Starting with the Earth God, the path to immortality is deduced!

"That self-proclaimed 'Number One Talent of Fengzhou,' whose family was dirt poor, yet he still insisted on running a porridge distribution center—that philanthropist Li?!"

"Impossible! Absolutely impossible!"

Li Juren's reputation in Fengzhou City was truly excellent.

He is a model of rising from humble beginnings, an example for all scholars, and a living bodhisattva in the mouths of countless poor people!

People would believe it if you said the county magistrate in the city was a bad person.

To say that Li Juren was the mastermind behind it all is simply a fantasy!

Zhou Yuan watched her intense reaction, but his eyes grew even colder.

"The more impossible something is, the more likely it is to happen."

"His disguise was too perfect."

"Perfect...like a painted skin."

Zhou Yuan's voice calmed Ma Ling'er down.

She thought about it carefully, and her brows gradually furrowed.

"Now that you mention it..."

"I think... there's something wrong with him."

"But I can't explain it."

A glint of blue light flashed in Zhou Yuan's eyes, and he said in a low voice:

"I can say it."

He acted decisively and immediately activated the supernatural powers in "Strange Tales of Gods and Monsters".

[Spirit-Seeking Technique]!

"Let's go find him!"

"No, we're going to 'see' him!"

……

Half an hour later.

Fengzhou City, Wenchang Street.

Outside a dilapidated courtyard, across the street, is a private room on the second floor of a teahouse.

Zhou Yuan and Ma Ling'er sat by the window, their gazes fixed on the courtyard that seemed out of place amidst the surrounding bustling city.

That was the home of Scholar Li.

The faded couplets pasted on the gate and the peeling paint on the walls showed the owner's poverty.

At this moment, Li, the scholar, was sitting at the stone table in the courtyard, holding a book in his hands, reading with great interest by the moonlight.

He wore a faded scholar's robe, had a thin face, and a refined demeanor. Occasionally, he would reveal a gentle smile when he came across something interesting in the book.

From any perspective, this is a perfect picture of a sage's disciple, content with a simple life.

Ma Ling'er shook her head as she watched.

"I can't see any problem at all."

He was...very clean.

Zhou Yuan didn't speak, but his eyes already held a different look.

In the vision of [Spirit Sight], the material world recedes, and the form of the soul appears.

There was indeed not a trace of evil about Li Juren.

His fortune also exhibited a healthy pale golden hue, a unique aura of literary talent.

however……

Zhou Yuan pushed the [Spirit Observation Technique] to its limit, his gaze piercing through the layer of pale golden fortune and looking at the origin of his soul.

In an instant, Zhou Yuan's heart sank!

He saw it!

Deep within that seemingly luminous soul, like the interior of a beautiful jade, lies a tiny, yet incredibly dark, crack!

Within that crack, surged an almost imperceptible yet extremely pure... resentment!

That resentment was filled with the injustice of the world, the mockery of fate, and the deepest hatred for the high and mighty gods!

He suppressed and contained this resentment with his righteous Wenchang Qi, not letting it leak out in the slightest!

If it weren't for the [Spirit-Seeking Technique] pointing directly to the source, no one would have been able to discover it!

"Found it."

Zhou Yuan withdrew his supernatural power and rubbed his slightly swollen eyes.

Just then, Ma Ling'er, who was standing to the side, suddenly exclaimed "Eh!"

"What's wrong?" Zhou Yuan asked.

Ma Ling'er's nose twitched slightly, and her beautiful eyebrows furrowed.

"strangeness……"

"I think I smell a familiar scent on him."

"It's very, very faint; you can barely smell it."

"But this aura... I've seen it described in my family's forbidden texts!"

Her expression turned somewhat serious.

"That's a long-lost evil technique from the southern border regions called the 'Three Corpse Vengeance Scripture'!"

"Those who practice this method can cut off all their evil thoughts, resentment, and desires, and refine them into an 'evil corpse'."

"The evil corpse commits all kinds of evil deeds and has committed countless atrocities, but all the karma and evil spirits are borne by the evil corpse."

"The true self, however, can forever maintain its 'purity' and 'goodness,' and can even cultivate righteous methods normally without anyone noticing!"

Ma Ling'er's words were like a thunderbolt, instantly enlightening Zhou Yuan!

"I see!"

"The accountant is his 'evil corpse'!"

"No wonder there's not a trace of evil about him!"

"What a Li Xiuwen! What a 'Three Corpses Vengeful Spirit'!"

A cold glint flashed in Zhou Yuan's eyes!

This situation is more complicated and more vicious than he imagined!

