided to test just how powerful his Golden Light Mantra really was.

He activated the Golden Light Mantra, but not at full power; he merely caused a faint golden glow to emanate from his body, like fireflies in the night.

result!

He had only taken three steps when the entire mass grave exploded.

Countless dark figures sprang out from the grave mounds—purple zombies, white zombies, wandering spirits, and wild ghosts—densely packed together, like a hornet's nest that had been disturbed.

But instead of rushing towards Han Xuan, they scattered and fled.

The fastest one was a green zombie dressed in Qing Dynasty official robes. Its speed was enough to compete in the Olympics. It disappeared into the night in the blink of an eye.

The slower-moving souls didn't have time to crawl back into the grave, so they anxiously circled around in place, and finally simply plunged headfirst into the cesspool next to them.

Han Xuan stared at all of this in disbelief.

"No... I only used the lowest level of the Golden Light Spell, is it really that serious?"

No ghost answered him.

There wasn't a soul in sight within a mile radius.

Han Xuan stood there, the autumn wind blowing, swirling up a few withered leaves, creating an indescribable sense of desolation.

"never mind."

He comforted himself, "Those in mass graves are low-class anyway, it's normal for them to be afraid of the Golden Light Mantra."

"Once we get to Qingxi Town, those real evil spirits shouldn't be so cowardly."

He quickened his pace and traveled through the night.

……

.........

The next day at noon, Han Xuan arrived at Qingxi Town.

This is a small town nestled against the mountains and beside the water. It is not large, with only two or three hundred households.

The town is surrounded by rolling green hills, and a clear stream flows through it, its water so clear you can see the bottom. That's probably where the town got its name.

But at this moment, this town, which should have been peaceful and serene, is shrouded in a light gloom.

The streets were deserted, and every household had its doors and windows tightly shut. Occasionally, someone would peek out through a crack in the window before quickly drawing the curtains back up.

A notice was posted on the bulletin board at the entrance of the town, which roughly stated:

"Evil spirits have been appearing in the town recently. Do not go out after nightfall. If you find anything unusual, please report it to the town office immediately."

Han Xuan walked to the entrance of the town and was about to go in when he suddenly sensed a faint yin energy.

It was so faint that ordinary cultivators couldn't detect it at all.

However, Han Xuan had cultivated for thirty-five years in his previous life, and his sensitivity to Yin energy was ingrained in his very bones.

He looked in the direction of the yin energy.

It is an old house in the northwest corner of the town.

"Um?!"

"Finally found it."

Han Xuan smirked and strode toward that direction.

After walking a few steps, the yin energy suddenly fluctuated violently and then disappeared.

It sounded like someone inside slammed the door shut.

Han Xuan frowned and quickened his pace.

By the time he arrived at the old house, the eerie atmosphere had completely dissipated.

Not even a trace was left.

……