The wooden dummy's arm has a clear crack in the middle, indicating that it was split in two and then put back together.
You can't tell anything from the outside, but you can clearly see from the cross-section that it has been tampered with.
Yuan Qi reached out with both hands to pry open the crack, when a large hand reached out and a deep voice said, "I'll do it."
The wooden dummy in the courtyard had been there for over two years and had always been used by Xiang Lizhuo for practicing his skills. Servants regularly cleaned and looked after it, but unexpectedly, someone tampered with it.
With a gentle snap, Xiangli Jiuyou revealed the broken surface. The cross-section was very neat, and the solid wood inside had been hollowed out to reveal an iron pestle. One end of the pestle was very thin, about the size of a chopstick tip, and the tip was marked with a few dots, making it somewhat sharp. Normally, when practicing martial arts, the part that comes into contact with this area is the sleeve, or the back or palm of the hand.
"Little Celestial Master, what is this?" Xiangli Jiuyou asked angrily.
Yuan Qi held the small iron pestle in his hand and carefully examined its tiny tip. Its color was similar to that of wood, and it was almost invisible unless you looked closely.
"This is the Soul-Locking Pestle. It contains a very ingenious formation. Once it comes into contact with human blood, the person's soul will be drawn into it. If no one rescues the soul within seven days, the soul will be absorbed by the Soul-Locking Pestle, enhancing the power of the magical artifact."
Yuan Qi held the Soul-Locking Pestle and looked at it from left to right. He felt that the magic weapon was very exquisitely made and seemed to be newly made recently. Except for the small tip which was aged, the rest of the weapon was brand new.
I don't know who did it, but it's just bad luck to run into her.
Xiangli Jiuyou glanced at Xiangli Mu, and the two whispered to each other: "Father, do you think this curse on Ninth Brother might be the work of the same person?"
Xianglimu snorted with a dark face: "Our family's only talented ones are Youming and Zhuoyue, but they were the only ones who were ambushed. Someone is trying to seize the position of family head."
Yuan Qi was more interested in the Soul-Locking Pestle, thinking that if it were modified, it could be made into a magical artifact that could temporarily contain a soul.
The array on this Soul-Locking Pestle is extremely ingenious and full of spiritual energy; it's not something an ordinary Taoist priest could create.
She took the Soul-Locking Pestle into the house, found a place to sit down, and began to study it carefully.
Since it is a magical artifact that locks souls, not just anyone can rescue the souls inside. If someone accidentally breaks the formation, the souls inside will be reduced to ashes.
Xiangli Mu and Xiangli Jiuyou didn't disturb Yuan Qi, letting her study there by herself.
The two then summoned the servant who usually took care of the wooden dummy and interrogated him in detail.
The wooden dummy was just a training tool, and the servant in charge of maintaining it only wiped it down occasionally and applied a layer of tung oil for maintenance. He didn't really take care of it much otherwise.
There is no way of knowing when the wooden dummy was tampered with.
Xiangli Youming wasn't very interested in this, so he sat next to Yuan Qi and watched Yuan Qi study it intently.
"What's so interesting about this lump of iron?" Xiangli Youming couldn't help but ask.
Yuan Qi glanced at him, then slowly released his grip, and the Soul-Locking Pestle floated in the air.
She formed a hand seal and poured a bit of spiritual power into the Soul-Locking Pestle. The exquisite Bagua formation on it then appeared, with a small human figure in the center of the formation, which was Xiangli Zhuoyue's soul and spirit.
"See that? The little figure inside is Xiangli Zhuoyue's soul and spirit. This formation is like a trap set when hunting. To rescue the person inside the trap, you have to dismantle the trap."
Xiangli Youming was very intelligent and understood immediately: "If we are not careful, the trap will be damaged, and the people inside will die."
Yuan Qi nodded: "That's why the person who put the Soul-Locking Pestle here isn't in a hurry to take it away. He's certain that no one can break this formation."
Xiangli Jiuyou gasped, admiring the man's cunning and ruthlessness: "This is truly killing without shedding blood! The formation cannot be forcibly broken. If the formation cannot be broken within the specified time limit, the souls inside will be absorbed, and my son will be doomed. How vicious this person is! Taoists are supposed to eliminate demons and protect the righteous path, how could there be such scum who harms people's lives?"
Yuan Qi nodded in agreement: "You're right. In our Taoist sect, there are indeed some scoundrels who practice evil arts. As long as they're paid, they'll do anything."
Hearing this, Xianglimu said coldly, "This is too arrogant! If I catch this man, I will kill his entire family!"
She fiddled with the array with her little hands, trying to find a flaw, but the array of this small soul-locking pestle was so ingenious that she couldn't find a flaw for a while.
Xiangli Mu and Xiangli Jiuyou naturally knew that the Xiangli clan was full of capable people, and anyone who wanted to harm Xiangli Zhuoyue would certainly have extraordinary skills. Breaking this formation would probably not be so easy.
They were both really worried that Yuan Qi wouldn't be able to break the formation.
Xiangli Youming seemed to sense his father and brother's worry and asked softly, "Can it be untied?"
Yuan Qi replied calmly, "Yes, but it will take some effort. This formation is very interesting; it seems to have been set up by a master of formations. I need to study it carefully. You guys brew some ginseng soup and feed it to him little by little to keep him alive."
Upon hearing this, Xianglimu immediately ordered his servants to take out the century-old ginseng from the storeroom, slice it, and boil it into a soup.
"It's truly ingenious; it has nine layers of Bagua formations, like a maze."
The three men, including Xianglimu, were dazzled by what they saw. All they could see was a yellow array spinning erratically without any discernible pattern, while the little red figure was trapped in the very center of the array, motionless.
The one I'm most worried about is Xiangli Jiuyou.
"Little Celestial Master, why is my son not moving at all inside? Could something have happened to him?"
Yuan Qi gave him a look that said, "If you don't understand, don't talk nonsense," and looked at him like he was an idiot, without saying a word.
Xiangli Jiuyou was very worried and asked again, "This formation is so dense and impenetrable, it's even harder to break through than the death row of the Dali Temple, little angel..."
Xiangli Youming stood up and glared at him: "Didn't you see that Miss Qi is breaking the formation? Stop making noise."
Xiangli Jiuyou sighed and rubbed his forehead in exasperation: "Father, the little Celestial Master is so young, why don't we ask the Imperial Advisor to take a look?"
Xianglimu directly rejected the idea: "Is it so easy to invite a national advisor?"
Xiangli Jiuyou was extremely anxious.
Yuan Qi said, "There's no use in being anxious. The formation is exquisite, and it will take time to break it. If you have nothing to do, you might as well go and make ginseng soup for your son, or find out who tampered with the wooden dummy."
Xiangli Jiuyou snorted heavily: "Who else could it be but Second Uncle?"
Xiangli Mu stepped out, and Xiangli Jiuyou followed him out.
Xiangli Youming stayed with Yuan Qi, watching quietly without saying a word.
Yuan Qi gently tapped the top of the outermost layer of the array.
The outermost layer of the formation shattered completely.
Xiangli Youming was overjoyed: "Unlock one layer! I knew you could do it!"
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