Ma Ling'er's face turned pale, and she gritted her teeth.

"That hypocrite! He fooled the whole city!"

"Let's storm in now and expose him!"

"No!"

Zhou Yuan stopped her again.

"We have no evidence."

"His true form is 'clean,' and no matter how much we explain it, no one will believe us."

"unless……"

A cold smile curled at the corner of Zhou Yuan's lips.

"Let him tear off this mask himself!"

……

The next day, early in the morning.

The largest teahouse in Fengzhou City, "Wenxiangju," was packed with guests.

This is the place where scholars in the city like to gather.

Li, the scholar, is also here today. He is surrounded by a group of students, explaining the meaning of the classics to them. He is gentle, refined, and elegant.

Just then, two uninvited guests walked up to the second floor of the teahouse.

It was Zhou Yuan and Ma Ling'er.

The two men acted as if they hadn't seen Li Juren at all, and sat down at the next table, deliberately raising their voices.

"Ling'er, that evil spirit from the Qian family last night was truly terrifying!"

Zhou Yuan said with a look of lingering fear.

Ma Ling'er immediately responded in a cooperative manner.

"Absolutely! If you ask me, the most despicable one is that 'accountant' hiding behind the scenes!"

The words "accountant" were uttered.

Li, who was speaking eloquently, paused almost imperceptibly.

His hand holding the teacup trembled slightly.

Although he immediately returned to normal, this instantaneous change did not escape Zhou Yuan's eyes!

Ma Ling'er continued loudly:

"Yes! I heard that the 'accountant' also minted a very sinister kind of 'ghost money'!"

"On the back of the coin, there's an abacus design!"

"He used this kind of illicit money to set up a vicious formation in the city called... the 'Nine Nether Dragon Locking Formation'!"

"boom!"

These words struck Li Juren's heart like a heavy hammer!

Money from the underworld!

Abacus pattern!

Nine Nether Dragon Locking Formation!

These are the most crucial secrets in his plan!

How could these two people know so much?!

The smile on Li Juren's face finally stiffened slightly.

The students around him were also drawn to the conversation and began to discuss it amongst themselves.

"Underworld money? What's that?"

"That sounds really creepy!"

This is exactly the effect Zhou Yuan wanted!

He quietly closed his eyes, his mind instantly sinking into his sea of ​​consciousness, entering a profound and mysterious state.

[Walking in the underworld]!

In an instant, Zhou Yuan's perspective changed!

He no longer sees the world through his physical eyes, but rather surveys the entire teahouse from the perspective of his soul!

In the state of "walking in the underworld", all the emotions, energy, and fluctuations of the soul of all people are exposed!

He "saw" it clearly!

When Ma Ling'er mentioned the "abacus pattern," Li Juren's soul, which was enveloped in the aura of Wenchang, contracted violently!

A wisp of pitch-black yin energy uncontrollably emanated from the deepest crack in his soul!

Although it was only a trace, he quickly suppressed it again!

But that's enough!

Zhou Yuan suddenly opened his eyes, his gaze sharp as a sword, piercing straight at Li Juren!

"Scholar Li!"

He shouted loudly.

"You are the 'accountant'!"

The entire venue fell into a deathly silence!

All eyes were on Zhou Yuan and Li Juren.

The students were stunned at first, then flew into a rage!

"How dare you!"

"Who are you? How dare you slander Mr. Li!"

"Mr. Li is a man of high moral character; how could you, a petty person, dare to slander him!"

Li, the scholar, slowly stood up; the astonishment and panic on his face had vanished.

Instead, there was an extremely somber calm.

He looked at Zhou Yuan, his eyes no longer showing any gentleness, only a chilling coldness.

he knows.

He was exposed.

His carefully maintained perfect facade, maintained for over a decade, was torn open by this unassuming young man before him.

He clapped his hands softly.

"Smack."

"Smack."

"Smack."

The crisp applause sounded particularly jarring in the quiet teahouse.

"Wonderful."

Li Juren's voice became hoarse and unfamiliar.

"That was truly amazing."

"I thought my plan was flawless, but I never expected to be defeated by you two juniors."

His words shocked everyone present!

He...he admitted it?!

That gentle and refined scholar Li was actually the mastermind behind everything?!

"Mr. Li...you..."

A student asked in a trembling voice.

Li, the scholar, slowly turned his head and looked at the student.

A strange and sinister smile began to appear on his face.

His face began to contort in full view of everyone!

His thin cheeks turned sallow, his refined eyes became cloudy, and his mouth split into an inhuman arc, revealing his gleaming white teeth.

