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

Han Xuan stayed at the Xia family's house.

It wasn't because of the engagement, but because of Xia Yuanshan's health.

The old man said, "Don't worry about me, it's an old ailment," but Han Xuan could tell that his injuries were much more serious than he made it out to be.

Without intervention, let alone seeing his granddaughter find a good home before he passes away.

This period of time may begin in the next few days.

Han Xuan was not a doctor, but he was a Taoist master.

Among the secret arts passed down by the Celestial Masters of Longhu Mountain, there is a healing method called "Taiqing Rejuvenation Technique".

This technique does not treat ordinary injuries or illnesses, but specifically treats damage to the meridians and disorders of vital energy.

And that is precisely Xia Yuanshan's problem.

He spent three days using the Taiqing Rejuvenation Technique to cleanse Xia Yuanshan's meridians every day.

The effect is immediate.

The old man's complexion changed from sallow to slightly yellow, his breathing changed from shallow and rapid to steady, and he was even able to take a few steps in the yard.

"Kid, who taught you that skill?"

Xia Yuanshan sat in the rattan chair, his tone full of surprise, "The Taiqing Rejuvenation Technique, I remember that no one in Longhu Mountain has known it for several generations."

Han Xuan withdrew the golden light from his palm and casually said, "I figured it out myself."

Xia Yuanshan glanced at him but didn't ask any further questions.

But these few words he came up with on his own made the old man's opinion of him even higher.

However, what truly made the Xia family look at Han Xuan with new respect was not the Taiqing Rejuvenation Technique, but something else entirely.

On the third night after arriving at the Xia family's residence, Han Xuan was awakened by a chilling aura.

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

But Han Xuan spent thirty-five years in a pile of Yin energy in his previous life.

Their sensitivity to this kind of thing has reached the point where they can "smell what kind of mosquito it is even if it farts."

He opened his eyes and sat up from the bed in the guest room.

The night is deep.

The moon outside the window was obscured by dark clouds, and the courtyard was pitch black, so dark you couldn't see your hand in front of your face.

The chilling aura wafted from the direction of the backyard, like a snake crawling on the ground—slow, stealthy, and deadly.

Han Xuan frowned.

He stayed in a guest room in the front yard, which was at least four courtyards away from the back yard.

The fact that this yin energy could spread from the front yard to the back yard indicates that its source is at least a vengeful ghost.

Even higher.

"Is the Xia family haunted?"

He got out of bed, put on his Taoist robe, and pushed open the door.

The courtyard was quiet; the night watchman was dozing in the gatehouse, completely unaware of what was happening.

Without alerting anyone, Han Xuan silently walked towards the backyard following the direction of the yin energy.

As he walked through the central courtyard, he passed by Xia Zhiwei's room.

The door was tightly closed, and there was no light inside, but Han Xuan's ears twitched slightly.

He heard a very soft sound.

It's the sound of breathing.

But it wasn't the steady breathing that comes with sleep; it was a deliberately suppressed, tense breathing.

Xia Zhiwei is awake.

And she was afraid.

Han Xuan paused, hesitating whether to knock on the door and ask.

But the yin energy suddenly intensified at this moment, as if urging him to hurry up.

He glanced at Xia Zhiwei's door and quickened his pace.

The layout of the backyard is completely different from that of the front and middle yards.

The front yard was for receiving guests, the middle yard was where Xia Yuanshan recuperated, and the back yard...

According to the housekeeper.

It has been abandoned for many years.

"When the old man was young, the backyard was the Xia family's ancestral hall."

The housekeeper had told him during the day, "After the old man was injured, no one was allowed to go to the backyard anymore. They said it was bad feng shui, so they sealed it off."

Bad feng shui?

Han Xuan didn't think much of it at the time, but now, standing in front of the moon gate in the backyard, he knew that "bad feng shui" was just an excuse.

A talisman was pasted on the moon gate.

The talisman paper had turned yellow and become brittle, and most of the cinnabar runes on it had faded, but Han Xuan recognized what kind of talisman it was at a glance...

Soul-suppressing talisman.

Moreover, it is a soul-suppressing talisman produced by the Celestial Master's Mansion.

The Soul-Suppressing Talisman of the Celestial Master's Mansion on Longhu Mountain is specifically used to suppress vengeful ghosts and evil spirits. This kind of talisman cannot be drawn by just anyone; it requires at least a level four mastery of talismans.

And the handwriting on this talisman...?

Han Xuan leaned closer for a look, his pupils shrinking slightly.

This is the handwriting of my master, Zhang Qingyuan.

Master visited the Xia family's backyard? And even put up a soul-suppressing talisman there?

Han Xuan's gaze darkened.

He didn't rush in, but first probed the moon gate with his divine sense and carefully sensed it.

The backyard is not large, about two or three hundred square meters.

In the very center stands an ancestral hall with black tiles and white walls. Above the door hangs a plaque, the characters of which are now blurred and illegible.

Several locust trees were planted around the ancestral hall, their gnarled branches swaying slightly in the night wind, making a "creaking" sound.

And underground in the ancestral hall.

Han Xuan sensed an intense, outrageous resentment.

That resentment was like a black flame suppressed underground, churning, boiling, and struggling, trying to break through the ground.

But something is suppressing it.

In addition to the soul-suppressing talisman on the moon gate, a small sealing formation was also set up around the ancestral hall.

Han Xuan recognized this formation.

It is the "Five Directions Suppressing Spirit Array" of Longhu Mountain, which uses the power of the five elements (metal, wood, water, fire, and earth) to seal away evil spirits.

The person who set up the formation was highly skilled, at least at the fifth level of the Golden Light Mantra.

It's Zhang Qingyuan's style again.

Han Xuan's brows furrowed even deeper.

The master placed a seal on the Xia family's backyard and affixed a soul-suppressing talisman, but never told him about it.

Xia Yuanshan also remained tight-lipped about it, while the butler went even further, saying:

"It's sealed off, they won't let you go."

There's something going on here.

And it's not a trivial matter.

Han Xuan stood in front of the moon gate, hesitating for three seconds.

Then he reached out and gently peeled off the now-ineffective soul-suppressing talisman.

The talisman turned to ashes in his hand.

The sealing formation is still operating, but after so many years of wear and tear, it has reached its limit.

The five light patterns of the Five Directions Suppressing Spirit Array.

Blue, red, yellow, white, and black—the colors flickered on the ground, like candle flames about to go out.

Han Xuan stepped into the backyard.

He walked very lightly, but with each step, a faint golden ripple would appear on the bluestone slab beneath his feet.

The Golden Light Mantra is activated automatically, not as an offensive burst, but as a defensive protective force.

A golden light enveloped his entire body, isolating him from the outside world.

The door to the ancestral hall was unlocked.

The lock was rusted long ago.

Han Xuan gave a gentle push, and the door creaked open.

A musty smell wafted over.

The ancestral hall was dark, with only two eternal lamps burning on the shrine, their flames so weak they seemed about to go out at any moment.

The shrine is filled with the ancestral tablets of the Xia family, dozens of them densely packed together.

But Han Xuan's gaze did not fall on the memorial tablet.

He landed on the ground below the shrine.

There is a crack in the ground.

The crack was not wide, only about two fingers wide, but the yin energy seeping from it was so intense that it almost solidified.

Black mist slowly rose from the cracks, like the breath of the earth.

The core of the sealing formation lies in this crack.

Five beams of light converged here, forming a Five Elements Seal that firmly suppressed the resentment beneath the crack.

But the seal is about to give way.