Chapter 40

Regardless of whether it looks convincing or not, as long as one isn't a fool, they wouldn't entirely believe this. Tie Miaqing naturally had her doubts, "What's the point of doing this?"

Yu Qing: "To give you an explanation."

Tie Miaqing frowned slightly, pointing at the pile of dry grass on the ground, silently questioning, is this explanation enough?

Yu Qing: "Later, when I leave the cave and enter the ritual platform, I will send you a signal. After you hear the signal, I hope you will sincerely kneel before this pile of dry grass and set it on fire. When the dry grass is completely burned into charcoal and ash, take advantage of the red-hot charcoal to transform your heart's desires into a 'wordless book' and sincerely ask the spirits. With me performing the ritual outside, you will feel the spirits' response to your questions."

Is this real? Can you directly communicate with the spirits? Tie Miaqing was a bit confused and asked, "I don't understand what a 'wordless book' is. What is it?"

Yu Qing explained: "What is written for the spirits to see cannot be superficial or for others to see; it must be sincere. Simply put, the content written should not leave any traces. Use your fingers to write the words on your own body. As long as your body is sincere, the spirits will naturally see the 'wordless book' you offer."

Tie Miaqing's eyes flickered, her expression becoming increasingly uncertain. The things he said were so mysterious that she couldn't believe them, yet she couldn't completely deny them either.

Seeing her hesitation, Yu Qing sighed, "It's a simple matter; there's no loss in trying."

Tie Miaqing bit her lip and asked, "Where on the body should I write the words with my fingers?"

Yu Qing couldn't help but glance at her chest, with a bit of imagination, but he didn't say anything out of line, "As long as you are sincere, as long as it's on your body, it doesn't matter where you write it."

Tie Miaqing thought for a moment and asked, "How long will it take to get a result?"

"Very quickly!" Yu Qing pointed to the pile of dry grass on the ground, "It will take as long as it takes for this pile of dry grass to turn to ashes. After the fire is completely out, you can come out. With your cultivation, you shouldn't be afraid of a bit of smoke, right?"

Tie Miaqing estimated that this wouldn't be a problem. A pile of dry grass would burn quickly, and with her cultivation, holding her breath for that amount of time would be no issue. She nodded and said, "Alright, I'll try it with you."

Yu Qing said seriously, "Madam, I must remind you, you can try, but during the process, you must treat it sincerely. Don't harm yourself or others. Otherwise, playing with the spirits is not a trivial matter; it will bring divine retribution. Remember, the process of communicating with the spirits can only be known by the person involved. Do not casually reveal the secrets to others. In other words, besides you and me, no matter whether you believe it or not, if you really don't believe it, you can kill me, but you cannot reveal any content of the communication with the spirits to anyone else, understood?"

People are always wary of the unknown. Although Tie Miaqing didn't fully believe this, after Yu Qing's mysterious and serious explanation, she was already starting to feel a sense of reverence for the unknown. She huffed, "I heard you."

Yu Qing nodded, "Good, I'll go to the ritual platform now. When you hear my command, follow my instructions. By the way, I need to know your name, as it will be used when I communicate with the spirits."

Tie Miaqing hesitated for a moment but still told him, "Iron, Tie Miaqing." She lifted the pendant at her waist, showing the characters 'Miaqing' on it.

Yu Qing immediately understood. It turned out that the name of Miaqing Hall came from this woman's name, and it wasn't an old brand from Youjiao Port.

At this moment, Sun Ping's voice came from outside, "Madam, are you alright?"

After waiting for a while without seeing any situation inside, he was somewhat worried.

"I'm fine," Tie Miaqing replied loudly, then asked the person in front of her, "Can we start now?"

Yu Qing: "Finally, please remove your hat and veil, Madam."

Tie Miaqing immediately raised an eyebrow, "Is that necessary?"

Yu Qing sighed helplessly, "Madam, do you think it's appropriate to communicate with the spirits while wearing a hat and veil?"

It did seem a bit disrespectful. Tie Miaqing thought for a moment and said, "I'll remove them later."

Yu Qing was speechless. He had already gotten her name and now wanted to see what she looked like, but it didn't seem right to force her, so he turned and left.

Suddenly, Tie Miaqing asked, "Why can't we do it outside? Why do I have to hide in the cave?"

Yu Qing stopped and replied, "The incense burner, this cave is temporarily set up as an incense burner. You don't even have incense, let alone an incense burner. Don't say communicating with the spirits, even fooling a ghost wouldn't be so careless, right?"

Tie Miaqing didn't know if what he said made sense. She didn't understand it, and not understanding it, she couldn't deny it, so she was speechless.

Yu Qing then went out. Under everyone's watchful eyes, he walked back to the circle where he had drawn the talisman, sat cross-legged in the circle, and closed his eyes.

Seeing that Tie Miaqing hadn't come out, Sun Ping and the others immediately walked toward the cave entrance. Yu Qing shouted, "Please step aside, do not disturb, maintain silence."

The three were stunned, and Tie Miaqing's voice also came from inside the cave, "I'm fine, wait outside. I want to see what he can do."

