Gentlemen, it's time to enter the Banner of Ten Thousand Souls.

Chapter 49 Acting for Heaven
Chen Ye breathed a sigh of relief. He didn't want to have a little girl by his side. Not only would it cause all sorts of trouble, but the extra entanglement would naturally slow down his cultivation speed.

Chen Ye said gratefully, "Thank you so much for your help, Miss Su."

Su Chun smiled and said, "As you know, our Qinghe Sword Sect has few disciples. When we go out to train, if we encounter a suitable candidate, we will bring them back to the sect. Miss Lan is exceptionally talented and has a pure heart, which makes her a perfect fit for our Qinghe Sword Sect."

Chen Ye could understand. The number one sect in the world only had so few people. He guessed that the leader of the Qinghe Sword Sect must be quite anxious.

With Lan Shi's problem resolved, Chen Ye told the two girls to go back to the teahouse to rest, as what they were about to do was not suitable for Lan Shi to watch.

Chen Ye needs to clean up the mess.

The corpses scattered all over the ground need to be cleaned up, otherwise it might turn into a plague.

The spellcasters were not released from the spell, and many spells became irrelevant to the caster after being cast. Jiang Shiyue is dead, but the spell's influence remains; they will still frantically sacrifice everything for Jiang Shiyue.

Since we're already here, we might as well practice the secret techniques transmitted in the Ksitigarbha Sutra.

When the spell of charm is applied to the soul of a mortal, it is equivalent to planting a spell that interferes with their thinking. As long as the content involves anything related to the "master", all resistance and thought will be eliminated, turning them into a loyal dog with unwavering devotion.

Chen Ye waved the Ten Thousand Souls Banner, causing the vengeful spirits to demolish most of the Hengdao Inn and use the materials on the spot to set up an array.

While he was busy, Mo Ci couldn't help but ask, "What kind of wicked idea are you up to now? Just leave these idiots to fend for themselves. Even if you really want to break the charm spell, wouldn't it be more convenient to have Su Chunyi do it?"

Chen Ye asked, "Master, how do you know that Miss Su can break free from bewitching spells? Don't you not know them either?"

Mo Ci said confidently, "How can that be the same? I may not understand, but Su Chunyi certainly does. The disciples of prestigious sects are most afraid of being controlled and having their minds corrupted, which would damage the sect's reputation. This is especially true for women, who must be extremely careful, or their fate will be tragic. A sect as large as the Qinghe Sword Sect must teach its disciples how to break such bewitching spells."

Chen Ye said in surprise, "I really didn't know that if you hadn't told me. I've learned a lot from you, my disciple."

So even reputable sects have this trick up their sleeves. Looks like I shouldn't even think about trying to bewitch disciples of those major sects anymore.

"Don't change the subject, what are you trying to do?"

Mo Ci sensed something was wrong. Even if he wanted to deal with a few mortals, why would he need to make such a big fuss?

This formation looks rather exaggerated; it starts to draw upon a vast amount of spiritual energy from heaven and earth just by setting up a rudimentary form.

"It was while Miss Su was by my side that I wanted to try out all the secret techniques recorded in the Ksitigarbha Sutra. However, it would be too troublesome to learn them one by one. I have discovered that I have no talent in casting spells."

This wasn't modesty; Chen Ye had been practicing the immobilization technique for many days, but he still failed when he tried to use it in combat. Clearly, he was a research-oriented cultivator, lacking any special talent in combat.

The four secret techniques of restraint, interrogation, and torture complement each other, forming a cohesive whole. To see the combined effect, one must set up an array in advance; otherwise, even if Chen Ye had ten years, he wouldn't be able to execute them.

Chen Ye had sensed this during his previous cultivation: these four secret techniques could affect the Qi Sea within the body and influence the speed at which spiritual energy was absorbed.

We definitely need to find an opportunity to study it carefully as soon as possible.

However, setting up a complete formation would be too noisy and would easily attract the attention of other cultivators. Who knows if there are any hidden demons or unorthodox cultivators in Cui County?

Chen Ye thought that since Su Chunyi was nearby, no matter how much trouble he caused, she should be able to save his life.

The purpose of spiritual practice is to achieve longevity; one should not take unnecessary risks.

But if necessary, then there should be no hesitation.

After listening to Chen Ye's explanation, Mo Ci sighed that this kid truly lived up to his reputation as a born devil, his schemes against others were incredibly meticulous.

However, Mo Ci was also quite curious. This scripture was really strange. Just the fact that it was made of an invulnerable material showed that it was no ordinary item. What would happen if all the secret techniques recorded inside were used?
Could the world really change color, allowing people to instantly become immortals?

Although I know it's unlikely, I can't help but let my imagination run wild.

Chen Ye ignored Mo Ci's thoughts and continued to choose his formation.

The reason for choosing Hengdao Inn was not only because it was a chance encounter, but also because the place was quite special, a place that could be said to be a collection of all kinds of greed and resentment, including wine, women, wealth, and anger.

As an inn frequented by martial arts practitioners, it was originally a place where bravery and fighting were prevalent. Since the inn's rules forbade them from engaging in violence, it would provide various forms of entertainment.

They drank wine from large bowls, ate meat in large bites, and then gambled while listening to music—they had everything imaginable.

