How did I, who just ascended to heaven, become an evil spirit?

To confirm his suspicions, Li Hu continued to grip the severed hand tightly, took a deep breath, and waited quietly for a while.

Sure enough, the severed hand slowly withered away. The once plump hand became emaciated and skin and bones in just a few breaths.

When he could no longer inhale, he carefully peeled the withered, severed hand from his palm and threw it into the fire.

So Li Hu sat back down at the dressing table and tore off the bamboo paper around his neck.

He discovered that the previously blackened and rotten wound had mostly healed, leaving only bright red marks, and there was no longer any need to cover it up.

Li Hu raised his eyebrows in surprise. He hadn't expected that the body of the Three Corpses would have such an effect. He wondered if any other sword immortals in history had discovered this.

He felt that the mystery surrounding him had deepened, layer upon layer of fog, making it difficult to understand.

The newly added brazier, now adorned with the image of a withered, severed hand, roared to life, crackling behind Li Hu. The flickering candlelight from the dressing table shone on Li Hu's face as he gazed at his reflection in the bronze mirror, his brow furrowing unconsciously.

"Tiger, stop adding firewood, I'm too hot."

Old Yuan suddenly crawled out from under the table, fanning his slightly sweaty armpits.

He felt the room getting hotter and hotter, and he could hardly stand it anymore. Every breath he took felt like his lungs were on fire.

The fancy mouse crawled from the bed to the floor, half-asleep, and pressed its belly against the floor to cool off. Yan Yang was also awakened by the heat. He stood up and went to the window to catch his breath.

"I only burned a section of my hand, it shouldn't be that hot."

Li Hu stood up and saw that everyone looked puzzled.

He didn't have a strong sense of temperature, and it was only after others pointed it out that he realized something was increasingly wrong with the room.

"Even resting is not peaceful."

Qi Yuehong frowned and stood up, then suddenly waved her sleeves, creating a gust of wind that opened all the door and window shutters in one go.

However, instead of the cool breeze of early spring, a strange, hot wind blew in through the window, making the old apes and their companions suffer terribly.

Yan Yang could at least take off his clothes, but he couldn't get rid of the rough white fur all over his body.

"Something's not right outside, Tiger."

Yan Yang took off his shirt, stared out the window, and suddenly shouted, "Tiger, come and take a look."

Upon hearing this, Li Hu got up and went to the window. It was pitch black outside, and there was no trace of the street. There was no moon, no sound of the watchman, and no candlelight in the neighbors' houses.

The obstructed view was as if a thick, dark fog had enveloped the entire inn.

Li Hu channeled his inner energy and threw the burning charcoal brazier out the window, hoping to catch a glimpse of what was happening on the street by its light.

Unexpectedly, with a loud crash, the charcoal fire seemed to have hit a wall. Before it could travel far, sparks flew everywhere and then fell vertically to the ground.

By the light, Li Hu could see clearly that a dark wall had appeared about five meters outside the window. He didn't know how high or thick the wall was, but he knew that it completely blocked the view outside the inn's window.

"Tiger Lord, Tiger Lord, something terrible has happened! There's a wall here too!"

Yuan Sou's anxious voice came from outside the door. Li Hu rushed over and found that there was a similar wall outside the inn's main entrance.

Li Hu approached the wall, reached out and touched it, only to find that his fingers, which had touched the wall, suddenly turned charred black.

The iron wall appeared to be made of bronze and was extremely hot.

Li Hu's heart skipped a beat, and he knew something was wrong. He quickly ordered his men to search the entire inn.

The innkeeper, the waiters, and everyone else in the guest rooms had disappeared. The entire inn was surrounded by this radiant bronze wall, and only Li Hu and his group of six remained.

"This...this..." Old Yuan was anxious. "What exactly is going on?"

Just as Li Hu was pondering this, Wu Chang suddenly emerged from underground, his face grim.

"Tiger, I've checked the roof and the ground of this inn, and they're all blocked by this black wall. I can't even get through."

Hearing this, the group felt bewildered. If even a spirit like Wuchang couldn't get out, then what was going on with this ghostly place?

Li Hu pondered. The wall had trapped only their group, which clearly indicated a purpose, and the rising temperature further suggested that the person who made the move had malicious intent.

However, Li Hu and his group had not offended anyone along the way except for those few yamen runners. Now that the yamen runners were dead, it was really not right.

"Tiger Lord".

