Upon hearing the response from Beichuan Si, both Master Onodera and Master Yutian's expressions changed.

But before they could speak, Four Directions Huixue interrupted them:

"Since the Beichuan Master has already said so, Master Onodera, Master Yutian, you two should have no objections now, right?"

"..."

Yutian and Onodera looked at each other and ultimately could only nod their heads, agreeing to Four Directions Huixue's proposal.

Next, Four Directions Huixue confirmed the signal for gathering and instructed on a few matters, then everyone headed towards the interior of the Shrine.

Now that each area needed for investigation had been determined, it was time to go their separate ways.

"The mountain front shrine that Master Onodera and I need to investigate is right here, sorry, we can't continue accompanying you two."

Master Yutian and Master Onodera, holding flashlights in their hands, stopped and spoke.

The mountain front shrine they were to investigate was the Main Hall, coin hall, and the worship hall, dedicated to the Divine Body.

The mountain front shrine was mainly prepared for the clan people's worship, offerings, and contributions, thus it was the largest area and would take a great deal of effort to thoroughly investigate.

Just as Beichuan Si was about to leave, Master Yutian suddenly grabbed him from behind.

He handed a perfectly made white and vermilion Spirit Talisman to Beichuan Si, whispering:

"This is a Spirit Talisman I stumbled upon many years ago, said to have protective powers. But since I've always been cautious, I've never had to use it... Now that Beichuan Master is headed to investigate a dangerous place alone, take it for self-defense."

"..." Beichuan Si.

Looking at the familiar patterns on the Spirit Talisman in his hand, Beichuan Si had a thought.

Wasn't this kind of Spirit Talisman the same type that the system had given him in the early days?

But the few that remained had all been used up on sword maidens. Now suddenly seeing these Spirit Talismans again brought Beichuan Si a touch of fondness.

And besides... this was the only one the other had...

Beichuan Si looked at Master Yutian and nodded: "I will return it to you."

"Coming back alive would already be a good thing."

Master Yutian chuckled: "Be careful on your way, Mr. Beichuan."

He patted Beichuan Si's shoulder and then walked with Master Onodera into the nearby Main Hall.

Watching his figure completely disappear into the hall, Beichuan Si exhaled and turned to look at Four Directions Huixue, who was waiting for him.

She didn't speak, but as soon as Beichuan Si looked her way, she immediately began walking forward.

And she walked straight for five minutes.

At a cross junction, Four Directions Huixue stopped, turned her head, and said:

"Currently to my left is the area of the Shan Zhong Shrine. Beichuan Master, if you continue deeper along the path to the right, you'll reach the area of the mountain back shrine for worship. Once the investigation is somewhat complete, I'll fire a series of signal flares, and then we'll wait for you at the big torii gate of the pilgrims' path... Should be no problem, right?"

Beichuan Si didn't speak, only shook his head without changing his expression.

"Then I wish you a safe return, Beichuan Master... I won't waste any more time here."

Leaving these words behind, Four Directions Huixue played with the Moon Obscuring Mirror, turning and walking towards the left towards the Shenle Hall.

Watching her departing figure, a sinister black aura flickered in Beichuan Si's eyes.

Something was not right.

Four Directions Huixue was definitely behaving strangely.

But strangely, through his Death Aura vision, Beichuan Si couldn't discern anything.

If one had to point out a difference, it was that the good intentions swirling around Four Directions Huixue were getting thicker.

And what was most peculiar was—

"Now that we've already entered the spiritual realm, she had plenty of chances to tell me about the secrets of the Four Directions Family..."

But Four Directions Huixue hadn't told him.

Could it be that there were other spies from the Four Directions Family within the spiritual realm?

Beichuan Si didn't think so.

If the Four Directions Family really could so tightly control the spiritual realm, then they wouldn't need to bother summoning Master Yutian, Master Onodera, and the others.

Moreover, in such a frightening spiritual realm, did the Four Directions Family really have the ability to place spies?

That clearly was unrealistic.

So what exactly was she being cautious about?

"No...if we change our way of thinking," Beichuan Si murmured, then took a step back and flipped his wrist; the Death Aura Hammer took shape—

Bang!!!!

A pungent smell filled the air, and at the same time, pieces of flesh and dark fluid splattered onto the hem of Beichuan Si's pants and his palms.

At the spot where Beichuan Si had just stood, a vengeful spiritual body, now smashed beyond recognition, was twitching.

"No matter what, the ritual site behind the mountain must be investigated."

Beichuan Si raised his hand and took Nishijou Kurenai from his collar, then took out the Shinra Bell and inserted it into the water pouch of his backpack.

That was the preparation complete!

Beichuan Si strode forward.

...

The ritual site behind the mountain.

As its name suggested, it mainly handled some of the private ritual ceremonies of the Four Directions Shrine.

But...

"It appears this place also serves to punish the clansmen," Beichuan Si noted, clutching his flashlight as he scanned the area.

Lined up before him was a row of neatly arranged 'wooden cages.'

These cages formed a jail. From Beichuan Si's angle, one could even see dark bloodstains on the ground, along with bloodied fingernails and tangled, dry hair.

He had been at the ritual site for about ten minutes now, encountering several vengeful spirits of poorly dressed clansmen along the way.

Most of these spirits were incomplete; their heads, bodies, and even feet seemed as if they had been gnawed.

They wobbled in their tattered forms, their voices hoarse as they murmured, "Four Directions...I am so resentful...I didn't want to die...why won't you let me out...Four Directions...?"

And those spirits corresponded to—

"These people in front of me?"

Beichuan Si approached a row of completely destroyed cages.

This row's wooden bars seemed as if they had been gnawed by some beast; the scene inside the cages was also gruesome.

There were stark white bones and tattered strips of fabric.

These were likely the criminals ripped to shreds during the 'Waning Moon Time' by those nefarious beings and emerging vengeful spirits, right?

Because, at the time, the people of the Four Directions Family were all busy fleeing, none could attend to these criminals, who could only wait in their cages, helplessly watching as they were devoured.

Wait...

Was there something?

Beichuan Si's heart stirred, and he shone his flashlight into one of the cages.

Under the vertical light, something on the floor of the cage caught Beichuan Si's eye.

A dark resentful aura hovered around a document, most of which was stained with fresh blood.

"...," Beichuan Si kicked open a wooden bar hanging in the air and then crouched into the cage to pick up the document.

It was a document missing several pages, with light yellow pages splattered with blood.

With the light, Beichuan Si could only make out the top line:

'Why would you treat her like that? Ah...ah...Four Directions Family...why would you treat her like that?'

'I must get out of here, out of this wooden cage prison. She is still waiting for me...yes, I can feel it...she is still waiting for me...'

The words that followed were smudged into a mess by the blood, completely unreadable.

The document was surrounded by the resentful aura of its deceased owner, thus it had been preserved without rotting to this day—

Beichuan Si suddenly rolled forward, then spun around, his flashlight deftly turning as well.

Unbeknownst to him, a pale-faced man had appeared behind Beichuan Si.

He wore a blue hemp kimono; his left hand was bitten off at the root, and his left foot was also gone. His upper skull was slanted at a thirty-degree angle, completely devoured, leaving only his right hand and right foot relatively intact.

Snap!

Beichuan Si flipped his wrist; Jian Ding slid into his hand.

The spirit in front of him might just be the owner of this document.

Because Beichuan Si touched his document left on the ground, it stirred his resentful aura, ultimately causing him to awaken.

It was unclear how important this document was to him, as he seemed unwilling to forget it even in death.

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