"Wait a minute, brother, something's not right. If we're not from a Xuanmen family, why would we have an altar?"

At that moment, the older woman suddenly called out to me and began to remind me.

"What's wrong, sis? Is there something wrong with the altar? Isn't it just a place for sacrifices?"

Before I could even ask a question, Lao Dao started asking questions.

"Altars are indeed used for sacrifices, but aristocratic families of the Xuanmen sect generally do not use such places, because once there is an altar, it means that a sacrifice must be made!"

The older woman gave us a science lesson.

Because I haven't been a true beginner for very long, I'm not as good at these details as the older women.

After the older woman said that, I think I've discovered the problem.

"Young lady, are you saying that this altar might not belong to the He family?"

My eyes looked a little strange.

Of course, there is another possibility: the Ho family is not as simple as we think.

On the surface it is Xuanmen (a Taoist sect), but in reality it is another path altogether.

"I don't know, but Xuanmen families would never use the sacrificial ritual as a path."

Sacrifice means bloodshed, it involves getting stained with blood and sacrificing lives!

This goes against the principles of Taoism!

The woman's lips trembled as she looked at the small space, her legs felt weak, and her face looked somewhat pale.

"Therefore, we must go. If we don't find out the whole story, we won't be able to resolve this mess!"

After thinking about it for a while, I made a decision.

Let's go take a look first.

Old Dao has no objections; now he just needs to follow my lead.

The fat man listens to me. The house is a mess right now, and if I don't help him sort it out, he might not even know how he died.

He had no choice.

Seeing that they both agreed, the older woman shook her head helplessly and could only leave with me.

Soon, we left the underground passage and came up to the surface.

Following the map's directions, we entered the main hall.

We've been to the main hall before, and we didn't find anything special there.

"This is the room where the head of the family lives. Anyway, my grandfather and my father used to live here!"

The fat man led us into a room behind the main hall and told us that this was where the head of the household lived.

I looked at the map and nodded slightly.

The fat man was right; this really was where the head of the family lived. The blueprints clearly indicated that each head of the family would live in this room.

"Sir, I was supposed to stay in this room too, but after my father went missing, everyone thought the room was unlucky, so they wouldn't let me stay there anymore."

I then went to that guesthouse and didn't stay at home. You know what happened next!

The fat man gave a wry smile and explained the whole story to me.

I always felt something was off.

Since it's a case of usurping someone else's place, why does every new head of the family insist on living in the same place as before? With so many rooms, wouldn't it be better to move to a different one?

Even if it's about upholding legitimacy, it doesn't have to be like this.

"According to the map, this altar is located in the secret chamber behind the patriarch's room!"

I pointed to the map and glanced at the fat man at the same time. I had a feeling that the guy wasn't telling the truth.

Logically speaking, things kept in a secret room should not be brought into the open.

The fat man's intention seemed to be to make it known to everyone.

"It seems like your family knows the location of this altar?"

I stared at the fat man and asked him in a low voice.

At this crucial point, the fat man still won't tell the truth. What is this old guy hiding?

"Of course not, sir. I reckon only the head of the family and his heir would know!"

My dad must have mentioned it to me before he passed away. That's all I know about our family's altar; that's all I really know!

Hearing my stern tone, the fat man suddenly knelt down again, so scared that he wet himself and quickly made promises to me.

I covered my nose in disgust and told the old man to get up quickly, saying that I believed him.

"Stay close to me when we enter the altar!"

I quietly approached Lao Dao and whispered something in a voice only he could hear.

Now, everyone except Lao Dao has a problem. The aunt has a secret she's keeping from me, and the fat man also has his own ideas.

If I have only one person to rely on right now, it's Old Dao in front of me.

"Don't worry, Brother Chen, I came here to help you!"

Old Dao quickly expressed his loyalty to me, and after hearing his words, I felt a warmth in my heart.

"By the way, Brother Chen! Tell me what happened between you guys, it feels strange that you all know but I'm the only one kept in the dark!"

At this point, Lao Dao suggested that he mainly wanted to hear what had happened between us.

I briefly explained the whole story to Lao Dao, including the previous speculations and the magical artifact we obtained.

"Oh, it's that mirror. Wait, this thing is a separate space?"

Old Dao was completely stunned. He never expected that I could obtain such a powerful magical artifact from here, a self-contained space. That's truly extraordinary.

So, while explaining to Lao Dao, I entered the head of the family's room and found a hidden compartment in the cabinet at the back.

Pressing the button revealed a stone door.

We went in one by one, and this time we still had to leave our handprints.

Next to the handprint were those familiar characters, which only members of the tribe could see.

I looked at the fat man and told him to put his hand on it. Just like at the beginning, the fat man had just pressed his handprint when he was sent flying.

"Old Dao, you go drive!"

I commanded.

Without saying a word, Lao Dao placed his hand on it, and sure enough, the stone door opened the next second.

"Brother, your friend is actually from the He family!"

The old lady was dumbfounded when she saw that Lao Dao could open the door directly.

What I was guessing before, I'm seeing it with my own eyes now.

"So you mean we were one family hundreds of years ago?"

Old Dao turned to look at the older woman, his gaze somewhat strange. "It must be fate. It seems our gathering here is destiny!"

The older woman spoke softly.

Following my lead, we entered the secret chamber one by one. This chamber led directly underground, and the further we went, the more eerie it became.

The entire space was bathed in a red glow, and there was even a bloody smell emanating from it.

The further we went, the brighter it became; it was a scarlet light.

"The stench of blood is so strong!"

I couldn't help but exclaim, "How many people would have to be sacrificed for this?"

It seems their original family wasn't exactly a good family either!

My worldview has been challenged once again.

Finally, we entered the interior of the altar, where a demonic statue stood!

This altar actually reveres demons!