479: Chapter 479 Do you think I'm a born killer?

The dust kicked up by the explosion had not completely dissipated, and the karst cave was filled with the smell of burning.

Looking at Li Dingjian's somewhat incomprehensible expression, Professor Ye Zhiren pushed up his glasses and continued to explain:

"According to Xuanzhen's personality, it is impossible for him to be willing to be killed by me, and before his death, he will definitely send a distress signal to the organization."

"However, I did not sense any abnormal fluctuations of Mental Energy."

He paused for a moment, his gaze sweeping across the corpses littering the ground:

"There may be two possibilities in this."

"First, the Bloodline talent of the Chen Family is very important to their action plan, and coupled with the fact that Xuanzhen has been plotting in secret for many years, that man simply placed the mental mark on Old Master Chen Hongye's Physical Body."

"Therefore, the matter of Xuanzhen's Divine Soul being destroyed did not attract that man's attention."

"Second, although the mother Gu of the Myriad Soul Mother Gu Pool was destroyed by me, the child Gu scattered in various places still exists, which gives Xuanzhen an opportunity to perform Possession on others through the child Gu..."

"Old Master Chen Hongye's corpse?!"

Li Dingjian's expression changed drastically, and he blurted out.

"Impossible."

Professor Ye Zhiren shook his head, his tone resolute:

"The mother Gu is destroyed, the Divine Soul is decomposed, and the weak Mental Energy remaining in the child Gu is not enough for him to resurrect a corpse."

"Even if he is an S-rank mental ability user known as the 'Undead Blood Fiend', he can absolutely never achieve this kind of Heaven-Defying degree. At most, he can possess some target who has previously suffered mental control and attempt Possession."

Li Dingjian frowned and thought for a moment, then asked:

"Could there be another possibility, that old monster simply hides in the Secret Realm and refuses to come out?"

Professor Ye Zhiren raised his head and glanced at him:

"The Secret Realm can indeed entrust dead souls, but if it lacks anchors in reality, such as the Physical Body or special containers like the Myriad Soul Mother Gu Pool, doing this is chronic death."

"Trapped in the Secret Realm for a long time, completely isolated from reality, the soul will only slowly forget itself, be assimilated by the conscious world, and be no different from withered bones buried in a grave..."

Speaking of this, he paused and added a few more sentences:

"Therefore, every ability user who reaches S-rank and successfully establishes a Secret Realm will look for suitable containers in advance for a rainy day, avoiding the fate of Soul Flying Away and Spirit Scattering when truly driven to a desperate situation."

Professor Ye Zhiren casually finished sharing these empirical remarks, then continued to lower his head to inspect the corpses of the villagers on the ground.

His fingers gently brushed across their foreheads, sensing the remaining mental fluctuations.

After checking a circle, still no anomalies were found.

Only then did Professor Ye Zhiren stand up, the tightly strung cord in his heart finally relaxing, yet inexplicably feeling somewhat disappointed.

That man did not appear, and there was no chance to take out and verify the prepared fallback plan.

At this moment, a burst of noisy sounds faintly came from outside the cave.

"There is an earthquake, the Mountain God is angry!"

"Something happened at the altar, quickly go to the altar..."

The loud roar of the explosion clearly awakened the sleeping birds and beasts in the valley, and also alarmed the remaining villagers in the village.

Listening to the approaching noise outside, Li Dingjian couldn't help asking:

"Professor, what should we do next?"

Professor Ye Zhiren patted the dust off his hands and said expressionlessly:

"Next, completely clear out all the child Gu planted by Xuanzhen, and never leave him any chance of a comeback."

"Ah!"

Li Dingjian's heart skipped a beat, thinking that the child Gu might be on those villagers, he subconsciously exclaimed out loud.

Could it be that they were going to massacre everyone in the entire village?

He muttered inwardly, the professor truly understood the word 'ruthlessness' through and through, actually wanting to eradicate the roots...

Professor Ye Zhiren seemed to see through his thoughts and gave him a faint glance:

"Do you take me for a murderous fiend?"

Seeing Li Dingjian's gaze falter, his tone slowed down a bit:

"To deal with evil arts like Gu-poisoning used by Xuanzhen, there is no need to make a mountain out of a molehill. We only need to check those villagers one by one and help them clear away the negative consciousness and mental suggestions rooted in their minds."

