Unorthodox methods, cultivating immortality relies on rich women

Upon hearing Shen Qingzhou's question, the woman hesitated slightly before replying, "We came here to find a mirror."

"Mirror?"

Shen Qingzhou looked slightly surprised upon hearing this. Could she be referring to the mirror in her pocket?

He had seen that mirror before; it was just an ordinary mirror, only tainted by the ghostly aura of the female ghost, and had nothing special about it.

Upon hearing this, the woman raised an eyebrow slightly, exuding a captivating charm even through her mask.

"You know?"

"I don't know," Shen Qingzhou waved his hand. "But I'm curious about one thing: who sent you here, or rather, why now of all times?"

Upon hearing this, the burly man and the lean man both turned to look at the woman standing in the middle.

They all understood the implication in Shen Qingzhou's words. How could the woman not realize that there were bad people in the group who had deliberately lured them here?

The woman frowned slightly, revealing a different kind of charm, which made Shen Qingzhou even more curious about her appearance.

She didn't answer the question, but simply said, "Thanks for reminding me."

"Alright." As long as the other party understands, that's fine. Don't let them get tricked and end up not getting the money.

"What kind of mirror are you looking for? Is it inside this ancestral hall?" Shen Qingzhou then asked.

"It is a bronze mirror with a star map outlined in gold inlay on the back, a meander pattern engraved on the inner edge of the mirror, and ancient seal script inscriptions on the outer edge..."

Shen Qingzhou was somewhat surprised to hear this. Was it really that detailed? But it was definitely not the ordinary bronze mirror in his pocket.

"We searched this ancestral hall before you arrived, but we didn't find it, and..."

Her gaze fell into the courtyard; clearly, they had already encountered the female ghost before this.

"So, this female ghost is related to that bronze mirror?" Shen Qingzhou asked.

The woman fell silent upon hearing this.

"Hey, at a time like this, hiding things is pointless. You don't want to be trapped here forever, do you?" Shen Qingzhou said again.

Upon hearing this, the woman's gaze fell on Shen Qingzhou, as if she were reconsidering whether or not to believe him.

However, after much hesitation, she decided to trust him for the time being, since it seemed that only the person in front of her could help them deal with the female ghost.

"This mirror is called the 'Gold-Inlaid Galaxy Mirror,' and it comes from the Xingyi tribe. The Xingyi tribe was a branch of the Yi tribe, which is the same as the Yi people we know today. This branch of the Yi people were skilled in astronomical divination, but they mysteriously disappeared. Many of their artifacts are decorated with galaxy patterns, and this bronze mirror is said to hold the secret to immortality..."

"Immortality?" Shen Qingzhou's eyes widened upon hearing this.

The woman nodded firmly.

"I'm not trying to be rude, but even with thousands of years of Chinese civilization and countless emperors, we couldn't solve the problem of immortality. And this... this Xingyi tribe, they actually have the secret to immortality? Okay, even if they do, why would they hide it in this dilapidated village..."

Then he pointed to the courtyard and said, "The whole village, surely they can't achieve immortality this way? If that's the method, then never mind what I said."

Well, to be honest, both the burly man and the lean man thought Shen Qingzhou made a lot of sense.

The woman sighed and said, "Back then, the land was shattered, war raged, China was submerged, and foreign tribes invaded. The Japanese plundered many things. Our ancestor was a translator for the Japanese, and that's how he managed to switch the bronze mirror..."

Well, that makes sense.

"So he returned to his hometown to study immortality, and in the end, he researched and killed himself and everyone in the village?" Shen Qingzhou said.

The woman was at a loss for words when she heard this.

"Alright, I don't care if you're looking for that mirror for immortality or some other purpose, as long as you pay me. But I still don't know what your names are," Shen Qingzhou said.

In fact, Shen Qingzhou actually believed a bit of what the woman said. Perhaps the Xingyi tribe was a remnant of the previous version, and the bronze mirror was an item from that previous version.

Book lovers are all in the discussion area, chatting about the charm of Xianxia novels.

