This celestial master cultivates both physical and magical arts; why did you provoke him?

Xia En turned around and walked towards the cave entrance.

He took two steps, then stopped.

He turned to look at Fang Zijian.

"Lend me your phone."

Fang Zijian was taken aback and quickly handed over his phone.

Xia En took the phone, turned on the video recording function, pointed it at Zhang Jing'an's body and recorded a short video, then returned the phone to Fang Zijian.

"Pass this on to my master."

Fang Zijian nodded solemnly.

Xia En didn't say anything more, turned around and jumped into the hole.

This time, he didn't use lightning magic.

He just kept falling.

They fell into that bottomless darkness.

Chen Guodong and Fang Zijian lay prone at the cave entrance, desperately peering down.

I can't see anything.

But I can hear sounds.

Footsteps.

further and further.

then!

"boom!!!"

A bolt of lightning shot up from the ground, more powerful than any of the previous ones.

The impact was so strong that the entire ground shook violently, and Chen Guodong and Fang Zijian were knocked to the ground by the shock.

"Holy crap!!!" Chen Guodong exclaimed.

Fang Zijian didn't even bother to get up; he just held up his phone and started snapping pictures of the cave entrance.

Thunderclaps followed one after another, without end.

Each one is more intense than the last.

Each one looked like it was going to blast its way through the ground.

It lasted a full three minutes.

Three minutes later, the Thunder finally calmed down.

The underground was deathly silent.

Chen Guodong and Fang Zijian held their breath, staring intently at the cave entrance.

One minute.

Two minutes.

three minutes.

Still nothing.

Fang Zijian's face began to turn pale.

Chen Guodong had already taken out his phone, ready to call for backup.

Just then, a hand suddenly reached out from the cave entrance.

One hand gripped the edge of the hole.

Then, Shane crawled out of the hole.

He was covered in dust, his Taoist robe was torn in several places, and smoke was rising from his hair.

But his expression was calm, as if he had just come out of a bathhouse.

Chen Guodong and Fang Zijian both breathed a sigh of relief.

"Are you alright?" Fang Zijian rushed over.

Xia En waved his hand to indicate that he was fine.

He walked to Zhang Jing'an's body, squatted down, and reached out to close her already closed eyes.

"What's down there?" Chen Guodong asked cautiously.

Xia En paused for two seconds, then uttered two words:

"The underground palace."

"What underground palace?"

"It was left from ancient times." Xia En stood up. "It's very large and very deep, and there are many things inside."

"A lot of things?"

Chen Guodong swallowed hard. "What is it?"

Xia En looked at him without saying anything.

That look sent chills down Chen Guodong's spine.

"It's all resolved," Xia En finally spoke, "for now."

Chen Guodong breathed a sigh of relief.

But Xia En's next words made him jump to his throat again.

"Temporarily" means that there may be other things to come.

"Then... what about that thing that summons evil creatures?"

Xia En was silent for two seconds, then took something out of his pocket.

It's a jade talisman.

It's about the size of a palm, completely black, and covered with densely packed symbols.

The symbols were twisted and eerie, like some kind of ancient script or a cursed pattern.

Most importantly, an eye is engraved in the very center of the jade talisman.

The eyes are exactly the same as those on the previous bronze medal.

"What is this?" Chen Guodong asked.

"The medium for summoning," Shane said. "Those evil creatures are drawn in by this thing."

"Who put it there?"

Xia En did not answer.

He stared at that eye, his brow furrowed deeply.

He was familiar with the aura emanating from this thing.

It's the aura of the Taoist sect.

But it's not authentic.

It was a kind of polluted, distorted, and decadent Taoist aura.

Someone is using Taoist magic to do shady things.

And that person.

Xia En suddenly raised his head and looked into the distance.

In the darkness, nothing could be seen.

But he could sense that something was watching him.

They are very far apart.

It was separated by a deep darkness.

That gaze was cold, sinister, and full of malice.

Xia En looked away and down at the jade talisman in his hand.