"Don't call me Mr. Li."

"I'm the one you're talking about..."

"The accountant!"

The moment the words fell!

An intense, overwhelming yin energy erupted from his body!

"call--!"

A cold wind howled, making the tables and chairs in the teahouse clatter!

The students were struck by the yin energy and all let out a scream. They collapsed to the ground, their faces ashen. Some even foamed at the mouth and fainted!

"You've finally stopped pretending!"

Zhou Yuan snorted coldly, and with a flick of his left hand, the Azure Lamp was already in his grasp!

The faint blue light protected him and Ma Ling'er, shielding them from the invasion of the yin energy.

Ma Ling'er also let out a delicate shout, and the cloth bag at her waist was itching to move!

Li, the scholar, or rather the accountant, looked at the blue lamp in Zhou Yuan's hand, a hint of fear flashing in his eyes, which quickly turned into deep sarcasm.

"Two ignorant brats."

"Do you think that just because you've discovered my identity, you can stop me?"

"You are merely the last two names to be erased from my ledger!"

He suddenly flicked his sleeve!

"Come out!"

"My guests!"

"Swish! Swish! Swish!"

Several dark figures appeared out of nowhere in the teahouse!

On the left are three ghostly figures dressed in rotten scholar robes, their bodies reeking of ink!

They were expressionless, with empty eyes, but in their hands they held brushes formed from resentment, the tips of which were as sharp as knives!

【The Vengeful Scholar】!

On the right are two alluring female ghosts with faces as white as paper!

They smiled sweetly, but their masks were peeling away, revealing their true, bloody faces underneath!

【The Painted Skin Ghost】!

These were all evil spirits that Zhou Yuan and Ma Ling'er had previously purified!

Do not!

wrong!

The aura of these evil spirits is purer and more ferocious than the ones we've encountered before!

They are not wild evil spirits, but ghost servants tamed by Li Juren using evil magic!

"kill!"

Li, the scholar, uttered a cold word.

Five evil spirits simultaneously let out a shriek and pounced on Zhou Yuan and Ma Ling'er from five directions!

"Well done!"

Zhou Yuan showed no fear and poured his magic power into the Azure Lamp!

"The lamp illuminates the path to the underworld, where the soul finds peace!"

He chanted an incantation, and the Azure Lamp shone brightly, transforming into a blue light curtain that protected his entire body!

At the same time, he made a hand seal with his right hand and pointed it out from afar!

"May the soul find peace and salvation!"

An invisible power of soul suppression transformed into golden Sanskrit characters, which pressed down on the three vengeful scholar spirits!

"Awoo!"

On the other side, Ma Ling'er could no longer contain herself!

"Get out of here, tear them apart!"

A black and white shadow shot out from the cloth bag, rising in the wind!

The Iron-Eating Beast roared and charged at the two Painted Skin Ghosts with immense force!

In an instant, within the small teahouse, blue light, ghostly energy, and demonic power collided violently!

Zhou Yuan's Soul-Soothing Incantation is especially effective against vengeful spirits!

The golden Sanskrit characters collided with the ghostly ink of the vengeful scholar, producing a sizzling, corrosive sound!

Ma Ling'er's celestial trolls are incredibly fierce!

With a single swipe of its claw, it tore the illusion of a painted-skin ghost to shreds, leaving several deep, bone-revealing wounds on the ghost's body!

The battle instantly intensified!

However, Li, the mastermind, did not take any action.

He stood outside the battle circle, hands behind his back, a playful smile on his face, quietly watching everything.

It was as if he were watching a show that he himself had directed...

He didn't use his full strength at all.

Zhou Yuan's heart sank.

Something is wrong!

Li Xiuwen is so calm!

His trump cards are definitely not limited to these five ghost servants!

"Ling'er, finish this quickly!"

Zhou Yuan let out a low shout, and his hand seals changed again!

"May the azure sky guide you to rebirth!"

The wick of the Azure Lamp suddenly swelled three inches, and the azure flame transformed into a sharp line of fire, like a serpent emerging from its hole, instantly piercing the chest of a vengeful scholar!

"Sizzle—!"

Like boiling oil poured on snow, the vengeful scholar didn't even have time to scream before he turned into a wisp of green smoke in the blue light and completely disappeared!

On the other side, Ma Ling'er's immortal roly-poly torrents were even more ferocious!

It stood upright, its bear paws, as big as palm fans, slashing left and right!

"Snapped!"

"Snapped!"

The two demons were slapped squarely across the face by it, one from the left and one from the right!