Hearing this, the three had no choice but to turn and walk away, but they all kept a close eye on Yu Qing, wary of any trouble he might cause.

Chong didn't know what was going on, occasionally looking at Xu Fei, who clearly didn't know either.

Clang! After sitting and chanting for a while, Yu Qing suddenly opened his eyes and drew his sword, abruptly throwing it upward. The sword rolled in the air and with a swoosh, landed in the ground outside the talisman circle, directly in front of Yu Qing.

Yu Qing stared at the cave entrance and shouted, "Tie Miaqing, no more delay!"

Everyone looked at the cave entrance.

Tie Miaqing, who had been waiting for news inside the cave, was surprisingly obedient. Upon hearing the words, she immediately lifted her hat and removed her veil, revealing her beautiful face. She bit her lip, looked outside, and, seeing that no one could see her, steeled herself and knelt down.

Looking at the pile of dry grass in front of her, Tie Miaqing felt a bit ridiculous, wondering if she was being foolish. Could she really believe such nonsense? She secretly resolved that if someone dared to play with her, she would make them regret ever being born.

She quickly put aside her doubts, afraid of offending the spirits, and took out a fire striker, lighting a flame. She followed Yu Qing's instructions, bent down to ignite the pile of dry grass, and then blew out the fire striker. Facing the rapidly growing fire, she felt a deep sense of sincerity and reverence.

Outside the cave, the group saw smoke rising and quickly becoming thick, all of them surprised. Sun Ping wanted to go in to see what was happening, but Yu Qing shouted again, "Do not disturb, maintain silence!"

The three had to endure.

Cheng Shanping turned and walked to Yu Qing's side, sword in hand, ready to act. If anything happened to Tie Miaqing, he would make Yu Qing regret his life.

Tie Miaqing, kneeling before the fire, used her cultivation to hold her breath and focus, avoiding inhaling the thick smoke, maintaining a sincere and reverent heart.

In the thick smoke, she felt as if there were eyes watching her, making her hair stand on end. She became even more cautious and sincere.

The pile of dry grass burned quickly, and the flames soon died down, turning into red-hot charcoal.

Without any material to sustain the fire, the charcoal turned black quickly. Tie Miaqing, without much time to think, hurriedly prayed sincerely, asking if the poison in her husband's body could be successfully neutralized, hoping to receive a response from the spirits.

Thinking about writing the 'wordless book,' she was a bit flustered, unsure where on her body to write. She chose her palm, the most convenient place, and unsure if writing many words repeatedly was appropriate, she finally wrote the characters "An Pi" (safe or not) with her fingers, using these two characters to represent all her questions and prayers, hoping for a response from the spirits.

The ash gradually dimmed, with faint red light still visible. Tie Miaqing wasn't sure if she could ask the spirits anything more.

The problem was that she hadn't received any response from the spirits, but she didn't dare lose patience and continued to wait sincerely, even while being smoked out, waiting for the spirits' response.

Yu Qing, sitting cross-legged in the talisman circle, watched the smoke gradually dissipate from the cave entrance. Thinking of Tie Miaqing holding her breath, kneeling in the thick smoke, he secretly sneered, feeling some of his resentment from being injured earlier had been vented.

But this wasn't over, and he glanced at Cheng Shanping.

The smoke had almost dissipated, and the red light in the ash had disappeared. Tie Miaqing's face turned grim. She hadn't felt any clear or subtle response from the spirits, feeling that she had been fooled!

She pulled out her veil and put it back on, picked up her hat, and put it back on her head. Changing from a kneeling position, she stood up and quickly walked away.

At the cave entrance, where a faint smoke still lingered, Tie Miaqing reappeared, standing at the entrance, coldly staring at Yu Qing, who was sitting cross-legged, clenching her teeth.

Seeing the expression on her face under the hat, Yu Qing knew he had made this woman angry. He guessed that she hadn't successfully communicated with the spirits.

Of course, he knew it was impossible for her to communicate successfully. It was all a trick to fool her. If he really had such abilities, he wouldn't be in this situation.

Sun Ping and the others also noticed Tie Miaqing's anger.

Before Tie Miaqing could react, Yu Qing, who was ready to act based on her expression, immediately stood up and walked over. Seeing Sun Ping and the others approaching, he waved them away, and they had to endure.

Yu Qing walked alone to Tie Miaqing and said, "Your expression is off." Then he turned and slipped into the cave.

Tie Miaqing turned indifferently and followed him into the cave.

In front of the pile of ash, Yu Qing knelt on one knee.

Tie Miaqing stood behind him, coldly saying, "Did you dare to play with me?"

"It seems you didn't feel any clear response from the spirits." Yu Qing sighed, then bent down and extended a hand, digging into the ash.

Tie Miaqing, about to speak harshly and even punish Yu Qing, suddenly saw his actions and involuntarily held back her words, watching coldly.

Yu Qing then knelt on both knees, extended both hands, and pushed the ash to the sides.

At the bottom, he gently blew, revealing two characters, "An Pi," on the ground where the dry grass had burned.

Tie Miaqing's harsh words were on the tip of her tongue, and she was even ready to punish Yu Qing, but seeing his actions, she couldn't help but hold back, watching coldly.