"Antique calligraphy and painting."

Shen Ning tapped her fingers lightly on the table. What can be called antique calligraphy and painting basically had the author put a lot of effort into it at the beginning of creation. Such works are quite spiritual and are the easiest to become perfect and strange.

"Secretary Guo, if that's the case, you can gather the casual cultivators in Nanxiang first, and I'll visit the Cai Mansion tonight at Xu's hour."

Guo Yao nodded and smiled bitterly again, "It is not difficult for the Immortal to gather the casual cultivators of Nanxiang, but most of them have low cultivation. I am afraid that the only casual cultivator from Zhaoxia Mirror will still be unwilling to come."

"Why?" Shen Ning frowned and said: "Since the Great Qin Dynasty ten years ago, the sage has issued an order. Each local government office has full authority to decide on the deployment of local casual cultivators. Anyone who disobeys will be punished as disrespecting the imperial court. Does he want to resist the order?"

"Having said that, but..." Guo Yao was a little embarrassed: "This man is a relic of the Taiyi Shangqing Sect. When the Taiyi Shangqing Sect was destroyed, we were too eager to spare, but he... had resentment in his heart. .”

Hearing this, Shen Ning was slightly silent. Taiyi Shangqingmen was massacred overnight, and the court has not yet found the real culprit. It is indeed sorry for him, and now he is sent again, which is a bit unjustifiable.

However, the demon infestation in Nanxiang was inevitable, so Shen Ning asked Guo Yao about his basic situation, got up and walked on the street, disappearing into the crowd.

Guo Yao sighed slightly, left the mutton shop, and went to contact other casual cultivators in Nanxiang.

…

…

The Taiyi Shangqing Sect was very prosperous decades ago, with nearly a thousand disciples. When the demons in the Eastern Wilderness were in chaos, its disciples even killed several of the great throne demons, making them extremely prominent.

But such a tyrannical sect was brutally massacred overnight. What kind of person can do this? Is the court unable to find the murderer or does it not dare to investigate?

Don't dare to check?

The mountain gate made of white jade collapsed, and Shen Ning walked among the ruins and could vaguely see the original prosperity of the Taiyi Shangqing Gate.

Following the stone steps, Shen Ning found a makeshift thatched hut. A middle-aged man in ragged clothes who looked like a beggar was sitting at the door of the thatched hut. The plaque on the left read "Tong Su Wu Qi Er" Character

When the man saw Shen Ning coming, he hurriedly greeted him, "Hey, sir, are you here to tell your fortune or to see a doctor?"

"How much does it cost to see a doctor or tell a fortune?" Shen Ning sat opposite him and asked calmly.

The man had a piece of weed hanging in his mouth, looked up at the sky, pretended to be inscrutable, and replied, "It costs seven to see a doctor without dispensing medicine, and it costs fifteen to see a doctor and dispensing medicine. Fortune telling depends on what you are, but it's not a guest." The officer is so handsome, I'm afraid it's not for marriage, it's just the most expensive thing."

"I'm going to do something big tonight, how about you calculate the good and bad luck?" Shen Ning smiled and put a piece of silver on the table.

The man's eyes lit up, he quietly kicked the silver into his sleeves, took out three copper coins and put them into the porcelain bowl with the Eight Diagrams pattern engraved in front of him. He repeated this six times, and his expression became more solemn after each time.

Dense beads of sweat oozed from the man's forehead, and his lips were a little white. He forced a smile and said: "Guest, this divination is not a good divination. Shao Yin and Lao Yin are equal, which is really a dead end. However, Hong Luan's heart is moved, Shao Shao." The sun is beginning to show, and there is still a glimmer of hope.”

"I want to make sure everything is safe, sir, is there any way?" Shen Ning said and took out another ingot of silver and placed it in front of the man.

He hesitated for a moment, then put the money into his arms and said with a smile: "Master, if you don't do this, everything will be safe."

Shen Ning was stunned for a moment, then smiled and said, "The evil plague in Nanxiang will cause endless harm, how can I sit back and ignore it... Sir, I need you to come with me to deal with this matter."

The man squatted on the bench and clasped his feet, then put it in front of his nose and smelled it. He looked like a scoundrel and said, "Young Master must be an official from the divine capital city. Why do you need me as a fortune teller to eliminate evil spirits?" "

"You are not a fortune teller. Gu Yanwu, the youngest disciple of the Taiyi Shangqing Sect, was massacred when the Taiyi Shangqing Sect was slaughtered. You escaped the catastrophe because you were playful and ran to stay at the inn down the mountain." Shen Ning said slowly: "I heard that you have been living in this simple thatched house all these years, relying on your status as a disciple of the Taiyi Shangqing Sect to make a living by telling people's fortunes."

