Chapter 32: Clarifying the Cause and Effect, and Going to Seek the Secret Treasure!

Ye Qingning was certain that the recent disturbances were related to the Nine-Turn Yin-Yang Bottle. It wasn’t a mere guess.

When a rare treasure appears, it is always accompanied by strange phenomena.

There had been tremors and loud noises, ghostly lights—the very signs of an unusual event.

But those ghostly lights probably weren’t real spirits. They were likely streams of radiant light preceding the emergence of the treasure.

Ordinary people didn’t understand these things. They just saw lights in the night and mistook them for ghostly flames.

She remembered that before her Life-Binding Sword manifested, the omens had lasted for an entire month. There wasn’t just shaking ground—several nearby mountain peaks had been struck down by heavenly lightning.

This showed that even when omens appeared, it didn’t mean the treasure would immediately manifest.

It was the power of the Nine-Turn Yin-Yang Bottle that had attracted the demonic and sinister forces.

Now that these dark forces were still wreaking havoc in the city, it meant that the Nine-Turn Yin-Yang Bottle was only showing signs of awakening and had yet to fully emerge.

However, these creatures weren’t waiting outside the city for the treasure—they were actively harming people within it. Clearly, things weren’t that simple!

The most likely scenario was that the treasure had been buried underground to act as a seal.

Now that it was loosening, the strange omens were appearing.

And if the seal was weakening, whatever had been suppressed might soon escape, drawing countless malevolent spirits.

These creatures might be after the Nine-Turn Yin-Yang Bottle, or perhaps they were after what the treasure was sealing.

Their chaotic rampage likely stemmed from their current inability to break the loosened seal with their own strength.

To them, the ordinary, powerless townsfolk were mere ants. They killed and absorbed souls to refine their power, thus increasing their strength rapidly.

Once they grew strong enough, they would break the seal.

At that point, they could obtain the Nine-Turn Yin-Yang Bottle—and also release whatever horrifying entity it had been sealing.

The mangy dog Taoist had previously told her that the Nine-Turn Reincarnation Bottle allowed one to undergo nine lifetimes to attain a new fate, could preserve the soul of someone on the brink of death, and also suppress vengeful spirits and fierce ghosts.

That meant whatever was being suppressed by the bottle had to be either a monstrous beast or a vicious ghost—and definitely a boss-level entity.

She suddenly understood why the test rules only mentioned that cultivators could earn points by slaying demons and monsters, without specifying how many points were awarded for defeating malevolent spirits.

It was likely because there was a hidden final boss in this trial realm!

Previously, she earned 10 points per minor ghost she killed. If this boss-level demon or ghost was released and slain, it couldn’t possibly just be worth 10 points—300 or even more wouldn’t be unreasonable.

Because of that, the rules didn’t specify how many points one could earn from slaying these creatures.

And that Taoist who posted talismans at the Yu residence definitely knew about all this.

As for that Taoist, she had another suspicion.

That was—he was a demonic cultivator.

She had seen demonic cultivators before—those who used Yin energy to practice forbidden arts.

They used taboo magic to subdue and raise vengeful ghosts and evil spirits, and then drew strength from them to enhance their own cultivation.

Posting talismans that summoned evil spirits was their way of guiding and commanding them.

Once the spirits grew stronger, the demonic cultivator would also grow in power.

If that Taoist was indeed a demonic cultivator, then his true goal must be to break the already-loosening seal and seize the Nine-Turn Yin-Yang Bottle.

After all, a powerful artifact like that was a huge asset to anyone seeking greater power.

There was also the slight possibility that he wanted to enslave the sealed boss—but wasn’t he afraid that he’d just end up becoming the boss’s snack?

So, most likely, it was all for the great treasure bottle.

But her goal was also to obtain it.

After all, it would grant her 600 points and double her total score. Whether she could squeeze into the top ten and win this test depended entirely on it.

Given how things stood, the seal was highly likely to be broken.

Especially since the Taoist had already left the Yu residence—he was probably already outside the city.

She had to act fast and locate where the treasure was buried.

As for the boss that had been sealed, she didn’t believe she could defeat it. After all, she was only in the Foundation Establishment stage. Even with blood talismans, it would be tough.

But for the sake of winning, she was willing to try.

She wondered if she could team up with someone. After all, having a helper would increase her chances of success.

She just wasn’t sure how the points would be divided if she killed the boss with someone else.

Just as Ye Qingning was plotting to go outside the city to find the treasure and pondering how to deal with the boss, a woman’s voice interrupted her thoughts.

“Sister, the City Lord and Father have already told us about what happened recently. Didn’t the servant boy from your courtyard disappear? Do you know what he said to you before vanishing?”

Even though Ye Qingning had sorted out the truth behind the appearances of the evil spirits, that didn’t mean she intended to tell anyone.

She was merely the second daughter of the Yu family—what could she possibly know?

“Actually, the servant didn’t say much. He just told me before he vanished that the Taoist lady the second madam invited to the house was acting very suspiciously.”

“I think he was just overthinking. That Taoist was just putting up talismans to dispel evil. How is that suspicious?”

“Well, Steward Li’s son died tragically last night. That shows the Taoist’s skills weren’t very good.”

“I don’t really know what happened to that servant boy. He disappeared early on. That’s all I know. I won’t disturb Father and the Immortals any longer.”

After saying that, Ye Qingning turned and left. If she didn’t act now, then when?

If she was late, who knew who the treasure bottle would end up with?

“My sweet daughter, where are you going? The city isn’t safe—don’t go running around!” Lord Yu shouted toward the door. Even though the Immortals had arrived, the demons still hadn’t been slain!

This worrisome girl—who knew where she was sneaking off to now!

“I’m not running around. I just remembered that Lüluo said she was going to teach that disobedient servant husband of mine a lesson. I’d better go check that she’s not being too harsh.” Ye Qingning waved back casually, a master of making things up on the spot.

She couldn’t exactly say she was sneaking out of the residence, could she?

…

After the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, a veiled figure slipped quietly out of the Yu residence.

Ye Qingning hurried along, afraid someone might be following her.

Once she had exited the city and confirmed there was no one around, she took out a high-grade Speed Talisman.

Although a Foundation Establishment cultivator could already perform sword-flight techniques, and she had been a sword cultivator in her previous life, she didn’t even have a dagger now, let alone a sword—how could she fly?

Fortunately, she had been crafting Speed Talismans this past month and had made a few high-quality ones. Otherwise, by the time she reached the site where the treasure was about to appear, everything might’ve been long over.

That night, the sky was pitch-black. The moon was hidden behind thick clouds and couldn’t shine down its light.

The night wind howled, stirring up dust from the ground, blurring everything in sight.

Compared to the city, the outskirts were silent and desolate—there wasn’t a soul in sight. Only the occasional barking of a dog could be heard in the distance.

Just as Ye Qingning was about to release her spiritual sense to scan the area, she suddenly sensed a strange presence behind her.