[Ding! Soul Suppression Talisman has been upgraded to Soul-Locking Evil-Dispelling Talisman!]
"This..."
Lin Fan abruptly opened his eyes and stared blankly ahead.
He could not help feeling excited.
The so-called Soul-Locking Evil-Dispelling Talisman was far more powerful than the Soul Suppression Talisman he had used before!
Its power had increased tremendously when it came to suppressing zombies.
It could even suppress other Ghosts and Monsters!
One had to know that ordinary Soul Suppression Talismans were mostly used on zombies.
Against formless evil entities like ghosts, they were simply unable to exert any control.
The Soul Locking Evil Dispelling Talisman, however, could suppress Ghost Qi from the air!
"This is way too powerful!"
Lin Fan's face was filled with delight, and before he could think further,
suddenly, streams of energy circulated and poured straight into his dantian!
A warm current passed through his minor and major circulations, rapidly revolving.
Several streams of pure qi gathered together.
Lin Fan did not dare slack off. He sat cross-legged steadily, holding his breath and focusing his mind.
At that moment, fierce winds swept through the surroundings, and one stream of pure energy after another followed in quick succession!
[System Notification: Congratulations, Host has broken through to the Houtian Eighth Level.] [System Notification: Congratulations, Host has broken through to the Houtian Ninth Level.]
"Something this good can happen too?"
Lin Fan slowly opened his eyes. Feeling the surging energy within his body, his heart filled with delight.
The energy condensed in his dantian was far more powerful than it had been at the Houtian Seventh Level!
"System, open the Attribute Panel."
[Attribute Panel opened!] Name: Lin Fan Realm: Houtian Ninth Level Artifact: Peachwood Sword (100% Daoist Magic amplification) Daoist Magic: Purple Heaven Divine Thunder (Major Accomplishment), Soul Locking Evil Dispelling Talisman (Beginner), Calming Heart Talisman (Grand Perfection) Merit Points: 20 Skill Points: 6623
"I'm not far from the Xiantian realm!"
Lin Fan lightly clenched his fist, his gaze burning.
The Houtian realm was merely the entry-level realm.
It only meant one had just begun to sense Heaven and Earth and draw the qi of Heaven and Earth into the dantian for cultivation.
The energy was weak, to put it mildly.
When using Daoist Magic, one could only rely on talismans, as one's own energy was hardly worth mentioning.
Yet once one entered the Xiantian realm, that was when the energy was truly tempered to perfection.
At that point, manipulating energy would be as natural as moving one's hands and feet.
Even pure energy alone could be used as a means of attack!
That was what a true Daoist priest was!
"Wait for more Skill Points, then get some more Merit Points!"
Lin Fan was delighted as he thought to himself.
Once he had accumulated enough Skill Points, he would upgrade the Purple Heaven Divine Thunder to Grand Perfection tomorrow!
Then he would upgrade the Soul Locking Evil Dispelling Talisman as well!
The Calming Heart Talisman required thirty Merit Points to upgrade. He still had twenty, so he was only ten points short!
Once he followed his master and resolved the Ren family's matter, he could earn some more Merit Points!
Wouldn't the tiny Xiantian realm then be within easy reach?
Although he had gone completely mad with leveling up over the past few days,
there was still plenty of room for improvement!
Leveling up felt great!
The more he leveled up, the better it felt!
In the side room,
as the changes continued,
Uncle Jiu suddenly jolted awake.
He felt as though the spiritual energy around him had been drained dry.
The air had grown slightly thinner, making even breathing seem somewhat difficult.
Uncle Jiu stepped outside.
He saw the spiritual energy in the surroundings slowly converging toward Lin Fan's room.
"So it's this kid. Could it be... he's about to break through again?!"
His heart trembled. In the blink of an eye, he had taken a single stride to Lin Fan's door.
Uncle Jiu moved as lightly as a swallow. At that moment, his fingers seemed softer and more springy than cotton.
Every movement he made seemed to slow several times over.
He was deeply afraid of disturbing Lin Fan, who was breaking through inside.
"Master, what's wrong?"
Lin Fan had just stabilized his energy and stepped out the door when he saw Uncle Jiu approaching him.
"You broke through again?"
Uncle Jiu had always been afraid that Lin Fan would become arrogant, so he tried his best to remain calm.
But at this moment, he could no longer hold it together!
How was this possible?
Yet the Lin Fan before him clearly possessed much stronger energy than before!
"Uh... I made a small leap of two levels."
Lin Fan spread his hands and replied calmly.
"Another two levels?"
Uncle Jiu's face filled with astonishment as he hurriedly sensed Lin Fan's energy.
Sure enough, it was truly the Houtian Ninth Level!
What kind of monster was this kid?
His improvement no longer merely brought pleasant surprises. It was even somewhat spine-chilling.
Was he really human?
"Master?"
Seeing Uncle Jiu's strange expression, Lin Fan waved a hand in front of him.
"You brat!"
Uncle Jiu recovered and stepped forward, gripping Lin Fan's arms as he shook his head and sighed.
