Chapter 226 Jinjiang

Twenty years ago, Ye Li searched every corner of Nanming Mountain and before the world, but still could not find the soul of his master.

Whether in the underworld or in the world of the living, alive or dead, there is no master.

It was not until this time when they re-entered Nanming Mountain that Yan Shixun discovered the people who disappeared in Nanming Mountain from those hanging coffins. After distinguishing the difference between Liu Ming's body and the bodies of the hiking team members, he realized the strange state of the villagers in Changshou Village. Only then did Ye Li conclude the means by which his master escaped twenty years ago.

The Lord of Fengdu controls death, and the yin and yang circulate between heaven and earth.

If there is only one place that the Lord of Fengdu cannot find, it is only——

Neither life nor death.

In the narrow gap between life and death, the master hid himself there.

Yan Shixun told Ye Li that he saw with his own eyes that his master pulled himself out of another person's body through the village chief's mouth.

The village chief soon turned into a piece of human skin and collapsed to the ground.

The longevity village is divided into upstream and downstream. The leader of the hiking team clearly said that he died and came back to life. The villagers in the longevity village are lifeless but still live normally...

Yan Shixun sorted out all the strange things one by one, and finally after Ye Li explained to him what had happened in Nanming Mountain, he put the last piece of his thoughts together and came to the final conclusion.

All those who disappeared in Changshou Village are indeed dead.

There were only dry bones without flesh and blood left in the hanging coffins, and rotten corpses without bones only with flesh and blood in the river. However, they also appeared in the hiking team members on both sides. This made Yan Shixun understand why he could not detect any trace of the missing people in Changshou Village.

That's because after they died in Changshou Village, their souls and actual bodies had already flowed upstream through the river and reached the Changshou Village upstream.

Moreover, Tongyi was "resurrected" in the longevity village upstream.

The four sacrifices every year are the days when the master draws strength from them.

Just like pigs in a pen.

I'm afraid that the rooms in the village chief's house and the people in the rooms who have no will to live are also like this.

When looking through the hanging coffins, Yan Shixun discovered that the cause of the dry bones was not simply weathering due to a long period of time.

Many of the coffins are still brand new, but the corpses inside are only bones, without any flesh and blood.

——Because that is not natural weathering at all.

All the corpses that were left with only skeletons had their souls trapped in the corpses. The withered chrysanthemums still nailed them firmly in the coffins. They no longer had any life at all, and even their remaining souls had no possibility of reincarnation.

That's because they have been drained of all their vitality and then thrown away here like discarded sugarcane residue.

Yan Shixun originally thought that those hanging coffins were used by his master to store the "residues" that were extracted of clean power after the sacrifice.

However, although there were few corpses in the hanging coffins, the fresh corpses like Liu Ming, and Liu Ming's condition that was no different from ordinary people in the village, made Yan Shixun understand.

That is not the case.

There are also some people who completed their "resurrection" in the hanging coffins, returned to the longevity village upstream, continued to manage the longevity village for their master, and lived in the village like normal people.

But Yan Shixun didn't see any sign that they were still alive.

Therefore, just like the master, those people, after experiencing two deaths and rebirths, also became monsters that were neither alive nor dead.

In the narrow gap between life and death, the master wants to use this to achieve his goal, to become a god and rule over an area.

And those villagers in Changshou Village who are neither alive nor dead are the proof that "God" exists and controls the world.

The master wanted to use this to force the heaven and earth to acknowledge his existence.

Unfortunately, heaven and earth are cruel and never let anything go unpunished.

When Ye Li couldn't find his master, in order to minimize the threat posed by his master, he drew a boundary outside Nanming Mountain when he left Nanming Mountain.

Even if the master had not left Nanming Mountain out of caution, even if he wanted to leave Nanming Mountain and expand outward, he would have been blocked in the mountain by the boundaries left by Ye Li.

At the same time, the master will be discovered by Ye Li because he enters the range of ghosts and gods sensing the heaven and earth.

It's a pity that the shadow that Ye Li left on my master was so heavy that it made my master so cautious. For many years, he has been wearing someone else's skin and has never set foot out of the Changshou Village upstream. He even only appeared at the four solar terms when the power of yin and yang was the strongest, and then shrank again after gaining power.

When Yan Shixun connected all the clues from the most subtle details and finally pieced together the complete truth, even though he had traveled far and wide and seen countless evil spirits and malicious intent over the years, he was still shocked by his master's caution.

In Yan Shixun's opinion, this was just like a series of verification checkpoints. The layers of boxes sealed off the master's breath to the point where it was almost non-existent, and it could even escape the detection of ghosts, gods, heaven and earth.

