For ten years I practiced Gu poison in Southeast Asia; all living beings revered me as a deity.

Various thoughts flashed through Luo Feng's mind. But he didn't have time to think too much about it.

Whoops!

In an instant, countless images flooded his mind.

It was a large tree, a huge, dark, and thick banyan tree.

The tree trunk is extremely wide, enough for several people to hug.

However, it had been dead for a long time.

The once lush green branches and leaves were burned to ashes in the flames of war, leaving only the blackened tree trunks.

It was a charcoal-black color, the color of death.

Green trees once symbolized life, but now they have nothing to do with life.

轧。

A faint crushing sound could be heard in the wind.

That was the sound of the rope straightening and shaking.

Hanging upside down from the charred banyan tree trunks were rows of "fresh" and rotting corpses, emitting a foul stench that attracted greedy crows. Their eyes were red as they pecked at the rotting flesh.

The rope was wrapped around the corpse's neck, or one could say that the weight of the deceased was pressing down on the rope.

Under a gloomy sky, one could see corpses of men and women, as well as young children, all covered in wounds on the trees.

The bodies of those hanged from the trees swayed slightly as if blown by the wind. From a distance, the banyan trees looked as if they were laden with fruit, swaying on the branches when a gust of wind blew.

Behind the banyan tree, you can see a small village, ravaged by war and reduced to ruins. It's a truly tragic sight.

puff.

It was in this scene that a sound could be faintly heard, like a soft drumbeat.

My heart is beating.

An image came to his mind.

That means some kind of life-like existence has been born.

On the ground beside the charred tree, tiny, bright green buds sprouted.

"Thump."

Suddenly, Luo Feng's heart skipped a beat.

dong dong dong...

A burst of drumbeats rang out.

The enormous banyan tree, the people kneeling around it, the torches and the sacrificial rituals... scenes of sound and light flashed before his eyes.

The bodies buried in the soil, the tree roots that crawl underground, and the centipedes and other insects that meander and crawl.

Everything gradually came together.

That was on the verdant banyan tree. The hanging aerial roots, like nooses, seemed to connect, indistinctly, to the illusory figures of hanged men…

Click.

The image is shattered.

hiss....

Luo Feng came to his senses, his body covered in a cold sweat.

"origin."

He used the term "origin".

"This banyan tree... has accumulated a great deal of death over a long period of time. It was burned down once, but it was not destroyed. Instead, it was reborn after that fire. It also feeds on the souls of the dead. The souls in that cemetery and the death of that land have all become nutrients for that tree."

Luo Feng understood it this way.

Things grow old and become demons; people grow old and become spirits. That banyan tree, according to Chinese tradition, had endured countless years and become a kind of tree spirit.

Wuchai's uncle must have some connection with this large, established banyan tree.

When the old man was making the offerings, he referred to himself and his companion as sacrificial offerings, apparently to worship the banyan tree, the so-called "Dajian Tree God".

...However, why did that old man insist on killing Wuchai and Panupong?

Luo Feng couldn't understand this.

"Also, wasn't that woman's corpse also killed by the old man?"

He suspected that the drowning of the female corpse that had become a cursed ghost was also the work of Wu Cai's uncle.

"As expected, the best way to understand the truth is to activate another cycle of reincarnation."

Luo Feng decided to go in one more time.

"Let's begin..."

The Reincarnation Gu mark emitted a faint red light and was activated once again.

……

……

They returned to the cycle of reincarnation.

While still on the way to the cemetery, Luo Feng pressed Wu Cai about the banyan tree.

Why are you asking that?

Wu Cai frowned slightly.

"Panupong, you're quite talkative today..."

"It's nothing."

Luo Feng feigned fear: "I've only heard some rumors that the banyan tree in that cemetery seems to be not very clean."

"Yeah?"

Wuchai paused for a moment, then said softly, "Graveyards are naturally filled with all sorts of things. You should have heard the story of Nantakhun. You can't just cut down the trees in Xiangpo, because those trees are easily possessed by tree spirits like Nantakhun."

Luo Feng nodded.

Nam Khun Thong is a female demon that frequently appears in Thai ghost stories. She is also a tree spirit. Nam Khun lives under the Xiangpo Lei tree and wears red or brown Thai clothing.

A similar legend is that of the banana tree spirit Nantani, whose origins are said to be either that it became a spirit over time or that it was the vengeful spirit of a woman who came to possess the tree.

The idea that certain trees can summon ghosts, or that certain plants can be possessed by spirits and monsters, is a widely circulated story in countries such as Thailand, Malaysia, Laos, Cambodia, and Myanmar.

"As far as I know, that banyan tree has a very long history. It is said that during the Ayutthaya period, there was a village nearby. After King Ong No of Chiang Mai died, the village was also captured by the Burmese. They burned, killed, and looted the place, and even hung the corpses of some villagers on the tree for amusement."

"Later, the vengeful spirits of the people who died unjustly in this place often haunted the area, causing unease among the nearby residents. A high-ranking monk passed by and claimed that only by offering sacrifices to the tree spirit of this place could the resentment be appeased."

"Later, a group of people came to the area and were responsible for worshipping the banyan tree. However, the banyan tree was still very strange. It seemed that every ten years, someone would hang themselves on the tree. The clan responsible for worshipping the tree was called the Kunta clan, and they were also called the 'Hanging Clan' by the villagers."

At this point, Wuchai paused, his expression revealing a hint of hesitation and doubt.

"However, there is also a saying that every ten years someone hangs themselves, which is actually the work of a hanging clan. They use this method to worship the banyan tree, and it is said to be a kind of evil ritual."

The information in this passage was truly immense, and upon hearing it, Luo Feng frowned slightly.

Why have I never heard of any story about a "hanging family"?

"During the Thonburi Dynasty, King Pha Chao Thaksin established the Thonburi Dynasty. After defeating the Burmese, he also recaptured Chiang Mai, and those hanged clans were driven away."

Wuchai explained, "Many Thais have moved to the area, and the hanging clans in the villages have been driven away. Only some elderly people in the villages know about these things."

Wu Cai's explanation also made Luo Feng secretly alarmed.

King Phra Chao Thaksin, also known as Taksin, established the third unified dynasty in Thai history and is revered by the Thai people as one of the five "Great Kings" of Thailand. This title is the highest recognition of the achievements of the Thai kings.

Chiang Mai, which is now northern Thailand, was once an independent country in ancient times. However, it was later continuously fought and occupied by the Burmese and Thais, and wars often took place here. This is consistent with the fact that he came into contact with those light and shadow images through his "yin constitution".

Suddenly, Luo Feng had a flash of inspiration.

"Could it be that Wuchai and his uncle are the so-called 'hanging clan'?"

He couldn't think of any other explanation.

"This information is quite important... I can sense that to break this deadlock, we must figure out the secret of the so-called hanging clan ritual and uncover the motives behind it..."