Sleepy soul in flower

"I'm here to help you with your business, and I'm sure I can be of assistance. Bringing me along will only benefit you. I was wrong to trap you in the painting just now to tease you... Don't be angry. When I come back from my business with you, I'll teach you all the relevant spells, and I'll let you practice with the paintings in my hall."

"Practice on all of them for me? How many paintings do you have? How many of them are your private collection of memories with Li Wan Demon Lord? Are you willing to practice on me? Don't make such promises rashly."

Yuanli tilted her head to glance at him, and coincidentally, her eyes met his expectant and pleading ones. Then she thought again and realized that Heng Jin was indeed useful.

"There are quite a few. I'm naturally willing to give them all to you to practice with, but if I give them to you, I'm afraid you won't dare to read them all."

"Since you dare, why shouldn't I dare?"

"That's fine. When you're done, come back to the palace and I'll get all the paintings for my wife."

"Okay, go quickly and come back quickly."

The two reached an agreement, and Yuanli no longer refused to follow him, and immediately arrived at Gushu Mountain. However, Yuanli had forgotten the way to enter Huamian Village.

"How did you get into Kashi last time? Did you pass by a place called Huamian Village?"

"Of course I have been there. Are you looking for Huamian Village because of the trapped undead souls there?"

"Yes. Before the Kashi operation, they came to me and begged me to take their bodies away for burial. However, I was afraid it would cause trouble for our already hasty escape, so I decided to draw them a picture of me as a symbol of hope, hoping that I would come and save them after I had found a way to liberate them from the aftermath of my tribulations."

Thinking of the statue, Yuanli began to concentrate and resonate with the image she had left behind. However, something seemed to be blocking her, so she could only sense it intermittently. If she wanted to teleport directly to the statue, it would be difficult. She even tried to search for the piece of clothing she had buried before leaving Huamian Village, but still could not locate Huamian Village.

"Have you found a solution? It's always been difficult for earthbound spirits to transcend. Not only does it require help from others, but more importantly, it requires help to free them from the very reasons that bound them. That's why there are so many earthbound spirits. If the solution isn't good, even if you forcibly take them to the Netherworld, they won't be able to reincarnate smoothly."

"I know everything you've said. When I was home, Ah Cha told me about some things related to earthbound spirits. Combining the records of the underworld I've read with what Ah Cha said, I thought for a long time before I came up with some methods that might be useful. As long as there's even a slight chance of success, we have to try, right? What if it works? Then countless earthbound spirits in the world can be freed, which would be a blessing to all mankind."

The emotion in Heng Jin's eyes as he looked at her gradually turned into admiration and appreciation, and it seemed that there was also a hint of pride in it.

Yuanli really didn't understand.

"Sensing the statue and listening to the prayers of pilgrims is the simplest and most effective method. If you are unable to succeed, it could be that the statue has been completely burned, or some unfathomable power is blocking it. What did you sense?"

"My connection with the statue is intermittent, more like it's blocked by something, as you said. I can resonate with the statue thousands of miles away, and I've also been able to successfully sense the location before Kashi left. My method and ability should be fine. But, what could it be?"

Yuanli was concentrating on her thoughts when, the next moment, Hengjin hugged her waist. Before she knew it, Hengjin took her to Huamian Village.

Heng Jin said, "Although I know that with your resourceful and clever brain, you will definitely be able to find a way to enter Huamian Village, but we agreed to make a quick decision and return to the palace to learn spells and appreciate paintings, so I decided to use my helper first."

Huamian Village was still pitch black, filled with the splashes and moisture of the underground river crashing against the rocks, mixed with the smell of gray mold that had accumulated because no one had visited or set foot there.

Yuanli rubbed a dark blue fireball as big as her head in the palm of her hand. The dark blue light of the flame became brighter and brighter, illuminating the surrounding environment.

She hefted the fireball, and it rose high, casting a light bright enough to illuminate the entire gloomy Huamian Village. It was like the rising sun in the sky, giving people a sense of warmth and hope.

The entire Huamian Village was clearly visible and in full view. As he turned around, he could see those pitiful and miserable white skeletons clearly.

Their skeletons were still there. Yuanli walked to the bank of the Dark River, picked up a skull, and examined it, intending to establish a spiritual connection with the soul of its original owner. However, Cha Suxun was still undergoing tribulations and was no longer in the Netherworld. She did not want to rashly mobilize Cha Suxun's Netherworld power, so she had to use her own spiritual power combined with the method Cha Suxun taught her.

The moment she used the spell, the colorful spirit stone hair accessories on her head emitted a dazzling strong light, and the light spot gradually turned into a large ball. When the light slowed down, it turned into a transparent and vague Cha Suxun. He stood behind her, reached out from behind her and held her hand that was making hand gestures to cast the spell.

