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

Shen Jingshu led Lin Feng and Ye Shuang straight towards the ancestral hall. The closer they got, the more intense and piercing the air became, like countless ice needles, relentlessly drilling into their bones.

As soon as the three stood outside the ancestral hall's gate, a surge of yin energy began to invade their bodies. Lin Feng and Ye Shuang had to circulate all their spiritual power to resist this erosion, their faces gradually turning pale. Only Shen Jing Shu seemed oblivious to the overwhelming, chilling black energy, her expression remaining calm and composed throughout.

Noticing that the two were not in good condition, Shen Jingshu reached out and handed them two amulets. The two quickly took them and put them in their pockets.

The moment the talisman touched their bodies, the surging Yin energy around them receded as if struck by a raging fire, unable to get any closer. Lin Feng and Ye Shuang exchanged a glance, both deeply shocked. As expected of Master Shen, a mere talisman could isolate such malevolent Yin energy, far surpassing ordinary protective talismans on the market.

Shen Jingshu's gaze fell on the tightly closed wooden door of the ancestral hall, and she gently kicked it. The kick looked light, but it was actually filled with powerful spiritual energy. With a loud "boom," the heavy wooden door shattered and broke open.

The interior of the ancestral hall was fully revealed to the three of them.

The general layout is no different from that of an ordinary rural ancestral hall, with rows of yellowed and old memorial tablets neatly arranged on the altar. But the most strange thing is that in the highest position of the altar, where the ancestral tablets should be enshrined, there are no ancestral tablets. Instead, there is a black stone tablet with a faint gray mist on it.

The surface of the stone tablet is engraved with dense, intertwined, and eerie totem patterns. The patterns overlap and are so complex and chaotic that it is impossible to discern the specific content. Wisps of black energy slowly seep out along the patterns.

At that very moment, a figure slowly emerged from the entrance to the back courtyard of the ancestral hall. The person wore a large black bamboo hat, and a black robe completely covered their entire body, obscuring their face in the deep shadow cast by the hat, making their features completely unrecognizable. Rolling black energy swirled around their limbs, surging ceaselessly, and a chilling, bone-chilling aura emanated from them, sending shivers down one's spine and instilling an instinctive unease.

Shen Jingshu frowned slightly as she looked at the man in the black robe and bamboo hat, a strong sense of repulsion rising in her heart. She cultivated the pure and righteous Taoist path, relying on the power of merit and faith to cultivate diligently; but this man in front of her relied on absorbing the souls of living people and the resentment and hatred of the world to improve his cultivation. The two paths were inherently contradictory, and they were natural enemies.

At the same instant, the man in black robes also fixed his gaze on Shen Jingshu.

The golden light of merit emanating from her was so dazzling and alluring that it held an unparalleled temptation for the man in black robes. If he could refine and devour this person and absorb this profound merit, he would no longer have to be trapped in this remote mountain village, hiding in the shadows to eke out a living and cultivate in vain.

The way he looked at Shen Jingshu was like a hungry wolf eyeing a piece of meat that was within easy reach, filled with greed and covetousness.

The man in black robes immediately let out a strange "hehehe" laugh, a sharp and piercing laugh that was indescribably eerie and sinister. Lin Feng and Ye Shuang, who were standing nearby, felt a chill run down their spines and instinctively wanted to cover their ears, finding the unpleasant sound unbearable.

"Haha, today is truly my great opportunity!" The arrogant voice of the man in black robes echoed in the ancestral hall. "Three cultivators, especially you little girl, with your golden aura of merit, are truly enviable. If you obediently surrender, I might let you die a little more painlessly."

After saying that, he turned his gaze to Lin Feng and Ye Shuang. "As for the two of you, although you are not as good as her, you are better than nothing. After all, you are cultivators, and your souls and essences are far stronger than those of ordinary mortals."

Seeing the other party spouting arrogant words, Lin Feng and Ye Shuang exchanged a glance, then looked at Shen Jing Shu, and after exchanging a look, they immediately launched a fierce attack on the man in black robes.

However, Shen Jingshu's target was not the black-robed enemy before her; what she truly wanted to deal with was the Yin-Locking Stone Tablet on the altar. The malevolent aura emanating from the stone tablet filled her with intense disgust; this object, which brought chaos to the region, absolutely could not be allowed to remain.

She swayed and rushed straight toward the stone tablet.

Upon seeing this, the man in black robes immediately reached out to stop him. Lin Feng and Ye Shuang, seeing this, joined forces with all their might to attack, tightly entangled with the man in black robes. Even when facing three opponents, the man in black robes still handled the situation with ease, his body surrounded by surging black energy, each move ruthless.

After several rounds of fighting, Lin Feng and Ye Shuang gradually fell into a disadvantageous position, their breathing became disordered, and they were secretly shocked to find that this person's cultivation was so profound.

On the other side, Shen Jingshu waited for an opportunity to approach the stone tablet while observing the black-robed man's attack patterns. The techniques he used gave her a strange sense of familiarity, as if she had seen them somewhere before, but she couldn't quite place them. She tried her best to recall them in her mind.

In that brief moment of delay, the man in black robes suddenly exerted his power, and two jet-black palm strikes landed directly on Lin Feng and Ye Shuang's chests.

The two men groaned and fell heavily to the ground, blood gushing from their mouths. The wounds from the palm strikes continued to emit wisps of cold, black energy, which eroded their meridians.

Shen Jingshu's eyes sharpened, and she quickly took out a jade bottle from her bosom, tossing it directly to the two of them. "Take the pills, meditate on the spot, and suppress the internal injuries caused by the evil energy."

The two quickly took the jade bottle, each poured out a pill and swallowed it, then sat cross-legged on the ground and circulated their spiritual energy to heal their injuries.

"Thank you, Master Shen! This person's cultivation is formidable; please be extremely careful!"

"It's alright."

With these two troublesome opponents eliminated, the man in black robes was no longer restrained. His black aura surged, carrying an overwhelming ferocity, and he rushed straight towards Shen Jingshu.

In this critical moment, Shen Jingshu no longer had time to ponder the origin of this technique.

Shen Jingshu was unwilling to test the waters any further and planned to finish the battle quickly. She raised her hand and took out the lightning-struck peach wood sword that she had forged herself.

As soon as the lightning-struck wooden sword appeared, its blade shimmered with a faint, luminous white light, causing a sense of apprehension to rise in the black-robed man's heart.

"Lightning-struck wood? Little girl, you certainly have quite a few treasures on you."

Even from a distance, he could smell the rich spiritual energy emanating from the pills Shen Jingshu had given Lin Feng and Ye Shuang; they were clearly precious items refined from top-grade spiritual herbs. Now, seeing this lightning-struck peach wood sword, specifically designed to counter evil spirits, his greed intensified. Although this item was naturally effective against evil cultivators, if he could obtain it, it would still be an invaluable treasure.

This lightning-struck wooden sword was meticulously crafted by Shen Jingshu, its blade engraved with runes and patterns to suppress evil spirits. Without further delay, she gripped the sword and thrust it straight at the man in black robes.

Although the man in black robes became somewhat wary, he still didn't take the young Shen Jingshu seriously. It wasn't until the sword was close that he truly felt the power of the runes on the sword. The oppressive aura that specifically countered evil was overwhelming, making it the natural nemesis of evil cultivators like him.

In the blink of an eye, several sword blades struck the black-robed man, leaving him with several wounds. Black smoke continuously sizzled from the wounds as the lightning-struck wood burned him.

The pain thoroughly enraged the man in black.