"When matters here are concluded, we will immediately return to Tiannan Province, find the Chen Family members, and resolve the final hidden danger."

After speaking, he turned and walked out of the cave, his pace steady and resolute.

Li Dingjian breathed a sigh of relief and followed closely behind.

The two walked out of the cave, their figures quickly blending into the night.

Leaving behind the altar ruins buried deep in the belly of the mountain, as well as the gradually approaching torchlight.

In the early hours of the morning.

Tiannan Province, Cui City Hospital VIP lounge.

The lights were bright and warm yellow, and the air floated with a faint smell of disinfectant.

Fang Cheng, Lin Chuqiao, Bailing, and Pan Wendi were sitting around a small table.

The four of them did not speak, and their expressions all appeared exceptionally focused.

Lin Chuqiao was holding a ballpoint pen in her hand, rapidly drawing on a piece of white paper.

Brilliant stars seemed to be twinkling in her eyes, displaying an otherworldly charm.

At the same time, the tip of the pen slid lightly across the paper surface, making a rustling sound.

The lines were messy and disorganized, yet they seemed to follow some profound and subtle rules.

As the strokes extended, a somewhat comic-style scene gradually emerged on the paper.

Suddenly, she stopped her pen and pushed that piece of drawing paper to the center of the table.

"What is this?"

Pan Wendi and Bailing curiously leaned over to watch carefully.

Fang Cheng also cast his gaze onto the paper surface.

What was outlined on the white paper was a gloomy and eerie scene.

In the dim karst cave, torches flickered.

Lying on the ground were many corpses dressed in traditional ethnic minority attire.

There was also an altar piled high with countless skeletons, presenting the momentary scene of being blown to pieces.

In the shadow of the pool embedded at the top of the altar, the outline of a painfully twisted human face could faintly be seen.

And in the corner of the picture, two figures stood in the distance watching quietly, seemingly the culprits who caused all this.

"I don't understand, it looks like some scene of a sacrificial failure?"

Bailing asked in confusion.

"Cousin, your painting is a bit abstract..."

Pan Wendi scratched his head, also feeling baffled.

Fang Cheng's pupils shrank slightly.

The altar in the painting was unexpectedly identical to the bone altar he had seen in Xuanzhen's Secret Realm.

Even that twisted human face bore a striking resemblance to Xuanzhen.

"I have seen these scenes drawn by Chuqiao."

Fang Cheng thought for a moment, then briefly introduced what happened in the Secret Realm.

Hearing this, Pan Wendi and Bailing suddenly came to an understanding.

Lin Chuqiao rubbed her glabella to relieve the tension after using her ability, and then breathed a sigh of relief:

"It seems my premonition was correct. While we were dealing with Xuanzhen's Physical Body, another group of people found his lair used for entrusting his Divine Soul."

Fang Cheng's eyes flashed as he stared at the two blurry figures on the paper and asked:

"Could it be my uncle and the professor?"

"There is this possibility."

Lin Chuqiao nodded slightly, but her willow-like eyebrows furrowed gently with some confusion:

"However, just now when I used my ability, it seemed that someone deliberately concealed the heavenly secrets, making it completely impossible to see what they actually looked like; I could only draw a rough outline."

"However, one point can be made clear."

Her gaze sank, and her tone was resolute:

"Xuanzhen's aura has not completely dissipated; he very likely still retains a shred of his lingering soul."

Pan Wendi asked:

"You mean Xuanzhen also has a hiding place in the real world?"

"It should be."

Lin Chuqiao's fair fingers stroked the outline of the altar on the paper:

"The Secret Realm is a fortress on the mental level, but it still requires a physical container itself, and this altar and blood pool are most likely the anchors used by Xuanzhen to entrust his Divine Soul."

As she spoke, she raised her head and turned her gaze to Fang Cheng, her eyes carrying a bit of solemnity:

"However, this place should have been destroyed by those two mysterious people now. Without the Secret Realm and losing the real-world anchor,"

"Xuanzhen's only chance of survival is probably those people whose minds were once controlled by him."

"In other words, he might still be alive?"

Bailing opened her eyes wide and instantly became nervous.

"Not sure."

