The narrow tunnel lit up with a faint light and a person emerged from the darkness, holding a small white flower that glowed.

The person was slender and their throat only slightly raised, appearing to be a genderless young teenager. They had long hair tied in a braid, and a wooden mask with a mischievous face tied to the back of their head. The mask was smiling brightly and the person also had a bright smile, with a large and lively right eye, clear and black and white, very pleasing to the eye.

If it weren't for the blood hole in their forehead, this person would have been like one of those exotic teenage idols on TV.

Xuan Ji frowned and looked around, then at Sheng Lingyuan - who was this person? He had never heard of the name "Aluojin" before. But the goat-bearded man had said that the "corpse" in the coffin had its forehead nailed to the coffin, and this person's forehead also happened to have a blood hole, so the coffin was probably this person's bedroom.

What was going on recently? Was corpse fraud becoming popular?

This was witches’ grave, and there were more than forty thousand corpses sleeping in the great bed outside, while this teenager had a "single room" - it was clear that they were an evil ruling class.

Sheng Lingyuan had just mentioned it, what was the name of the person in charge of the Witch Clan?

Xuan Ji asked: "Are you the leader of the Witch Clan...or that 'saint'?"

The masked person was both ancient and a foreigner, probably not even able to speak the "Mandarin" of his time, let alone Xuan Ji's modern style. He probably didn't understand, and tilted his head, opened his eyes wide, and showed a serious and curious expression on his face. This was a very childish action, often seen in kindergartens and literary performances. 

People over the age of twelve who make such pre-school moves are either fools or neurotics.

But for some reason, it looked natural on this strange masked person.

It was as if...he was innocently convincing.

"Leader." Sheng Lingyuan answered for the person, "He was the last leader of the Witch People, Aluojin."

Aluojin understood his name and smiled, revealing a pair of lively and cute little tiger teeth.

Xuan Ji looked at the big demon beside him with the corner of his eye: "Do you know him? Is he alive or dead?"

"What do you think?" Sheng Lingyuan glanced at him, Xuan Ji's wings couldn't be opened, so he could only fold them sadly on his back, and Sheng Lingyuan's gaze swept over the folded wings, his gaze cold, as if he didn't want to look at it any more, "The Yin Sacrifice ritual summoned him, what do you think he is."

Xuan Ji was full of cold sweat, and secretly opened the Thousand Demon Bestiary in his eyes. 

The Thousand Demon Bestiary didn't drop the ball this time, and quickly gave him an answer: Heavenly demon.

Another heavenly demon! Are they starting to be mass-produced recently?

Xuan Ji slightly tilted his head, using the Thousand Demon Bestiary to aim at Sheng Lingyuan.

However, between the pages of the Thousand Demon Bestiary, there was once again a blank.

Xuan Ji sighed in his heart, it was not surprising, he didn't know what was wrong with this broken book, it seemed to get a virus every time it touched this Sheng Lingyuan, last time it was gurgling for a long time, first saying that the big demon was a puppet carved from jade, and after half a day, it said that he was a demon, this time…

Just as he was secretly complaining, the Thousand Demon Bestiary vaguely revealed a word.

At least this time it was better than last time, Xuan Ji quickly looked carefully, only to see that the Thousand Demon Bestiary hesitated for a while, and then jumped out a word: evil.

Xuan Ji: "..."

What the hell! This broken thing has one hundred percent gotten a virus!

Sheng Lingyuan's hand rested on the wet stone wall of the tunnel, and heard the strange masked person say in a manner from three thousand years ago: "Are you happy to see me, Brother Lingyuan?"

"Like a startling dream." Sheng Lingyuan muttered, he was stunned for a while, then sighed, and stretched out his hand to the shadow, his weak voice more like a lover's whisper, softly, "Aluojin, come here, let me see you."

This was said in the witches’ language, and Xuan Ji couldn't understand it, but maybe he had been fooled by the heavenly demon too many times, as soon as he heard this warm and soft tone, he unconsciously stepped back to the side, feeling that this person was up to no good.

Aluojin was not as quick-witted as him. When he heard Sheng Lingyuan's ridiculous words, he stared blankly at the man in the withered grass robe, and a blush rose on half of his face. The blush then spread to the eye sockets, and even the mask on his left face turned into a crying face, and he said pitifully: "I was locked up here alone. I don't know how long I have been here. I was forcibly awakened by those people with the Yin Sacrifice ritual. I want to go out and see... Where is this? Is this still Dongchuan? Why are there so many mortals in Dongchuan? What are they saying, I can't understand a word."

Sheng Lingyuan said softly: "Hmm, I know."

"I followed that person," Aluojin pointed to the corpse of the goat-bearded man, "and then I felt your breath, so I pulled you over... Lingyuan, it's really you, I... Am I dreaming? I miss you so much."

Sheng Lingyuan's head did not move, his eyelids slowly lowered, then opened again, nodding with his eyes, and he replied almost inaudibly: "I know."

