I cultivate the Purple Mansion Golden Elixir Dao on Earth

A coffin made of locust wood!?

Anyone with even a slight understanding of feng shui and funeral matters would be horrified upon hearing Zheng Tongcai's words.

—Can locust wood be used to make coffins?

It should be noted that locust wood is considered to be extremely yin in nature, and is known in folk tradition as "ghost wood." It is generally used to make bracelets, wood carvings, and other handcrafted collectibles.

Besides, even if locust wood is used to make furniture, many people are still hesitant to use it as a coffin!

Therefore, coffins made of locust wood were used in ancient times to lock away souls and raise ghosts!

So at this moment, upon hearing the words from the middle-aged man, Zheng Tongcai's expression changed several times, but what finally appeared on his face was an incredulous bitter smile.

"Boss, you're not here to make fun of me, are you?"

"Of course not."

The middle-aged man, Lin Yu, smiled at him.

"I'll use this coffin for something."

These words made Zheng Tongcai's body tremble instantly.

He stared intently at Lin Yu, his brows furrowed.

The smile on the other person's lips now took on a strange quality in his eyes.

Suddenly, an incredible yet perfectly reasonable explanation appeared in his mind.

"He bought a coffin made of locust wood, could he be buying it to raise a ghost?"

"...Even though I run a coffin shop, I can't condone such heinous acts!"

The thought arose in Zheng Tongcai's mind and he wanted to refuse.

But the words were just on the tip of his tongue.

The next second, a sentence uttered by Lin Yu suddenly shattered his tightly closed heart.

"—Because this coffin is quite rare, I'm willing to pay 80,000 yuan for it. Also, if you can find someone to transport it to my destination today, I can add another 20,000 yuan."

A thunderous roar filled Zheng Tongcai's mind.

All the hesitation and resistance from before vanished in that instant.

His bottom line was casually breached, and a genuine and enthusiastic smile appeared on his face, almost illuminating the entire dark back room!

"Yes, boss! I'll have someone drag this coffin out right away! Even if I have to carry it on my back, I'll carry it to where you specify!"

"Oh, right! I also have the contact information for some Southeast Asian masters here, specializing in things like black magic, Kumanthong (spirit dolls), and making amulets... They're all top-notch experts, and supposedly very effective. Would you like me to recommend them to you?"

Zheng Tongcai looked at Lin Yu with the expectation and hope of a young girl, his eyes showing no hesitation, only a desire for money.

—What utter nonsense! In this day and age, money is the only truth!

……

Several hours later, a truck stopped outside Baiyang Temple.

A locust coffin was carried into the Baiyang Temple by several young people, their heavy footsteps echoing in the air.

"...Speaking of this locust tree coffin, it's actually a family heirloom. It originally belonged to an old locust tree in our ancestral home's neighbor's yard. The continuous rain damaged its roots, and to prevent it from becoming a breeding ground for insects, the neighbor cut it down. My grandfather saw this locust tree and thought its shape was perfect for making a coffin. He couldn't resist the urge to craft it, so he made this coffin—he didn't originally intend to sell it, since it was the last coffin he made before he passed away, and he just wanted to keep it as a memento. But Mr. Lin, you've been so kind as to ask me to part with it, so I'll have to reluctantly part with it..."

Inside Baiyang Temple, watching several young people sweating profusely as they carried the coffin in, Zheng Tongcai spoke eloquently, recounting ancient tales and legends.

The thought of the 100,000 yuan that had just been deposited into his phone made his smile even wider.

Lin Yu, standing to the side, listened calmly without showing any expression on her face.

Lin Yu merely nodded slightly, leaving it impossible to tell whether he had actually listened to the story or not.

Zheng Tongcai was somewhat discouraged, but after his eyes darted around in their sockets, some new ideas emerged.

"Speaking of which, Mr. Lin, are you really not required to provide any other services? Since you're at a Taoist temple and have purchased this coffin, it must have some special purpose—I do know quite a few masters..."

"No need."

Lin Yu's simple yet decisive words interrupted Zheng Tongcai's other ideas.

"Really? That's a real shame..."

Zheng Tongcai said something with a sigh.

Seeing that the young men had successfully transported the coffin to the temple, they prepared to leave Baiyang Temple and drive back.

He couldn't afford to waste any more time, so he turned to the side, bidding farewell to Lin Yu while smiling:

"Now that the contract is finalized, let's say goodbye to Mr. Lin. Speaking of which, I still don't know which person Mr. Lin will be buried in this coffin, otherwise I could recommend some suitable funeral arrangements, haha..."

As he spoke, Zheng Tongcai turned halfway to leave.

But at that moment, he looked at the smiling middle-aged man, opened his lips, and seemed to say something.

The sound rang in my ears, but it felt like it was striking my heart.

The next second, Zheng Tongcai looked as if he had been struck by lightning, his face showing an expression of having seen a ghost.

Then, a second later, as if he had thought of something, he forcibly restored the expression on his face to its original state, turned around, and walked towards the outside.