Then he laughed.

"interesting."

He tucked the jade talisman into his pocket and turned to look at Chen Guodong.

"Seal this area off and don't let anyone near it."

Chen Guodong nodded.

Xia En then looked at Fang Zijian.

"Has the video been sent?"

Fang Zijian was taken aback and quickly checked his phone.

The signal is weak; it's still uploading.

"Give me your phone after you've finished sending it."

Fang Zijian handed over the phone.

Xia En took the phone, looked at it for a while, and then handed it back to Fang Zijian.

"Alright, let's go back."

"..."

He turned and left.

Fang Zijian quickly followed.

Chen Guodong stood there, watching the figure walk further and further away, then looked at the dark cave entrance, and suddenly shivered.

He took out his phone and dialed a number.

"Hey? Send a team of men over here, bring their weapons, and shut down the textile factory. Yes, now. Don't ask why, just do as I say."

After hanging up the phone, he glanced at the hole one last time.

Under the moonlight, the cave entrance resembled a gaping maw, silently gazing at the night sky.

Chen Guodong turned around and quickly chased after him.

The next morning, at Qingheju.

Xia En sat on the edge of the bed, holding the jade talisman in his hand, looking at it over and over again.

Fang Zijian squatted at the door, staring at the female ghost Cuihua who was squatting in the corner packing her things, with a conflicted expression.

"Has she... always been like this?"

"Um."

"Doesn't she get any rest?"

"Evil things don't need rest."

"What will she eat?"

"Yin energy".

Fang Zijian paused for two seconds, then asked, "She won't...do that tonight, will she?"

Xia En looked up at him and asked, "Which 'you'?"

"It's just..." Fang Zijian made a throat-slitting gesture.

Xia En didn't speak, but looked at Cuihua.

Cuihua felt his gaze, looked up, and gave what she thought was a friendly smile.

That face, that face as white as chalk, with two black holes in its eye sockets, paired with a grin that stretched all the way to its ears.

Fang Zijian felt a chill run down his spine and quickly looked away.

"She doesn't dare."

Xia En withdrew her gaze. "I told her to watch you, so she has to watch you. If she doesn't, I'll deal with her."

Cuihua nodded vigorously, indicating that she was definitely optimistic about it.

Fang Zijian breathed a sigh of relief, but also felt a little awkward.

Being watched by a female ghost... what a feeling...

Well, it's better than being eaten by evil spirits.

"That jade talisman," he changed the subject, "what did you figure out?"

Xia En was silent for two seconds before handing him the jade talisman.

Fang Zijian took it and examined it carefully.

The black jade was chillingly cold. The symbols on it were densely packed, resembling some kind of ancient script.

He didn't know any of them.

But the eye right in the center made him feel inexplicably uneasy.

"What...are these eyes?"

Xia En didn't answer, she just looked at him.

That look sent a chill down Fang Zijian's spine.

"What do you mean?" he asked nervously.

Xia En withdrew his gaze and took back the jade talisman.

"It's nothing," he said. "I just think you probably shouldn't get involved."

Fang Zijian was taken aback, then became anxious: "What do you mean? Are you trying to kick me out?"

"I'm not trying to get rid of you," Xia En said, putting away the jade talisman. "I'm just reminding you."

"What are you reminding me of?"

"Let me remind you," Shane stood up, walked to the window, and looked at the sunlight outside, "that the people behind this matter are probably more complicated than you think."

Fang Zijian was silent for a few seconds, then suddenly laughed.

"The more complicated, the better," he said. "If it's not complicated, I won't bother with it."

Xia En turned to look at him.

Fang Zijian puffed out his chest: "I'm a journalist, specializing in digging up the truth. The more complex the matter, the more interested I am."

Xia En stared at him for a few seconds, then suddenly smiled.

"Okay," he said. "Then you can come along."

Fang Zijian's eyes lit up.

"But there are conditions."

"What are the conditions?"

"Don't die."

Fang Zijian: "..."

Why does this sound so ominous?