Aluojin walked towards him step by step, "Brother Lingyuan, what about the clansmen?"

At that moment, Xuan Ji saw a fleeting sadness on the face of the great heavenly demon, so fast that he thought he was wrong.

Aluojin seemed to be bewitched. He slowly grasped Sheng Lingyuan's outstretched hand and said sadly in a low voice: "There are so many fun things outside. I don't understand what they are doing. But the paintings on the wall can move, the iron worms running on the road are buzzing, in the evening, everywhere is colorful lights, the streets are full of sweetness, it seems that there are markets every day, more lively than the festivals..."

Aluojin's voice suddenly dropped: "They are all so happy, Brother Lingyuan."

Sheng Lingyuan's throat moved slightly, and he tightened his hand.

Xuan Ji couldn't understand the language of the witches, but he could read the air. Intuitively, he gave a warning in advance: "Be careful!"

Before the words were finished, the expression of grievance on Aluojin's mask suddenly became ferocious: "But why are they so happy, I hate it so much..."

Suddenly, a large bunch of vines surged out from behind him - it was the kind that would "bleed" on the cave wall, carrying an ominous fragrance, rushing towards Sheng Lingyuan, and dragging Xuan Ji along.

Xuan Ji lamented: "Damn!"

Almost at the same time, Sheng Lingyuan violently dragged Aluojin over, grabbing his throat in a lightning-like move. Aluojin was half a head shorter than him, and he was heavily pressed against the wall, his feet off the ground. The vines wrapped around his hands, and the places they touched were immediately torn open. Sheng Lingyuan seemed as if he didn't feel pain, he didn't look at the wounds on his body, and he silently said something, and a buzz came from behind. Then, a few black long nails flew out of the pool, each of them was half a foot long. Sheng Lingyuan caught one in his hand, and lightning-like directly nailed it into Aluojin's eyebrows, firmly nailing the mask person's resentful expression in place!

Blood splashed on his chin and neck, and the places it touched burnt. The bloody wounds sizzled, and then quickly healed at a visible speed.

Sheng Lingyuan's expression remained unchanged, still full of love, whispering softly to the mask person's ear: "If you are unhappy, just close your eyes and don't look."

Xuan Ji: "... "

Who was he warning to be careful just now?

This is clearly two wolves biting each other!

The features on Aluojin's mask flattened, and he looked at Sheng Lingyuan blankly. He said intermittently: "When I opened my eyes... I saw you, thinking it was a dream, but it turns out... it's not a dream."

Sheng Lingyuan did not answer, and skillfully nailed several long nails into Aluojin's four limbs.

"You are real, Your Majesty." Aluojin suddenly changed to the ancient elegant voice, "Who else can be so heartless except you? Who is worthy of being this ruthless emperor?"

Xuan Ji understood this elegant voice and caught his last title. In an instant, he looked up incredulously at Sheng Lingyuan's back, suspecting that his ears had been infected with the virus like the "Thousand Demon Bestiary".

He couldn't pass the level four of the ancient language listening test, but... if he didn't hear it wrong, did this kid just say "Emperor"?

The last long nail pierced through Aluojin's body with a "clang" as it wedged into the stone. The masked person was now motionless, and an eerie silence filled the area. All Xuan Ji could hear was his own heart pounding.

"You..." he stared at Sheng Lingyuan, but changed his words mid-sentence, "Your..."

Suddenly, the cave began to shake, interrupting Xuan Ji's words. The narrow passage collapsed at both ends, trapping both of them inside.

A maniacal laughter echoed from all directions, it was Aluojin, who had been nailed to the stone!

On the ground, Yang Chao sat in the back seat of the car, eyes closed in a trance-like state, holding Xuan Ji's watch in his hands. Neither Old Luo, the driver, nor Ping Qianru dared to make a sound, afraid of disturbing him as he "communicated with the universe". 

Who would have thought that Yang Chao and the "universe" would chat endlessly. Just as it was time for dinner, Ping Qianru was so hungry she couldn't take it anymore. She carefully took out a nut from her pocket and quickly threw it into her mouth, but Yang Chao suddenly opened his eyes and Ping Qianru immediately stopped chewing.

Yang Chao: "Sis, can you give me something to eat?"

Ping Qianru: "..."

She stuffed the entire bag of nuts into Yang Chao's arms: "How about this? Did you feel anything? Are we getting closer?"

Yang Chao was also a special ability user, but in the aftermath department, so he was mostly useless. He was considered a "spiritual type", but not a supportive battle type like Bi Chunsheng. He was very sensitive and could feel the strong emotions of those around him, and he could also roughly sense the position and physical condition of the owner through objects - of course, this special ability was not as accurate as a working dog, so it was rarely used, making his skills even more rusty.

"Well, I can't say for sure. You know I'm sometimes sensitive, and just now I suddenly didn't feel anything at all." Yang Chao said with a frown, "Either we've passed it, or..."

