Seeing this scene, Yi Chen bent down to pick up the recently deceased sika deer from the ground and tossed it towards the front courtyard of the red mansion with a whoosh, performing a gesture of respect as he said:
"This humble Daoist has entered this place by mistake and does not know which great immortal's Dao ground I have disturbed. May I ask for a convenience?"
"Let this sika deer be considered blood food, as an apology."
Time ticked away, second by second, and two and a half minutes passed in the blink of an eye.
Yet there was no change whatsoever.
Yi Chen: "....." Negotiation failed.
Gazing at the rising mist, Yi Chen fell silent for a while, quietly adding the few Origin Points he had painstakingly accumulated to his spiritual attributes among his four-dimensional properties; then he drew the Dragon-Slaying Sword from his back.
Even a clay figurine has a third of anger, and since a great battle was unavoidable, he would arise from the prospect of death and fight fiercely. Even if he couldn't triumph, he would make sure to splatter blood on others; Yi Chen was a fierce character, not lacking in the courage to fight to the death.
However, before going all-out, he still needed to make a couple of small preparations.
Now was not the time for hiding one's skills. The only reason he hadn't added the Origin Points earlier was to keep them as a flexible option, to cope with different situations.
This mysterious red mansion was surely of the genre of Yin illusion—the most suitable to add to his spiritual attributes.
"Raise soldiers for a thousand days, use them for a moment."
"Origin Points, add them for me!"
At the thought, a cool breath suddenly appeared in Yi Chen's mind. In an instant, he felt his 'spirit' increase a little, and his spiritual attribute jumped from 27 to 28.
A glint flashed in Yi Chen's eyes, and his thoughts felt a touch more agile.
Perhaps it was due to having been a person for two lifetimes, his spiritual power was originally quite high and now was leading among his four-dimensional attributes.
When he looked again at the mysterious red mansion within the mist, it seemed a bit clearer, and the cool breath in his mind helped him remain even more composed.
Clang!
The Dragon-Slaying Sword unsheathed!
The hot breath spread with the drawing of the Dragon-Slaying Sword, diluting the chilly mist. Yi Chen's light purple Pure Yang Inner Qi poured into it, making the dragon patterns engraved on its eight-sided blade more vivid, as if they were about to leap into flight.
A three-foot light purple sword light flickered, turning the grass and trees on the ground to charred black.
"As expected of the law sword cultivated by successive Sect Leaders of Hidden Dragon Temple, this Pure Yang Qi is indeed rich," Yi Chen said, his face lighting up with pleasure.
Even the variegated tiger in Yi Chen's hand slowed the frequency of its struggles due to the unsheathing of the Dragon-Slaying Sword.
Avoidance was no longer possible; it was time to go in.
Yi Chen lifted the variegated tiger, looking into its tiger eyes.
"Brother Tiger, could I possibly trouble you to scout ahead?"
Upon hearing this, the variegated tiger's eyes widened with an anthropomorphic expression of disbelief, shaking more violently than before.
With a whoosh.
Empowered by Yi Chen's great strength, the massive body of the variegated tiger flew over the wall and into the front courtyard of the creepy red mansion.
Thump!
A cloud of dust rose.
Upon entering the courtyard, the variegated tiger shook all over as if sifting chaff, daring not to move an inch.
Yi Chen observed from outside for another two and a half minutes, and no abnormalities occurred.
Now, the mist outside was even more chilling. Except for the area around him where three feet of Pure Yang Qi stirred, dispelling the chill, one could already see dewdrops condensing on the leaves of trees due to the sudden drop in temperature.
"I can't keep dragging this out any longer; it's better to go in and scout out the situation." Yi Chen thought to himself, exerting force under his feet in a leap, following the path the variegated tiger had taken to vault into the courtyard.
As for why he couldn't enter through the main gate...
Wasn't it because Brother Tiger had already scouted the way, and there was no abnormality?
In design, there's a concept that says, "Do not add entities if unnecessary."
It applies here as well. Since nothing strange happened when entering this way, there's no need to complicate matters.
Thump!
Yi Chen also landed, kicking up a cloud of dust.
A thick musty smell drilled straight into his nostrils.
Looking around, the scene inside the courtyard differed greatly from earlier—the estate seemed like another world entirely.
Beneath his feet, the land bore many dried bloodstains, clearly visible despite years of desiccation, as if the blood had been too plentiful, seeping into the ground and staining it like a web spread across the surface.
They were like the scars of the earth, or the lines of some evil ritual.
In one corner of the yard, many bloody iron hooks, hand hooks, shackles, and sharp knives were piled up.
And hanging over the entrance to the mansion was a blood-red plaque—Yin Manor.
Malevolence, intense malevolence!
As soon as Yi Chen entered the courtyard, his brows furrowed with continuous throbbing, his spiritual sense frantically alarming.
"Is anyone there?"
"Is there anyone?"
Yi Chen tried calling out twice, but without any response.
This eerie place was like a gigantic black hole choosing its victims, not even allowing for an echo.
"Brother Tiger, I must trouble you once again, could you please look inside?"
Yi Chen looked again into the variegated tiger's tiger eyes.
The variegated tiger's eyes were wide open, displaying a humanized expression of disbelief, and continued to shake as it looked at the tall Daoist before it.
Silence is consent!
Whoosh.
The splendorous tiger was again thrown by Yi Chen into the window of the red mansion, its massive body shattering the intricately carved mahogany window into pieces.
This time, the tiger immediately lay down, prostrating on the ground, trembling like chaff.
After observing for a while, Yi Chen vaulted over the broken window frame like a gymnast and jumped in.
Elegant, never out of style!
