Chapter 2087 The Vengeful Young Lady 23

Zhang Huatai went up to find two more passersby, and it was the same for both of them. Their faces were so full of hostility that he had no doubt that if he dared to say another word, they would pounce on him and tear him apart.

If one were simply being controlled by puppetry, one shouldn't have such intense emotions.

"They are not simply being controlled."

Su Yan looked at the increasingly thick black fog around him and knew he was in trouble; he had to leave immediately.

"Let's go, it's not safe here."

Zhang Huatai, however, seemed oblivious to the black mist, and continued, "Could it be that someone has extracted a part of its soul and spirit? Leave? Why? We've just gotten a clue, how can we leave?"

Su Yan pulled him away from the area shrouded in black mist.

She looked at the black mist, where countless wandering ghosts were baring their fangs and claws, trying to drag them in.

"What's going on? Where did this black mist come from?" Zhang Yuntai finally saw the black mist and the ghosts roaring within it.

"It's certain that there's a highly skilled evil cultivator controlling these ghosts here," Su Yan stated calmly.

Zhang Yuntai was somewhat surprised. This junior sister seemed to be coming down the mountain for the first time. How could she be so calm?

Moreover, why was she so certain that it was the work of evil cultivators rather than demons?

"It's not a demon. If it were a demon, it wouldn't usually make things this complicated. Sometimes demons think much more simply than humans."

Zhang Yuntai thought about it and it seemed to be true.

Su Yan walked towards the black mist, but Zhang Yuntai immediately grabbed her, worriedly saying, "What are you doing? Be careful not to get pulled in."

Su Yan pushed his hand away and laughed, "It's nothing, I just wanted to see where the core of this formation is."

"Is there a formation here?" Zhang Yuntai exclaimed again.

He didn't even notice the formation, so how did this junior sister from Tianwai Mountain know about it?

"Yes, don't worry about me. I have a protective magic treasure given to me by my master."

"Yes, it's better to be careful."

Su Yan walked to the edge of the black mist, but his gaze was fixed on the black mist.

Wandering ghosts and spirits drifted everywhere in the black mist. The houses shrouded in the black mist slowly opened, and the people who had previously retained their senses now walked out with empty eyes, just like the pedestrians on the street.

They joined the wandering procession, with ghosts flying around them.

"What did you see?" Zhang Yuntai asked curiously.

“The people on the street are indeed missing a soul or a spirit, and most of the wandering ghosts in this black fog are the lost souls of these people.”

"If there really are evil cultivators, what are they trying to do?" Zhang Huatai wondered, what was the purpose of drawing out a person's soul?

Su Yan shook her head; she couldn't figure it out for the time being either.

Why doesn't this evil cultivator just kill these people immediately? Why make things so complicated? Is he trying to foster resentment and panic?

"Help! Help! I don't want to stay here any longer!" The steamed bun shop was not within the range of the black fog. The owner, who had ignored them before, was now rushing out with a bundle on his back, seemingly trying to escape for his life.

Although the steamed bun shop owner couldn't see the black mist, he noticed that some of his neighbors, whom he had chatted with that morning, had joined the group of people wandering around. He knew that the ghost must have come again.

He didn't want to stay here and wait to die; he wanted to escape somewhere else.

Zhang Huatai immediately grabbed him and pressed, "What did you say? You know what happened here?"

The old man looked at him in horror, and seeing that he really had no intention of harming him, he said fearfully, "Will you let me go if I tell you?"

Zhang Huatai nodded, and the old man said in a panic, "A Taoist priest dressed similarly to you came before. He walked back and forth on this street, and the next day some people started acting strangely."

“They’re dressed similarly to us, absolutely impossible. How could anyone in Qingxia Mountain practice evil arts?” Zhang Huatai immediately denied.

"Not exactly the same, anyway, that guy looked like some kind of otherworldly being, walking around here, his fingers calculating. At first, we thought he was an immortal, and some people even went up to him begging him to save them or give them medicine, but he not only ignored them, but also said something about a universe within, with the sky as its roof and the earth as its furnace... I don't know what he meant, so please let me go."

"Using the sky as a canopy and the earth as a furnace? Could it be that he intends to use living people as sacrifices to refine elixirs here?" Su Yan said coldly.

Zhang Huatai was taken aback. What kind of pill needed to be refined in this way?

Zhang Huatai released the steamed bun shop owner, who immediately took off running, fearing that if he was even a little slow, he would end up like his neighbors, becoming an uncontrollable living dead.

The black fog quickly dissipated, and apart from a few more ghostly passersby on the street, nothing else changed.

Su Yan had already figured out where the key to the formation was, but she didn't want to break it now. If she did, it would surely alert the enemy.

"Let's go back first, see what everyone has found, and then discuss it further."

"Okay, let's go." Only after saying this did Zhang Huatai realize why he listened to Junior Sister Su so much; it was as if her words had a convincing quality.

The two returned to the Qingya, but the other six had not yet returned.

Another hour passed before they gradually returned.

Li Mochou and Tianxing saw that Su Yan was already sitting to the side drinking tea, and thought that she was only able to be so relaxed because she was with Senior Brother Zhang.

Zhang Huatai coughed, drawing everyone's attention, before speaking: "How is everyone's investigation going? Please share the information you have found."

Lin Chaoshan spoke first: "We kept tracing eastward and came to a street where we found some people who were acting strangely, walking back and forth as if they were being controlled by some kind of force."

"We are too, there's another street like that on the west side."

"So are we."

Everyone was shocked. If the same thing happened in all four directions, then regardless of whether the person behind it was human or demon, they must be plotting something extremely dangerous.

Su Yan was a little curious. According to the original novel, the female protagonist only encountered a snake demon when she went out to train, but she didn't encounter any evil cultivators.

Moreover, this is a town protected by Qingxia Mountain. If there were any evil cultivators here, they wouldn't dare to do evil. Aren't they afraid of being discovered by the people of Qingxia Mountain?

Unless, this heretical cultivator really is from Qingxia Mountain!

If there really is a snake demon, it's likely just a cover, and the evil cultivator is the real mastermind.

The group argued.

Lin Chaoshan: "It's because a demon has controlled those people. Maybe a demon has sucked away their souls and spirits, which is why they are wandering the streets like madmen."

“That’s right. We also sensed demonic energy in the woods to the east. Although we don’t know what kind of demon it is yet, I have a feeling that it’s not simple,” Tianxing said with a solemn expression.

"puff......"

"What are you laughing at?" Li Mochou looked at Su Yan with displeasure.

Su Yan moved her lips slightly from side to side, then suppressed her smile and said, "It's nothing, I just thought of something funny."

"What time is it? You're still thinking nonsense," Li Mochou scolded.

However, everyone could see that Su Yan had just been laughing at Tianxing.

Su Yan couldn't help but react for a moment, thinking Tianxing was about to say something important, but the last sentence, "This demon is not simple," was something she didn't need to say.