If it weren’t for this time, because Zhang Wubing came to record the program and accidentally entered Nanming Mountain, and found the master before the last winter solstice festival, I’m afraid the master’s plan would really succeed, and he would really become a "god" through the cycle of yin and yang.

By then, even Yeli might find it difficult to deal with Master.

Fortunately, no matter how much the master planned, he could not predict the future.

What Master didn't know was that -

Yan Shixun, who found the truth, and Ye Li, who has the power to kill him, are in the same place.

The exorcist who originally could not communicate with ghosts, and the Lord of Fengdu who never responded to strangers.

But because the exorcist who came was Yan Shixun, and because he was never stingy in giving his patience and tenderness to ghosts, and listening to them tell their grievances and the truth, he saw the truth in the illusion.

And precisely because it was Yan Shixun, Ye Li responded to him gently and told Yan Shixun everything he knew.

The two exchanged the information they knew with each other, and sorted out everything about the master's actions clearly and completely, without any omissions.

With the combined efforts of Yan Shixun and Ye Li, the master had no way to escape.

Even the master's last hope was due to the kindness Yan Shixun showed to his sister, which made his sister choose to trust him and muster up her last bit of courage to help Yan Shixun.

Yan Shixun watched his sister fall off the cliff. He subconsciously reached out to catch her, but when he looked into her eyes, he understood the meaning conveyed by those resolute eyes filled with tears and fear.

My elder sister said: Don’t worry about me, go save my sister, go kill the master, and let the sin spreading from South Village end here!

Yan Shixun forced himself to suppress the idea of rescuing the girl, respected her own wishes, and focused on stopping his master's plan.

However, when he looked up at his master again, his eyes were even colder and angrier, and his eye circles were slightly red.

Even the hands hanging at his sides were clenched into fists.

Over the past few decades and with thousands of lives lost, the entire Nancun has been used as the Nanming Mountain, the nest of Xue.

There are so many things that my master destroyed.

His sins... cannot be forgiven!

Anger lit up Yan Shixun's eyes, which still sparkled brightly in the darkness and cold mist, so dazzling that one could not look directly at them.

The most severe and murderous spell rose up in Yan Shixun's heart silently. The great Dao of heaven and earth looked down upon him, and a surging force like a tidal wave surged in his meridians.

Ye Li noticed Yan Shixun's drastic mood swings.

His gaze followed the direction where Yan Shixun had fallen before and looked towards the bottom of the cliff. He penetrated the black fog and saw the girl falling straight down. He paused for a moment before looking back at his master who was still guarding the coffin.

"Voluntarily give up life and death, and seal the soul between the gaps."

Ye Li's low voice was devoid of warmth: "You used this to escape judgment."

"But now, the entire Nanming Mountain is in a state of neither life nor death - is there anywhere you can escape?"

The master was also shocked by Ye Li's quick and decisive decision.

The reason why he kept the strangers in You Changshou Village until now was that he wanted to use those people as a means of coercion to prevent the gods and ghosts from hindering him at the last moment of his success, just like he did twenty years ago.

But the master never expected that the ghosts and gods were not coerced at all.

Not even a hint of hesitation.

This cruelty made the master's soul tremble.

"Mad man, what a mad man!"

The master gnashed his teeth and growled, "Why can the heaven and earth recognize someone like you, but not me?"

"Haven't I done enough for those people?"

The master almost collapsed and screamed: "I gave those people happiness!"

"Are you calling the state of those people who are neither dead nor alive 'happiness'?"

Yan Shixun's voice rang out.

He looked at his master indifferently: "I thought that was what people call hell."

The master sneered and asked back: "Exorcist, have you ever seen the human world?"

"I have witnessed the suffering of Nancun over the past century, heard the requests and cries of the dead who were used as sacrifices, the baby girls who were thrown to death, and the young mothers who died in childbirth... Their souls are asking me why life is so miserable."

The master recalled that twenty years ago, when he was standing at the three-way intersection in South Village and saw the old woman running towards him happily holding her dead baby girl, he did not feel the joy of increased strength in his heart.

Only sadness.

When a young mother who died in childbirth asked him in tears why she had to live such a hard life, all the master could respond was a gentle and indignant sigh.

He gently closed the eyes of the young mother's body and promised to bring her a new and happy world.

That is the common expectation of all life.

The master thought that when he really realized the paradise he had longed for, that would be the time when he would truly become a god.

"And those people who came from outside the mountain. From their souls, I saw all the suffering outside Nanming Mountain."

The travelers who hike to relax in Nanming Mountain have exhausted and withered souls, like flowers that have lost their nourishment, but they are still maintaining the lie that they are still alive.

But pressure, family, work...all the things that one has to worry about as soon as he opens his eyes, weigh heavily on the traveler's heart.

The master heard the traveler’s inner thoughts. He was asking why life was so tiring. He didn’t want to live anymore, but he didn’t dare to die either.

