After the ghost-hunting master descended the mountain, his fame spread throughout the capital.

Upon hearing this, Xie Jinchen hummed in response.

His lips deliberately slid away from her earlobe, hovering lightly above the sensitive skin on the side of her neck.

A warm breath brushed past, and Jiang Dusheng turned his head uncomfortably, wanting to move away from this annoying teasing.

Xie Jinchen, however, persisted, chasing after him relentlessly. Lowering his voice, with an unwavering determination to get a satisfactory answer, he asked again, "Say it again, who are you most compatible with?"

However, before Jiang Dusheng could respond, hurried and deliberately heavy footsteps suddenly sounded outside the door.

Then, An Yi's voice broke the ambiguous atmosphere in the room:

"Your Highness, urgent news!"

Xie Jinchen's eyes suddenly sharpened, and all his emotions were stripped away in an instant.

He released Jiang Dusheng, but his arm firmly supported her to make sure she was standing before he completely withdrew his hand.

As he moved, he naturally smoothed down her slightly disheveled clothes and hair.

"Come in." He faced the door, his voice already back to its usual calm and cold tone.

At the same time, Jiang Dusheng also composed himself.

An Yi pushed open the door and entered, his eyes fixed straight ahead. He walked quickly to Xie Jinchen, bowed, and presented a tightly sealed bamboo tube with both hands:

"Your Highness, a secret letter from His Highness the Crown Prince has been delivered urgently."

Xie Jinchen took the bamboo tube, and with a slight force between his fingers, he crushed the sealing wax and pulled out the extremely thin strip of paper inside.

Jiang Dusheng also turned slightly to get a closer look.

The note contained only one line of simple small print:

"The Imperial Preceptor, Shi Qinglian, along with eight monks from Huguo Temple, secretly left the city two days ago, seemingly heading straight for Qingwu. Be extremely careful and leave as quickly as possible."

"It seems we need to hurry," Jiang Dusheng said in a deep voice.

Xie Jinchen rubbed the paper between his fingers, and it instantly turned into powder, falling from between his fingers.

His eyes were deep and unfathomable. "Tomorrow morning, we will proceed into the mountains as planned."

"An Yi, pass down the order: everyone be on high alert and pay attention to any suspicious movements in the city. If there is any unusual activity, prioritize your own safety and passing on messages. Do not engage in direct combat; be prepared to evacuate at any time."

"Yes!" An Yi accepted the order and quickly withdrew to make arrangements.

The next day, just as dawn was breaking and only a sliver of pale light appeared on the eastern horizon, Qingwu City was still fast asleep in silence.

After a quick breakfast prepared by the inn, Jiang Dusheng and Xie Jinchen left the inn.

The only ones accompanying them were Wang Dazhuang, who had been transformed into a paper figure, and Ruan Guyan.

All the secret guards were ordered to remain in the city, firstly to divert attention, secondly to monitor movements, and thirdly to act as backup.

The two men and two ghosts walked along a rarely visited path west of Qingwu City, heading towards the misty mountains in the distance.

The deeper you go, the more rugged the road becomes.

After walking for about fifteen minutes, Xie Jinchen stopped at the foot of a mountain that didn't look particularly special.

The mountain in front of us is not the highest, but its vegetation is exceptionally dense, with ancient trees reaching for the sky and vines intertwining, completely covering the mountain.

The most peculiar thing is that, although it is already daytime, the mountains are shrouded in an impenetrable mist.

The fog lingers and does not disperse; even when the mountain wind blows, it only rolls slightly over the treetops and rarely penetrates into the understory.

Standing at the foot of the mountain, one can feel a bone-chilling coldness spreading out along with the mist, completely different from the fresh air of the surrounding mountains.

"This is it." Xie Jinchen's voice sounded somewhat low in the mountain mist. "The guards I sent before, no matter how skilled they were, would inexplicably lose their way and even briefly lose their senses every time they followed us to this foggy area halfway up the mountain."