The sect's destruction was the last thing Gu Yanwu mentioned, but the young man in front of him revealed the bloody scar in front of him.

"Sir, your life is over, and I have given you an idea." Gu Yanwu said coldly: "If there is nothing else, please leave quickly and don't delay my business."

Shen Ning threw his money bag on the table, and the sound of silver coins clanging against each other was clear and sweet.

"I heard from Director Guo that you are good at telling fortunes, and you often participate in escorts to fight for money." Shen Ning smiled and looked at Gu Yanwu, "It is reasonable to say that you should have saved a lot of money over the years, but I think you have nothing to do with it. He is dressed like a beggar and looks like he has not spent any of the money he earns on himself."

"I think you kept the money just to rebuild the mountain gate." Shen Ning leaned against the erected white jade stone pillar and said calmly: "There are fifty taels of silver in it, which is enough for you to build a sect courtyard. When the demon trouble in Nanxiang is eliminated, I will give you another hundred taels and let you build two more Taoist temples. If you are willing, just take the money and follow me."

Gu Yanwu gritted his teeth. He had no father or mother since he was a child. It was the elders of the sect who took him in and gave him a meal. For him, the Taiyi Shangqing Sect was his home.

Over the years, he stayed in these ruins and lived frugally, all he could think about was rebuilding the sect.

But since he has neither advanced magic nor extraordinary cultivation, it is really difficult for him to accomplish this goal.

But no matter how difficult it is, he will keep going. This is his promise to his dead master, and he will be able to rebuild the sect one day.

So, Gu Yanwu smiled, collected the money, and said, "Sir, shall we walk?"

………

At the time of Xu, Director Guo and three casual cultivators were waiting for Shen Ning and others outside the Demon Mansion early.

Seeing Shen Ning coming with Gu Yanwu from afar, Director Guo looked surprised. He didn't expect Shen Ning to actually invite him.

How could he know that Shen Ning spent more than two hundred taels of silver to get Gu Yanwu here.

Most of the three people Chief Secretary Guo brought were in their early forties, one was tall, one was short, and one of them had a hideous scar on his face. They were all at the Taoist Realm.

Even if they had the imperial decree in front of them, these people were willing to take the risk after Chief Guo promised them many benefits.

"Everyone, I am Shen Ning. He is good at magical weapons and combat skills. I hope you can help me in this trip to eliminate demons." Shen Ning was the first to speak, and by the way, he talked about what he was best at so that they could have a basic understanding of him. Understand that once you get in, you won’t have to fight on your own.

"Gu Yanwu, who is good at the Talisman Array, is a descendant of the Taiyi Shangqing Sect."

"Liu Si, good at fighting with swords, casual cultivator."

"Zhang Shan, good at tracking, casual cultivator."

"Li Si, good at spear fighting, casual cultivator."

While several people were talking, the door of Cai Mansion opened with a creak, as if a monster with its mouth wide open in the dark was waiting for Shen Ning and the others to enter.

Seeing the door open by itself, Master Guo's face turned pale, cold sweat broke out, and he swallowed, "Master Shen, I am a mortal, and I won't get involved in this trip."

Shen Ning nodded. Guo Yao didn't have any skills, so following them into Cai Mansion would be a sure way to die.

After Guo was about to leave, Shen Ning and the others did not rush in. Standing outside the door, they felt the cold wind and gloomy air blowing from inside, which made people shudder.

"In my opinion, the Cai Mansion is too evil, so it's better to set it on fire." Liu Si crossed her arms and looked at the several corpses in the courtyard of the Cai Mansion that no one dared to collect. The bones were exposed, and the cold wind was pouring from the skeletons. It screamed like a ghost.

Gu Yanwu squatted on the ground and chuckled, "I'm afraid even if you burn down the whole Nanxiang, you won't be able to burn down the Cai Mansion."

"Mr. Shen, you are from the Tianshi Mansion in Shenjing City, and your methods of subduing and slaying demons must be better than mine." Li Si asked, "What do you think we should do?"

