The inner hall was pitch black, the air thick and stagnant like congealed glue.
Shouzhen slowed his breathing, each step taken with utmost caution, as if afraid of disturbing something unseen.
The faint creak of the floorboards beneath his feet pierced the dead silence like a needle.
Just as he prepared to investigate in the darkness, a beam of light suddenly cut through from behind him.
"Daoist Shouzhen, playing hide-and-seek alone isn’t much fun."
Liu Zheng’s voice carried its usual hint of playful mockery as he waved a high-powered flashlight.
"Still lacking experience, I see. Cultivation alone won’t light your way."
Though his tone was teasing, his movements were swift and precise. The beam of light swept efficiently across every corner of the inner hall, outlining the walls, ceiling, and bookshelves in stark relief.
Only after thoroughly scanning the surroundings did he call out, "Old Bai, is there a circuit breaker outside? Turn it on."
The capable man outside the curtain quickly located the breaker near the rolling shutter door.
"Found it."
With a flick of the switch, the room abruptly lit up.
Two eerie crimson lights flickered to life on either side of the altar—lotus-shaped lamps, their bloody glow casting the ritual platform in a ghostly hue.
A moment later, the ceiling’s fluorescent lights flickered twice before emitting a dim yellow glow, dispelling some of the sinister atmosphere.
The inner hall was now fully illuminated.
"Whoa, fully automated? Now that’s attention to detail."
Liu Zheng stowed his flashlight back into the pouch at his waist, then dramatically sniffed the air.
"This smell... tsk, like using evil energy as air freshener. It’s practically marinated in here."
His gaze swept the room, but his brows gradually furrowed.
Aside from a few bookshelves and lamps, the hall was completely empty. The floor was spotless, gleaming under the light—no talismans, not even a single strand of hair.
Shouzhen ignored his jest and strode to the center of the hall, crouching down.
His fingertips brushed lightly over the tiles—not a speck of dust. Closing his eyes, he felt the lingering, oppressive aura of malevolence, like countless needles pricking at his senses.
"There’s no doubt," he said coldly. "Cursed objects were stored here for a long time, and not just one."
"Exactly. Thick enough to choke on," Liu Zheng agreed, his playful demeanor fading as he stepped closer.
"But where are they? Not even a trace left behind. Cleaner than a five-star hotel’s service."
No matter how hard he looked, Liu Zheng couldn’t find a single clue.
The place might as well have been an ordinary incense shop.
A wave of frustration washed over them.
Shouzhen couldn’t help but sigh.
"He anticipated we’d track this place down. Used the cursed artifacts as bait to lure us here, then left us chasing shadows."
Liu Zheng nodded, then shook his head.
"Yes and no."
Rubbing his chin, his eyes glinted with calculation.
"Making us waste time isn’t just for kicks. It means he’s stalling because he’s not confident facing us head-on."
The two stepped out of the inner hall one after the other.
Old Bai was leaning against the doorframe and straightened immediately upon seeing them.
"Find anything?"
"Nothing. The culprit must have some artifact that masks traces."
Shouzhen nodded, raising a finger.
"Only one thing can suppress and seal such concentrated evil energy—green jade.
Green jade repels evil and pacifies spirits. Only a jade casket could fully contain cursed objects without leaking a trace of their malice."
Old Bai’s brows shot up. "A jade casket? That’s not cheap, nor is it common."
"We’ll have to check the jade markets. A pure, intact jade casket is rare."
"And antique markets too, especially recent high-value transactions. If you want to hide something, you buy a safe first."
Without another word, Old Bai yanked the circuit breaker down with a sharp click, plunging the incense shop back into darkness.
He swiftly rolled the shutter door down and locked it, the entire process smooth and efficient, taking barely ten seconds.
The neighboring florist peeked out curiously, about to ask something, but the trio ignored him, melting into the crowd on the street until their figures vanished from sight.
Only after they left did Lin Mo and Xie Yuling emerge from a corner of the market.
"Were those people bad guys?" Xie Yuling asked curiously, glancing at Lin Mo.
"No, they’re the good guys. One’s a Daoist, the other two are special division police."
Lin Mo recognized Shouzhen, of course.
Back at the Pure Yang Temple, he’d spotted a young Daoist nearby but had easily clouded his senses.
That old Daoist was probably connected to Yanhuang Awakening too.
As for Liu Zheng and Old Bai, Lin Mo was certain they were from Yanhuang Awakening.
His divine sense was all-pervasive—he’d effortlessly located their identification.
"If they’re good guys, why are we hiding from them?" Xie Yuling still seemed puzzled.
Lin Mo shot her a sidelong glance, lips quirking.
"Why let them know? We’re just students—at most, a couple of concerned citizens."
Xie Yuling understood immediately, then grew excited. "So we’re investigating now?"
"Of course. They didn’t find anything useful, but that doesn’t mean we can’t."
With that, Lin Mo grasped Xie Yuling’s wrist.
"Close your eyes."
She obeyed, and the surrounding noise seemed to vanish instantly. A brief sensation of weightlessness struck her, but then her feet landed firmly on solid ground again.
"Open them."
When she did, darkness enveloped them, the air heavy with the scent of old incense ash and wood.
