The top of the witches' tomb was ablaze with lights. The ridge had collapsed halfway due to the bombardment of mithril cannons, and the fake trees and grass used to deceive the eyes had almost been burned bare. The water from the altar flowed towards the low-lying areas, rushing into several depressions that had been bombed out, and the accumulated water temporarily formed a "lake."

The special forces were indeed special forces. Xiao Zheng directly transferred six water type elites from the special forces unit "Storm," each carried by three helicopters hovering above the witch's tomb. Together, they "pulled" the water on the ground like a piece of cloth, lifting it up into the sky.

The ground operatives were divided into several groups and conducted a carpet-style search on both sides of the 'water curtain'. Xiao Zheng urgently summoned all the field staff he could find from nearby provinces and cities. 

Half of them went to capture the disciples of the Yue De Sect, while the rest gathered at the witches' tomb, blocking off the entire area. Dongchuan has a large population and many tourists, so they need to quickly investigate the scene, deal with the dangerous relics of the witch people, and ensure that there are no safety hazards left behind when someone else comes. Most importantly, they need to find the bronze coffin that had sunk into the water.

It's another demon awakened by the Yin Sacrifice ritual, even more eerie and mentally unstable than the previous one. Thinking about it in detail is terrifying. 

First of all, the dark and mysterious Yin Sacrifice ritual is not something commonly known. Even in the top-secret files of the Bureau of Paranormal Control, there are only a few brief mentions, and even Dr. Wang only has a partial understanding. Whether it's Bi Chunsheng or Ji Qingchen, they either awakened their special abilities after reaching adulthood or were just low-life tomb robbers. 

So how did they come into contact with this kind of thing?

As for the so-called Witch Clan or the mysterious figure that appeared in Chiyuan before, their origins are shrouded in mystery and extreme danger. If someone is manipulating the Yin Sacrifice ritual from behind the scenes, then that person is definitely qualified to be a professor of archaeology - how else would they know where all these big bosses are buried? 

The most pressing issue now is that, based on Xuan Ji's description, the on-site investigation team had calculated the possible location where the bronze coffin may have rolled to. Xiao Zheng has led his team to search the area eight times, but they haven't even found a trace of bronze rust!

"Are you sure?" Xiao Zheng asked Xuan Ji, holding his phone and stepping over the uneven ground of broken stones and bones. "I'm right at the ruins of the stone platform, and there are still traces of the Yin Sacrifice text on these broken stones. But where is the coffin?"

Xuan Ji held a cigarette in his mouth and forced himself to stay calm with nicotine. His ears were full of scabs and itchy, and he still had symptoms of post-concussion syndrome. Xiao Ji's voice on the phone was also sometimes distant and sometimes close, and his reactions were slow: "...I think so. Or maybe you should look again?"

Xiao Zheng was furious: "Who's the field agent and who's the aftermath department support staff?" 

Xuan Ji let out a sigh of white smoke and held the phone, saying in a world-weary tone, "I wonder that too." 

Suddenly, a field agent not far away raised their flashlight and exclaimed, "Director Xiao, come look!" 

The field agents of the Bureau were equipped with the "Fourth Generation Flashlight" - about the size of a household flashlight, it could emit a soft white beam of light. If it encountered an abnormal energy object, the light would turn from white to red. 

This thing was quite sensitive, and it was said that when shining it on the ground, it could detect a mutated plant a hundred meters underground. 

Xiao Zheng looked up and saw several flashlights focused on an empty space. Under the white light, a rectangular area on the ground suddenly turned blood red, and judging from its size, it was exactly like a coffin. 

"Is this the imprint left by the coffin?" The field agent with the lantern approached. "But Director, this doesn't make sense!" 

Of course it didn't. 

The "probe light" was designed to detect abnormal energy reactions. 

Even if the bronze coffin was on fire, it had been soaked for so long and should have cooled down by now. At most, there should be some residual energy detected, so why was it this color? 

And such a large bronze coffin, whether it was washed away by water or moved by people, there should be some traces of dragging on the ground. This was too neat and too square. 

"Be careful, there may be something on the ground." As soon as Xiao Zheng's voice fell, the dark clouds on the mountaintop were blown open by the wind, and the faint moonlight leaked through the cracks in the clouds, falling directly on the imprint of the coffin. The ground reacted as if something had happened, and suddenly a layer of white mist appeared, causing the field agents to collectively retreat two meters. As the white mist began to resemble dry ice on a stage, it suddenly thickened as if more water vapor had been stirred in. After tumbling for a moment, the mist began to condense into the shapes of people and objects. It was like a three-dimensional sand painting.

First, the mist condensed into the shape of a coffin, fitting perfectly with the marks on the ground. Then, more mist gathered around the "coffin" and formed the silhouette of a person.

