"What did you say?"
Ji Yuan shoved the other person's hand away and asked with a surprised expression.
After seeing Grandpa Zhao nod and repeat himself, he fell into deep thought.
In an instant, various speculations surfaced in Ji Yuan's mind, and with each new guess, his expression grew more grim.
After a long while, he let out a heavy sigh, his face now extremely solemn.
"What's wrong?"
Seeing this, young Jiang He couldn't help but ask.
Ji Yuan silently shook his head, his mouth opening but unable to form words, his thoughts in a tangled mess.
He felt like he had overlooked something, but no matter how hard he racked his brain, he couldn't recall what it was.
It was as if a thin veil separated him from something, tangible yet as distant as mountains and rivers.
"There's something I don't quite understand. Why would that evil creature abduct this old man's youngest son?"
Xu Qiqi suddenly spoke.
Hearing this, Ji Yuan had to temporarily set aside his chaotic thoughts. He then mused, "This should be one of the reasons why that evil creature chose to target the Zhao family."
But the specific reason would require them to investigate further to know.
As for now, their real headache was how to deal with the evil creature lurking in the Zhao family residence.
However, the clues they currently possessed were too few. Other than knowing it was a second-realm cultivator, they knew nothing about its origins, techniques, or whether it possessed any magical artifacts.
Under such circumstances, even with many items they had specifically for restraining evil spirits, it would be difficult to achieve a decisive victory in a frontal confrontation.
"Although I don't know why that evil creature abducted Zhao Yuebai, its objective has likely not yet been achieved. Otherwise, it would have already retreated by now," Ji Yuan pondered.
From the current situation in the Zhao residence, they could infer that the evil creature's goal was not to annihilate the entire Zhao family. If it were, it would be trying its best to break through the sage's writings inscribed on the building.
Yet, it chose to ignore them and never acted in such a manner, indicating it was engaged in other activities.
Coupled with the fact that the evil creature abducted Zhao Yuebai, it was clear that its plans were related to the young master of the Zhao family.
"Regardless, we cannot let the evil creature achieve its goal."
Ji Yuan pondered for a moment. "We have too few clues. I plan to probe a little first to see if I can find any traces."
He looked at the young man and young woman beside him, instructing them not to leave the wooden building unless absolutely necessary, to avoid him being distracted while confronting the evil creature.
Xu Qiqi and Jiang He nodded. Although young, they were direct disciples of the Nine Xuan Sect and had traveled with their senior brother for a long journey across several prefectures. Naturally, they would not be rash and charge forward with only youthful bravado like ordinary people.
Ji Yuan then looked at Grandpa Zhao and directly asked him to present anything he had on hand to see if anything could be useful.
To assuage the old man's worries, he even explicitly stated that in their current situation, if he held back any good items, they might become useless forever.
However, Ji Yuan still underestimated the nearly sixty-year-old man.
Upon hearing this, Grandpa Zhao immediately had his servants bring out more than ten items, all placed on the table before them.
"Except for three classified talismans, the rest are objects worshipped in the wooden building, mostly Confucian scholarly items."
Grandpa Zhao thought for a moment, then took off a long sword from his waist. "This is the weapon that has accompanied me for many years. Its quality is considered excellent among formidable weapons."
Ji Yuan nodded slightly, his gaze falling on the array of objects on the table.
He immediately skipped over the three classified talismans. Although they were of excellent quality, they were mostly for strengthening the foundation and replenishing the vital energy, likely used by Grandpa Zhao to maintain his peak physical condition and blood qi.
As for the few antique collectibles, while not magical artifacts, they were imbued with a considerable amount of righteous energy due to being worshipped for many years.
Unfortunately, this righteous energy, while effective against ordinary demons and ghosts, would be utterly useless against a second-realm evil creature that had cultivated magical power.
Of all the items on the table, only Grandpa Zhao's personal weapon was truly useful.
Formidable weapons were items superior to ordinary iron but not yet classified as divine weapons. For cultivators, they were akin to magical artifacts and were favored by martial artists.
It was a pity that Ji Yuan was not lacking in sharp weapons; instead, he needed something that could counter evil spirits.
After a brief contemplation, he drew the sword from its scabbard. Then, from his sleeve, he shook out a box of golden paint and casually picked up a calligraphy brush on the table imbued with righteous energy.
Next, he dipped the tip of the brush in the golden paint and wrote runes all over both sides of the sword in a vigorous, flowing script.
In just a short moment, as the last rune was written, he infused it with his own essence and qi. The golden paint on the sword rapidly solidified, emitting a faint glow under the candlelight.
Ji Yuan casually handed the long sword to Xu Qiqi, tucking away the box of golden paint on the table. He said solemnly to her, "These are runes similar to the 'Heavenly Thunder Suppressing Evil' talisman. Combined with your lightning-element cultivation, they are most effective against Yin and evil spirits."
Xu Qiqi's face lit up with joy. Although she hadn't cultivated magical power, the lightning-element cultivation she practiced was of extremely high quality. With the long sword inscribed with runes like 'Heavenly Thunder Suppressing Evil,' she could unleash destructive power nearly equivalent to a second-realm cultivator.
On the other side, Ji Yuan took out a stack of talismans and, without much explanation, thrust them into Jiang He's hand.
"I'll go scout the situation first. If you're needed later, come out and help," he said solemnly.
