Chapter 9

On the front of the paper figure, Zhang Wenfeng's birth date, time, and name were written, and three blood-red holes were pierced in a triangular pattern on the chest area, each connected by thin, intricate lines of talismanic symbols.

These lines formed a sinister and complex web of blood, entangling the entire paper figure.

On the back of the paper figure, a fierce demon was drawn, with a long strand of hair passing through the three holes and tied in a knot, the ends dyed blood red.

As a descendant of the Immortal Spirit Temple, though young and lacking in experience, he had learned Daoism for many years and was familiar with such malevolent paper talismans.

He finally understood how the host body had died. Could there be an insider helping someone to sneak into his hut and place the paper figure?

The long strand of hair used to bind the paper figure could only be his own.

Was it the cripple or the hunchback?

It was quite coincidental that both were on leave when something major happened here.

Zhang Wenfeng stared at the paper talisman, recited the Heart-Cleansing Mantra to clear his mind, and quickly calmed down. He put the paper talisman in a drawer of the wooden table, gathered the straw, and carefully searched through it, finding no other harmful objects.

After brushing off the straw debris from his hands and robe, Zhang Wenfeng walked around the hut.

After some thought, he returned the paper talisman to its original place on the bed, covered it with the straw, and went out to fetch a bundle of clothes, a blue cloth mat, and a quilt.

He arranged everything, laid the clothes flat on the bed, and covered them with the thin quilt.

Zhang Wenfeng went out again, opened the western hall, and returned in the dark with several talismans left by his master, a small ceramic bottle of cinnabar ink, and a small bronze mirror engraved with the Eight Trigrams.

Eye for eye, tooth for tooth, he was going to make the person who tried to harm him taste the backlash of the blood煞 yin ghost spell.

If that person dared to perform the spell again tonight, he would suffer a terrible death with his soul torn apart.

With some time left, Zhang Wenfeng blew out the oil lamp, moved the chair to a corner away from the bed, and sat in the darkness, pondering the two introductory spells recorded in the cultivation manual: "Spirit Eye Technique" and "Green Wood Wave Technique." With his current initial Qi Transformation realm cultivation, he could practice them.

Through reading the manual, he understood that the Inner Vision Technique was a skill instinctively mastered by cultivators after they entered the path.

He circulated the thin primordial qi in his body through the meridians, starting from the Shenting point, entering the Yintang point to gather momentum, and then brushing back and forth through the攒竹 points between his eyebrows. He was relaxed and unhurried, following the instructions in the manual.

If any dizziness or discomfort occurred, he was ready to stop immediately.

After about a quarter of an hour, he easily opened the攒竹 points, the primordial qi nourishing his eyes, and he mastered the Spirit Eye Technique.

Zhang Wenfeng's lips curled up. The introductory spell was indeed not difficult.

He opened his eyes, and in the darkness, everything was as clear as daylight.

According to the manual, this spell allowed him to see ghosts, spirits, and other intangible entities, with the range depending on his cultivation. At a higher level, it could even penetrate the concealment spells of cultivators.

Compared to the "Opening the Heavenly Eye" technique, which relied on various means, this was much more practical and powerful.

After silently estimating the primordial qi consumed by the Spirit Eye Technique, Zhang Wenfeng stopped the spell, and his vision returned to a dim and blurry state. With his current eyesight, he far exceeded the vision of a postnatal realm martial arts expert. Zhang Wenfeng stood up and took a few steps, hearing the faint sound of three drum beats from the southwest direction of the town.

"Midnight, the third watch."

"I hope tonight will bring a resolution and let me see who is trying to frame... Daoist Master!"

Zhang Wenfeng muttered to himself, sat down, and closed his eyes to meditate and gather his spirit.

He did not plan to consume more primordial qi to practice the Green Wood Wave Technique but to focus all his efforts on dealing with the current situation. The blood煞 yin ghost soul-collecting spell was active from the third to the fifth watch, when the yin energy was strongest.

Come on!

Time slowly passed in the darkness, the room was silent, and outside, autumn insects chirped.

Zhang Wenfeng, who had long practiced meditation and recitation, was patient.

After an hour, he heard the fourth watch from the town, sitting still, his spirit growing stronger. He was determined to wait for the thief, and staying up all night was no problem; in such a situation, he dared not sleep.

After about half an hour, Zhang Wenfeng suddenly opened his eyes, sensing a cold and sinister aura approaching. The chirping of the insects outside abruptly stopped.

His body reacted instinctively, his hair standing on end, and his arms covered in goosebumps.

Using the Spirit Eye Technique, he "saw" a black mist seeping through the two-finger-wide gap at the bottom of the wooden door.

He quickly收敛 his aura, afraid of scaring away the blood煞 yin ghost that had finally appeared, and relaxed inwardly.

This body was overly cautious; he had been to the Netherworld and seen countless ghosts, so what was there to fear?

Soon, he realized he had overestimated the intelligence of the yin ghost following orders.

The black mist did not notice his presence at all, let alone stop to investigate, and instead hungrily pounced on the bed.

With the paper talisman as a medium and guide, the black mist formed a vague human shape, pressing down on the clothes spread on the bed, undulating violently.

"Ah... ah... ah..."

From the back yard, the donkey in the animal shed let out an untimely loud bray.

In the darkness, it was deafening.

Zhang Wenfeng cursed under his breath, "Scaring me," and held out the bronze mirror with the Eight Trigrams from his right sleeve, quickly reciting, "Heaven and Earth coexist, sweep away impurities, the ritual of the bronze mirror, illuminate boundlessly, go!"

He dipped his left index finger in the cinnabar ink from the ceramic bottle, smeared it on the mirror, and infused a bit of his power into his right hand.

"Swish," a thin red light shone on the still self-absorbed and somewhat foolish yin ghost.

Cinnabar is a yang energy substance, and with the temple's inherited ritual tool, the incantation, and primordial qi power, dealing with a mere ghost was no problem.

The light almost caused the yin ghost to dissipate.

Zhang Wenfeng, inexperienced in ghost-fighting and not fully aware of his increased strength, quickly stopped the bronze mirror's spell. He could not just kill the yin ghost and lose the trail, which would benefit the hidden spellcaster.

The weak yin ghost, barely surviving, instinctively escaped through the door gap, heading south.

Zhang Wenfeng took the opportunity to flick a bit of cinnabar ink, two fine red dots adhering to the yin ghost.

He opened the door, quickly pasted a "House Protection Talisman" left by his master above the door frame, closed the door, and nimbly leaped over the ten-foot-high wall, following the yin ghost to find the person behind the spell.

He heard the donkey's piercing bray inside the wall, which suddenly stopped.

He guessed that the donkey might have sensed something unclean entering and brayed as a warning?

His master did not like dogs barking at guests, as it was impolite, so the temple did not have guard dogs. He also disliked chickens and ducks defecating everywhere, which was unsightly and smelly, so the temple was clean and tidy, but they had to buy eggs from the town.

His master had often praised the black donkey he had raised for many years, which served as both a mount and a mill puller.

He said it was gentle and intelligent and should be treated well.

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