"What kind of water type ability is this? It even has sound?"

"What are they saying? Could it be the witch language that Director Xuan mentioned?"

"Shh..."

The misty figure spun around the coffin, and a delicate chanting sound flowed with the water waves, gently tapping on the four walls of the coffin.

Dong. Dong. 

The walls of the coffin, formed by the condensed white mist, began to seep liquid that was incompatible with the surrounding water. Against all physical laws, the mist traced out a the Yin Sacrifice text within the coffin. Meanwhile, the chanting and knocking on the bronze coffin grew more urgent. With each clang, the text within the coffin became clearer and more pronounced. Once fully highlighted, the text suddenly began to move, creeping from the walls to the bottom of the coffin and burrowing into the body of Aluojin.

Dong—

The nails in Aluojin's palms lightly jumped, and his fingers trembled fiercely. The person circling the coffin reached out and stroked Aluojin's forehead. Amidst the sound of water, an ancient and unknown language was mixed in. The voice coiled within the dense mist, growing higher and sharper. Although the content was incomprehensible, it seemed to carry immense anger. With a loud "dong," the nail in Aluojin's leg bone came loose. 

Then, the bronze coffin emitted a teeth-grinding "creak," and the nail in Aluojin's forehead was slowly pushed up by the blood-red text. 

The "person" formed by the bubbles leaned down and spoke slowly into Aluojin's ear. 

The Yin Sacrifice text spread from Aluojin's body like blood, and the man wearing a half-mask slowly sat up from the coffin, causing it to collapse suddenly. The field agents of the Bureau of were all stunned - no wonder there was no trace of the coffin on the ground! 

Then, Aluojin's shadow in the white mist looked up, seemingly facing the direction of the withces' tomb. Suddenly, he struck a pose and let out a long howl, but no sound came out as he soared into the air. 

The field agents instinctively scattered as the white figure representing Aluojin seemed to reach the surface and darted off towards the direction of Dongchuan City. 

Meanwhile, the white mist hovered down and settled on the ground. After stirring for a moment, it once again condensed into the culprit who had awakened the great demon. The white figure stood where the bronze coffin had been, in a relaxed posture with hands clasped in front, as if waiting for something, while the field agents stared in disbelief.

Suddenly, Xiao Zheng turned his head and demanded, "Did anyone capture the scene just now? Give it to me!" 

He selected the clearest video clip and sent it to Dr. Wang at the headquarters and and Xuan Ji. Dr. Wang was on standby at headquarters and quickly called back after receiving the video. "Well, this is called 'the art of revealing'," Dr. Wang said, dragging out his words and trembling as he spoke. "It's an ancient technique that people used to use to prevent theft. Ah, the public safety in the old society..."

"Doctor, focus please."

"Oh, right. So, this art of revealing involves marking something beforehand, and then for a period of time, everything that happens near that mark can be recorded and revealed - just like what you saw earlier. It's kind of like...what's it called again? Oh, a camera! But since it's an ancient technique, it can't capture faces as clearly as a camera can, and the energy dissipates after a while. It also requires a high level of skill from the cultivator, so not just anyone can do it. Plus, nowadays, phones can record videos, so not many people know about this anymore..." 

Director Xiao's head was throbbing from the lengthy and tedious lecture given by the old man with no sense of direction. Before he could interrupt Dr. Wang again, the white mist suddenly began to expand, engulfing half of the mountain. Then, from the edge of the mist, came the sound of commotion and the formation of helicopters and cranes, followed by groups of people.

"Director," a field agent whispered, "that seems to be us...the scene when we first arrived here."

"Wait, you mean to say we were cleaning up the area next to...to..." another field agent pointed at the figure standing with arms crossed, trembling with fear, "this thing, we don't know if it's a person or a ghost...watching us from the side? But why didn't the alarm go off?" 

A chill ran through the group of field agents, causing them to tense up. Just then, a figure representing one of the field agents walked by, completely unaware of what was happening. They happened to walk by the side of the white figure, who had just awakened Aluojin. In a flash, the white figure disappeared into the field agent's body, and the two became one!

"Wait, what does this mean?" Xiao Zheng slowly turned his head, his face turning pale. He looked at all his colleagues and said, "It means that the mastermind behind the dark ritual is now possessing one of us!"

Xuan Ji and Dr. Wang received the video message from Xiao Zheng at the same time. 

After watching it, Xuan Ji casually flicked his cigarette butt into the nearby trash can and made a strange, self-deprecating expression. 

"I knew it," he said. He didn't know how he had been fooled by Sheng Lingyuan, and actually believed that the emperor was "reluctant" to destroy the body of Aluojin. 