Yuanli subconsciously turned her head to look behind her, and saw Cha Suxun smiling with his eyebrows curved and his eyes filled with gentle love.

Immediately, a cool, refreshing force passed from the hand transformed into light into hers, and Yuanli instantly established a spiritual connection with the soul of the skull's original owner. She quickly communicated with the soul and immediately came here to meet it.

The moment the spiritual communication stopped, the light that had transformed into him also dissipated, transforming into a silver butterfly the size of a fingernail that fluttered back and forth before her eyes. Finally, just a second before the soul of the skull's original owner arrived, it flew to the tip of her nose, stopped, and dissipated. The moment it completely dissipated, Yuanli's nose quickly caught the fleeting scent of the red spider lily.

Yuanli could never mistake this brightness and power.

He gave her endless confidence. From the moment she was held by those hands, the smile of surprise on the corner of her mouth never faded.

Heng Jin, who was watching the whole process, was still staring blankly at the colorful spirit stone hair accessories in her bun, as if she had not yet come to her senses.

"Greetings, Lord Broom Star, are you here to save us and liberate us?" The soul knelt on the ground and kowtowed, saying respectfully and gratefully.

"Hurry up and get up, where are the other trapped souls?"

The woman's spirit rose and replied, "Everyone has gone into hiding, hiding in the stone statue of the mountain god in the ancestral hall of Huamian Village. I, too, was not able to emerge until you called me. I will go and call everyone out now."

"Wait, why are you hiding?"

"Because a monster came from the mountains, he began to hunt souls in the village. We were protected by your statue and were not discovered by him. He came every day at a fixed time. Soon he extracted the remaining souls of the men of Huamian Village from the steamers in the ancestral hall and dug up their buried bones. Sister Meimei said that the monster was most likely here to hunt our souls and took us into hiding."

Yuanli had never heard of such a monster, so she continued to ask, "What kind of monster?"

"The monster was emitting a black aura and wearing a loose, tattered red robe that covered it from head to ankle, leaving only its hands and feet exposed. These were covered in corpse spots. Its toenails were thick and long, their nails a dark purple hue as if filled with blood. It was definitely not a living creature. Most importantly, its red robe was covered in white bones and skulls, all of which were filled with resentment, greed, and evil thoughts. They were the bones of evil spirits."

Heng Jin sent her a telepathic message, "I've never heard of such a monster, but from the description, it seems like it's deliberately collecting evil spirits, similar to how the miasma is cultivated in Yuemang Mountain. It's likely connected to Xie Yuan's group. Remember, be careful what you do, and don't trust the words of spirits completely. The facts will tell you for sure."

Yuanli telepathically said to him, "Whether it's true or not, I want to see what's hidden behind this. Besides, if there really is such a monster, now that it's here, we can't just sit back and watch. Is the Emperor confident we can handle it? Even if we have to go back for reinforcements, we have to deal with the monster first. Even if it's an evil spirit, it must be judged by the Netherworld and must never become a source of nourishment for others to commit evil again."

"I'm sure. If you were asking Heng Jin instead of the Emperor, I'd be even more sure. Judging from your tone, I guess you already have some plans in mind. What do you want to do? I'll obey your orders." Heng Jin said through telepathy.

"Heng Jin, Emperor, aren't you both? I plan to catch the turtle in the jar. However, before that, it would be best to resolve the matter of liberating the earthbound spirits first to avoid any accidents." Yuanli said through telepathy.

"Both of them are me, but I would rather be regarded as your Heng Jin rather than your Emperor." Heng Jin said through telepathic communication.

Yuanli didn't answer him, but continued to say to the female soul: "Take me to find other souls first."

"Yes, Mr. Broom Star, please follow me."

The woman's spirit led her into the Huamian Village ancestral hall. The strange door god statue was no longer visible on the doorway, replaced by two fist-sized holes. Inside, the steamer was in tatters, scattered on the ground in a state of disarray.

Yuanli noticed that the iron steamer seemed to be torn apart, and there were even deep marks from heavy punches. The marks even showed the outlines of the fingers clearly, which was not something an ordinary person could do.

When they arrived in front of the stone statue of the mountain god, the woman's spirit whispered, "My soul has returned to its homeland, and my tears have all but vanished. I have no regrets in sending my lover off across thousands of miles."

After saying this, the woman's spirit explained to Yuanli, "This is a secret code between me and my sisters. It verifies that I am one of them and conveys the message that I am safe."

As soon as she finished speaking, dozens of female spirits appeared before her, bowing and paying homage to her. The woman in the lead held the statue of the god painted by Yuanli high above her head.