"Master, I already sensed something after killing the Flower Demon tonight."
"I didn't expect it, but just like last time, some great master gave me pointers in my dream again."
Before Uncle Jiu could ask, Lin Fan repeated the same old story and brought it out once more.
"A celestial being entered his dream. It must have been a celestial being entering his dream!"
"Ancestor, please accept this disciple's bow! Fusheng Wuliang Tianzun!"
Uncle Jiu raised both hands toward the heavens, his face filled with devotion.
Lin Fan chuckled. "All right, Master. There are only a few hours left. Hurry and get some rest. We still have to move the grave tomorrow morning."
"All right, all right, go rest. Tomorrow morning, call Wen Cai and Qiu Sheng to gather with Master Ren in the main hall."
"Yes!"
Lin Fan nodded. He stopped lingering around and turned back to his room.
"Maoshan's future is promising!"
Uncle Jiu watched Lin Fan's back and sighed inwardly.
The next day, at the burial ground.
After Uncle Jiu had set up the altar and performed the ritual,
he slowly walked toward Old Master Ren's grave with Lin Fan, while Master Ren followed closely behind.
"Uncle Jiu, Daoist Priest Lin. This burial ground was quite difficult to find. Back then, it was a fine acupoint."
Lin Fan replied thoughtfully and unhurriedly, "That's right. This acupoint is called Dragonfly Skims the Water. It's three zhang and four chi long, but only four chi can be used. It's one zhang and three chi wide, but only three chi can be used. Therefore, the coffin cannot be buried flat. It can only be buried upright."
"Daoist Priest Lin, impressive. You certainly know your stuff."
Master Ren gave Lin Fan a thumbs-up.
"Master, upright burial? What does that mean? Is it a French-style funeral?"
Wen Cai wore an expression of great intelligence and came forward to join the conversation.
"Talk less nonsense. Follow along properly with Qiu Sheng."
Uncle Jiu shot an annoyed glance at Qiu Sheng, who had come along with them.
"Uncle Jiu, everything's ready. Can we start digging?"
A group of laborers carrying hoes, hemp ropes, and bamboo stretchers walked toward Uncle Jiu.
Uncle Jiu nodded, and the workers began clearing away the offerings before Old Master Ren's grave.
After removing the offerings one by one, they prepared to open the coffin.
"Master, what exactly is an upright burial?"
This time, it was not Wen Cai asking the question, but Qiu Sheng.
"An upright burial means burying the coffin vertically."
"Am I right?"
As Uncle Jiu spoke, he slowly moved toward Master Ren.
"That's right. The Feng Shui master said so."
"He said that if the master was buried upright, his descendants would surely prosper."
Ren Fa answered with a confident air.
"Did it work?"
"Over the past twenty years, our Ren family's business has only gotten worse and worse. We don't even know why."
Master Ren shook his head and sighed.
Uncle Jiu shook his head and asked sternly, "I think that Feng Shui master held a grudge against your Ren family. Before Old Master Ren died, did he have some kind of conflict with that man?"
A flicker passed through Master Ren's eyes. After hesitating for a moment, he slowly spoke, "Uncle Jiu, you may not know this, but this acupoint originally belonged to the Feng Shui master. My late father knew it was a fine acupoint, so he bought it from him with money."
Uncle Jiu's expression turned cold. He said flatly, "You merely lured him with profit and didn't threaten him?"
Master Ren gave an awkward smile. Suddenly, he could not utter another word.
"I'm sure you threatened him."
Uncle Jiu turned and walked straight toward the grave without looking back.
Master Ren hurriedly followed after him.
Lin Xi stood beside the grave as the workers methodically dug up the earth.
They stripped away the top layer of soil.
They saw quite a bit of lime scattered over the acupoint.
Lin Fan waved to Uncle Jiu and said, "What's the use of covering the acupoint with lime? It should have snowflakes covering the top. That's what makes it Dragonfly Skims the Water."
"Not bad. You've made progress."
Uncle Jiu nodded in satisfaction, then said to Master Ren beside him, "At least he had some conscience. He told you to open the coffin and move the burial after twenty years. He only harmed you for half your life, not your entire life. He harmed one generation, not eighteen."
"Yes, yes, yes."
Ren Fa nodded repeatedly with an ingratiating smile, unwilling to continue discussing the matter.
He quickly turned around and urged the workers on.
After several hours of digging by the workers,
the head of the coffin slowly emerged.
The workers brought over a coffin-lifting frame and fastened the hemp ropes around the head of the coffin.
Before long, Old Master Ren's coffin was hoisted up.
Everyone exerted their strength and slowly laid the coffin flat before the grave.
"Open the coffin!"
Uncle Jiu gave the order.
Just as they were about to open the coffin,
the crows in the forest were suddenly startled. They flew wildly in all directions,
as if invisible hands were pulling them.
It was as though something had disturbed them.
When the coffin lid was lifted, streams of black qi scattered out with it.
Waves of foul stench spread through the area, and everyone could not help covering their mouths and noses.
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