Dongting Immortal Clan

After nightfall, all was quiet.

Chen Changhe was still meditating and practicing in his study. His magical power was gradually increasing, and a ball of shimmering white light was slowly circulating under his abdomen, nourishing the meridians throughout his body.

The "Jade Spring of Life" in that mysterious opening seems to have sensed something, and the day of its opening is not far away.

"The Taiyin Method is too obscure and profound; many of its key points remain unclear to this day."

"The Water Element Mystic Method is too simple. According to its description, with my current level of magical power, I should have been able to consult the Jade Spring long ago... In the end, I still have too little understanding of the various aspects of cultivation."

He pondered to himself, his gaze sweeping over the small cauldron in front of him, and he couldn't help but think of his younger brother who was far away in the immortal sect.

I've been in the Immortal Sect for three years now, and I wonder how I am doing.

He calmed his mind, closed his eyes and focused his spirit, igniting the fire in his dantian to illuminate his limbs and bones. His magical power flowed slowly through his meridians, like forty-two strands of fire, constantly tempering his muscles, bones and skin, and nourishing his qi, blood and spirit.

Just as he was about to draw upon the wandering spiritual energy from the outside world and attempt to condense the forty-third strand of magical power.

suddenly.

His brow and the center of his mind suddenly jolted!

The spiritual sense immediately detected a chill, like flowing water, surging in from outside the courtyard wall.

Chen Changhe suddenly opened his eyes, and a bad premonition immediately arose in his heart.

However, when he spread his spiritual sense and instantly covered dozens of feet, he found nothing. The temperature around him was dropping at an eerie rate, and the air was filled with a chill.

Without hesitation, Chen Changhe rose gracefully from the couch, took down the magical artifact "water measuring ruler" hanging on the wall, and quietly left the room with a handful of yellow talismans in his hand.

There was no wind in the courtyard, and the moonlight was cool and clear.

The chilling aura, like a maggot clinging to his bones, seeped through his clothes, attempting to invade his skin, and even causing his inner fire to flicker slightly, stirring up waves of restlessness.

All was quiet. It was late at night, and everyone in the courtyard had already turned off their lights and gone to bed.

Chen Changhe scanned the people in his home with his spiritual sense and saw that their breathing was stable and there was nothing wrong with them, which put him at ease.

However, when his spiritual sense swept over his daughter Zhang Nianci's room, his expression suddenly changed drastically!

But a dark shadow was seen curled up at the head of Zhang Nianci's bed. Her room was like an ice cellar, and the dim oil lamp on the table turned a ghostly green without any wind.

……

"Nianci!"

Chen Changhe was terrified. He flashed forward, broke down the door, and stood in front of his daughter's bed.

The black mist that had been hovering at the head of the bed seemed to be startled, and immediately began to swirl and condense, transforming into a phantom child's figure.

Judging from his appearance, he was only four or five years old. He was pitifully thin, and his face was as pale as paper, without a trace of blood.

Upon seeing those pitch-black eyes, Chen Changhe immediately thought of the old woman from the Zhou family he had met during the day.

Instantly, his hair stood on end, as if facing a formidable enemy. Wisps of pale blue flame appeared on his body, like mist and haze, condensing and refusing to dissipate.

However, after a brief standoff, Chen Changhe felt something was off.

The ghostly child, with a blank and numb expression, simply floated quietly at the head of the bed, its lowered eyes watching the sleeping Zhang Nianci.

He stood by the bedside, looking down at the sleeping Zhang Nianci.

"What evil spirit dares to cause such a disturbance here!"

Suppressing his surprise and doubt, Chen Changhe shouted in a low voice, his voice imbued with a bit of magical power, which had the effect of exorcising evil spirits and calming souls.

Upon hearing the voice, the illusory child turned its head stiffly and met Chen Changhe's gaze.

The next instant, Chen Changhe's pupils contracted.