Furthermore, this inn is a den of iniquity, having committed countless heinous acts that have taken lives over the years. The resentment and hatred linger there, only suppressed by the strong yang energy of the martial arts practitioners. Over time, these thoughts will affect the spiritual energy of this place, forming a unique "feng shui pattern."

To set up an array, one should generally follow the natural flow and arrange it according to the feng shui layout of different locations to achieve twice the result with half the effort. Chen Ye is now using the four secret techniques of restraint, interrogation, and torture to set up the array, taking advantage of the spiritual energy of this place, which contains greed, anger, ignorance, and resentment, which is a perfect match.

After a long period of work, until the sun had already set, the simple formation was finally completed.

The platform Chen Ye built resembled an arched bridge, with countless runes rising from the ground and transforming into wisps of phosphorescent fire that lingered and never dissipated.

What was once a perfectly good inn has now become like a mass grave, with the eerie winds it attracts turning into howls, and the lingering resentment that had clearly dissipated now showing signs of coalescing.

The intangible resentment manifested itself, like a phantom. Upon closer inspection, it was clearly composed of thousands of distorted human faces pieced together. Whenever the phosphorescent light flickered, the features of the innkeeper, gamblers, prostitutes, and other people who had committed sins here in their previous lives would appear alternately in the mist, as if these sinful souls had been forcibly blended into the appearance of this ghostly figure.

In an instant, the ghostly figure grew taller and larger, and in the blink of an eye, it became a three-zhang-tall evil ghost with a blue face and fangs.

Chen Ye stood at the center of the formation, carefully coordinating the flow of spiritual energy. The four secret techniques of restraint, interrogation, and torture were activated in sequence, and a strange magical artifact appeared on the body of the blue-faced, fanged demon.

A rusty iron chain was wrapped around the demon's right hand, one end with a sharp barb and the other with a yoke covered in thorns.

Chen Ye suddenly felt as if Mount Tai was pressing down on him. This green-faced ghost was formed from the evil of the world, and seemed to be even more powerful than the souls of the two old demons before.

Seeing the blue-faced ghost looking at him, Chen Ye felt his body tremble and his mind sink into boundless fear. But he hardened his heart, bit his tongue, and met the ghost's gaze calmly.

As their eyes met, a roar echoed in Chen Ye's mind: "Do you know your crime!"

Chen Ye felt his memories surging, and many trivial things he thought he had long forgotten came flooding back to his mind. Arguing with others, being lazy and refusing to study, being obsequious, flattering... all of these were past events that Chen Ye did not want to recall.

However, no matter how these memories surfaced, Chen Ye only felt embarrassed, but not guilty at all. Looking into the fiery eyes of the blue-faced ghost, he answered frankly, "I have a clear conscience, what crime have I committed?"

He may have done many foolish things in his past life, but Chen Ye has never harmed others for his own benefit.

If that's the case, what crime have they committed?
Just as Chen Ye loudly responded to the Green-Faced Ghost's question, the barbed chain swept towards him.

Chen Ye did not flinch. The rusty iron hook swept across his body, but it didn't even tear his clothes. Instead, it sliced ​​through Chen Ye's body, only drawing out a few wisps of black smoke.

Chen Ye felt a faint pain in his chest, like he had been punched. However, the force was weak, and the pain quickly disappeared.

At this moment, Chen Ye finally understood the terrifying nature of this secret technique. He was the one who had set up the formation, yet he was the first to be interrogated. If Chen Ye's sins were truly grave, that hook strike would likely have caused him unbearable pain.

Chen Ye touched his chest and sighed, "It's easy to deceive others, but hard to deceive yourself."

Even though Chen Ye loudly proclaimed that he had a clear conscience, he ultimately concealed his true origins from Su Chunyi. This guilt could not be hidden and was precisely brought out by the iron hook.

Fortunately, Chen Ye didn't do anything seriously wrong, so he could bear this pain.

Having passed the trial, Chen Ye was now fully in control of the blue-faced demon. With a flick of the chains, he swept all the martial artists around. Then, the iron hook pierced through their bodies, drawing out a cloud of black mist.

These martial arts practitioners writhed on the ground in agony, their screams never ceasing, clearly indicating their grave sins. Two others, however, who seemed to have committed no major offenses, awoke after a few cries of pain.

The green-faced demon's iron hook directly targets the soul, yet does not harm it.

Despite their writhing in pain, it did not damage their fragile souls or their physical bodies; it was merely a punishment.

This secret technique cannot harm people; on the contrary, it gives people a chance to atone for their sins, which can be considered acting on behalf of Heaven.

As for the bewitching technique, it naturally couldn't withstand the sweeping power of the iron hook and was completely neutralized.

However, Chen Ye wanted more than just setting up an array; he also wanted to figure out how these four secret techniques affected his Qi Sea.

"I remember there were changes in my Qi Sea when I practiced the Locking Word Technique before, let me try again..."

Just as Chen Ye was preparing to carefully experience the combined effect of the four secret techniques, he heard a whooshing sound coming from the sky.

Looking up, he saw an alchemy furnace descend from the sky and land on Chen Ye's head.

Then came loud shouts and curses: "You audacious fiend, how dare you injure people in the middle of the city?! I, Wei Changsheng of the Burning Incense Sect, will today act on behalf of Heaven to uphold justice!"

(End of this chapter)