The Impermanent Ghost went out for another round, and it seems it brought back new information.

"The outer wall is not entirely curved. Apart from the top and bottom walls, it is surrounded by eight straight walls, like an octagonal box."

"An octagonal box?" Li Hu asked.

"Indeed, these eight walls seem to be aligned with the cardinal directions. I really can't figure out who could have done this. Even immortals would find it difficult." Wuchang seemed very anxious, muttering to himself.

"Eight directions, the Eight Trigrams." Old Yuan scratched his head. "Wait, impermanence, isn't the south side the hottest among these eight walls?"

"That's right, the woodshed to the south has also caught fire."

"Isn't the north the coolest place? And is there a breeze coming in from the southeast?" Old Yuan hurriedly continued to ask.

"That's right."

"Oh no!" Old Yuan's words came true one by one. He shouted with certainty, his face instantly turning ugly.

"What's wrong with the old monkey?" the fancy mouse asked groggily.

"Tiger Master, Qi Master," Old Man Yuan bowed to both of them. "Whether we can get out today depends on your abilities."

"Speak quickly," Li Hu urged.

"Tiger, the only thing that comes to mind when Wuchang describes the design of these eight walls is an alchemy furnace."

Yuan Sou's eyes shone with a captivating light. "The south is the Li position, so the fire is the fiercest there. The north is the Kan position, so the temperature doesn't have time to rise. The southeast is the Xun position, so there is wind, and this wind will blow stronger and stronger until it blows this inn to pieces and the Li fire burns this place to the ground."

"A pill furnace this big?"

Qi Yuehong asked, "We didn't go anywhere, so how did this inn get trapped inside the alchemy furnace?"

"However, there's wind in the Xun position, so there might be an exit there. We might as well..."

"Walk."

Before Qi Yuehong could finish speaking, Li Hu drew Yan Yang's iron sword and headed to the southeast.

The others followed, their legs spread wide. The area was very close to due south, and the temperature was extremely high. Old Yuan, barefoot, was scalded and cried out in pain.

Li Hu reached out and touched it.

Sure enough, there was a hole about the thickness of a finger in the southeast wall, through which hot air was blowing, but it was pitch black inside and nothing could be seen.

He channeled all his inner energy, pointed his sword at the wall, and with a sudden wave of his hand, an explosive sword aura swept out, the huge echo almost piercing the eardrums of the group.

Li Hu stepped forward again and took a closer look; the bronze wall had been cut into it to a depth of a full foot.

But this wall is clearly more than that thick, and we have no idea where it ends.

Li Hu struck the same spot with a series of clangs, causing the entire wall to shake. Behind him, dust and tiles fell from the roof of the inn, making it appear as if it were about to collapse.

Several more sword strikes pierced through the ground, but still no light was seen.

"How dare you, so filthy, damage my alchemy furnace!"

The commotion Li Hu made seemed to have disturbed something, and an extremely loud, hoarse voice came from above their heads.

A large hand lifted the bronze wall above their heads, letting in a gust of cold wind that made them feel much better.

But the next moment, a huge face, at least ten meters wide, suddenly squeezed into the gap. It wore a lotus crown on its head, a purple robe with intricate patterns, and had a red beard, dressed as a Taoist priest.

The group was horrified. If his face was this big, how tall must this Taoist be? He must be able to stand tall and reach for the stars.

The face narrowed its eyes, peering maliciously through the gap at the people inside the iron wall.

Even just his two eyes, the height of his upper and lower eyelids looked almost as tall as Li Hu's eight-foot frame.

Upon seeing this enormous face, Old Man Yuan's legs suddenly went weak, and he collapsed to the ground with a thud.

The sudden appearance of this enormous, eerie object made everyone's hearts pound.

"This filth is harmful; why not execute him on the spot?"

The enormous face spoke, revealing a mouthful of yellow teeth. Its voice echoed throughout the entire alchemy furnace, buzzing and making one's internal organs vibrate.

"Screw your grandma, let me out!"

Li Hu stared at the face that was several times taller than himself, his anger rising, his true energy surging, and he suddenly swung his sword out again.

Whether it's just bluffing or real skill, we'll only know after we strike.

The sword energy whistled as it slashed straight at the eyes of that large face. With a breath from the sword, the large face had no time to dodge and could only close its eyes.

The next moment, a hideous wound appeared on that face, the flesh rolled back to reveal the cheekbone, and half of the red eyebrows were also cut off. Blood gushed out, creating a blood rain inside the alchemy furnace.