"Shh," Ping Qianru interrupted him, patting Old Luo's seat, "We must have passed it. Old Luo, turn around!"

"Turn around! You can't turn around on the highway! We don't know when reinforcements will arrive," Old Luo said wisely, "With just the few of us looking for Director Xuan... if we could be relied on, why would we be in the aftermath department?"

At this moment, Yang Chao's phone rang.

"Hello, Director Xiao..." After listening for a moment, Yang Chao sat up straight, "Director Xiao sent the 'Wind God' team to us and asked us to send a location!"

Almost at the same time, at the Penglai Conference room, Master Yue De's cell phone also shook. The old man in a black Zhongshan suit took it and looked at it. Someone had sent him a WeChat message: "The Bureau is making a small move. The 'Wind God' just landed at Dongchuan Airport."

Master Yue De replied without a sound: "So what, we are not afraid of shadows."

After a while, a message was quickly retracted from the other side: "Master, they got off the plane and seemed to be heading straight for our 'Mine'. What should we do?"

Master Yue De's face suddenly darkened.

The so-called "Mine" was an ancient tomb. It was the treasure left by the ancestors of Master Yue De's sect in the Dongchuan area. When it reached Master Yue De, the upper part of the ancient tomb had been dug up almost completely. If you go further down, no one can come back alive.

Special ability holders are more sensitive than ordinary people, and they can feel the danger of the forbidden area without being reminded. Therefore, Master Yue De has never had the idea of going down to explore since he was a child. Anyway, just the periphery is enough to benefit them for several generations. There are countless ancient books there, a small part of which are written in ancient Chinese, and more texts with ghostly characters that make people feel confused. Master Yue De organized a group of linguists to try to decipher these ghostly characters. So far, only a small part has been deciphered, which is not enough to let them understand the unknown words. Just the part that can be understood has made them dominate Dongchuan and stand out among countless peers.

In addition to ancient books in the ancient tomb, the most precious things are some ancient "curses".

The concept of "curses" is recorded in ancient Chinese texts that have been unearthed, and it is unknown who translated them. The power of curses is that even ordinary people can use them with the right props, some of which have very powerful destructive effects. However, miraculously, there is a corresponding solution to each curse, and no after-effects remain after the curse is broken.

This is the secret behind the success of the group led by the Yue De sect.

Since ancient times, people have gone to temples to pray to gods and Buddhas only when they had something to ask. 

When the wind and rain were good, the temples of the gods of rivers and land were overgrown with weeds. If cats caught all the mice, they would be asked to leave home soon. For seventy years there were no wars or major disasters, and most people lived in peace and contentment. 

Occasionally, something happened and the people from the Bureau would come to intervene in the guise of "security". They were supported by the government, with salaries paid by taxpayers, but the Yue De sect's followers had to rely on themselves.

The Yue De Sect's followers were always ready to answer his call, and tens of thousands of disciples could not be supported by nothing.

In times of peace, there was no room for "masters" to use force, so it was impossible for the mysterious and high-ranking "masters" to go to work and earn money. It was not easy to make a living, so the Yue De Sect's followers had to work hard, with one person playing two roles - both the bad guys who cursed people and the "saviours" who saved the world. His disciples first cursed people and then came out to break the curses and collect money. The big bosses knew what was going on.

Master Yue De swept his gaze across the conference table, and this was almost an unspoken rule in the industry. If it were revealed, no one would be able to escape.

Master Yue De put the porcelain cup on the table and thought to himself: if you dare to come, then I won’t let you leave.

But before he could give instructions to his disciples, a news popped up on his phone: "A 4.2 magnitude earthquake occurred in Changning Province at 11:19, the epicenter was in Dongchuan, and the epicenter depth was 0 kilometers."

"Master," the message from his disciple came first, "the 'mine' just had an earthquake!"

At this moment, Xuan Ji's feet were on the "epicenter", and at the moment of the collapse of the cave, he was ready to be hit by the rocks. Unexpectedly, the floor beneath his feet disappeared and he stepped on air, and it was dark everywhere.

The breeze blew, the smell of mud came to his face, mixed with the chirping of birds and cicadas.

Before Xuan Ji could pinch a spark to light up, someone with a torch ran over from not far away, wearing clothes similar to the weird Aluojin, and screaming in the witches’ language.

Xuan Ji reached out to stop him: "Hey, wait..."

But the man "passed" through him and ran straight to the wooden house at the end of the path.

Xuan Ji: "..."

What kind of horror movie scene is this, is he dead or the other person dead?

At this moment, a hand suddenly pressed on his shoulder, and Xuan Ji instinctively shrank his shoulders and turned around, pressing his fingers with sparks against the other's neck, and the sparks lit up Sheng Lingyuan's face stained with blood.

"What is this place? Is it an illusion? You..." Xuan Ji suddenly remembered the seemingly "emperor" words Aluojin said before, and instinctively addressed him more respectfully. "Who is your..."

What is his origin?