There are also patients who do not want to burden their families because of serious illnesses.

Their souls were questioning and screaming angrily, asking why they chose me, why I was the one who got sick instead of others, we are all human beings, why some people have a life of luxury and smooth sailing while I have to endure all this.

Hemp ropes tend to break at the thinnest part, and misfortune tends to find the unfortunate. ①

The master had seen too many souls like this, so he responded to them.

He said that in Nanming Mountain, you can put aside all your worries and troubles and live a stable and happy life.

If there was no life or death from the very beginning, then people would not have to experience the sufferings of birth, aging, sickness and death.

If all worries and sorrows were erased from memory, then why wouldn't people be happy and at peace?

"I and those lives have each obtained everything we wanted from each other. What's wrong with that?"

The master questioned Yan Shixun: "The life they don't want, I want. The happiness they want, I give it to them."

"What have you done for the world before you said such words to me?"

The audience in front of Yan Shixun's split screen all clearly heard the words coming from the camera.

Many viewers were silent.

Some people thought of their families, of their aging parents who were sick but could only barely maintain their bodies because they had no money, of their loved ones who had suffered unexpected misfortunes, and of every painful moment outside the operating room and in front of the funeral home.

All the cries are heart-wrenching. They don't want to endure the pain of separation from life and death. They may even naively hope that their family members and themselves can die on the same day so that no one has to endure such torture and pain.

Some people recalled the heavy work that made them breathless, the boss throwing documents in their faces, the helplessness of being scolded like a grandson by the client but still having to put on a smile, and the pain of drinking until they vomited but still being forced to drink by clients.

It’s not that I don’t want to roll up my sleeves and quit, saying I’m done and who cares about whom, but when I think of my parents and children, and my family... I just bear it and move on with a wry smile.

Quarrels, trivialities, stress, illness.

No one dares to say that there is no pain in his life.

Even though the master's words sounded so happy that they seemed to not exist in this world, many audiences were still shaken by his bewitching voice and highly inflammatory questioning.

They asked themselves, if they were in other people's shoes, what would they choose when faced with someone offering them a "paradise"?

[I’m sorry… I know what this person said may sound a little weird, but my life is really too hard and I can’t stand it anymore. I want to go to a longevity village. I’m sorry, I want happiness.]

[Alas, I said before that those who go to longevity villages to find healthy patients are fools, and they believe such words. But, if I were me, I would probably go there too. I don’t want my parents to empty their retirement money to treat my illness.]

[Am I the only one who cried after hearing this? I really support what he said, he is right.]

[When my mother was in the hospital and I couldn't afford the money, I thought the same thing. Why me, why do I have to go through this.]

[I suddenly feel a little disgusted with Brother Yan. If he really demolishes the Peach Blossom Spring, where will I go? I want happiness too.]

[It doesn’t matter if it’s fake, I’m so tired of living, I want to go there.]

[As long as he can make me happy, he can take my life if he wants it. It’s better to exchange it for a few days of good life than a rotten life.]

Yan Shixun raised his eyelashes, and his gaze towards his master was still firm and clear, without any wavering.

The master asked him if he had ever seen the human world.

The answer... is of course yes.

When I traveled around the world with Li Chengyun, and when I traveled alone all over the country.

Yan Shixun walked the streets and dealt with all kinds of people. He had seen evil people who acted like spoiled brats, and he had also seen pure souls.

The world of firewood, rice, oil and salt has always been by Yan Shixun's side.

He is with life.

Many ghost exorcists choose to serve the rich and powerful for the sake of money and fame. They are proud of their reputation and wealth among the public and use price as a benchmark to measure the ability of ghost exorcists.

However, Yan Shixun refused from the very beginning those methods such as fortune-telling and changing one's fortune, which were easier ways to take advantage of the powerful and make money.

Even though some people scolded him for being "pretentious", Yan Shixun simply ignored them, walked alone among the crowd, and extended a hand to those in urgent need of help.

Yan Shixun never told anyone where the money he collected as the price for settling the cause and effect went.

——Go to every place where money is urgently needed.

The Wild Wolf Peak that needs to rebuild its ecology, the aging parents who lost their doctor son, the parents who are in pain because of Lan Ze's death...

The money taken from the people, returned to the people.

But at this moment, when the master questioned Yan Shixun, he kept silent about the past.

It seemed as if he felt that it was just the most common thing for an exorcist to do.

The master questioned angrily, but Yan Shixun remained calm, his tone almost indifferent.

"I am just an ordinary person, no different from the strangers you see everywhere in the city. I live in the same world as them."

Yan Shixun said calmly: "All I can do is the smallest thing, so insignificant that it is not worth mentioning."