What he didn't know was that as soon as he entered the room, the blood-red plaque hanging over the entrance that read "Yin Manor" began to seep a line of blackish-red blood, dripping onto the threshold.
Drip, drip.
The black blood pooled together to eerily form the character for "one."
….
….
Upon entering the room, Yi Chen squinted his eyes.
The room in the front yard was empty, with nothing but three small redwood boxes placed on a bookshelf.
These three little boxes were brightly colored, as if dyed with fresh blood.
Yi Chen once again locked gazes with the tiger who was still prostrating on the floor.
"Brother Tiger, if you would be so kind..."
The moment the splendorous tiger heard this familiar beginning, its big ears flopped down, covering its eyes, and it buried its head into its embrace, completely giving in.
Just end it all, hurry it up, I'm tired.
Yi Chen: "..."
Brother Tiger, you are the king of the beasts, you gotta stand up tall...
In the end, Yi Chen's heart softened and he let the splendorous tiger off the hook.
Dragging the tiger's paw to open the wooden box was too cruel of a sight; it would actually be safer to use the Dragon-Slaying Sword for the task.
The Dragon-Slaying Sword, about one meter and twenty-three centimeters in length, was much longer than the legs of the splendorous tiger.
"Sigh, I'm always too soft-hearted, too soft-hearted..."
"Again, someone silently bears all..."
Yi Chen let out a sigh in his heart, and with focused attention, he used the Dragon-Slaying Sword to pry open the first little redwood box.
Click, the box opened, and nothing unusual happened; inside it lay a quiet jade token engraved with the three seal characters for "Dragon Tiger Mountain." Yi Chen used the tip of the sword to flip it over, and on the back, there were three big characters: "Zhang Ji Shi."
"I know Dragon Tiger Mountain, the premier Dao Sect in Yue, but who is this Zhang Ji Shi? I'm not familiar with him..." Even though Yi Chen was no Qing Yunzi and not exactly a cultural desert, he was far from being extensively read or knowledgeable; after pondering with no result, he gave up.
As he pried open the second box, click, it revealed a jade book within, titled "Yin Yang Cave Divine Pupil Technique" in large characters.
Opening the third box, there was a simple letter inside, which Yi Chen lifted with the tip of his sword to read. It contained only a few brief lines:
With the world in strange flux, what lies ahead?
My name is Zhang Ji Shi, a Daoist from Dragon Tiger Mountain. I was enlightened at three, my spirit overflowed at eight, I realized the truth and awakened. Seeing the rise of evil spirits and ghosts causing havoc, especially the malevolent ghosts, I made a vow to establish a Cultivation Technique accessible to all, capable of breaking Yin illusions and recognizing dangers.
I searched the world over, examined the Daoist canons exhaustively, spent half my lifetime and finally created the "Yin Yang Cave Divine Pupil Technique," capable of discerning the six energies, managing Yin and Yang, distinguishing human from ghost, suitable for everyone to cultivate. Under this Pupil Technique, Yin illusions and ghostly figures cannot hide, yet ultimately, my work fell short of completion.
Not due to any flaws in the Cultivation Technique, but because those lacking in spiritual wisdom would find practicing it for too long a challenge; easy to begin, hard to advance, requiring ten, thirty, a hundred years for later stages, consuming too much time just to master one Pupil Technique, ultimately becoming a thankless endeavor.
Dull to partake in, yet regretful to discard, I leave it here for those destined to find it.
Alas, with the emergence of Yin Manor, time waits for no one.
I depart to suppress Yin Manor, uncertain of fortune or doom, and fear I will not complete this technique.
I hope the destined one will spread this technique throughout the world, enrich it with the wisdom of all, and bring me peace of mind.
If my undertaking is perilous, I beseech you to convey my jade token to Dragon Tiger Mountain, for there will be a rich reward.
As the letter neared its end, the handwriting grew chaotic, as if its writer was in great haste, abruptly concluding.
Yi Chen: "....." Big guy, what exactly is Yin Manor? Can't you explain it clearly? How am I supposed to get out of this ghostly place?
Nevertheless, the "Yin Yang Cave Divine Pupil Technique" did seem to be directly related to his field of expertise.
This item was meant for him.
After some thought, Yi Chen still hoisted the splendorous tiger over, let it roll over the jade token, jade book, and letter a couple of times, and after seeing no irregularities, he finally picked up the letter, the jade book, and the jade token and kept them close.
Soon, a cool sensation came from the jade token tucked close to him, and the Deep Red Points flashed, unexpectedly increasing by thirty points, now reaching an impressive total of 46 points.
Yi Chen couldn't help but be overjoyed. Although he still didn't know exactly which items contained Deep Red Points, or how the amounts were determined, receiving thirty free Deep Red Points out of nowhere was certainly an unexpected delight.
Unfortunately, advancing the Minor Pure Yang Skill to the seventh level required a hundred Deep Red Value, so Yi Chen couldn't break through just yet.
"Daoist Zhang Ji Shi, I will surely deliver your jade token to Dragon Tiger Mountain one day." Not wanting to benefit from another's favor unintentionally, Yi Chen decided to visit Dragon Tiger Mountain when he had the chance, to fulfill the karma of today.
…
…
The splendorous tiger was now listless, lying on the ground with its belly exposed, assuming a posture pleading for a quick end to its misery.
Approaching the tiger again, Yi Chen smiled and petted its head:
"Brother Tiger, what's the matter?"
"Don't be scared, we'll team up, go wild, and together we'll storm this godforsaken Yin Manor."
"If we make it out alive this time, I'll forgive you for knocking over my candied hawthorn."
"Besides, I have to grant you a place in my Hidden Dragon Temple, how does that sound?"
The splendorous tiger: "..." The tiger didn't understand human speech, but it was already getting a bad feeling.