"From Chief Guo's description, the evil spirits hidden in the Cai Mansion can manipulate people's hearts and kill people silently in front of everyone." Shen Ning thought for a moment, took out five talismans from his arms and distributed them to everyone, "This is The Tianshi Mansion's Heart-Connecting Spell can be carried with you to clear your mind and eyesight to avoid being controlled by evil spirits. If someone has an accident, this spell can also make other people feel it."

At this point, Shen Ning continued: "Mr. Cai liked to collect antique calligraphy and paintings during his lifetime. I guess the evil spirit is probably the spirit of the ancient objects. After entering Cai's house, if there are any weird items, they will be destroyed immediately."

Everyone nodded, they knew nothing about the monsters in the Cai Mansion now, and the arrangements Shen Ning made now were already the best.

"In that case, everyone will follow me into the mansion."

Shen Ning led everyone into the Cai Mansion. After walking in, they could not see the tragic corpses that could be seen outside the courtyard before. On the contrary, the courtyard was overgrown with weeds, and snakes, insects, rats and ants were running around inside. It looked like it had been abandoned for a long time. Same.

The rest of the people naturally discovered such anomalies. Among them, the well-informed Zhang Shan said at this moment: "Could it be that the formation is changing with each passing day?"

Shen Ning and others saw that Zhang Shan was aware of the strangeness and all turned their attention to him. The latter said uncertainly: "When I became a disciple of an old man named Youyou and practiced the method of concealment, I saw that there was something about this in the master's book. The records of the array.”

"Exerting this technique is equivalent to deceiving the heavens. It can peel off a place designated by the user from the world, so that the user can control it himself."

"During the previous dynasties, many practitioners relied on this technique to create blessed places and caves for themselves."

Shen Ning frowned, "You mean, the Nanxiang demon has the shadow of hundreds of immortal families?"

"Hey, it's been more than a hundred years since the Jin Dynasty. During this period, how many sects like our Taiyi Shangqing Sect were destroyed by evil spirits?" Gu Yanwu smiled, "Such mysterious formations seem to be changing with each passing day. It’s not impossible to learn from them.”

At this moment, the gate of Cai Mansion closed on its own without any wind or sound.

"It seems that the master doesn't want us to leave." Gu Yanwu chuckled, not taking it seriously at all.

Suddenly, a biting demonic wind came, and Shen Ning and others were on guard, but in the direction where the demonic wind was blowing, they saw a woman in white with her back to everyone.

Liu Si and Li Si were about to go up to check, but Gu Yanwu stopped him with his hand, "Let you see the method of my Taiyi Shangqing Sect."

Gu Yanwu scattered a few soybeans on the ground. The soybeans took root and sprouted in an instant. The beans turned into sticks and the bean sprouts became feet.

"Go and see what's in front of you?"

A few bean sprouts nodded and jumped towards the woman.

"Ah!" Just when everyone was focusing on the woman in front, Zhang Shan's scream suddenly came from behind, and they saw a fat corpse with rotten flesh on the face and two teeth like evil ghosts. It pierced Zhang Shan's throat fiercely.

"Evil beast!"

Liu Si was furious, and with a flash of silver light from the long sword in his hand, the head of the corpse was chopped off.

Zhang Shan covered his neck, vomited blood, huddled in pain on the ground, and stopped moving after a while.

Everyone's hearts felt chilly. Although Zhang Shan was not good at fighting, he was best at concealment. He should be able to live the longest among all of them by practicing this kind of magic, but they never expected that there would be ghosts and monsters who could sneak away. He approached him quietly and killed him.

What exactly is the monster hidden in the Cai Mansion!

Shen Ning glanced at the corpse on the ground and found that the body was rotten, stained with a lot of soil, and a bright piece of cloth was exposed from the corner of the clothes.

"This body should be the corpse of Mr. Cai. The evil spirits in the Cai Mansion should speed up the passage of time, causing the corpses mutilated by it to mutate early." Shen Ning deduced: "In other words, in the Cai Mansion now, It is very likely that dozens of corpses like Mr. Cai’s are hidden.”

"Hiss." As soon as he finished speaking, the woman in white made a strange scream.

Li Si and Liu Si were always wary of her, while Shen Ning and Gu Yanwu looked in other directions warily.

The woman in white turned around slowly. At this time, Li Si and others saw her face clearly. It was like a lot of insects crawling out of the black holes. Her flesh and blood had long since dried up, but even so, she still showed a ferocious smile.
Chapter completed!