The Coffin Sedan had originally lain flat. As it drew near, the sixteen snow-white skeletons stopped, and the Coffin Sedan slowly rose upright, floating two feet above the ground.
The coffin lid slid open to the left.
The inside of the coffin was pitch-black; nothing could be seen.
Clumps of pale-yellow joss paper came fluttering out and fell beneath the coffin, forming a floating staircase.
The coffin itself transformed into a grand door.
Beyond the door stood an extravagant residence, its carved beams and painted rafters gleaming in gold and jade, shimmering with flowing light like an immortal realm.
A man wearing a Principal Fifth Rank official robe of crimson embroidered with white pheasants stood behind the door and made an inviting gesture.
Li Qingxian looked at him, and his heart gave a violent jolt. The man's entire body was bluish-black, like a corpse freshly dug from the earth. His eyes glowed green, his skin was shriveled, and wrinkles crisscrossed his body like miniature mountain ranges.
Faint black mist seeped from the man's seven apertures—his eyes, nose, mouth, and ears. The seven streams of mist converged above his head, forming a skull of black fog.
The Puppet Cultivator gestured in invitation. A handsome, clean-shaven man in a bright-red Subordinate Fourth Rank military official robe embroidered with leopards stepped out through the sedan door, descended the joss-paper stairs, and landed on the ground.
Unlike ordinary Fourth Rank official robes, his was far more vivid in color and remarkably similar to the robes of the Embroidered Uniform Guard.
His skin was pale, tender, and fine, his face lightly powdered, his figure delicate, his eyes full of spring.
Zhou Chunfeng came forward and cupped his hands. "Grand Inspector Yan, Director Liu, you have come from afar, yet Zhou failed to greet you from