One divination a day, a trainee celestial master

Li Xuanqing explained to Jiang Shou, "Lingqiu's eyes have had an unusual feature since he was a child. He suffers from a rare 'eye disease.' Therefore, when he looks at people or things, his focus is always unfocused, and he often cannot fully concentrate on a single point. It's not that he's arrogant or disdainful of others."

"what?"

Upon hearing this explanation, Jiang Shou was stunned.

He glanced at Zhang Lingqiu again.

The once arrogant and handsome disciple from Longhu Mountain blushed deeply upon hearing his master expose his shortcomings in front of outsiders. He awkwardly cupped his hands in apology to Jiang Shou for his "disrespectful gaze."

Jiang Shou almost couldn't help but laugh at his embarrassed expression. So, it turns out this guy wasn't pretending to be aloof; he actually has astigmatism or strabismus?!

"I understand, I understand! So that's how it is. I misunderstood." Jiang Shou waved his hands repeatedly, indicating that he completely understood, and even felt a little sorry for this little Taoist priest who was more beautiful than a woman.

After exchanging pleasantries, the atmosphere in the side hall eased considerably.

……

Li Xuanqing put down his teacup, his expression gradually becoming serious, and finally steered the conversation back on track.

"Master Jiang, to be honest, after receiving an urgent report from the provincial department the day before yesterday, all I knew was that there was an extremely ferocious female ghost in red living in that basement. So I rushed over from the Jiangxi office. As for what exactly happened in the basement of that villa, I still don't know the details."

"Although Captain Xia was a firsthand witness, she is not skilled in esoteric arts, and some details are unclear in her description. I wonder if Abbot Jiang could provide a detailed account of what he saw and heard in the basement last night?"

Jiang Shou nodded. There was no point in hiding it. Since the experts from Longhu Mountain had taken over, sharing information was only right.

He recounted in detail how he and Xia Qiu sneaked into the basement yesterday, how they witnessed the extremely tragic Three Women's Ghost Marriage Formation, and how they later fought against that evil Taoist priest.

Of course, in the process of telling the story, he naturally omitted the guidance about the divination of the cold season and the plot of the little ghost Shen Xu going to investigate in advance. He only said that he noticed that the feng shui of the villa was abnormal and that he used the Qi observation technique to detect the resentful energy rising from the ground.

"The old man in the black robe carried a brass bell that could control shadow chains, and held a soul-summoning banner that could spew bewitching smoke and seal souls."

Jiang Shou looked at Li Xuanqing, recalling the terrifying scene from last night: "I heard that old man spouting nonsense in the basement, saying that his name was Bai Gusheng, and that he was from something... the 'Luoyin Sect.' He also said that he was going to create something called the most terrifying 'Yin Embryo' in a hundred years."

"The Underworld Sect?!"

"Bang!"

Upon hearing these three words, Li Xuanqing, who was usually as calm as still water, suddenly trembled as he held the teacup, spilling most of the scalding tea directly onto the back of his hand!

The old master didn't even bother to wipe it; he stood up directly from the armchair, his face full of shock and disbelief!

Even Zhang Lingqiu, who was standing to the side with his head slightly lowered, was startled, and for the first time, a solemn expression appeared on his handsome face.

"Master Li, what exactly is the origin of this Yin-Luo Sect? Judging from your reaction, it seems to be an extremely terrifying cult?" Jiang Shou asked, observing the two men's reactions.

"It's not just terrible, it's utterly inhumane!"

Li Xuanqing took a deep breath and sat back down in his chair. He took out a handkerchief to wipe the tea off the back of his hand, his eyes revealing a deep sense of apprehension and the vicissitudes of memory.

"The Luoyin Sect is an ancient, vicious, and wicked sect that resides deep within the mountains at the border of western Jiangxi and western Hunan!"

Li Xuanqing said in a deep voice, "The evil cultivators in this sect disrespect the gods and do not pursue immortality. They make a living by robbing ancient tombs, extracting souls and refining resentment, and creating living human puppets. Back then, near the Ten Thousand Mountains, countless innocent people and tourists who went into the mountains suffered at their hands, their life essence and souls were brutally drained!"

"Twenty years ago, something caused a huge uproar, which not only alarmed the highest levels of the government but also aroused the wrath of heaven and the resentment of the people. As the ancestral home of the Zhengyi sect, Longhu Mountain once joined forces with several famous righteous sects and prepared to organize a large number of experts to go into the mountain and completely eradicate this cancer."

As he said this, a complex light flashed in Li Xuanqing's eyes, a mixture of awe and longing.

"But... before our righteous sects could fully assemble, one night, a terrifying cataclysmic lightning and fire calamity suddenly erupted at the Luoyin Sect's headquarters!"

"When we arrived deep in the Ten Thousand Mountains the next day, the entire Luoyin Sect's headquarters had been razed to the ground. Hundreds of ruthless evil cultivator elders and disciples within the sect had all been instantly killed by an extremely domineering and pure Taoist true energy! Even their sect's most powerful and troublesome treasure had been forcibly cleaved in two!"

"Afterwards, through extensive investigation, we learned that a mysterious Taoist master had single-handedly entered the Ten Thousand Mountains in the dead of night and completely destroyed the entire Luoyin Sect overnight!"

Li Xuanqing sighed, then shook his head: "I thought this kind of evil cult had long since died out and disappeared into the annals of history. I never imagined that after more than twenty years, there would still be one survivor, causing such a commotion in Qiyun County!"

"And what kind of monster is that Yin fetus?" Jiang Shou continued to ask.

"The Yin Embryo is the most vicious forbidden technique of the Yin-Falling Sect, a technique that has been used for centuries." Li Xuanqing's face was extremely grim. "It is a monster, neither alive nor dead, forcibly conceived within the chest cavity of a corpse by using the extremely yin blood of a living person as a catalyst and feeding on extremely evil vengeful spirits. Once it is born, it can transcend the Three Realms, be unrestrained by the laws of yin and yang, be bloodthirsty as to life, and extremely difficult to suppress!"

"Thanks to the unexpected intervention of Abbot Jiang last night, you interrupted that evil Taoist's spell. Otherwise, once the Yin embryo was formed, the entire Qiyun County would probably have been plunged into chaos." Li Xuanqing looked at Jiang Shou with lingering fear.

Jiang Shou remained silent. It wasn't them who interrupted last night; it was clearly that red-clad female ghost who suddenly "awakened," directly draining the resentment of the yin fetus and turning it into evil.

"Master Li, since that female ghost has drained the energy of the Yin fetus and absorbed the essence of the White Bone Spirit, her current strength is probably far beyond that of an ordinary red-clothed vengeful ghost, right?" Jiang Shou's tone became somewhat heavy.

"Not bad." Li Xuanqing nodded bitterly. "Before I came here today, I went to the county bureau to check the files of those three missing girls."

Li Xuanqing sighed: "And that red-clad female ghost who transformed into evil spirits... her name in life was Lin Wanwan. That girl was also a pitiful person."