Looking around, the once intact and lively grand manor had become extremely dilapidated, with a large area of scattered, messy tables and chairs.
And in the ancestral hall where Zhang Tian had just fought, a尊位 (zun wei - venerated position) for a Yellow Great Immortal had actually appeared.
Seeing this尊位, Zhang Tian suddenly had an epiphany.
"I understand, why this is the lair of the weasels, and why there's a Yellow Great Immortal."
As Zhang Tian spoke, several people looked over.
"What the weasel butler said was partly true; during the turbulent times of war, a wealthy master brought his servants and offspring here to live in seclusion."
"And by chance, a weasel transformed into human form. Perhaps it used some minor magic on the master, or threatened the people, forcing the master to call the weasel an immortal."
"From then on, there were no living people in this manor."
Zhang Tian said, and this also explained why there was a manor here, and why the Yellow Great Immortal had become so strong.
It was likely that from the beginning, it had been draining the lifespans of the people in the manor, a fact that even the Daoist Priest Yimei was unaware of.
"As for the murals we saw earlier, the human heads sacrificed by the villagers were probably not villagers, but the landlord's family hiding here."
"After the chickens were eaten, those people offered their heads."
As Zhang Tian spoke, Fatty's expression slowly turned grim.
He mechanically looked at the chicken heads he had thrown out.
The once fragrant chicken heads had now turned into skull heads.
"Holy crap!"
"Damn it!"
Fatty was startled and threw the heads far away with one hand.
He touched his lips.
"Old Fatty licked this thing, and for so long?"
"And slurped it for so long?"
Fatty was dumbfounded.
With a bitter expression.
He stuck out his tongue and frantically wiped it with his hand.
Ugh, the taste was bitter and a little salty.
Fatty wanted to vomit. Weren't they supposed to be chicken heads?
How did they turn into... skull heads?
"Ancestor, do you see? Your disciple truly has a discerning eye. Fortunately, I didn't take him under my wing!"
"He is only ours to observe, not a disciple, and has nothing to do with us."
Daoist Priest Yimei looked at Fatty with a sense of relief.
If he had taken Fatty as a disciple, wouldn't that be a disgrace to the lineage?
Zhang Tian, Hu Bayi, and Xie Yuchen stared at Fatty, stunned.
He didn't even know these were illusions? As expected, only Fatty could be like this.
"According to what you said, disciple, it makes sense how these weasels became spirits."
"However, where did the leading Yellow Great Immortal go?"
Daoist Priest Yimei looked around, not finding the Yellow Great Immortal that had been enshrined earlier.
"Here."
Suddenly, a voice came from above.
Zhang Tian and the others looked up.
On the stone ceiling above, a mural of a weasel appeared.
The mural was large, and it depicted the weasel that had already become an immortal.
The weasel's eyes were wide open, and from its eyes, a golden coffin was being pulled out.
Zhang Qilin's black and gold ancient saber was stuck into the stone wall, and he was suspended next to the coffin.
"Boss, it's strange. Why are there traces of him in other small graves, but no trace of the Yellow Great Immortal in the large burial mound?" Hu Bayi asked.
Zhang Tian thought for a moment.
"The ones we encountered in the environment earlier should also be considered Yellow Great Immortals. His power should have been divided into several parts, scattered throughout the Greater Khingan Range."
"He even established countless altars, making the surrounding villagers offer sacrifices to him."
As Zhang Tian spoke, Zhang Qilin waved his hand, lifted the coffin with one hand, and leaped, landing directly among Zhang Tian and the others.
"Boss, second brother is carrying the coffin!"
"So cool."
Fatty, seeing this, recovered from his earlier gloom.
His tongue was still salty and disgusting.
"Clang."
The golden coffin was placed on the ground by Zhang Qilin.
"If you want to know the answer, opening this should make it clear."
Zhang Tian said, his eyes fixed on the coffin.
"Item: Huangpizi Coffin (Awakened)"
"Item Description: After the Huangpizi became immortal, its remains were buried within, while its soul enjoyed the offerings of incense and devotion."
A voice echoed in his mind.
Zhang Tian seemed to understand something.
But he didn't expect that the weasel inside was already in an awakened state. Yet, why wasn't it coming out to attack?
"Fatty, open the coffin."
Zhang Tian waved his hand and said directly.
Since they had found this guy, they should eliminate it directly to prevent it from harming the villagers.
Fatty spat on his hands.
"Pah! Damn it! You scared old Fatty! If I don't open your coffin, my surname isn't Wang!"
Fatty said, inserting his military shovel into the gap, intending to pry it open.
As they began to pry open the coffin, countless pairs of eyes emerged from the surroundings.
At the same time, the owners of those eyes let out squeaking sounds.
The sounds were loud and frequent.
Immediately after, a group of yellow weasels charged over with a suicidal ferocity.
Clearly, they intended to protect this coffin.
"Perfect, catch them all. Fatty, open the coffin, and we'll eliminate all these weasels."
Zhang Tian said, and the others nodded, showing no fear in the face of the swarm of weasels rushing towards them.
At this moment, the Princess in Fatty's jade pendant also emerged. She was very angry at that time.
Now that there was an opportunity for revenge, how could she let it go?
As for Yimei, it goes without saying, he wished he could execute all of them.
"Heavenly spirit, earthly spirit, fire of heaven and earth, manifest quickly!"
Daoist Priest Yimei performed a hand seal, and then, flames erupted from his peach wood sword.
Zhang Tian, holding the sword of Lu Shangwang, drew his sword, exuding a fierce killing intent.
In a blink of an eye, they plunged into the swarm of weasels.
A scene of carnage ensued; it was a one-sided slaughter.
Meanwhile, at Fatty's end, the coffin had been pried open slightly.
Hu Bayi looked at the coffin, his eyebrows slightly raised.
"This coffin has a strange design."
Hu Bayi thought to himself, observing it carefully.
The coffin was about two meters long, resembling a human coffin, and on top of it was a weasel's head.
The coffin was also adorned with patterns of gold, silver, and jewels.
"Could it be that it was also a greedy weasel?"
Hu Bayi pondered, and beside him, the coffin had been opened by Wang Fatty.
As the coffin was opened, waves of demonic energy continuously emanated.
The demonic energy had formed a tangible substance, spreading outwards from within the coffin.
"Fatty, stay back."
Hu Bayi warned Fatty.
Fatty quickly nodded and moved further away from the area.
The demonic energy was fleeting, like a blooming epiphyllum, existing only for a moment before dissipating.
"Damn, it was a dud. It scared old Fatty."
Fatty patted his chest and quickly looked inside.
Upon seeing the inside of the coffin, Fatty swallowed and felt a wave of nausea.
"Old Hu, it's so disgusting in here."
Fatty said, and Hu Bayi also looked inside, his face changing.
"Human, human skin?"
Upon seeing what was buried inside, Hu Bayi felt disgusted.
This was far more disgusting than a mummified corpse.
A piece of human skin lay in the coffin, with some decay on the face. The face on the skin looked remarkably like a weasel's.
This sight, both terrifying and revolting, made Hu Bayi and Fatty feel nauseous.
Meanwhile, at Zhang Tian's side, it was almost over.
These small weasels were no match for them.
The number of weasels wearing human skin was not large.
Therefore, the fight was much simpler.
Before long, the weasels in the cave had piled up into a small mountain.
Zhang Tian and his companions left none alive.
The scene was one of extreme brutality.