Two lines of thick, ink-like liquid slowly seeped from the edges of the child's eyes, as if he were weeping blood or shedding tears.

Immediately, the child's illusory figure rippled like water and vanished right before Chen Changhe's eyes.

The biting chill and the eerie green light inside the room faded away, as if everything just now had been an illusion.

Chen Changhe immediately stepped forward, spreading his spiritual sense to explore every corner of the room, but found nothing.

The thing came strangely and left without a trace.

However, the chill on his back lingered, and the fire in his heart kept warning him. This feeling was somewhat similar to when he was injured by that thing in the lake and the cold seeped into his body.

Chen Changhe's expression changed repeatedly.

If even he is like this, how can the rest of the family withstand it?!

……

Chen Changhe then woke up the rest of his family.

He carefully examined Zhang Xiulan, Wang Guifang, and their three young children, and thankfully they were not affected by the cold.

On the contrary, he, his elder brother, and his father all suffered from the cold entering their bodies.

Both he and Chen Dajiang had magical powers protecting them, and with a little effort, they dispelled the chill completely, without being affected.

However, Chen Chuansheng, the father, was already old and had suffered several injuries in previous years, so his health was not good. When the cold air invaded him, he developed a high fever on the spot and caught a cold.

Fortunately, the Chen family now has some resources and has emergency medicines on hand. With careful care, their lives are not in danger.

After comforting his wife, children, and sister-in-law to go back to their rooms to rest, Chen Dajiang stayed in his father's room to look after him, while Chen Changhe and Old Zhang were alone in the main room, discussing things in hushed tones.

To his surprise, his adoptive father, Old Zhang, was in good health and unaffected in the slightest.

After Chen Changhe finished recounting what had happened that night, Old Zhang nodded slightly, a sharp glint flashing in his cloudy old eyes:

"I have blood on my hands from my younger days, and I have a strong aura of malevolence. Ordinary ghosts and spirits would avoid me like the plague, so they would not bother me."

"You and Dalang possess magical powers, your hearts are protected by fire, and your blood and qi are like a furnace, making it difficult for ordinary yin energy to get close to you."

"Able to command ghosts and perform such evil deeds... It seems that the old widow of the Zhou family has truly fallen into the clutches of evil."

Upon hearing this, Chen Changhe's heart sank even further, and he said in a cold voice:

"She cast a vicious curse during the day, and then at night she couldn't wait to send ghosts to her door... This old hag is truly vicious and ruthless, leaving no room for mercy."

"If I hadn't been a cultivator and startled that little ghost, I'm afraid it would have ruined the fortune of my family... Even though that ghost didn't directly harm anyone, evil spirits are inherently filthy. If it came every few days, my family members would fall ill one after another, and the family's decline would be inevitable."

A cold glint flashed in his eyes, and he suddenly realized:

"Now I understand why the Zhou family has been able to prosper for over a century!"

"On the surface, Zhou Yesheng, who is an official, is taking care of her; behind the scenes, this old witch is using underhanded tricks."

"I wonder just how skilled this old hag really is?"

Old Zhang slowly shook his head and pondered:

"In my early years, I also encountered evil practitioners and demons."

"Among them, the most powerful ones can unfurl their soul banners and summon a hundred ghosts to roam the night, capable of devouring the flesh and blood of the living and stealing their souls."

"From your description, the little ghost came and went silently last night, seemingly only able to disturb people with its yin energy, causing them to become delirious, weak, and plagued by illness... This method seems more like the beginner's 'ghost-raising' technique than a profound ghost-cultivation method."

He paused, then looked at Chen Changhe:

"In my opinion, that old woman herself is probably not a true practitioner."

"Most likely it was by chance that they obtained some incomplete and evil methods of exorcising and raising ghosts, and because of their evil intentions, they used them to harm people and make money."

Chen Changhe nodded, "I understand..."

"Then... let her live for two more days..."

Two days later, Shen Congyun will come to this place again, and that will be the time to take the old hag's life!