What nonsense, did that old man really care about anything? 

The Witch Clan was like flowing water, unable to be reborn after death, so why pretend to protect a corpse? 

How could that old devil have such sentimental feelings as ordinary people? 

Sheng Lingyuan clearly calculated that the person who used the Yin Sacrifice ritual would not be able to bear it when they saw him "reluctant" to destroy Aluojin's body. Once they left, they would definitely not be able to resist and make another move. After all, who would be willing to give up the power of the Witch Clan? 

A gust of night wind blew, carrying a sweet but overpowering fragrance with a faint stench. 

"Spitting blood while covering the coffin, I actually thought this old actor would be sad. Tsk, what was I thinking?" Even spitting blood didn't stop him from tampering with the coffin. Xuan Ji had his hands in his pockets as he approached the receptionist from the local branch. 

"Can I borrow your phone for a moment?" he asked, shaking his own damaged phone in front of her. 

Before she could even respond, he pulled out a cigarette, flicked his finger, and a small flame shot out from his fingertip. He squinted as he lit it up and blew a puff of smoke towards the receptionist, who was suddenly lifted off her feet and carried away by the smoke like a kite in the hotel lobby. 

"Go hide inside and don't come out unless it's safe," he warned her. The receptionist, still in shock, watched as Xuan Ji disappeared in a flash. Xuan Ji leapt onto the open-air observation deck on the sixth floor. Not far away was a high bridge, and a slender figure stood on top of a lamppost like a kite, eye level with Xuan Ji. The person had long hair and wore a long robe, with a thin and delicate frame like paper. Between their beautiful eyebrows was a terrifying bloody hole.

Aluojin was just a bait, a pawn controlled by the mastermind behind the scenes.

"But in the eyes of that person, who isn't just bait?" Xuan Ji sighed almost inaudibly. Aluojin was nailed into the coffin again, and his resentment must have reached its limit. He would definitely track their whereabouts.

The person who conducted the Yin Sacrifice ritual behind the scenes is most likely to be mixed in with the security department of the Bureau of Alien Control, otherwise they wouldn't be so familiar with the inside workings of the Bureau.

The mastermind behind the scenes knew they were resting in the downtown area of Dongchuan City and would let their guard down. He carried the fire of the divine Vermilion Bird, which was in opposition to all evil spirits. In the middle of the night, he stood by the roadside, resembling a conspicuous bonfire, which had a great attraction to all kinds of mischievous creatures. This ensured that Aluojin, who had been resurrected once again, would be lured to him without fail.

This had two benefits: firstly, Sheng Lingyuan could free up his hands to deal with the person behind the ritual, and secondly, with him restraining Aluojin, it would prevent him from causing trouble in the mortal world for the time being.

"Leaving me with such a glorious and arduous task, well, I guess he really thinks highly of me," Xuan Ji chuckled bitterly, finally understanding the meaning of "using every means possible". He flicked his cigarette ash and gestured towards Aluojin from afar, not intentionally speaking loudly, but his voice carried with the hazy fireworks and swept across the wide street and block, as if speaking face to face with the demon in the bronze coffin: "I have clarified previously, chief, I am really not that Dan Li. Look at my face full of collagen, do I look that old?"

Perhaps because he didn't speak the ancient language of Sheng Lingyuan accurately, Aluojin didn't understand and remained unmoved, staring at him coldly.

The remaining scroll of the "Dongchuan Witches Book" says that a person who is possessed by a thought will no longer be the same person in their body, and they will become a puppet controlled by that "thought".

Now it seems that the scroll may have been referring to Aluojin. The author of this unsigned piece must have been someone familiar with the history of the witch people during that era, documenting their entire story. However, for some unknown reason, it did not get passed down through the ages... perhaps it was banned by the tyrannical and mysterious Martial Emperor.

Aluojin clearly had memories, and theoretically, he should have retained some of his human thoughts. However, after becoming a demon, his way of thinking could not be measured by conventional means.

Xuan Ji did not expect him to follow the rules, but he hoped that his muddled brain could retain some logic and that he would listen to reason.

"Of course, if you want to form an 'Anti-Sheng Xiao Fraud' alliance with me, I would be very happy," Xuan Ji said. "We are both victims, and we do have things to talk about..." 

"Vermilion Bird." Suddenly, Aluojin spoke in the ancient language of the human race, his voice cutting through the cool night air and flying over the streets.

Xuan Ji was taken aback, "Huh?"

"On you, just like him, there is the blood of the Vermilion Bird clan..." Before the demon's words could finish, he suddenly disappeared from Xuan Ji's sight. 

The next moment, a strange voice exploded in Xuan Ji's ear, "It stinks."