At this moment, Qi Youyou vanishes without a trace.
It seems that after Ding Ripe's "death," the invisible constraint against Qi Youyou suddenly disappeared.
I searched once again, still not finding a trace of Ding Ripe's soul. I tried using four regulations mirrors, but it didn't work either.
"Huh... What's going on here?" Old Gong looked even more puzzled. I then noticed that Ding Ripe's body was gradually dissolving.
It's not decomposition or burning, but rather that it's gradually turning into fine powder starting from the wound in his mouth.
“She has come out in spirit form? No, it shouldn't be a spirit form, according to some calculations and old Gong's hints, along with Ding Ripe's explanation, a spirit form comes out only from the living.”
"Has she come out in Yang spirit? But that shouldn't be the case; it doesn't make sense, and it's quite strange." I spoke, my eyes filled with confusion.
The body is still melting, and soon the position where the sword pierced becomes a huge cavity. Only some bones are left around the head, and the middle part is completely disappeared.
Old Gong was also pondering, unable to come up with a reasonable explanation after a long time.
A heavy sound echoed in the ears, the door of the mausoleum opening.
Wu Jinluan emerged from the entrance, looking somewhat disheveled. His neck bore marks of bruises, and his face had a few other injuries.
Similar to the other geomancers, they all had varying degrees of injuries, as if they had fought with each other in some way.
"Luo Dao Zhu, those ghosts suddenly dispersed and disappeared, really strange!" Wu Jinluan's voice is thick and full of vitality. He wasn't affected by this and instead became more aggressive in battle.
"Did Ding Ripe die?" a geomancer exclaimed with joy!
The eyes of the others fell on the remnants of Ding Ripe's body, their excitement was extreme, and their injuries seemed trivial in comparison.
"He's indeed dead. Otherwise, you wouldn't have been so easily able to escape," Old Gong said with a sinister tone.
"No... This... This isn't a freshly dead body... Baiyu, this is a 'transcending corpse'!?" Another geomancer shouted in shock.
Wu Jinluan's gaze shifted over to where it was. He stood there motionless.
He followed the geomancers after they had jumped over the water channel.
I sat cross-legged on the ground and used the concentration technique to slightly recover my energy.
From my peripheral vision, I could see that they were all gathered around Ding Ripe's corpse, discussing something in low voices. When Lao Gong arrived, he spoke vividly.
He boasted about my brilliant performance, battling Ding Ripe for over a hundred rounds, and went on to describe how Ding Ripe dug bones to reconstruct his face and had a warped psyche. The more Lao Gong spoke, the more animated he became.
However, at the end, Lao Gong couldn't come up with an explanation for whether Ding Ripe's soul had scattered, whether he had transformed into a Yin spirit, or a Yang spirit. He passed the question on to Wu Jinluan and the others.
We can't understand something, how can they understand it?
At that moment, everyone was immersed in a complicated state of mind.
I sat in meditation for a while and slightly regained some of my energy. Fortunately, my body didn't feel as empty and depleted as when one loses years of life force, it wasn't severe.
Ding Ripe's corpse had completely disappeared, leaving only a heap of grayish-white powder on the ground.
I walked to the powder and drew out the Gaotian Sword from the ground, belting it on my waist.
Wu Jinluan looked at me and said, "Master Luo, while you were meditating, we searched this place thoroughly and really didn't find any trace of a soul. Also, we didn't see Ding Ripe running out from the outside. In my opinion, a person becomes ashes after death, and even if she didn't scatter her soul, she couldn't do much anymore. What's your take on it?"
"The most pressing matter at the moment is to open the coffin, take what we need, and leave behind the so-called 'inheritance'. The life of Ding Ripe has already been taken by you, Master Luo. So, my mission is complete."
I understood Wu Jinluan's intention. He was going to leave this place after helping us achieve our goals.
The reason they didn't go to the coffin first was simple: there was a ghost beneath it. If they moved it carelessly, it might trigger a massacre, and they could be killed by the ghosts unilaterally.
"Master, Little Wu's words are correct. Whether she becomes a mess or not, it doesn't affect our business. If she's a ghost, let her soul be dispersed next time!" Old Gong spoke decisively.
I nodded. Old Gong's words did make sense.
But I think that someone like Ding Ripe is completely unworthy of becoming a Yang spirit.
In other words, if she really did become a Yang spirit in this twisted way, she would only be left with endless loneliness and torment.
What good does it do to see it? If you can't touch it or control it, all you'll be left with is endless torment.
"Open the coffin," I said.
It was only then that everyone walked towards the coffin hanging in the center of the mausoleum.
I had not observed the large red coffin carefully before, but now it gave me a sense of loneliness. The years were endless and desolate, hanging here, the person inside would forever remain silent.
Strangers would only die on the road, never able to reach him.
"First, let's lower the coffin. If these ghosts dare to harm anyone, Master Luo, just call your thunderous magic to deal with them," Old Gong began to give orders.
I nodded. Although Lao Gong's method was somewhat rude, it was also straightforward.
"Little Wu and the others can't reach it. Master, you'll have to come up with it. Endure the pain," Lao Gong chuckled. His excitement was as if he had already obtained what he wanted.
I looked up and saw eight thick and black ropes hanging from the ceiling of the tomb chamber. Above it, I could see a hole about three meters wide, covered by a transparent material.
My first impression was that it was water outside.
I leaped forward, aiming to jump onto the coffin!
When I landed, I should have been able to touch the coffin with my foot, but it was empty!
My body passed directly through the coffin, completely missing anything solid to stand on. In that moment, I realized that there was no actual coffin at all; it was more like an illusion formed by a reflection on my body, causing everything around me to darken.
Then, as I was about to collide with the ghostly Luans, they scattered immediately, flying away into the distance.
They landed on the other side of the tomb chamber's wall, regrouping to take on the appearance of the ghostly Luans.
In an instant, I felt solid ground beneath my feet, but my expression was one of shock and suspicion.
Wu Jinluan, the other geomancers, and Lao Gong were all speechless.
"This... how is it possible?" Wu Jinluan stepped forward, his hand shaking slightly as he raised it to touch the bottom of the coffin, only for his hand to disappear inside.
The coffin was completely just an illusion, a reflection here, not actually existing in this place!
Just as I thought, the other geomancers raised their hands to try and touch the coffin, but none of them could feel it.
"Burial shadow... burial shadow..." Old Gong's lips trembled, his eyes becoming increasingly unfocused. Then, with a hint of excitement and reluctance in his voice: "The coffin isn't here. The shadow is buried here... where is it... exactly where?"
So many people went to all this trouble to find here, and yet... there's no coffin; it's just a shadow.
Lao Gong looked okay, but Wu Jinluan and the others couldn't accept it.
Although our goal wasn't the coffin, not the art, the coffin in front of us was a mere illusion, still causing annoyance to everyone.