"My name is Ma Chenggang," the burly man introduced himself first.

"Zhao Changming," the lean man followed.

"Ding Xiangkui," the woman said.

This name sounds a bit strong. Ding Xiangkui actually means something similar to the male name Ding Xiangyang. I don't know if this name is real or not.

However, Shen Qingzhou didn't mind and said with a smile, "Your surname is also Ding?"

Ding Xiangkui nodded and said, "My ancestors came from Dingjia Village."

"So not all the people in Dingjia Village died out," Shen Qingzhou said.

Upon hearing this, Ding Xiangkui immediately frowned and looked at him. Her eyebrows were slightly raised, and she looked at people with great authority.

"Just kidding, just kidding..." Shen Qingzhou laughed it off.

Despite all that they talked, it didn't last long, so the female ghost never reappeared, or perhaps she was hiding in the shadows listening.

"Let's look for where the bronze mirror is." Shen Qingzhou looked around.

The hall was dimly lit, illuminated only by three ever-burning lamps on the altar. The dim light cast long, thin shadows that clung to the mottled walls like countless wriggling figures.

The altar directly in front of us is adorned with carved beams and painted rafters, its decorations exquisite. The incense, candles, and offerings on the altar are brightly colored, as if they were recently placed there, yet they exude a musty, stale smell.

Behind the incense table is a row of shrines, inside which are enshrined the ancestral tablets of the Ding family. The tablets are jet black and shiny, and the names on them are written in gold powder, but they are all blurry and indistinct, as if they have been washed away by tears.

Above the shrine, a huge portrait of the clan's ancestor hangs on the crossbeam. The person in the portrait has a cold face and empty eyes. No matter where you stand in the hall, you feel like he is staring at you intently. The curve of his mouth changes slightly as his gaze moves.

In ancient times, plumpness was considered beautiful because only the wealthy who had no shortage of food and clothing could be plump. Plumpness represented abundance, so these portraits of our ancestors rarely show a slender figure; they are all plump.

So Shen Qingzhou stared intently at the chubby man in front of her, and they looked at each other.

"Can you see anything?" Ding Xiangkui asked curiously from the side.

"I was thinking, he must be one of your ancestors, right? If that's the case, do you look a bit like him? If so, it's not very good-looking," Shen Qingzhou said.

Ding Xiangkui's expression remained unreadable upon hearing this; he simply said in a somewhat cold voice, "Is this how you do things?"

"Hehe, I just thought the atmosphere was a bit tense, so I was just trying to lighten it up. Don't worry about it," Shen Qingzhou said, walking directly to the offering table.

Then, with a flick of his wrist, three incense sticks appeared in his hand. The three people behind him were very curious, wondering where he had hidden the incense. Judging from his body, it didn't seem like there was anywhere he could hide incense.

He took out the lighter he had just smuggled, lit the incense sticks, then spun them three times clockwise in the air before finally inserting them into the offering table in front of him.

At the same time, he muttered, "With incense as the guide, all requests will be granted..."

Since these ghosts are hiding in the shadows, let's lure them out.

Although it's called the Soul-Summoning Spell, that's just a euphemism. It also has another name: the Soul-Binding Spell.

Whether you come or not, as soon as they smell the incense, they'll immediately drag you over, half-asleep.

As soon as Shen Qingzhou finished speaking, wisps of green smoke, like a serpent, coiled in the air for a moment before suddenly piercing into the void, weaving a long, persistent path of smoke before finally disappearing into the void...

And the three incense sticks began to shorten rapidly.

"Eh, eh..."

Shen Qingzhou panicked. How many ghosts were there? He had miscalculated; three incense sticks were not enough.

Seeing Shen Qingzhou's flustered expression, the three people behind her immediately tensed up.

Ma Chenggang tugged at the pit bull in his hand. The dog seemed to have been terrified and had completely lost its fighting spirit, hiding timidly in the back.

It should be noted that the dog played a crucial role in saving us from danger several times after we entered the ancestral hall.

This made them feel less confident and more nervous.