Lin Chuqiao shook her head, a trace of fatigue emerging between her brows:

"It might just be a remaining mental imprint, but being careful never hurts."

Fang Cheng nodded, leaned back against the chair back, and said no more, various thoughts welling up in his heart.

After solving the matter of Xuanzhen borrowing a corpse to return to life and blasting his soul to death, they had been busy for nearly four hours.

First, they watched with their own eyes as the Chen Family completely burned Old Master Chen Hongye's corpse into ashes.

At the same time, they supervised the monks of Cuicheng Temple in presiding over the Water and Land Dharma Service to deliver the dead souls.

Afterwards, Fang Cheng was still uneasy, so he inspected the present Chen Family members one by one to confirm there were no abnormalities.

In the second half of the night, they and Second Young Master Chen Xuan rushed to the hospital, and then checked those Chen Family members hospitalized due to Gu-sorcery.

After Xuanzhen died, the Gu-sorcery was naturally lifted.

Although those people were physically weak, they had all regained their sanity, and checking them revealed no problems either.

In theory, the matter should have come to an end.

Yet Fang Cheng always felt something was not quite right.

Ever since seeing the example of demons like Jiang Chen, he dared not lower his guard against old monsters like Xuanzhen even more.

After all, since Xuanzhen could usurp Old Master Chen Hongye's corpse,

who could guarantee that the moment his Secret Realm was destroyed, he didn't attach his lingering soul to other Chen Family members?

During their previous fight, that old monster had easily controlled more than a dozen Chen Family members, among whom were quite a few experts who had undergone Bloodline Awakening.

Fang Cheng knew deeply that dealing with such unpredictable and formidable enemies was like autumn wind sweeping away fallen leaves—one must eradicate the roots.

Even if they had to dig up ancestral graves, they must ensure the opponent absolutely had no chance of a comeback.

So he told Lin Chuqiao his doubts, and only then did she use her prophecy ability to help verify whether Xuanzhen had truly perished and vanished.

This was the reason why they were still staying in the hospital in the early hours of the morning.

Bailing next to him held a coffee cup and sipped from it a small mouthful at a time, while Pan Wendi listlessly flipped through his phone.

Lin Chuqiao sat opposite, resting her chin in her hands, seemingly pondering this question as well.

"However, having said that."

Pan Wendi suddenly put down his phone, touched his chin, and looked at Fang Cheng:

"If Second Young Master Chen Xuan brings people over later and still no abnormalities can be detected, you wouldn't be planning to hack all the Chen Family members to pieces, right? To eliminate future troubles?"

Hearing this, Fang Cheng gave him an eye roll:

"Do you take me for a natural-born serial killer?"

"That's hard to say."

Pan Wendi smiled evilly: "After all, you've taken down quite a few enemies."

"That's called self-defense and counterattack."

Fang Cheng defended himself with a sentence, too lazy to bother with him.

At this time, Lin Chuqiao raised her head, her gaze falling on Fang Cheng's face with tender and resolute eyes:

"Brother Cheng, rest assured. Since uncle's matter is related to Xuanzhen and that organization called Utopia, I will assist you and help you investigate the truth to the bottom."

"Brother Cheng??"

Pan Wendi exaggeratedly shuddered, making faces:

"Ouch, cousin, the way you said that... My goosebumps all rose, isn't it too mushy?"

Bailing held back her laughter nearby, lowering her head and not daring to make a sound.

A layer of faint red blush instantly rose on Lin Chuqiao's cheeks, and she glared at Pan Wendi in shy annoyance:

"Can you be a bit more serious?"

"Am I not being serious?"

Pan Wendi said with a straight face:

"I'm just afraid that the two of you will be too lovey-dovey, and Bailing and I will feel embarrassed acting as light bulbs nearby..."

"Shut up!"

Lin Chuqiao's pink cheeks showed slight anger, and she gnashed her teeth.

Fang Cheng shook his head helplessly, but a wave of warmth surged in his heart.

He looked at Lin Chuqiao's slightly flushed cheeks, those clear eyes hiding care and worry.

Clearly plain words, yet they made him feel a sense of down-to-earth peace of mind.

This girl always appeared and gave help when he needed it most.

Fang Cheng said softly: "Chuqiao, thanks."

Hearing this, Lin Chuqiao was stunned for a moment.