"After regaining consciousness, I was already on the outskirts, and I couldn't remember what happened in the fog. I tried many times, and it was always the same."

Wang Dazhuang, standing nearby, couldn't help but hiss, "B-Master! This place is so gloomy, even more so than a mass grave!"

Jiang Dusheng had been observing intently for some time, and now his brows were furrowed.

The fog was mixed with countless constantly wandering black yin energies.

The entire mountain exuded an unusually gloomy aura, as if it were a naturally formed vessel where yin energy converged.

Such places are avoided by ordinary creatures, but are extremely suitable for nurturing evil spirits and concealing their tracks.

"This mountain... is very strange." Jiang Dusheng's voice was solemn. "It's not an ordinary, ominous place, but a rare yin aperture."

She turned to Xie Jinchen, her eyes reflecting the pale mist that filled the mountains, and continued to explain:

"The Qi of Heaven and Earth is divided into Yin and Yang, and clear and turbid. The terrain here is special, and the earth veins form a natural outlet for Yin, which over the years has created a natural barrier and an extremely Yin environment."

"Hiding corpses here can not only use the yin energy to disrupt the secrets of heaven and avoid ordinary search methods, but if supplemented with specific esoteric methods, it can even prevent the corpses from decaying for a long time."

She looked at Xie Jinchen and asked the question that had been bothering her, "How did Xie Dai manage to find a place like this back then?"

Ordinary people would instinctively feel uncomfortable and stay away, let alone find it, or even get close to it.

Even if Xie Dai, a Duke of Zhenguo, had some secret guards, how could he possibly know and utilize such a Yin Aperture location that even Xuanmen practitioners would need to carefully investigate to determine?

Xie Jinchen's gaze swept over the gloomy mountain range shrouded in thick fog before him, and he slowly spoke:

"Because the Xie family's ancestral home is located in Qingwu City."

"After my grandfather relinquished his military power in his later years, he did not stay in Changling City, but returned to his ancestral home in Qingwu City to live in seclusion until his death. That house is said to be very old, even dating back to before the Xie family ancestors rose to prominence."

Jiang Dusheng immediately grasped the key point: "You mean, Xie Dai might have learned of the existence of this Yin Aperture through some records passed down from his ancestral home?"

"That's right." Xie Jinchen frowned slightly, recalling some vague fragments, "When I was young, I went back to the ancestral home with my father once. My grandfather was still alive at that time."

"The house is very large, and most of the courtyards are well maintained, but some secluded corners, such as a few courtyards near the back wall, are locked all year round, and no one is allowed to approach them. Even the servants who clean the house are warned to stay away."

"I was mischievous and very curious back then, and once I secretly picked the lock of an abandoned courtyard."

He paused, then continued, "It's filled with dusty scrolls. Some of these books aren't classics or historical texts; they seem more like... geographical and strange records, with very peculiar illustrations and writings on them."

"I was young at the time, and I only felt that the room was gloomy and the patterns on the scrolls were creepy. I didn't dare to look closely and ran out in a hurry."

"Later, my father found out and gave me a good scolding, strictly forbidding me from going near those places again. I gradually forgot about the matter."

Xie Jinchen pulled his wandering thoughts back and looked at Jiang Dusheng. "Now that I think about it, the Xie family ancestors may have been involved in some unorthodox sects... or they may have had a deep understanding of the ley lines around Qingwu City."

After listening, Jiang Dusheng pondered for a moment.

She looked at Wang Dazhuang and Ruan Guyan beside her, "Dazhuang, Miss Ruan, you are both spirits, so you are more sensitive to the flow of Yin energy."

"We'll be heading into the mountains later. You'll lead the way and watch out for areas where yin energy gathers in the mist, especially any traces that resemble residual runes or array formations. If you find anything, warn us immediately."

"Yes, sir!" Wang Dazhuang puffed out his flat, paper-thin chest, his voice tinged with eagerness.