Stepdaughter of a wealthy family? The little darling of a Beijing tycoon

"Such a heavy aura of malevolence! Where does such a dense aura of malevolence come from?"

Xuanfeng lowered his voice, his brows furrowed, and he looked at Lin Yueru beside him with a heavy expression.

As cultivators, they were exceptionally sensitive to yin and evil energy. Waves of coldness seeped into their bones and flesh, and even without opening their divine eyes, they could clearly perceive this overwhelming yin energy, which was definitely not the kind of coldness that accumulated in an ordinary deserted village.

Lin Yueru's face was tense, her arms were slightly clenched, and her spiritual energy was quietly circulating to resist the cold air rushing towards her.

"It doesn't seem like something that naturally arose from the desolation of time. A deserted village at most has only a faint gloom, but the malevolent energy here is so thick that it's almost tangible."

After she finished speaking, she turned to look at Shen Jingshu beside her, her eyes filled with inquiry.

Shen Jingshu stood still, her Heavenly Eye still open, her gaze piercing through the thick black mist, looking towards the heart of the village. The billowing black energy surged upwards along the fissures in the earth's veins, swirling around the corners of every old mud-brick house and courtyard.

"It was man-made." Shen Jingshu's voice was not loud, but it was particularly clear at the deathly silent village entrance. "Someone has altered the earth's veins here and set up a Yin-Locking Array to forcibly draw the evil energy underground to the surface. The entire Xiaowang Village is the carrier of this array."

The compass in Xuanfeng's hand was still spinning wildly, the needle shaking rapidly, almost breaking free of the compass. He said in a deep voice, "No wonder the compass can't pinpoint the direction. Where exactly is the array's core?"

"So what should we do now?" Lin Yueru turned to look at Shen Jingshu.

Xuanfeng, who was standing to the side, also turned his gaze in that direction.

Lin Yueru had complete trust in Shen Jingshu. Although she had never seen Shen Jingshu make a move, she knew a lot about the other party's background and was convinced that Shen Jingshu's cultivation was far superior to her own.

Xuanfeng's thoughts were slightly different. In the Xuanmen (Taoist sect), seniority was important, but skill and cultivation were the foundation. Since Shen Jingshu was Lingxu Zhenren's junior sister, her abilities were undoubtedly extraordinary, and as a junior, he should obey his senior's instructions. At the same time, he secretly harbored some curiosity, wanting to witness firsthand what kind of extraordinary methods this person, who had recently suddenly risen to prominence in the Xuanmen, possessed.

One was full of trust, while the other was secretly observing; both waited quietly for Shen Jingshu to make her decision.

Shen Jingshu remained calm, showing no fear whatsoever: "Then let's go in and meet the person who set up this formation."

"Shall we meet?"

Before Lin Yueru and Xuanfeng could even ponder the implications of those words, Shen Jingshu had already stepped into Xiaowang Village.

The moment her foot crossed the village entrance, the surrounding scenery suddenly changed dramatically.

Suddenly, the sounds of bustling human life filled my ears. Women sat in twos and threes sewing clothes under the trees, children chased and played in the alleys, and in the distance, farmers were working in the fields. The sounds of roosters crowing and people talking filled the air, creating a scene of a peaceful and prosperous village.

Lin Yueru and Xuanfeng, who were standing at the village entrance and had not yet stepped inside, suddenly changed their expressions.

They watched helplessly as Shen Jingshu stepped inside, her figure vanishing into thin air before their eyes.

Their hearts sank suddenly. They quickly exchanged a glance, both seeing surprise in each other's eyes. After a brief hesitation, they gritted their teeth, as if making a decision, and took a step forward.

In an instant, both figures vanished into thin air.

After the three people disappeared, Xiaowang Village returned to its desolate and lifeless state. Broken walls and ruins stood silently, fallen leaves swirled in the wind, and there was no trace of life. The three living people just moments before seemed to have vanished from the world without a trace.

Lin Yueru and Xuanfeng only remembered that the moment they took that step, a blinding white light suddenly exploded before their eyes. They instinctively closed their eyes, and when they opened them again, the world around them had completely changed.

The moment they saw the scene before them, both of them were shocked. Seeing Shen Jingshu standing not far in front of them, they quickly stepped forward.

"Junior Uncle, what exactly is going on?" Lin Yueru's heart tightened. This was the first time she had encountered such a strange situation.

"Is it an illusion?"

"Yes." Shen Jingshu's gaze swept over the villagers coming and going in the streets and alleys. "These are all former villagers of Xiaowang Village."

Lin Yueru frowned: "How long have they been trapped here?"

Shen Jingshu shook her head gently; she still couldn't determine the exact date. Under the Heavenly Eye, the figures walking back and forth before her eyes were all missing a soul or a spirit, their expressions rigid and dull, lacking the vitality of a living person, like puppets controlled by strings, like fixed NPCs in a script, repeating the same old life scenes over and over again.

Just then, a little boy who was chasing and playing on the road suddenly bumped into Shen Jingshu's arms.

Shen Jingshu reached out and steadily supported him. The boy had short, curly hair and a round face, with two dark handprints on his cheeks, probably from playing earlier. He tilted his head back, looking at Shen Jingshu with his bright, dark eyes, and asked in a sweet, soft voice, "Sister, who are you? What brings you to our village?"

Shen Jingshu squatted down to be at eye level with the little boy: "Little friend, I'm here to play. This is Xiaowang Village, right?"

"Yes, this is Xiaowang Village. Are you here for tourism too?"

Shen Jingshu keenly noticed the word "also." However, her expression remained unchanged, still carrying a faint smile, as she continued, "That's right, we heard the scenery here is beautiful, so we came to sketch. Have other outsiders been here before?"

Upon hearing this, the little boy's eyes darted around, and he looked somewhat hesitant.

"An older sister once gave me a piece of candy. It was sweet and fruity, and it was so delicious."

Upon hearing this, Shen Jingshu reached into her backpack, and as if by magic, several colorful fruit candies appeared in her palm when she raised her hand again.

"Then I'll treat you to candy too."

The little boy's gaze was instantly drawn to the candy, his eyes sparkling: "Sister, can I have all of these?"

"Okay, but you have to answer two questions for your sister."

"Alright! Ask away, sister!"

Shen Jingshu smiled and placed the candy in his little hand. The little boy hurriedly stuffed it into his chest pocket as if it were a treasure, and looked up at her: "Sister, you can ask."