Once outside the temple and out of the sight of the middle-aged man behind him, Zheng Tongcai immediately ran towards the truck parked to the side as if fleeing, and rushed to the side of the young people who were shirtless, sweating, laughing and smoking next to the truck.

"Hey, Brother Zheng!"

The young people waved to Zheng Tongcai, their faces beaming with gratitude for his introduction of this lucrative business opportunity.

Unexpectedly, Zheng Tongcai ran up to them in a daze, disregarding his manners, and whispered urgently and fearfully to them:

"Quick, drive! Hurry!"

The young men were taken aback for a moment, then immediately helped Zheng Tongcai into the car. The engine roared to life and they sped off towards the path outside Baiyang Temple.

A dozen minutes later.

The truck finally broke free of the side road and onto a dilapidated asphalt road.

The scorching sunlight shone through the window, making him feel hot, but only this intense sunlight could slightly dispel the chill in Zheng Tongcai's heart and bring his trembling teeth back to normal.

"Hey, Brother Zheng! Brother Zheng!"

"What just happened!?"

"you……"

Even so, the young men sitting in the other seats of the six-seater light truck kept pressing Zheng Tongcai for answers, but he still didn't give any.

Zheng Tongcai kept replaying Lin Yu's words and the expression on his face in his mind.

Even now, Zheng Tongcai still felt a chill in his heart, like ice crystals floating on the water.

"Judging from that man's expression, he wasn't joking... but if he wasn't joking, then what he said... how could it be possible!"

"He actually... he actually said..."

……

"—This coffin is, of course, for me to live in myself."

Looking at the somber locust wood coffin before her, Lin Yu recalled her last words to Zheng Tongcai and smiled faintly.

Except in certain necessary circumstances, he disdains lying in this world, and what he just told Zheng Tongcai was naturally the truth.

I just wonder how Zheng Tongcai will interpret those words of truth...

However, in any case, he has achieved his goal.

This coffin made of locust wood was the most suitable target he had selected over the past few days.

Sending it to the Baiyang Temple was precisely for Lin Yu's purpose of cultivating his Qi and entering the Dao.

"Since there is no spiritual energy in this world, there is naturally no Yin and Yang, or the correct attainment of the Five Elements from the previous life. But even so, there is still a division between Yin and Yang, and the manifestation of the Five Virtues of Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, and Earth... These are not real spiritual resources or inspirations, but merely images."

Lin Yu stared at the locust wood coffin, his eyes gleaming with a dark, ebony-like light, which for a moment seemed to perfectly match the coffin.

"But even just the imagery can be helpful to me."

"For example, the tranquil imagery of the mountains and rivers connected by the pine trees in Baiyang Temple greatly accelerated my progress in connecting with the metal element for cultivation. Whether it was the refined spiritual energy or the circulating spiritual essence, cultivation here was far superior to other places. In just a few days, I achieved perfect embryonic breathing. If I were in a bustling city with chaotic imagery, I probably wouldn't have been able to reach this level even after several dozen days."

"—The same applies to cultivating the 'Su Fu Ling Ji Jing'."

"The imagery within the Baiyang Temple, though gradually becoming more Yin due to my entry into the embryonic breathing stage, is ultimately not entirely Yin, much less the extreme of Yin. If I were to refine spiritual energy here, it would certainly be mixed energy, or spiritual energy from another path that differs from the imagery of my Dao path. Even if I possess the Metal Rank and the cultivation of a True Lord, it would still take at least ten days, or even a hundred days, to condense the spiritual energy I need to consume for entering the Qi Refining stage."

"But... with this locust wood coffin, things are different."

"Locust wood, in this world, carries an extremely yin connotation, naturally being the material for the [submerged wood] path in my previous life. Not to mention it's been crafted into an extremely rare coffin! Thus, the [Locust Wood Yin Coffin] is almost perfectly aligned with the spiritual energy I need for cultivating the 'Subduing Spirit Coffin Scripture.' All I need to do is connect with the metal element and utilize its imagery to almost instantly condense the spiritual energy I require, thereby entering the Dao through Qi Refining!"

"As for that wisp of spiritual energy, it is called—"

"[The Yin Qi within the Coffin]!"

Lin Yu smiled slightly, her eyes still gleaming with an intense, dark light.

The next second, the locust wood coffin in front of him moved without any wind, and the lid suddenly opened!

In that instant, Lin Yu moved, lightly leaped up, and lay down inside without hesitation.

The head and neck fit together perfectly with the wooden pillow, and the toes lightly touched the tail of the coffin, yet the fit was incredibly tight.

"...Close it."

With a thought, Lin Yu gently closed the coffin lid in front of him.

All that remained was an incredibly sealed, oppressive, cold, and completely dark coffin-like space.

It was actually so small, but it felt incredibly empty to the senses.

Then--

When the light shines softly, the yin and turbid energy increases significantly.

The turbid yin energy flowed smoothly and completely filled the entire space inside the coffin in that instant!