Lin Mo raised a hand, and a soft glow emanated from his palm, illuminating the entire incense shop.
Xie Yuling looked around in amazement. She wasn’t too surprised by Lin Mo’s ability to phase through walls—after all, he’d appeared in her room like that several times before.
But experiencing it firsthand was still a first.
"That spirit medium’s long gone, right?" Xie Yuling turned to Lin Mo.
He nodded.
"Right. This place is just a decoy left behind, probably to buy time."
Lin Mo casually picked up a wooden fish from the table.
Then, he activated his supernatural ability—Premonition.
The last time he’d used this was back at Chu Miaomiao’s home.
It was perfect for tracking an object’s owner.
He’d heard everything clearly—Yanhuang Awakening’s agents couldn’t locate the spirit medium directly.
But he was different.
Within the vision of Premonition, only darkness appeared before fading entirely.
"Huh?!"
Lin Mo slowly formed a question mark in his mind.
Premonition had failed?!
When a person’s future couldn’t be foreseen, there was only one explanation.
Xie Yuling noticed his reaction and leaned in nervously. "What’s wrong? Couldn’t find her?"
"It’s not that. The spirit medium probably isn’t the mastermind either."
"There’s someone else?!" Xie Yuling sounded slightly shocked.
"Unless I’m mistaken, the spirit medium’s already compromised. She might just be the delivery method for the cursed objects."
Xie Yuling pressed, "Then what do we do?"
"Keep looking. There’s got to be a clue here somewhere."
ing gift was a patch of barren land, and disciples were all picked up along the way. He spent fifty years diligently building three "ramshackle little sects," thinking he could finally live a carefree life relying on his disciples. But right at the fifty-year mark, he was suddenly swept away by a spatial rift and exiled to the Chaos Desolation, the Disorderly Ruins. There was no spiritual energy there, only slaughter. Relying on the cultivation feedback from his disciples, Gu Changyuan hacked his way through a sea of blood for eleven hundred years. When the system finally fished him back out, he discovered the ramshackle little sects he'd built back then had developed a rather... unusual style. Hold on... I vanished for a thousand years, so how did my ramshackle little sects become holy lands?!
ut it can buy an entire year of absolutely perfect training results! Su Yu stared at his empty wallet and decisively opened up various online loan platforms. “Borrow a thousand bucks! Recharge my vitality!” Boom! His vitality broke a hundred points, shattering the limits of the human body! “Borrow ten thousand bucks! Recharge my combat skills!” Boom! A basic punching technique so common it was everywhere instantly maxed out, revealing the ultimate assassination technique of Five Elements Unity—Inner Force! When a rich kid hired assassins for a midnight ambush, aiming to break both of his legs, they instead ran headfirst into a monster—a human-shaped tyrannosaur, brimming with dragon-like vitality. With just two fingers, Su Yu snapped a steel staff reinforced with alloy. Staring at the killer’s stash of stolen cash—a staggering quarter-million dollars—he showed a corporate-sincere smile: “Thanks for the pre-exam gift pack, Mr. Zhao! I’m gonna go re-invest this!” Three days later, at the National Martial Arts College Entrance Exam, while everyone else struggled just to reach the passing line, Su Yu threw a single punch—and more than a thousand vitality points literally detonated the entire arena!
nto another world, I bought a slave for the first time, never expecting the silver wolf girl to be so cute... Lin Feng: I know it's cold, but you don't have to sneak into my bed! Yuna: Just sharing body warmth, if you dare do anything naughty, I'll definitely...
e bizarre and supernatural had descended. The previous emperor was a thoroughgoing tyrant; no longer satisfied with human women, he had set his sights on a stunningly beautiful supernatural entity. He met his end in his bedchamber, drained of all his vital essence. As the legitimate eldest son and crown prince, Wang Hao was thus hastily enthroned, becoming the young emperor of the Great Zhou Dynasty. No sooner had he awakened the "Imperial Sign-In Intelligence System" than he was assassinated by a Son of Destiny—a classic villain's opening. The Great Zhou, ravaged by the former emperor's excesses, was in national decline. The great families within its borders harbored their own treacherous schemes, martial sects began to defy the imperial court's decrees, and border armies, their pay and provisions in arrears, grumbled incessantly against the central government. Fortunately, the central capital was still held secure by the half-million Imperial Guards and fifty thousand Imperial Forest Army who obeyed the court's orders, along with the royal family's hidden reserves of power, barely managing to suppress the realm. As the Great Zhou's finances worsened and supernatural activities grew ever more frequent, the court sat atop a volcano. Ambitious plotters everywhere dreamed of overthrowing the dynasty, and even some reclusive ancient powers emerged, attempting to sway the tides of the world. At the first grand court assembly, the civil and military officials nearly came to blows, fighting tooth and nail over the allocation of fifty million taels of silver from the summer tax revenues. The spectacle opened Wang Hao's eyes—the Great Zhou's bureaucracy was not only corrupt but also martially proficient, a cabinet of all-rounders. Some officials even had the audacity to suggest the emperor release funds from the imperial privy purse to address the emergency. Wang Hao suddenly felt weary. Let it all burn.