"Ouch!"

The red-haired Taoist priest in purple robes covered his eyes with his hands and backed away.

As soon as he let go, the bronze wall above closed up again, plunging them back into darkness.

Soon, the red-haired Taoist's furious voice rang out from outside:

"Oh no! I'm going blind!"

"You wicked creatures! This fire will not burn talismans or sacred texts, but will only scorch your filth! I will burn you all!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the temperature around Li Hu and his group suddenly rose, and even the wind blowing in from the Xun position was extremely hot, even hotter than the original temperature of this area.

Old Yuan was barefoot and could no longer stand. He clung to a pillar and climbed onto the roof of the inn, gasping for breath.

The fancy mouse was suspended in the air by a red rope, which made it a little more comfortable.

Li Hu also felt his feet getting hot, and when he looked down, he saw that his shoes were on fire.

He casually kicked out the fire, then leaped up and stood on the roof of the inn.

Qi Yuehong also came here. He took out a Moon Pearl from his pocket, activated his spiritual power, and the Moon Pearl suddenly lit up. Then it emitted a cold air, which made the group feel much more comfortable.

This chill is just like the one that happened when Yue Xian fell, only the temperature is much lower than the frosty chill that filled the sky back then.

But at least it should be enough to keep everyone going for a while longer.

Li Hu stood at the very edge of the roof ridge, the highest vantage point in the entire space. Now that he knew the bronze wall at the top was the lid of the alchemy furnace, Li Hu had to try to open it before everyone died from the heat.

He raised his hand to strike with his sword, but just as he did, he heard the sounds of fighting coming from outside the alchemy furnace.

The voice was very familiar to them; it seemed to be the arrival of Wong Tai Sin.

"You evil sorcerer! These evil spirits are all loyal and virtuous people. They did not seek money or kill anyone. Why are you doing this?!" Wong Tai Sin's tone was extremely angry.

"Ridiculous! My Ghost Suppression Division refines evil spirits into pills, how could we not do such things!" the red-haired Taoist immediately retorted. "Besides, my eyes are already blind, isn't that the work of these evil spirits?!"

"That's your own fault!"

Wong Tai Sin roared, and immediately the sound of metal clashing against metal came from outside, as if the two had started fighting.

The sound came from near and far, making the people inside the alchemy furnace feel uneasy.

Li Hu remained silent, then unleashed a sword strike, the sword energy piercing straight through the air towards the top of the alchemy furnace, tearing open the lid slightly.

But then, the lid closed again due to gravity, and no light came out.

But in that fleeting glimpse, the group saw clearly that outside the enormous alchemy furnace, Huang Daxian, wielding a long fish-killing knife, was engaged in a fierce battle with the Taoist priest outside.

The two were of similar height and similar martial arts skills.

"This...when did Wong Tai Sin become as tall as that Taoist priest? Could it be...hearing the laws of heaven and earth?!"

Yuan Sou frowned; he couldn't understand how the two could fight so evenly.

This technique of "Heaven and Earth Transformation" is only known to immortals, and it's said that not every immortal knows it. He had only heard of it in folk tales and biographies.

"Perhaps it's not that they've grown bigger, but that we've grown smaller," Wuchang pondered, frowning.

The group couldn't understand why the seemingly amiable Wong Tai Sin was actually a half-martial artist.

But what's even more puzzling is why Wong Tai Sin's body is the same size as the red-haired Taoist.

Noticing the commotion near the alchemy furnace, Huang Daxian seemed to realize something. Li Hu heard him shout and rushed towards the furnace.

"My lord! I'll help you break the cauldron!"

Then, with a loud bang, the space where they were located instantly flipped, and the roof tiles and beams of the inn all collapsed with a crash, dust flying everywhere, as if mountains had collapsed and the earth had split open, and the sky and earth had been turned upside down.

The people standing on the roof could no longer stand and fell to the ground in a sorry state.

The violent shaking lasted for several breaths.

When the group stood up, they suddenly realized that they were no longer standing on the eaves, bluestone slabs, or wooden floors in the room, but on the bronze wall where Li Hu had previously carved deep sword marks.

The original inn was uprooted and collapsed, leaving only a few pillars buried in the ground in their original positions, lying across the space.

Judging from the situation, the space here seems to have been reversed ninety degrees, and the place where the group is standing is the bronze wall in the Xun position they just stood on.