The night wind blew past the shrine, carrying the thick scent of blood into its interior.
For some reason, the entire shrine suddenly felt eerie and terrifying, as if every corner hid a pair of eyes, peering at Ying Chen.
Gulp...
A splash of water suddenly appeared in the corner, as if the wall had come alive and was swallowing.
Drip...
The splash of water disappeared, and two lines of bloody tears began to flow down the wall.
It was as if the shrine was weeping for the death of the temple keeper.
A faint sobbing could still be heard from the void, a sharp, chilling sound that sent shivers down the spine.
The moonlight happened to illuminate that wall at this moment.
There, on the wall, a mural of a woman with disheveled hair, sitting with her back to the viewer, suddenly turned her head!
She grinned at Ying Chen, revealing a mouth full of pale, sharp teeth!
"Seeking death!"
Ying Chen's expression was unreadable as he merely glanced at the woman.
But with just that one glance, the woman could not bear it, letting out a terrified wail.
The next second, she exploded, turning into a splash of paint that detached from the wall.
The other murals on the wall, which had been stirring and restless, saw this and, no matter how ferocious or arrogant their depictions, all shrank back into the wall in fear, not daring to move.
Only a fox with nine tails growing from its back, instead of retreating, tried to emerge from the mural, baring its teeth at Ying Chen.
"Hmm? Su Daji?" Ying Chen frowned upon seeing the fox.
But in the next second, he shook his head and denied it, "No, although it's a nine-tailed fox, Su Daji was a Celestial Fox from Qingqiu, possessing the noblest and most orthodox bloodline among foxes. This fox, however, exudes an aura of vulgarity and degeneracy, as if it's a mere wild breed from the mountains..."
"The demeanor of this fox is also not right; it completely lacks the disdainful presence of a celestial fox. It only possesses intense greed and malice."
"I wonder if the artist who painted the mural misunderstood the aura of the Nine-Tailed Celestial Fox, or if this Nine-Tailed Celestial Fox absorbed the malevolent energy of the shrine day and night, practicing incorrectly and thus cultivating into a 'wild fox Zen'."
Ying Chen could not figure out the origin of this fox.
But none of that mattered. Ying Chen spread his five fingers and grabbed at the air.
Instantly, a force descended from the heavens, landing on the Nine-Tailed Fox's head.
As the Nine-Tailed Fox's head just emerged from the mural, it exploded with a crack into a mass of blood-red paint.
The remaining half of its body, sensing danger, immediately tried to flee back into the depths of the wall.
But before it could even turn, a thunderous roar echoed.
The entire wall, upon which the murals were painted, crumpled like a piece of squeezed bread, collapsing into a single mass.
And every mural on it turned to dust along with the wall's collapse.
For a moment, incessant wails and mournful cries filled the air.
Interspersed were the malicious curses of the other murals directed at the Nine-Tailed Fox.
They had clearly recognized Ying Chen's power; they had clearly tried their best to distance themselves from him.
Why did that foolish Nine-Tailed Fox continue to provoke him so fiercely?
Was it simply because the Nine-Tailed Fox was personally painted by Ashiya Dōman, or because the prototype of the fox came from the East and was the legendary great demon Tamamo-no-Mae?
The sounds gradually subsided.
These murals, which had existed for centuries, condensed a trace of spirituality through the shrine's incense, the essence of the sun and moon, and the terrestrial malevolent energy, were instantly annihilated.
This truly validated the saying: one wrong step, and the whole game is lost.
After dealing with the murals, Ying Chen strolled into the shrine.
Incense smoke curled within the shrine, and in the darkness, the tips of five incense sticks could be seen flickering with red light.
The golden statue on the altar seemed to be asleep, showing no sign of movement.
However, the two clay guardian statues beside the altar suddenly opened their eyes.
"Trespassing in the shrine, kill without mercy!"
The clay guardians raised their long sabers and slashed ferociously at Ying Chen.
Although the two long sabers were made of clay and possessed no inherent lethality, as their blades grazed the door frame, they immediately left deep gouges!
It was as if these clay sabers contained razor-sharp refined metal within!
"Imps and demons, daring to speak like humans." Ying Chen said coldly, looking at the two clay guardians.
Then he stomped his foot.
Boom!
Instantly, the entire shrine began to shake violently.
The two clay guardians, like skyscrapers in an earthquake, swayed uncontrollably from side to side.
Crack... crack...
After swaying a few times, a crack suddenly appeared on the bodies of the clay guardians.
The crack rapidly spread along the bodies of the clay guardians.
Until it reached their heads.
"D...amn..."
The two clay guardians uttered two words in a low murmur, then split cleanly in half and fell to the ground.
Ying Chen did not even glance at the clay guardians and walked straight towards the altar.
He stopped before the golden statue on the altar, a mocking smile appearing on his face, "What, are you still going to pretend to be asleep?"
Swish!
The golden statue's eyes snapped open.
Simultaneously, a phantom face slowly emerged, replacing the statue's features and taking on the appearance of Ashiya Dōman.
"I didn't expect you to be able to track me down here."
"How did you know that I hadn't truly died and still possessed the art of soul return?"
Clearly, Ashiya Dōman still couldn't comprehend how Ying Chen, who had already left, could seem to possess clairvoyance and know his every move so clearly.
Ying Chen scoffed, "Didn't I already say it? You, who have lived for two hundred years, have no right to say it's unreasonable for me, who has lived for two thousand years. From the moment I saw you, I knew that a lingering spirit not of this era was hidden within that body!"
"You must be Ashiya Dōman himself, right?"
Boom!
The golden statue trembled violently.
The face of Ashiya Dōman, attached to the statue, revealed an expression of disbelief.
"How did you guess?"
"How to explain it..." Ying Chen tilted his head and thought. "I remember there's a saying from this era: 'We're all foxes who have cultivated for a thousand years, don't play tricks with me like in Liaozhai.' Unfortunately, you're not even a thousand-year-old fox, so while you thought you did it flawlessly, in my eyes, you had no secrets at all."
"..." Ashiya Dōman was speechless, yet greatly shocked.
Had Ying Chen truly lived for over two thousand years?
He had always thought Ying Chen was boasting!
Indeed, facing such a monstrous being who could seemingly live forever, he was no match at all!
It was like a child trying to play mind games with an adult; the child thought himself very clever and cunning, but in the adult's eyes, his schemes were full of flaws and utterly clumsy.
And Ashiya Dōman was that child!
"Yes, you guessed correctly, I am indeed Ashiya Dōman! Before I passed away, I accidentally obtained a method of soul possession. I also happened to have a suitable vessel nearby, so I possessed that vessel and survived."
"However, this method has a great hidden danger; each vessel lasts no more than ten years. Therefore, I had to change vessels frequently."
"Until I saw you! I discovered that your formidable physical constitution seemed to completely counteract the side effects of soul possession! So, I decided to refine you into my permanent vessel, and from then on, I would no longer have to trouble myself endlessly looking for the next one!"
Ashiya Dōman's eyes flickered with intense greed as he spoke.
Clearly, even at this point, he had not given up on the idea of possessing Ying Chen!
And the secret Ying Chen had just revealed made him even more determined to claim Ying Chen's body!