Then she gently lowered her eyelids, the corners of her mouth curling into a shallow smile:

"What silly things are you saying... Do we still need to thank each other between us?"

Her voice was very light, very soft, yet carried a hint of coquettishness.

Watching her cousin, who was always arrogant and aloof toward men, now revealing such an appearance like a young girl falling into her first love,

Pan Wendi couldn't help clicking his tongue in amazement nearby:

"No, can the two of you please take our feelings as single dogs into consideration?"

"Pfft—"

Bailing couldn't help laughing out loud.

Through his teasing, the somewhat gloomy atmosphere inside the lounge eased a little bit.

At this moment, a soft knock sounded outside the door.

"Please come in."

Fang Cheng's gaze condensed, and he immediately spoke out.

Along with a creaking sound, Second Young Master Chen Xuan of the Chen Family pushed the door and entered.

There was fatigue on his face, but his expression was still considered calm:

"Mr. Bai, according to your request, all the Chen Family members in Cui City have been called over overnight, and they are now waiting in the outer hall. Please review them."

"You've worked hard."

Fang Cheng stood up and stretched his somewhat stiff shoulders:

"Let's go, after solving the remaining matters, we can go back and rest."

Lin Chuqiao and Bailing also stood up, Pan Wendi put away his phone, and the few of them filed out.

The corridor was very quiet, with only the smell of disinfectant permeating the air.

The group walked through the long passageway, their footsteps making a slight echo on the tile floor.

Turning two corners, ahead was the lounge hall of the VIP ward area.

Before even getting close, they could hear rustling murmurs coming from inside.

Pushing open the double doors, the scene before his eyes made Fang Cheng raise his eyebrows slightly.

It was already past two in the morning, yet the hall was packed with people—men, women, old, and young, numbering at least seventy or eighty.

Their expressions varied; some were puzzled and incomprehensible, some were apprehensive and uneasy, whispering to each other and discussing animatedly.

Clearly, being called over in the middle of the night by Second Young Master Chen Xuan without knowing what had happened made them all somewhat apprehensive in their hearts.

Especially at a juncture when the Chen Family was successively encountering bizarre events.

Only constrained by Second Young Master Chen Xuan's identity as the new Family head, even if they were full of reluctance, they could only obediently follow orders and do as told.

Seeing Fang Cheng and the others enter, the crowd's discussions instantly lowered by a few notches, and their gazes all cast over in unison.

Fang Cheng didn't waste words, walked straight to the front of the crowd, and narrowed his eyes slightly.

He took a deep breath and concentrated his mental Focus.

The next second, a strange red light lit up in his pupils, like burning flames leaping in the depths of his eyes.

"Scavengers Eye, open!"

Where his sight reached, the energy fluctuations on everyone's body were seen by him completely clearly.

Some people's auras were as stable as water, while others were slightly weak and dim.

But they were all within the normal range, without any abnormal mental fluctuations or signs of evil spirit Possession.

Fang Cheng's gaze was like a scanner, sweeping across every face one by one from left to right, front to back.

The entire process lasted nearly ten minutes.

Finally, Fang Cheng slowly withdrew his gaze, the red light in his pupils gradually dissipating, returning to normal black.

He turned his head and nodded slightly to Second Young Master Chen Xuan to indicate.

Second Young Master Chen Xuan breathed a sigh of relief and wiped a nonexistent cold sweat from his forehead:

"I also used Spirit Pupils to observe before, and indeed didn't find any abnormalities."

Just when everyone thought they could breathe a sigh of relief, Lin Chuqiao suddenly furrowed her brows and slowly swept her gaze around the crowd.

Her eyes were somewhat hesitant, as if counting something.

"Are everyone here?"

Lin Chuqiao asked softly: "Why do I feel... as if one is missing."

Bailing also reacted and looked around:

"That's right, where is that lecherous Third Young Master? How come he's not seen?"

Second Young Master Chen Xuan was stunned for a moment, and only then did he realize that his third younger brother, Chen Qiming, was indeed not present.

His expression changed slightly, and he immediately took out his phone to call Chen Qiming.

"Beep— Beep—"

The phone rang for a long time, with no answer.

Second Young Master Chen Xuan frowned tightly and tried a second time.

Still no answer.

The third time, it was still the same.