You've only been cultivating for a few years, and you're already talking about cultivating

Without a doubt, this must have been the work of a demon or a cultivator.

It's probably not an ordinary demon that can turn an entire village of people into jujube trees and make them grow so neatly and lushly.

So what's so special about Linjiagou that would make a cultivator or a powerful demon commit such a heinous act?

Qi Fei's eyes gleamed slightly, and "Shadow Recognition" flickered in his eyes.

He slowed his pace and began to search carefully in the jujube grove.

He walked through every cluster of jujube trees, examined every face embedded in the trunk, and even squatted down to carefully inspect the exposed tree roots.

No.

There were no clues at all.

As darkness fell, the afterglow of the setting sun was filtered into scattered fragments of light by the dense foliage, and the light in the forest grew dimmer and darker.

Qi Fei was just about to find a place to rest when he suddenly caught a glimpse of something strange out of the corner of his eye.

There was a shadow in the gap between several jujube trees.

It was no ordinary tree shadow.

The shadow was abnormally dark, so thick it couldn't be dissolved, like a blob of solidified ink, or like a remnant left by something.

It lay motionless on the ground between several trees, yet gave the illusion that it was "wriggling".

Qi Fei approached and squatted down to take a closer look.

It's not a shadow.

It is a fragment of a scroll.

The tattered scroll was as thin as a cicada's wing, semi-transparent, with jagged edges, as if it had been torn apart.

It was half-buried in fallen leaves and soil, with a blurry shadow visible on the corner that was exposed.

The shadow was blurry, but you could vaguely make out that it was a character.

"film"!

Qi Fei's gaze fell on that word, and the "Discerning Shadows" technique automatically activated in his eyes.

In an instant, the tattered scroll changed its appearance in his eyes.

The blurry shadow seemed to come alive, twisting and writhing; it was the "shadow" that Zhu Yixin had once manipulated.

This is something from the Shadow God Cult.

Qi Fei thought for a moment, then took out the palm-sized black gourd from his pocket.

He had had this gourd for several months, but he still couldn't figure out how to make it spray out the shadow-like fake "Amaterasu". However, he accidentally discovered that this thing could suck things up.

He lifted the gourd, aimed it at the tattered scroll, and gently tapped the bottom of the gourd.

A suction force suddenly appeared from the mouth of the gourd, not strong, but just enough to draw out that "shadow".

The blurry shadow on the tattered scroll seemed to be pulled by something. After struggling for a few moments, it turned into a wisp of black smoke and was sucked into the gourd.

The scroll itself remained completely still.

Qi Fei put away the gourd, picked up the tattered scroll and examined it from all angles. Then, he took the gourd and walked through the jujube grove again.

This time, he walked slowly and observed carefully.

Suddenly, the surrounding light dimmed, and shadows began to wriggle in the previously shady corners. Qi Fei saw them, raised the gourd, and tapped the bottom.

One wisp after another. Tiny specks of "shadow" were sucked into the gourd.

Qi Fei put away the gourd and looked at the increasingly gloomy jujube grove, gradually forming a guess in his mind.

Linjiagou was likely a gathering place for followers of the "Shadow God Cult".

He recalled that a few years ago, his adoptive mother had written to him saying that she had gone to Nanshan to search for the Sword Immortal's residence.

Nanshan is nearby.

So, was she responsible for the tragic state of this village?

But then he recalled the scene of his fight with Zhu Yixin a few months ago.

Zhu Yixin's Shadow Banner, Shadow Fire, Shadow God Sword, etc., all use shadow attacks, but none of them are techniques that turn people into trees.

The methods used in this jujube grove are completely different from the magic of the Shadow God Cult.

Is it someone else?

Or does the Shadow God Cult possess some secret technique he is unaware of?

Qi Fei shook his head, temporarily setting aside these questions.

It was completely dark. The moon hadn't risen yet, and the woods were pitch black; only the faces embedded in the tree trunks were vaguely visible in the darkness, as if silently watching him.

He found a sheltered spot, sat down against a jujube tree, and prepared to spend the night there.

Close your eyes, use the method of "discerning the spirit and discerning the shadow" to slowly enter meditation.

I don't know how much time passed.

Suddenly, a noisy sound came from my ear.

Someone is talking.

Qi Fei opened his eyes.

The moonlight rose at some unknown time, its silvery light filtering through the gaps in the branches and leaves, casting shadows across the woods.

The faces embedded in the tree trunk came to life.

Faces emerged from the tree bark, men and women, young and old, each with a different expression.

Some looked around blankly, some looked down at their own "bodies," and some looked at each other, chattering amongst themselves.

Qi Fei listened closely and heard them chatting about everyday things. They didn't seem to realize that they had turned into trees, and they were talking about trivial matters.

Suddenly, Qi Fei heard someone shouting.

"Who's there?! Who pulled down my pants? It's so cold!"

Qi Fei: "..."

Qi Fei's gaze fell on the distance not far away.

He recognized it; it was the jujube tree he had dug up during the day. This guy had forgotten to put the roots back in, probably because he thought it was "leaky."

Qi Fei looked at that shouting face and couldn't help but twitch his lips.

Wow, you're quite active, aren't you?

He got up and went to the largest jujube tree, where he saw the child on the tree staring at him with open eyes.

"Big brother, are you an immortal too?" he asked.

"Why use 'also'?" Qi Fei asked.

"Because recently, I've met many immortals," he said.

"What are they all here for?" Qi Fei asked again.

"I don't know," the child said.

"Are they male or female, and what do they look like?" Qi Fei asked.

"There was a monk, a scholar, and a man and a woman," the child said, "but none of them had you..."

The child didn't know how to describe it, so he could only say, "Clean."

Qi Fei didn't understand what the child meant by "clean." Did it mean he had no ill intentions, or that he didn't have those people's "smell," or something else entirely?

He didn't press further, but simply changed the subject.

"Is there anything I can help you with?"

The child blinked and then suddenly smiled.

"No," the child said. "I feel great now. My parents don't need to worship any gods, and they don't hit me or scold me!"

"I don't need to eat, and I don't feel hungry."

"No one in the village did anything terrible, and my friends didn't disappear for no reason."

"I think this is wonderful, I can be with my dad and mom forever."

Qi Fei glanced at the two jujube trees next to the big tree. A man and a woman were arguing and bickering in the jujube trees.

"That's good." He paused for a moment, then said nothing more, only, "I'm leaving tomorrow. Let me stay here for the night."

"Please make yourself at home, elder brother immortal." After the child finished speaking, his eyes slowly closed, and his face disappeared back into the texture of the tree bark, as if nothing had happened.

Qi Fei stood there for a while, then sat down cross-legged.

After daybreak, he left Linjiagou and headed towards Guiming Mountain.