When Yan Shixun's voice reached the audience's ears through the screen, many people who were originally crying and complaining were suddenly stunned.

Yan Shixun was like a bitter medicine that sobered up many people, pulling their confused and chaotic minds back from the brink of bewitching.

Some viewers began to react slowly.

[If someone like Brother Yan is considered to have done nothing, then what am I?]

[My mother is a Buddhist. She told me that Subhuti must do good deeds to be Subhuti, but when Subhuti thinks he is doing good deeds, he is no longer Subhuti. I didn’t understand it at the time, but now looking at Brother Yan, I suddenly understand it a little.]

[It’s so strange. When the old man was talking just now, I felt that whatever he said was right. It was like I was drugged. I only came to my senses when Brother Yan spoke.]

[Suddenly I felt a little creepy about that old man. So scary.]

[I just want to ask——Is there anyone who can take care of Lu Xingxing? ! ! !]

[Look carefully at that old man. Why does he look like he has no bones?]

[Oh my god! Where are his flesh and bones? It seems like there is only human skin?]

[Oh my god! My scalp is tingling.]

Yan Shixun whispered: "But..."

The talisman that Yan Shixun had been silently reciting in his heart took effect.

Ancient and mysterious runes were written in the form of golden characters, which circled around his arms and penetrated the black fog that was so thick that it was impossible to see clearly around him, like the sun shining there.

Yan Shixun raised his eyes, and after being extremely angry, only cold rationality remained.

“I respect life and protect life.”

Yan Shixun's magnetic voice was powerful and every word sounded clear as if he was speaking through gritted teeth: "I will not interfere with other people's karma and choices at will, but if someone needs my help and protection, I will not be stingy."

"You said this is the Peach Blossom Land?"

Yan Shixun sneered and mocked: "Why don't you go ask the corpses in the hanging coffins and see what they say?"

As soon as he finished speaking, without waiting for the master to react, Yan Shixun rushed towards the master like an arrow shot from a bow, holding a golden light.

He was moving at an extremely fast speed, and instantly cleared away the black fog wherever he passed, like a sharp arrow shooting straight at the master, with a continuous explosion sound breaking through the air.

At the same time, the master gave up everything and wrapped the coffin with his entire skin without any hesitation.

In a hurry, he couldn't open the coffin and couldn't swallow Nantian successfully, so he could only do this and use the fastest method.

Even though this would greatly reduce the effectiveness of the Winter Solstice Festival, the master didn't care at this time.

Large pieces of chrysanthemums penetrated the holes in the master's skin, bloomed out of his skin, and swayed gently.

His entire body was swollen and hideous due to the angled shapes of the coffin inside, and his human form was barely recognizable.

The audience who saw this scene were almost scared to death, and some were even vomiting due to disgust.

——This is just like using a person as a container and planting flowers on the flesh!

However, none of the three people confronting each other felt that something was wrong.

Ye Li and Yan Shixun's expressions didn't even waver.

Just when Yan Shixun's attack reached the master, the master suddenly broke into a strange smile.

The face that once seemed as compassionate as a god now looked hideous and ferocious.

"Yan, Shi, Xun."

The master called out Yan Shixun's real name, and a malicious smile spread from his mouth to his ears: "I heard that Nantian said your real name. He is resentful of you, why don't you come to save him and let him suffer."

"So, I'm going to... respond to his begging."

The master whispered in a low, rough and unpleasant voice: "The ghosts and gods value you, right?"

"Then you will be trapped between life and death in Nanming Mountain forever."

At the same time, loud noises came one after another from the cliff.

"Bang!"

"Bang!"

Along with it came the echo of a heavy object falling into the valley.

All the chaotic sounds intertwined together and echoed in the empty valley, making it seem even more eerie and terrifying.

The golden light in Yan Shixun's hand was sent into his master's chest, but it felt like piercing a piece of cotton, light and unreal.

The master grinned, and the next moment his face exploded and turned into petals.

Yan Shixun turned around in shock, only to find that the hanging coffins hanging on the mountain wall were being lifted up one after another.

The sound that just came was the sound made by those hanging coffins.

Thousands of corpses slowly emerged from their coffins.

Some of them were just a pile of dry bones, fleshless skeletons looking up at Yan Shixun, while some were as vivid as living people. Liu Ming had a relaxed yet strange smile on his face, as if he had just had a beautiful dream.

However, pairs of red eyeballs gradually lit up in the darkness.

Every pair of eyes was fixed on Yan Shixun and Ye Li.

"Kill them and tell them who the real God is."

The master's hoarse voice echoed in the darkness.

The next moment, the corpse quickly climbed up the mountain wall and rushed straight towards Yan Shixun and Ye Li.

Like a hungry beast pouncing on its prey, it is ferocious and cruel.