The inner chamber doors were tightly shut afterwards.
The matter of "expelling the evil" was secretive and dangerous, not to be witnessed by outsiders.
It was meant to prevent the leakage of Divine Sense Skills and to guard against the Evil Evil harming anyone.
Outside the chamber, Elder Gu Hong, along with the elders of Gu Changhuai’s line, were gathered, their expressions tense.
Wenren Wan held Yu Er, equally anxious at heart.
Yu Er looked up at his mother and worriedly asked, "Mother, will Uncle Gu be alright..."
Though he felt Uncle Gu usually had a cold, stern face, he was actually quite kind to him, always thinking of him with good food and play. He didn’t want anything to happen to Uncle Gu.
Wenren Wan gently stroked Yu Er’s head and said with a warm smile, "He will be fine..."
But her smile was somewhat forced.
Yu Er felt a little sad.
Wenren Wan softly said, "The rest period is over. You still need to cultivate. I’ll ask Uncle Wei to take you back to Taixu Gate."
Yu Er gently shook his head, "I’m worried about Uncle Gu..."
Wenren Wan felt gratified yet a bit bitter, softly sighing, "Alright, then we’ll wait here."
After that, Yu Er said nothing more.
His big, black eyes were fixed on the door of the inner chamber, looking worried, yet, for some reason, a little scared...
As if something inside the room was terrifying him.
Just like the demon in his nightmares, only... even scarier...
Yu Er pressed his lips tightly together. He was hesitant to stay here, but thinking of Uncle Gu lying inside, he was unwilling to leave.
Thus, silence enveloped the surroundings, so quiet that even a falling needle could be heard.
Everyone’s expressions were solemn and grave.
The passing of time became slow and oppressive...
Suddenly, a bizarre fluctuation surged, followed by a scream from inside the chamber, then a sound of something breaking, mixed with indistinct howls of vengeful spirits, a cacophony.
Those outside turned pale at the sound.
The other two Golden Core cultivators from Mystery Valley, horrified, immediately stood up, exclaimed:
"Not good, the expulsion failed, quick, save them!"
They attempted to force the door open, but it broke before they could.
Amid flying wood chips, Mr. Mei stumbled out, unable to suppress the evil qi any longer, blood pouring from his mouth.
He looked horrifyingly miserable.
The Spirit Tool Heart Protecting Mirror had shattered, a black-red burn mark visible on his repelling evil robe, his forehead faintly glowing green, the color slowly turning black.
At this moment, a shrill scream, neither human nor demon, burst from Mr. Mei’s mouth. Grasping the ground with his hands, he struggled wildly, seemingly losing control.
The other two Mystery Valley cultivators darkened their expressions and immediately leapt forward, taking out a yellow cloth with red patterns, binding him tightly.
Then they covered the frenzied Mr. Mei’s heart with a Bagua Plate.
The other took out a jade and placed it on Mr. Mei’s forehead, forcing realgar wine into his mouth to repel the evil with its strength.
After much fuss when the jade finally absorbed the evil qi.
Only then did Mr. Mei stop struggling, and the blackness on his forehead slowly dissipated, his breathing gradually steadied.
Everyone let out a slow sigh of relief, then all turned their attention towards the inner chamber.
Inside, Gu Changhuai still lay there, his fate uncertain.
The surroundings were in complete disarray.
The setup altar exploded, the incense burned out, the spirit-protecting lamp extinguished, the copper coin sword broken, copper coins scattered everywhere, and the formation media was completely cracked, losing effectiveness.
The scene just seemed chaotic to others.
But the Mystery Valley cultivators, skilled in the art, when exchanging glances, felt a chill run straight up to the crown of their heads.
"A greatly ominous evil spirit!"
"How... did it provoke such a thing?"
Their voices were cold, still shocked as the mutant event suddenly occurred.
Gu Changhuai, who lay on the bed uncertain of life or death, seemed to sense something and suddenly opened his eyes, sitting up slowly like a "walking corpse."
His eyes, soaked in evil qi, turned the whites black and the pupils blood-red, his gaze coldly scanning over everyone, finally fixing on the young Yu Er.
"Gu Changhuai" wore a deathly pale face, slowly revealing a grim smile, his voice grating and hoarse:
"Found... you, my..."
Gu Changhuai didn’t finish his sentence.
Such a change left everyone astonished.
No one understood what his words meant, but they knew things were strange and couldn’t go on ; otherwise, great disaster might ensue.
A Golden Core from Mystery Valley immediately shot several golden needles to block the "Gu Changhuai’s" meridians.
Another Golden Core, gritting his teeth, summoned a Jade Ruyi, tapping it on Gu Changhuai’s forehead while his actions were restrained, suppressing the evil qi.