Both of them nodded with grave expressions. They didn't say much, but their eyes conveyed everything.
Before leaving, Ji Yuan cast a deep look at Grandpa Zhao. After hesitating for a long time, some words ultimately remained unspoken.
The Zhao family members inside the wooden building were all injured. Even Grandpa Zhao, the strongest fighter, was severely wounded and had little combat power left.
Asking such a group to fight would be no different from sending them to their deaths. They would not only be unable to provide any assistance but would also become a burden. It was better to have them stay in the wooden building.
If all went smoothly, they might survive. If something went wrong, they could only resign themselves to fate.
With this thought, Ji Yuan turned and walked a few steps to the door, then yanked open the wooden door.
Instantly, an extremely pungent stench assailed his nostrils, almost forcing him to retreat. After a considerable moment, he adjusted his state and stepped outside the wooden building.
Almost as soon as Ji Yuan stood in the courtyard, an evil wind inexplicably swept through, and the howling wind seemed to carry sounds of boundless pain and wailing.
Listening to the shrill cries, Ji Yuan's scalp tingled. The environment he was in felt no different from the legendary underworld.
He looked up at the night sky, his gaze falling on the swirling evil wind. Within the dense gray mist, it seemed as though faces filled with despair and pain were appearing.
Suddenly, the evil wind above intensified, howling and swirling down.
Seeing this, Ji Yuan immediately raised the bronze oil lamp in his hand to his face and blew a mouthful of essence and qi from his mouth.
Roar! Roar! Roar!
Billowing flames shot up into the sky, transforming into a giant python of fire, charging fiercely towards the howling evil wind!
However, as if remembering its previous setback, the evil wind, facing the python made entirely of flames, twisted and nimbly dodged to the side.
But it hadn't expected that with Ji Yuan's second breath of essence and qi, a second fire python would erupt from the flame of the bronze oil lamp.
In an instant, two fire pythons, one in front and one behind, trapped the evil wind between them and crashed into it ferociously.
This evil wind was different from ordinary breezes; it was not an incorporeal entity. The moment the two fire pythons came into contact, thick smoke billowed up, and the shrill wailing sounds became even more piercing.
Yet, as the evil wind was cornered by the two fire pythons, their bodies of flame constantly colliding and burning, Ji Yuan's face showed no hint of joy. On the contrary, he became even more solemn.
He silently took out a handful of talismans from his sleeve, clutching them tightly. He scanned his surroundings vigilantly, as if searching for something.
Although the situation appeared to be in his favor, Ji Yuan did not believe that an evil creature that had nearly annihilated the Zhao family would perform so poorly in his hands!
Indeed, within a few breaths, a stream of light shot out from the depths of the residence and landed precisely within the evil wind.
Seeing this, Ji Yuan wanted to control the two fire pythons to intercept it, but their speed was ultimately no match for the stream of light. He could only watch as it merged into the evil wind.
The moment the stream of light merged with the evil wind, a powerful force erupted from within. The gusts of wind alone forced the two fire pythons to retreat, their bodies nearly collapsing into flames.
On the ground, Ji Yuan's eyes narrowed slightly. In that fleeting instant, he clearly saw that the object enveloped by the stream of light was a jet-black saber.
In a short while, the evil wind, which had been preventing the fire pythons from approaching, suddenly coalesced into a human figure and slowly descended from the sky.
It was a middle-aged man of ordinary appearance, dressed in a bluish-gray long gown. Apart from his somewhat vacant expression, there was nothing remarkable about him.
At this moment, Ji Yuan's attention was mostly focused on the long saber the man held in his hand.
The saber was entirely black, with only a cold glint at the blade. The entire blade was perfectly straight, without any curve. The hilt resembled a roaring tiger's head.
Ji Yuan observed the saber with a solemn expression. However, as his gaze fell upon the blade, his eyes stung, and he quickly averted his sight, as if the sharpness of the blade had pierced his eyes.
"Sacrifice..."
The middle-aged man, transformed from the evil wind, suddenly whispered.
Hearing this, Ji Yuan's brow furrowed. He suddenly seemed to recall something and quickly turned to look at the wooden building not far away.
To his astonished and enraged gaze, Grandpa Zhao, whose face had been pale, was now radiant, his eyes flashing with vigor, showing no signs of serious injury.
Ji Yuan was both shocked and furious because Grandpa Zhao had suddenly launched a surprise attack from behind, knocking out Xu Qiqi and Jiang He, whose attention was almost entirely focused on him.
As the two figures' eyes rolled back and their bodies fell to the ground, two servants slammed the wooden door shut!
Bang!
The heavy sound struck Ji Yuan's heart like a blow.
At this very moment, a whistling sound came from behind him, and a sharp killing intent attached itself directly to him.
In an instant, Ji Yuan felt as if he had fallen into an ice cellar. Under this killing intent, he felt his body become incredibly stiff.
Under the threat of death, he managed to turn his body halfway around with great difficulty. He then saw that the middle-aged man, who had been six to seven zhang away, was now less than one zhang from him!
For a cultivator, this distance was already fatal!
However, at this moment, being able to turn his body halfway was already Ji Yuan's limit. Even as the cold glint rapidly approached his eyes, he was powerless to do anything more.
In the next breath, the tip of the saber landed on his chest, and a point of sharpness instantly pierced his daoist robe.