The entire sect is obsessed with love, but I'm the only one who's truly insane.

The coffin was already nailed in, and Lin Du was too lazy to get tools. He reached out and tore off the talisman, then called to Yan Qing to use a knife to remove the nails.

Those who witnessed this couldn't help but gasp in astonishment, exclaiming, "How shameless! How shameless!"

"Whether it's immoral or not is another matter, but they've already unearthed such a dangerous soul-sealing formation. If they were to open the coffin and bring the soul back to life, wouldn't they be asking for an even quicker death?"

In no time at all, the coffin lid was opened.

The two men worked together to move the coffin lid, revealing a somewhat desiccated corpse.

The corpse was also nailed with extremely long nails from top to bottom, but the cloth on its body was still bright and well-preserved.

"The body's yin meridians were sealed, and its soul was then drawn into the soul-sealing array. Without replenishing its resentment, it could only slowly dissipate over thousands of years."

Lin Du immediately saw the key point and turned to look at Xiao Qiguan outside, "With the Yin Meridians sealed, even if the ghost's resentment hasn't dissipated, it won't be replenished with resentment energy when it returns to the body."

Moreover, after a thousand years, it has probably long since vanished.

Lin Du looked at the talisman that had been peeled off in his hand, lowered his eyes and waited for a while, then sighed softly.

It seems the ghost-locking formation we just prepared is useless.

But Lin Du quickly realized something was wrong. She suddenly raised her hand and used her spiritual power to close the lid again, then quickly flipped over and stepped on it.

"Junior Uncle?"

Lin Du frowned. "The nails used to seal the Yin meridians should be seven inches long. After being driven into the body, they should protrude no more than three inches. But when we opened the coffin, these nails..."

Summer made no definitive statement, but said, "At least six inches."

The Yin meridians were either not sealed at all, or... during this period, they were gradually pushed up.

The Yin meridians are now at least half open.

"The yin energy is still there, so the body hasn't decayed, and the ghost's yin energy is constantly replenished, so it won't dissipate," Lin Du frowned. "But if there are no ghost remnants in that soul-sealing array, then we can only..."

A chill ran down their spines, and they were almost drenched in cold sweat.

"We could only have escaped from the very beginning," Yan Qing replied.

Lin Du clicked his tongue softly, glanced at the group, and said loudly, "I am Lin Du, the 99th generation disciple of the Supreme Sect. I have no intention of disturbing you. I was just sent here because of the Central Continent Competition. If you are willing to show yourself, I will solve the mystery and send you to the underworld."

Xia Tianwu glanced at Lin Du and said, "Junior Uncle, do you want to get off that person's coffin lid before you talk?"

Lin Du said "Oh," and replied, "No, let's keep it under control and wait for the senior to come out."

A sudden gust of cold wind swept through the room, carrying a chilling cold that made all four of them shiver.

Lin Du took a deep breath, looked down at the compass in his hand, the needle spinning rapidly before suddenly stopping and pointing in Lin Du's own direction.

She raised an eyebrow, suppressing the sharp surprise in her heart, slowly turned her head, and then revealed a standard fake smile, "Senior?"

boom!

A particularly strong gust of wind rushed straight at Lin Du's face.

Lin Du lay back, narrowly escaping death by clinging to the coffin lid. Then, he deftly used his waist as a fulcrum to turn his body ninety degrees, sliding down the slope, but his feet sank into a muddy, weightless abyss.

So that's where he was waiting for her.

Lin Du was swallowed by that space, but when he opened his eyes, it seemed that he had returned to the original main room.

But it was different. Apart from the coffin, the entire floor, beams, and furniture were brand new, even gleaming with a rich, lustrous sheen after being cleaned and polished for a long time.

A dream world, or perhaps it should be called a ghost realm.

It's not actually real.

Lin Du was holding the compass, preparing to find the gate of life and break it open, when he heard human voices.

She squinted and quietly moved closer to the door.