Fortunately, though the evil thoughts of "Gu Changhuai" were intense, his physical body was gravely injured.
And this Jade Ruyi seemed to be an extraordinary treasure.
"Gu Changhuai" was quickly subdued, his physical body unable to move, and his evil thoughts ceased to surge. He took a deep look at Yu Er and slowly lay down again, reverting to the appearance of being "unconscious".
Only then did everyone finally relax their tense hearts.
But Yu Er’s little face turned deathly pale.
He was startled by a glance from "Gu Changhuai", and his entire body trembled, instantly becoming cold as ice.
In that glance, he seemed to see a certain "destiny".
In that destiny, he was merely an "empty shell", with nothing left—no mother, and all those he cared about and missed were nowhere to be found.
Only boundless void and fear...
Yu Er’s body began to shiver, cold sweat pouring out.
Wenren Wan immediately noticed Yu Er’s abnormality, and gently touched his forehead, asking:
"Yu Er, Yu Er, what’s wrong, are you feeling unwell?"
A cultivator from Mystery Valley saw this and quickly approached, pointing at Yu Er’s forehead, but sensing nothing, he frowned and said:
"Perhaps it’s due to the evil presence changing just now, startling this young master, which led to his disorientation."
Wenren Wan felt a pang of heartache.
Elder Gu Hong spoke warmly: "You should take Yu Er to the side room to rest. Yu Er is weak, and there are too many noisy people here—it might frighten him again."
Wenren Wan looked at Gu Changhuai, then at Yu Er in her arms, and nodded. But just as she was about to stand, Yu Er lightly shook his head.
"Mother, I will stay here."
There are more people here, more lively.
The side room, despite being quiet, is also desolate and easily breeds fear.
Wenren Wan understood Yu Er’s meaning, felt a bit sorry, kissed his forehead gently, and whispered: ɴᴇᴡ ɴᴏᴠᴇʟ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀʀᴇ ᴘᴜʙʟɪsʜᴇᴅ ᴏɴ novᴇlfire.net
"Then close your eyes and sleep for a while. You’ll feel better when you wake up..."
Yu Er slowly nodded and soon, feeling exhausted, drooped his eyelids and gradually fell asleep.
Wenren Wan watched over him closely.
With Yu Er comforted, the commotion gradually subsided, and only then did everyone, with somber expressions, begin to discuss the next course of action.
A cultivator from Mystery Valley frowned and asked: "Now what do we do?"
"This evil presence is too strong; even Mr. Mei is no match."
"With our skills, we’re even less capable."
"The Spirit Tool Heart Protecting Mirror is shattered, the Bagua Plate is cracked, even the repelling evil robe can’t hold..."
"Mr. Mei also got caught up, who knows how much sanity he retained..."
"The situation is dire, how about... we send a letter back to Mystery Valley, asking the Chief Elder and True Man Situ to come?"
"It’s too far, by the time True Man Situ arrives, it will be too late."
"Moreover, ever since the bloody incident in Li State City years ago, the Chief Elder has been traveling far and wide and rarely returns to the valley—could he be hiding something..."
"What could the Chief Elder be hiding?"
"How could I know what the Chief Elder is plotting?"
"What do we do now then?"
"Let’s wait for Mr. Mei to wake up..."
"And if he doesn’t wake up? Even if he does, what can he do? Such a formidable evil presence, who can handle it?"
Everyone paused, frowning in silence.
At this moment, Yu Er, who had been sleeping soundly, began showing an increasingly pained expression, his face growing paler, and cold sweat pouring out even more.
"Could it be... another nightmare?"
Wenren Wan watched Yu Er, feeling deeply distressed.
She wanted to wake him, but Yu Er was trapped in the nightmare, unreachable.
Wenren Wan didn’t know what to do.
Just then, amidst his pain and fear, Yu Er struggled and murmured: "Brother Mo..."
Wenren Wan started, then snapped back to reality, hurriedly saying to Wenren Wei:
"Brother Wei, quickly, send Yu Er back to Taixu Gate, to Mo Hua’s side."
Only by Mo Hua’s side would Yu Er not have nightmares.
Wenren Wei cupped his hands and said solemnly: "Yes!"
But a moment later, he hesitated, deliberating: "Or, should I go to Taixu Gate and invite Young Master Mo to the Gu Family?"
Wenren Wan shook her head, "How could that work? Mo Hua is so busy, he can’t be delayed from his cultivation. Just send Yu Er back to Taixu Gate."
"No," Wenren Wei thought for a moment, then finally said what he had been thinking all along, "Invite Young Master Mo over, have a look at Young Master Yu and also let him check... on Young Master Gu’s condition."
Wenren Wan was stunned.
Others present were also taken aback.