Everyone was only worried about whether there was any danger, but they did not expect such a stench. They were so shocked that they vomited repeatedly.
Qing Xuanzi quickly sealed Rong Jiaojiao's sense of smell, then took out one or two odor-blocking talismans and stuck them on himself and Rong Jiaojiao, sealing his own sense of smell before daring to breathe.
His divine sense spread outwards like waves, and no corner could escape his perception.
The metaphysical group members also shut down their sense of smell before entering the alley.
Cang Daoquan said to the female member who was walking at the back, "Lei Yingxue, seal off the entrances and exits, and don't let any unsuspecting people in."
Lei Yingxue agreed, turned around and took out a talisman, which she pasted at the entrance of the alley to form a temporary barrier to prevent outsiders from accidentally entering.
Another female member of the group frowned and said, "Team leader, this stench is very unusual; it smells like a corpse."
Cang Daoquan warned everyone, "Be careful, there might be danger here."
Qing Xuanzi nodded, his gaze fixed on the depths of the alley, where a thick, sinister aura permeated the air.
His divine sense carefully probed the alleyway, searching for possible clues, but he found no trace of a living person.
The alley is not long, with only a dozen or so households, arranged on both sides, with seven or eight old houses in the style of courtyards on each side.
"There isn't a single original resident in this alley. Could they have already met with some misfortune?" Lei Yingxue's voice carried a hint of worry.
“Very likely.” Cang Daoquan nodded. “We must find clues as soon as possible to see what exactly happened here.”
They walked slowly forward, each step taken with care.
This was a dead end, and the group eventually stopped at the end of the alley.
At the end of the road were two houses facing each other, their dilapidated wooden doors covered with vines, indicating that no one had opened them for a long time.
Qing Xuanzi's divine sense had already searched all the houses in the alley. He found neither living nor dead people, so where was this stench coming from?
Cang Daoquan arrived at the door of two houses at the end of the alley. Just as he was about to reach out and push the door open to check, his divine sense suddenly detected a faint energy fluctuation on the door.
"Wait." Qing Xuanzi's voice suddenly rang out, his gaze fixed on the two doors. "There are hidden formations on these two doors."
"A concealment formation?" Cang Daoquan frowned slightly. "Could there be some secret hidden inside?"
“Very likely.” Qing Xuanzi nodded. “Everyone, step back a bit. I’ll try it with a talisman.”
After everyone had retreated and taken precautions, two talismans flew out from Qing Xuanzi's hands and were instantly activated on the two doors.
As the talisman was activated, the two wooden doors collapsed with a crash, and pitch-black mist poured out from the left door like a flood, instantly filling the entire alley.
Everyone instinctively took a few steps back, and Qing Xuanzi's divine sense quickly protected the master and disciple to prevent the black mist from invading.
"This black mist contains a strong evil aura, everyone be careful!" Cang Daoquan shouted a warning, his voice solemn.
Everyone nodded, and Cang Daoquan quickly took out a golden talisman from his pocket and stuck it on the edge of the black mist.
The talisman instantly emitted a dazzling golden light, forcing the black mist back a bit.
“This black fog seems to be continuously flowing; we need to find the source as soon as possible,” Cang Daoquan said.
Qing Xuanzi nodded slightly. His divine sense, like a sharp sword, pierced through the black mist and probed into the depths of the door.
Suddenly, his divine sense detected a faint fluctuation, which came from a corner inside the door.
"There's something there!" Qing Xuanzi shouted, pointing to the spot where he had discovered it.
Cang Daoquan and the other members of the metaphysics group reacted quickly, taking out their respective magical treasures and talismans to prepare for any potential dangers.
Qingcang Daoquan was the first to rush into the black mist, his divine sense locked onto that corner.
As he approached, the black mist gradually dissipated, revealing a dimly lit space.
"There are so many bones in here!"
One of the male team members spoke with immense shock, his gaze falling on the mountain of white bones piled up in the corner.
These bones are scattered on the ground, some already broken, others still retaining their twisted postures from when they were alive, telling the story of their lives.
Qing Xuanzi's divine sense quickly swept over the bones, and his expression instantly turned solemn.
“These bones have no trace of soul, clearly they were extracted by some evil force,” Qing Xuanzi said in a low voice.
The others were also drawn to the skeletons, and their expressions turned grim.
A hint of pity appeared on Lei Yingxue's face, and she said in a low voice, "These skeletons... they must have suffered immense pain in their lives."
Qing Xuanzi nodded and said, "Yes, these bones still retain a strong aura of pain and fear, indicating that they experienced something extremely terrifying before they died."
After watching for a long time, a male team member said, "This demonic spirit is not just about absorbing souls; it should also be able to absorb the death energy, malevolent energy, resentment, and other negative energy generated after people die to enhance itself."
Everyone's faces turned solemn upon hearing this. The speaker was named Zhang Zhu, and he was born into a family of corpse drivers in western Hunan.
They knew a lot about corpses, so everyone believed what they said.
If what he said is true, then if the demon spirit wants to increase its strength, it will inevitably have to harm more innocent people, which would be a disaster.
"We must report this matter as soon as possible and let the seniors above know about it," Cang Daoquan said in a deep voice. "The National Xuanmen Group doesn't have that many people. We must ask the higher-ups to invite various sects to come out of seclusion and investigate all over the country."
He turned to Qing Xuanzi and said, "Fellow Daoist Qing Xuan, I hope you can contact your sect as soon as possible to see if any of your sect's people traveling outside have made any other discoveries."
Qing Xuanzi nodded slightly and said, "Alright, I will contact the sect as soon as possible to see if they have had a similar experience or if they have any countermeasures. If so, I will notify the National Xuanmen Group as soon as possible."
Cang Daoquan nodded and said, "We will also report it as soon as possible so that more comrades can know about this matter."
His gaze then fell on the skeletons: "Perhaps we can find some clues from these skeletons and see if we can find the master of the demon spirit."
Qing Xuanzi nodded: "Now let's clear away all the bad luck here, so that it doesn't spread out and harm ordinary people at any time."
Cang Daoquan nodded and said, "Okay, I'll set up the purification array, and you guys help maintain its operation."
Everyone nodded, each choosing a spot to stand, waiting for Cang Daoquan to set up the purification array.
Cang Daoquan took out a white jade tablet from his sleeve, which was the core of the purification array he had carefully prepared.
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