A series of hurried footsteps, like a chase, echoed from the courtyard below, followed by cheerful laughter.

A little child ran ahead with her short legs, while a young man in blue, wearing a colorful Nuo mask, deliberately made a menacing gesture and followed behind the little child, pretending to grab her.

The little baby had short arms and legs and was unusually chubby. He didn't run fast, like a ball that couldn't roll fast even though it had legs. He was quickly caught by the young man.

"Ha! Got caught! The big devil's going to eat the kids!"

The masked man suddenly picked up the child, then shook him violently, bringing his masked face close to the baby's face.

Instead of crying, the little child drew a short wooden sword from his waist. "Demon! Take this!"

The wooden sword clicked lightly as it landed on the Nuo face, and the young man actually staggered to the side, causing the little child to squeal and cry, before they both fell to the ground.

The little boy jumped down, stepping on his father's chest, and triumphantly brandished his wooden sword, shouting, "Yay! The big bad wolf is dead!"

The young man removed the Nuo mask, revealing a dignified and gentle face. "Well done, worthy of being my son."

"If I encounter a demon in the future, I will fight to the last moment and never be a deserter."

He sat on the ground, hugging his son and laughing heartily.

Lin Du watched this scene thoughtfully. Seeing that they were about to enter the main hall, he turned around and moved to the back, leaving through the back door. He walked through the vermilion corridor, past a rockery and stream, and around exotic flowers and vines, until he arrived at the side room.

"The border has been quite turbulent these past few days. Look at you, so badly injured, yet you still insisted on going forward." The woman's voice carried a hint of reproachful complaint.

"The demons are robbing and injuring people. I am one of the few high-level cultivators in the town. I can't just stand by and do nothing." The man's voice was dignified, and it was none other than the voice of the young man who had just been in the main hall.

Lin Du stood outside the room, cautiously, afraid of disturbing the people in the illusion.

"I feel like the frequency of demons harming people is getting higher and higher. The town has also been quite unsettled lately. Several children have gone missing. Shen Yan, maybe we should move." The woman's voice was full of worry.

"If I leave, the border of Zhongzhou... will have one less city where human cultivators can live. Someone has already written to our friends in the major sects. When they arrive, we can directly kill those evil spirits that are causing trouble, and life will be peaceful from now on."

Lin Du frowned. Liyang Town was indeed on the border of Zhongzhou. The Anecdotes Record had also written about the speculations of the people. The most likely reason was that it was disturbed by evil spirits, so it gradually became an isolated city.

But a town with frequent trade wouldn't wait until it's completely emptied out before anyone notices it.

Therefore, it has always been an unsolved mystery.

In retrospect, it is still related to evil spirits.

Why is there no trace of demonic influence within the city?

There had been no sound inside the house for a while, and Lin Du could clearly see the flowers in the yard slowly withering and then turning into a desolate winter scene.

She lifted her foot and walked towards the inner courtyard.

Soon after, cries of surprise were heard: "Go and look for them! Our child! How could they be gone! You're a cultivator at the Radiant Sun Realm! Why would your child be lost!"

The woman's cries rang out in a panic. The young man in blue silently held the struggling woman in his arms, his lips pursed, his expression ashen.

"Just one night, and Hui-ge'er is gone! Why?!"

"You're a cultivator at the Radiant Sun Realm, why didn't you notice that Brother Hui is gone!"

The woman pounded on the man's chest, tears streaming down her face, utterly devastated.

As Lin Du listened to the crying around him, a vague guess suddenly formed in his mind.

This town itself is inhabited by demons disguised in human skin.

This is a ghost's illusion created by its own resentment, so it must contain the things it remembers most deeply.

And the ghost whose soul was sealed, if there are no surprises, is this Shen Yan.

This... is the child's father.

But what exactly did he do to warrant such a cruel method as the Soul-Sealing Array, which would prevent him from ever being reborn?